A ROMANCE OF 
 "ILLYGOAT HILL 
 
 ALICE HEGAN RICE 
 


Do you believe in love, Doctor?" 
 
A ROMANCE OF 
 BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 By 
 
 ALICE HEGAN RICE 
 
 Author of " Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, 
 " Lovey Mary/ " Sandy," etc. 
 
 With Illustrations 
 
 By George Wright 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE CENTURY CO. 
 1912 
 
Copyright, 1912, by 
 THE CENTURY Co. 
 
 Published, October, 1912 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "Do you believe in love, Doctor?" . . Frontispiece 
 
 The Colonel leaned back upon his knees and glared 
 
 at Morley 19 
 
 There was a sharp report, a smothered groan, then 
 
 a heavy fall 61 
 
 She held it to the flame, and watched it burn to ashes 
 
 on the hearth 101 
 
 Maria began to cry, and forgot to jolt the Boarder . 233 
 Mrs. Sequin paused with her hand on the banister . 267 
 
 " It was a great wrong I did you, Don ; can you for 
 give me?" 325 
 
 " Tell me quick ! How do you know about the shoot 
 ing?" 395 
 
 912943 
 

A ROMANCE 
 OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
A ROMANCE 
 OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 IT was springtime in Kentucky, gay, irresponsi 
 ble, Southern springtime, that comes bursting 
 impetuously through highways and byways, heedless 
 of possible frosts and impossible fruitions. A 
 glamour of tender new green enveloped the world, 
 and the air was sweet with the odor of young and 
 growing things. The brown river, streaked with 
 green where the fresher currents of the creeks 
 poured in, circled the base of a long hill that domi 
 nated the landscape from every direction. 
 
 In spite of the fact that impertinent railroads were 
 beginning to crawl about its feet, and the flotsam 
 and jetsam of the adjacent city were gradually being 
 deposited at its base, it nevertheless reared its 
 granite shoulders proudly and defiantly against the 
 sky. 
 
 From the early days when the hill and rich sur 
 rounding farm lands had been granted to the old 
 
 3 
 
::A:ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 pioneer William Carsey, one generation of Carseys 
 after another had lived in the stately old mansion 
 that now stood like the last remaining fortress 
 against the city s invasion. Sagging cornices and 
 discolored walls had not dispelled the atmosphere 
 of contentment that enveloped the place, an effect 
 heightened by the wide front porch which ran 
 straight across the face of it, like a broad, com 
 placent smile. Some old houses, like old gallants, 
 bear an unmistakable air of past prosperity, of past 
 affairs. Romance has trailed her garments near 
 them and the fragrance lingers. 
 
 Thornwood, shabby and neglected, could still af 
 ford to drowse in the sunshine and smile over the 
 past. It remembered the time when its hospitality 
 was the boast of the countryside, when its stables 
 held the best string of horses in the State; when its 
 smokehouse, now groaning under a pile of lumber, 
 sheltered shoulders of pork, and sides of bacon, and 
 long lines of juicy, sugar-cured hams: when the 
 cellar quartered battalions of cobwebby bottles that 
 stood at attention on the low hanging shelves. It 
 was a house ripe with experience and mellow with 
 memories, a wise, old, sophisticated house, that had 
 had its day, and enjoyed it, and now, through with 
 ambitions, and through with striving, had settled 
 down to a peaceful old age. 
 
 On this particular Sunday afternoon Colonel 
 
 4 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Bob Carsey, the third of his name, sat on the porch 
 in a weather-beaten mahogany rocker, making him 
 self a mint julep. He was a stout, elderly gentle 
 man, and, like the rocking chair, was weather- 
 beaten, and of a slightly mahogany hue. His fea 
 tures, having long ago given up the struggle against 
 encroaching flesh, were now merely slight inden 
 tures, and mild protuberances, with the exception of 
 the eyes which still blazed away defiantly, like 
 twinkling lights at the end of a passage. Across his 
 feet with nose on paws lay a dog, and about him was 
 scattered a profusion of fishing paraphernalia. 
 
 The Colonel, carefully crushing the mint between 
 his stubby fingers, stirred it with the sugar at the 
 bottom of his tall glass; then, resting the concoc 
 tion on the broad arm of the rocker, and without 
 turning his head, lifted his voice in stentorian com 
 mand : 
 
 "Jimpson!" 
 
 No answer. He turned his head slightly to the 
 left, in the general direction of the negro cabins 
 whose roofs could be seen through the trees, and 
 sent another summons hurtling through the bushes : 
 
 "Jimpson!" 
 
 Again he waited, and again there was no response. 
 The Colonel sighed resignedly, and spreading a 
 large bordered handkerchief over his obliterated 
 features, clasped his fat hands with some difficulty 
 
 5 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 about his ample girth, and slept. When he awoke 
 he began exactly where he had left off, only this 
 time turning his head slightly to the right, and 
 sending his command toward the kitchen wing. 
 
 A door slammed somewhere in the distance, and 
 presently a shuffling of feet was heard in the hall, 
 and a small, alert old negro presented himself to his 
 master with an air of cheerful conciliation. 
 
 The Colonel did not turn his head ; he gazed with 
 an air of great injury at the tops of the locust trees, 
 clasping his tumbler as it rested on the arm of the 
 rocker. 
 
 " Jimpson," he began, after the culprit had suf 
 fered his silence some minutes. 
 
 " Now, Cunnel," began Jimpson nervously. He 
 had evidently rehearsed this scene in the past. 
 
 " Just answer my questions," insisted the Colonel. 
 "Is this my house?" 
 
 " Yas, sir, but Carline, she " 
 
 " And are you my nigger? " persisted the Colonel 
 plaintively. 
 
 " Yas, sir ; but you see, Carline 
 
 " And have n t I, for twenty years," persisted the 
 Colonel, " been taking a mint julep at half past two 
 on Sunday afternoons? " 
 
 " Yas, sir, I was a comin " 
 
 " Then you don t regard it as an unreasonable re 
 quest, that a gentleman should ask his own nigger, 
 
 6 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 in his own house, to bring him a small piece of ice? " 
 The Colonel s sense of injury was becoming so over 
 powering that the offender might have been crushed 
 by contrition had not a laugh made them both look 
 up. 
 
 Standing in the doorway was a young girl in a 
 short riding habit, and a small hat of red felt that 
 was carelessly pinned to her bright, tumbled hair. 
 Her eyes were dark, and round like those of a child, 
 and they danced from object to object as if eager 
 to miss none of the good things that the world had 
 to offer. Joy of life and radiant youth seemed to 
 flash from her face and figure. 
 
 " What s the matter, Squire Daddy? " she asked, 
 pausing on the threshold. " Mad again? " 
 
 The Colonel s head twitched in her direction, but 
 he held it stiff. 
 
 "Well, please don t kill Uncle Jimpson til he 
 finds my gloves. I don t know where I took them 
 off." 
 
 " Yas m, Miss Lady," Jimpson welcomed the di 
 version. " I 11 find em jes as soon as I git yer 
 Paw his ice." 
 
 " Oh, Daddy 11 wait, won t you, Dad ? I m in a 
 hurry." 
 
 For a moment Jimpson and the Colonel eyed each 
 other, then the Colonel s gaze shifted. 
 
 " I 11 git de ice fer you on my way back," Jimp- 
 
 7 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 son whispered reassuringly. " I spec dat chile is 
 in a hurry." 
 
 The young lady in question gave no appearance of 
 haste as she perched herself on the arm of her 
 father s chair, and presented a boot-lace for him to 
 tie. 
 
 " Going fishing, Dad? " she asked. 
 
 " Yes," said the Colonel, struggling to make a 
 two-loop bow-knot. " Noah Wicker and I are go 
 ing down below the mill dam. Want to come 
 along?" 
 
 " I can t. I in going riding." 
 
 "That s good. Who with?" 
 
 " With Don Morley." 
 
 The smile that had returned to the Colonel s face 
 during this conversation contracted suddenly, leav 
 ing his mouth a round little button of disapproba 
 tion. 
 
 !< What in thunder is he doing up here anyhow ; 
 why don t he go on back to town where he belongs ? " 
 
 "Don?" Miss Lady pretended to effect a part 
 in the few straggling hairs that adorned his fore 
 head. " Why, he s staying over to the Wickers 
 while he looks around for a farm. Here s a gray 
 hair, Daddy! I d pull it out only there are two 
 more on that other side now than there are on this." 
 
 "Buying a farm, is he?" The Colonel waxed 
 a deeper mahogany. " Well, this place is not for 
 
 8 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 sale. I should think he could find something better 
 to do with his time than hanging around here. For 
 two weeks I have n t been able to sit on this porch 
 for five minutes without having him under my feet ! 
 What s the sense of his coming so often? " 
 
 Miss Lady caught him by the ears, and turned his 
 irate face up to her own. 
 
 "He comes to see me!" she announced, empha 
 sizing each word with a nod. " He likes horses 
 and dogs and me, and I like horses and dogs and 
 him. But I like you, too, Daddy." 
 
 The Colonel refused to be beguiled by such 
 blandishments. 
 
 " I 11 speak to him when he comes. He need n t 
 think just because he is a city fellow, he can take 
 a daughter of mine racing all over the country on 
 Sunday afternoon ! " 
 
 " Why, Dad, that s absurd ! Don t you take me 
 yourself almost every Sunday? And don t I go 
 with Noah, and the Brooks boys whenever I like? " 
 
 " Well, you can t go to-day." 
 
 " But this is Donald s last day. He goes back to 
 town to-night, and he may go abroad next week to 
 stay ever and ever so long." 
 
 The Colonel brought his fist down on his knees: 
 " I don t care a hang where he goes. It s you we 
 are talking about. You Ve got to promise me not 
 to go with him this afternoon." 
 
 9 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " But why? " 
 
 " Because," the Colonel argued feebly, " because 
 it s Sunday." 
 
 Miss Lady sat for a moment looking straight be 
 fore her and there was a contraction of her lips that 
 might have passed for a comic imitation of her 
 father s had it not softened into a smile. 
 
 " Suppose I won t promise ? " she said. 
 
 The Colonel s free hand gripped the arm of the 
 chair, and he looked as if he had every intention in 
 the world of being firm. 
 
 " You see, if it is wrong for me to go riding on 
 Sunday," went on Miss Lady, " it s wrong for you 
 to go fishing. Suppose we both reform and stay at 
 home?" 
 
 The Colonel s eyes involuntarily flew to his cher 
 ished tackle, lying ready for action on the top step, 
 then they came back with a snap to the top of a 
 locust tree. 
 
 Miss Lady squeezed his arm and laughed : "Of 
 course you don t want to stay at home this glorious 
 afternoon, neither do I ! Now, that s settled. 
 Here comes Noah; I 11 go and fix your lunch." 
 
 It was not by any means the first time the daugh 
 ter of the house of Carsey had scored in a contest 
 with her father. His subjection had begun on that 
 morning now nearly twenty years ago, when she 
 had been placed in his arms, a motherless bundle of 
 
 10 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 helplessness without even a personal name to begin 
 life with. 
 
 That question of a name had baffled him. He 
 had consulted all the neighbors, considered all the 
 possibilities in the back of the dictionary, and even 
 had recourse to the tombstones in the old cemetery, 
 but the haunting fear that in days to come she 
 might not like his choice, held him back from a 
 final decision. In the meanwhile she was " The 
 Little Lady," then " Lady," and finally through the 
 negroes it got to be " Miss Lady." So the Colonel 
 weakly compromised in the matter by deciding to 
 wait until she was old enough to name herself. 
 When that time arrived she stubbornly refused to 
 exchange her nickname for a real one. A half 
 hearted effort was made to harness her up to 
 " Elizabeth," but she flatly declined to answer to the 
 appellation. 
 
 She and Noah Wicker, the son of a neighboring 
 farmer, had run wild on the big place, and it was 
 Miss Lady who invariably got to the top of the 
 peach tree first, or dared to wade the farthest into 
 the stream. All through the summer days her little 
 bare legs raced beside Noah s sturdier brown ones. 
 She could handle a fishing rod as well as her father, 
 could ride and drive and shoot, and was on terms of 
 easy friendship with every neighbor who passed 
 over the brow of Billy-goat Hill. 
 
 ii 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 The matter of education had been the first serious 
 break in this idyllic existence. After romping 
 through the country school, she had had several 
 young and pretty governesses, all of whom had suc 
 cumbed to the charms of neighboring country 
 swains, and abandoned their young charge, lo start 
 establishments of their own. Then came wise 
 counsel from without and after many tears she was 
 sent to a boarding school in the city. 
 
 The older teachers at Miss Gibbs Select School 
 for Young Ladies still recall their trials during the 
 one year Miss Lady was enrolled. She was pretty, 
 yes, and clever, and lovable, oh, yes! And at this 
 point usually followed a number of stories of her 
 generosity and impulsive kindness; " but," the con 
 clusion always ran, " such a strange, wild little 
 creature, so intolerant of convention, in dress, in 
 education, in religion. Quite impossible in a young 
 ladies seminary." 
 
 After one term of imprisonment Miss Lady es 
 caped to the outdoor world again, and implored her 
 devoted " Dad " to let her grow up in ignorance, 
 protesting passionately that she did not want puffs 
 on her head, and heels on her shoes, and whalebones 
 about her waist. That she did n t care whether x 
 plus Y equaled z, or not, and that going to church 
 and saying the same thing a dozen times, drove all 
 ideas of religion out of her head. She would study 
 
 12 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 at home, she declared, anything, everything he sug 
 gested, if only she could do it, in her own way, out 
 of doors. 
 
 So the sorely puzzled Colonel had procured her 
 the necessary text-books, and she had plunged into 
 her original method of self -education. She usually 
 fought out her mathematical battles down by the 
 river, using a stick on the sand for her calculations ; 
 history she studied in the fork of an old elm, de 
 claiming the most dramatic episodes aloud, to the 
 edification of the sparrows. 
 
 In the long winter months her favorite haunt was 
 a little unused room over the front hall, tradition 
 ally known as the library. Its only possible excuse 
 for the name was its one piece of furniture, a bat 
 tered secretary containing a small collection of 
 musty volumes that did credit to the taste of some 
 long-departed Carsey. 
 
 Miss Lady had discovered the library in her pa 
 per-doll days, and had ruthlessly clipped small bon 
 neted ladies with flounced skirts from magazines 
 that dated back to the first year of publication. 
 Later she had discovered that some of the ladies 
 had jokes on their backs, or rather pieces of jokes, 
 the rest of which she hunted up in the old maga 
 zines. It was an easy step from the magazines to 
 the books, and in time she knew them all, from the 
 little dog-eared copy of Horace in the upper left- 
 
 13 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 hand corner, to the fat Don Quixote in the lower 
 right. 
 
 In this neglected little room, with its festoons of 
 cobwebs, its musty smell and its sense of old, for 
 gotten things and people, she would tuck herself 
 away with a pocket full of apples, to study and read 
 by the hour. 
 
 The Colonel had done his part, and she was de 
 termined to do hers ; for three years she kept sturdily 
 at it, devouring the things she could understand, 
 and blithely skipping those she could not, extracting 
 meanwhile a vast amount of pleasure out of each 
 passing day. For the thing that differentiated Miss 
 Lady from the rest of her fellow kind was that she 
 was usually glad. She liked to get up in the morn 
 ing and to go to bed at night, a peculiarity in itself 
 sufficiently great to individualize her. She greeted 
 each new experience with enthusiasm and managed 
 to extract the largest possible quota of happiness 
 out of the smallest and most insignificant occasion. 
 
 As she went singing through the hall, the Colonel 
 tried to frown over his glasses, but he was only 
 partially successful. She was too satisfying a sight 
 with her shining hair and eyes, and lithe, supple 
 figure, every motion of which bespoke that quick, 
 unconscious freedom of body peculiar to children 
 and those favored of the gods, who never grow old. 
 
 The tall, awkward young man who had by this 
 
 14 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 time arrived at the porch, followed the Colonel s 
 gaze, and then, without speaking, sat down on the 
 steps and clasped his hands about his knees. Noah 
 Wicker s awkwardness, however manifest to others, 
 was evidently a matter of small moment to him. He 
 had apparently accepted the companionship of un 
 manageable arms and legs without question, and 
 without embarrassment. His stubby blond hair 
 rose straight from a high, broad forehead, and 
 grew down in square patches in front of his ears. 
 His eyes, small and steady, surveyed the world with 
 profound indifference. 
 
 When Miss Lady disappeared the Colonel turned 
 upon him suddenly: 
 
 " What about this rich young fellow over at your 
 house ? Wlio is he anyhow ? " 
 
 "Morley?" Noah crossed his knees deliber 
 ately. " Why, he s a brother-in-law of Mr. Se 
 quin." 
 
 " Not Basil Sequin, the president of the People s 
 Bank ! You don t say ! " The Colonel paused for 
 a moment to digest this fact, then he went on: 
 " Hell-bent on farming I hear; wants your father to 
 look around for a place." 
 
 This not being in the form of a question, Noah 
 conserved his energies. 
 
 " Don t amount to a hill of beans, I 11 warrant," 
 continued the Colonel, with a watchful eye on Noah 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 for denial or confirmation, but Noah was noncom 
 mittal. " When a fellow gets to be twenty-three 
 years old and can t find anything better to do than 
 to run around the country spending his money, and 
 playing with the girls, there s a screw loose some 
 where. What does he know about stock- farming ? " 
 
 " Says he s been reading up." 
 
 " Fiddlesticks ! " roared the Colonel. " You can t 
 learn farming out of a book! What does he know 
 about horses? " 
 
 "Oh! He s on to horses all right," Noah 
 grinned ambiguously. " You and I could n t teach 
 him anything about horses." 
 
 "Can he shoot?" 
 
 " Can t hit a barn door." 
 
 The Colonel heaved a deep sigh, drained the last 
 drops from his tumbler, then leaned forward, con 
 fidentially : 
 
 " Noah Wicker, do you like that young chap? " 
 
 "Like him?" Noah looked up in surprise. 
 " Why, everybody likes Don Morley." 
 
 " I don t," said the Colonel fiercely. " Here he 
 comes now. I wish you d look at that! " 
 
 A headlong young man in model riding costume, 
 astride a bob-tailed sorrel, rashly took a fence where 
 gate there was none, and came cantering across the 
 Colonel s favorite stretch of blue grass. 
 
 " Awfully sorry to have cut across, Colonel ! " he 
 16 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 called out in tones that spoke little contrition. 
 " Slipped my trolley as usual and got lost in the 
 bullrushes. Hope I haven t kept Miss Lady wait 
 ing?" 
 
 The Colonel rose and extended a hand of wel 
 come. A true Kentuckian may commit murder and 
 still be a gentleman, but to fail in hospitality is to 
 forfeit even his own self-respect. 
 
 " My daughter, Mr. Morley, will be out pres 
 ently," he announced with great formality. 
 
 " And how are you, Mike ? " went on young Mor 
 ley, stooping to pat the dog ; " did n t mean to cut 
 you, old fellow, pon my word I did n t." 
 
 The dog, a shaggy beast, with small, plaintive eyes 
 looking out from a fringe of wiry hair, expressed 
 his appreciation of this attention with all the emo 
 tion a stump of tail would permit. 
 
 " It s a bully day ! " continued the visitor with 
 enthusiasm, wiping his wrists and forehead, and 
 tossing his hair back. " If I were n t going to town 
 to-night I d ask you to take me fishing, Colonel. 
 Hello ! What kind of a reel is that ? " 
 
 Now the article which had attracted attention 
 happened to be an invention of the Colonel s, some 
 thing he had been working on for a long time, so 
 he could not resist explaining its unique qualities. 
 
 " Well, I 11 be hanged ! " said Morley, turning it 
 over and over admiringly. "If that is n t the clev- 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 erest thing I ever saw. This little screw regulates 
 the slack, does n t it ? Does your legal mind get on 
 to that, Wick?" 
 
 " It was a great job to get that to fit," said the 
 Colonel, flattered in spite of himself. " Took me 
 the best part of a week to puzzle out that one 
 point." 
 
 " A week! " exclaimed Morley. " It would have 
 taken me months ! Oh ! here she is ! " and from the 
 very ardent look that leapt into his face, and the 
 alacrity with which he sprang up, it might have been 
 doubted whether his mind had been wholly upon the 
 matter under discussion. 
 
 Miss Lady greeted him with almost boyish frank 
 ness, but there was an unmistakable flush under the 
 smooth tan of her cheek that did not escape the 
 vigilant eye of the Colonel. 
 
 " Here you are, Dad ! here you are, Noah ! " she 
 said, tossing a small package to each ; " sandwiches 
 and hard boiled eggs for two." 
 
 " Put the salt in for the eggs? " asked the Colo 
 nel, having had experience with her lunches. 
 
 " I believe I did. Open yours and see, Noah. 
 Say, Daddy darling! " she swooped down upon him 
 from the rear, slipping an arm about his neck as he 
 knelt on the porch to collect his hooks and lines, 
 " you are going to let me ride Prince, just this once, 
 are n t you ? " 
 
 18 
 
The Colonel leaned back upon his knees and glared at Morley. 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 The Colonel gasped, partly from strangulation, 
 and partly from amazement. 
 
 "Prince!" he cried. "Well, I reckon not! 
 That colt s hardly broken to the saddle. He threw 
 Jimpson last week." 
 
 " Well, I m not Jimpson. Please, Daddy, just 
 this once." 
 
 "If that s the little beast Wick was telling me 
 about," said Morley, " we are certainly not going to 
 trust you on him." 
 
 The Colonel leaned back upon his knees where he 
 knelt on the porch, and glared at Morley. 
 
 " Who do you mean by we ? " 
 
 " The conservative party of which I, for once, am 
 a member. From all I can hear of that colt, no girl 
 could handle him." 
 
 " You are absolutely mistaken, sir ! I taught my 
 daughter to straddle a horse before I taught her to 
 walk. Handle him? Of course she can handle 
 him ! Jimpson ! " he roared in conclusion, " put the 
 side-saddle on Prince ! " 
 
 21 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE Cane Run Road lay straight ahead, now 
 white under the full light of the sun, now 
 dappled with tiny dancing shadows from the inter 
 laced twigs overhead, new clothed in their garb of 
 green. White and purple violets peeped from the 
 fence corners, and overhead the birds made busy in 
 the branches. 
 
 Two young people, flushed and smiling, drew rein 
 and looked at each other. In the eyes of each was 
 a challenge. 
 
 " I 11 race you to the mill ! " cried Miss Lady, 
 tugging at her bridle. " Don t start til I give the 
 word. Now, go ! " 
 
 Off through the smiling, sunlit fields they dashed, 
 too impetuous and young, and gloriously free, to 
 waste a thought on that inexorable wheel of life, 
 upon which sooner or later the most irresponsible 
 must break their wings. On and on they went, neck 
 to neck, the gallop breaking into a run. Down past 
 the blacksmith s, past the old mill which was to 
 have been the goal, through the long covered bridge, 
 
 22 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 over the hill and out again on the level road where 
 they still kept abreast. 
 
 And close upon them, with head up and mane fly 
 ing, came another steed, free, irresponsible, un 
 bridled, invisible. It was Romance, pounding in 
 their wake; Romance, whose hoof beats made their 
 pulses dance in unison, whose breath upon their 
 cheeks made them laugh for joy in the face of the 
 wind. 
 
 They were almost to the city now, having reached 
 that slovenly suburb that had given its plebeian name 
 to the once aristocratic neighborhood. Clouds of 
 dust whirled in their wake, and stones flew right 
 and left under the horses hoofs; men in carts pulled 
 their teams to the side of the road to let the mad pair 
 pass; dogs dashed from dark doorways, barking 
 furiously. 
 
 Suddenly, just as they neared the railroad junc 
 tion, the sharp whistle of an engine sent Prince 
 plunging into the air. Donald rose in his stirrups 
 and made a frantic clutch at the horse s head, but 
 even as he missed it, he heard the clanging signal 
 for an approaching train and saw the gates imme 
 diately in front of them descending. Instantly he 
 flung himself out of the saddle, and sprang for 
 Prince s head. The horse, almost under the nose 
 of the engine, reared frantically, swerved, then came 
 to a trembling stand, as Miss Lady deftly loosened 
 
 23 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 her skirt from the pommel, and swung herself to the 
 ground. 
 
 In a second Don was beside her. 
 
 " Are you hurt? " he cried, catching her arm with 
 his free hand and looking anxiously into her face. 
 
 " Not a bit. Who won ? " she asked with a little 
 catch in her voice. 
 
 "Lord! You were plucky! If anything had 
 happened to you! " his hand tightened on her wrist, 
 and he drew in his breath sharply. 
 
 The afternoon freight came lumbering by, and 
 they stood close together with the hot breath of the 
 engine in their faces. Her hair blew across his face 
 and he could feel her body trembling against his 
 shoulder. Neither of them seemed to be aware of 
 the fact that he still held her hand, and that the 
 horses were tugging at their respective bridles. 
 
 As the train thundered past and the gates lifted, 
 Miss Lady turned quickly and began to pin up her 
 loosened hair. 
 
 " Pretty narrow shave, Miss," commented a red 
 headed man with a flag, hurrying across the track, 
 and joining an old apple-woman and two small boys 
 who constituted an interested audience. 
 
 " I seen you a-coming an would V let you 
 through, only I m a-substitutin on this job, and 
 was n t in fer takin no extry risks." 
 
 " Here, boy ! " cried Donald, " hold my horse. 
 24 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 The girth s broken ; I 11 have to make another hole 
 in the strap." 
 
 The word " boy " being a generic term was 
 promptly appropriated by each of the youngsters as 
 applying to himself, and a fierce scramble ensued in 
 which the larger was victorious. 
 
 " Skeeter ? s it," announced the flagman, a self- 
 constituted umpire. " Git out er the way there, 
 Chick, and give the gent a chanct to see what he s 
 a-doin ." 
 
 Chick, a large-headed, small-bodied goblin of a 
 boy, made an unintelligible, guttural sound in his 
 throat and remained where he was, evidently consid 
 ering it of paramount importance that he should see 
 what the gentleman was doing. 
 
 It was with some difficulty that the new hole in 
 the strap was made, and to secure the buckle more 
 firmly Don gave it several t sharp raps with the han 
 dle of his riding whip. At the last one the silver 
 knob flew from the handle and rolled to the road 
 side. 
 
 In an instant the small boys were after it, the 
 older having deserted his post without compunction, 
 when a question of booty was involved. They 
 grappled together in the dust of the road, long be 
 fore they reached the prize, and with arms and legs 
 entwined rolled toward it. 
 
 Chick was underneath when they arrived, but he 
 
 25 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 loosened his clutch of Skeeter s throat, and darted 
 forth a small, grimy hand that closed upon the 
 treasure. In an instant Skeeter seized upon the 
 clenched fist, and was wrenching it open, when a 
 third party entered the fray. 
 
 " The little one got it ! " cried Miss Lady indig 
 nantly ; " he got it first ! Give it to him this min 
 ute!" 
 
 " I be damned if I do! " shouted Skeeter, roused 
 to fury by the combat. 
 
 " I ? 11 be damned if you don t," said Miss Lady, 
 equally determined. 
 
 The skirmish was fierce but short, and by the time 
 Don got to them, Miss Lady had restored the spoils 
 to the lawful victor, and was assisting the van 
 quished foe to wipe the dust from his eyes. 
 
 "Well, partner," said Donald to Chick, "what 
 have you got to say to the young lady for taking 
 your part? " 
 
 " He ain t got nothin to say," said Skeeter 
 glibly. " He s dumb. Nobody but me can t under 
 stand him. He says thank you, ma am." 
 
 Chick having uttered no sound, it was evident 
 that Skeeter depended upon telepathy. 
 
 " He s a ash-barrel baby," went on Skeeter. eager 
 to impart information; "he ain t got no real folks, 
 and he s been to the Juvenile Court twict ; onct for 
 
 26 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 hopping freights and onct fer me and him smashin 
 winders." 
 
 All eyes were turned upon the hero, who im 
 mediately became absorbed in his whip-handle. He 
 was small, and exceedingly thin, and exceedingly 
 dirty. The most conspicuous things about him were 
 his large, wistful eyes, and his broad smile that 
 showed where his teeth were going to be. Across 
 his narrow chest a ragged elbowless coat was hitched 
 together by one button, while a pair of bare, spind 
 ling legs dwindled away respectively into a high 
 black shoe, and a low-cut tan one, both of which 
 were well ventilated at the heels. 
 
 " I don t believe he s very bad," smiled Miss 
 Lady, catching his chin in her hand and turning his 
 face up to hers. " Are you, Chick? " 
 
 He made a queer guttural sound in his throat but, 
 his official interpreter being by this time absorbed in 
 the horses, was unable to make himself understood. 
 
 " It must be awful for a boy not to be able to ask 
 questions ! " she went on, looking down at him, then 
 seeing something in his face that other people 
 missed, she suddenly drew him to her and gave him 
 a little motherly squeeze. 
 
 The ride home was somewhat leisurely, for the 
 accident, slight as it was, had sobered the riders, and 
 there was, moreover, a subject under discussion that 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 called for considerable earnest expostulation on one 
 side, and much tantalizing evasion on the other. 
 
 " It all depends upon you," Donald was saying, as 
 they climbed the last hill. " Cropsie Decker starts 
 for the coast to-morrow but the steamer does n t sail 
 for ten days. Shall I go or stay? " 
 
 " But you were so mad about it two weeks ago, 
 you could scarcely wait to start." 
 
 " Lots of things can happen in two weeks. Shall 
 I stay?" 
 
 " What do your family think about it? " 
 
 "My family? Oh, you mean my sister. She 
 does n t make a habit of losing sleep over my affairs. 
 She d probably say go. I am rather unpopular with 
 her just now, because I don t approve of this affair 
 between my niece Margery and Fred Dillingham. I 
 fancy she d be rather relieved to get me out of the 
 way. In fact, everybody says go, except Doctor 
 Qneerington. He is a cousin of ours, used to be 
 my English professor, up at the university. He has 
 always harbored the illusion that I can write. 
 Wants me to settle down some place in the country 
 and go at it in earnest." 
 
 " You don t mean John Jay Queerington, the au 
 thor?" Miss Lady said eagerly. "Is he really 
 your cousin? Daddy went to school to his father, 
 and has told me so much about him, that without 
 seeing him, I could write a book on the subject." 
 
 28 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Great old chap in his way, an authority on 
 heaven knows how many subjects, yet he scarcely 
 makes enough money to take care of his children." 
 
 " But think of the books he is giving to the world ! 
 He told Daddy he was on his thirteenth volume ! " 
 
 " Yes, he swims around most of the time in a sea 
 of declensions, conjugations, and syntaxes, in Greek, 
 Latin and English." 
 
 " I think he s magnificent ! " cried Miss Lady, 
 trying to hold Prince down to a walk. " I adore 
 people who do great things and amount to some 
 thing." 
 
 " All of which I suppose is meant to reflect on a 
 poor devil who does n t do things and does n t 
 amount to anything ? " 
 
 " I never said so." 
 
 " See here," said Donald whimsically, " for two 
 weeks you have been getting me not to do things. 
 When I think of all the things I have promised you, 
 I can feel my hair turning white. Having polished 
 me off on the don ts, you are n t going to begin on 
 the do s, are you ? " 
 
 " Indeed I am. Does Doctor Queerington really 
 think you could be a writer ? " 
 
 " He has been after me about it ever since I was 
 a youngster. I m always scribbling at something, 
 but there is nothing in it. Besides," he added with 
 a smile, " I m going to be a farmer." 
 
 29 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 Miss Lady threw back her head and laughed: 
 
 " He wants to be a farmer 
 
 And with the farmers stand 
 
 The hay seed on his forehead 
 
 And a rake within his hand. 
 
 Oh ! Don Morley, one minute it s the Orient, the 
 next it s literature, and the next a farm ; you don t 
 know what you want ! " 
 
 " Yes, I do, too," he caught her bridle and 
 brought the horses close together. " I know per 
 fectly what I want, and so do you. Have n t I told 
 you four times a day for two weeks ? " 
 
 She looked away to the far horizon where a bank 
 of formidable clouds was forming: 
 
 " Oh, we all think we want things one day and 
 forget about them the next. Life is made up of de 
 sires that seem big and vital one minute, and little 
 and absurd the next. I guess we get what s best 
 for us in the end." 
 
 " I have n t so far ! " Don said fiercely. " I ve 
 gotten what was worst for me and I ve made the 
 worst of it." 
 
 They had turned into the lane now and were walk 
 ing their horses up to the stile where Jimpson was 
 waiting to take them. 
 
 " Don t put my mare up," directed Donald. 
 " I ve got to ride back to town to-night. There s 
 
 30 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 rain in those clouds ; I ought to be starting this min 
 ute." 
 
 But his haste was evidently not imperative, for 
 he followed Miss Lady through the narrow winding 
 paths, between a tangle of shrubs and vines, into the 
 old-fashioned flower garden. The spiraea was just 
 putting out its long, feathery plumes of white, and 
 the lilacs nodded white and purple in the breeze. 
 
 " Here s the first wild rose ! " cried Miss Lady, 
 darting to a corner of the old stone wall ; " the idea 
 of its daring to come out so soon! " 
 
 He took the frail little blossom and smiled at it 
 half quizzically: " It s funny," he said awkwardly, 
 " your giving me this. You know, it s what you 
 made me think of, the first time I saw you, a wild 
 rose. Didn t she, Mike?" 
 
 iftike, who had been dreaming all afternoon on the 
 porch, had gotten up reluctantly as they passed and 
 followed them. He had a slow, lopsided gait, and 
 his tongue dangled from the side of his mouth. It 
 was evidently a sacrifice for him to accompany them, 
 but duty was duty. 
 
 " You angel dog ! Come here to your Missus ! " 
 commanded Miss Lady, as she and Donald dropped 
 down in the old barrel-stave hammock, that had 
 swung beneath the lilacs since the Colonel was a 
 boy. 
 
 But Mike ambled past her, and after snuggling 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 up to Don with a great show of intimacy lay down 
 at his feet. 
 
 " I m glad somebody loves me/ Donald said. 
 
 " It s your riding boots, Mike likes. He never 
 had a chance to taste tan shoe polish before! " 
 
 "What do you like me for?" 
 
 "Me? Who said I did?" 
 
 "Don t you?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, I like tan boots, too. Why did n t you 
 tell me my hair had tumbled down again ? " 
 
 " Because you are so beautiful, with it like that, 
 Miss Lady " 
 
 " Now, Don, if you begin again I shall go straight 
 in the house. What did you mean by saying you 
 had gotten what was worst for you, and you had 
 made the worst of it?" 
 
 " Oh, the way I ve been brought up. You see 
 my sister took me when I was a baby, and I guess 
 I was an awful nuisance to her. She liked to travel, 
 and kept it up a good while even after Margery was 
 born. I grew up in hotels and on steamers and 
 trains, going to school wherever we happened to be 
 staying long enough; sometimes in France, some 
 times in Switzerland, sometimes in America. I re 
 member one Christmas when I was about six, we 
 were in a hotel in Paris. My nurse put me to bed 
 early so she could go out with her sweetheart, and 
 told me there was n t any Santa Claus, so I would n t 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 stay awake watching for him. I hate that woman 
 to this day! I can remember the big, lonesome 
 room, and the red curtains, and the crystal chande 
 lier and the way I cried because there was n t any 
 Santa Claus, and because I didn t have a sweet 
 heart!" 
 
 " Poor little chap ! It was a mother you wanted." 
 
 " Perhaps. Sister was good to me. But she 
 
 did n t understand me ; she never has. She has 
 
 always given me too much of everything, advice 
 
 included." 
 
 " But since you have been grown, you ve had lots 
 of time to to take things into your own hands." 
 " Well, I did for a while. I managed to squeeze 
 through the university, then I went into the shops 
 and had a bully time for five months, but it made 
 no end of a row ! Sister felt that after all she had 
 done for me, I oughtn t to go dead against her 
 wishes, and I guess she was right. Then I went into 
 the bank and was beginning to get the hang of 
 things, when she had a nervous collapse and was 
 ordered to Egypt for the winter. My brother-in- 
 law could n t take her, so he sent me." 
 " But you stayed longer than she did." 
 " Yes, I played around on the Riviera for a 
 while." 
 
 " And you have been home, how long? " 
 "Three months. Honestly, I meant to buckle 
 
 33 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 down to something right off, but Cropsie Decker 
 got this offer to go to the Orient for the Herald- 
 Post, and asked me to go along. I was keen about 
 it until until I came down here." 
 
 They were both silent for a while, watching a 
 spider that was exploring Don s boot-lace. 
 
 " It all seems so footless now. What I want is a 
 house of my own, a home, I mean. I never had 
 much of that sort of thing I m not quite sure I 
 knew what a home was until I saw Thornwood." 
 
 " Isn t it dear? " asked Miss Lady with a loving 
 look over her shoulder at the old house silhouetted 
 against the sky. " I could kiss every brick of it, I 
 love it so." 
 
 " I wish I did n t have to go back to town to 
 night ! " burst out Donald inconsequentially. " I 
 wish I never had to go back to it ! " 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 " Oh, for lots of reasons. I m a different fellow 
 down here in the country, with things to do, and 
 the right sort of things to think about, and and 
 you ! You see," he smiled without looking up, 
 " I m not much good in town." 
 
 "How do you mean?" asked Miss Lady, with 
 disconcerting frankness. 
 
 Donald shrugged his broad shoulders : " Oh ! I 
 don t know. I get into things before I know it. 
 This Eastern trip, now ; it sounded great when I said 
 
 34 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 I d go, Cropsie is a regular bird, the best fellow in 
 the world to go on such a lark with, but " 
 
 Miss Lady shot a glance at the handsome, boyish, 
 irresponsible face beside her. 
 
 "Don t go, Don!" she whispered impulsively; 
 " stay here and buy your farm ! " 
 
 " You mean it ! " he demanded, seizing her hands. 
 "You want me to stay?" 
 
 The blood surged into her cheeks, but she did not 
 withdraw her hands. Into her eager, luminous eyes 
 had leapt the response that had been held in abeyance 
 all afternoon. 
 
 " If I stay," he pressed hotly, " if I settle down 
 and behave myself, and make good, you 11 promise 
 me " 
 
 " Jimpson ! " thundered a familiar voice from the 
 road. " That good-for-nothing, lazy nigger, why 
 don t he come help me with these things? Jimp- 
 son!" 
 
 " I 11 tell him, Dad ! " called Miss Lady, spring 
 ing from the hammock. 
 
 "But wait!" pleaded Donald, " just a minute. 
 I ve got to beat that storm to town, and tell Decker 
 the trip is off. But I ll be back in the morning! 
 Perhaps to breakfast. Oh, my darling, I am so 
 happy ! Say you love me ! Say it ! " 
 
 Old Mike stirred in his slumbers, then opened one 
 eye. It was evidently time for him to take some 
 
 35 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 action. When two young people are standing very 
 close \vith clasped hands and love-lit eyes in the dim 
 fragrance of an old garden, even a dog of a chaperon 
 knows that it is time to interfere! With great 
 presence of mind he discovered an imaginary squir 
 rel in the hedge directly beside them, and set up 
 such a furious barking that Miss Lady looked 
 around and laughed. For a second she stood, her 
 head thrown back, a teasing, half-shy, half -daring 
 look on her face, then she dropped a swift kiss on the 
 hand that clasped hers, and without a word went 
 flying crimson-cheeked up the lilac-bordered path. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 DONALD MORLEY rode back to town through 
 the coming storm, in that particular state of 
 ecstasy that mortals are permitted to enjoy but once 
 in a lifetime. Not that falling in love was a novel 
 sensation; on the contrary a varied experience had 
 made him agreeably familiar with all the symptoms. 
 But this, he assured himself with passionate vehe 
 mence, was something altogether and absolutely dif 
 ferent. Between now and that morning when he 
 had idly ridden out to Wicker s in search of a farm, 
 lay a sea as wide as Destiny ! 
 
 There in the country he had unexpectedly come 
 upon his fate and with characteristic impetuosity had 
 pursued and overtaken it. Other girls may have 
 stirred his heart, but it had remained for a wild little 
 pagan of the woods to stir his soul. He had laid 
 bare to her the most secret places of his being, had 
 confessed his sins, and received absolution. From 
 this time on the frivolities of youth lay behind him, 
 and ambition sat upon his brow. He would cut 
 out the trip to the Orient, buy a farm and settle 
 down to work as^if he had n t a penny in the world. 
 
 37 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Once the Colonel was made to recognize his worth, 
 the gates of Paradise would be open! 
 
 He thought of the home he would build for her, 
 and the flowers that would encompass it, of the 
 horses and dogs they would have and perhaps 
 The memory of her face as she clasped Chick in 
 the road flashed over him, and he straightened his 
 shoulders suddenly and smiled almost tremulously. 
 Yes, he d be worthy of her, from this time for 
 ward life should hold no higher privilege! 
 
 It was after seven o clock by the time he reached 
 the Junction, and heavy mutterings of thunder 
 could be heard in the west. 
 
 " Does this street go through to the boulevard? " 
 he asked of a man, pointing with his knobless whip. 
 
 The lank person addressed removed his weight 
 from the telegraph pole that had supported it and 
 sauntered forward. As he did so Donald recog 
 nized the red-headed umpire of the afternoon. 
 
 " No, sir, Captain," he said, " it do not. This 
 here is Bean Alley. These city politicians has got 
 their own way of running streets; they take a pencil 
 you see and draw a line along the property of folks 
 that can pay for streets. The balance of us sets in 
 mud puddles." The man evidently found some 
 difficulty in expressing himself without the assistance 
 of profanity. There were blanks left between the 
 words, which he supplied mentally with compressed 
 
 38 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 lips and lifting of shaggy brows, that served as an 
 effective substitute. His conversation printed would 
 resemble these grammatical exercises, struggled 
 
 with an early youth, in which " a dog 
 
 attacked a boy with a stick." 
 
 But his suppressed eloquence was lost upon his 
 hearer, for Donald had become absorbed in a 
 theatrical poster, which represented a preternaturally 
 slim young lady, poised on a champagne bottle, 
 coyly surveying an admiring world through the ex 
 tended fingers of a small black gloved hand. It 
 was " La Florine," whose charms he had heard 
 recounted times without number by Mr. Cropsie 
 Decker. 
 
 This evening, the poster announced, " La Flor 
 ine " would for the first time in any American city, 
 perform her incomparable dance, " The Serpent of 
 the Nile." 
 
 Don had consulted his watch, and made a light 
 ning calculation as to the time in which he could 
 get a bite of supper and reach the Gayety, before he 
 remembered that he was a reformed character. 
 Then he sternly withdrew his gaze from the lady 
 who peeped through her fingers in the dusk, and 
 brought it back to the red-headed person, who had 
 continued his conversation with unbroken volubil 
 ity. 
 
 "... and she says to me," he was concluding 
 
 39 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " * Mr. Flathers/ she says, * it s a privelege to help 
 such as you. A man what s been in the gutter 
 times without number, and bore the awful horrors 
 of delirium tremins four times and still can feel 
 the stirrings of Christianity in his bosom. 
 
 Donald looked at him and laughed. Here was 
 evidently a fellow sinner. 
 
 " So you ve straightened up, have you? How 
 does it feel?" 
 
 Mr. Flathers cast a sidelong glance upward as if 
 to size up the handsome young gentleman on horse 
 back. 
 
 " Mighty depressin ," he confessed, " with a thirst 
 that s been accumulatin for weeks and weeks, and 
 a sick wife, and a adobted child that ain t spoke a 
 word for seven years. But I m restin on the Lord. 
 He well pervide." 
 
 " Oh, you 11 get along ! " said Don, feeling un 
 commonly lenient toward his fellow men. " Here s 
 a dollar if that will help you out a bit." 
 
 " It will," said Mr. Flathers reassuringly ; " it 
 undoubedly will. I got much to be thankful for, 
 I know that. Fer instance I never was a poor re 
 lation! That s more than lots of men kin say! 
 The fact are, there ain t airy one in my whole fam 
 ily connection what s got any more n I have ! " 
 
 The shower that had been threatening began now 
 in earnest, and Donald started toward town at a 
 
 40 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 brisk canter, but before he had gone two squares the 
 rain was driving in sheets across the street, and he 
 was obliged to dismount and seek shelter in the 
 doorway of an isolated building that stood at the end 
 of the common. It was a double door with the 
 upper parts in colored glass, on which was boldly 
 lettered, 
 
 The CANT-PASS-IT SALOON. 
 
 In one of the windows a placard informed the 
 famishing residents of Billy-goat Hill that their 
 thirst might not be assuaged until after twelve 
 o clock on Sunday night. 
 
 As Donald stood in the doorway, an automobile 
 turned the corner and came to a stop, the lights 
 from the lamps shining on the wet street, and throw 
 ing everything outside their radius into sudden dark 
 ness. 
 
 A man got out of the machine and ran for 
 shelter. He was coughing, and held his collar close 
 about his throat. 
 
 " Why, hello, Dillingham," said Morley, recogniz 
 ing him. " How did you get out here? " 
 
 " Joy-riding," said Dillingham with a curl of his 
 lip. " Tried to make a short cut, and got marooned. 
 What are you doing here? " 
 
 " I ve been out in the country for a couple of 
 
 41 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 weeks. Got caught in the shower. What s the 
 matter ? Are you sick ? " 
 
 Dillingham was leaning against the door jamb, 
 shivering. He was a short, sallow, delicate-looking 
 young fellow with self-explanatory puffs under his 
 somewhat prominent eyes. 
 
 " Chilled to the bone," he chattered. " I ve got to 
 get something to warm me up. Is this a saloon? " 
 
 " Yes, but it s closed. Won t be open until 
 midnight/ 
 
 Mr. Dillingham made a sweeping condemnation of 
 a city administration that would countenance such 
 a proceeding, then set his wits to work to evade the 
 law. 
 
 " Whose joint is this, anyhow ? " he asked, glan 
 cing up. " Sheeley s? Why, of course. I ve been 
 out here to prize rights. He lives somewhere around 
 here. Ugh ! but I m cold. I 11 be a corpse this time 
 next week if I don t head off this chill. Let s look 
 him up and get a drink." 
 
 Donald hesitated to spring the news of his refor 
 mation upon one who was already in a weakened con 
 dition. He assured himself that he would refuse 
 when the time came. In the meanwhile no reason 
 presented itself for refusing to assist his friend in 
 quest of a life-preserver. 
 
 " Sheeley used to live in one of those shacks over 
 there. It s letting up a bit, suppose we go over? " 
 
 42 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 proposed Dillingham, shaking the water out of his 
 cap. 
 
 "Been out to the house to-day?" asked Donald 
 as they splashed through the mud. 
 
 " Just came from there. The truth is Margery 
 and I have fixed things up at last. Any congratu 
 lations?" 
 
 " To be sure," said Donald, extending a wet hand, 
 but frowning into the darkness. " Have you told 
 my sister? " 
 
 "Mrs. Sequin?" Dillingham smiled with supe 
 rior amusement. " I guess she didn t have to be 
 told. I imagine she thought of it before we did. 
 Rather keen on me, you know, from the start." 
 
 Donald drew in his breath but said nothing. Had 
 it not been true, how he would have enjoyed punch 
 ing Dill s head ! 
 
 " You get off to the Orient this week, I suppose," 
 went on Dillingham. " Lucky devil ! Decker 
 asked me to go along. If it hadn t been for the 
 paternal grandparent I d have gone in a minute, but 
 he put his foot down. When do you sail ? " 
 
 " I ve given up the trip. I m going to buy a 
 farm out near the Wickers , and get down to work." 
 
 Dillingham whistled incredulously : 
 
 "Yes, I see you doing it! You are counting on 
 pulling off the Derby, I suppose?" 
 
 " No, I m not going to enter my horse." 
 
 43 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " What! Why Lickety-Split could win that race 
 in a walk. All the crowd say you stand to win. 
 Here, this is the shanty ; at least it s where he used 
 to live." 
 
 A bright light streamed from the uncurtained 
 window of a small cottage, revealing a family group 
 within. A fat, smiling woman in curl papers, with 
 a baby in her arms, and six youngsters in varying 
 stages of Sabbath cleanliness, hung upon the words 
 of a man who sat in a large, plush self -rocker, and 
 read from a highly colored picture book. In the 
 head of the family Dillingham recognized Richard 
 Sheeley, ex-pugilist, and present proprietor of the 
 Cant-Pass-It. 
 
 "Well, if it ain t Mr. Dillingham!" exclaimed 
 Sheeley, throwing open the door in answer to their 
 knock. "Soaked through, ain t you? Little 
 somethin to warm you up? Sure. Just come in 
 and wait til I git on my shoes and find an umbrella 
 and I 11 go over with you. Don t keep a drop here," 
 he added in a whisper, behind a hand so large that he 
 evidently regarded it as sound proof. " Missus 
 won t stand fer it, count of the kids, eh? " 
 
 " That s him, Ma, the one I was telling you 
 about," Richard Sheeley, Jr., yclept " Skeeter " 
 tugged at his mother s sleeve, nodding his head at 
 Donald, who was making love to the smallest and 
 shyest of the daughters of the house. 
 
 44 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " She ain t as meek as she looks ! " Mrs. Sheeley 
 was saying, as she tried to get the child from be 
 hind her skirts. " She s got her popper s temper 
 along with his smartness. They ain t either one 
 of them got a grain of sense when they git mad. I 
 never seen a child with such a temper, did you, 
 Popper?" 
 
 But Sheeley did not heed her; he was busy do 
 ing the honors to one he evidently considered an 
 honored guest. 
 
 " Sit right down here, Mr. Dillingham, lemme 
 take the book out of the chair. I was just reading 
 to the Missus and the kids a book Skeeter brought 
 home from Sunday School, all about Dan l and the 
 lions den. Tall tale that, Mr. Dillingham. About 
 one of the raciest animal articles I ever come 
 acrost." 
 
 When they were ready to go, Mrs. Sheeley fol 
 lowed them anxiously to the door. 
 
 "It s a awful stormy night, Popper; you ain t 
 going to stay, are you ? " 
 
 " Not long. I 11 be back to finish the story. So 
 long, kids ! " He swung himself down the wooden 
 steps, between his two well-groomed companions, 
 looking back now and then at the bright, open door 
 way, where the smiling fat woman stood surrounded 
 by half a dozen tow-headed children. 
 
 Just as they reached the saloon, the storm, which 
 
 45 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 had evidently only paused for breath, broke in all 
 its fury. The thunder rolled nearer and flashes 
 of lightning pierced the darkness. 
 
 "Here! The side door!" shouted Sheeley. 
 " Wait till I strike a match. I 11 take the umbrella. 
 Go right up-stairs, if you don t mind. I want you 
 to see the improvements I been making. There 
 ain t a saloon this side the city limits that s got the 
 quipment for sparring matches mine has." 
 
 " Get busy with some whisky in the meanwhile," 
 reminded Dillingham sharply ; " and I say, can t you 
 make a fire somewhere ? I m chattering like an 
 idiot." 
 
 " Sure I can. There s a stove up there, and a 
 bottle or two of extra fine liquor. Jes step right 
 up." 
 
 Half way up the ill-lighted stairs they paused. 
 Above the wind and the rain, a curious sound had 
 come from below as if someone had stumbled 
 against something. 
 
 "Who is that?" Sheeley demanded sharply, 
 leaning over the banister and peering down into the 
 gloom. 
 
 No answer came, but a draught of wind blew in 
 from somewhere, swaying the gas-jet. 
 
 " Oh ! it s a window that s left open," said Shee 
 ley. " That fool bartender! I 11 just go down and 
 fasten it." 
 
 46 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 The lock proved stubborn, and it was with some 
 difficulty that he forced it into place. Meanwhile 
 the two young men had lit the gas in the large 
 upper room and were inspecting the elevated stage 
 where boxers were wont to engage surreptitiously 
 in the noble art of self-defense. 
 
 " Take yours straight I believe, Mr. Dillingham ? " 
 said Sheeley, rejoining them; "an yer gentleman 
 friend?" 
 
 " Nothing for me," said Morley with unnecessary 
 firmness. " I 11 just wait a second until the storm 
 lets up, then be off to town." 
 
 " Do any boxing these days, Dick?" asked Dil 
 lingham, pouring himself a second drink of whisky, 
 as he hovered over the newly kindled fire. 
 
 " Oh ! I don the mitts occasionally to gratify me 
 friends. My long suit these days is faro; more 
 money in it." 
 
 Donald, standing at the window, staring out at 
 the wild night, drummed impatiently on the pane. 
 
 " Hurry up, Dill," he said. " I don t want to 
 keep my mare standing so long in the rain." 
 
 " Your mare be hanged," said Dillingham ; " just 
 wait ten minutes until I get thawed out, and I 11 go 
 with you." 
 
 Donald had waited ten minutes for Dill before, 
 but never with the present sense of responsibility, 
 born of his new connection with the family. He 
 
 47 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 knew that his only chance of getting him home was 
 to humor him. 
 
 How the wind whistled across the window ! He 
 wondered what Miss Lady was doing? Was she 
 sitting by the table in the cozy living-room at 
 Thornwood, with the lamplight on her hair ? Was 
 she at the harpsichord, singing to the Colonel ? Was 
 she standing, as he was standing, at the window, 
 peering out into the wild night, and thinking, 
 and longing ? 
 
 " What s the matter with a little game of 
 poker?" asked Sheeley, lightly running a deck of 
 cards up the length of his arm and reversing them 
 with a deftness that spoke of long familiarity. 
 
 " Great idea ! " exclaimed Dillingham expan 
 sively. "Just pass that bottle, will you? What s 
 that, Morley ? Have n t got time ? What in thun 
 der s the matter with you to-night ? " 
 
 Donald retorted, with great dignity, that nothing 
 in thunder was the matter with him, except that he 
 wanted to get back to town. 
 
 " Better not start with it storming like this," 
 urged Sheeley, as a crash of thunder shook the win 
 dows. " It 11 let up soon." 
 
 "Tell you what I ll do!" said Dillingham, put 
 ting an arm across Donald s shoulder affection 
 ately, and speaking a trifle unsteadily. "If you 11 
 play a couple of games I 11 go home with you 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 You ought to be willing to do that for a fellow 
 that ? s going to be your uncle. I mean your 
 nephew." 
 
 " And you 11 go the minute the rain lets up ? " 
 
 " Yes, if you 11 play with us." 
 
 Donald stood irresolute, watching Dillingham s 
 thin, unsteady fingers shuffle the cards. He must 
 get him home somehow, for Margery s sake. Dill 
 never knew when to stop, he was good for the night 
 unless somebody intervened. 
 
 Sheeley caught his eye and nodded significantly. 
 
 " All right ! " said Donald, dropping into the va 
 cant chair. " Only two games remember ! No 
 whisky, thanks. What s the ante ? " 
 
 49 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 WHEN Miss Lady had championed the cause 
 of the oppressed that afternoon, she had un 
 knowingly spoiled a criminal in the making. Chick 
 Flathers, at the advanced age of eleven, had been 
 so impressed by the injustice of social conditions 
 that he had dedicated himself to a life of crime. 
 He had already achieved two appearances in the 
 Juvenile Court, and two days in the Detention 
 Home. He was now fully decided to be a burglar. 
 
 To be sure there were extenuating circumstances 
 for Chick. It was unquestionably a handicap to 
 have opened his eyes for the first time in an ash 
 barrel, and in Mr. Flathers ash barrel at that. The 
 transfer in a patrol wagon to an incubator in the 
 City Hospital had been the next move, hence back 
 to Mr. Flathers who, inasmuch as it was his ash 
 barrel, felt called upon by Providence to adopt the 
 foundling. 
 
 The next misfortune that befell him was in being 
 dropped out of the window on his head, during one 
 of Maria Flathers absent-minded moments. This 
 apparently did not affect his head, but in time it se- 
 
 50 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 riously affected his speech. The fact that he had so 
 much to say, without being able to say it, resulted 
 in a dammed-up current that sometimes overflowed 
 in temper and viciousness. He talked a great deal, 
 but nobody was able, or took the pains to try, to 
 understand him. That is, not until Skeeter Shee- 
 ley gave him his nickname and became his official 
 interpreter. 
 
 Their friendship dated from a memorable day 
 when Skeeter had for the first time heard of the 
 incubator incident, and had promptly accosted the 
 Flathers foundling as " Chicken." The insult had 
 been instantly resented in a battle so fierce and so 
 bloody, that the details of it became historic in the 
 annals of Billy-goat Hill. Chick, though of lighter 
 weight, and feeble muscle, was armed with right 
 eous indignation. He observed no rules, but fought 
 with arms, legs, teeth and nails. The odds were 
 against him however, and he had to be assisted from 
 the field, a vanquished hero. 
 
 From that time on, by one of those mysterious 
 laws that govern boydom, the two were inseparable 
 companions, waging open war on all adjoining 
 neighborhoods, engaging in predatory expeditions 
 in their own, and, when interest in life flagged, fight 
 ing each other. 
 
 Skeeter interpreted all that Chick said, inter 
 preted it freely, and with imagination, and Chick 
 
 51 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 apparently considered himself honor bound to ac 
 cept the interpretation and stand for it, no matter 
 how far it came from expressing his meaning. 
 
 Eleven years of wickedness had thus been swag 
 gered through when Chick suddenly and unex 
 pectedly fell in love. It was when the beautiful 
 young lady at the railroad crossing had bent above 
 him like a succoring angel, that he had been forced 
 to change his classification of the human race. 
 Hitherto it had been divided into grown people and 
 children, henceforth it was divided into men and 
 women ! 
 
 All that Sunday afternoon he went about in a 
 dream. He could not get over the fact that she 
 had taken his part, that she had put her arm around 
 him, and smiled at him. Once or twice when no 
 body was looking, he put his very dirty hand on 
 his cheek and felt the spot where her fingers had 
 rested. 
 
 But this new and tender emotion was not allowed 
 to interfere with the special project that Chick had 
 in mind. It was a project so colossal in its nature, 
 that not even Skeeter was to be admitted to the 
 secret. For six weeks Chick had been the victim 
 of a gaming system, and to-night he was to take his 
 revenge. 
 
 At supper time Skeeter recognized a convention 
 of civilization and repaired to the bosom of his 
 
 52 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 family, but Chick being accountable to nobody, and 
 recognizing no conventions, stole a couple of ap 
 ples from a passing cart, and repaired to the dump 
 heap to wait for the dark. 
 
 He had not long to wait, for great black clouds 
 were covering the sky, and he could no longer see 
 the houses at the end of the alley. Carefully stor 
 ing his apple cores in his pocket for future trades, 
 he picked his way over the tin cans and debris, 
 until he reached the Junction. Here he hesitated. 
 It was there that he and Skeeter had tussled for the 
 whip. It was here that the young lady had come 
 to his rescue, and said she didn t believe he was so 
 very bad. Gee! but she was a pretty young lady, 
 and her hand was so soft, and her voice 
 
 Chick rammed his hands in his pockets and pulled 
 his cap over his eyes. This was no way for a cove 
 to be feeling when he had a job to do ! With watch 
 ful eyes for passers-by, he slipped through an open 
 ing in the fence, and entered the switch-yard. When 
 he emerged he staggered under the weight of a crow 
 bar which he vainly tried to hide under his ragged 
 jacket 
 
 Just at the intersection of Bean Alley and the 
 switch-yard, where the dusk banked up densely in 
 the corners, he stopped again. He was watching his 
 chance to get across the wide common, undetected. 
 Twice he started, and twice he shrank back and 
 
 53 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 flattened himself against the wall as some one 
 passed. 
 
 If, to the casual observer, Chick was but a dirty, 
 ragged little boy, undersized and underfed, and 
 rather frightened, to himself at least he was a bold 
 desperado, about to avenge himself for a wrong 
 committed. 
 
 Thunder muttered ominously, and a drop of rain 
 fell on his face as he skirted the common, and 
 reached the big, dark saloon at the cross-roads. 
 Skirting the side wall, he crept to the rear, and felt 
 for the open window which he had discovered earlier 
 in the day. It was a low window and easy of ac 
 cess, and he lost no time in climbing in. 
 
 The passage was in utter darkness, but he felt 
 his way along the wall until he reached a door. 
 Here he fumbled for the knob and opened it. A 
 street lamp outside threw a dim, wavering light into 
 the room, revealing the long bar with its shining 
 fixtures. 
 
 Chick put down his crowbar and tremblingly re 
 moved his coat. According to the moving pictures 
 of criminals, that was the first move. Then he res 
 olutely grasped his weapon and with thumping 
 heart approached his enemy. 
 
 It appeared a very innocent enemy as it stood 
 there in the half light, announcing in printed letters 
 across its face, that seven out of every ten persons 
 
 54 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 who put a nickel in the slot, received a prize in 
 money. But Chick knew that it lied ! Had it not 
 eaten up his nickels week after week? Had he not 
 worked for it, fought for it, and bled for it, con 
 fidently believing that the prize would be his? And 
 there it stood gorged with his precious nickels, mys 
 terious and fascinating still, but treacherous through 
 and through ! 
 
 In a blaze of wrath Chick dealt it a sounding blow 
 with the crowbar, then crouched in terror for what 
 might happen. There was no sound but the dash 
 of rain against the windows, and the heavy rumble 
 of thunder overhead. Once more Chick grasped 
 his heavy weapon and began the attack in earnest. 
 Blow followed blow, as fast as his small arms could 
 swing the crowbar. Suddenly a spring seemed to 
 snap, and out poured a stream of money that rolled 
 about his feet, and off into the farthest corners of 
 the room. 
 
 Chick crouched on the floor, overcome by his 
 exertions and the success of his venture. Wealth 
 was within his reach, more wealth than he had ever 
 dreamed of ! Not unintelligible gold and silver, but 
 dear, familiar nickels, whose purchasing power he 
 knew. But no thought of appropriation crossed his 
 mind as he knelt there, fingering the glittering pile. 
 He was carefully counting out his rightful share, 
 the eleven nickels that the slot machine had stolen 
 
 55 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 from him, and his hesitation came from the fact 
 that he was trying to select the shiniest ones ! 
 
 Having gotten what he came for, he once more 
 shouldered his crowbar, and let himself out into the 
 dark passage. Here he stopped in terror! Some 
 thing was snorting and hissing without, something 
 that sounded as if it might be the Devil ! 
 
 In Chick s creed there was but one affirmation. 
 He believed absolutely in the Devil. He knew be 
 yond the shadow of a doubt that he was red, and 
 cloven-footed and that his tail ended in a hard, 
 sharp, spike, like Mammy Flathers ice-pick. He 
 also knew that when he breathed, it was in groans 
 and hisses, such as he was hearing at the present 
 moment. Chick s hair would have risen on his head, 
 it wanted to, but it was not long enough. 
 
 For a moment he stood breathless, then he drew 
 a sigh of relief. It wasn t anything but an auto 
 mobile after all! He tiptoed to a window and 
 peered out. The lamps from the machine threw 
 long lights across the shining wet street, but nothing 
 else w r as visible. 
 
 After a long while he heard voices at the side 
 door. Somebody was coming into the saloon ! He 
 could hear the doorknob turning, and a key in the 
 latch. He started back to the barroom, then re 
 membering a little closet under the steps where he 
 and Skeeter used to play, he felt along the wall. 
 
 56 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 There it was! And just in time for him to stum 
 ble in and pull the door to, leaving enough crack 
 to breathe through, in case his breath ever came 
 back. 
 
 The side door was flung open, and the sputter 
 of a match was followed by the feeble light from 
 a gas-jet at the end of the passage. 
 
 " Here, I 11 take the umbrella ! " said a voice he 
 dreaded next to the Devil s. It was Sheeley; he 
 would go into the barroom, and discover the wreck 
 age of the slot-machine! Chick was beginning to 
 feel the handcuffs on his wrists, when he became 
 aware of ascending footsteps overhead. What 
 were they going up-stairs for? Was it a sparring 
 match? Forgetting his precarious position he 
 leaned forward to listen, upsetting a box on the 
 shelf beside him. 
 
 " Who s that? " came in Sheeley s fiercest tones 
 from the stairway above, and Chick cowered back 
 into the dark with chattering teeth. Then he heard 
 him say something about the window, and followed 
 the sound of his heavy footsteps down the stairs 
 and up again. 
 
 Now was his chance to escape while they were 
 up-stairs. With utmost caution he pushed open the 
 closet door, and on hands and knees began his 
 perilous journey to the window. It was at that 
 moment that he decided positively that he would 
 
 57 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 not be a burglar. A plumber took fewer risks, 
 and made more money. Once at the window he was 
 unable to budge the lock. Standing on the sill, 
 whimpering with fear, he wrestled with it frantically, 
 bruising his fingers, and tearing his nails, but he 
 could not move it. Then he tried the door but 
 Sheeley had evidently locked it and taken out the 
 key. 
 
 A blinding flash of lightning sent him scurrying 
 back to his hiding-place, where he sank on the floor, 
 shivering and cringing. Nearer and nearer roared 
 the thunder, and the wind seemed as anxious to get 
 into the house as he was eager to get out of it. 
 Gradually his arms and legs ceased jerking, his head 
 relaxed against an empty box, he laid his hand 
 against the cheek that had been patted and forgot 
 his troubles in sleep. 
 
 When he awoke he heard loud voices overhead. 
 At first he supposed he was at home, and that the 
 voice was only Mr. Flathers enjoying one of his 
 periodical backslidings. But Dick Sheeley s voice 
 recalled him ; Dick was mad at somebody, and when 
 Dick got mad he fought. Not a boy on Billy-goat 
 Hill but would have faced death to see the ex-prize 
 fighter in a row. It was a distinction that placed 
 one at a bound in the front ranks of juvenile aristoc 
 racy. 
 
 Chick crept from his hiding-place and listened. 
 
 58 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 The voices grew louder and more excited. Drawn 
 as by a magnet he slipped up the stairs step by 
 step. At the top was an off-set in the hall, a corner 
 in which he could hide, unseen from the open door 
 beyond. There he lay on his stomach and wriggled 
 forward until his eye was on a line with the crack 
 in the half -open door. 
 
 Three men were sitting around a card table, two 
 of them with their backs to him; and Dick facing 
 them with his jaw set and his teeth showing. All 
 three were talking at once, and Dick was the most 
 excited of the three. 
 
 " You did n t have no ace of spades to show 
 down ! You discarded it. You know you did, you 
 cheat ! " He had risen and was shaking his fist 
 in the face of the thin young man. 
 
 " It s a lie, you common cur ! " cried the other 
 wildly, but before the words were well out of his 
 mouth, Sheeley s mighty right arm had shot out 
 across the table and struck him in the face. 
 
 " Sheeley ! For God s sake, don t you see Dil- 
 lingham s drunk?" protested the other young man 
 whom Chick recognized as his friend of the after 
 noon. 
 
 " Drunk or no drunk, he can t call me a liar ! " 
 yelled Sheeley, and the next instant Chick, with his 
 heart pounding madly between him and the floor, was 
 in his element. It was a fight! A real one, in 
 
 59 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 which the hero of Billy-goat Hill held his own 
 against two opponents. 
 
 The tumblers and the whisky bottles went first, 
 the liquor dripping from the table to floor; then 
 a chair was overturned, and a window-pane shattered 
 to the ground below. 
 
 The thin young man hadn t sense to stop; again 
 and again he flung his insults at the infuriated 
 Sheeley, impatiently fighting off. the efforts of his 
 companion who sought to part them. Suddenly 
 Chick saw him step back, while the others were 
 grappling, and fumble in his rear pocket. He saw 
 him steady himself against the door jamb, not four 
 feet away, and raise a pistol. There was a sharp 
 report, a smothered groan, then a heavy fall. 
 
 The man with the pistol flung it through the 
 broken window, then staggered to the table where 
 he sank down with his head on his arms. 
 
 What had happened in the corner, Chick could 
 not tell, but in a few minutes his young man came 
 swiftly into his line of vision, and shook the limp 
 figure half lying on the table. 
 
 " Get up, Dill ! For God s sake ! Are you too 
 drunk to crank up your machine ? As soon as I can 
 get that blood stopped I must go for a doctor." 
 
 The dazed eyes of the drunken man looked at him 
 in helpless terror ! 
 
 " I can t stay here!" 
 
 60 
 
There was a sharp report, a smothered groan, then a heavy fall. 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " You Ve got to stay here ! Can t you see you 
 are in no fix to run a machine? Brace up, you 
 idiot ; we Ve got to do something and do it quick. 
 Go down and try to crank up. Here s the door key ! 
 I 11 be there as soon as I can get the blood stopped ! " 
 
 The man at the table staggered to the door, passed 
 through the hall, so close to Chick that he almost 
 trod upon him, then went swaying down the stairs, 
 steadying himself by wall and banister. Chick 
 heard the side door slam, and the chug of the ma 
 chine, then realized that it was turning the corner. 
 
 The young man in the room rushed frantically to 
 the window and leaned out, then he said something 
 savage under his breath, and plunged out into the 
 passage and headlong down the steps. Chick heard 
 the side door bang again, and a moment later the 
 gallop of a horse. 
 
 Then everything was still, but the noisy beating 
 of his heart that threatened to burst its confines. 
 Through the crack he saw the table with its broken 
 tumblers, and the whisky drip, dripping on the floor ; 
 he saw the chairs overturned, and the gas-jet flick 
 ering in the wind from the broken window. 
 
 The thing he could not see was what lay in the 
 corner, the huddled-up, blood-stained hulk of a 
 something for which a smiling, fat woman and six 
 tow-headed youngsters were waiting across the com 
 mon. 
 
 63 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Chick crawled to the head of the stairs, and as 
 he reached the top step his hand touched a hard 
 object. He picked it up and held it to the light, and 
 as he did so, the joy that often blossoms on the brink 
 of tragedy was his for a moment. It was the riding 
 whip whose handle he had fallen heir to that after 
 noon! 
 
 Down the steps, through the door and out into the 
 rain-soaked night he sped; across the common, 
 through the switch-yard, and down the narrow, 
 noisome darkness of Bean Alley. Over a ram- 
 shackled fence, and up a dilapidated porch he clam 
 bered like a cat, until he reached the small loft in 
 the Flathers two-roomed mansion which he called 
 home. 
 
 Here the hardened criminal, the breaker of laws, 
 and of slot machines, the would-be burglar, threw 
 himself upon an old mattress, and with two grimy 
 fists in his eyes sobbed out his heart to the rafters 
 above. 
 
 It was not repentance for his sins, neither was it 
 terror of the secret that was locked behind his in 
 articulate lips, although both of them had a part. It 
 was because a beautiful young lady had taken his 
 part, and put her arms about him, and refused to 
 believe that he was as bad as Skeeter Sheeley said 
 he was. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 DURING the rest of the week the rainstorm, 
 that had started all the trouble, continued to 
 hover ominously, breaking forth day after day in 
 fierce, petulant showers. Out at Thornwood the as 
 pect was most dreary ; the low-lying ground in front 
 of the house was under water for a quarter of a 
 mile, trees, limp and draggled, stood disconsolate 
 in an unfamiliar lake, the bridge below the dam was 
 washed away, and horses going to the creek for 
 water were constantly being caught by the current, 
 and having to be rescued by ropes. In the flower 
 garden dirty- faced little blossoms lay in the mud, 
 vines trailed across the paths, all the fragrance and 
 color seemed to be soaked out of everything by 
 those continuous, pelting showers. 
 
 Within the house it was not much gayer. The 
 front hall, with its steep, narrow stairway, and floor- 
 covering of highly ornate landscape oilcloth, was in 
 a perpetual twilight. An occasional glint from 
 white woodwork, or the gold molding of a picture, 
 strove in vain to dispel the gloom. The parlor, at 
 the right of the hall, was sepulchral with its window 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 cracks stuffed with paper, and the shutters securely 
 closed. To be sure, the living-room on the other 
 side of the hall did its best to look cheerful, but 
 even that comfortable spot with its low ceiling and 
 battered mahogany furniture, its high cupboards 
 flanking the wide, stone fireplace, and its friendly 
 litter of every-day necessities, was not equal to the 
 occasion. 
 
 One afternoon when the Colonel came in from the 
 chicken yard where he and Uncle Jimpson had con 
 stituted themselves a salvage corps, he surprised 
 Miss Lady sitting in the dusk on the floor before the 
 empty fireplace, with suspicious traces of tears upon 
 her face. 
 
 "Make a light," blustered the Colonel; "you 
 must n t sit around in the dark like this, you know. 
 Where s my pipe ? " 
 
 She sprang up and found the missing article, and 
 with a great show of cheerfulness lit the lamp and 
 held the match out for him to light his pipe. 
 
 " What s the matter? " asked the Colonel; " sort 
 of trembly, ain t you? " 
 
 " Me? Watch me! " She held the match very 
 straight and very tight, then as it wavered, blew it 
 out and dropped it down his sleeve. " There s 
 some mail over there on the table for you, Daddy 
 dear. Noah brought it down from town in his 
 buggy." 
 
 66 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 She said it very carelessly, and even enumerated 
 the contents as she handed it to him : 
 
 " Two circulars, a letter from the seed man, the 
 Confederate Veteran and the newspapers." 
 
 " Nothing for you ? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 Under his scrutiny Miss Lady s eyes fell, and she 
 turned abruptly to the window, while the Colonel, 
 mouth open, pipe in hand, watched her. 
 
 He had never seen his girl like this in her life! 
 What business had her lip -to tremble in the middle 
 of a sentence, or her eyes to brim with sudden 
 tears, making her turn her back on her adoring 
 Dad, and busy herself with the window curtain? 
 
 Of course it is upsetting to have a friend, whom 
 you have been seeing daily for a couple of weeks, 
 get into trouble such as young Donald Morley had 
 fallen into. It made even the Colonel feel bad, he 
 did n t deny it. But what business had the kitten 
 to be taking it all so to heart ? Why was she called 
 upon to champion this young stranger s cause so 
 hotly, to resent every insinuation, and to contend 
 passionately that he would be able to explain every 
 thing? Morley had not explained. Three days 
 had dragged past and nothing had been heard from 
 him. Nothing probably would be heard from him ! 
 The Colonel wanted to feel victorious, but he did 
 not. Instead, he cast anxious and sympathetic 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 glances at the back of his daughter s head, and sur 
 reptitiously wiped his small snub nose on the corner 
 of his red-bordered handkerchief. 
 
 He had a good mind to give up his trip to Vir 
 ginia! To be sure, he had looked forward for 
 months to celebrating Founders Day at the old col 
 lege. If it weren t for seeing all the old boys, he 
 would stay at home. By George ! the little girl came 
 first ; he would stay at home anyhow ! 
 
 " Those gloves," he burst out by way of breaking 
 the news ; " the thin ones I told you to mend. Well, 
 you need n t mend them." 
 
 " I have n t," said Miss Lady, " but I 11 do it 
 
 now." 
 
 " Need n t mind. Won t need em. Fact is, I 
 ain t going." 
 
 " Yes you are," said Miss Lady, adding incon- 
 sequently, "Why not?" 
 
 " Needed here at home. Roads washed out, ev 
 erything out of fix. Decided to stay at home." 
 
 Miss Lady wheeled from the window where she 
 had been tracing the raindrops on the pane, and 
 made a rush for him, establishing herself on his lap, 
 as far as one could establish oneself on such a per 
 pendicular surface. 
 
 " You are not going to do anything of the kind. 
 Uncle Jimpson is going to drive you in to town to 
 catch the first train in the morning." 
 
 68 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I ain t going," insisted the Colonel, shaking his 
 head doggedly. 
 
 " Yes you are. Where s your traveling bag? " 
 
 " On the top shelf of the cupboard. But I m not 
 going." He said it firmly, but the next instant he 
 asked, "Did Jimpson press my gray suit?" 
 
 " Oh ! Squire Daddy, I m so sorry I forgot to 
 tell him! I 11 tell him now." 
 
 " Too late ! " the Colonel sighed in resignation ; 
 " no use talking any more about it." 
 
 " Yes there is ! Your enthusiasm s just gotten 
 damp like everything else. I am going to tell Uncle 
 Jimpson to make a little fire to cheer us up, then 
 we 11 all go to work to get you ready." 
 
 It seemed to be a relief to her to bustle about and 
 set things in motion. In a short while she had a 
 cheerful blaze going on the hearth, and the curtains 
 drawn against the dreary twilight without. 
 
 The Colonel sat in the middle of the room, watch 
 ing Uncle Jimpson and Aunt Caroline collect his 
 scattered wardrobe, keeping a vigilant eye mean 
 while upon Miss Lady, He simply did not intend 
 to have her unhappy ! It was preposterous ! Alto 
 gether out of the question! His little girl crying 
 around in corners where he could n t see her ? The 
 idea of such a thing! If she must cry, what was 
 the matter with his shoulder? 
 
 " You ain t got but four hankchiefs in de wash, 
 5 69 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Gunnel," announced Aunt Caroline from her knees 
 beside a large wicker basket. " Don t look lak dat s 
 enough fer a white gem-man to start off on a trip 
 wif." 
 
 " Jimpson," the Colonel looked up reproachfully, 
 " did you hear that ? You have actually let me get 
 down to four handkerchiefs." 
 
 " And socks," continued Caroline, enjoying the 
 opportunity of emphasizing the shortcomings of her 
 lesser half, " bout sebenteen, all singles. No two 
 scarcely de same color." 
 
 " Miss Lady, she been cumulatin em to darn 
 em," explained Jimpson, glad to shift responsibility. 
 " She low she gwine to tak a day off some o dese 
 days, an mend up ever thing in de house." 
 
 The Colonel glanced around : " Where is Miss 
 Lady?" 
 
 " Out in de hall, readin de evenin paper. Nebber 
 did see dat chile tek so much notice ob de news 
 paper. Yas, sir, I 11 call her." 
 
 "Any later news of the shooting?" asked the 
 Colonel casually, when she returned. 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Dillingham was indicted and arraigned 
 before the court. The case was passed until June 
 first." 
 
 " And Sheeley ? What of his condition? " 
 
 " The paper says he will lose his eye, but that he 
 will probably get well." 
 
 70 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "And and nothing has been heard of Mor- 
 ley?" 
 
 " Not yet." 
 
 After supper, when all the preparations for the 
 trip were completed, and the cheerful presence of 
 Uncle Jimpson and Aunt Caroline removed, the 
 Colonel and Miss Lady sat before the dying fire, 
 and tried to make conversation. Outside wet 
 branches swept the windows, and sudden gusts of 
 rain beat against the panes. 
 
 " Thirty years since I saw some of the old boys," 
 the Colonel said, trying to warm up to his coming 
 journey. " I 11 miss old Professor Queerington, but 
 John Jay will be there. We are planning to come 
 home together. Fine man, he is, fine man ! " 
 
 " Who? Oh, yes, Doctor Queerington." 
 
 " Just a little boy when I boarded at his father s. 
 He can t be much over forty now. The smartest 
 man the old college ever turned out! And just as 
 good as he s smart. A little too much book learn 
 ing maybe, and not any too much common sense, 
 but there ain t many heads built to carry both. 
 He s sound though, sound to the core, and that s 
 saying a good deal these days. What s the matter? 
 Sleepy?" 
 
 " No, just the fidgets. Say, Daddy, what do you 
 suppose they will do with Mr. Dillingham, if he is 
 convicted ? " 
 
 71 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Penitentiary offense, I hear. But Noah says 
 they 11 get him off. Old General Dillingham has 
 plenty of money, and friends at court. He 11 take 
 care of his grandson." 
 
 " But if he is cleared," began Miss Lady, " that 
 throws the guilt on " 
 
 " Now see here," interrupted the Colonel, " you 
 stop bothering your little head about that trial. Go 
 over there and play me a couple of good old tunes, 
 and then we 11 both trot to bed." 
 
 Miss Lady s soft untrained voice began bravely 
 enough. She described with feeling the charms of 
 Annie Laurie, and was half way through Robin 
 Adair before she faltered, started anew, stumbled 
 again, then came to an ignominious halt. 
 
 " Tut ! tut ! " said the Colonel fussily, getting him 
 self out of his chair in an incredibly short time for 
 so stout a gentleman. " This won t do, you know ; 
 this ain t right!" 
 
 " It s that silly old piece! " said Miss Lady pet 
 ulantly. " It always works on my feelings." 
 
 " But it wouldn t make you cry like this. Come, 
 tell me." 
 
 " There s nothing to tell that is " 
 
 " Well, never mind then. Just cry it out. That s 
 right. Don t mind me. Just your old Dad." And 
 with much fussing and petting and foolish assurances 
 that he was her Daddy, he got her over to the sofa. 
 
 72 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Sitting on the floor with her arms across his knees, 
 she wept with the abandonment of a child, while his 
 short, stubby fingers tenderly stroked her shining 
 hair. At last when the storm had subsided and she 
 was able to look up, he took her face between his 
 hands. 
 
 " Out with it, kitten ! " he demanded. " What s 
 troubling you? Don Morley business?" 
 
 She kissed his nearest hand. 
 
 " Thought so. You you got to like him pretty 
 well, eh?" 
 
 She nodded between her sobs. 
 
 " Better n most anybody? " he asked it jealously, 
 but unflinchingly. 
 
 " Except you, Daddy." It was a faint whisper, 
 but it was reassuring. 
 
 " And what about him ? " the Colonel continued. 
 
 Another burst of tears, then a resolute effort at 
 self-control. 
 
 " He meant to do what s right. I know he did ! 
 He promised to give up drinking and gambling and 
 go to work." 
 
 " He made a good start ! " The Colonel knocked 
 the ashes from his pipe. " And after he got into the 
 fracas, what in thunder did he run away for? Why 
 didn t he stay and face it out? Any fool would 
 know that if Dillingham is cleared, the suspicion 
 would all be on him." 
 
 73 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " But, Daddy, we have n t heard his side yet. If 
 I could just hear from him, or see him." 
 
 " See him ! " he exploded. " What in the name 
 of the devil do you want to see him for? No 
 siree ! Not while Bob Carsey s got any buckshot 
 left in his gun ! Do you think there s any chance 
 of his prowling round here while I m gone? That 
 settles it ! I 11 not budge an inch. Tell Jimpson ! 
 Tell Caroline! Unpack my things." 
 
 " But, Daddy, wait ! He is probably out at the 
 coast by this time. Besides, he has n t written or 
 sent any word. How do we know that . . . that 
 he wants to come back ? " 
 
 " He 11 try it all right. I saw how things were 
 going. I saw how he looked at you. The impu 
 dent young hound ! " 
 
 " Daddy ! Please don t ! You don t know him. 
 He will explain everything when he writes, I know 
 he will!" 
 
 " But he won t write ! He won t have the face 
 to. The idea of his going straight off from my 
 girl, and getting mixed up in a scrape like this! 
 You ve got to promise me never to speak to the 
 young scoundrel again ! " 
 
 "But if he explains?" 
 
 "Why hasn t he done so? Because he can t. 
 Besides, I don t want him to. We are through with 
 
 74 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 him from now on. Promise me never to have any 
 thing more to do with him." 
 
 She hesitated, and the Colonel began to fling the 
 things out of his bag in great agitation. 
 
 " Please, Squire Daddy ! " She caught his hands, 
 and looked at him, and something in her pleading 
 eyes and quivering lips was so reminiscent of an 
 other face he had loved, that he broke down com 
 pletely and had to have recourse to one of his four 
 clean handkerchiefs that were still in the bag. 
 
 He was an old fool, he declared between violent 
 blowings of his nose, and clearings of his throat. 
 Was only doing what he thought was his duty. 
 Did n t mean to make her unhappy. Did n t have 
 sense enough to bring up a girl. Had tried to, 
 though ! Always would try. Only she must n t 
 be unhappy ; he could n t stand that. It would kill 
 him if she dared to be unhappy ! 
 
 And Miss Lady with her arms about his neck, 
 making futile dabs at his streaming eyes with her 
 little wet knot of a handkerchief, passionately de 
 clared that she would promise him anything under 
 the sun, that she was going to be happy, that she 
 was happy ! 
 
 " Not yet/ said the Colonel, with much mopping 
 of his brow; "but you will be! We ll straighten 
 it out. Soon as I get back, I 11 take the matter 
 
 75 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 up. Sift it clean to the bottom. We 11 give Mor- 
 ley every chance to square himself. But til then, 
 you won t see him if you can help it, or read his 
 letters, if he writes ? You don t mind promising me 
 that much, do you? " 
 
 " I promise, Daddy." 
 
 Oh! the promises made for a day, and kept 
 through the years, what a lot of tangled lives they 
 have to answer for! 
 
 Miss Lady put the Colonel s things back in his 
 bag, and stooped to kiss him good night. 
 
 " Sure you don t mind my going? " he asked, 
 studying her face. " I 11 be back Saturday night." 
 
 " All right. Good-by, I won t be up in the morn 
 ing when you start. Have a good time, Daddy dear, 
 and and don t worry about me." 
 
 He lit her candle for her and carried it to the 
 steps where he kissed her again. 
 
 " My little girl," he whispered. 
 
 The house grew still. Out on the landing the 
 tall clock ticked off the hours to midnight; the fire 
 died to an ember ; from the porch without came the 
 drip, drip, drip of the gutter. Still the Colonel sat 
 in his split-bottom chair, his little eyes like watch- 
 fires in the gloom, listening for the faintest sound 
 of restlessness from the room above. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE sudden light of publicity that had fallen 
 upon the Cant-Pass-It saloon sent a glow over 
 that entire region of Billy-goat Hill. Everybody 
 had something to talk about, and everybody talked, 
 except Chick. 
 
 Phineas Flathers appointed himself headquarters 
 for information, and devoted himself exclusively 
 to arguing about the matter. Myrtella, his twin sis 
 ter, who for fifteen years had presided over in 
 numerable cooking ranges throughout the city, al 
 most lost her new place through her interest in the 
 affair. 
 
 The one subject upon which Myrtella Flathers 
 considered herself a connoisseur was murder. In 
 sundry third floors back, she had for years followed 
 the current casualties with burning interest. Real 
 ism, romance, intrigue, adventure, she found them 
 all, in these grim recitals of daily crime. 
 
 Myrtella and Phineas Flathers had been cast into 
 the sea of life at an early age to sink or swim as 
 they saw fit. Myrtella had survived by combating 
 
 77 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 the waves, while Phineas adopted the less arduous 
 expedient of floating. 
 
 To him work appeared a wholly artificial and 
 abnormal action, self-imposed and unnecessary. 
 The stage of life presented so many opportunities 
 for him to exercise his histrionic ability, that the 
 idea of settling down to a routine of labor seemed 
 a waste of talent. With far-reaching discernment 
 he had early perceived that a straight part was not 
 for him. 
 
 In casting about for a field that promised the 
 widest opportunity for his talent, he discovered the 
 Immanuel Church in the city. Here philanthropy 
 burned with such zealous enthusiasm that the harvest 
 was not sufficient for the laborers. Phineas saw 
 his chance and grasped it. He became a Prodigal 
 Son. 
 
 From that time on his sole vocation was attend 
 ing church. Three times a week, regardless of the 
 inclemency of the weather, he unwound his long 
 legs from the chair rungs in the Cant-Pass-It, care 
 fully smoothed his red hair, and made his way to 
 a front pew in the Immanuel Church. ^ At inter 
 vals, calculated to a nicety, he fell from grace, and 
 was reclaimed, passing from periods of grave back 
 sliding into periods of great religious fervor. 
 Meanwhile he followed the Scriptures literally and 
 
 78 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 took no thought of the morrow. His reliance in 
 Providence and the Ladies Aid became, in time, 
 absolute. 
 
 Nor did Phineas Flathers self-respect suffer in 
 the least by this mode of living. In no sense did 
 he consider himself an incumbent. Did he not three 
 times a week give a masterly presentation of " our 
 needy poor," " our brother-in-misfortune " ? Did 
 he not freely offer up his family for each new church 
 society to cut its wisdom teeth upon ? Had Maria, 
 his wife, not labored wearily through unintelligible 
 tracts, and Chick, his adopted son, done penance in 
 Sunday School, as often as three Sundays in suc 
 cession? Considering all things, Phineas felt that 
 the church got a great deal for its money. 
 
 Myrtella Flathers, following another method, had 
 for fifteen years fought every obstacle that crossed 
 her path. She had left in her wake traditions of 
 unexcelled cooking, and unparalleled cleanliness, to 
 gether with a vanquished army of mistresses, house 
 maids, laundresses, and butlers. She belonged to 
 the order of Cooks Militant, and she had long since 
 won her spurs. 
 
 Among the things which Myrtella in her sweep 
 ing condemnation of life in general disapproved, 
 none loomed larger than her brother and his family. 
 But the bond of blood, stronger than likes or dis- 
 
 79 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 likes, favor or prejudice, brought her back to him 
 again and again, to share with him her substance, 
 and to criticize his conduct. 
 
 On this particular afternoon she had started out 
 for Billy-goat Hill to hear about the shooting, and 
 to break the news to the family, that she had gotten 
 a new place. This happened with such regularity, 
 that it would not have deserved attention, had not 
 the astounding fact to be added that Myrtella was 
 pleased. In her fifteen years of rebellious services 
 she had never before approximated a place that gave 
 satisfaction. To be sure there were dark and not- 
 to-be-remembered instances where she had failed to 
 give satisfaction herself, but usually it was the place, 
 " the new place/ with its varying code of musts and 
 must-nots, that caused Myrtella to spend many of 
 her days in the Intelligence Office, or on street-cars, 
 or tramping through the streets in quest of that ever 
 elusive " good home." 
 
 She had started out on her pilgrimage in a fairly 
 equable frame of mind, but before she got well under 
 way, the wind had made her furious. It was a 
 frisky March breeze that had gotten left behind and 
 now wandered into May, bent on mischief. 
 
 Myrtella tacked into it, like a sailing sloop, full 
 rigged and all sails set, an angular, heavy-set per 
 son with a belligerent expression strangely at vari- 
 
 80 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 ance with the embarrassed, almost timid movements 
 of her hands and feet. Short locks of straight black 
 hair whipped across her face, her skirts, blown 
 tightly back against her knees, bellied in the wind, 
 while her wide-brimmed hat caught the full force 
 of the blast, like a veritable top-sail. 
 
 By the time she had taken three tacks to cross 
 the common, and was ready to come about at the 
 corner, there was a balloon jibe, that sent the sails 
 all flapping against the mast, and left her in such 
 a flurry of indignation, that she failed to see a string 
 that stretched its insidious length, two inches above 
 the pavement, from fence to curb. 
 
 After her fall, instead of expiring of apoplexy, 
 as might have been expected from her countenance, 
 Myrtella picked herself up from the pavement and, 
 peeping through a crack in the fence, smiled. It 
 was an expression so unfamiliar to her features that 
 they scarcely knew how to manage it. 
 
 " I see you, Chick ! " she said in a voice that strove 
 to be gentle ; " why don t you come on out here and 
 speak to me ? " 
 
 Chick and Skeeter, recognized a significant bulge 
 to the string bag which she carried, scrambled forth, 
 the former skilfully evading her outstretched arm 
 of welcome. 
 
 " He says," interposed the ever-ready Skeeter, as 
 81 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 his companion made queer noises in his throat, " that 
 he never knowed it was you. He never went to trip 
 you up. Honest to goodness ! You ain t mad, are 
 you?" 
 
 " No, I ain t mad." Myrtella still smiled as she 
 brushed the dust from her skirt. " Here s a orange 
 I brought you, Chick. You ain t been sick, have 
 you?" 
 
 " Naw ! He ain t been sick, but he took that bath 
 you ast him to, and where s his nickel at? " 
 
 Myrtella stood and watched the boys until the cor 
 ner grocery swallowed them and their new nickel, 
 then she sighed and turned into Bean Alley. 
 
 There were no streets here, and an occasional rock 
 or tin can were the only islands in a sea of mud. 
 The Flathers cottage, consisting of two rooms and 
 a half attic, rested its weight against the cottage 
 next it, with something of the blind reliance that 
 Phineas Flathers rested upon the Church. On its 
 other side it commanded an uninterrupted view of 
 the Dump Heap, which was the background for all 
 the juvenile social life of that section of Billy-goat 
 Hill. 
 
 Here ships were launched in mud puddles, flower 
 gardens attempted in tin cans, and fierce wars waged 
 between rival gangs; here embryo mothers played 
 with stick and rag dolls, and aspirants for the circus 
 performed acrobatic feats on the one bit of fence 
 
 82 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 that had not tumbled down. And all this activity 
 went on almost under the wheels of the dump carts 
 that passed to and fro all clay. 
 
 Myrtella, picking her way through the mud, was 
 just turning the corner of the Flathers house when 
 her eyes fell upon a broken window-pane stuffed 
 with a woolen skirt which she had given to Maria 
 to make over into trousers for Chick. She promptly 
 jerked it out with a force that brought the glass 
 with it, and by the time she reached the back door, 
 her jaw was set and her brows knit. 
 
 Considering the fact that the rear room was a 
 composite kitchen, laundry, dining-room, pantry, 
 coal house and cellar, the glances with which Myr 
 tella swept the chamber and its one occupant, might 
 have been a trifle less severe. It was a glance in 
 which her individual abhorrence of dirt combined 
 with her racial disapproval of " in-laws." 
 
 In the one space in the room that was not pre 
 empted, Maria Flathers bent above a wash tub, 
 feebly persuading black garments to become gray. 
 That was all she asked of them. She was not am 
 bitious. Ambition, like everything else, had been 
 soaked out of her long ago by those hot, steaming 
 suds that enveloped her the greater part of her 
 waking hours, and left her physically, mentally, and 
 morally limp. Her one strong instinct was mother 
 hood ; but five little Flathers, opening feeble eyes 
 
 83 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 on their future environment, had become so discour 
 aged that they promptly closed them again. It was 
 as if they really could not stand the prospect of 
 life in that home with Mr. and Mrs. Flathers for 
 parents ! 
 
 Only Chick survived, the ash-barrel baby, who 
 really was not theirs at all, but who having begun 
 life in their back yard, continued as everything else 
 continued when once established at the Flathers , 
 for the simple reason that no one ever took the 
 trouble to change the existing disorder of things. 
 
 As Myrtella sailed wrath fully into port and docked 
 at the door-step, Maria looked up with a gasp : 
 
 " Law ! Myrtella, you gimme a turn. I forgot 
 this here was your afternoon off. I thought sure 
 you was Sheeley s rent man." 
 
 " Sheeley s? " repeated Myrtella, her curiosity 
 getting the better of her temper, as she removed an 
 old shoe and a flour sifter from the nearest chair 
 and sat down. 
 
 " Yes, he s our landlord, but he gits another man 
 to collect. Guess you heard about his gittin shot? " 
 
 " Read every word that s been printed. Is he 
 goin to die? " 
 
 " Not him. Ain t nothin the matter with him 
 ceptin his eye is blowed out. My uncle, back home, 
 got both his eyes You, Chick ! " this to an in 
 visible presence that manifested itself only through 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 a shower of pebbles that followed in the wake of a 
 fleeing cat. " Go up to the saloon, Chick, and tell 
 yer Pappy he 11 have to come on home. Yer Aunt 
 Telia s here." 
 
 " Don t look like he grows a inch a year," said 
 Myrtella thoughtfully, watching him depart. 
 
 " That there Mrs. Ivy s been after me agin to 
 send him to the Widows and Orphans Home. She 
 says she can git him in, and they 11 learn him to 
 read and write." 
 
 " Well, he ain t goin ! . I guess as long as I m 
 a payin the grocery bills, I got a right to say who 11 
 eat the food ! What s that you are hidin ? " 
 
 Maria, who had been attempting to remove some 
 thing surreptitiously from the table, looked apolo 
 getic. 
 
 " It s one of them plaster casts, I 11 be bound," 
 Myrtella continued. " I might a knowed you d 
 git the mate to the other one, and not a square inch 
 of space in the house to set it on! What did you 
 give f er it ? " 
 
 Mrs. Flathers withdrew her apron, and tenderly 
 dusted the highly colored features of an Indian 
 squaw, whose head-feathers reposed upon her arm. 
 Then she placed it on a corner of the stove where 
 its imposing dignity produced a momentary impres 
 sion upon even the flinty Myrtella. 
 
 " How much ? " she demanded heartlessly. 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " A quarter down, and ten cents a week." Maria 
 sighed. " T would n t be no trouble at all if it 
 was n t for Phineas spending so much car-fare go 
 ing to church and that bow-legged, onery rent-man, 
 that comes sneakin round here every week, acting 
 like poor people just kep money settin round in 
 jars waitin fer the likes of him! " 
 
 Maria s hatred of the rent man was the one emo 
 tion that seemed to be left in her withered bosom. 
 To baffle him, to evade him, to anticipate his com 
 ing and be away from home, constituted the chief 
 object of her existence. 
 
 A bang of the gate announced the arrival of the 
 head of the household, which was promptly followed 
 by the strains of a hymn cheerfully whistled in rag 
 time. 
 
 Phineas Flathers, after months of abstinence, had 
 reached that period where he felt that not only his 
 constitution, but his profession would profit by a 
 temporary fall from grace. Solicitude for his 
 moral welfare was beginning to flag at the Church; 
 his regular attendance, his apparent absorption in the 
 sermon, and his emotional execution of the hymns, 
 all went to lift him from the class of interesting 
 converts, to the deadly commonplace of regular 
 members. Only that afternoon he had decided to 
 revive interest in his case at any cost. He had just 
 treated others, as he would have others treat him 
 
 86 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 at the Cant-Pass-It, when he was summoned home 
 to see his sister. 
 
 He now presented himself in his own doorway, 
 a hand on either side of the jamb, and bowed pro 
 foundly : 
 
 " Miss Flathers ! Pleased to meet you ! I see 
 you still continue to favor yourself in looks. Lost 
 your place, I suppose ? " 
 
 " That s right, be insultin ! " Myrtella flared up 
 haughtily ; " throw it in my face that I m hard to 
 please, and ain t willin to put up with any old place 
 I come to." 
 
 " Now I would n t put it that I was throwing it 
 in yer face exactly," began Phineas, anxious to pro 
 pitiate. 
 
 "Which means I m a story-teller?" Myrtella 
 squared herself for action. 
 
 "Oh, come on along," coaxed Phineas; "no 
 harm s meant. Go on an tell us what you left fer." 
 
 " Who said I d left ? Putt in words in my mouth 
 I never thought of utterin ! I ain t left, and what s 
 more I ain t going to. I got a good place." 
 
 Phineas whistled an aggravatingly attenuated note 
 of surprise: " The lady you are working for must 
 be a dee f -mute." 
 
 " She is. The Same as you 11 be some day. She s 
 been dead three years." 
 
 The triumph with which she made this announce- 
 
 87 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 ment put a momentary quietus on Phineas, and en 
 abled her to proceed : 
 
 " It s a widower gentleman with three children 
 that I m cookin for, and I ain t set eyes on one 
 of em except at meal times since I hired to em. 
 Queerington s their names, out on College Street, 
 right around the corner from the Immanuel Church. 
 He s a teacher or something, one of them book- 
 wormy men, whose head never pays no attention to 
 what the rest of him is doing. * Take charge, said 
 he, of everything, do the ordering, and cooking, 
 and don t bother me with nothing. 
 
 "But does he bother you?" put in Phineas as 
 tutely ; " that s the real point." 
 
 " Was n t I just tellin you that he did n t ? He s 
 been off on a trip to Virginia ; gets home to-night. 
 I Ve got the whole house in the pa m of my hand, 
 from cellar to attic. Miss Connie, she s the oldest, 
 as flighty as a pidgeon and head so full of boys she 
 don t pay no attention to another livin thing. Then 
 there s Miss Hattie, the second one, jes at that 
 spiteful thirteen age, but so busy peckin on her sis 
 ter, she ain t no time left for me " 
 
 " Thought you said there was three children," put 
 in Maria mildly. 
 
 " I did. You did n t think I lied, did you? Al 
 ways ready to snatch up a person s words before 
 they git em out of their mouth! The third one 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 is a boy, Bertie they call him, sick and spin ly, but a 
 right nice little fellow. Where d Chick go? " 
 
 " He s settin out there on the door-step. Did 
 you hear bout our shootin ? " 
 
 " Maria was tryin to tell me, but she did n t 
 seem to have nothin clear to tell. Who do you 
 think done it?" 
 
 Phineas Flathers, balancing himself on the hind 
 legs of his chair, with his thumbs in the armholes 
 of his vest, was nothing loath to launch forth into 
 a full recital of the affair, embellishing it with many 
 a flourish as he went along. In the bosom of his 
 family he was freed from those bonds of restraint 
 that embarrassed his utterance when in more formal 
 society. The amount of profanity that he could 
 dispose of in the course of an ordinary conversa 
 tion was little short of astounding. This being more 
 than an ordinary conversation and his mood being 
 mellow, called for an extra vocabulary. He graph 
 ically set forth the facts in the case, then gave his 
 imagination full sway in accounting for them. He 
 interpreted the whole affair as a clash between capi 
 tal and labor, a conflict between the pampered aris 
 tocrat and the common man. The shooting was 
 the result of a deep-laid plan: Dillingham and 
 Morley had met by appointment, moved by what 
 motive he did not make clear, to kill Sheeley, an 
 honest laboring man. Had n t the one on horse- 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 back, that they say was Mr. Morley, stopped him 
 at the crossing, on the very afternoon of the shoot 
 ing, and engaged him in conversation ? Phineas as 
 sured his listeners that he trembled even now when 
 he thought of the danger he had been in ! 
 
 " I d seed him afore that day a ridin with a 
 pretty young lady, that most got her neck broke 
 under a engine, but this time he was by hisself, a 
 settin there on his horse, as proud as a king and 
 stirrin me up about the rich folks not allowing us 
 poor working classes to have no streets out here. 
 I suspicioned somethin right then; says I to myself, 
 he s got a handsome face but his mind is a well 
 of corruption/ And when I heard he d shot Shee- 
 ley . . . Now what in thunder is the matter with 
 you, Chick ? " 
 
 During this recital Chick had been sitting in the 
 doorway, his knees drawn up to his chin, listening 
 intently, but at this point he cried out in a sputter 
 of protesting sounds. 
 
 " It s the shootin , it s done got on his mind," 
 explained Maria, winding her long thin hair into a 
 yet tighter knot at the back of her head. " He takes 
 on like that every time he hears us talkin bout it, 
 and nobody can t make out a word he s sayin . 
 Per two or three days I could n t scarcely git him to 
 eat nothin ." 
 
 "If your cooking ain t any better than it used to 
 90 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 be I ain t surprised," Myrtella said. " How bad 
 was Sheeley shot, Phineas ? " 
 
 " Oh, he 11 be laid up fer a month yit. They say 
 the retinue of his eye was cracked right across the 
 middle. But that ain t worryin Sheeley. He s 
 livin in style at the hospital, all his bills paid, and 
 the swells lookin after him. I hear he ain t even 
 goin to prosecute. They Ve fixed him all right ; 
 besides he don t want to git that fly young gang 
 down on his place. He s countin on startin up 
 them sparrin matches ag in, as soon as the police 
 quit noticin him. Say, Sis, you don t happen to 
 have a quarter bout you, do you? " 
 
 The peculiar persuasiveness of Phineas voice 
 when he threw out these financial suggestions, was 
 very insidious. In some subtle way he made the 
 favor all on the side of the recipient; he gave the 
 donor, as it were, a chance to acquire merit. 
 
 But Myrtella wore the armor of experience. 
 " No, I ain t ! " she said, taking a firmer grasp on 
 her bag. " I m payin the grocery man now, and 
 buyin clothes for Chick. What good does it do? 
 I no more than git his hide covered than you go and 
 sell the clothes offen his back. When are you goin 
 to git a job? " 
 
 " Well, you might say I had one now. Leastwise 
 I m a followin Scriptures and bearin one another s 
 burdens. Jires, the flagman, over to the Junction 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 has been laid up with rheumatism and he don t want 
 the boss to know it. He sets in his box and hires 
 me to go out and flag the trains like he tells me 
 to." 
 
 " How many trains a day ? " 
 
 " Two tips, three downs and a couple of freights." 
 
 " Should think you d die of the exertion. How 
 much do you get ? " 
 
 " Oh, it ain t so much. But I ain t a ambitious 
 man. What s the use of me a-slavin and a-hordin 
 when I ain t got a child to leave it to? If Claude 
 had a lived, or McKinley, I might a had somethin 
 to work for." 
 
 " You mean you d a had somethin to work for 
 you. The Lord certainly done a good job when 
 he changed His mind about letting them babies live." 
 
 " They re having onions next door fer supper," 
 said Maria feebly, by way of diverting an old dis 
 cussion. " I ain t been able to git em off my mind 
 all afternoon." 
 
 Chick, who had been sent to the grocery to see 
 what time it was, came back holding up five fin 
 gers. 
 
 " Gee, I got to be hiking! " said Phineas. " The 
 passenger train from Virginia s due at five sixteen. 
 It won t git here before a quarter of six, but I m al 
 ways there on the minute. That s what Jires pays 
 me fer, fer bein regular and reliable. Jes let me 
 
 92 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 get a regular habit and a clock ain t in it with me. 
 Why, if I was to come in late at church, they d stop 
 the service ! " 
 
 " Well, don t you be gittin a regular habit of 
 comin round to the Queeringtons ! " was Myr- 
 tella s parting shot as he rose unsteadily. " When 
 I got anything to say to you I 11 come here." 
 
 "That s right!" assented Phineas cordially; 
 " you jes make yourself at home. My home is 
 your home. Maria 11 tell you that I says to her only 
 last night, I says, Maria, you need n t feel so cut 
 up bout askin Myrtella fer the rent this month, be 
 cause this is her home, too. There ain t a board in 
 it but I d share with her, she knows that. You tell 
 her all I said, Maria, don t you keep back nothin . 
 Farewell ! " and with an affectionate glance and a 
 wave of the hand Phineas departed. 
 
 Now if he had followed the straight and narrow 
 path, indicated by the rocks and tin cans, that led 
 to the Junction, instead of the broad highway in 
 dicated by the plank walk that led to the Cant-Pass- 
 It, the tragedy that hovered over Billy-goat Hill 
 might have been averted. 
 
 But he had left the saloon in the midst of a heated 
 controversy with two Italians, concerning the su 
 premacy of America over all other nations. The 
 fact that his country had never been proud of him in 
 no way deterred him from being very proud of his 
 
 93 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 country. Until the dispute was properly ended he 
 felt that the honor of the nation was at stake. 
 
 His patriotic fervor ran so high that by the time 
 he reached the crossing, the passenger train was al 
 ready in sight. Jires, helpless and terrified at his 
 post, was distractedly shouting directions from his 
 little sentinel box. 
 
 " Flathers ! There s a washout down the road ! 
 We ve got to hold up the passenger train. Get 
 out the red flag! Quick man! Be ready to signal 
 the engineer. Three times cross ways ! The red 
 flag, you fool ! the RED FLAG ! Oh, my God ! " 
 
 For Phineas Flathers, to whom all flags now 
 looked red, white and blue, was standing at the 
 crossing, joyously waving a white flag, while the 
 engineer with his hand on the throttle, released the 
 brakes, and sent his train thundering down the grade 
 to destruction. 
 
 Meanwhile Myrtella, having finished her visit in a 
 grand finale of pyrotechnics, in which she displayed 
 Phineas to his wife in a number of blazing life 
 like portraits, took her departure. It was not the 
 first time she had faced the alternative of paying 
 the rent, or seeing her only relative turned into the 
 street, nor was it the first time that, after giving 
 innumerable pieces of her mind to Maria, she had 
 followed them up with the rent. 
 
 94 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 All the way home she discussed the matter audi 
 bly with herself, and was still muttering darkly when 
 she reached the Oueeringtons . So absorbed was 
 she in her own wrongs that she did not notice that 
 the front door stood open, and figures were hurry 
 ing about in the hall. 
 
 As she let herself into the side door, a white- 
 faced young girl, with her hair brushed straight back 
 into a long braid, rushed through the pantry. 
 
 " What s the matter, Miss Hattie ? " 
 
 The girl steadied herself by the banister. " It s 
 father ! " she said with chattering teeth. " There s 
 been an awful accident just below the Junction. 
 They can t even bring him home. They are taking 
 him to a place out there, a Colonel Carsey s. Col 
 onel Carsey was killed. He was sitting right by 
 father. Oh ! Myrtella, I m so afraid father s go 
 ing to die ! " 
 
 Myrtella standing helplessly before the terror- 
 stricken girl, could find no words of sympathy. In 
 fact she appeared even more formidable and bristling 
 than usual. 
 
 " Well, he ain t dead yet," she said shortly, " and 
 any how, there ain t no reason why you should n t 
 have supper. Trouble always sets heavy on a 
 empty stomach." 
 
 95 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE fatal accident which Phineas Flathers 
 misguided patriotism had precipitated, 
 changed the course of many a life, but to none did it 
 bring more far-reaching consequences than to the 
 daughter of old Bob Carsey. 
 
 Miss Lady could never clearly recall those first 
 days after her father s death. They seemed to her 
 a confused nightmare of strange doctors and nurses, 
 of a strange man hovering between life and death 
 in the guest-room bed, of strange people coming and 
 going, or sitting in hushed groups on the stiff horse 
 hair chairs in the hall, waiting for news. Two facts 
 alone remained fixed in the whirling chaos of unre 
 alities; her father was dead, and no letter had come 
 from Donald Morley. 
 
 Each day when the mail arrived she roused from 
 her apathy, and with trembling fingers sorted out 
 the letters, going over them again and again, and 
 never finding the one she sought. Gradually be 
 neath the poignant grief for her father, came the 
 dull persistent pain of a first disillusion. The be- 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 lief and loyalty with which she had started out to 
 defend Donald began to weaken before his silence. 
 In his trouble she had been ready to rush to him, 
 to succor and forgive, but he had not called upon 
 her. Now in her great need, she was calling to 
 him, and he did not come. Suspicion began to 
 crowd on the heels of doubt. 
 
 Had he not acknowledged his instability? Had 
 her father not seen it from the first ? Was his de 
 sire to settle down in the country but one of the 
 whims of which his life seemed made up? Per 
 haps she herself had only been a passing fancy, 
 something wanted for the moment, but soon for 
 gotten. At the end of a week her pride rushed to 
 arms. Whatever reason he might offer now would 
 come too late. 
 
 The sudden plunge from irresponsible girlhood 
 into this mysterious region of grief and doubt, 
 where one must tread the thorny path alone, ter 
 rified and bewildered her. She did all the last sad, 
 futile things one can do for the dead ; then when all 
 was over, fled from the confusion at Thornwood, 
 and sought the silence of the woods. Here fierce 
 outbursts of rebellious grief were followed by 
 hours of apathy when she tramped for miles, seeing 
 and hearing nothing, but urged on by an insistent 
 desire to be in motion. 
 
 97 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 It was at the end of one of these tramps that 
 Noah Wicker found her late one evening, on the 
 grass by the river, sobbing out her heart at the spot 
 where the Colonel used to fish. 
 
 Noah s words of comfort were as scarce as his 
 other words, so he sat on a log near by and waited 
 silently until she was ready to go home. At the 
 stile, where he left her, he handed her a letter. 
 
 " I got it at the station this noon," he said. 
 Thought I d be over earlier, but did n t know if 
 you wanted me." 
 
 She did not hear him, the letter had come ! Her 
 fingers thrilled at its touch, and the warm blood 
 surged to her heart. Without another thought for 
 Noah, she sped up the walk to the house, where she 
 locked herself into the living-room. Match after 
 match sputtered and went out in her nervous fingers, 
 before the lamp was lighted. 
 
 He had written ! He cared ! He was coming ! 
 Over and over she whispered the words to herself. 
 Then she looked at the postmark on the heavy 
 envelope, and her heart sank. San Francisco! 
 After all he was not coming back ! 
 
 Her eager finger was at the seal, when her eyes 
 fell upon a briar-wood pipe that lay on the table 
 beside a half -filled pouch of tobacco. In an instant 
 she seemed to see a stubby brown hand reaching for 
 it, the quick spurt of the match, the flare of light on 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 an old weather-beaten face, then a deep-drawn breath 
 of contentment as the Colonel settled back and held 
 out his other hand to his little girl. 
 
 And her last promise to him had been to do noth 
 ing until Donald s name should be cleared. She 
 could keep her promise now, but could she after she 
 had read Donald s letter? If the mere touch of it 
 in her hand plead for him, what would the living 
 words do? 
 
 She looked hopelessly around the cheerful, homely 
 room, every foot of which spoke to her of her 
 father, and of his love for her. On the white door 
 frame were penciled the proud records he had made 
 of her height on each successive birthday. On the 
 walls were pictures of her he had treasured, from the 
 time she was a round-eyed baby, to the present day. 
 In the cupboard was a green box containing her first 
 shoes, her little dresses, her first letter, her baby 
 curls. 
 
 Over the harpsichord was a portrait of the Colonel 
 himself, painted before she was born. It repre 
 sented a dashing, young sportsman, surrounded by 
 his pack of hounds. Twenty years ago this gallant 
 hunter had given up the chase, with many another 
 joy, to minister to her baby needs, to share her 
 joys and sorrows, and be father, mother, play-fellow 
 all in one. 
 
 She clasped Donald Morley s letter tightly and 
 
 99 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 closed her eyes. Never in her short life had she 
 wanted to do anything so desperately as she wanted 
 to read that letter, and yet the reading of it would 
 mean breaking a promise to one whom she could 
 never promise anything again. Her newly awak 
 ened love and her sense of justice pleaded hotly for 
 Donald, but the empty room and her empty heart, 
 and a passionate sense of loyalty to the dead, spoke 
 mutely for her father. 
 
 After all, nothing could justify those long days of 
 silence, that failure on Donald s part to come to her 
 in her trouble. Her father s judgment was probably 
 right after all, and it was best she should put an end 
 to the matter once and for all. 
 
 Sobbing like a child, she kissed the letter again 
 and again, and kneeling by the fire, held it to the 
 flame, and watched it burn to ashes on the hearth. 
 
 After that one dreary week followed another, 
 with the same invasion of strangers, the same vary 
 ing reports from the sick room. Gradually, how 
 ever, the reports became more favorable, the tension 
 eased, visitors became less frequent, and Thornwood 
 began to settle down to its normal state. 
 
 Owing to the nature of Doctor Queerington s 
 injury, and the severe shock he had sustained, it 
 was not thought best to move him to the city until 
 he was stronger. The quiet country house was an 
 excellent place for convalescence, and under the 
 
 100 
 
She held it to the flame, and watched it burn to ashes on the 
 
 hearth 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 direction of his trained nurse he could be allowed to 
 read and write, free from the annoyance that must 
 beset him when once he returned home. 
 
 This arrangement was listlessly agreed to by Miss 
 Lady, who had no plans for the future, and dreaded 
 another adjustment. She was singularly alone in 
 the world, and too dazed for the present to know 
 what her next step should be. The only thing of 
 which she was certain, was that she would never 
 leave Thornwood. 
 
 On one of the first days that Doctor Queerington 
 was allowed to sit up, she went in to see him. Her 
 first impression in the darkened room was the kindly 
 clasp of a hand, and a wonderful low voice that 
 spoke words of comfort. Then gradually she saw 
 the slender, overserious face of a middle-aged man, 
 with small eyes somewhat too close together, a 
 broad intellectual forehead, and a firm, well-formed 
 mouth that seemed a stranger to smiles. 
 
 From that time on she found his room a refuge. 
 He had been the unknown object of her admiration 
 since she was a child, he was her father s friend, 
 the last to be with him before his death, and he 
 talked to her for hours about the great mysteries 
 of life and death. He was the only person to whom 
 she talked who never seemed to be in doubt. 
 
 It was not the first time that the Doctor had 
 proven a consoling presence in time of affliction. 
 7 103 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Where others conjectured, or evaded, he boldly af 
 firmed. The universe to him was an open book, 
 from which he enjoyed reading aloud. 
 
 One morning, six weeks after the accident, Miss 
 Lady came into his room with a handful of flowers 
 and found him propped up in bed, his books about 
 him, and a note in his hand. 
 
 " I have a communication from my cousin, Mrs. 
 Sequin," he said with the polite formality that was 
 habitual to him. " It seems that she is going to 
 honor me with a visit." 
 
 " Mrs. Sequin ? " Miss Lady wheeled so sud 
 denly that she overturned the vase in which she 
 was arranging the flowers. " Now see what I ve 
 done ! I 11 fix it, Miss Wuster ; don t bother." 
 
 It apparently required little self-control for the 
 trained nurse to refrain from bothering. She was 
 sitting with her heels firmly hooked under the rung 
 of a straight-back chair, crocheting with passionate 
 abandon. Filling hot-water bottles, taking tempera 
 tures, feeding patients, were mere interruptions to 
 her real vocation of converting spools of linen 
 thread into yards of linen lace. 
 
 " She states her intention of coming to see me," 
 the Doctor continued, " but I cannot decipher her 
 hieroglyphics sufficiently to find out the time. Per 
 haps you can assist me." 
 
 104 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Is this a D ? " asked Miss Lady, looking over 
 his shoulder. 
 
 " I judge so; an adaptation of the Greek character. 
 Why the art of handwriting should be considered 
 obsolete, I am at a loss to " 
 
 " Oh, she says she is coming to-day," interrupted 
 Miss Lady, " on the eleven train. I must go down 
 and tell Uncle Jimpson to be at the station, and have 
 Aunt Caroline put on another plate for dinner." 
 
 " Then what are you going to do, my dear ? " 
 
 " I was going to the cemetery." 
 
 " You would better come up here instead. In 
 your mental state a person is very sensitive to en 
 vironment. You should avoid everything that ex 
 cites the emotions. I think you can trust me to 
 know what is best for you just now? " 
 
 "Indeed I can," Miss Lady said impulsively; 
 " you have helped me more than anybody. Daddy 
 would be so grateful if he knew." 
 
 " He does know," announced the Doctor with the 
 finality of one to whom all things have been revealed. 
 " But we must not discuss these things now. Miss 
 Wuster has just been reading me the account of 
 young Dillingham s trial. Perhaps you have been 
 following it? " 
 
 " Yes," said Miss Lady without looking up. 
 
 " It is a matter of especial interest to me," con- 
 
 105 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 tinued the Doctor; "especial regret I should say. 
 Young Dillingham is engaged to be married to the 
 daughter of my cousin whom I expect to-day, and 
 the other young man involved, Donald Morley, is 
 Mrs. Sequin s brother." 
 
 "Well for the life of me," said Miss Wuster, 
 counting stitches between her sentences, " I can t 
 see how they got Mr. Dillingham off, unless it was 
 the way Mr. Gooch said." 
 
 " Who is Mr. Gooch? " asked Miss Lady of the 
 Doctor. 
 
 " The gentleman who came to see me yesterday. 
 He is a lawyer and has followed the case closely. 
 He does not scruple to affirm that the trial was a 
 farce, one of those legal travesties that sometimes 
 occur when a scion of a rich and influential family 
 happens to transgress the law. It seems that the 
 saloon-keeper, who was at first reasonably sure of 
 what happened, suffered a strange lapse of memory 
 when on the stand. Gooch thinks he was bought 
 up, but Gooch is fallible where human motives are 
 involved. His misanthropy invariably colors his 
 judgment." 
 
 " Well, nothing on earth can keep me from think 
 ing that Mr. Dillingham did the shooting! " declared 
 the nurse with violent partizanship. " Look at the 
 way he sneaked home, and left the other young man 
 to get a doctor and help move Sheeley to the hospital. 
 
 1 06 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Yes, sir, it s time for your medicine, just wait till 
 I finish this spool and I ll go down and heat the 
 water." 
 
 " He he ought n t to have gone away ? " said 
 Miss Lady, looking at the Doctor interrogatively. 
 
 " Donald, you mean ? Certainly not, it was most 
 ill-advised, probably some quixotic idea about not 
 wanting to testify against his friend. If you knew 
 the boy you would understand what a hot-headed, 
 harum-scarum person he is. He was my pupil at 
 one time and I grew quite fond of him. He has 
 ability, undoubted ability, but he is a ship without a 
 rudder; he has been drifting ever since he was 
 born." 
 
 " This acquittal of Mr. Dillingham puts the blame 
 on on him, does n t it ? " 
 
 " Naturally. His absence at the trial was un 
 doubtedly one of the strongest arguments in Dil- 
 lingham s favor. Mr. Gooch tells me that the coun 
 sel for the defense took especial pains to throw sus 
 picion upon Donald. The case has been confusing 
 in the extreme, the absence of witnesses, the failure 
 to establish the ownership of the pistol, the absurd 
 complication about the slot machine and crowbar, 
 an absolute jumble of contradictory evidence. 
 As for Donald Morley s being guilty, it s absurd ! 
 He is not the sort of man who runs away from 
 punishment." 
 
 107 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Miss Lady s heart swelled with gratitude. Of 
 course Donald Morley was nothing to her now. 
 She had assured herself of that so continuously for 
 two months that she was beginning to believe it. 
 She knew that he was wild, reckless and unreliable, 
 that he had failed her in her greatest need, and that 
 she had put him out of her life forever. But it 
 was good of the Doctor to take his part ! 
 
 " I know now what my father meant when he 
 said you were the justest man he ever knew ! " she 
 said timidly, lifting a pair of shining eyes. 
 
 " Unfortunately for Donald the Court does not 
 share my opinion. It is not known even by the 
 family as yet, but Mr. Gooch tells me that Donald 
 has been indicted by the grand jury." 
 
 " Indicted ! " 
 
 " Yes, he can never return to Kentucky without 
 standing his trial. It is a serious affair for him, I 
 fear." 
 
 1 08 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 WHEN in the course of the morning Uncle 
 Jimpson started to the station to meet Mrs. 
 Sequin, he did not have to direct the course of his 
 steed. Had old John not known the way from 
 experience, the inherited memory of his ancestors 
 would have prompted him to turn twice to the 
 right, once to the left, and pull up at a certain corner 
 of the station platform. For the honor of being 
 the Carseys " station horse " had descended to him 
 from his father Luke, whose father Mark had in 
 the days of prosperity traveled in harness with Mat 
 thew, fulfilling that same important office. Thus 
 John was, in a way, enjoying the distinction of 
 apostolic succession. 
 
 Arrived at the station Uncle Jimpson stepped 
 jauntily around the post-office box and ostentatiously 
 took out the Carseys mail. It was a small act to 
 take pride in, but in lieu of more important duties 
 it had to serve. For the past six weeks the advent 
 of city people at Thornwood had stirred up old ambi 
 tions in him. A new sprightliness was observable 
 in his gait, a briskness in his speech, which Aunt 
 
 109 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Caroline did not hesitate to characterize as " taking 
 on airs." 
 
 The blood of a butler coursed through Uncle 
 Jimpson s veins, a stately, ebony butler who had 
 been wont to stand at the Thornwood door during 
 the old days and hold a silver tray covered with 
 boutonnieres, for the arriving guests. Uncle Jimp- 
 son had inherited this tray along with an ambition 
 that was not above buttons. Year after year he 
 had descended with the descending Carsey fortunes, 
 passing from the house to the horses, then to the 
 field, and finally becoming the man of all work, but 
 never relinquishing that dream of his youth, to stand 
 in livery in the halls of the rich, and exercise those 
 talents with which Providence had blessed him. 
 
 As he passed the compliments of the day with 
 two farm hands, who were loading a wagon near 
 by, his eye fell upon a strange object that stood in 
 the door of the dining-room. It looked to Uncle 
 Jimpson like pictures he had seen of lions, only it 
 was small and white and barked remarkably like a 
 dog. 
 
 " Dat sure am a curious lookin animal," he ob 
 served. " Hit must b long to a show." 
 
 One of the farm hands laughed and pointed with 
 his thumb to the waiting-room. Uncle Jimpson 
 tiptoed to the window and peered in. All that he 
 
 no 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 could see was the back of a very imposing lady and 
 the top of a large plumed hat. 
 
 " Is is she a-waitin fer anybody?" he whis 
 pered, motioning anxiously with his soft hat. 
 
 "Oh! no," said the nearest man; "she ain t 
 waitin ; she s just enjoyin the scenery on them rail 
 road posters. She likes to set there, been doin it 
 for a half hour." 
 
 Uncle Jimpson scraped the mud from his shoes, 
 buttoned the one button that was left on his linen 
 coat, and dropping his hat outside the door sum 
 moned courage to present himself. 
 
 " Scuse me, mam, but does dis heah happen to be 
 Mrs. Sequm? " 
 
 " It is," said the lady, haughtily. 
 
 "Yas m, dat s what I lowed. Dat 5 s what I 
 tole Carline leastwise dat s what I st gwine tell 
 her. Ise Gunnel Carsey s coachman." 
 
 Mrs. Sequin eyed him coldly through a silver 
 lorgnette. " Did n t they understand that I was 
 coming on the eleven train ? " 
 
 " Yes m, dat s right. But you allays has to low 
 fer dem narrow gauges. Dey has to run slow to 
 keep from fallin offen de track. Dat must have 
 been de ten o clock train you come on." 
 
 " Not at all, I left the city at ten minutes of 
 eleven." 
 
 in 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Yas m, dat was de ten train den. De leben 
 train don t start til long about noon." 
 
 "Preposterous!" said Mrs. Sequin, sweeping to 
 her feet. " Take me to the carriage. Fanchonette ! 
 Where are you? " 
 
 Uncle Jimpson apologetically dragged forward his 
 left foot, upon the trouser hem of which the small 
 dog had fastened her sharp little teeth. 
 
 " Frightfully obstinate little beast," said Mrs. 
 Sequin, " she won t let go until she gets ready. You 
 need n t be afraid of her biting you. She could n t 
 be induced to bite a colored person." 
 
 Uncle Jimpson, carrying the dog along on his foot, 
 led the way, while Mrs. Sequin, with the cautious 
 tread of a stout person used to the treacheries of 
 oriental rugs on hardwood floors, followed. She 
 was a woman of full figure and imposing presence, 
 whose elaborate coiffure and attention to detail in 
 dress, gave evidence that the world had its claims. 
 
 At sight of the shabby, old, mud-covered buggy, 
 and the decrepit apostolic John she paused. 
 
 Jimpson all obsequious politeness, put a linen 
 duster over the wheel, and with a gesture worthy of 
 Chesterfield, handed her in. 
 
 " I wish the top up," she commanded. " The 
 glare is unspeakable." 
 
 Uncle Jimpson, standing by the wheel, shuffled 
 his feet in embarrassment: " Yas m," he agreed, 
 
 112 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I 11 put it up effen you want me to. But it won t 
 stay up. No, mam, it won t stay. Looks lak in 
 de las two or three years it got a way o fallin back. 
 Gunnel lowed he was gwine to git it fixed onct or 
 twict, but he ain t done it." 
 
 Fanchonette just here became enraged at a bit 
 of paper that was caught in the wheel, and gave 
 vent to such a violent burst of temper that it re 
 quired the undivided attention of her mistress to 
 calm her. 
 
 Uncle Jimpson, occupying the smallest possible 
 portion of the seat, and with one leg hanging outside 
 the buggy, rejoiced in the proximity of so much 
 elegance. It gave him a feeling of prosperity and 
 importance, and made him straighten his back, 
 crook his elbow, and even adopt a more formal 
 manner with old John. He deeply regretted that 
 he had not put on a clean coat and as for the buggy, 
 he was already planning a thorough cleaning of it 
 before driving the stylish guest back in the after 
 noon. 
 
 " Stop a moment ! " commanded Mrs. Sequin per 
 emptorily. " What a view ! I had no idea there 
 was such scenery anywhere around here ! " 
 
 " Yas m, hits about de fines sceneries in de world ! 
 You kin see from dem heights clean down to de 
 bridge. All dis hill used to be our-alls. I mem 
 ber hearin how Mr. Rogers Clark done gib it to 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 de Gunnel s gran paw fer a Ian grant when de 
 Injuns libed here ! " 
 
 " Who owns it now ? Who owns the hilltop ? " 
 " I don t know, mam. We been sellin off con 
 siderable." 
 
 " Well, I must find out about that at once. I 11 
 send an agent out to-morrow to look into the mat 
 ter. Colonel Carsey left only one daughter, I be 
 lieve, and she never married ? " 
 
 Uncle Jimpson jerked the reins and looked a bit 
 nettled. 
 
 " Not yit," he said, " but she ain t no old maid, 
 Miss Lady ain t. Dere neber wuz a Carsey lady 
 yit dat withered on de stalk; de trouble wif dem 
 is dey git picked too soon. Ez fer Miss Lady s ma, 
 she was n t but jes turned sebenteen when me an de 
 Gunnel went down to Alabama to marry her." 
 " Who are Miss Carsey s relatives, her advisers? " 
 " She ain t got none. She did n t hab a living 
 breathin soul but her paw, ceptin me an Carline, 
 an Carline s liable to drop off mos anytime." 
 " But who is going to live with her? " 
 " I spec she gwine git married some day," Jimp- 
 son said hopefully, " all de boys been plumb stracted 
 bout dat chile since she wuz a little girl. But she 
 wuz so crazy bout her paw, she jes laff at em. 
 Now de Gunnel s gone, she 11 hab to git somebody 
 else to make ober." 
 
 114 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Well, I must find out about that hill," said Mrs. 
 Sequin, turning for a last glimpse. " Whose old 
 place is this we are coming to? " 
 
 " Dis is our place, dis is Thornwood," said Uncle 
 Jimpson, half in pride, half in apology, as he skirted 
 the holes in the road. " It don t look lak itself. 
 It s a terrible pretty place when it s fixed up/ 
 
 " Dreadfully run down," said Mrs. Sequin to her 
 self, making a sweeping survey of the premises, 
 " all this front lawn ought to be terraced and have 
 granitoid walks and formal approaches. The house 
 could be made quite imposing." 
 
 They had turned in the long winding avenue, and 
 were following the old gray wall that swept in a 
 wide circle past the negro cabins, then toward the 
 house. 
 
 Suddenly Mrs. Sequin pointed dramatically to the 
 little porch of one of the cabins. 
 
 " A Sheraton ! Great heavens ! Where did it 
 come from? What is it doing there? " 
 
 Uncle Jimpson, following the direction of her 
 finger, looked surprised : " Dat ain t no sheraton, 
 dat s a sideboard. Leastwise it wuz one fore I 
 fixed it into a chicken coop. I took out de drawers 
 and put on dem cross-pieces. Got forty de purtiest 
 little chickens you eber seen ! " 
 
 " And the legs are curved and have knobs, have n t 
 they?" 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " No, mam, dey ain t no more bow-legged dan 
 most chickens. Do you raise chickens on your 
 place? " 
 
 " No, but we may when we get to the country. 
 By the way, you don t happen to know of a good 
 colored man around here, do you ? One who under 
 stands horses, and would look well in livery? " 
 
 Uncle Jimpson s eyes set in their sockets. Old 
 John and the rattling buggy faded from his con 
 sciousness. In their place he saw himself on the box 
 seat of a grand Victoria, in a double-breasted coat 
 and high hat, lightly shaking the reins across the 
 backs of two sleek thoroughbreds. It was even 
 more alluring than his cherished dream of butler- 
 hood! Already he felt his swelling chest strain 
 against the gold buttons ! 
 
 But what about Miss Lady? Who was going 
 to stay at Thornwood and take care of her? 
 Domestic infelicities had rendered him callous to 
 Aunt Caroline s claims, but Miss Lady, his " little 
 Missis"? 
 
 " No, mam," he said dejectedly as he assisted Mrs. 
 Sequin to alight. " I can t say ez I do, not jes at 
 present. Sometime I might heah ob a good man, 
 say bout my size an build. You, Mike!" 
 
 Mike had rushed at the small poodle with the ap 
 parent intention of swallowing her at a mouthful, 
 but at Uncle Jimpson s stern reproof he snapped at 
 
 116 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 a fly instead, and tried to give the impression that 
 that was what he was after all along. 
 
 " Ain t you shamed ob yourself? " Uncle Jimpson 
 muttered. " Fussin - round here an stickin out yer 
 lip at white folks? Come on round back where 
 you b longs. You an me is corn-field niggers dat s 
 all we is ! " 
 
 And with that irritable dejection that often fol 
 lows self-sacrifice, Uncle Jimpson limped away with 
 the subdued Mike skulking at his heels. 
 
 117 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 AS Mrs. Basil Sequin swept up the broad steps 
 at Thornvvood, she congratulated herself upon 
 a duty about to be accomplished. She had not fore 
 gone a bridge luncheon to make this tiresome trip 
 to the country for purely altruistic reasons. She 
 had come to prove to herself, and to her circle, the 
 bond of friendship that existed between -her and her 
 distinguished cousin. Experience had taught her 
 that an occasional reference to "my favorite cousin, 
 John Jay Queerington, the author, you know," had 
 its influence. " His is the only great intellect," she 
 was fond of telling her husband, " to which I am 
 related either by blood or marriage." 
 
 Doctor Queerington s reputation was one of those 
 local assumptions that might be described as prena 
 tal rather than posthumous. It was what he was 
 going to be, that made his name an awe-inspiring 
 word in the community, more than what he was 
 already. It was the conviction of his friends and 
 colleagues that a tardy world would too late recog 
 nize his genius. 
 
 After waiting impatiently for some one to respond 
 118 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 to her vigorous use of the heavy knocker, Mrs. 
 Sequin tucked Fanchonette under her arm and 
 pushed open the door. The hall had doors to right 
 and left, but before making further investigations 
 she paused to examine minutely the tall mahogany 
 clock, and the quaint silver candlesticks that stood 
 on an old table at the foot of the steps. 
 
 While bending to inspect the latter, she heard a 
 door open, and looking up saw a pretty, slender girl 
 in a short white petticoat and a sleeveless black dress 
 lining, which displayed a pair of remarkably shapely 
 arms. 
 
 " Oh, I didn t know you had come! " exclaimed 
 the young person, cordially extending a smiling wel 
 come. " What a darling little dog ! Is he a 
 poodle?" 
 
 " She is a French poodle," said Mrs. Sequin with 
 a manner intended to impress this exceedingly casual 
 person. " Where shall I find my cousin, Doctor 
 Queerington ? " 
 
 " The front room up-stairs, on that side. I d 
 go up with you, only Miss Ferney Foster, our neigh 
 bor, is fitting this lining and she has to get back to 
 her pickles. I wish we were born feathered like 
 birds, don t you? " 
 
 Mrs. Sequin, who had a masculine susceptibility 
 to a pretty face, could not repress a smile. 
 
 " I know this lining looks queer," went on the girl 
 8 119 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 with an answering twinkle. " But it does n t look 
 any queerer than it feels. Miss Ferney does n t 
 know what s the matter, and neither do I. Would 
 you mind taking a peep at it up there between the 
 shoulders? I 11 hold the doggie." 
 
 To her surprise, Mrs. Sequin found herself re 
 moving her gloves, and adjusting a badly cut lining 
 across a smooth white neck, while the girl before 
 her, having shifted all responsibility, fell to making 
 love to the poodle which she cuddled in her ajms. 
 
 " It s too tight here," said Mrs. Sequin, pinning 
 and adjusting, " and too loose there. Have her take 
 up the side seams to the place I have marked, and 
 lengthen the shoulder seams at least an inch." 
 
 " Thank you so much. It feels heavenly now. 
 You go right up-stairs ! You can take your things 
 off in my room, if you like, just across the hall 
 from the Doctor s." And without further ceremony 
 the young hostess went tripping down the hall, leav 
 ing Mrs. Sequin to ascend the stairs alone. 
 
 Ascending was one of Mrs. Sequin s chief ac 
 complishments. Twenty-five years experience on 
 the social ladder had made her exceedingly sure 
 footed. Her reward now was in sitting on the top 
 rung and dictating arbitrarily to all those below. 
 She had acquired a passion for dictating, for ar 
 ranging, and setting in order. The crooked seams 
 which she had just pinned straight gave her a satis- 
 
 120 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 faction that almost counteracted her annoyance at 
 the informality of her reception. 
 
 Once established at the Doctor s bedside, with the 
 nurse detailed to exercise Fanchonette in the yard 
 below, she gave herself up to the pleasure of recount 
 ing at length her troubles of the past few months. 
 She enjoyed talking, as a prima donna enjoys sing 
 ing : she loved to hear the cadences of her own voice, 
 and to watch the gestures of her jeweled hands. 
 
 " It s an unspeakable relief," she assured the Doc 
 tor, " to actually see with my own eyes that you 
 are n t a mangled cripple from the terrible wreck ! 
 You can t imagine how frightfully anxious I ve 
 been, but then this whole spring has been a veritable 
 nightmare. Donald and Lee Dillingham both in 
 volved in this unspeakable scrape, Margery on the 
 verge of nervous prostration, you perhaps fatally 
 injured, and Basil Sequin too engrossed in his own 
 affairs to give mine a moment s consideration." 
 
 " Basil has grave responsibilities as president of 
 the People s Bank, Katherine," said the Doctor, 
 keeping his fingers between the leaves of the mas 
 sive volume which he had regretfully closed at her 
 entrance. " I, for one, owe him a debt of gratitude 
 for relieving me of all financial anxiety. Besides 
 you are always thoroughly capable of taking the 
 reins in a family crisis." 
 
 " Yes, but it s telling on me. I notice it in bridge. 
 121 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 I am not the player I was a year ago. This trial of 
 Lee Dillingham s has been a hideous strain. Of 
 course, if he had been convicted, I should have com 
 pelled Margery to break her engagement, and that 
 would have complicated things frightfully. You 
 know his grandfather, the old general, is the largest 
 stockholder in the People s Bank, and Basil insists 
 that he must not be offended. That was one reason 
 why I was so anxious to keep Don out of the way. 
 Even if Lee was guilty, Don could n t appear against 
 him when he was engaged to Margery. The only 
 possible course was to hush up the entire affair with 
 as little publicity as possible. Thank heaven, Gen 
 eral Dillingham has gotten Lee off, and I am begin 
 ning to breathe again." 
 
 " And you have heard nothing from Donald? " 
 " No, indeed, and I hope I won t for the present. 
 I wrote immediately after the shooting to every place 
 I could possibly think of his going, and implored 
 him, if he had a grain of gratitude for me, or affec 
 tion for Margery, that he would keep away, and not 
 even let his whereabouts be known until this 
 wretched affair had blown over. I can nearly al 
 ways appeal to Don on the score of gratitude. I 
 must say for him that, like the rest of the Morley 
 men, he sows his wild oats like a gentleman. You 
 remember Uncle Curtis? They said at the club 
 he was a frightful drinker, and yet not a woman of 
 
 122 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 his family ever saw him intoxicated. Then look 
 at Grandfather Morley ! " 
 
 Mrs. Sequin was mounted on a favorite hobby. 
 She had a large and varied collection of family 
 skeletons, some of rare antiquity, which she de 
 lighted in exhibiting. She could recount the de 
 tails of the unfortunate matrimonial alliances on 
 both sides of the family for generations back, and 
 was even more infallible in the matter of birth dates 
 than the family Bible. If a relative by any .chance 
 got a trifle confused, and acknowledged to thirty- 
 nine next June instead of last June, Mrs. Sequin 
 pounced upon the error like a cat on a mouse. She 
 could prove to him immediately that he was born the 
 spring that Uncle Lem Miller died, and that was 
 the same year that Grandmother Weller married 
 the second time, therefore he was thirty-nine last 
 June. 
 
 " Donald ought to return at once," declared Doc 
 tor Queerington, when she paused for breath; " if he 
 is guilty, he ought to take his punishment; if inno 
 cent, as I believe, he ought to be vindicated." 
 
 " Well, we can t find him," said Mrs. Sequin with 
 resigned cheerfulness. " He is probably in the 
 Orient with Cropsie Decker. What a magnificent 
 bed this is ! Do you suppose I could buy it ? Coun 
 try people nearly always prefer new furniture." 
 
 The suggestion of a smile hovered over the Doc- 
 123 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 tor s thin lips : " Thornwood s possessions, I imag 
 ine, are not for sale." 
 
 " I suppose the extraordinary young person I met 
 in the front hall was Miss Carsey? What sort of a 
 girl is she, anyhow ? " 
 
 "Miss Lady?" The Doctor shifted his pillow. 
 " An extremely nice girl, I believe. Exceedingly 
 sympathetic and attentive to all my wants, and re 
 ceptive to a remarkable degree. She has been read 
 ing to me daily, and I find rather an unusual mind, 
 undisciplined of course, but original and interesting." 
 
 " But what amazing manners the child has ! She 
 greeted me in her bare arms, and asked me to fit a 
 dress for her when she had never seen me before 
 in her life. But she certainly is pretty! I haven t 
 seen as pretty a creature for years." 
 
 " Indeed ! " said the Doctor, adjusting his eye 
 glasses. " I had not observed it, especially. A fine, 
 frank countenance, with dark eyes yes, I believe 
 I did notice that she had chestnut eyes of unusual 
 clearness; I remember I did notice that." 
 
 " What is she going to do ? Who is going to stay 
 with her?" asked Mrs. Sequin. "Fancy a girl 
 like that buried here in the country! Properly 
 dressed, and toned down a bit, she d make a sen 
 sation. I should n t at all mind asking her in to 
 spend a few days with me sometime. You know I 
 adore young people, and poor Margery, like all the 
 
 124 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 other last year debutantes, is simply done for. 
 Has n t a spark of enthusiasm for anything. I hope 
 you have not forgotten the fact that your Constance 
 ought to come out this winter ? " 
 
 " My dear Katherine," said the Doctor with an air 
 of enforced patience, " you do not seem to realize 
 that my time and mind are engrossed in far greater 
 things than society. I hope in the next year to 
 complete the fifth and last volume of my i History 
 of the Norman Influence on English Literature and 
 Language/ If I have been able to give my children 
 very little of my time and attention, it is only be 
 cause of my desire to leave them something of far 
 greater worth a name that I trust will stand 
 among those of the foremost English scholars of 
 my day." 
 
 Mrs. Sequin soothed her irritation by studying her 
 highly polished nails. " Of course, that will be an 
 advantage to them. But what on earth s to become 
 of them in the meanwhile? Heaven knows what 
 Hattie will develop into if she is n t taken in hand. 
 She refuses to have trimming on her underclothes 
 now, and wears boy s shoes. As for Constance ! 
 I ve quite despaired of getting hold of her. She s 
 simply running wild, making no social connections 
 whatever. What they really need, Cousin John, is 
 a mother." 
 
 " I must try to look after them more," the Doc- 
 
 125 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 tor said, somewhat helplessly. " Have you seen 
 them recently? " 
 
 " I came by there this morning. They were all 
 well, I suppose; Connie was at the Ivy s as usual, 
 and Hattie at school. What a savage creature your 
 new cook, Myrtella, is. I believe she is an anarchist I 
 She opened the door only a crack, and when I asked 
 her how the young ladies were, she said she was 
 sure she did n t know, that she had n t asked them." 
 
 "And Bertie, did you see Bertie?" 
 
 " Yes, he was with her. Had a dirty piece of 
 dough in his hands which he said was going to 
 be a cake. I must say she seems good to Bertie, but 
 I would not tolerate her impertinence for a moment." 
 
 " Myrtella carries concealed virtues," said the 
 Doctor. " She is an excellent cook, and a good 
 manager. Her only faults, apparently, are faults 
 of the disposition." 
 
 "From which Heaven defend me! What on 
 earth is that noise? It sounds as if some one were 
 kicking the door." 
 
 " Please open ! " called a voice from without, and 
 as Mrs. Sequin complied, Miss Lady came in, carry 
 ing a large luncheon tray gaily decorated with 
 flowers from the garden. 
 
 " * Blest be those feasts with simple plenty 
 crowned, " quoted the Doctor. " You see how they 
 spoil me, Katherine ? " 
 
 126 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I don t believe he could be spoiled, do you, Mrs. 
 Sequin?" Miss Lady asked, as she fixed his eggs. 
 " Is there anything else, Doctor ? " 
 
 " Don t run away," Mrs. Sequin said, following 
 her movements with frank admiration. " Come 
 here and sit down, I want to talk to you. I Ve dis 
 covered the ideal site for my new house, and I want 
 to ask you about it. You know the western crest 
 of this hill overlooking the river; did that belong 
 to your father ? " 
 
 " It all used to be ours, long before it was ever 
 called Billy-goat Hill." 
 
 " The name is a handicap," said the Doctor. 
 " You might modify it, Katherine, by calling your 
 prospective mansion Angora Heights/ 
 
 " The very thing," said Mrs. Sequin, eager to 
 seize upon any suggestion that emanated from the 
 Queerington intellect. " But who does the ground 
 belong to?" 
 
 " It belongs to Mr. Wicker, now." 
 
 "Wicker?" repeated Mrs. Sequin. "Where 
 have I heard that name? Why, Cousin John, 
 was n t that the man Don stayed with, when he was 
 looking for a farm? How we laughed over that 
 absurd notion of his farming! " 
 
 " I did not laugh at it," said the Doctor. " I en 
 couraged him. It seemed to me the most excellent 
 idea!" 
 
 127 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " But you did not allow for Don s fickleness. Of 
 course he J s a darling fellow but he has had as many 
 hobbies as he has had sweethearts." 
 
 " I allowed for his character, which may yet strike 
 root in the proper soil," the Doctor said with dignity ; 
 then turning to Miss Lady, who had risen and was 
 standing by the bed, her hands tightly clasped and 
 her eyes fixed on his, he explained : " We are speak 
 ing of the young brother of Mrs. Sequin; I was 
 telling you about him this morning. Why, child ! " 
 For Miss Lady had suddenly dropped her face in her 
 hands and made a rush for the door. 
 
 " It s the shock of her father s death," explained 
 Mrs. Sequin, who prided herself on divining motives. 
 " I was like that for weeks when my last dog was 
 run over. The most casual thing would upset me. 
 I lost two games of cards one afternoon because 
 somebody merely mentioned an icewagon." 
 
 The Doctor s long, slender fingers drummed ab 
 sently on the bedspread. Presently he broke in 
 quite irrelevantly on Mrs. Sequin s steady flow of 
 talk : " I said chestnut brown, Katherine, they are 
 more of a hazel, I should say, a deep hazel with con 
 siderable fire." 
 
 128 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE long, summer months dragged their length 
 for Miss Lady, months of heartache and re 
 bellion, of loneliness and tears. Then came a day 
 when, without apparent reason, the shadows lifted. 
 She was tramping across the river flats, with Mike 
 at her heels, when once again she heard the world 
 singing, and before she knew it an answering song 
 sprang to her lips. 
 
 Uncle Jimpson, plowing near by, looked up and 
 smiled : 
 
 " Dat s right, Honey ; sounds lak ole times to 
 hear you singin ag in. I was jus settin here sted- 
 dyin how good I d feel ef de Gunnel could come 
 a stompin long an gimme one of his fore-de-war 
 cussin s fer bein lazy." 
 
 " Oh, Uncle Jimpson, if he could ! It seems so 
 long since he left us. I have just been over to Miss 
 Ferney s, but she was n t there. I want to get her 
 to come and stay with me until I know what I am 
 going to do. They expect to take the Doctor home 
 to-morrow." 
 
 " Yas m, Carline was tellin me. Looks to me lak 
 129 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 he s been well enough to go fer some time." Uncle 
 Jimpson scratched his head wisely. 
 
 " I don t know what s to become of us," said Miss 
 Lady ruefully twisting Mike s ears. " They say 
 unless I sell the rest of Thornwood, we won t have 
 money enough to live on. But I won t sell another 
 acre. I 11 teach school first." 
 
 Uncle Jimpson was scandalized : " Now, Miss 
 Lady, chile, don t you git dem notions in your head. 
 Dem s ole maid notions, you ain t no ole maid yit ! 
 Why don t you git married, and git a kerridge, an 
 I 11 dribe an Carline 11 cook an tak care de chil- 
 lun." 
 
 " I m never going to marry, Uncle Jimpson," Miss 
 Lady declared, with the passionate assurance of 
 youth. " And I am never going to leave Thorn- 
 wood. If you see Miss Ferney going down the 
 road, ask her to stop by a minute. Come on, Mike, 
 we are late now." 
 
 And they were late, five minutes, by the open- 
 faced watch that lay in the Doctor s hand as they 
 entered the garden. He was sitting in his wheel 
 chair with his books and manuscripts on a table at his 
 elbow, and he lifted an expectant face toward the 
 gate as she entered. 
 
 It was strange what two months at Thornwood 
 had done for the Doctor. He had been brought there 
 unconscious, a serious, middle-aged professor, who 
 
 130 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 had run in the same groove for twenty years. The 
 same surroundings, the same people, the same monot 
 onous, daily routine had rendered him as rusty and 
 faded as the text-books he lived with. Nothing 
 short of a collision could have jolted him out of his 
 rut, and the collision had arrived. 
 
 The sudden change from the grim realism of a 
 lecture platform, with its bleak blackboard and creak 
 ing chalk, to the romance of an old flower garden 
 where blossoms flirted with each other across the 
 borders, and birds made love in every bough, was 
 enough to freshen the spirit of even a John Jay 
 Queerington. His cosmic conscience, which usu 
 ally worked overtime, striving to solve problems 
 which Nature had given up, seemed to be asleep. 
 His fine, serious face relaxed somewhat from its 
 austerity, and as the days passed he read less and 
 observed more. 
 
 His observations, before long, resulted in a dis 
 covery; he, who was so weary of the cultivated hot 
 house species of femininity, had chanced quite by 
 accident upon a rare, unclassified wild-flower, that 
 piqued his curiosity and enlisted his interest. For 
 two months he had depended almost entirely upon 
 his young hostess for companionship, and the fact 
 that the large box of books he had ordered from 
 the city remained unopened, gave evidence that the 
 Doctor had not been bored. 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 During the hours when he was not engrossed in 
 verifying statistics, and appending references to 
 those voluminous and still accumulating notes for 
 the fifth volume of his great work, he devoted him 
 self to sorting and arranging the odds and ends of 
 facts and fancies that he found stored away in Miss 
 Lady s brain. Under ordinary circumstances he 
 would have dismissed a pupil to whom clearness and 
 accuracy were strangers, and whose attention wan 
 dered with every passing butterfly. In the class 
 room he not only demanded but practised order and 
 system. He arrived at his conclusions by as 
 methodical a series of mental actions as he arrived 
 at his desk every morning at twenty-nine minutes to 
 nine. But these were not ordinary circumstances. 
 
 The impetuous young person who listened to him 
 with such rapt admiration and respect, when she 
 listened at all, had no method or system whatever. 
 She simply waited for the hint, the flash that re 
 vealed the vision, then she joyously and fearlessly 
 leaped to her conclusion. 
 
 The fact that amazed him was not that she fre 
 quently landed before he did, but that she landed at 
 all! 
 
 As for Miss Lady herself, she was finding the 
 Doctor s interest and companionship a welcome sol 
 ace in her loneliness. The well of his knowledge 
 seemed to her fathomless, and she never tired of 
 
 132 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 hanging over the brink and looking down, often 
 seeing stars in the darkness that she never saw in 
 the day. 
 
 When this last lesson was finished, the Doctor 
 closed the book reluctantly : 
 
 " I have given you the merest outline for future 
 work," he said. " The rest remains with you. 
 Have you decided yet what you are going to do ? " 
 
 " No, I 11 do whatever you tell me, Doctor. Only 
 I do hope it won t be to teach school, the very 
 thought of teaching makes me shrivel." 
 
 " It is not altogether beyond the range of possibil 
 ity that you will marry," said the Doctor, tracing 
 parallelograms on the arm of the chair. " Such 
 things do happen, you know." 
 
 Miss Lady, sitting with her elbows on the table 
 and her chin on her palms, flashed a strange, ques 
 tioning glance at him. 
 
 " Do you believe in love, Doctor ? " 
 
 " Why, of course, you foolish girl, in all its mani 
 festations, filial, paternal, marital. Assuredly I 
 do." 
 
 " But I mean that other kind, the kind that makes 
 a little heaven for a man and woman here on earth, 
 that answers all their longings, so that nothing else 
 matters, just so they have each other. I read about 
 it in novels and in poetry, but I don t see it. The 
 married people I know take each other as much for 
 
 133 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 granted as they do their hands and feet. That s 
 not what love means to me." 
 
 The Doctor smiled indulgently. " Wait until you 
 have passed the sentimental age before you give 
 your verdict! Most young ladies imagine that be 
 cause love does not arrive, full panoplied on a snow- 
 white steed, that it is not love. You, probably, like 
 the rest, have read too many romantic novels. 
 When you come to know life better you will realize 
 that moral equality and intellectual affinity promise 
 a much safer union than a violent romantic attach 
 ment." 
 
 She regarded him as earnestly as if he had been 
 the fount of all wisdom. 
 
 " How long does it usually last? " she asked. 
 
 "Last? "he repeated. 
 
 " The sentimental age. I suppose a girl ought 
 to get through it by the time she is twenty. But I 
 never do things on time. I did n t even know I 
 was sentimental until you told me. I have learned 
 a great many things since you came." 
 
 " There were some things you did not need to 
 learn," said the Doctor quietly. " Kindness and 
 sympathy, and rare understanding. I shall always 
 look back with pleasure to these quiet weeks spent 
 under your father s roof. They have given me the 
 only chance I have had in years for undisturbed 
 writing on the History that will stand for my life 
 
 134 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 work. I must confess that I dread my return home. 
 The noise and confusion, the constant invasion 
 of my privacy, the demands upon my time, appal 
 me. Very few realize the magnitude of my work, 
 and the necessity it lays upon me for isolating my 
 self. You have been singularly sympathetic and 
 helpful in that respect." 
 
 " But think what your being here has meant to 
 me! You came into my life just when everything 
 else seemed to drop out. You explained things to 
 me, and gave me something to do. You can t be 
 gin to know how you have helped me." 
 
 " I have only tried to direct and suggest," the 
 Doctor said ; " in short to take the place " 
 
 " Of a father," finished Miss Lady enthusiastic 
 ally. 
 
 The Doctor tapped his foot impatiently. After 
 all her father was a much older man than he : the 
 distance, at that moment, between forty and sixty 
 seemed infinitely greater than that between forty 
 and twenty. 
 
 " You see," Miss Lady went on, unconsciously, 
 " you have taken Daddy s place in so many ways 
 that I have been depending on you for everything. 
 It makes me awfully lonesome when I think of your 
 leaving. Down here you have just belonged to 
 Miss Wuster and me, and once you get back to 
 town you will be the famous Doctor Queerington 
 
 9 135 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 again and belong to everybody. I shan t dare write 
 to you for fear I spell a word wrong." 
 
 " Indeed, I shall expect a weekly letter reporting 
 the progress of your studies, and I shall come to 
 see you from time to time and help you with your 
 plans for the future." 
 
 " Yes, but it won t be the same. We will sit in 
 the parlor, and you 11 be company, and I shall be 
 afraid of you. I am always afraid of you the 
 minute I get out of your sight." 
 
 " What nonsense ! I never criticize anything but 
 your pronunciation, and an occasional exaggeration 
 of statement. If I have seemed severe " 
 
 " You have n t ! You ve been an angel ! When 
 I think of all the time you have taken from your 
 writing to help me, I am ashamed for letting you 
 do it." 
 
 " You must not think," said the Doctor slowly, 
 " that I have been wholly disinterested. I have 
 found you singularly helpful to me. I think I may 
 say that you stimulate me and refresh me more than 
 any one I know." 
 
 "I do? Oh! Doctor! That s about the nicest 
 thing I ever had said to me." 
 
 He was not prepared for the radiant face of grati 
 tude that was lifted to his, nor for the proximity of 
 her glowing eyes which gave him no further reason 
 for doubting their exact hue. 
 
 136 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Yes/ he said with slight embarrassment, " your 
 mind interests me exceedingly. It is not complex, 
 nor subtle, but remarkably intuitive. You have im 
 agination and humor, and great receptivity." 
 
 Miss Lady wore the absorbed look people usually 
 wear when their characteristics are undergoing vivi 
 section; she could not have been more fascinated 
 had she been viewing her face for the first time in 
 a mirror. 
 
 " This little volume now," the Doctor continued, 
 picking up an elementary treatise on evolution ; " I 
 am particularly anxious to see what effect it will 
 have on a fresh, unsophisticated mind. Make notes 
 as you read, and we will discuss it when you have 
 finished." 
 
 " And you won t forget to send me the copy of 
 Mrs. Browning? " 
 
 " No, I seldom forget. But I may not send it. 
 Science is better for you just now than poetry. 
 What is that blossom you are so carefully cherish- 
 ing? " 
 
 Miss Lady s eyes fell, and the color leapt to her 
 face. 
 
 " This ? Just a wild rose I found over there by 
 the wall. I thought they had stopped blooming 
 weeks ago." 
 
 The Doctor took it in his hand and examined it 
 minutely : " It is the Rosa Blanda," he said, " 
 
 137 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 cleft sepals that terminate in a tube. Pliny tells 
 us that in ancient days the warriors used the petals 
 of this rose to garnish their choicest meats. Who 
 is that quaint person coming over the stile? " 
 
 " It s Miss Ferney. What a nuisance, on our 
 last day! But I forgot, I asked her to come. If 
 she stays very long, just tell a little fib, won t you, 
 and say you need me for something? " 
 
 " It will not be a fib," said the Doctor quietly, 
 " I do need you." 
 
 Miss Lady met her caller at the front porch and 
 relieved her of the jar she was carrying. 
 
 " It s pickles," said Miss Ferney, a withered little 
 woman whose small, nibbling face suggested a squir 
 rel s. " I thought having company you might need 
 em. Don t know though. City people may be too 
 aristocratic to eat country pickles." 
 
 "The idea, Miss Ferney! Don t you sell them 
 in the city all the time ? " 
 
 " Yes, under labels. City people lay stress on 
 labels. When I was a child, I wasn t allowed to 
 eat things that was labeled. I hear he s going? " 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 " Your Doctor. Don t see how you ve ever 
 stood him so long." 
 
 " Oh ! you don t know Doctor Queerington ! It s 
 been a great privilege to have him here. He is a 
 
 138 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 very distinguished man, Miss Ferney, and so kind 
 and good! " 
 
 " Good or bad, they are all the same to me. Just 
 as soon have a fly under my mosquito bar as a man 
 buzzing around in my house. When s he going? " 
 
 " To-morrow. Will that be too soon for you to 
 come over ? " 
 
 " No, I m ready to come. Sis Lizzie will be sure 
 to try some of those new-fangled receipts and spoil 
 a bushel or two of cucumbers, but I said I d come 
 and I will. What is this Jimpson is telling me 
 about your taking the examinations for the county 
 school?" 
 
 Miss Lady sighed : " I may have to teach ; I 
 don t know." 
 
 " Sell off some more land. You don t need a 
 hundred acres." 
 
 " We Ve sold too much already ! It will be the 
 house next. I am determined to hold on to Thorn- 
 wood if the roof tumbles in on my head ! " 
 
 " I know how you feel," said Miss Ferney whose 
 sentiments ran to real estate. " I ve been saving 
 every nickel I made for nearly twenty years to 
 buy back our place. From all the talk we heard 
 last spring, Sis Lizzie rather allowed you was going 
 to get married." 
 
 " Well, I am not." 
 
 139 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I am glad of it. Folks are keen enough to be 
 lieve in every beau a girl has til she s thirty. After 
 that they don t believe in any of them. Sis was 
 misled by what they told her over at the Wickers ." 
 
 "What did they tell her?" asked Miss Lady, 
 training a rebellious moon vine up the trellis. 
 
 " Oh, they told her about that young city fellow 
 you was rampaging all over the country with last 
 spring. Mrs. Wicker said he had n t a thought in 
 his head but you. That he wore her plumb out tell 
 ing her about you, just as if she had n t help raise 
 you on a bottle ! " 
 
 Miss Lady still found the vine absorbing, but she 
 took time to say over her shoulder: 
 
 "Tell your sister and Mrs. Wicker that that 
 young man has gone to China." 
 
 " Well, nobody could wish him further ! I hope 
 he will stay. You are too nice a girl to get mar 
 ried. What do women want to marry for anyway ? 
 Look at me ! Forty years single and not one min 
 ute of it spent in wishing I was married! I glory 
 in my independence, I glory in my freedom." 
 
 Miss Ferney was allowed to glory undisturbed, 
 for Miss Lady, leaning against the railing of the 
 porch, had apparently forgotten her existence. 
 
 " You just make up your mind to take that school 
 job, and lead a useful, independent life. I know 
 a teacher in Shelby County that s had the same 
 
 140 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 school for fifteen years, ever since she was a plump, 
 pretty girl, and she s thin as I am now, and gray 
 as a rat. Kept that same position and done well all 
 these years." 
 
 Miss Lady wheeled suddenly and flung out her 
 
 arms: 
 it 
 
 If you don t hush this minute, Miss Ferney, I 11 
 run off and join the circus ! I d lots rather stand 
 on one toe in fluffy, spangled skirts, and jump 
 through a hoop than teach school ! " 
 
 Miss Ferney looked scandalized : " You don t 
 seem right well," she said as if in excuse for such 
 flippancy. " I do believe you ve got a fever. I m 
 going straight home and mix you up a tonic." 
 
 Miss Lady sat for some time on the steps with 
 her eyes on the distant river. Up the hillside the 
 treetops rippled in the breeze, and down in the valley 
 the winding stream danced in the shallows or 
 loitered in brown pools to whisper secrets to the 
 low-hanging boughs. The world seemed to her not 
 only very beautiful, but very lonesome, and the vow 
 of eternal celibacy, made to Uncle Jimpson, loomed 
 large and terrible in the presence of Miss Ferney. 
 
 " Oh, here you are," said the nurse, coming 
 around the house; " the Doctor has been refusing to 
 lie down until you come out to the garden. He 
 says he needs you for something. Deliver me 
 from convalescents ! " 
 
 141 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Miss Lady laughed and ran down the path to the 
 garden, where the Doctor greeted her with his rarest 
 smile. The rest of the morning they pored over 
 manuscripts, sorting notes, and making corrections, 
 she happy in having even a tiny share in his great 
 work, and he finding her enthusiasm and interest a 
 welcome condiment to stir his jaded appetite for his 
 task. Meanwhile, a bedraggled little rose lan 
 guished unnoticed beneath the manuscript of " The 
 History of Norman Influence on English Language 
 and Literature." 
 
 142 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 FOR three hundred and sixty-five days Myrtella 
 Flathers held undisputed sway in the house of 
 Queerington. The Doctor s semi-invalidism, after 
 his return from Thornwood, threw all responsibility 
 upon her, and while she permitted him to wear the 
 crown, it was she who wielded the scepter. Never 
 had the house been in such immaculate order, nor 
 the young Queeringtons appeared in such presenta 
 ble garments, and never had the front door been 
 slammed so persistently in the face of unwelcome 
 guests. 
 
 For the Queerington family tree was afflicted 
 with too many branches. There were little dry 
 twigs of maidenly cousins, knotted and dwarfed 
 stumps of half -gone uncles and aunts, vigorous, de 
 manding shoots of nephews and nieces, all of whom 
 had hitherto imposed upon the Doctor s slender in 
 come, and his too generous hospitality. 
 
 Myrtella objected to the inroads these invaders 
 made on his time and strength, and she also objected 
 to the extra work their presence entailed upon her. 
 In short, she felt that the family tree needed prun- 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 ing, and she set herself right heartily to the job. By 
 persistent discourtesy she managed to lop off one 
 relative after another, until she gained for the Doctor 
 a privacy hitherto undreamed of. 
 
 " There ain t a hour in the day that I ain t headin 
 off somebody ! " she triumphantly announced one 
 day to the cook from next door. " When I come 
 here you d a thought it was a railroad station, 
 people comin and goin with satchels; and bells a- 
 ringin , and trunks being dragged over the carpets. 
 Dirt from the top of the house to the bottom; Miss 
 Hattie with her petticoats hanging down below her 
 dress; and all the neighbor children racing in and 
 out, and actually takin the mattress off Bertie s bed 
 to coast down the stairs on ! " 
 
 "In the name of St. Patrick!" sympathized 
 Norah, the visitor; "and their pa not doin nothin 
 with em at all?" 
 
 "Who said he wasn t?" blazed Myrtella in 
 stantly. " You 11 be hintin around next that I was 
 talkin about the Doctor behind his back. You re 
 fixin to lose me my place, that s what you are 
 doin ." 
 
 " Not me! It s braggin on you I was not over 
 a week ago, sayin what a fine, nice cook you was, 
 and how grand and clean it was over here." 
 
 " Of course," said Myrtella haughtily, " I may 
 not be workin fer a lady that s so smart she 
 
 144 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 would n t even know her own kitchen if she met 
 it walkin up the street. I may not work in a house 
 where they pull down the shades and burn red 
 lamps in the day time to keep from showin the 
 dirt under the sofa. We don t keep two servants 
 and not have enough to feed em, but / m satisfied. 
 At least fer the present. The day will come when 
 I won t have to be in service to no one. I m puttin 
 by each week, and the time ain t distant when I 11 
 be settin at the head of my own boardin -house 
 table, an it will be * Miss Flathers, if you please! 
 You, Bertie!" this to a frail-looking little boy in 
 the back yard. " You git up off the grass this min 
 ute ! Fixin to catch the croup and have me up with 
 you all night, like I was last week." 
 
 " Sure n I might find a worse place than Mrs. 
 Ivy s," continued Norah. " A bit of blarney, and 
 frish flowers every day in front of her photy graph, 
 and things right for Mr. Gerald, is all she wants. 
 The last place I worked, Mrs. Sequin s, bad luck 
 to her! ... It was a party or a dinner between 
 me and me rest ivery night of the week! Sorra a 
 bit did I care for the whole kit of em, barring Mr. 
 Don Morley, as fine a young gentleman as ever set 
 foot in sole leather ! " 
 
 " Him that shot Dick Sheeley and run away? " 
 " Him they laid it on," said Norah with indig 
 nant emphasis. " It was that good-for-nothin Mr. 
 
 145 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Lee Dillingham done it, and Mrs. Sequin a-movin 
 heaven to marry Miss Margery off to him. I seen 
 how they was tryin to keep Mr. Don from comin 
 home and hearin the tales they was tellin . He is 
 worth the whole bunch of em tied in a knot; a 
 gentleman inside and out, and his hand in his pocket 
 ivery time you served him. Ain t that somebody 
 a-callin ye down the back stairs? " 
 
 "Let em call," said Myrtella, to whom these 
 comparisons of past places were replete with in 
 terest. "It s just Miss Hattie; if she s got any 
 thing worth sayin , she can come down and say 
 it" 
 
 It was evidently worth saying, for a moment 
 later, a thin, sharp-featured girl of fourteen thrust 
 her head in at the door. 
 
 " Myrtella, I told you I wanted that white dress 
 fixed. I am going to wear it this afternoon." 
 
 " It s too early to wear summer clothes," Myr 
 tella announced, continuing her ironing. " I never 
 sewed the buttons on a purpose, so s you could n t 
 wear it." 
 
 " Well I will wear it ! I am going right straight 
 up stairs and pin it on." 
 
 As the door slammed, Myrtella turned a beaming 
 face on Norah : 
 
 " It ain t hemmed ! " she said with satisfaction. 
 
 Norah shrugged her shoulders: 
 146 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " It would be a cold day that d see anybody 
 makin me do the cookin and nursin , and sewin 
 for a family of four, for five dollars a week! " 
 
 Myrtella glared at her across the ironing board : 
 
 " Who said anybody was makin me ? I m paid 
 to do the cookin and housework in this house, and 
 if I see fit to light in and boss things round a bit, 
 it s my own business. Thank the Lord, I got man 
 ners enough to attend to it ! How much coffee did 
 you come over here to borrow ? " 
 
 " A cupful will do, til the morning. I 11 bring 
 it back before breakfast." 
 
 " Put it in this jar when you do. I keep what 
 you pay back separate from ours, so s I can lend 
 it to you again. We ain t used to chicory." 
 
 Norah coughed deprecatingly behind her hand : 
 
 " Sure you might make allowance fer a lady as 
 busy as Mrs. Ivy. She can t get her mind down 
 to ordn ary things." 
 
 " Stop her settin on club boards, and meetin 
 on committees, and tryin to regulate the nation, 
 and she might remember to order the groceries. 
 What s she workin on now ? " 
 
 " A begger man. It was readin Scriptures to him 
 she was when I come away, and him a-settin there, 
 right pitiful, a-tellin her how he d lost all he had 
 in the flood. A religious talkin man if I ever heard 
 
 one." 
 
 147 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "Red-headed?" inquired Myrtella, arresting a 
 hot iron in mid air. 
 
 " He was." 
 
 " When she gits done with him, you send him 
 over here," Myrtella brought the iron down on the 
 board with a thud. "If there is one person in the 
 world I m lay in for it s a red-headed flood-suf 
 ferer." 
 
 Norah on her way out encountered another visi 
 tor and turned back to announce him: 
 
 " Git on to what Bertie has drawed out here ! 
 The craziest, dirtiest kid! Puts me in mind of a 
 egg on a couple of toothpicks!" 
 
 Myrtella, peering over her shoulder, suddenly 
 scrambled down the steps. 
 
 " It s Chick ! " she cried, beaming upon him. 
 " How long you been here, Chick ? " 
 
 " And who s Chick ? " asked Norah, instantly cu 
 rious. "You seem to set a great store by him! 
 What ails the child ? What s he pointin at our 
 house for? Ain t he got a tongue in his head? " 
 
 " He has, though not so long as some folks. 
 Chick ! Bertie ! Come in here ! " and without 
 ceremony Myrtella swept them into the kitchen and 
 slammed the door in Norah s face. 
 
 Once within her stronghold, she first embraced 
 Chick, then dragged him forcibly to the sink, and 
 subjected him to a vigorous scrubbing. Both ac- 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 tions apparently bored him acutely, for he turned 
 his soap-dimmed eyes enviously upon the smaller 
 boy who pranced about in transports of joy. 
 
 " We 11 skate on the pavement ! " Bertie was cry 
 ing excitedly. " You can have one skate, and I 11 
 have the other and we 11 see who can beat." 
 
 " You won t do nothin of the kind! " quoth Fate 
 at the faucet " I ain t goin to have you racin 
 round and gettin het up and takin cold. Besides, 
 you ain t big enough to keep up with Chick ! " Then 
 seeing the disappointment her ultimatum had 
 caused, she added, " if it was n t for you stickin 
 every thing up, I might make you some candy." 
 
 "Oh, Telia! will you? Lasses candy? Ask 
 him if he likes lasses candy." 
 
 Violent nods of affirmation from the steam-en 
 veloped victim. 
 
 Myrtella had started with the simple ambition 
 to wash Chick s face, but the boundary line had 
 proved troublesome. Whether she sharply de 
 fined it, or attempted artistic effects in chiaroscuro 
 the result was equally unsatisfactory. Myrtella was 
 nothing if not thorough; before she finished with 
 Chick, he was standing with his feet in a bucket, 
 as clean and wet and naked as a fish. 
 
 All this consumed time, and both boys were grow 
 ing impatient, when a peculiar noise from outside 
 attracted their attention. To Chick, only, the sound 
 
 149 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 seemed to be familiar, for he laughed and wagged 
 his head and pointed to the yard. 
 
 " It sounds like hiccoughs ! " said Bertie, his head 
 on one side. 
 
 Myrtella s mouth closed like a trap. " I 11 hic 
 cough him ! " she breathed mysteriously, and leav 
 ing the children to watch the candy, she went out 
 on the porch and closed the door behind her. 
 
 Bertie, in his short kilts, with his feet curled up 
 in a chair, watched Chick with absorbed interest 
 as he donned his ragged, dirty trousers. A pair 
 of purple suspenders that had once belonged to Mr. 
 Flathers, excited his special admiration. 
 
 " Say, Chick, have you got a partner? " 
 
 Chick nodded. 
 
 " You could n t be partners with me, too, could 
 you?" 
 
 A violent shake of the head. 
 
 " I did n t think you could with two fellows at 
 once." Bertie contemplated the boiling candy 
 thoughtfully. " I could get lots of partners if I 
 was n t always sick. If you ever don t have the one 
 you have got, could you take me, Chick? " 
 
 Chick looked him over critically, stood him up 
 and measured heights and even felt his arm for 
 muscle. Then he made a remark that while lacking 
 lucidity was nevertheless conclusive. 
 
 "But I m going to get bigger," urged Bertie, 
 150 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " And I Ve got a music box, and a water pistol, and 
 some marbles " 
 
 At this Chick promptly produced a handful of 
 marbles from his own pocket, and signified, by many 
 whispers and hisses, that he was engaged in a whole 
 sale and retail trade along that line, and open to 
 negotiations. 
 
 Bertie made a hurried trip to the nursery and re 
 turned with a neat blue bag from which he poured 
 treasures of agate and crystal. 
 
 Chick lost all interest in the candy. His profes 
 sional reputation was at stake. Never could he face 
 the gang on Billy-goat Hill, if he failed to fleece 
 this lamb that Providence had so clearly thrust in 
 his way. 
 
 Meanwhile Myrtella was exercising an elder sis 
 ter s prerogative on the back steps, and bestowing 
 upon her brother what she modestly called a piece 
 of her mind. 
 
 For Phineas, in one of his periodical backslid- 
 ings, had slid too far. His ambition to excel as a re 
 generate had carried him out of the quiet pastures 
 of the Immanuel flock, into the more exhilarating- 
 battle-field of the Salvation Army. Lured by the 
 prospect of recounting his experiences on a street 
 corner to the accompaniment of an accordion, he 
 had forsaken the safe shelter of the Ladies Aid, 
 and sought new worlds to conquer. . 
 
 151 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 The experiment had not been a success. He was 
 now, at the end of a year, going from door to door, 
 ragged and unkempt, playing the small and uninter 
 esting role of flood-sufferer. But Phineas spirit 
 soared blithely above his circumstances. He even 
 encouraged Myrtella in her tirade against him, spur 
 ring her on to fresh effort, as the monks of old 
 courted flagellation. 
 
 " That s right, Sis ! " he urged, " you git it all 
 out of your system. I says to the lady next door, 
 I says, what I need is a dressing down from my 
 good sister. She 11 give me gussie, says I, then 
 she 11 light in an help me. That s her way, I 
 says, there ain t a more generous person on this 
 terrestrial globe. I lowed maybe she d be moved 
 to follow your example, but she was n t. She 
 handed me out a line of Sunday school talk fer 
 more n a hour, then she did n t give me nothin 
 but this here Bible, an me a starvin man ! I Ve 
 ate a little of everything in my day, but I m 
 skeered to risk my digestion on Deuteronomies and 
 Psa ms ! " 
 
 " Well, you need n t come beggin round here, 
 and trackin in the mud," announced Myrtella 
 firmly. " I m done with you ! You had just as 
 good a chance to get on as me. I never ast favors 
 of nobody; I went to work an hustled. What s 
 more, I ain t goin to stop til I get to be a boardin - 
 
 152 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 house keeper. And what 11 you be ? A lazy, 
 drunken, good-for-nothin sponge/ 
 
 Phineas, toying with his hat, suddenly sniffed the 
 air and smiled. 
 
 " Molasses candy ! " he exclaimed joyfully. " I 
 could n t git on to what was making me feel so 
 good. Say, Sis, you must a knowed I was a- 
 comin ." 
 
 Myrtella stood in rigid disapproval on the top 
 step and surveyed her next of kin with such chilling 
 contempt that he decided to change his tactics. 
 
 " Honest, now, Sis, I never come to beg for 
 nothin . What I really come for was to tell you 
 bout our good luck." 
 
 This move was so adroit that it caught Myrtella 
 unawares, and elicted a faint show of curiosity. 
 
 " We never knowed it til last week," Phineas 
 proceeded mysteriously, " an we ain t mentioned 
 it to nobody til we git a parlor fitted up an a sign 
 painted." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 " Fer see-ances ! There s been a Dago doctor, 
 calls himself Professor King, hangin round the 
 Hill, an the minute he lays eyes on Maria Flathers 
 he seen she was a mejium. He give her four les 
 sons fer a dollar, an she begin to hear raps an 
 bells ringin the fifth settin . Last night she begin 
 to move the furniture." 
 
 153 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " She must a been in a trance ! " exclaimed Myr- 
 tella. " I been knowin Maria about fourteen years 
 an I never heard of her movin the furniture. She 
 can go to more pains to scrub around a table leg 
 than any one I ever knowed." 
 
 But in spite of her scoffing, Myrtella was im 
 pressed. For many years she had considered a visit 
 to a spiritualist, or clairvoyant, one of her wildest 
 and most extravagant dissipations. The possibility 
 of having a medium in the family was a luxury not 
 to be lightly dismissed. 
 
 " Where d you git the money fer the lessons?" 
 she demanded suddenly. 
 
 Phineas hesitated and was lost. 
 
 You spent Chick s ! He s as ragged as a scare 
 crow. Looks like he don t get enough food to push 
 his ribs out. I ketch you spendin the money I 
 give him on sperrits, livin or dead, an I 11 never 
 give you another cent ! " 
 
 " Now, Sis, hold on ! You did n t lemme fin 
 ish. I m thinkin some of running a undertaker s 
 business, along in conjunction with the see-ances. 
 We could keep tab on the customers then, and build 
 up a good trade. All on earth we need is just a little 
 capital, an we d be a self-supportin couple inside 
 a week." 
 
 So convincing were Phineas arguments, that in 
 the end Myrtella consented to act as dents ex 
 
 154 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 machina for the new psychical venture, on condi 
 tion that Chick should be properly clothed, and fed, 
 and made to go to school. 
 
 This agreement having been arrived at, Myrtella 
 reached for her broom, and began such a vigorous 
 attack on the steps, that Flathers was forced to 
 conclude that his presence could be cheerfully dis 
 pensed with. He gathered himself up, slapped his 
 hat on the side of his head, tucked his Bible under 
 his arm, and made a sweeping bow. 
 
 " Fare thee well, my own true love. Bring the 
 money Saturday night, an Maria 11 wind up the 
 sperrits an let em manifest fer you, free of charge. 
 Sorry I can t wait fer that molasses candy to git 
 done. You might send me some by Chick. 
 Adiew ! " 
 
 Myrtella stood, broom in hand, and watched the 
 loose-jointed figure slouch down the pavement and 
 out the back gate. He was cheerfully whistling the 
 doxology, and his face wore the rapt expression 
 of one whose thoughts are not on earthly things. 
 She sighed and shook her head. 
 
 " Front door bell s ringing," called Bertie, " so s 
 the telephone, and Father s gone out and says you 
 can clean his study. There s the bell again." 
 
 " I expect it s Mr. Gooch inviting himself to sup 
 per. I ain t goin to let him in. Give me that there 
 plate to pour the candy in." 
 
 155 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Look, Telia, what Chick traded me! " 
 
 Myrtella cast a side glance at Bertie s extended 
 palm, and promptly rescinded the deal. 
 
 "Ain t you ashamed of yourself, Chick Flathers! 
 Tradin a little fellow s fine marbles fer them corn- 
 man allies? It s cheatin , that s what it is, it s 
 stealin ! Ain t you ashamed ? " 
 
 Chick was ashamed and had the grace to show it. 
 His contrition would probably not have developed 
 except through exposure, but standing before Myr- 
 tella s accusing glance, and the surprised, hurt look 
 in Bertie s eyes, his hardened conscience was 
 pricked, and his lip began to tremble. 
 
 With a fierce gesture of protection Myrtella pulled 
 him to her: 
 
 " Don t, Chick! Don t cry! I wasn t meanin 
 to scold you. You ain t had a chance like other 
 boys. You never had no playthings, you never had 
 nothin . You was a poor little abandoned child ever 
 since you was born. Oh ! God, I m a wicked 
 woman ! I ain t fit to live on the earth ! " 
 
 This amazing outburst so stunned the two small 
 boys, that they stood looking at her in open-eyed 
 astonishment. For some moments she swayed to 
 and fro with her apron over her head, then sav 
 agely dried her eyes, and, bidding them follow her, 
 stalked up the back stairs with broom and dust 
 pan. 
 
 156 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Doctor Queerington s study was at the top of 
 the house, where by means of closing the doors and 
 windows, and stuffing his ears with cotton, he was 
 able to shut out that material world to which he 
 preferred to remain a stranger. The room was 
 filled from floor to ceiling with books, and it was 
 one of the crosses of Myrtella s life that behind the 
 visible rows of volumes, stood other rows, forming 
 a sort of submerged library beyond the reach of her 
 cloth and duster. 
 
 In no room in the house did she feel her impor 
 tance more fully than in this inner shrine. She had 
 calculated with mathematical precision the exact po 
 sition of each of the Doctor s desk utensils, she 
 knew the divinity that hedged about a manuscript, 
 and the inviolable nature of bookmarks. 
 
 When Bertie began fingering the inkstand, she 
 pounced upon him. 
 
 " Don t you dare touch a thing, either one of 
 you! When the Doctor told me to take charge of 
 his things, I took it. There ain t ever been a word 
 of complaint since I come here, and I ain t goin to 
 have one at this here late date. There s the Doctor 
 now comin up the steps ; I 11 finish up here later. 
 Get away from there, Chick! " 
 
 But Chick had made a discovery. On the Doc 
 tor s desk, smiling out from a porcelain frame, he 
 had found his divinity ! It was the beautiful young 
 
 57 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 lady who had once taken his part in a fight with 
 Skeeter Sheeley over a whip handle; it was the 
 young lady who always smiled at him when she 
 rode by Billy-goat Hill ; it was she who had changed 
 his life ambition from grand larceny to plumbing! 
 Heedless of warning he snatched at the picture, and 
 as he did so it slipped from his fingers and the frame 
 shattered on the floor. 
 
 Doctor Queerington, at the doorway, took in the 
 situation at a glance. He looked quickly from Myr- 
 tella s horrified face to the cringing figure of the 
 strange child, then he smiled reassuringly. 
 
 " There is no serious harm done," he said in a 
 quiet, pleasant voice ; " the frame can be easily re 
 placed, and as for the photograph " he paused 
 and smiled again, then he drew Bertie s hand into 
 his; " Myrtella, I shall no longer have need of a 
 photograph of that young lady. She has consented 
 to come herself and take charge of us all. * 
 
 Myrtella stood as one petrified ; her massive figure 
 with its upraised duster was silhoueted against the 
 light, like a statue of the goddess of war. At last 
 she found voice : 
 
 "To take charge?" she gasped. "Do you 
 mean she s comin to be Mis Squeerington ? " 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " Well, I give notice," announced Myrtella with 
 
 158 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 all the dignity of offended majesty, and shoving 
 Chick before her, she slammed the door upon the 
 astonished Doctor and stalked haughtily down the 
 stairs. 
 
 159 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 A BRIDE who does n t see her duty, should be 
 made to see it," declared Mrs. Sequin to Mrs. 
 Ivy in her most impressive manner. " Something 
 is naturally expected of the wife of John Jay Queer- 
 ington. I told her expressly that Friday was her 
 day, I even telephoned to remind her, and here it 
 is four o clock, and people beginning to come, and 
 she off playing tennis ! " 
 
 They were waiting in the twilight of the Queer- 
 ington parlor, that plain, stiff, old maid of a parlor 
 that had sprung completely furnished from the 
 brain of a decorator some two decades before and 
 never blinked an eyelid since. It was a room with 
 which no one had ever taken liberties. Hattie had 
 once petulantly remarked that her father would as 
 soon have moved a tooth from his lower to his upper 
 jaw, as to have moved an ornament or picture from 
 the parlor to the second floor. 
 
 Mrs. Ivy, the lady addressed, smiled tolerantly. 
 It was one of Mrs. Ivy s most irritating character 
 istics that she was always tolerant of other peo- 
 
 160 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 pie s annoyances. She was blond and plump, and 
 wore a modified toga and a crystallized smile. 
 
 " Ah ! Mrs. Sequin," she purred, " our little bride 
 is a child of Nature. Sweetness and light! We 
 must not expect too much of her at first. My 
 Gerald says she s like a wild little waterfall dancing 
 in the sun, undammed by conventions. Gerald 
 phrases things so perfectly." 
 
 " Well, I ve had enough of trying to manage a 
 waterfall!" Mrs. Sequin said grimly. "Cousin 
 John asked me to take her in hand, and I must say 
 I am finding her difficult. Perfectly sweet and good 
 natured, you know, but she goes right on her own 
 way. She has decided that she likes Connie s friends 
 better than the Doctor s, that her hair does n t feel 
 right arranged the way it should be, that she is n t 
 going to wear dresses made by fashionable dress 
 makers because they are uncomfortable. She actu 
 ally told me she liked to be a few minutes out of 
 style!" 
 
 "But isn t she right?" murmured Mrs. Ivy, 
 " God has given her a graceful, symmetrical body, 
 should n t she clothe it in flowing robes that do not 
 confine or " 
 
 " For Heaven s sake, Mrs. Ivy, don t you dare 
 start her on dress reform! Her one chance for 
 social success is her beauty. She simply terrifies 
 me the way she says right out the first thing that 
 
 161 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 comes into her mind. It will take me months to 
 teach her the first lesson in society, that the most 
 immodest thing in the world is the naked truth/ 
 
 " What I hope to rouse in the dear girl," said 
 Mrs. Ivy with a superior smile, " is a sense of re 
 sponsibility toward her fellowmen. I have already 
 proposed her name for the Anti-Tobacco League 
 and Miss Snell, our corresponding secretary of the 
 Foreign Missionary Society, has promised to meet 
 me here at five. It is these young, ardent souls 
 that must take up the banner of reform when it 
 drops from the hands of us veterans." 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Sequin, turning a handsome, 
 bored profile to her companion, " I shall never get 
 over the absurdity of the marriage ! " 
 
 " Ah ! " said Mrs. Ivy, laying a plump white hand 
 on Mrs. Sequin s arm, " cosmic forces brought them 
 together! The thing we seek is seeking us. She 
 was young, inexperienced, adrift in the world; he 
 was ill, lonely, and with three motherless children. 
 She told me that through the past year, the Doctor s 
 letters were all that sustained her." 
 
 " Of course they did! Cousin John s letters sus 
 tain everybody. Especially if you have n t heard 
 his lectures. Of course he does repeat himself." 
 
 " As for her youth," went on Mrs. Ivy. " What 
 if she is a mere rosebud as yet? She ll unfold; 
 we 11 help her to unfold, you and I, won t we? " 
 
 162 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Meanwhile the bride had slipped in the side en 
 trance and was making frantic haste in the room 
 above to exchange a tennis costume for a new house- 
 dress. 
 
 Connie Queerington was assisting, but Connie s 
 assistance was generally a hindrance. She was an 
 exceedingly voluble, blond young person, with blue 
 eyes that enjoyed nothing more than their own re 
 flection. 
 
 " I 11 never get it hooked if you don t hold still," 
 she was saying. " Every time you laugh you pop 
 it open." 
 
 " Fifteen love, thirty love, forty love, 
 game ! " rehearsed Miss Lady, practising a newly 
 acquired serve with a vigorous stroke of her racket. 
 " I could play all day and all night ! Do you think 
 I 11 ever get to be a good player? " 
 
 "Of course, if you just won t get so excited and 
 hit the balls before they bounce. Gerald Ivy says 
 your overhand play is great. He s mad about you, 
 anyhow. I d give both my little fingers to have him 
 look at me as he did at you to-day." 
 
 " Silly ! " laughed Miss Lady. " There goes the 
 button off my slipper. Do you suppose any one 
 will notice if I pin the strap? " 
 
 " Nobody but Myrtella. Sit on your foot if she 
 comes around. If you don t hurry Cousin Kath- 
 erine will have nervous prostration." 
 
 163 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I don t see why you have to treat reception day 
 like judgment day," complained Miss Lady. " Who 
 else is down stairs ? " 
 
 " Only Mrs. Ivy now. She is the one who held 
 your hand and called you a sunbeam. Gerald s 
 mother, you know. Hat can t abide her ; says she s 
 a pussy-cat. Of course Mr. Gooch will be here for 
 supper." 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 " Mr. Gooch." 
 
 "A friend of the Doctor s?" 
 
 " No, indeed. He is n t anybody s friend. He 
 bores us all to extinction." 
 
 " Well, what s he coming for ? " 
 
 " I don t know. He always comes on Friday. 
 He came in here once to get out of the rain, and 
 Mother asked him to stay to tea. That was ten 
 years ago and he has been back nearly every Friday 
 since." 
 
 "Do you have company like this all the time?" 
 asked Miss Lady somewhat breathlessly. 
 
 "This is nothing!" exclaimed Connie dramati 
 cally. " Before Myrtella came I never knew what 
 it was to sleep in my own bed, and I had to eat the 
 legs of chickens until I felt like a centipede. There ! 
 You are all right ; come along. Don t forget to tell 
 Father about the party! " 
 
 Miss Lady had been married two weeks, but she 
 164 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 was still circling wildly in a vortex of new experi 
 ences that excited and bewildered her. Through a 
 long, lonely winter she had fought out her prob 
 lems at the little country school, relying implicitly 
 upon Doctor Queerington s friendship and guid 
 ance. His weekly letters, couched in paragraphs 
 of technical perfection, seemed to her oracles of 
 wisdom and beauty. Then the amazing and unbe 
 lievable thing had happened ! He, the great Doctor 
 Queerington, her father s friend, her friend, the man 
 whom she respected more than any one else in the 
 world, had chosen her, a young, inexperienced girl 
 to be his wife! 
 
 To one who was quite sure that she was through 
 with illusions for ever, and who flattered herself 
 that the sentimental age was safely behind her, the 
 honor of a life-long companionship with a man like 
 Doctor Queerington was almost overwhelming. 
 She wanted passionately to be of use in the world, 
 to make her life count for something. The oppor 
 tunity of being of service to the Doctor, of helping 
 him complete the great work that absorbed him, 
 of ministering to his physical needs, and bringing 
 joy into his life, assumed the character of a sacred 
 privilege. 
 
 If haunting doubts and vague unsatisfied longings 
 possessed her at times, she attributed them to that 
 dear but unreal glamour of romance that the Doc- 
 
 165 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 tor had taught her must be expected to play for a 
 while about the dawn of youth, but which fades 
 away in the noon of maturity. And so not being 
 skilled in the science of self-analysis, she fearlessly 
 put her hand into the Doctor s, and promised to 
 obey with a frank sense of relief at the shifted re 
 sponsibility. 
 
 The new life into which she entered proved dif 
 ferent in every respect from what she had expected. 
 The Doctor s time, scheduled to the minute, ad 
 mitted of no interruptions, however helpful from 
 her. In fact, he seemed to regard her as a cher 
 ished luxury which he had no time to enjoy. The 
 children accepted her according to their respective 
 natures, Connie as a chum, Hattie as an arch enemy, 
 and Bertie as an idol. 
 
 Hattie was fourteen, and had solved all the prob 
 lems of the universe. She firmly upheld Aristotle 
 and scornfully dismissed Plato from the world of 
 philosophy. She disapproved of boys, of society, 
 of second marriages, and she had four desperately 
 intimate friends, all of whom were going to be 
 authoresses. According to her observations she was 
 the one person in the universe, excepting her father, 
 who adhered to the truth. Hence her mission in 
 life was to struggle single-handed against other peo 
 ple s inaccuracies. 
 
 Miss Lady found refuge from Hattie s caustic 
 1 66 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 comments in Bertie s immediate devotion. He had 
 won her heart on the night of her arrival, when he 
 had gone to sleep in her lap with a last injunction, 
 that she " must stay with them always, until God 
 sent for her." 
 
 Whatever ideas Miss Lady had cherished of tak 
 ing charge of the domestic affairs were promptly 
 discouraged by Myrtella, who had graciously con 
 sented to give the new mistress a month s trial, 
 threatening that at the first interference she would 
 abandon her to her fate. 
 
 Their first meeting was auspicious. Myrtella on 
 returning from her afternoon out, had heard a wild 
 commotion in the nursery and hastened up to investi 
 gate. Bertie s introduction was breathless : 
 
 " It s the new mother, Telia, and Chick s here, 
 and we are playing bear, and we ve broken the 
 bed-springs, and she knows heaps and heaps of 
 stories, and she knows Chick ! " 
 
 Myrtella, who had steeled herself for mortal com 
 bat, was not prepared for a foe who sat in the mid 
 dle of the nursery bed, laughing behind a tumbled 
 shock of shining brown hair. 
 
 " Oh! this is Myrtella, is n t it? " asked the bear, 
 shaking back her mane and smiling with engaging 
 frankness. " Bertie says you are Chick s aunt, 
 and Chick s an old friend of mine, is n t it 
 funny ? " 
 
 167 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Where d you ever know Chick?" demanded 
 Myrtella with instant suspicion. 
 
 " We both live on Billy-goat Hill. We always 
 wave to each other when I pass by, don t we, 
 Chick?" 
 
 Chick, who was partially under the bed, still in 
 his character of intrepid hunter, acknowledged the 
 fact with such a torrent of enthusiastic incoherence 
 that Myrtella interrupted sternly: 
 
 " Come out here this minute. It s time for you 
 to be going on home anyhow. First thing I know 
 I 11 be getting complained at for having you hang 
 ing around so much. And look at your hands, 
 Bertie Queerington ! You are going to get put in 
 the bath-tub right off, that s what you are going 
 to get!" 
 
 " I 11 bathe him," said Miss Lady eagerly. 
 
 " No," said Myrtella firmly, " there can t nobody 
 but me manage him." 
 
 But in spite of the ferocity of Myrtella s aspect, 
 there was a softened gleam in her eye that showed 
 that the new mistress had begun by giving satisfac 
 tion. 
 
 The first few days after her arrival, Miss Lady 
 spent in the dim parlor receiving callers. All the 
 Doctor s relatives having survived their spasms of 
 indignation over his marriage, united in a prompt 
 determination to train up his young wife in the way 
 
 1 68 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 she should go. Advice as various as it was pro 
 fuse, was showered upon her. At first she was 
 amused; then she was inexpressibly bored; at last 
 she was desperate. She was not used to being in 
 doors all day, she was not used to spending her 
 time with elderly ladies who talked of moral obliga 
 tions, and social demands, and civic consciences. 
 The duties of her married life which had promised 
 such interesting responsibilities, and wonderful op 
 portunities for aiding the Doctor in his great work, 
 seemed to be shrinking into the dull task of keeping 
 herself and the children out of his way, preserving 
 a tomb-like silence in the house, and entertaining an 
 endless round of callers. 
 
 Even this would have been bearable if the Doc 
 tor could only have taken time from his soul-ab 
 sorbing work to listen at the end of the day, with 
 amused tenderness, to all her little experiences, if 
 he had discussed with her the best way of handling 
 the children, laughed with her over her struggles 
 with Myrtella, and encouraged those affectionate 
 words and caresses that were so much a part of her 
 nature. 
 
 If he could have done this, Miss Lady would have 
 soon found satisfaction in lavishing her affection 
 upon him. It was her bent to be passionately at 
 tached to those about her, and she was not one to 
 stand still in a mental or emotional imprisonment. 
 
 169 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 But the Doctor was struggling through the most 
 nerve-wrecking month of the year at the university. 
 The beginning of a new term, the adjustment of 
 classes, the enrolment of new pupils, all made a 
 heavy drain on his weakened constitution. He was 
 in no condition in the evenings to give out anything 
 more, even to a young and devoted bride who was 
 quite ready to relinquish any other pleasure to burn 
 incense at the shrine of his learning. 
 
 The homesickness that had hung over her since 
 the day she had turned her back on Thornwood 
 would have enveloped her completely had it not 
 been for Connie. Connie was but a year her junior, 
 and was thoroughly disapproved by the family con 
 nection. She enjoyed the reputation of being 
 frivolous and vain, and wholly lacking in reverence 
 to her elders. 
 
 Connie s friends and amusements proved the line 
 of least resistance along which Miss Lady raced 
 to freedom. The tennis court served as a joyful 
 substitute for the drab dreariness of the new home, 
 and the free and easy companionship of Connie s 
 friends a happy relief from the elderly feminines 
 that invaded it. 
 
 The Doctor was still the majestic pivot, round 
 which her thoughts swung, but the circle was grow 
 ing wider and wider. The difference in their ages, 
 which at first to her inexperience had seemed such 
 
 170 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 a trifling consideration, proved more serious as time 
 went on. 
 
 She was eager for life, keen for pleasure, plastic, 
 susceptible. Each new experience was to her an 
 epoch, while to the Doctor, whose habits and opin 
 ions were fixed for eternity, it was usually but a 
 fresh interruption to his work. 
 
 It was not that he failed to appreciate her. The 
 light that came into his serious eyes whenever she 
 was near, the unfailing courtesy and gentleness 
 with which he spoke to her, the absolute freedom 
 he allowed her, and the flattering appeal he made 
 to her intellect, calmed whatever doubts might have 
 risen in her mind. 
 
 Of her own feelings she dared not stop to think. 
 Life was all so strange, so different from what 
 she had expected. The flashes of doubt and per 
 plexity that came in the pauses between Connie s 
 closely planned festivities, she attributed to home 
 sickness. 
 
 It was late when her last caller departed, and as 
 she ran lightly up to the Doctor s study, she realized 
 with a little sense of disappointment that she had 
 not seen him since breakfast. Even now she paused 
 at the door, for fear she would interrupt some flight 
 of the muse. But on peeping in she found his big 
 armchair drawn up to the window, and the top of a 
 head appearing above its back. Tiptoeing cautiously 
 
 171 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 forward she clapped her hands over his eyes and 
 dropped a kiss on his upturned forehead. 
 
 In an instant a strange, belligerent little gentle 
 man had sprung to his feet and was confronting 
 her with features that resembled those of a magni 
 fied and outraged bumblebee. 
 
 " I am so sorry ! " stammered Miss Lady in laugh 
 ing chagrin, " I I thought you were the Doctor! " 
 
 " Even so," admitted the stranger rather firmly, 
 standing with chin lifted and nostrils dilated, " even 
 so. You seem to have forgotten the fact that Doc 
 tor Queerington is now a benedict ! " 
 
 " Yes, but you don t understand. " I am " 
 
 " A friend of Constance no doubt. But under 
 the circumstances you will permit me to say that 
 such conduct is illadvised. I should not mention it 
 were I not a friend of the family " 
 
 "Oh! You are Mr. Gooch?" 
 
 " I am. And I have the pleasure of address 
 ing" 
 
 " Why, I m Mrs. Queerington," said Miss Lady, 
 blushing furiously. 
 
 Mr. Gooch sank back into the chair and looked 
 at her indignantly. 
 
 " Impossible ! " he exploded. " They did not tell 
 me in fact I was not prepared May I ask 
 you not to mention my mistake to the girls? Con 
 stance, as you doubtless have discovered, is very 
 
 172 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 silly, given to making great capital out of nothing. 
 We will not mention it." 
 
 " Ah! " said the Doctor in the doorway with his 
 arms full of books. " How are you, my dear ? 
 How are you, Mr. Gooch ? What is this conspiracy 
 of silence?" 
 
 " It is only against the girls," laughed Miss Lady. 
 " We 11 take him in, won t we, Mr. Gooch ? " 
 
 The Doctor listened with tolerant amusement as 
 Miss Lady gave a dramatic account of the. double 
 mistake, but Mr. Gooch failed to smile. 
 
 All through supper that evening Miss Lady tried 
 in vain to propitiate the guest. His manner showed 
 only too plainly that he regarded her as an intrusion 
 in the family which he had seen fit to adopt. It 
 was not until the pudding arrived that his mood 
 rnellowed. Myrtella s cooking was so eminently to 
 his taste that he was willing to put up with a great 
 deal for the privilege of enjoying it. Moreover, 
 laughter always improved his digestion and the 
 young person at the head of the table was proving 
 amusing. 
 
 " Mr. Gooch is waiting for more coffee," an 
 nounced Hattie, interrupting an animated account 
 Miss Lady was giving of her first day at the country 
 school. 
 
 " Let her finish the story," said the Doctor to 
 whom food was immaterial. He was indulging in 
 
 173 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 the unusual luxury of loitering at the table after the 
 meal was finished, a habit seldom tolerated in the 
 Queerington household. 
 
 " But there is n t time," insisted Hattie. " Con 
 nie is having a party to-night." 
 
 "A party?" The Doctor s brows lifted. 
 
 " Yes," broke in Connie. " Miss Lady said she 
 did n t think you d mind, and she persuaded Myr- 
 tella to let us dance in here. You won t mind the 
 noise, just this one night, will you, Father? " 
 
 The Doctor considered the matter gravely. After 
 all, his reading would be interrupted by Mr. Gooch, 
 so he might as well assent. He seldom objected 
 to any plan that did not interfere with his own ac 
 tions. His absorption in the race precluded an in 
 terest in mere family matters. 
 
 " They are not pressing you into service, I hope ? " 
 he asked, glancing at Miss Lady. 
 
 " Indeed we are ! " cried Connie. " She s go 
 ing to play for us to dance, when she is n t dancing 
 herself. Of course we want her with us." 
 
 " You forget, Constance, that there are other 
 claims upon her. Mr. Gooch and I would like to 
 have her with us in the study." 
 
 Miss Lady looked up in pleased surprise. 
 
 "That settles it, Connie," she said; "you girls 
 can play for yourselves. Come on and go to bed, 
 
 174 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Kiddie," and with Bertie at her heels, the new mis 
 tress of Queerington raced down the hall. 
 
 For ten years Doctor Queerington and Mr. Gooch 
 had played pinochle every Friday evening. The 
 Doctor did not especially enjoy it, except as one of 
 those incidents that grows acceptable by long repeti 
 tion. He was a born routinist, regarding a well- 
 regulated world as a place where everything ran -in 
 the same grooves to eternity. One of his chief 
 sources of satisfaction in regard to his seccmd mar 
 riage was that it promised not to interfere with 
 those established laws which regulated his day, 
 from the prompt breakfast at 7 115 to the long hours 
 with his books in the evening. In short, Doctor 
 Queerington was a sort of well-regulated human 
 clock, announcing his opinions as irrevocably as the 
 striker announces the hours, and ticking along so 
 monotonously between times that one almost for 
 got he was there. 
 
 If the Friday evening game was to him merely a 
 habit, to Mr. Gooch it was an occasion. Having 
 once seated himself, and glanced around to make 
 sure his hand was not reflected in a mirror, he 
 spread his cards gingerly in his palm with only 
 the corners visible, squared his jaw and proceeded 
 with solemnity to observe the full rigor of the game. 
 There was no trifling with points, or replaying of 
 
 175 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 tricks. The marriage of kings and queens was 
 solemnized without rejoicing, and even the parade 
 of a royal sequence brought no flush of triumph 
 to his cheek, but moved him only to chronicle it in 
 small, precise figures in a red morocco note-book 
 which he always brought with him for the purpose. 
 
 When Miss Lady came up to the study, after 
 giving Bertie two encores to " Jack the Giant Kil 
 ler," she found the men silently absorbed in their 
 game. Sitting on a hassock at the Doctor s side, 
 she tried to follow the detailed explanation that he 
 gave during each deal. But the jargon of " declara 
 tions," and " sequences," and " common marriages " 
 soon grew wearisome, and she found herself idly 
 studying the Doctor s fine, serious face, and listen 
 ing for his low, flexible voice which unconsciously 
 softened when he spoke to her. 
 
 In spite of the fact that the study was very warm 
 these sultry September evenings, and the Doctor s 
 mental strides much too long for her to keep pace, 
 she nevertheless looked eagerly forward to the hours 
 spent there. If at times she failed to follow his 
 elucidations, or grew sleepy reading aloud from 
 some well-thumbed classic, it was not because her 
 admiration and respect for her husband were les 
 sening. In fact, he was always at his best at this 
 time, surrounded by the books he knew and loved, 
 and expanding under the approbation of his one 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 appreciative listener. Here he reigned, a feudal 
 lord, safe guarded in his castle of books against that 
 strange and formidable enemy, the World. 
 
 " Four aces, and pinocle," announced Mr. Gooch 
 with grim satisfaction. 
 
 Miss Lady rose restlessly and went to the window 
 in the alcove. From the parlor below came the 
 strains of a waltz and snatches of laughter; over 
 head the stars loomed big and white in the summer 
 night. She thought how strange and lonesome it 
 must be out at Thornwood with the lights all out 
 and the windows nailed up. The little night things 
 were singing in the garden by this time, and the cool 
 breezes were beginning to stir the treetops. She 
 wondered how Mike was getting along without her, 
 and a lump rose in her throat. She swallowed 
 resolutely, and smiled confidently up at the stars. 
 Her married life was not in the least what she had 
 expected, but it would all work out for the best. 
 To be sure, nobody seemed to need her, nothing was 
 required of her, but she would make a place for 
 herself, she must make a place for herself. Per 
 haps if she had something to do besides playing with 
 Connie and her friends all day, she would get over 
 this feeling of uselessness, and this haunting home 
 sickness for the hills and valleys, for her horses and 
 dogs, and the old brick house among the trees. 
 
 Suddenly she caught her breath and listened: 
 177 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " He s coming home," Mr. Gooch was saying in 
 the room behind her. " At least, they ve sent for 
 him. Young Decker, who has just gotten back, 
 says Morley will come on a stretcher rather than 
 have people believe that he shot a man, then ran 
 away. They had never heard a word of the indict 
 ment." 
 
 " As I expected," the Doctor said, shuffling the 
 cards. "When does he return?" 
 
 " When he s able to travel, I suppose. Decker 
 left him down with a fever in a hospital in Singa 
 pore. He s done for himself, I am afraid." 
 
 " Very probably," said the Doctor. " Poor Don 
 ald ! It s your lead." 
 
 Miss Lady slipped behind the curtain, and steadied 
 herself by the window sill. Why had her heart 
 almost stopped beating? Why was it beating now 
 as if it would strangle her? Why did the thought 
 of Donald Morley lying ill and friendless in a for 
 eign hospital rouse every desire in her to go to him 
 at once at any cost ? Waves of surprise and shame 
 surged over her. She heard nothing, saw nothing, 
 save the fact that something she thought was dead 
 had come to life. She was wakening from a long 
 numb sleep, and the wakening was terrifying. 
 What irremediable catastrophe had happened be 
 tween now and that supreme moment when she had 
 stood under the lilacs in the twilight with Donald 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Morley s arms about her, his breath on her cheek, 
 and his passionate plea: "Oh, if you only knew 
 how I need you ! I 11 be anything under heaven for 
 your sake if you 11 only stand by me ! " 
 
 " My game," said the Doctor. " Fortune has 
 favored me. What became of Miss Lady? The 
 call of the young people down-stairs grew too strong, 
 I presume." 
 
 Mr. Gooch, in a very bad humor over the loss of 
 the last game, sullenly packed his deck of cards in 
 the case with the red morocco note-book and made 
 ready to take his departure. The Doctor automat 
 ically placed the card table against the wall, arranged 
 the chairs at their proper angles, straightened a book 
 on his desk, and turned out the lights, leaving a slim 
 white figure with trembling hands and terror- 
 stricken eyes, cowering in the starlight behind the 
 swaying curtains. 
 
 179 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 IT was always an occasion of significance when 
 Mr. and Mrs. Basil Sequin found time in their 
 busy lives to discuss a family matter. There was no 
 particular lack of interest on either side, it was 
 simply that their hours did not happen to fit. When 
 he was not at his club, she was at hers; when she 
 was dining at home, he was detained at a directors 
 meeting; when he went North to a Bankers Con 
 vention, she went South to attend a bridge tourna 
 ment. So it was small wonder the butler, remov 
 ing the breakfast things, should have looked puzzled 
 when Mr. and Mrs. Sequin remained at table in 
 earnest conversation. 
 
 Mr. Sequin was a thin, stooped man, prematurely 
 old at fifty. The harassed, driven expression that 
 was so habitual to his face had plowed furrows that 
 no lighter mood could now erase. His present 
 mood, however, was not a light one. He sat with 
 his hand shading his eyes, and scowled gloomily at 
 the tablecloth. 
 
 " I told you a month ago," he was saying, " that 
 you d have to cut some of the expenses on the new 
 
 1 80 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 house. We Ve already gone twenty thousand over 
 the original estimate. There is n t a month now 
 that our accounts are not overdrawn. Nothing has 
 been said directly, but it is known on the street. 
 Nothing will be said, as long as it is understood 
 that I am to have the management of the Dillingham 
 estate at the general s death, but if this estrangement 
 should continue between Margery and Lee Dilling 
 ham " 
 
 "Now, Basil!" Mrs. Sequin cried dramatically, 
 " don t for mercy s sake take a nervous-prostration 
 patient seriously. Margery is nothing but a bunch of 
 notions, and Cropsie Decker has gotten her all stirred 
 up about the injustice that has been done to Don. 
 I won t even let her talk to me about it, it s all so 
 silly. What possible difference can it make who 
 did the shooting? The boys are well out of the 
 scrape and it s almost forgotten by this time. 
 Young people who are engaged have to have some 
 thing to quarrel over; this won t amount to a row 
 of pins. I am going right on making preparations 
 for an early spring wedding. By the way, you know 
 the bow window in the drawing-room ? Well, I am 
 having it made four feet wider so they can be mar 
 ried there facing the loggia, like this ! " 
 
 Mrs. Sequin s two plump fingers did duty for 
 the bride and groom, but Mr. Sequin was not inter 
 ested. 
 
 181 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I should not be surprised if Decker cabled Don 
 ald to come home. He s in a great state of in 
 dignation over the fact that the blame was put on 
 Don. You see, it is all a fresh issue with them." 
 
 " I d be perfectly furious with Don," declared 
 Mrs. Sequin, "if he came back and got into a 
 quarrel with Lee. Margery will be sure to take 
 his part; she s always so silly about Don. If she 
 were well enough I d be tempted to rush the wed 
 ding through before Christmas. But then, we 
 could n t have it in the new house, and I have prac 
 tically built that first floor for the wedding. Every 
 thing depends on our having it there." 
 
 " Everything depends on our having it some 
 where ! " said Mr. Sequin grimly. 
 
 " Mrs. Queerington s cook, madam, wishes to 
 speak to you," announced the butler at the pantry 
 door. 
 
 " Tell her to wait," said Mrs. Sequin without turn 
 ing her head. " What did you decide about the 
 decorator s estimates, Basil ? " 
 
 " Decide ? What time have I to be considering 
 decorations? Why can t you attend to it? " 
 
 " \Vhy, indeed ? I only have to attend to the al 
 terations on the bow window, look at the new 
 sketches for the garage, have a shampoo and mas 
 sage, lunch at the Welderns , take Fanchonette to the 
 veterinary, be fitted at three, and go to the Bartrums 
 
 182 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 at five. By all means, I 11 attend to it. I 11 give- the 
 order to Lefferan; he handles the most exclusive 
 designs." 
 
 " That s what we want," said Mr. Sequin, rising; 
 " the most exclusive and the most expensive. Our 
 credit is good for a few months yet. Have the small 
 car at the bank at 6 130. I will not be home for din 
 ner." 
 
 Mrs. Sequin sighed as he slammed the front door. 
 There was no use denying the fact that men were 
 trying, even the best of them. Had n t Cousin John 
 Queerington, that paragon of perfection, toppled on 
 his pedestal at the smile of an unsophisticated little 
 country girl? And there was Basil, recognized as 
 a veritable wizard of finance, waiting until the new 
 house was almost completed, then getting panicky 
 about the cost. And now Donald, whom she 
 thought safely anchored on the other side of the 
 world, threatening to come home at the most inop 
 portune time and create no end of trouble ! 
 
 " Excuse me, madam," said the butler, " but she 
 says she ain t going to wait another minute." 
 
 " Jenkins ! " Mrs. Sequin raised her brows dis 
 approvingly. " Send that odious woman up to Miss 
 Margery s room ; I will see her there." 
 
 The room above the dining-room was one of those 
 pink-and-white jumbles that convention prescribes 
 for debutantes. Garlands of pink roses festooned 
 
 183 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 the paper, tied at intervals by enormous pink bows. 
 Pink bows and ruffles smothered the dresser and 
 sewing table, and pink and white cushions filled the 
 window seat. Cotillion favors, old dance cards, 
 theater programs, were pinned to the heavy pink and 
 white curtains that shut out the sunlight. Among 
 the lace pillows of the brass bed lay a languid, pale- 
 faced girl, who stared up at the rose-entwined ceil 
 ing, as a prisoner might stare at her bars. 
 
 " Close the door, Myrtella," Mrs. Sequin said as 
 they entered. " I am mortally afraid of drafts. 
 Good morning, Margery. Where is your blue hat ? 
 I told Miss Lady to send up for it, because I am go 
 ing to take her to the Bartrums this afternoon and 
 I simply could not have her appear in that ridiculous 
 little hat she wears all the time." 
 
 The girl in the bed turned a fretful face toward 
 her mother : 
 
 " Why, Miss Lady promised to spend the after 
 noon with me. I ve been looking forward to it for 
 days." 
 
 " Yes, I know, dear, but I told her you were n t 
 quite so well, and that she could come to-morrow. 
 You see, she really can t afford to miss the Bar 
 trums tea ; it s the first entertainment this fall and 
 everybody will be there. I know you think Mrs. 
 Bartrum a little gay, but you can t deny she runs that 
 younger set." 
 
 184 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Margery Sequin clasped her thin white hands 
 tensely, and resumed her study of the vine-covered 
 ceiling. 
 
 " Here s the hat," said Mrs. Sequin, handing a 
 large hat box to Myrtella, then noting her offended 
 expression she added by way of propitiation : " I 
 don t know how they would get along without you 
 at the Doctor s. I hear that the new mistress 
 does n t know a saucepan from a skillet/ 
 
 " She ain t no fool," returned Myrtella instantly 
 on the defensive. 
 
 "Of course not, just young and careless. I dare 
 say she does n t even order the groceries, does she ? " 
 
 " No, mam/ 
 
 " Nor plan for the meals ? " 
 
 " No, mam." 
 
 " And you attend to everything just as if she 
 were n t there ? It s really too funny, is n t it, Mar 
 gery ? Tell Mrs. Queerington that I 11 send the 
 motor for her at five ; and do see that she is properly 
 hooked up." 
 
 Myrtella succeeded in getting herself and the box 
 silently out of the room, but the butler passing her 
 on the back stairs was startled by a verbal shower 
 that was not in the least intended for him. It was 
 as if a watering cart had suddenly and unexpectedly 
 turned on its supply regardless of its surroundings. 
 
 At five o clock Miss Lady, very radiant and ap- 
 185 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 parently in high spirits, presented herself at the Se 
 quins . 
 
 " May I come in just for a minute? " she asked 
 at Margery s door. " I Ve brought you some chrys 
 anthemums. Uncle Jimpson brought them in from 
 Thornwood this morning. It s too bad you are n t 
 so well." 
 
 Margery turned admiring eyes on the bright face 
 above her. 
 
 " I m no worse," she said, " just disappointed. I 
 thought I was going to have you all to myself this 
 afternoon." 
 
 " But I did n t know you could have me ! I 11 run 
 in and tell your mother." 
 
 Mrs. Sequin, who was being insinuated into a 
 very tight gown by the sheer physical prowess of 
 her maid, exclaimed with satisfaction as Miss Lady 
 entered : 
 
 " There, I knew it ! The hat makes the costume. 
 You are perfect ! Now, remember the people I want 
 you to be especially nice to, Mrs. Gibbs, Mrs. March- 
 mont " 
 
 " The silly old woman that paints her face and 
 wears the pearls like moth balls? She drove 
 around yesterday to tell me the name of her hair 
 dresser. It s always the people that have n t any 
 hair that want to have it dressed." 
 
 1 86 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Miss Lady ! She is Mrs. Leslie Marchmont, the 
 most sought after woman in town! " 
 
 " I don t care, her horses look as if they had been 
 fed on corn stalks." 
 
 " But you must n t say such things ! You must 
 cultivate discretion. If you want me to introduce 
 you to the right people " 
 
 " But they may not be the right people for me ! 
 Some of them are lovely, but I can t stand the af 
 fected ones, nor the ones that patronize me." 
 
 " But they \von t patronize you if you are a little 
 more reserved. There s no earthly reason for your 
 telling them that you keep only one servant, and 
 saying that you come from Billy-goat HilL It s 
 a horrid name given our beautiful hillside, by horrid 
 people. You see, you really must cultivate more 
 caution. You are, what shall I say? too frank, 
 too natural." 
 
 Miss Lady laughed. " I have n t the least idea 
 how to go about being unnatural, but, thank heaven, 
 I don t have to learn to-day! Margery is feeling 
 better and is going to let me stay with her." 
 
 " That s absurd ! You are all ready to go, and 
 I want Mrs. Bartrum to see you for the first time 
 just as you look now. Where are your gloves ? " 
 
 " I forgot them, but it does n t matter, I m not 
 going." 
 
 187 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I 11 send Jenkins for them at once." 
 
 Miss Lady s cheek flushed and she looked at Mrs. 
 Sequin in perplexity, then her brow cleared. 
 
 You are afraid I 11 stay too long and wear Mar 
 gery out? I promise to go the minute she looks 
 tired. You can trust her with me, can t you? " 
 
 " But she has 1 her nurse, there s no earthly rea 
 
 son " 
 
 " Except that she wants me to stay. You 11 feel 
 happier, too, knowing that she is n t lonely." 
 
 " But don t you want to go to the tea ? " 
 
 " Oh, I did a little. But I think that was because 
 you and Connie and Margery said I looked nice. 
 I m awfully squeezed and uncomfortable; I wonder 
 if Margery can t lend me a dressing sacque? " 
 
 Thus it was that Mrs. Sequin went off to the Bar- 
 trums in a very bad humor, leaving the two girls 
 chattering together in the pink boudoir, with the 
 nurse banished to the lower regions. 
 
 " Don t you want some fresh air ? " asked Miss 
 Lady, when she had stood the heat as long as she 
 could. 
 
 You may open the door," said Margery, " we 
 never the leave the window up on account of 
 drafts." 
 
 " But I can wrap you up, and put the screen up. 
 There ! You can t take cold with all that on. It s 
 the kind of day that makes me want to be on a horse, 
 
 1 88 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 galloping through the woods with the wind in my 
 face." 
 
 Margery watched Miss Lady s quick motion as she 
 opened all the windows behind the ruffled curtains, 
 and let in a current of fresh invigorating air. 
 
 " How young you are!" she said. "Years and 
 years younger than I feel. I can t realize you are 
 married and have three step-children." 
 
 " Neither can I," said Miss Lady. " I m always 
 forgetting it. Wouldn t you like to sit up for a 
 while?" 
 
 "Oh! I can t. I have to lie perfectly quiet." 
 
 "Who said so?" 
 
 " Everybody does who has nervous prostration. 
 The doctors say that my nerves are nothing but 
 quivering wires. I suppose I went too hard last 
 winter, but of course I could n t drop out in the 
 middle of my first season." 
 
 " I don t believe it would hurt you a bit to sit up. 
 If I fix that big rocker will you try it? " 
 
 " But I have n t sat up for six weeks. When I 
 try it in bed I have such tingly sensations." 
 
 " That s because your legs are straight out. 
 Let s try it in the chair, with them hanging 
 down." 
 
 " I 11 try it, but I know I can t stand it. There ! 
 Thank you so much ! You would n t think that a 
 year ago I was as strong as you are! Why, be- 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 tween October and March I went to over a hun 
 dred and fifty entertainments, besides the theaters 
 and opera." 
 
 " Good heavens ! " cried Miss Lady aghast. 
 
 "Of course, about New Year s, I began to wob 
 ble, but mother had me take massage and electricity 
 and kept me going until Lent. After that I col 
 lapsed until summer. Then we went to White Sul 
 phur, w r here the Dillinghams have a cottage, I had 
 to lie down every afternoon, but I was always able 
 to be up for the dances." 
 
 The nurse coming in with a long flower box, 
 paused in surprise at the sight of her patient sitting 
 up, then discreetly tiptoed out again. 
 
 " Somebody has sent you some flowers ! " cried 
 Miss Lady excitedly. " How nice ! Shall I open 
 the box?" 
 
 " Just as you like. They are probably from Lee. 
 He sends them now instead of coming." 
 
 " But there may be a note," said Miss Lady, 
 searching in the tissue paper. 
 
 Margery shook her head wearily; the little ani 
 mation that had flushed her face, died out leaving 
 it wan and listless. 
 
 " I suppose you think this is a queer way for an 
 engaged girl to talk," she said presently, with a 
 nervous catch in her voice. " The truth is Lee and 
 I have quarreled over my uncle, Donald Morley. I 
 
 190 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 will never forgive him for the way he has treated 
 Don ; never ! " 
 
 You will if you love him," said Miss Lady. 
 
 " But I m not sure that I do ! " burst out Mar 
 gery. " I ought n t to say it ! I shan t say it again, 
 but I shall die if I don t talk to somebody. Mother 
 won t listen to a word. She says it s nerves. But 
 the truth is, Miss Lady, I Ve never been sure; that s 
 what s making me ill ! " 
 
 " Have you told him? " 
 
 " Yes, and he laughs at me. He may be right, 
 they all may be right. When I get well I may laugh 
 at myself. But just now it seems so terrible for 
 the preparations to be going on while I m lying here, 
 night after night, fighting down the doubts, trying 
 to persuade myself, trying to be sure. How can 
 you tell when you are in love? How do you 
 know?" 
 
 Miss Lady s hand that had been softly stroking 
 the girl s thin white fingers, paused ; her eyes sought 
 the open window, and she drew a short breath. 
 
 " Know? " she repeated as if to herself. " How 
 do you know when you are cold, when you are 
 hungry, when you re tired, when you re lonesome ? 
 How do you know that you want air when you are 
 smothering? Everything about you tells you, your 
 heart, your mind, your body, your soul. You can t 
 help knowing! " 
 
 191 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " But suppose I don t feel like that ! And sup 
 pose I should, some day, for some one else! Oh! 
 Miss Lady tell me what to do! Everybody else is 
 rushing me on, telling me not to worry, not to be 
 afraid. But you are not like the others, you con 
 sider something more than the outside advantages 
 to be gained. Tell me, what would you do in my 
 place?" 
 
 " I d wait for the real one to come," cried Miss 
 Lady, turning upon her almost fiercely, " I d wait, 
 if it was forever! They have no right to persuade 
 you. You either love or you don t love and no 
 power on earth can make it different. You can 
 laugh at sentiment and pretend you don t believe 
 in it, you can tell yourself a thousand times that 
 you are doing the sensible thing. You can blind 
 yourself utterly to the truth for a time. But some 
 day you Ve got to realize that the only real thing 
 in life is love, and that you are powerless to make it 
 live or die." 
 
 After that they sat a long time in silence, until 
 Miss Lady rose abruptly and, making some excuse, 
 took a hurried departure. She was frightened at 
 what she had said, at what she had thought. She 
 was terrified at this strange, new self, that spoke 
 out of a strange, new experience, and set at naught 
 all her carefully acquired opinions. It was not until 
 
 192 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 she reached home after a brisk walk through the 
 crisp air, that the turmoil in her brain subsided. 
 
 On the hall table beside a well-worn copy of 
 Shelley, lay the Doctor s gloves and soft gray hat. 
 She seized the gloves impulsively and laid them 
 against her cheek. 
 
 "Dear, dear Doctor!" she whispered almost 
 fiercely. " So good, and kind, and and wonder 
 ful ! " 
 
 Suddenly she was aware of some one watching 
 her covertly through the crack of the dining-room 
 door. 
 
 " Myrtella ! " she cried. " Is that you ? " 
 
 " Yes m, if you please," came in strange, meek 
 accents. " I d like to speak with you." 
 
 It was so entirely out of the course of human 
 events for Myrtella to assume humility, that Miss 
 Lady looked at her in amazement. 
 
 " I can t say," began Myrtella, still half behind 
 the door, " that I like the way things is run in this 
 house. I m thinkin some of givin notice." 
 
 " Why, Myrtella ! " cried Miss Lady in dismay. 
 " I m afraid the work is too heavy. We might 
 get-" 
 
 " Need n t mind finishing Mis Squeerington, you 
 was goin to say a house girl. If you think I *d share 
 my room with any Dutch or Irish biddy, I must say 
 
 193 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 you re mighty mistaken ! Besides, ain t I givin sat 
 isfaction? Ain t I doin 1 the work to suit you? " 
 
 "Of course you are, but I thought you " 
 
 " Was gettin old, I suppose, and could n t do as 
 much work as I used to. I look feeble, don t I ? " 
 
 Miss Lady glanced at the massive figure with 
 brawny arms akimbo, and smiled. 
 
 "Well, what s the trouble then?" she asked 
 kindly. " Why do you want to leave ? " 
 
 Myrtella s eyes shifted as she rubbed some im 
 aginary dust from the door : 
 
 " I ain t used to working fer a lady that don t take 
 no holt. It don t seem natural, and it leaves folks 
 room to talk/ 
 
 " But I thought you wanted to have full charge 
 and run things just as you have done in the past." 
 
 " Well, it don t look right fer you not to be givin 
 me no orders, nor rowin the grocery man, nor 
 lightin into nobody. If folks did n t know better 
 they d think you was n t used to bein a lady ! " 
 
 Miss Lady bit her lip to keep from laughing. 
 
 " I 11 be only too glad to keep house, only I 
 don t know much about it. Aunt Caroline and 
 Uncle Jimpson did everything out home, and you ve 
 done everything here." 
 
 " Well, I ain t goin to no longer/ said Myrtella 
 firmly. "If you want to light in and learn, I 11 
 learn you. But I ain t going to stay except on one 
 
 194 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 condition, you got to take a holt of everything! 
 You got to lock things up and give me out what I 
 need. You got to order all the meals and tell me 
 what you want done every mornin . I ain t goin 
 to have people throwin it in my face that I work 
 for a lady that don t know a skillet from a sauce 
 pan!" 
 
 "You re right, Myrtella," said Miss Lady, her 
 face grown suddenly grave. " I don t wonder you 
 are ashamed of me. Perhaps some good hard work 
 will brush the cobwebs out of my brain. When 
 shall I take charge of things, to-morrow? " 
 
 " As you say," said Myrtella meekly ; then with a 
 sudden flare, " though it does look like I might be 
 trusted one more day to finish up the general clean 
 ing and git after the ashman for not empty in them 
 barrels." 
 
 "Friday, then?" 
 
 " Friday," said Myrtella as one who signed her 
 own death warrant, and the young mistress gazing 
 absently out of the window little guessed that a pow 
 erful usurper was voluntarily abdicating a throne 
 in order that the rightful owner might come into her 
 own. 
 
 195 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE red lamps were all lighted in Mrs. Ivy s 
 small parlor, and the disordered tea-table and 
 general confusion of the overcrowded room, gave 
 evidence that one of her frequent " at homes " had 
 been brought to an end. 
 
 It might have been inferred that the hostess had 
 also been brought to an end, to judge from her closed 
 eyes and clasped hands, and the effort with which 
 she inhaled her breath and the violence with which 
 she exhaled it. The maid, clearing away the tea 
 things, viewed her with apprehension. 
 
 " Excuse me, ma m, but will you be havin the 
 hot-water bag? " she asked when she could endure 
 the strain no longer. 
 
 Mrs. Ivy opened one reluctant eye and conde 
 scended to recall her spirit to the material world. 
 
 " Norah, how could you? " she asked plaintively. 
 " Have n t I begged you never to disturb my medita 
 tion?" 
 
 Yis, ma m, but this, you might say, was worse 
 than usual. Me mother s twin sister died of the 
 asthmy." 
 
 196 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Never speak to me when you see me entering 
 into the silence. I was denying fatigue ; now I shall 
 have to begin all over ! " 
 
 It was evidently difficult for Mrs. Ivy to again 
 tranquilize her spirit. Her eyes roved fondly about 
 the room, resting first upon one cherished object then 
 upon another. Autographed photographs lined 
 the walls, autographed volumes littered the tables. 
 Above her head two small bronze censers sent 
 wreaths of incense curling about a vast testimonial, 
 acknowledging her valiant service in behalf of the 
 anti-tobacco crusade. Flanking this were badges of 
 divers shape and size, representing societies to which 
 she belonged. In the cabinet at her left were still 
 more disturbing treasures such as Gerald s first pair 
 of shoes, and the gavel that the last president of 
 the Federated Sisterhood had used before she had, 
 as Mrs. Ivy was fond of saying, " been called upon 
 to hand in her resignation by the Board of Death." 
 
 Before the error of fatigue had been entirely 
 erased from her mental state, her eyes fell upon a 
 pamphlet, and she immediately became absorbed in 
 its contents. It set forth the need for a Home for 
 Crippled Animals, and by the time she reached the 
 second page she was framing a motion to be pre 
 sented to her club on the morrow. Mrs. Ivy was 
 greatly addicted to motions; in fact, it was one of 
 her missions in life continually to move that things 
 
 197 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 should be other than they were, without in any way 
 supplying the motive power to change them. 
 
 While thus engaged she was interrupted by a be 
 lated caller. He was a short, heavy-set young man, 
 with a square prominent jaw, and a twinkle in his 
 eye. 
 
 " Mister Decker ! " exclaimed Mrs. Ivy, swimming 
 toward him. " After all these months in those won 
 derful Eastern lands ! I can almost catch the odor 
 of sandal wood about you ! " 
 
 " It s dope," said Decker, with an easy laugh. 
 " Chinese dope. I ve had these clothes cleaned 
 twice, and I can t get rid of it. Had them on one 
 night in an opium den in Hankow. Funny how that 
 smell stays with you." 
 
 "An opium den?" repeated Mrs. Ivy, lifting a 
 protesting hand. " And is no effort being made to 
 stamp out such iniquities in China ? Might not some 
 concerted action on the part of the women s clubs 
 in all the Christian countries create a public senti 
 ment against them ? " 
 
 Decker bit his lip as he stooped to pick up the 
 leaflet she had dropped. 
 
 " Gerald s here I suppose? " 
 
 " Of course! How thoughtless of me not to ex 
 plain that I ahvays insist upon the dear lad resting 
 between four and five. He inherits delicate lungs 
 from his father, and an emotional, artistic tempera- 
 
 198 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 ment from me. Then both of his maternal grand 
 parents had heart trouble." 
 
 "Still hammers away at his music, I suppose?" 
 Decker asked, minutely inspecting the photograph 
 of a meek-looking female who appeared totally un 
 able to live up to the bold, aggressive signature with 
 which she had signed herself. 
 
 u Dear Miss Snell," Mrs. Ivy explained, " corre 
 sponding secretary of the A. T. L. A. If you had 
 only come sooner you could have met her. What 
 were you asking? Oh, yes! about Gerald s music. 
 Why, you could no more imagine Gerald without 
 music, than you could think of a bird without wings. 
 He would simply perish without a piano. When we 
 are abroad we rent one if we are only going to be 
 in a place ten days. His Papa can t understand this, 
 but then Mr. Ivy is not musical, poor dear ; he really 
 does n t know a fugue from a fantasie." 
 
 " Neither do I," said Decker. " Do the Queer- 
 ingtons still live next door ? " 
 
 1 Yes. You know our beloved Doctor has mar 
 ried again." 
 
 " What ! Good old Syllogism Queerington ! 
 you don t mean it! I wonder if he knows her first 
 name? He taught me four years up at the Univer 
 sity and never could remember mine." 
 
 " Oh ! here s my boy ! Are you feeling better, 
 clear ? " Mrs. Ivy turned expectant eyes to the door 
 13 199 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 where a lean, loosely put together young man was 
 just entering. He had the slouching gait that in 
 dicates relaxed ambitions as well as relaxed muscles, 
 and his hands were deep in his pockets as if they 
 were at home there. 
 
 1 "Hello, Decker, glad to see you," he drawled 
 languidly. "Wish you d stir the fire, Mater dear; 
 it s beastly cold in here." 
 
 " I 11 do it," said Decker shortly. 
 
 Gerald Ivy dropped gracefully on the sofa, and 
 became absorbed in examining his nails. He was 
 rather a handsome if anemic youth, with the gen 
 eral air of one w ? ho has weighed the world and 
 found it wanting. His eyes, large and brown and 
 effective, swept the room restlessly. They were ac 
 complished eyes, being capable of expressing more 
 emotions in a moment than Gerald had felt in a life 
 time. 
 
 As he idly turned the leaves of a magazine, he 
 asked Decker how long he had been back in America. 
 
 " A couple of months, but I Ve only been in town 
 two weeks. Sorry to hear you are under the 
 weather." 
 
 " Oh ! I m a ruin," said Gerald ; " a dilapidated, 
 romantic ruin. Something s gone wrong in the bel 
 fry to-day. Is my face swollen, Mater? " 
 
 Mrs. Ivy bent over him in instant solicitude. 
 200 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "I do believe it is swollen, darling; just here. 
 Look, Mr. Decker, does n t it seem a trifle fuller than 
 the other side?" 
 
 Cropsie Decker s eye, not being trained by years 
 of maternal solicitude, failed to distinguish any dif 
 ference. 
 
 "No matter," said Gerald gloomily; "if it isn t 
 then it s something else. What s the news, 
 Decker?" 
 
 " The only news for me is this idiotic talk that has 
 been allowed to go the rounds about Don Morley. 
 That is what I came to see you about. What does 
 Dillingham have to say about it? " 
 
 " Oh, you know Dill ; he side-steps. The whole 
 thing has blown over here months ago; the subject 
 is as extinct as the dodo." 
 
 " Well, it won t be extinct long ! I Ve cabled Don 
 to come home, and I bet he 11 stir things up. 
 There s nothing to hold him now that Margery Se 
 quin s broken her engagement." 
 
 " So sad ! " murmured Mrs. Ivy. " I hope young 
 Mr. Dillingham won t do anything desperate. To 
 think of his cup of happiness being dashed from his 
 lips " 
 
 The two young men looked at each other and 
 laughed. 
 
 " Don t worry about Dill, Mater. He has more 
 201 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 than one cup to fall back on. It is old man Sequin 
 that may do something desperate. I hear they have 
 made no end of a row, but Margery holds her own." 
 
 " They say on the street," said Decker, " that Mr. 
 Sequin has been counting on the Dillinghams money 
 to reinforce the bank. He s been going it pretty 
 heavy the last two years." 
 
 " One cannot live by bread alone," quoted Mrs. 
 Ivy ; " our friends have been living the material 
 life, they have forgotten that they are but stewards, 
 and as stewards will be held accountable for the way 
 they use their wealth. Mrs. Sequin makes abso 
 lutely no effort to advance the progress of the world. 
 She has refused from the first to join the A. T. L. A. 
 and she is not even a member of the Woman s 
 Club." 
 
 " Well, I hope Mr. Sequin has n t been playing 
 with Don Morley s money," said Decker, resuming 
 the subject from which Mrs. Ivy had flown off at 
 a tangent. " Donald has always left everything 
 to him, and does n t know anything more about his 
 investments than I do. All he is concerned with is 
 spending his income, and that keeps him busy." 
 
 At this moment Norah appeared with fresh tea 
 and cakes, making her way with some difficulty 
 through the labyrinth of red lamps, small tables, 
 foot-stools and marble-crowned pedestals that 
 crowded the room. 
 
 202 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "Ah!" cried Mrs. Ivy, "here are some of the 
 little cakes, Gerald, that you love. You will try 
 one, won t you? We have the greatest time tempt 
 ing his appetite, Mr. Decker. He can only eat what 
 he likes. I have always contended with his father 
 that there \vas some physical cause for his craving 
 sweets. I never refused them to him when he was 
 a child. But from the time he was born he has 
 never really lived on food, he has lived on music." 
 
 Gerald, at the moment regaling himself with his 
 second cake, gave evidence that he did not rely solely 
 on the sustaining power of music. 
 
 " And now, will you excuse me, dear Mr. 
 Decker?" asked Mrs. Ivy, gathering her lavender 
 skirts about her. " I am a very, very busy woman, 
 and my desk claims much of my time. You will 
 come to us again, won t you? Gerald s friends, you 
 know, are my friends. Good-by." And with a ten 
 der pressure of the hand, and a lingering look she 
 was gone. 
 
 Gerald waited until the door was closed, then pro 
 duced cigarettes which he proffered to Decker. 
 
 " Mater s last hobby is tobacco," he smiled in 
 dulgently. " She is going to abolish it from the 
 universe. Do you remember how Doctor Queer- 
 ington used to hold forth on the subject at the 
 university ? " 
 
 " By the way, your mother tells me he has mar- 
 203 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 ried again. I don t know why, but that tickles me. 
 Was she a widow ? " 
 
 Gerald with his elbows on the arms of his chair 
 and holding his teacup with both hands just below 
 the level of his eyes, looked suddenly gloomy. 
 
 " No/ he said. " I wish to Heaven she was 
 one!" 
 
 " What s the matter with Old Syllogism? I al 
 ways thought he was a rather good sort." 
 
 " I m not thinking about him! " Gerald said im 
 patiently. " I am thinking of the girl. She can t 
 be much older than I am and the most exquisite 
 thing you ever beheld. Her coloring is absolutely 
 luminous. She ought to be painted by Besnard or 
 La Touche or some of those French chaps that make 
 a specialty of light. She positively radiates ! " 
 
 " How did she ever happen to marry the Doc 
 tor?" 
 
 " Heaven knows ! He captured her in the woods 
 somewhere. I don t suppose she had ever seen a 
 man before. Jove! You ought to see her play 
 tennis, and to hear her laugh. She s a perfect won 
 der, as free and easy as one of the boys, but straight 
 as a die. Does n t give a flip for money or clothes, 
 or society. Did you ever hear of a really pretty 
 girl being like that ? " 
 
 " I hope Doctor Queerington likes her as well as 
 you do." 
 
 204 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Heavens, man ! everybody likes her ; you can t 
 help it. But nobody understands her. You see 
 they look on her as a child ; they have n t the faintest 
 conception of what she is going through." 
 
 " And you think you have ? " 
 
 " I know it. She s trying to adjust herself, and 
 she can t. She s finding out her mistake and mak 
 ing a game fight to hide it. When she first came 
 she went in for everything. She had never played 
 tennis or golf, and she got more fun out of learning 
 than anybody I ever saw. Then suddenly she 
 stopped. Some old desiccated relative told the Doc 
 tor it did n t look well for his wife to be running 
 around with the young people, and that settled it. 
 She gave up like an angel, and she s not the kind 
 that likes to give up either. Now her days are de 
 voted to the heavy domestic, and her evenings to 
 improving her mind in the Doctor s stuffy old 
 study." 
 
 " Talking to the Doctor," confessed Decker, " al 
 ways affected me like looking at Niagara Falls; 
 grand, and imposing and awe-inspiring, but a little 
 goes a long way. How is she standing it ? " 
 
 " Getting thinner and paler and prettier every day. 
 She s a country girl, you know, used to horses, 
 and outdoor exercise. She must have been beastly 
 homesick, but she s game through and through. It 
 was awfully hard for her to bluff at first. That s 
 
 205 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 because she is so honest. But she has had to learn. 
 No woman, good or bad, can get through life with 
 out learning to bluff, only it comes harder for the 
 good ones. What s that confounded racket in the 
 street?" 
 
 They rose and went to the window, Gerald looking 
 over the shoulder of his shorter companion. 
 
 A superannuated gray mule hitched to a heavy 
 cart had come to a standstill in the middle of the 
 street, and a group of excited negroes were vainly 
 trying to induce him to move on. With one ear 
 cocked forward, and his forefeet firmly planted, the 
 decrepit animal dumbly made his declaration of in 
 dependence, taking the blows that rained upon his 
 back with the dogged heroism of one who has re 
 solved to die rather than surrender. 
 
 " By Jupiter, if those coons are n t fixing to build 
 a fire under him!" exclaimed Decker. "They d 
 rather fool with a balking mule than eat water 
 melon ! Let s go out to see the sport." 
 
 When Decker reached the porch, having left Ger 
 ald at the hall mirror, inspecting his face with mi 
 nute solicitude, a new figure had appeared on the 
 scene. It was a girl dressed in white, standing in 
 the Queeringtons yard, and as he looked he saw 
 her suddenly dart out of the gate and into the street 
 as if she had been shot from a cannon. 
 
 " Stop pulling his head like that ! " she demanded. 
 206 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Don t you dare to strike him again. Take that fire 
 away ! " 
 
 The negroes fell back somewhat astonished, and 
 the driver arrested his whip in the air. 
 
 " I 11 show you how to make him go," she went 
 on ; " put mud in his mouth. Yes, mud, a big lump 
 of mud. There, that 11 do; make it into a ball, and 
 put it in. Yes, you can ! Oh, dear ! Give it to me !" 
 
 She seized the mule s lower jaw with her thumb 
 and forefinger, and with a deft movement succeeded 
 in getting the unwelcome substance between the 
 animal s teeth. 
 
 The mule evinced surprise, then curiosity. His 
 fore feet relaxed, his eye lost its fire, and when a 
 gentle pressure fell upon his halter, he was too en 
 grossed in the new sensation to resist it. 
 
 "Bravo, Miss Lady!" called Gerald, sauntering 
 forward to meet her. " I told you you were irre 
 sistible. What did you whisper in his ear ? " 
 
 " Lots of things ! " she said, accepting his immacu 
 late handkerchief to wipe the mud from her hands, 
 " but of course the mud helped. Uncle Jimpson 
 taught me that trick. He says a mule has room 
 in his head for only one thought at a time, and all 
 you have to do is to change his balking thought for 
 some other and he 11 go." 
 
 " I hope you will never have to put mud in my 
 mouth," said Gerald, looking at her with no attempt 
 
 207 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 to conceal his admiration. " Can t you come over 
 and see mother for a bit ? She d love to give you a 
 cup of tea." 
 
 " I don t like tea in the afternoon ; it spoils my 
 supper." 
 
 " Well, then, come over to see me. There s a 
 friend of mine I want you to meet. I ve been tell 
 ing him about you." 
 
 " I can t. I m drawing pictures for Bertie. 
 He 11 be disappointed." 
 
 " So will I. So will Decker." 
 
 "Decker?" Miss Lady flashed a glance at him. 
 " You don t mean Cropsie Decker? " 
 
 " Yes, I do ; the special correspondent for the Her 
 ald-Post. Is that sufficient inducement ? " 
 
 Miss Lady looked at him rather strangely. " I 11 
 come," she said after a moment s hesitation. 
 
 They did not return to the parlor but to the music- 
 room, a large room on the opposite side of the hall, 
 which Mrs. Ivy, a firm believer in the psychological 
 effect of color, had fitted out in blue to induce a 
 contemplative mood in the occupants. On the man 
 tel and tables were the same miscellaneous collection 
 of bric-a-brac that characterized the parlor. Sev 
 eral pictures of Gerald adorned the walls, the most 
 imposing of which presented him seated at the piano, 
 with his mother standing beside him, a rapt expres 
 sion on her elevated profile. 
 
 208 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Miss Lady flitted about from object to object, 
 asking questions, not waiting for answers, seeing 
 everything, commenting on everything while the two 
 young men stood side by side on the hearth rug and 
 watched her. She was like a humming-bird afraid 
 to light. 
 
 " Please, Mrs. Queerington," Gerald begged at 
 last. " You know you don t care for those old ko 
 daks. I 11 show them to you another time. I want 
 you to talk to Decker. Sit down here in this big 
 chair and I 11 sit at your feet, where I belong, and 
 Cropsie 11 sit anywhere he likes and tell us about his 
 adventures." 
 
 " But where s your mother? I thought you said 
 she was serving tea ? " 
 
 " She 11 be down directly. Now, tell us a story, 
 Decker. A man can t wander around the Orient 
 for a year without having something exciting hap 
 pen to him." 
 
 " I m afraid I have n t an experiencing nature," 
 said Decker, smiling. " You ought to have Morley 
 here. He s the fellow that went over with me, Mrs. 
 Queerington. I 11 back him against the field for 
 having adventures. You remember that big fire last 
 year in Tokyo? Don was the first Johnny on the 
 spot, doing the noble hero act, dragging out women 
 and children and gallantly fighting the flames, while 
 I lay up in bed at the Imperial Hotel and fought 
 
 209 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 mosquitoes! He was in a collision at sea, just off 
 the coast of Korea, got mixed up in a Chinese up 
 rising in Nanking and was arrested for a spy while 
 taking pictures of the fortifications at Miyajima. If 
 I had half his luck I d be the highest priced man in 
 the syndicate." 
 
 " I don t know that I particularly envy him his 
 luck in the incident that happened here just before 
 he left," said Gerald, lighting a fresh cigarette. 
 
 " It was nothing to his discredit," said Decker 
 hotly. " He happened to be a witness when that fool 
 Dillingham got into a shooting scrape, and he left 
 town because he did not want to testify against the 
 man his niece was going to marry. He did n t con 
 sider the consequences, he never does. It was a toss 
 up when I met him in Frisco whether he would come 
 home, or go on." 
 
 " Didn t he know he was indicted? " asked Ger 
 ald. 
 
 " Certainly not. Neither of us knew it until I got 
 home and found people talking about Poor Donald 
 Morley, and acting as if he were a refugee from 
 justice. Two or three letters came from Mrs. Se 
 quin, but she was so busy urging Don to stay away 
 that she had n t time to write anything else. We 
 did get one old home paper, somewhere in Java, 
 with an account of the trial. That was the first 
 intimation Don had that Dillingham was throwing 
 
 210 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 aff on him. Even then he could scarcely believe it ; 
 there s nothing in him to understand a man like 
 Lee Dillingham." 
 
 " But he was with him, that night at the saloon," 
 ventured Miss Lady, sitting up very straight and lis 
 tening very intently. 
 
 Gerald smiled skeptically. " He went in out of 
 the rain, my dear lady ; that s what he wrote home, 
 I understand ; and he did n t indulge in a single drink. 
 Rather a strain on the imagination in the light of 
 subsequent events." 
 
 " See here, Ivy," said Decker, rising and stand 
 ing before the fire with his square jaw thrust out, 
 and the twinkle gone from his eye. " I happen to 
 know this story from beginning to end, and we both 
 know Don Morley. He s as full of faults as a por 
 cupine is of quills, but he s neither a liar nor a cow 
 ard. If he says he was sober that night I d stake 
 my life he was." 
 
 There was an uncomfortable pause during which 
 Gerald tenderly felt his afflicted face, and Decker 
 glared at the chandelier. 
 
 " He ought to have stayed to explain," said Miss 
 Lady, not daring to look up ; " a man s first duty is to 
 himself and and to those who care for him." 
 
 " That was the trouble," said Decker slowly. " It 
 seems that the one person Don cared most about 
 would n t listen to an explanation. He wrote her 
 
 211 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 full particulars, and asked her to telegraph him if 
 he should go or stay. When I met him in Frisco 
 he had been waiting for that wire for three days, 
 and he was nearly off his head. I got him on the 
 steamer almost by main force. We laid over ten 
 clays in Honolulu, and he got the notion that a letter 
 would be waiting for him in Yokohama, and that 
 he would take the next steamer home. All the way 
 across I heard about that girl from the time the 
 Chino brought our coffee in the morning until we 
 went below again for the night. He all but said 
 his prayers to her; cut out everything to drink; even 
 refused to play a friendly game of poker. Why, 
 I ve tramped so many decks to the tune of that 
 girl s charms that I could write a book about her." 
 
 " What is her name ? " asked Gerald greatly in 
 terested. 
 
 " Heavens, I don t know ! She was a wood 
 nymth, a dryad, a jewel, a flower, I could keep it 
 up indefinitely. He had a new one for her every 
 day. When we reached Japan, he could n t wait 
 for the steamer to dock but went ashore in the pilot 
 boat, and made a bee line for Cook s. There was 
 nothing there. It was like that at every port we 
 touched. Each time he would get his hopes up to 
 fever heat, and each time he d be disappointed. I 
 never saw such perseverance and belief. He made 
 excuse after excuse for her. He was too proud to 
 
 212 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 write again, and he got leaner and leaner and more 
 and more homesick. You know that collision I 
 spoke of? Well, he got in that by waiting over a 
 steamer at Nagasaki in the hope of getting a letter 
 before he left Japan." 
 
 " What happened next? " asked Gerald; " did an 
 other planet swim into his ken? " 
 
 " Hardly. The smash came just before I left him, 
 a couple of months ago. We were at Raffles Hotel 
 in Singapore having tea with some French girls from 
 the steamer. Our purser happened along and gave 
 Don a letter which I recognized as being from Mrs. 
 Sequin. He read the first sheet, then looked up in 
 a wild sort of way, and asked if we d mind excus 
 ing him as he had something he wanted to see to 
 before the steamer sailed. At five o clock he d 
 never shown up, and I had to hustle our bags ashore 
 and start out to look for him. He d been awfully 
 seedy for a couple of months and when he got left I 
 knew something serious had happened. I found him 
 late that night in the foreign hospital out of his head 
 with a fever. It seems the letter had told him that 
 his girl was going to be married, and half beside 
 himself he had gotten into a rikisha, and ridden 
 for hours in the tropical sun, trying to face the 
 fact. Of course in the run-down state he was in, 
 it put him out of business, and by the time he got 
 back to Raffles , he did n t know who he was, nor 
 
 213 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 where he was. I stayed with him until the Herald- 
 Post sent for me to come home. Maybe you don t 
 think I hated to leave the old chap, in that God-for 
 saken country, lying flat on his back, staring at the 
 ceiling, with all his illusions smashed." 
 
 " Did he want to come with you? " asked Gerald. 
 
 " He did n t want anything. He had wanted one 
 thing so long there was no more want left in him. 
 I tried to get him to let me engage passage for him 
 on the next home-bound steamer. But he said he 
 doubted if he d ever come back, that as soon as he 
 was able to travel he would go on around the world, 
 and that it did n t make much difference where he 
 landed." 
 
 " Quite a tragic little romance/ Gerald said. 
 " What a lot of mischief you women have to answer 
 for, Mrs. Q. ! " 
 
 But Miss Lady did not hear him, she was still 
 eaning forward absorbed in Decker s narrative. 
 
 " If he comes home, in answer to your cable, when 
 can he get here ? " she asked. 
 
 " Not before Christmas I should say." 
 
 " If I were Lee Dillingham I should go South for 
 the winter," Gerald said, going to the piano and 
 striking a few random chords. 
 
 After Cropsie Decker left, Miss Lady sat very 
 quiet in the big chair, while Gerald played to her. 
 
 214 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 It was well that only the kindly old bust of Liszt 
 looked down on her tense white face, and clasped 
 hands. 
 
 For over two months she had been fighting a 
 specter, never daring to lift her eyes to it, but fight 
 ing it blindly, passionately, unceasingly. She had 
 denied its existence, refuted every memory, rilled 
 her life to the brim with other interests, other affec 
 tions, and here suddenly she had met it face to face, 
 and it was no longer horrible, but a beautiful; radiant 
 vision, a thing to be buried in her innermost being, 
 a sacred, solemn thing, not to be looked at, or dwelt 
 upon, but no longer to be denied. 
 
 The stormy, insistent strains of the " Appassion- 
 ata " filled the room, surging through every fiber of 
 her, lifting and abasing her by turns. How could 
 she get hold of herself while Gerald played like 
 that? She was sinking in a great sea of emotion 
 and the music swept about her like a mighty gale, 
 shutting out everything in the world but Donald 
 Morley. He had not failed her, it was she who 
 had failed him. He was coming home, and it was 
 too late. She would have to meet him face to face, 
 to see all that he had suffered in his eyes and speak 
 no word. Surely she might give him this one hour, 
 just while the music lasted; give it to him and to 
 herself for the lifetime together they had missed. 
 14 215 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 She did not know when the music stopped, she 
 did not know when Gerald came back to the hassock 
 at her feet. He had evidently been there some time 
 when she was aware of his elbow on the arm of her 
 chair, and his head buried in it. 
 
 "Gerald!" she said, starting up; "what s the 
 matter?" 
 
 " Everything. Is that your trouble? " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " I mean that you are unhappy," he said, catching 
 her hand. 
 
 She sprang to her feet and snapped on the electric 
 lights. 
 
 "Do I look as if I were unhappy?" she de 
 manded, flashing on him her old, bright smile. " It 
 was the music, and the twilight, and the way you 
 played. That sonata ought never to be played ex 
 cept in a crowded room with all the lights on." 
 
 " It was n t the music," Gerald persisted ; " you 
 know it was n t. Something s troubling you, and 
 something is troubling me. May I tell you what is 
 the matter with me, Miss Lady ? " 
 
 He was looking at her very intently across the 
 table, and Miss Lady for the first time recognized 
 the danger signals in his eyes. 
 
 " Let me guess ! " she cried, her wits springing to 
 her rescue. " I think I know. I thought so when 
 I first came in. It s mumps ! " 
 
 216 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Gerald s hand flew instinctively to his face, and 
 his eyes sought the mirror. Miss Lady, in applying 
 to Gerald Ivy, Uncle Jimpson s remedy for a balk 
 ing mule, had averted a disaster. 
 
 217 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 TIME was an abstraction of which the in 
 habitants of Bean Alley took little notice. 
 The arbitrary division of one s life into weeks and 
 days and hours seemed, on the whole, useless. 
 There was but one day for the men, and that was 
 pay day, and one for the women, and that was rent 
 day. As for the children, every day was theirs, 
 just as it should be in every corner of the world. 
 
 On this particular fall afternoon, just outside 
 Phineas Flathers cottage, a lively game was in 
 progress. It was a game known in Bean Alley as 
 " Sockabout," and it had to* do with caps or battered 
 hats laid in a row, and with a small rubber ball that 
 was thrown into them from a distance. Like many 
 other apparently simple diversions, Sockabout had 
 its complexities. In fact, the rules admitted of so 
 many interpretations that an umpire was indispen 
 sable. 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances Chick Flathers 
 would have scorned so passive a role as umpire, but 
 to-day he was handicapped. In the first place he 
 had no cap to contribute to the row on the ground, 
 
 218 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 and in the second he was burdened with a very 
 large and wriggly bundle, which gave evidence of 
 marked disfavor the moment he ceased to jolt it 
 violently on his knees. 
 
 In the midst of an unusually fierce altercation, in 
 which four boys contended for the same cap, 
 Skeeter Sheeley s voice rose above the clamor. 
 
 " It s our turn ! Umpire says so, did n t you, 
 Chick? Aw, you did, too! I kin understand you 
 better n you kin understand yourself. Course it s 
 ours. Stop shovin me, Gussie McGlory, I 11 swat 
 yer in the jaw in a minute! Look out, Chick! 
 Look out fer the kid ! " 
 
 The youngest resident of Bean Alley was prob 
 ably saved from premature death by the timely 
 appearance of two ladies at the far end of the 
 street. 
 
 Chick, recognizing the younger one, started joy 
 fully to meet her, but at sight of her companion he 
 stopped short. For two years he had regarded that 
 plump, smiling, elderly lady as his arch enemy. 
 She was after him. She wanted to put him in some 
 thing that sounded like " The Willows Awful 
 Home." Once she had almost gotten him, but 
 Aunt Telia interposed. He was not afraid of the 
 truant officer, nor of the cop, although they were 
 generally after him, too, but he had horrible night 
 mares in which he saw himself being dragged into 
 
 219 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 captivity by this bland lady in the purple dress, who 
 always smiled. 
 
 Just as he was seeking a hiding-place sufficiently 
 large to accommodate himself and his charge, he 
 was summoned home. Considerable commotion 
 was apparent in the crowded kitchen and Mr. 
 Flathers was moving about with an alacrity unusual 
 to him. 
 
 " Git off your shoes and stockings, Chick, and 
 turn your coat inside out. Here, I 11 hold the baby ; 
 yer Mammy s nursing the other one. Shove that 
 beer can under the stove, and hide that there cuckoo 
 clock." 
 
 Chick followed instructions with the air of one 
 who understood the situation. It was not the first 
 time he had prepared hurriedly for visitors. 
 
 " They re stopping at Jireses ," reported Mr. 
 Flathers from the window. " Here, take this kid 
 and set out there on the door-step. Don t you dare 
 budge till they ve saw you and spoke to you." 
 
 Chick resumed his position on the door-step with 
 a heavy heart. The line of battle had been pushed 
 south, and he was completely out of the firing line. 
 
 His bare feet and legs were cold in the biting 
 November air, and he had jolted the baby until he 
 felt there were no more jolts left in him. It was, 
 moreover, a terrifying business to sit there and 
 calmly wait his fate. 
 
 220 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Them s them ! " announced Skeeter Sheeley, 
 racing down the alley. " They give Mr. Jires some 
 oranges. If they give you one, you goin to gimme 
 half?" 
 
 Chick was too miserable to answer. The bars of 
 an institution seemed to be already closing upon him. 
 
 Mrs. Ivy, holding her skirts very high and pick 
 ing her way gingerly around the frozen puddles, 
 was the first to reach him. 
 
 " Ah ! Here s our good little friend Rick, or 
 Dick, is it ? And this is the sweet little baby sister 
 that God sent you." 
 
 "Naw it ain t/ said Skeeter; "that there s a 
 boy, an it ain t no kin to him. Its paw s in the 
 pen, an its maw s up fer ninety days, an its jes 
 boardin at his house." 
 
 " The case that was reported for the Home," 
 said Mrs. Ivy, turning with a significant nod to her 
 companion who had just come up. 
 
 At the word " home " Chick shuddered. It was 
 the most terrible word in the English language to 
 him. 
 
 " What s the matter with your thumb, old fel 
 low?" Miss Lady asked, seeing his frightened look. 
 " Come here, Skeeter, and tell me what he says." 
 
 She relieved Chick of the young person whose 
 parents were not in a position to minister to his 
 wants, and sat on the door-step between the two 
 
 221 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 boys, listening with flattering attention to a detailed 
 description of each hero s wounds and scars and 
 how they had been received. 
 
 Mrs. Ivy, meanwhile, a veritable spider in the 
 midst of a web of institutions, was warily planning 
 to ensnare every helpless, poverty-stricken fly that 
 came her way. To her, the web was not made for 
 the fly, but the fly for the web ; supplying flies was 
 her chief occupation. 
 
 Standing just inside the kitchen door with her 
 skirts still gathered carefully about her. she viewed 
 her surroundings with mournful sympathy. 
 
 " The fact are," Phineas was saying as he held 
 his coat together at the collar, in a pretended effort 
 to conceal his lack of a shirt, " that we ain t been 
 prosperin since you was last here. Looks like the 
 hand of the Lord" 
 
 " Ah, Mr. Flathers," remonstrated Mrs. Ivy, with 
 a finger on her lip, " never forget that whom He 
 loveth He chasteneth." 
 
 " I don t, Mrs. Ivy, I don t. I keep that in mind. 
 If it was n t fer that, Mrs. Ivy, I declare I don t 
 know what I would do. Now you comin* to-day 
 was a answer to prayer ! I just ast that some way 
 would be pervided fore the rent man come back at 
 six o clock. I did n t say in my prayer wliat way, 
 I just said a way, that a way would be pervided. 
 And when I seen you and the young lady turnin in 
 
 222 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 the alley, I sez to Maria, never try to shake my 
 faith no more, the clouds has been lifted! 
 
 Mrs. Ivy, who was much more given to dispens 
 ing morals than money, shifted her position. 
 
 " Mr. Flathers," she said, looking at him with 
 what she conceived to be a searching glance, " do 
 you ever drink ? " 
 
 Assuring himself that Chick had gotten the can 
 quite out of sight, Phineas looked at her reproach 
 fully: 
 
 "Me? Why, Mrs. Ivy, I thought everybody 
 knowed that since I joined the Church of course 
 I ain t denying that there was a time when I knowed 
 the taste of liquor. There ain t no good denying 
 that, and, besides confession is good fer me, it 
 humbles my spirit, Mrs. Ivy, it keeps me from being 
 a publican." 
 
 "And tobacco?" queried Mrs. Ivy. "Liquor 
 and tobacco go hand in hand, they are twin evils. 
 Are you addicted to the use of tobacco? " 
 
 "Not me!" said Phineas, truthfully for once. 
 " I ain t soiled my lips with a seegar for over twenty 
 years, and you could n t git me to chew if you 
 chloroformed me. Ef liquor is the drink, terbaccer 
 is the food of the devil, as I see it." 
 
 Mrs. Ivy beamed upon him, as she opened the 
 silver bag at her belt. " I shall report your case at 
 our next meeting," she said with enthusiasm. " I 
 
 223 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 shall quote your very words. And now I am going 
 to pin this little badge on you, this little white badge 
 that tells the world you belong to the Anti-Tobacco 
 League. You have the honor of wearing what few 
 of our greatest statesmen can wear! You have 
 proven that a humble laborer can lead the way to 
 Reform." 
 
 Miss Lady appeared at this point with the 
 Boarder, who like most individuals of his class, 
 complained continuously of the quantity and quality 
 of his food. 
 
 " You find us in a bad way, Mis Squeerington," 
 Phineas said, offering her a bottomless chair with 
 the air of a Christian martyr. " If my sister Myr- 
 tella knowed the half of what we was passin 
 through she would n t continue to steel her heart 
 against us." 
 
 " Myrtella s heart s all right," said Miss Lady 
 cheerfully; " she takes care of Chick, does n t she? " 
 
 " She does, mam, in a way. But there s heavy 
 expenses on a pore man with a family. Mrs. 
 Flathers now ain t been able to have a see-ance since 
 before the baby come. She did give one trance 
 settin yesterday, but she says she don t know 
 what s got into her, she feels so sort of weak like! " 
 
 " How long has she been taking care of this other 
 baby? " Miss Lady asked. 
 
 " Most ever since ours come. The Juvenile Court 
 224 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 was looking round fer some one to nurse him till 
 his maw got out of the jail hospital. I sez to Maria, 
 * Here s a chanct to do a good Christian act an 
 earn a honest penny. We 11 take it in an treat it 
 like our own, sez I, an the Lord will not fergit us, 
 sez I ! " 
 
 The Boarder, taking advantage of this assurance 
 of hospitality, set up such a peremptory demand for 
 food, that Miss Lady was compelled to walk the 
 floor with him. 
 
 " Where is Mrs. Flathers? " she asked in despair. 
 "Can t we give him a bottle or something?" 
 
 Maria, more limp, and inanimate than usual, came 
 out of the dim interior of the adjoining room, 
 carrying a yet more limp and inanimate bundle 
 which she exchanged with Miss Lady for hers, and 
 silently retired into the inner room where she was 
 followed by Mrs. Ivy. 
 
 " An this here is ours ! " exclaimed Phineas, bend 
 ing with sudden enthusiasm over the child in Miss 
 Lady s arms, and tenderly lifting the shawl from 
 the weazened face and tiny claw-like hands. " This 
 here is Loreny. There ain t nary one of the rest 
 of em lived over two weeks, an this here one is 
 goin on four. Kinder looks like we re goin to 
 keep her with us, don t it? " 
 
 Miss Lady could find no answer. The white lips 
 and the blue circles about the small, sunken eyes, 
 
 225 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 bespoke the same disinclination to risk life under 
 such circumstances as had been shown by all the 
 other little Flatherses. 
 
 " Course she ain t like that other baby," Phineas 
 went on with genuine earnestness, " but then he s a 
 boy, an eats more. She s goin to git fat an 
 pretty, ain t you, Loreny? " 
 
 He put his coarse brown thumb into the little 
 hand which closed about it and clung to it, and sat 
 watching her, unmindful of his visitor. 
 
 " She don t look what you d call strong," he went 
 on, anxiously, " but you would n t say she was sick, 
 would you ? " 
 
 " I am afraid I should," Miss Lady said gravely ; 
 " she looks very sick to me." 
 
 "She does? Then I d better git the doctor," 
 Phineas rose hurriedly, then sat down again. " But 
 he never done the others no good. Maria always 
 contended it was him that killed em. Ain t there 
 somethin we kin do? Don t you know somethin ? " 
 
 " Yes, I think I do, only you may not be willing 
 to do it." 
 
 " You try me. I 11 do anything you say, Miss. 
 If the Lord will only spare her 
 
 " It s not the Lord that s taking her," Mis* Lady 
 cried impatiently, " it s you that are s;endj,ng her, 
 Mr. Flathers. Can t you see that you are killing 
 your baby? " 
 
 226 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 He looked at her in amazed horror. 
 
 " Yes, you are ! " went on Miss Lady fiercely, 
 " you are selling her food to another baby ; you are 
 letting her mother work so hard that she can scarcely 
 nourish herself. Just look at Mrs. Flathers ! Any 
 body can see that if she had better food and less to 
 do she d be a different person." 
 
 " Oh, Maria was real pretty onct," Phineas said 
 somewhat resentfully, " but when a man marries 
 one of them slim little blondes he never knows what 
 he s gittin . They sort of shrink up on yer an git 
 faded an stringy." 
 
 " Yes, but think what she got," said Miss Lady 
 determined to press the matter home. " Myrtella 
 says you were a strong, handsome young man, who 
 could have turned your hand to almost anything, and 
 look at you now! A broken-down loafer, sitting 
 around the saloons, talking religion while your baby 
 starves. I don t wonder Myrtella is ashamed of 
 you, I am ashamed of you, and if this poor little girl 
 ever lives to grow up, she will be ashamed of you, 
 too!" 
 
 " No, no," cried Phineas brokenly, his head in 
 his hands, " she won t be that if the Lord, 
 I mean if she lives, I 11 be a better man, Mis Squeer- 
 ington, indeed I will. Nobody ever will know in 
 the world how much I want children of my own. 
 That s why I dopted Chick that s one reason I 
 
 227 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 took in this new one. Seemed like as if my baby 
 
 went " 
 
 " We 11 try to keep her," Miss Lady said with a 
 rush of sympathy. " I 11 do everything I can but 
 you must help, Mr. Flathers. You are willing to 
 do your part, are n t you ? " 
 
 His emotions, used to responding to false stimu 
 lants, being now appealed to by the one genuine 
 feeling in him, threatened to become uncontrolled. 
 
 " There, there! " Miss Lady said, " if you really 
 want to save her, I think there s a way." 
 
 " Not a Orphan s Home? " asked Phineas, lifting 
 one eye from the baby s petticoat where his head 
 had been buried. 
 
 " No, a clean home of her own. There s no 
 reason why you should n t go to work, Mr. Flathers, 
 and support your family decently. I 11 take Chick 
 home with me. Myrtella will be glad to have him 
 for a little visit. Mrs. Ivy is going to send the other 
 baby to the Foundling s Home. Then you 11 only 
 have to look after Mrs. Flathers and the baby; you 
 surely can do that, can t you ? " 
 
 : Yes m, I kin do that. Course any man kin 
 do that. But I been out of a regular job so long, 
 you d sorter help me find something to start 
 on?" 
 
 " I 11 get you something to do, if you will only 
 stick to it. Perhaps Mrs. Sequin can give you work 
 
 228 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL) 
 
 at her new house. She gave our old colored man, 
 Uncle Jimpson, a place." 
 
 " Jes so it ain t garden work, nor gittin up coal, 
 nor nothin that brings on rheumatism." 
 
 " Have you rheumatism ? " 
 
 " No, mam, Praise God ! I have escaped this far 
 by bein kereful. You know what it means, Mis 
 Squeerington, when a man with a family gits down 
 with the rheumatism. There s Jires, now " 
 
 " Yes, and Mr. Jires does more for his family 
 lying flat on his back than you do for yours, up and 
 walking around ! You re not fooling me one bit, 
 Mr. Flathers, and there s no use trying to fool your 
 self. You either mean seriously to go to work or 
 you don t. Which is it?" 
 
 Phineas Flathers strong impulse was to flee the 
 scene. He saw his liberty vanishing before the 
 awful prospect held out by this pretty young lady 
 who could be so sympathetic one moment and so 
 stern the next. But the tiny claw-like fingers of 
 Loreny held him fast. He looked at his imprisoned 
 thumb and smiled tenderly. Then he faced Miss 
 Lady squarely for the first time. 
 
 " You help me. git a job, Miss, an I 11 promise 
 to take keer of this here baby." 
 
 " What you need," came the murmur of Mrs. 
 Ivy s voice from the next room, where she was 
 taking leave of Maria Flathers, " is more beauty in 
 
 229 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 your home, something to uplift you and inspire you. 
 I am going to send you one of our traveling art 
 galleries, you may keep the pictures a whole week, 
 long enough to learn the titles and the names of the 
 painters. Just think what it will mean to lift your 
 tired eyes to a beautiful, serene Madonna! And 
 could n t you have more color in your home ? We 
 find color so stimulating. Scarlet geraniums for 
 instance. Would n t you like some scarlet gerani 
 ums?" 
 
 " I dunno where we d put em at," Maria said 
 wearily, shifting the weight of the Boarder to her 
 other arm. Then her face hardened suddenly, and 
 she wheeled into the kitchen. 
 
 " Flathers," she said, " it s him coming round 
 the house now. He said he d be back before six, 
 an would n t stand no foolin . What you goin to 
 do, Flathers?" 
 
 Before Miss Lady and Mrs. Ivy could make their 
 exit, the way was blocked by a heavy-set, muscular, 
 one-eyed man who placed a hand on either side of 
 the door jamb and unnecessarily announced that 
 there he was. Frantic efforts on the part of 
 Phineas to signify to the newcomer by winks and 
 gestures, that the presence of guests would prevent 
 his talking business, were without effect. 
 
 " You ladies 11 have to excuse me," said the in 
 truder cheerfully, " but I can t fool with this bunch 
 
 230 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 no longer. It s pay, or git out, this time and no 
 mistake." 
 
 Maria began to cry, and forgot to jolt the 
 Boarder, and the Boarder who insisted upon being 
 jolted every instant he was not sleeping or eating, 
 began to cry also. Whereupon Loreny, who had 
 been laid upon the kitchen table, heard the noise and 
 felt called upon to add her voice to the chorus. 
 
 By this time Chick and his colleagues, scenting 
 excitement from afar, had followed its trail and now 
 presented themselves breathless and interested to 
 await developments. " Puttin out " was not a par 
 ticular novelty in Bean Alley, but the presence of 
 guests added a picturesque feature. 
 
 " If you can wait a week longer," said Phineas 
 with some attempt at dignity, " I 11 be in a position 
 to settle up to date. I m expectin to git a job " 
 
 At this the rent man threw back his head and 
 laughed, and the youngsters back of him laughed, 
 and even the Boarder stopped crying a moment to 
 see what had happened. 
 
 " But he really is," insisted Miss Lady, coming 
 to Phineas assistance. " He s going to work the 
 first of the week. Surely you can wait a week 
 longer." 
 
 " I can, Miss ! " said the man in the door, gal 
 lantly. " I been waiting a week longer on Flathers 
 for more n two months. There ain t absolutely no 
 
 231 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 use in arguing the matter further. It s pay up, or 
 git out, to-day" 
 
 " Well, if this ain t the limit ! " said Phineas, with 
 the air of one who had reached it many times before, 
 but never such a limitless limit as this. 
 
 " But if we pay this month s rent for him, can t 
 you let him make up the back rent later ? " argued 
 Miss Lady, trying to comfort Maria who threatened 
 to become hysterical. 
 
 " When you ve known Flathers as long as I have, 
 you won t talk about him paying up." 
 
 " But you can t put them out like this, with that 
 little baby and no place to go ! " 
 
 There s the Charity Organization, and the 
 Alms House," suggested Mrs. Ivy, wiping her eyes 
 through sympathy. 
 
 " I d hate to drive em to that," said the man 
 doggedly, " but I got my own family to consider, 
 and I ain t what I once was, since I lost my eye." 
 
 "Poor man," sighed Mrs. Ivy; "how fortunate 
 it was the left one ! How did it happen? " 
 
 " Shot out," said the man, nothing loath to enter 
 into particulars. " In a scrap between a pair of 
 young swells that was hangin round my place. 
 Shot out in cold blood when I was n t lookin ." 
 
 "But, my good man, didn t you prosecute?" 
 asked Mrs. Ivy. " You know we have a Legal Aid 
 Society for just such cases as yours." 
 
 232 
 
Maria began to cry, and forgot to jolt the Boarder. 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Yes m, but one of the young gentlemen skipped 
 the country, lit out fer foreign parts, took to the tall 
 timber, as you might say." 
 
 " But he was not the one who did the shooting, 
 was he ? " asked Miss Lady, a sudden bright spot 
 on either cheek, and the steady determination in her 
 eye that had been Flathers undoing. 
 
 " I ain t never been able to say which one done it," 
 said the man, faltering under her steady gaze. 
 
 " Perhaps it was worth your while not to say ? " 
 
 The man shot a quick glance of suspicion at her, 
 then his eye came back to Phineas. 
 
 "Of course, I don t want to push him into the 
 Poor House, and if he expects to get work " 
 
 " I do, Dick," said Phineas fervently. " Mon 
 day morning I put my shoulder-blade to the wheel 
 somewhere." 
 
 " Well, if the ladies 11 stand for this month," said 
 the man, evidently anxious to get away, " I 11 wait 
 a week longer on the back rent." 
 
 Miss Lady was preoccupied and silent on the way 
 home. The world sometimes seemed desperately 
 sordid, and human nature a baffling proposition. 
 
 At her gate Mrs. Ivy halted suddenly : " Do you 
 know," she said, " it has just occurred to me ! I 
 should n t be one bit surprised if that horrid one- 
 eyed man was the very one Mr. Morley shot ! " 
 
 235 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 CHRISTMAS night on Billy-goat Hill, and 
 twinkling lights, beginning with candles set 
 in bottles in the humblest cottages in Bean Alley, 
 dotted the hillside here and there, until they all 
 seemed to converge at one brilliant spot on the sum 
 mit, where a veritable halo of light hung above the 
 hilltop. 
 
 For Angora Heights was having a house-warm 
 ing, and never since old Bob Carsey brought home 
 his young bride from Alabama, had such prepara 
 tions been known for a social function. All the 
 carriages in the neighborhood had been pressed into 
 service, and a half dozen motors had been sent out 
 from town to convey the guests from the station to 
 the house. 
 
 Within the mansion everything was magnificently 
 new. Period rooms, carried out with conscientious 
 accuracy, opened into each other through arcaded 
 doorways. Massive gilt mirrors accentuated the 
 wide spaces of the hall, and repeated the lights of 
 innumerable chandeliers. If a stray memory or an 
 old association had by any chance crept into the 
 
 236 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Christmas ball, it would have found no familiar 
 object on which to dwell. The atmosphere was as 
 formal and impersonal as that of a museum. 
 
 In the middle of the drawing-room, like a general 
 issuing last orders before a battle, stood Mrs. Se 
 quin, her ample figure encased in an armor of glis 
 tening black spangles, and her elaborately puffed 
 coiffure surmounted by an incipient helmet of blaz 
 ing gems. 
 
 " Pull those portieres back a trifle," she com 
 manded, " and lower that window from the top. 
 Has Jimpson gone to the station for the Queer- 
 ingtons? " 
 
 " Yes, madam, half an hour ago," answered the 
 maid. 
 
 " The moment he returns tell him that he is to 
 take the small wagon and go back to the station at 
 ten o clock. The caterer has just phoned that he 
 is sending the extra ices out on the last train, but 
 that he cannot send another waiter. Jenkins, leav 
 ing the way he did, has upset everything. I sup 
 pose it is too late to get anybody now; the special 
 car gets here at nine. What is that noise? It 
 sounds like some one singing in the dining-room." 
 
 " It s the new furnaceman, madam, that Mrs. 
 Queerington sent. It looks like he can t keep him 
 self quiet." 
 
 237 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I 11 quiet him! " said Mrs. Sequin, who was as 
 near irritation as full dress would permit. 
 
 Phineas Flathers, having replenished the fire, was 
 pausing a moment to admire himself in the Dutch 
 mirror above the mantel when Mrs. Sequin startled 
 him by inquiring peremptorily if he was the new 
 man. 
 
 " I am," said Phineas with pronounced deference, 
 " the new man and a new man. Regenerated, born 
 again, mam, the spirit of evil having departed from 
 me." 
 
 Mrs. Sequin gasped. " What is your name? " 
 
 " Flathers, mam." 
 
 " Dreadful! I will call you Benson." 
 
 " Benson it is. Better men than me have changed 
 their names. There was Saul now, Saul of 
 Tarsus " 
 
 " Turn the drafts off in the furnace and don t 
 come up-stairs again on any account. But no, 
 wait a moment." Mrs. Sequin s keen eye swept 
 him from head to foot. " Have you ever had any 
 experience in serving? " 
 
 Phineas, whose only claim to serving was that 
 " they also serve who only stand and wait," dropped 
 his eyes. 
 
 " Only the communion, mam, and the collection. 
 But I ain t above lending a hand, mam. You d do 
 as much for me. I was just saying to the lady in 
 
 238 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILU 
 
 the kitchen, that anybody was fortunate to work for 
 a person with as generous a face as yours." 
 
 " Clean yourself up, and put on Jenkins coat, 
 and if another waiter is absolutely necessary, they 
 can call on you," directed Mrs. Sequin hurriedly, 
 then calling to the maid, " Has Miss Margery come 
 down yet ? " 
 
 " She s in the library, mam." 
 
 Margery, pale and listless, turned from the win 
 dow as her mother entered. 
 
 " I was just watching for Miss Lady," she said ; 
 " it will be rather amusing to see her and Connie at 
 their first big party." 
 
 " I hope she won t wear that childish dress she was 
 married in. It is all right for Connie to affect 
 white muslin and blue ribbons, but Cousin John s 
 wife ought to wear something that makes her look 
 older. Why, with that short gown, and the way 
 she wears her hair, she looks like a schoolgirl ! " 
 
 " She looks very beautiful." 
 
 "Of course she does, but what good does it do 
 her? Here at the end of four months she has made 
 practically no headway. Not that she didn t have 
 every opportunity ! People were quite ready to take 
 her up, but she simply would n t let them. What 
 can you expect of a person who says that bridge 
 and boned gowns make her back ache? She has n t 
 an idea in her head beyond the Doctor, the children 
 
 239 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 and a lot of paupers. I must say I am terribly dis 
 appointed in her. But then I ought to be used to 
 disappointments by this time. What will she be 
 when she s middle-aged ? " 
 
 " She 11 never be middle-aged," Margery smiled ; 
 " she 11 go on being young and making people 
 around her feel young. Father says she is the only 
 person he knows who makes him forget his age. 
 By the way, where is Father? " 
 
 " Delayed in town as usual. He 11 probably 
 motor out when the evening is half over and be too 
 tired to be polite. I ve never seen him so upset. 
 Of course it s your broken engagement. He says 
 we may have to close the house, now that we ve 
 gotten into it, and go abroad to reduce expenses, but 
 of course that s ridiculous! That reminds me, did 
 the Hortons send regrets? " 
 
 " She did," said Margery absently. 
 
 " Oh, dear, that means he 11 be here ! He s so 
 horribly fastidious, he s sure to make remarks 
 about my putting an Italian loggia on a Louis XVI 
 drawing-room. It does seem that with all the time 
 and money we ve spent on this place Is n t that 
 the carriage? " 
 
 " Yes, I hear Miss Lady laughing." 
 
 As the front door swung open two bundled-up 
 figures hurried into the hall, bringing a gust of youth 
 and merriment along with the keen night air. 
 
 240 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I hope we are the first guests," cried Miss Lady, 
 shaking a scarf from her head, " because we have 
 had an accident. We both fell down. Connie 
 slipped on the step and I sat down on top of her. 
 There was an awful rip and we don t know whose 
 it is ! I m afraid to take my coat off ! " 
 
 "But where is the Doctor?" cried Mrs. Sequin 
 in dismay. 
 
 " Father would love to have come," began Connie 
 glibly, but Miss Lady broke in : 
 
 " I don t think he really wanted to come, Mrs. 
 Sequin. He said he would be ever so much hap 
 pier up in his study, playing pinocle, than sitting 
 out here in a straight-back gilt chair eating ice 
 cream. Perhaps you think I ought n t to have come 
 without him? " 
 
 " Nonsense ! " exclaimed Mrs. Sequin. " I get 
 perfectly exasperated when Cousin John does this 
 way. There were at least a half dozen people I d 
 promised to introduce to him. If he had no con 
 sideration for me he ought to have for you. He 
 has been keeping you at home entirely too much. 
 He forgets that you are twenty years his junior; 
 he expects you to act as if you were forty." 
 
 "No, he doesn t," protested Miss Lady loyally; 
 " the Doctor never expects anything of anybody 
 that is n t right. He urged me to come, did n t he, 
 Connie?" 
 
 241 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 But Connie was absorbed in a trailing flounce that 
 hung limply about her feet. 
 
 " Look ! " she cried tragically ; " it s torn clear 
 across the front. What shall I do?" 
 
 " Margery s gowns would all be too long for 
 you," said Mrs. Sequin, viewing the rent through 
 her lorgnette, " perhaps Marie can do something 
 with this." 
 
 " I won t wear it all tacked up ! " cried Connie on 
 the verge of tears ; " I 11 go home first " 
 
 " No, you won t," said Miss Lady ; " this is your 
 first grown-up party and you ve been counting on 
 it for weeks. You are going to change dresses with 
 me. I don t mind a bit being hiked up a little, and, 
 besides, nobody s going to notice me." 
 
 " That s perfectly absurd ! " exclaimed Mrs. Se 
 quin indignantly; "you must remember who you 
 are, and that everybody is noticing you. Why can t 
 you wear one of Margery s dresses, and let Connie 
 have yours ? " 
 
 " All right, I 11 wear anything you say. Don t 
 you dare cry, Connie! I ll never forgive you if 
 you make your nose red. Listen! The musicians 
 are tuning up! May I have the first waltz, 
 madam?" and seizing Mrs. Sequin by her plump 
 gloved hands, she danced that august person down 
 the long hall. 
 
 242 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Let me go, you ridiculous child," laughed Mrs. 
 Sequin, hurrying her up the steps ; " the motors are 
 coming up the hill now. Make her look as pretty 
 as you can, Marie, and hurry ! " 
 
 At a distance the brilliant, moving lights of auto 
 mobiles and the dimmer ones of carriages could be 
 seen approaching, and very soon under the blaze of 
 the porch lights, hurrying figures in furs, rustling 
 satin, and soft velvets were being ushered formally 
 into the big reception hall. 
 
 Mrs. Sequin, mounted on her highest social stilts, 
 stood with Margery in the alcove, so carefully 
 planned for another occasion. A ball to be sure 
 was a poor substitute for a wedding, but Mrs. Se 
 quin was not one to waste her energies on vain re 
 gret. The ball was going to be a success; already 
 the rooms were filling rapidly with the people Mrs. 
 Sequin most desired to see. Old Mrs. Marchmont 
 had risen from a sick bed to drive out from town 
 and bare her ancient bones in honor of the occasion. 
 Mrs. Bartrum had taken possession of the most be 
 coming corner in the library and was holding gay 
 court there ; the young people were thronging from 
 one room to another; everybody was laughing and 
 chatting and exclaiming over the charms of the new 
 house. In fact the complacency of the hostess over 
 her achievement was only surpassed by the curiosity 
 
 243 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 of the guests who were confirming with their own 
 eyes the wild rumors which had been current of the 
 Sequins extravagance. 
 
 Mr. Horton, the local architect who had not been 
 considered of sufficient renown to make the plans 
 for the house, wandered from room to room on a 
 quiet tour of inspection. Mrs. Sequin s fears of his 
 judgment were not without cause, for Mr. Horton 
 was one of those critics whose advice one always 
 ignores but whose approval one ardently desires. 
 He was a trim, immaculate person with short, 
 pointed beard, and narrow, critical eyes that always 
 seemed to be taking measurements. Passing from 
 the Dutch dining-room, with its blue tile, and old 
 pewter, he paused in the doorway of the drawing- 
 room where the dancing had already begun. His 
 glance, taking in everything from the gilded fluting 
 of the panels to the bronze heads on the upright 
 lines of the marble mantels, rested at last upon an 
 object which evidently gave his critical taste com 
 plete satisfaction. 
 
 A young girl had paused near him and was ea 
 gerly watching the dancers. She presented a har 
 mony in green and gold, from her shining hair 
 caught in a loose coil low on her neck, to her small 
 gold slippers that tapped time to the music. The 
 clinging gown of pale green that fell in loose lines 
 from her shoulders was veiled in deep-toned lace, 
 
 244 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 revealing her round white throat and long shapely 
 arms, bare from shoulder to finger tips. Horton 
 smiled unconsciously as he watched her eager, re 
 sponsive face, and felt the suppressed vitality in 
 every movement of her slender body. 
 
 " Who is she? " he asked of Cropsie Decker, who 
 stood near. 
 
 "Who s who?" 
 
 " That radiant young thing in green. She 
 does n t belong in a ballroom, she belongs in a for 
 est with ivy leaves in her hair. By Jove, look at 
 the lines of her, and the freedom of her movements. 
 I have n t seen such arms in years ! " 
 
 Cropsie followed his glance : " Oh, that s the 
 new Mrs. Queerington, the wife of John Jay, you 
 know." 
 
 " But I mean the young girl going through the 
 door there, with the wonderful hair, and the 
 profile?" 
 
 " That s Mrs. Queerington. Is n t she a stun 
 ner ? Everybody s talking about her to-night. 
 I 11 introduce you if you like." 
 
 Horton followed him around the outer edge of 
 the dancers, still confident that Cropsie had made 
 a mistake. But when he was duly presented there 
 was no longer room for doubt. 
 
 " I hope I m not too late to claim a dance," he 
 said. " I always make it a point to dance but once 
 
 245 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 during an evening, and that with the most beautiful 
 woman on the floor. I hope you are n t going to 
 let these young sharks cut me out of my dance? " 
 
 Miss Lady lifted a pair of sparkling, excited eyes 
 to his. From the moment when she had appeared, 
 half timidly in her borrowed feathers and taken 
 refuge under Mrs. Sequin s experienced wing, she 
 had been the sensation of the evening. Adroitly 
 conveyed from one group to another she had left 
 enthusiasm in her wake. She was evidently enjoy 
 ing to the utmost the novelty of receiving homage 
 from one black-coated courtier after another, and of 
 hearing delightful things about herself. The only 
 apparent drawback to her pleasure was when she 
 was compelled to say as she did now : 
 
 !< Thank you ever so much, but I m not dancing." 
 "Not dancing?" repeated Mr. Horton, not un 
 mindful of the whiteness of her shoulders against 
 the dark marble of a neighboring pedestal, 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " The Doctor and I have given up dancing." 
 "Oh, so he doesn t allow you to dance?" 
 " Allow me? " she lifted her level brows, smiling. 
 " He simply does n t care for it." 
 " And you don t care for it either? " 
 " Oh, yes, I do, I care for it too much. That s 
 why I m not dancing." 
 
 " But you are dancing. You ve been dancing 
 246 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 ever since you came in. I ve watched you. 
 Might n t you just as well be dancing with me, as 
 dancing by yourself? " 
 
 She laughed and shook her head, but her foot 
 continued to pat the time, and her eyes followed the 
 swaying couples that swung past. 
 
 "What s the Doctor s objection?" Mr. Horton 
 urged. 
 
 " He thinks it s undignified for married .women 
 to dance, and I guess I do, too, only " Miss Lady 
 sighed, " you see, I keep forgetting that I aw a 
 married woman ! " 
 
 " You certainly make other people want to for 
 get it," then his eyes dropped before the childlike 
 candor of her gaze. " Come now, Mrs. Queer- 
 ington, are n t you taking matrimony a little seri 
 ously?" 
 
 " Perhaps I am, but I m new, you know, and 
 I Ve an awful lot to learn." 
 
 " Has n t it ever occurred to you that the Doctor 
 might have something to learn? " 
 
 " No," she said brightly, " he knows everything. 
 I sometimes wish he did n t. I d be proud if I 
 could teach him even that much ! " and she meas 
 ured off the amount on the tip of her little finger. 
 
 " Perhaps he is n t as good a pupil as you are. 
 You should take him to see Harnessing a Hus 
 band, at the Ardmore this week." 
 
 247 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "A play? I d love to go to the theater just 
 once." 
 
 "You ve never been? How extraordinary! 
 Come \vith Mrs. Horton and me on Friday night 
 and let us share your first thrill." 
 
 " May I ? " Miss Lady began eagerly, then check 
 ing herself, " I m afraid the Doctor does n t care 
 much about the modern stage. He used to enjoy 
 seeing the great actors, but he says the plays they 
 put on riow bore him fearfully. May n t we come 
 to call sometime instead? " 
 
 " As you like," said Mr. Horton, shrugging, " but 
 I hope you realize that you are spoiling that learned 
 husband of yours. Instead of adapting yourself 
 to him, make him adapt himself to you. Come now, 
 isn t it about time for you to reform? Why not 
 begin by finishing this dance with me? " 
 
 Still she laughed and shook her head. " It is n t 
 that I don t want to ! I d rather dance than do 
 anything in the world except ride horseback." 
 
 " I might have known you were a horsewoman. 
 Do you ride much ? " 
 
 " Not now." 
 
 " The Doctor does n t care for it, I suppose ? " 
 
 She flashed a questioning glance at him, then she 
 looked away: 
 
 " No," she said, " he does n t care for it." 
 
 Cropsie Decker, who had been hovering in her 
 248 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 vicinity, now came up and claimed the next num 
 ber. 
 
 " There s a bully little corner in the conservatory 
 where we can sit out this waltz. You won t mind 
 if I carry her off, Mr. Horton? " 
 
 " Not if she takes to heart some of the wise things 
 I ve been telling her," said Horton, looking at her 
 through his narrow eyes and pulling at his small, 
 fair mustache. " Au revoir, Madame Beaux 
 Yeux!" 
 
 Miss Lady did not move from the spot where he 
 left her. Out under the palms in the hall, the 
 orchestra was beginning one of Strauss most dis 
 tracting waltzes ; her ringers tapped the time. Sud 
 denly she held out her hand to Cropsie. 
 
 " I can t stand it another minute ! I ve got to 
 dance once if I never dance again ! " 
 
 Every eye in the ballroom followed the slender 
 figure, as it circled in and out among the throng. 
 Miss Lady danced with the grace and abandonment 
 of a child. She had given herself utterly to the joy 
 of the moment. She was letting herself go for the 
 first time since her marriage, following the glad 
 impulse of her heart, and dancing as a Bacchante 
 might have danced alone on a moonlight night in 
 some forest glade. 
 
 When at last the music stopped Cropsie drew her 
 into the conservatory. 
 
 16 249 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "Here, come around this palm, quick! They ll 
 all be after you for the next dance. Gerald Ivy is 
 charging around now looking for you, and so is 
 Mr. Horton. Sit there in the window and cool 
 off!" 
 
 She sank laughing and breathless on the window 
 sill. All the exhilaration of the dance was in her 
 eyes, her lips were parted, her cheeks flushed, and 
 a strand of loosened hair fell across her shoulder. 
 
 It was at this moment that wheels sounded on the 
 driveway below, caused her to lean idly out to see 
 who was coming. A wagon stopped at the side en 
 trance, and a man alighted. Uncle Jimpson s voice 
 was heard asking a question, then came the other 
 man s voice, in quick, incisive answer. 
 
 Miss Lady, sitting motionless, looking down, 
 turned suddenly from the window. The color had 
 left her face and her hand trembled visibly against 
 the curtain. 
 
 " What s the matter? " cried Cropsie; " are you 
 ill? Did you dance too long? " 
 
 " It s nothing, I m all right. That is I will 
 be" 
 
 " Can t I get you some water, or an ice, or call 
 Mrs. Sequin? " 
 
 " No, no, please ! It s nothing. I 11 slip off to 
 the dressing-room until I feel better. I can go 
 through here up the side stairs." 
 
 250 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Wait, I 11 go with you. You are as white as 
 if you d seen a ghost! " 
 
 But before he could join her she had disappeared 
 into mysterious regions where he dared not follow. 
 
 251 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 DURING the course of that Christmas night, 
 there was one member of the Sequin house 
 hold who failed to thrill with the holiday spirit, and 
 whose depression steadily increased as the evening 
 wore on. The great occasion of which Uncle Jimp- 
 son had dreamed all his life, had at last arisen, and 
 instead of being allowed to rise with it, and prove 
 his indisputable right to butlerhood, he had been 
 detailed to drive back and forth to the station over 
 that same humdrum Cane Run Road that he and 
 Old John had helped to wear away for the past 
 quarter of a century! 
 
 To be sure, a neat depot wagon and a spirited 
 young sorrel had replaced the ancient buggy and 
 the apostolic nag, but these fell far short of Uncle 
 Jimpson s dreams. A coach and four at that mo 
 ment would not have compensated him for the fact 
 that a complaisant, red-headed furnaceman, a " po 
 white trash " arrived but yesterday, was being al 
 lowed to pass the tray that by; all rights of prece 
 dence belonged to him. 
 
 252 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Waiting impatiently at the station for the train 
 that was to bring the elusive ices which he had been 
 pursuing all evening, he at last had the satisfaction 
 of seeing the small engine crawl out of the darkness, 
 and come to a wheezing halt. 
 
 So engrossed were the conductor and brakeman 
 and Uncle Jimpson in safely depositing the freezers 
 on the platform, that no one noticed a passenger 
 who had alighted. In fact, it was not until Uncle 
 Jimpson heard Mrs. Sequin s name that he paused 
 from his labor and looked up. 
 
 The stranger was a young, well-built man, wear 
 ing a long, shaggy overcoat, and a cap of a foreign 
 cut that excited the immediate envy of the brake 
 man. The bag and the suit case which he carried 
 were covered with foreign labels, and he had the 
 air of a person who is suddenly dropped down in 
 a strange place and does n t quite know what to do 
 with himself. 
 
 " You say you want to git up to Mrs. Sequin s 
 to-night ? " Uncle Jimpson eyed the bags suspi 
 ciously. " Scuse me, sir, but you ain t sellin 
 nothin , is you ? " 
 
 The laugh that greeted this was so spontaneous, 
 that Uncle Jimpson hastened to apologize : 
 
 " I nebber thought you wuz, only we was n t 
 lookin fer no railroad company, an I lowed you 
 did n t look lak you wuz comin to de party." 
 
 253 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " What party? " asked the man, his look of amuse 
 ment giving place to one of dismay. 
 
 " Our-alls party. We s havin a ball an a house- 
 warmin . You must be comin fum a long ways 
 off not to be hearin bout hit ! " 
 
 " You mean the Sequins are having a party, to 
 night?" 
 
 " Yas, sir." 
 
 " But are n t they expecting me ? Did n t they 
 get my telegram ? " 
 
 " I dunno, sir. Dey nebber said nothin to me." 
 
 The stranger stood with feet apart, watch in hand, 
 and a grim expression on the only part of his face 
 visible between his cap and his upturned collar. 
 
 " What time is the next train back to town ? " 
 
 " Dey ain t none, ceptin de special, what s hired 
 to take de party back to town. Dat goes bout two 
 o clock." 
 
 " I 11 wait for it," said the stranger, flinging his 
 bag against the waiting-room door and beginning 
 to pac restlessly up and down the snow-covered 
 platform. 
 
 But this did not meet with Uncle Jimpson s ideas 
 of hospitality. 
 
 " Dey nebber knowed you wuz comin ," he 
 argued. " I jes know dey did n t. But dat won t 
 hinder em fum bein powerful glad to see you. 
 Better git in, Boss, an lemme dribe you up dere." 
 
 254 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " No, there is evidently more room for me in 
 town ! " 
 
 " Room ! Why, Mister, we could take keer of all 
 de Presidents of de Nunited States at one time! 
 Sides, hit don t look right to leave you a stompin 
 round here in de cold fer three or four hours by 
 yourself. You d git powerful lonesome." 
 
 " I m used to being lonesome. Have n t been 
 anything else for a year." 
 
 " But dis heah is different," urged the old darkey, 
 scratching his head ; " dis heah is Christmas night. 
 Tain t natchul fer folks not to git together an laugh 
 an be happy an fergit dere quarrels an dere 
 troubles an jollify deyselves. You know you ain t 
 gwine be happy stompin round here in de dark by 
 your loneself ; you know dat ain t no way to spend 
 Christmas, Boss ! " 
 
 The stranger continued to stare into the darkness 
 for a moment, then he laughed, that same sudden, 
 infectious, boyish laugh that had greeted Uncle 
 Jimpson s suggestion that he was an agent. 
 
 " You re right! " he exclaimed; " this is no time 
 to nurse a grouch. Perhaps they did n t get the 
 telegram. I 11 risk it. Is there a side door you 
 could slip me in? " 
 
 " Yas, sir ! We got four side doors, sides de 
 back one. Ain t nuffin we ain t got. You git right 
 in de wagon, an I 11 hist de bags in. Tain t de 
 
 255 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 way I d like to kerry you up to de mansion, strad- 
 dlin a ice-cream freezer wid de snow in yer face, 
 but I 11 git you dere ! " 
 
 Uncle Jimpson, sure of an audience for at least 
 twenty minutes, forgot his wrongs and laid himself 
 out to make the most of his opportunity. 
 
 It was very cold and the horse s hoofs beat hard 
 on the frozen ground. Beyond the wavering circle 
 of light from the swaying lantern all was dark and 
 mysterious. 
 
 " I certainly is glad dem freezers come," said 
 Uncle Jimpson, tucking in the lap robe ; " I shore 
 would hate to go back widout em. De Gunnel 
 used to say dat was what niggers was born fer, to 
 git what you sent em after." 
 
 "Who is the Colonel?" asked the stranger with 
 a quick glance of recognition at the old negro. 
 
 " Gunnel Bob Carsey. My old marster. He s 
 dead now, an Mrs. Sequin she s done borrowed 
 me fer a while." 
 
 "When did he die?" 
 
 " A year ago las May." 
 
 The man in the foreign cap pulled it further over 
 his eyes and resumed his scrutiny of the road. 
 
 " Al dis heah hill used to b long to us," Uncle 
 Jimpson continued; " long before de Sequinses ever 
 wttz born. I spec you Ve heard tell of Thorn- 
 wood ? " 
 
 256 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Yes. Who lives there now? " 
 
 " Nobody. When de Gunnel died, my young 
 Miss did n t hab nobody to take keer ob her, nor no 
 money to run de place, no nothin ceptin jus me 
 an Carline. Dey was n t nothin left fer her to do 
 but git married." 
 
 A long pause followed during which the traveler 
 watched the distorted shadow of the trotting horse 
 as it shambled along the road. 
 
 Course," the old darkey broke out presently, 
 " Doctor Queerington is a powerful smart gemman, 
 an he teks keer ob her jes lak she wuz one ob his 
 own chillun. An she s gittin broke into de shafts, 
 but hit s gwine hard wid her. Tain t natchul to 
 hitch a young filly up to a old kerriage horse an 
 spec her to keep step. She sorter holdin back all 
 de time, kinder fraid to let loose an carry on same 
 as she use to." 
 
 They were going through the covered bridge now 
 and the rattle of the wheels on the loose boards made 
 conversation difficult. 
 
 " Wuz you eber homesick, Boss ? " asked Uncle 
 Jimpson inconsequently. 
 
 " Rather," said the stranger emphatically. " I 
 was born homesick." 
 
 " Well, dat s what ails my young Miss an dat s 
 whut s de matter wid me an Carline an Mike. 
 Ain t none ob us used to libin in other folks houses 
 
 257 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 an mixin up wid other folkses families. Course 
 hit s mighty fine to be rich an put on airs, but hit s 
 lonesome. Tore hit got so cold, me an Carline d 
 go down home most ebery night an set round de 
 quarters, listenin to de frogs an de crickets, an 
 I d say, Carline, don t you mind de time dat Miss 
 Lady fell head fust into de barrel ob sorghum? 
 An de time she made de chickens drunk offen egg- 
 nog?* Nebber wus nobody in de world lak dat 
 chile, up to ever mischievousness dat ever wuz con 
 cocted, but jus so sweet an coaxin dat de Cunnel 
 nebber knowed how to punish her." 
 
 The stranger took out a meerschaum pipe, started 
 to light a match, evidently forgot his intention, and 
 looked absently ahead into the darkness. 
 
 " Dis is Thornwood ! " said Uncle Jimpson 
 eagerly, pointing with his whip up a long avenue of 
 trees; "you can t see de house cause dey ain t no 
 lights in de winders. De Gunnel s paw set dem 
 trees out de same year he bought Carline. Lord, 
 I certainly wuz gone on dat yaller gal ! But I did n t 
 know nothin bout courtin . . Carline she wuz bet 
 ter qualified though, an she made me ast Old Miss 
 ef I could n t hab her fer my wife. We did n t need 
 no Bible nor preacher, nor sech foolishness in dem 
 days. But when Old Miss wuz willin we jus dress 
 up an walk ober de place an tell all de niggers we 
 married. Umph, umph! But I wuz proud 
 
 258 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 dat day! I had on a bran new pair ob pants dat 
 cost two-hundred an sixty-fo dollars in Confed 
 erate money! When Mr. Abe Lincum set us nig 
 gers free, dey made us git married all ober agin wid 
 a preacher an a Bible, but I never seed no diffunce." 
 
 " Does Mrs. Mrs. Queerington ever come back 
 to Thornwood ? " asked the stranger, stumbling- 
 over the name as if it were very hard for him to 
 say. 
 
 " Yas, sir, she comes jes lak me an Carline, an 
 wanders roun de house an de garden, an sets in 
 de ole barrel hammock, studyin to herself." 
 
 " And Mike, what became of him? " 
 
 Uncle Jimpson looked at him in surprise, " How d 
 you know about Mike, Mister?" 
 
 "Didn t you speak of him a while ago; wasn t 
 he the dog?" 
 
 " Yas, sir. He s our dog. He s stayin wif 
 Miss Ferney Foster what libes down beyond de 
 blacksmith s on de other side de pike. He don t lak 
 it no better n we do; he s homesick, too." 
 
 They had reached a pretentious white gateway, 
 and Uncle Jimpson, recalled to a sense of his duties, 
 drew himself up from his slouching posture, crooked 
 his elbow and rounded the curve as if he had been 
 driving a tally-ho. 
 
 Through the bare trees above them blazed the 
 magnificent proportions of Angora Heights, with 
 
 259 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 its pretentious assembly of stables, garage and ser 
 vants quarters in the rear. 
 
 "Ye gods!" exclaimed the stranger under his 
 breath; "is this all of it?" 
 
 " Naw, sir! " Uncle Jimpson denied emphatically; 
 " if hit wuz daytime you could see de Ramparts an 
 de Estanade. Over dere is de Lygoon. Tain t 
 nothin shore nuff but our ole pond where we uster 
 ketch bullfrogs, but Mrs. Sequin she tole me to call 
 hit de Lygoon. You see dem carvins ober de door ? 
 Dat figger goin up dat Egyptious stairway is John 
 Dark.. Didn t you nebber heah bout John Dark? 
 He wuz a woman what fit a battle onct." 
 
 " Cut around to the side there, out of the way 
 of the motors," directed the stranger, who seemed 
 much more concerned in making a quiet entrance 
 into the mansion than in studying its architectural 
 features. " Here s something to put in the toe of 
 your Christmas stocking, and another for Caroline. 
 Hurry up ! " 
 
 He vaulted lightly over the wheel and turned to 
 take his bag. As he did so the light from the con 
 servatory window above fell full upon his upturned 
 face. 
 
 " Fore de Lawd ! " cried Uncle Jimpson, a broad 
 grin splitting his face almost in two. " I might V 
 knowed dat de only gemman in de world what tipped 
 lak dat wuz Mr. Don Morley ! " 
 
 260 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 IT is really a very difficult thing to snub Christ 
 mas. You may relegate it to the class of nui 
 sances, and turn your back on Santa Claus, and vote 
 the whole institution a gigantic bore, but before the 
 day is over it usually gets the better of you, as it did 
 of Donald Morley, arriving unannounced and un- 
 welcomed at the side door of the Sequin mansion. 
 It had gotten the better of him the year before when 
 he had risen in the gray dawn of an Indian day and 
 stoically made his way to the banks of the Ganges. 
 It had proclaimed itself above the Vedic hymns of 
 the twice-born Brahmins, standing knee-deep in the 
 sacred river ; it had dogged his footsteps among the 
 ash-smeared fakirs, and jewel-hung cows; it had 
 even haunted the burning-ghat where he had stood 
 and watched human bodies burning on their pyres. 
 Eighteen months of wandering had made him 
 sick of the casual; of the steamer acquaintances 
 formed at one port and dropped at the next; of the 
 unfamiliar sights and incomprehensible languages 
 and the horde of alien yellow faces. He was weary 
 unto death of the freedom of the high seas, and 
 
 261 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 longed fervently for a strong anchor, and a quiet 
 harbor. 
 
 When Cropsie Decker s explosive epistle had ar 
 rived telling him of his indictment, of Margery s 
 broken engagement, of Lee Dillingham s treachery, 
 his first thought was not of his wrongs, but of the 
 fact that they would necessitate his going home. 
 
 He did not stop to realize that going home meant 
 but one thing to him. He even tried to persuade 
 himself that seeing Miss Lady in the role of a happy, 
 complaisant wife would cure him of his insatiable 
 longing for her. From the time he heard of her 
 marriage he had striven desperately to put her out 
 of his mind, using every means but one to accom 
 plish his purpose. Through all his resentment and 
 bitterness of heart, he had never returned to his old 
 life. Those promises made to her in the full ardor 
 of his boyish passion, he had kept with the hopeless 
 loyalty that one keeps the garments of the dead. 
 
 Now that he had been indicted for a crime of 
 which he was wholly innocent, his first desire was 
 to know if she still believed in him. To be sure, 
 there were strong reasons why she should not: his 
 own confession of his shortcomings; the unfortu 
 nate complication in the Dillingham affair; his sub 
 sequent disappearance. It was but natural that she 
 should have been brought to see the folly of pinning 
 her faith to such an unstable proposition as himself. 
 
 262 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 His first agonized protest against her marriage had 
 given place to a stoical acceptance of the fact He 
 was paying the price many a man has paid for the 
 follies of his youth, and he was ready to pay without 
 a protest, if only she could be made to understand 
 the truth. 
 
 All that was best in him demanded justice from 
 her, the justice he had pleaded for in that long letter 
 sent from San Francisco. Goinj home for him 
 meant not only a trial by jury and a verdict of guilty 
 or innocent. It meant far more. He would know 
 from her own lips whether she had ever received his 
 letter, and whether or not she believed in him. On 
 her decision rested his faith in human nature and 
 in God. 
 
 The sudden decision to return to America had 
 been reached one night in Port Said, where he had 
 just joined an exploring expedition bound for the 
 Valley of the Kings. He cancelled his engagement, 
 took passage on a little Russian steamer that was 
 bound for Alexandria, and too impatient to wait for 
 a liner from that port shipped on a freight boat for 
 Naples. The passage across the Atlantic had been 
 a tempestuous one, and he had landed in New York 
 two days overdue, with no time to notify the family 
 of his arrival. 
 
 And now after eighteen months of exile in foreign 
 lands he was actually home again! That is if this 
 
 263 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 resplendent, unfamiliar abode, full of music and 
 lights and strange servants, could be called home. 
 However, it \vas the nearest approach to one he 
 could claim, and the fact that the fatted calf had not 
 been killed for him, and that the law waited for him 
 around the corner, did not prevent his pulse quick 
 ening and his lips smiling as he took the side steps 
 two at a time, and entered the rear hall. 
 
 An officious, red-headed man stood in the pantry 
 door with a napkin over his arm, issuing peremptory 
 orders and regulating the outcoming and ingoing 
 waiters. 
 
 " Are you the butler? " asked Donald. 
 
 " Not yet," said the man, dropping one eyelid and 
 assuming a confidential air; " I can see she s after 
 me, though. She got on to my style the minute she 
 seen me handle a tray of glasses. Flathers, she 
 sez, you keep things movin back there in the 
 pantry, and do keep a eye on John. John s the 
 butler. He s a drinkin man, God be praised, and 
 I m layin fer his job. Are you a chauffeur? " 
 
 " No," said Donald good humoredly. " I m a 
 prodigal brother. Where have I seen you before? " 
 
 " Can t say. If a person sees me once they never 
 fergit me. It s me golden glow. Come, boys ! 
 Hurry up! Hurry up with them cakes there. Git 
 them extry freezers unpacked. Git a move on yer." 
 
 " Take this card in to Mrs. Sequin," said Don- 
 264 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 aid, " and ask her if she can spare a moment to see 
 a caller in the rear entry." 
 
 Phineas glanced suspiciously from the card to the 
 stranger, then he decided that he would not ques 
 tion the matter. 
 
 A moment later, Mrs. Sequin with her glittering 
 draperies gathered about her, and an expression of 
 great perturbation on her features, made her high- 
 heeled way through the pantry. 
 
 " Donald ! My dear boy ! " she exclaimed effu 
 sively, presenting her cheek with the caution of one 
 who hopes the kiss will be light. " What on earth 
 are you doing here? We had no idea you were in 
 America. How thin you are ! I ve been in a per 
 fect agony about you. Not those champagne 
 glasses, John; the larger ones. That tiresome but 
 ler ! He has been tipsy all day. Now, what about 
 yourself, Donald? It is dreadfully unwise for you 
 to be here; you know of course of of the indict 
 ment?" 
 
 " That s why I m here. But how is everybody? 
 How are Brother Basil and little old Margery? 
 Where s my saddle mare? " 
 
 " I 11 tell you everything to-morrow, Don. You 
 must want to go to your room now. Flathers take 
 this gentleman s bags up to the East guest-room, 
 no, that s occupied. You won t mind going up an 
 other flight, just for to-night, dear? " 
 17 265 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Oh, tuck me in anywhere, just so there s a bath 
 handy." 
 
 " All the bedrooms have baths," said Mrs. Se 
 quin absently, with her eye on the befuddled butler 
 who was trying to uncork a bottle with a screw 
 driver, " Let Flathers I mean Benson do that, 
 John, and you take these bags. So sorry I can t 
 go up with you myself, Don, but the cotillion is just 
 beginning, and I have to see to the favors." 
 
 " That s right, don t bother about me, I 11 get 
 into some decent togs and be down again in a little 
 while." 
 
 Mrs. Sequin paused with her hand on the banis 
 ter, then she leaned forward solicitously : 
 
 " I would n t take the trouble to dress and come 
 down again, Don. It s late and you must be dead 
 tired. You go to bed. I ? 11 understand." 
 
 Donald, standing a few steps above her, shot a 
 questioning glance at her, then he, too, understood. 
 
 " Oh, all right," he said, biting his lip; " I believe 
 I won t come down. You might send Marge up, 
 after the people leave, just to say Hello/ 
 
 "Of course, we 11 both be up. Nothing could 
 hold her if she knew you were here. But it is bet 
 ter that nobody should know. I was careful not 
 to mention your name before the servants. You 
 can have a nice little visit with us, and get away 
 
 266 
 
Mrs. Sequin paused with her hand on the banister. 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 again without any one being the wiser. It is so 
 lovely you got here in time for Christmas! Good 
 night." She came up two steps and presented her 
 other cheek for a kiss. 
 
 The delinquent John, meanwhile, was performing 
 acrobatic feats with the bags, getting them so mixed 
 up with his own legs and the stair steps that Donald 
 snatched them from him, and, eliciting a vague di 
 rection concerning the room he was to occupy, went 
 up to find it alone. 
 
 He felt something of the hot rebellion and resent 
 ment that he had experienced on another Christmas 
 night in the long ago, when the cross-eyed French 
 nurse had put him to bed at five o clock and left 
 him alone in the big hotel in Paris. Then he had 
 cried himself to sleep because there was n t any 
 Santa Claus and because he did n t have a sweet 
 heart. But the consolations of six are denied to 
 twenty-five. 
 
 On the second floor he followed directions and 
 turned to the right. The dressing-rooms were de 
 serted, the maids having taken their seats on the 
 steps to peep at the dancers below. He, too, paused, 
 and looked down at the gaily whirling throng. 
 There was his old familiar world, the fellows he 
 had been through college with, the girls he had 
 flirted with, the very music he had danced to, times 
 without numbers. And he was as much out of it 
 
 269 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 all as if he had died of the fever in that gray old hos 
 pital in Singapore! Ah, if he only had! 
 
 He turned abruptly and started up the second 
 flight of stairs, and as he did so something rose 
 precipitately from the steps, and fluttered ahead of 
 him. 
 
 He looked up and as he did so chaos broke loose 
 within him. There at the top, in the subdued light 
 from the upper hall, startled, uncertain, off her 
 guard, stood Miss Lady, not the pretty, harum- 
 scarum girl of his dreams, but a beautiful, wistful 
 woman, with trembling lips and startled eyes, who 
 held out her hands to him in involuntary welcome. 
 
 He lost his head completely. All the blood in his 
 body rushed to his throat. Something sang through 
 every fiber of him. 
 
 "Miss Lady!" he cried, catching the hands she 
 extended in both of his, then as she drew back from 
 his too ardent look, he remembered. " I beg your 
 pardon, of course it s Mrs. Oueerington, now." 
 
 " Not to you, Don. When did you come? Are 
 you well again ? Did n t any one know you were 
 coming? Have the others seen you? " 
 
 She poured forth her questions eagerly, as if she 
 feared another pause. She was making a desperate 
 effort to appear easy, but her eagerness betrayed her. 
 She repeated that she had no idea he was in Amer 
 ica, and took refuge in a general assurance that 
 
 270 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 everybody would be so glad to have him home 
 again. 
 
 Donald, lean and tanned, stood silent, watching 
 her searchingly. His deep-set eyes were clearer 
 and steadier than of old, but they were no longer 
 the eyes of a boy. He was like a mariner whose 
 ship has been wrecked. He had nothing worse to 
 dread and nothing to hope for. He simply desired 
 to see the rock on which his life craft had smashed. 
 
 Miss Lady continued to ask questions, but she evi 
 dently did not always heed the answers as she asked 
 some of them twice over. It was not until Don 
 ald s trouble was touched upon that her mood 
 steadied and she lost her self-consciousness. 
 
 "Of course you must stand the trial," she said, 
 and her voice rang with the old assurance ; " you 
 must fight the whole matter out once for all, and 
 prove your innocence." 
 
 " Oh, the Court will prove that all right, but what 
 does it matter? If people were willing to damn 
 me without hearing, to believe that I had shot a 
 man s eye out, then run away to escape the punish 
 ment Bah ! it s sickening." 
 
 " But everybody does n t believe it. The Doctor 
 does n t, nor Margery, nor Cropsie Decker, nor I. 
 Hundreds of your friends are ready to stand by 
 you. Don t listen to what anybody else says, but 
 stay and fight it out." 
 
 271 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 He looked up suddenly. " Did you ever get that 
 letter I wrote you before I sailed from Frisco? " 
 
 He had n t meant to blurt it out like that, the 
 question that had tortured him so long, but her sym 
 pathy and friendliness had unnerved him. 
 
 Leaning forward with all his soul in his eyes, he 
 watched the color mount steadily from her throat to 
 her cheeks, then to her brow. He heard her draw 
 a sharp, quivering breath as one who walks on a 
 precipice, then she faced him steadily. 
 
 " Yes, Donald," she said, meeting his gaze un 
 flinchingly, " I got it." 
 
 He dropped his head on his hand where it rested 
 on the banister, and they stood for a moment in 
 silence save for the strains of music that came up 
 from below. Then he straightened his shoulders. 
 
 :< That s all. I had to make sure, you know. 
 And you did n t believe in me ? " 
 
 Across her face quivered the desire for speech, 
 and the necessity for silence. 
 
 " I do believe in you, Don," she said earnestly. 
 " I believe in you with all my heart and soul. And 
 we are going to be your friends ; you 11 let us, the 
 Doctor and me? " 
 
 He took the hand she offered, but he said noth 
 ing, and after she was gone he went into his room, 
 and flinging himself across the bed, buried his face 
 in the pillows. 
 
 272 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE new year began inauspiciously at the 
 Queerington s. In the first place Bertie woke 
 up with the chickenpox and was banished to the 
 nursery. Then the Doctor followed his annual cus 
 tom of going over his business affairs, with the 
 usual result that he found his accounts greatly over 
 drawn. This fact was solemnly communicated to 
 each member of the family in turn together with 
 admonitions in regard to the future. By lunch 
 time Hattie had been sent to her room for imperti 
 nently suggesting that her father spent more on his 
 books than she did on her clothes, and Connie was 
 sulking over a reduced allowance. 
 
 " Of course," the Doctor explained to Miss Lady 
 as he sank exhausted into his invalid chair which 
 had been pressed into service again during the past 
 few weeks, " I have no doubt but that Basil Sequin 
 can arrange things for me. He always has in the 
 past, but he seems very pressed of late, very har 
 assed. I hardly like to approach him so soon again 
 for a loan." 
 
 273 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Could n t we rent a smaller house, and have less 
 company?" suggested Miss Lady. 
 
 The Doctor shook his head. " It would be very 
 difficult for me to adjust myself to new surroundings. 
 The conditions here for my work are fairly satis 
 factory. The Ivy s piano, to be sure, is a constant 
 annoyance, but by using cotton in my ears I ob 
 viate that nuisance. It is particularly unfortunate 
 that this complication about money should come just 
 at the most critical point of my work. Unless Basil 
 Sequin can make some arrangement, I shall be seri 
 ously embarrassed." 
 
 " I 11 tell you what we can do," cried Miss Lady 
 brightly, just as if she had not been trying to get 
 herself up to the point of making the offer for a 
 week. " We can sell off another bit of Thornwood. 
 Since the Sequins built out there ever so many peo 
 ple have asked about ground." 
 
 " No," said the Doctor, the lines of care deepen 
 ing in his fine, grave face. " There is little left now 
 but the house and farm. Your sentiment regard 
 ing the place is such that I cannot permit the sacri 
 fice. The matter will doubtless adjust itself. I 
 shall take some private pupils at the university and 
 perhaps arrange an extra course of lectures. The 
 exigencies of the past two years have been excep 
 tional." 
 
 " But you are already working yourself to death," 
 274 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 protested Miss Lady. " Doctor Wyeth said last 
 week that you could not stand the strain. The rest 
 of us ought to do something; we must do some 
 thing!" 
 
 " You are doing something, my dear. You are 
 relieving me of innumerable burdens in regard to 
 the house and the children. You are proving of 
 great assistance to me in my work, not only by 
 your reading aloud, but by the unfailing sympathy 
 and understanding you give me. Whatever suc 
 cess shall crown my life work will be in a measure 
 due to you." 
 
 She was sitting on a hassock at his feet, and she 
 looked up at him with strange, dumb eyes. His 
 frail body and towering ambition, his loveless life 
 that knew not what it missed, roused in her a pity 
 almost maternal. A fierce resentment rose within 
 her against herself, for not loving him as she knew 
 a husband should be loved. If he had only won 
 her with his heart instead of his head ! 
 
 The door bell rang and Miss Lady glanced up 
 apprehensively. 
 
 " It was the pickle woman," announced Myrtella, 
 coming in a moment later from the hall. " I sent 
 her about her business." 
 
 " Not Miss Ferney ! " cried Miss Lady, springing 
 up and rushing out to call her. 
 
 Miss Ferney Foster with much difficulty was per- 
 
 275 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 suaded to return and sit on the edge of a hall chair. 
 On New Year s in the past she had always made 
 a formal call at Thornwood and presented the Col 
 onel with a sample of her best wares. The Colonel 
 in turn had invariably sent down cellar for one of 
 the cobwebbiest bottles on the swinging shelf and 
 bestowed it upon her with great gallantry. The 
 indignity of having been refused admittance at the 
 house of the Colonel s daughter was almost more 
 than she could bear. 
 
 " Now, tell me about everybody out home," de 
 manded Miss Lady eagerly. " Begin at the bottom 
 of the hill and go right straight up." 
 
 " I don t know much news," Miss Ferney said, 
 plucking at the fingers of her cotton gloves. " I 
 been sewing up to the Sequins all week." 
 
 " Mercy ! How grand we are getting ! " 
 
 " Just hemming tableclothes and napkins. I can t 
 say I think much of their new place. It s kind of 
 skimpy." 
 
 " Why, Miss Ferney ! It is the biggest house I 
 was even in ! " 
 
 " I ain t talking bout the size. I m talking bout 
 the fixings. There ain t a single carpet that fits the 
 floor by two feet, and the wallpaper s patched in 
 every room but one. As for the dining-room! 
 Well, I wouldn t have believed it if I hadn t seen 
 it with my own eyes ! They have n t got a picture, 
 
 276 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 or a tidy, or a curtain, or a lamberkin, of any kind. 
 Spose I ought n t to tell it on em, but the day I 
 was there they did n t even have a tablecloth ! " 
 
 Miss Lady laughed in spite of herself, and Bertie 
 heard her and got out of bed to call over the banis 
 ters that if they were telling jokes to please come 
 up there. 
 
 " You know that young man that used to be out 
 to the Wickers ?" asked Miss Ferney on the way 
 up. " Well, he s Mrs. Sequin s brother. He s 
 giving em considerable trouble." 
 
 " How do you mean? " 
 
 " They want him to go way somewheres, and he 
 won t do it. The servant girl told me that him and 
 his sister had been having it up and down, and that 
 Miss Margery took his side." 
 
 "Is he going to stay?" Miss Lady paused and 
 her fingers gripped the banister. 
 
 " I dunno. I guess if he gits mad enough he 11 
 run off to China like he did before. Ain t that 
 somebody calling you ? " 
 
 It was Connie who had run up to say that a young 
 man was at the front door who looked like a tomb 
 stone with a blond pompadour. 
 
 "Noah Wicker!" exclaimed Miss Lady. "I 
 forgot that I told him I would try to get him into 
 Mr. Gooch s law office the first of the year. Was n t 
 it like him to arrive the first day? You go down, 
 
 277 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Connie, that s a darling, and entertain him til I 
 come. I 11 be there directly." 
 
 But " directly " proved an elastic term, for after 
 Miss Ferney had left, and four different persons 
 had been assured over the telephone that all invita 
 tions were being declined on account of the Doctor s 
 indisposition, Miss Lady found Hattie still sulking 
 in her room, and spent a half hour in restoring peace 
 to that troubled bosom. 
 
 Meanwhile Myrtella came up to announce with 
 elation that a waterpipe had burst in the cellar. 
 Few things roused such joy in Myrtella as the burst 
 ing of a waterpipe. It was an act of insubordina 
 tion on the part of the pipe, with which she deeply 
 sympathized. 
 
 " And it s Mr. Gooch s night for supper, and 
 if that man in the parlor stays, too, the ice cream 
 won t go round," she declared, with evident satis 
 faction in the cumulative tragedy. 
 
 By the time the knots were untied, Miss Lady had 
 forgotten all about Noah Wicker, and it was only 
 when Connie came in declaring indignantly that she 
 would n t talk to the stupid fellow another minute, 
 that she remembered. 
 
 " You poor dear child ! " she cried, giving her 
 a repentant squeeze. " I am sorry. Hattie, would 
 you mind going down and entertaining him a sec 
 ond, til I change my dress? " 
 
 278 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I would," said Hattie firmly. 
 
 Of course Noah stayed to dinner, and Miss Lady 
 regarded it as an act of Providence that he and Mr. 
 Gooch should have thus immediately been thrown to 
 gether. 
 
 But when Mr. Gooch arrived he was concerned 
 with much more important affairs. He brought the 
 astounding news that Donald Morley had returned 
 home and, against the advice of his family, and his 
 lawyers, decided to stand his trial for the shooting 
 of Dick Sheeley! 
 
 " It is perfectly preposterous ! " Mr. Gooch ex 
 ploded, "to voluntarily put himself in the clutches 
 of the law in a complicated case like this ! He could 
 have lived elsewhere for a few years. Even if he 
 is innocent, the evidence is all against him. I have 
 argued with him for two days. His sister tells me 
 that she has worked on him for a week. He will 
 listen to nobody." 
 
 " Quite right/ said the Doctor emphatically. 
 " The establishment of his good name should be his 
 primary consideration. The purest treasure mor 
 tal times afford is spotless reputation. I am more 
 gratified than I can say that Donald is taking this 
 course. He is justifying my persistent belief in his 
 integrity. Once cleared by a jury the ghost of that 
 unfortunate affair will, I trust, be laid forever." 
 
 " It is not so certain that he will be cleared," Mr. 
 279 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Gooch said, taking his accustomed seat at the table, 
 with a solicitous eye on the door where Myrtella 
 would appear with the soup. " I shall do my best 
 for him, but I have my doubts." 
 
 " You say he has been here a week ? " the Doctor 
 asked. " Strange he has not been in to see us. He 
 was always fond of the children, and professed a 
 certain regard, I believe, for me. I want him to 
 meet Mrs. Queerington." 
 
 There was a pause, during which Noah Wicker 
 turned a surprised glance upon the hostess. 
 
 " I know Mr. Morley," she said steadily, while 
 the color mounted to her cheeks. " I knew him 
 when he was with Noah at the farm." 
 
 " Indeed," said the Doctor. " I must have for 
 gotten your mentioning it. I am afraid, Mr. 
 Wicker, we ve been neglecting you to-night in our 
 concern over Donald s problems. But it is a sub 
 ject in which you are doubtless equally interested ? " 
 
 Noah started to reply, but realizing that the com 
 pany was looking at him, forgot what he was going 
 to say and bowed instead. 
 
 At this juncture the thing of all others that Miss 
 Lady dreaded, occurred. Donald Morley was an 
 nounced by Myrtella in tones whose accents implied 
 that nothing could now prevent the ice cream from 
 giving out. 
 
 " Well, well ! " cried the Doctor, rising and greet- 
 280 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 ing him with outstretched hand, " a hearty welcome 
 home. You know everybody here, I believe ? Even 
 Mrs. Queerington tells me she has met you. And 
 this is Hattie. I am quite sure you were not pre 
 pared to see her so tall." 
 
 Donald, retaining Hattie s hand, made the round 
 of greetings. 
 
 " Where are Connie and Bert? " 
 
 " Connie is dressing for a party, and poor old 
 Bert is struggling with the chickenpox," Miss Lady 
 managed to say as she busied herself with the coffee 
 cups. 
 
 " And now tell us about yourself," said the Doc 
 tor, drawing a chair for Donald beside his own. 
 " You will pardon my cushions, but I am still 
 something of an invalid, and the little lady at the 
 end of the table insists upon spoiling me. You 
 knew, of course, of my accident, some two years 
 ago?" 
 
 " Not until I got home," Donald said without 
 looking up. "I hope you Ve gotten well again?" 
 
 " Oh, no, I shall never be well. The physicians 
 assured me of that from the first, but they also said 
 that with care and proper conservation of my ener 
 gies I would probably live to a ripe old age. I do 
 not suppose you have ever had to resist the tempta 
 tion to overwork, Donald ? " 
 
 Donald smiled and puckered his brow. 
 281 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " He has plenty of work cut out for him now ! " 
 growled Mr. Gooch, whose mind having been tem 
 porarily diverted by the salad now rushed back to 
 the trial. 
 
 " Work for an admirable cause," said the Doctor. 
 " Mr. Gooch has just been telling us of your deci 
 sion, Donald, and I cannot express my gratification 
 at your course of action." 
 
 " Thank you, Doctor ! That s the first encour 
 agement I Ve had. My family seem to think I am 
 a lunatic, and even my lawyer, here, is taking the 
 case under protest." 
 
 " The value of a good name," began the Doctor, 
 then remembering that he had delivered himself at 
 length on that subject earlier in the evening, he 
 broke off by inquiring if Donald had been doing 
 any writing during his absence. 
 
 " Oh ! yes, I am always scribbling. It does n t 
 amount to anything though." 
 
 " Yes, it does, too ! " declared Hattie, to whom 
 Cousin Don had always been a hero. " Mr. Decker 
 told Gerald Ivy that you did all the best things in 
 the articles he sent home for the syndicate." 
 
 " I suspected it ! " said the Doctor. " I thought 
 I recognized your humorous view-point in that 
 first article on China. I remarked to my wife at 
 the time that you had visualized the scene, for the 
 reader, exactly as you had seen it." 
 
 282 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "But I didn t!" said Donald. "I wrote that 
 story a month before we reached China. Decker 
 hit on the idea of getting all the articles written 
 while we were crossing the Pacific, so we would n t 
 have to bother about them after we landed. We 
 used to get up on the boat-deck and turn them off 
 like hot cakes. That s all foolishness about my do 
 ing the best parts. Why, Decker is a wonder! 
 He s reducing the thing to a science ; he does n t 
 even need a pen or a pencil; just plenty of guide 
 books, a paper of pins, and a pair of scissors. Lap- 
 board literature, he calls it. He spent most of his 
 time trimming my effusions down to measure 
 ments." 
 
 " That is because you indulged your imagination. 
 It is a drug in the journalistic market, but it is in 
 valuable elsewhere. Why not try something for 
 the magazines ? Choose a congenial theme and give 
 your fancy full rein. It will be interesting to see 
 what comes of it." 
 
 Connie s entrance here interrupted further con 
 versation. She had neglected no detail of her toi 
 let, and the result was a pink and white confection 
 ready for conquest. 
 
 " We thought you were never coming to see us, 
 Cousin Don," she said, half pouting, and giving a 
 side glance at Noah Wicker. " You ve been home 
 a whole week ! " 
 
 18 283 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Heavens, Connie ! I* did n t expect to find you 
 so grown up. How long have you been out? " 
 
 " I ve never been in," she said, releasing her 
 hand and smiling consciously. " Are n t you com 
 ing to the Bartrums party to-night ? " 
 
 " No, I *m not in a mood for parties these days." 
 
 " But I ve never had a chance to dance with you 
 since you taught me to waltz." 
 
 " Horrible deprivation ! Can you still do the 
 cake walk I taught you ? " 
 
 " Yes, and so can Miss Lady ! Is n t it funny ? 
 She says it s the one the darkeys dance at the pic 
 nics up at Thornwood! Come on, Miss Lady; let s 
 show them! " 
 
 " Constance, Constance ! " remonstrated the Doc 
 tor gently, as the girl seized Miss Lady s hands and 
 tried to draw her to her feet. " You see, Donald, 
 the children forget that Mrs. Queerington is any 
 thing but a play-fellow, and sometimes " he rose 
 and laid a hand on her shoulder, " sometimes she 
 forgets, too." 
 
 Donald pushed back his chair abruptly. 
 
 " I think I 11 come to the party, Connie, after 
 all. I 11 run up to Decker s room at the hotel and 
 change my togs. You will save me a waltz or 
 two?" 
 
 " All of them, if you like ! It s going to be the 
 jolliest dance of the season, everybody says so. 
 
 284 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Change your mind, Miss Lady, and come ! I don t 
 see how you can hesitate when you remember the 
 time you had at the Sequins ! Gerald is coming for 
 me; we can all go down together." 
 
 Miss Lady needed only the spark of Connie s en 
 thusiasm to start all the forbidden fires in her. Her 
 eyes flew to the Doctor s face. 
 
 He smiled as he caught her eager look, " Go 
 with them, my dear, if you like. It is quite a natu 
 ral instinct, I believe, to celebrate the first night of 
 the New Year." 
 
 "But you, will you take me? Just this once. 
 Doctor?" 
 
 " No, no. My party days are over. Donald 
 here will take my place, will you not, Donald? " 
 
 But Miss Lady gave him no chance to answer. 
 That mad insistent clamor within her for joy, for 
 life, for love, could not be trusted for a moment. 
 She was afraid of herself! 
 
 " I 11 stay home," she said, with a brave attempt 
 at gaiety, conscious of Donald s critical eyes upon 
 her. " We will have a pinochle tournament, and 
 Noah and I will beat the home team on its own 
 ground. Won t we, Noah?" 
 
 But Noah did not hear her; he was absorbed in 
 watching Connie who stood on tiptoe, pinning a 
 flower in Don Morley s buttonhole. 
 
 285 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 FOR the next month little else was talked about 
 but Donald Morley s trial The truth of the 
 matter sustained a compound fracture every time 
 the subject was discussed. In some quarters it was 
 confidently asserted that the fugitive from justice 
 had been captured the moment he landed in Amer 
 ica, and was allowed his liberty only under a heavy 
 bond. Others contended that a guilty conscience 
 had driven him to confession. 
 
 Meanwhile his friends were either exasperated 
 at his folly in reviving the old scandal, or quixot 
 ically enthusiastic over his demand for justice. 
 Mrs. Sequin bitterly opposed his action until she 
 found that the Bartrums, Dr. Queerington, and 
 other influential friends upheld him, then she de 
 cided to suspend her judgment until the trial was 
 over. Of course if he was going to be a hero, she 
 wanted to be his loving sister, but if he was going 
 to be convicted, she would have nothing more to do 
 with him. He had gone directly against her advice 
 in coming home, and she observed with ominous 
 certainty that " he would see." 
 
 286 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Donald threw himself into the work before him 
 with grim determination. He spent hours daily in 
 Mr. Gooch s stuffy office going over transcript of 
 testimony in the Dillingham trial ; he made a number 
 of visits to Billy-goat Hill, recalling every detail of 
 the shooting. On the first visit he had sought out 
 Sheeley, confident of being able to jog his memory 
 concerning his part in the affray, but to his dismay 
 he found that Sheeley had already been summoned 
 to the office of the prosecuting attorney. In every 
 direction he turned he encountered the octopus of 
 the law. 
 
 Mr. Gooch gave him little encouragement. He 
 wheezed, and whined, and contested every sugges 
 tion. His client appeared to him a foolhardy boy 
 who had gotten well out of an ugly scrape, and did 
 not have sense enough to stay out. So strongly did 
 he feel this that he felt called upon to express it at 
 great length, on every possible occasion. 
 
 Donald would sit before him with arms folded, 
 and jaws set, waiting impatiently for these ha 
 rangues to cease. He had employed him because he 
 was the family lawyer, and because he was a friend 
 of Doctor Queerington s. At the end of the first 
 week he realized that he had made a mistake, and 
 confided the fact to Noah Wicker. 
 
 Noah, having successfully worked through the law 
 course at the university, was now, by the persistent 
 
 287 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 efforts of Miss Lady, occupying a dark corner of 
 Mr. Gooch s outer office. Here, with feet hooked 
 under a rung of a stool, and fingers grasping his 
 pompadour, he doggedly wrestled with the cases he 
 heard in court, laboriously puzzling out obscure 
 points by the aid of the Statute and the Code. 
 
 Donald soon fell into the habit of discussing his 
 approaching trial with him, at such times as Mr. 
 Gooch was absent. He found Noah s calm, imper 
 sonal point of view a relief after the skeptical, dis 
 approving attitude of the older attorney. 
 
 During these days Donald spent as little time as 
 possible at Angora Heights. The family skeletons 
 that had always lurked in the Sequin closets, seemed 
 to revel in their commodious new quarters. It is a 
 melancholy fact that the more closets one acquires, 
 the more skeletons there are to occupy them! 
 
 Mrs. Sequin s existence, if restless in town, was 
 trebly so in the country. Between catching trains 
 and receiving and speeding guests, engaging and dis 
 missing servants, and agonizing over the non-essen 
 tials, she dwelt in the vortex of a whirlwind that 
 disturbed everything in its wake. 
 
 Between her and Margery the gulf was widening. 
 Having declared her independence, the girl went 
 further, and entered a training class in the kinder 
 garten, an act which caused a rupture that threat 
 ened to be serious, until the head of the family for 
 
 288 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 once asserted his authority, and unexpectedly sided 
 with his daughter. 
 
 Basil Sequin during these days had little time 
 to bestow upon family matters. He rose at six 
 o clock, drank three cups of black coffee, devoured 
 the newspapers, and was on the way to the office 
 before his gardener was out of bed. Before and 
 after banking hours he had committee meetings, and 
 special appointments, snatching a few minutes for 
 luncheon at the nearest restaurant. 
 
 Donald had had but one chance to talk with him 
 since his return, and that was one evening when he 
 was summoned to his den. He found him pacing 
 restlessly up and down the room, his hands thrust 
 deep in his pockets. 
 
 " You Ve decided to stand the trial, I hear ? " Mr. 
 Sequin asked abruptly. 
 
 " Yes, I had to get the matter cleared up. It is 
 all so idiotic, my being indicted ! I don t anticipate 
 any trouble." 
 
 " You can t tell," said Mr. Sequin, " but I did n t 
 send for you to discuss the trial. It s business I 
 want to talk about. Do you know how much stock 
 you own in the People s Bank ? " 
 
 " No, I can t say that I do exactly." 
 
 " Well, it s time you were finding out. How 
 would you like to take charge of your own affairs 
 from now on? " 
 
 289 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Donald looked at him in undisguised surprise. 
 Heretofore the only time that money matters had 
 been discussed between them was when he had been 
 guilty of some extra extravagance. This sudden 
 change of tactics on the part of his brother-in-law 
 was disconcerting. 
 
 " Why, I should n t like it at all, unless it would 
 relieve you," he said. 
 
 " It is n t that. One bother more or less does n t 
 matter. The point is, I want you to act for your 
 self. The result of this trial is by no means certain ; 
 you may need considerable ready money before you 
 get through with it. Why don t you sell your bank 
 stock, and make some better paying investments on 
 your own hook? " 
 
 " Why, I thought the bank stock " began Don 
 ald, but Mr. Sequin wheeled upon him impatiently. 
 
 " Do you want my advice or not ? " 
 
 " Of course I want it." 
 
 " Very well. Listen to me. Almost every dol 
 lar you have is tied up in the People s Bank. Go 
 down to-morrow morning to a broker, Gilson s the 
 best man, tell him that you must have a big sum 
 of money at once. In order to get it you are willing 
 to sacrifice every share of your People s stock. Tell 
 him not to put it on the market, but to sell it in small 
 blocks to different people, and not to stick at the 
 price. Make him understand that it has to do with 
 
 290 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 your trial, and caution him particularly not to let me 
 know of the transaction." 
 
 " But I don t understand," said Donald, watching 
 with troubled eyes the stooped figure that continued 
 to pace up and down the room like an animal in a 
 cage. 
 
 " I did n t offer to explain. I offered to advise," 
 Mr. Sequin snarled. " There are complications that 
 could n t be made clear to you in a month ! I 11 
 ask you not to refer to this matter again to me or 
 to any one else. I have a lot of papers to look over 
 now, so I 11 say good night." 
 
 Donald rose from where he had been sitting at 
 the table. 
 
 "Of course you know what is best," he said ir 
 resolutely. " And I know I ve got no business 
 shifting my responsibilities on you. By the way, 
 can t I help you with some of this stuff? You look 
 about done for to-night." 
 
 " Done for ? " Mr. Sequin smiled ironically, and 
 ran his fingers through his scant gray hair. " Why, 
 Don, I d change places with any old corpse to-night, 
 just for a chance to lie down in a quiet corner and 
 stop thinking ! No, there s nothing you can do. 
 There s nothing anybody can do. Good night ; 
 close the door as you go out, and leave word down 
 stairs if I am called over the phone to say I am not 
 here." 
 
 291 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 All things considered it is small wonder that 
 Donald passed as little time as possible at Angora 
 Heights. The time he was not occupied with his 
 trial hung heavy on his hands. Distrustful of his 
 friends, sensitive to criticism, and dreading the hu 
 miliating ordeal to. come, he spent one of the most 
 wretched months of his life. He tried to write, 
 but fancy fled before the glare of the actual. The 
 only place where he found temporary peace was 
 under the roof of the grim-looking house in College 
 Street. 
 
 From the first Doctor Queerington had cham 
 pioned his cause, and urged upon him his hospitality. 
 To be sure the Doctor s hospitality usually began 
 and ended with his welcome, after which he would 
 take himself off to the study, and leave his guest to 
 the care of the family. 
 
 At such times Miss Lady invariably went with 
 him. In fact, Donald had never seen her alone since 
 the night of his arrival, and the very fact that she 
 seldom remained down-stairs in the evenings, made 
 his conscience lighter about lingering in her 
 vicinity. 
 
 Mrs. Ivy was the first to comment on his frequent 
 visits. She confided to Mrs. Sequin that she was 
 afraid he was getting interested in Connie Queering 
 ton, and that somebody ought to tell him that Connie 
 had been in love with dear Gerald for years and 
 
 292 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 years. An impartial observer might have expressed 
 a less confident opinion concerning the object of 
 Miss Connie s affections. 
 
 Noah Wicker, for instance, while not exactly an 
 impartial observer, had arrived at quite a different 
 conclusion. 
 
 " You watch the way she looks at Don," he said 
 darkly to Miss Lady on one occasion. 
 
 Miss Lady laughed, " Oh ! Connie s - like the 
 Last Duchess, she likes whate er she looks on, and 
 her looks go everywhere." 
 
 " Yes, but this is different. Has she ever said 
 anything to you about him? " 
 
 " Mercy, yes, Connie talks to be about all the 
 boys." 
 
 " Does she talk about me ? " Noah s eyes were as 
 wistful as a dog s. 
 
 For a second Miss Lady hesitated, then she com 
 promised with truth and said, " yes." She did not 
 add that Connie was particularly voluble on the sub 
 ject of his hair, and the creak of his boots and his 
 apparent genius for ubiquity. 
 
 " Do you know what I d do if I were you, 
 Noah?" she said. "I d have me a new suit of 
 clothes made." 
 
 " Why, these are new ! " 
 
 " Yes, I know, but they don t fit. And get some 
 shoes that don t creak, and and you won t mind 
 
 293 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 my telling you, Noah? Pompadours went out of 
 style six years ago." 
 
 Noah gloomily shook his head. " It s not my 
 clothes. It s not clothes that make Don Morley. 
 By the way, are n t you two friends, any more ? " 
 
 Miss Lady faced the question unflinchingly. 
 " Yes, we are friends. Is he going to win out? " 
 
 "With Miss Connie?" 
 
 " No, you foolish boy. In his trial." 
 
 " I don t know." 
 
 " What will happen if he loses? " 
 
 " The case will be appealed." 
 
 "And if he loses in the Court of Appeals?" 
 
 " It s up to Gooch to see that he does n t lose. I 
 only wish I was as certain of a few other things as 
 I am of Donald Morley s innocence ! " 
 
 One afternoon, a few days before the trial, Don 
 ald after oscillating between the hotel and his club 
 and finding each equally intolerable, jumped on the 
 car and went out to the Queeringtons. It was a 
 cold, raw day, with a fine mist filling the air, and 
 even the dull formality of the drab parlor seemed 
 a relief from the gloom without. 
 
 Miss Lady started up from the piano as he en 
 tered, but Connie pulled her back : 
 
 " You shan t run off and leave us, shall she, 
 Cousin Don? She was just going to play for Mr. 
 Wicker to sing. Did you know he could sing? " 
 
 294 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Oh, yes. Wick s the Original Warbler. Do 
 you remember our serenades on the Cane Run Road, 
 Wick?" 
 
 " Yes," said Noah glumly. 
 
 " I forgot that you and Mr. Wicker used to know 
 each other," Connie said curiously. " Why the 
 Cane Run Road runs by Thornwood, does n t it? " 
 
 " Yes," said Don calmly, seizing the conversation 
 and shoving it out of shoal water. " Go ahead, 
 Wick, and sing something; we 11 join in the chorus." 
 
 But when the time for the chorus came Donald 
 had forgotten his promise. He was leaning back in 
 a corner of the sofa, his hand shading his eyes, 
 watching Miss Lady, and wondering what trick of 
 fate had driven her to marry John Jay Queer ing- 
 ton. There was no man in the world whose moral 
 worth he admired more, but Miss Lady seemed as 
 out of place in his life as a darting, quivering hum 
 ming-bird in a museum of natural history. He 
 noticed the faint shadows about her eyes, and the 
 wistful droop of her lips. If he could only set her 
 free! A mad desire seized him to see her once 
 more joyously on the wing with all her old buoyancy 
 and daring. And yet she had walked open eyed 
 into her cage, and he had yet to see the tiniest flutter 
 of her wings against the bars. 
 
 On that first night of his home-coming surely he 
 had read a welcome in her eyes ! But never since 
 
 295 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 by word or gesture had he reason to think that she 
 remembered. She was gracious and elusive, and she 
 talked to him as she talked to Decker and Gerald 
 Ivy, only she looked at them when she talked, and 
 she never even looked at him. 
 
 Yet she had cared! He had only to recall the 
 flashing revelation of her eyes that night in the gar 
 den to know for one transcendent moment, at least, 
 she was his. It was the look that had sustained his 
 faith in her through all those weary months of si 
 lence, making him cling to the belief, until he heard 
 the truth from her own lips, that she had failed to 
 get his letter. It was the remembrance of that look 
 and what it had promised that rushed upon him now 
 as he watched her. 
 
 All the reckless impulse of his boyhood, the long 
 years of unrestraint, surged over him, urging him 
 on to wake in her some answer to his fierce, insistent 
 demand. She should remember the way he had 
 loved her, she should know the way he loved her 
 now. If there was any heart left in her she must 
 respond in some way to his imperative need. 
 
 But her eyes kept steadily on the key-board, and 
 her fingers unfalteringly followed the notes. Could 
 he have known how the tears burned under her 
 lashes, and how cold her fingers were on the keys; 
 could he have guessed how she sat there under his 
 steady gaze, with tense muscles and quivering 
 
 296 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 nerves, calculating the minutes that must elapse be 
 fore Noah s interminable verses would end, and she 
 could escape, he might have had compassion on her. 
 
 " Sing, Cousin Don ! " demanded Connie ; " you 
 are leaving it all to Mr. Wicker and me, while you 
 sit there looking exactly as if you had lost your last 
 friend." 
 
 " No, only my illusions, Connie." 
 
 " Where did you lose them? " 
 
 " In Singapore. All but one. I hung on to it 
 clear around the world, only to lose it on Christmas 
 night when I got home. Don t you feel sorry for 
 me?" 
 
 " Not a bit," said Connie saucily. " I could n t 
 feel sorry for anybody as good looking as you are, 
 could you, Mr. Wicker? Where did Miss Lady 
 go?" 
 
 " She said she was going to lie down, that her 
 head ached," said Noah. 
 
 " I know what s the matter," said Connie ; " she 
 tries to keep us from seeing it, but she s all broken 
 up over selling Thornwood." 
 
 "Thornwood!" cried Donald; "she hasn t sold 
 it?" 
 
 " No, but it s been put up for sale. She d die 
 at the stake for Father. He does n t even know 
 about it." 
 
 " But surely there is some other way." 
 297 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Connie shrugged her shoulders. " I am sure 1 
 don t know. Hattie s given up music and French, 
 and we ve put Bertie in the public school, and I 
 haven t had but one party dress this winter. But 
 a girl does n t have to depend on clothes to have a 
 good time, does she, Mr. Wicker? " 
 
 That night Donald sat up late, turning things over 
 in his mind. Once the trial was over he must go 
 away, where he could not see Miss Lady or hear of 
 her. He must plunge into some business that would 
 absorb his time and attention. But before he went 
 he must make an investment and make it at once. 
 In order to do so, he would follow Basil Sequin s 
 advice, and offer his bank stock for sale in the morn 
 ing. 
 
 298 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THERE was anxiety in the drab house in Col 
 lege Street. The second day of Donald 
 Morley s trial had come and no decision .had been 
 reached. Every ring of the telephone, every open 
 ing of the front door brought a hurrying of feet 
 through the hall, and an eager demand to know if 
 there was any news. 
 
 "I ll never get my lessons!" exclaimed Hattie 
 petulantly, collecting her scattered belongings after 
 one of these rushes to the door. " I wish to Heaven 
 one of my fingers was a lead pencil ! " 
 
 " Why don t you wish your tongue was one, Hat, 
 then you would n t have to sharpen it," suggested 
 Connie. 
 
 " I bet Miss Lady had my pencil," went on Hat- 
 tie, ignoring Connie s comment. " She s never 
 owned a pair of scissors, or a pencil, or a shoe-but- 
 toner since she s been here. And look at those 
 letters on the mantel ! She 11 never think about 
 mailing them." 
 
 "What are they doing with black borders?" 
 
 " She bought a job lot of paper the other day, 
 299 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 all colors and sizes, trying to be economical. She 
 uses the mourning ones to pay the bills." 
 
 " Yes, and I 11 have to be putting little pink love 
 letters in big blue envelopes all winter. Say, Hat, 
 do you suppose it would be all right if I called up 
 Mr. Wicker to ask him how the trial is going? " 
 
 "Of course not. We 11 hear as soon as there is 
 anything to hear. I wish you d hush talking and 
 let me study. * 
 
 Connie heroically refrained from speech for five 
 minutes, then she announced : 
 
 " Do you know, I don t believe Miss Lady likes 
 him!" 
 
 "Who? Mr. Wicker?" 
 
 " No, you silly, Don." 
 
 " When did you stop saying Cousin Don, pray ? " 
 
 " Oh, ages ago. She s always so quiet when he 
 comes, and she goes up-stairs the first chance she 
 gets. I think she s changed a lot since she first 
 came, don t you? " 
 
 " Well, I guess you d change, too, if you had 
 married a sick man with three children, as poor as 
 poverty, and a cook as cross as Myrtella." 
 
 " But she has Myrtella eating out of her hand. 
 Imagine my marrying a man as old as Father ! " 
 
 " If I had to marry, I d rather marry Father than 
 anybody else. But I Ve never seen the man yet that 
 I d be willing to marry." 
 
 300 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Oh, I have ! I know ten right now that I d 
 marry in a minute." 
 
 " Connie Queerington ! Who are the others be 
 side Gerald and Cousin Don?" 
 
 " Guess." 
 
 "Noah Wicker?" 
 
 Connie laughed. " Mr. Wicker is not as bad as 
 he was. He must have taken chloroform and had 
 his pompadour cut. Don says he is awfully clever." 
 
 " Anybody could be clever who took a whole day 
 to compose each speech. I 11 tell you what s the 
 matter with Miss Lady; she is worrying herself sick 
 over Father. Did she tell you what Doctor Wyeth 
 told her?" 
 
 " That Father would have to give up his classes, 
 and get away some where? But of course he can t 
 do it." 
 
 " But he can ! Miss Lady has rented Thornwood 
 from the man who bought it, and we are all to go 
 out there this spring." 
 
 " Heavens ! That means frogs and crickets and 
 whippoor wills, and a lonesome time for me." 
 
 " But think of Father ! " said Hattie with her 
 most virtuous air. " If it s perfectly quiet, perhaps 
 he can finish his book." 
 
 " No, he won t," said Connie petulantly. " He 
 may finish himself, but he 11 never finish that book ; 
 he keeps on thinking of more to say, just like Mr. 
 
 301 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Melcher does when he prays. If it were n t for that 
 stupid old book he might get well. Was that the 
 telephone?" 
 
 It proved to be the side-door bell, which was rung 
 by an old woman who had lost her husband and her 
 front teeth, and was engaged in the precarious occu 
 pation of selling shoe-strings. She was one of the 
 numerous proteges, who began to call on Miss Lady 
 soon after breakfast, and kept up their visits through 
 the day, to the exasperation of Myrtella Flathers, 
 who spent her time devising means to rid the back 
 hall of these incumbrances. 
 
 In this instance strategy was not required, for 
 she was bidden to send the woman away. Such 
 an unusual proceeding aroused her curiosity and 
 she returned to the dining-room to peep through the 
 door at her young mistress, who had been sitting 
 motionless since breakfast with her elbows on the 
 table, and her hands locked under her chin. It was 
 evident that something was wrong, and Myrtella 
 became so concerned that she at last decided to take 
 action. The panacea she applied to all ailments, 
 moral or physical, was a counter-irritant. 
 
 " Mis Squeerington ! " she ventured finally. " I 
 hope you ain t fergot that it s Saturday mornin 
 an you d orter row the grocery man. He s a 
 cortion, that s what he is, a-sendin us Mis Ivy s 
 ribs, an Mis Logan s liver. It ain t a decent way 
 
 302 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 to treat a old customer, an he orter be told so. 
 There never was a grocery man that was born into 
 the world that did n t have to be rowed ! They ex 
 pect it, they look fer it, an when they don t get it 
 they feel it." 
 
 " I can t row people, Myrtella ; I don t know 
 how," said Miss Lady listlessly. 
 
 " I 11 learn you. You Ve picked up a lot more 
 already than anybody would a supposed you would 
 when you first come. But one thing you ain t 
 learned. When a lady goes to smilin over the tele 
 phone, an tellin the butcher that she don t know 
 one cut from another but she 11 trust him to send 
 her a nice piece, you kin count on it she s goin to 
 git a gristle. Compliments an smiles may git some 
 things, but it takes rowin an back-talk to git a good 
 beefsteak!" 
 
 " I think I 11 send you to the grocery to-day, 
 Myrtella, it it may rain." 
 
 " It ain t goin to rain before noon," Myrtella said 
 authoritatively, in a tone that indicated her intention 
 of stopping it immediately if it showed any inten 
 tion of doing so. " It 11 do you good to git out and 
 walk a spell." 
 
 Miss Lady shook her head. 
 
 " Well, then you better let me send Bertie down 
 here, he s makin a awful racket in the nursery an 
 his pa 11 be after him soon." 
 
 303 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Bertie was induced to abandon a life of adventure 
 on the footboard of his bed, by the suggestion that 
 Miss Lady had something to tell him in the dining- 
 room. He came tearing through the hall shouting, 
 " Extras," at the top of his voice. 
 
 " Bertie, darling ! Please don t," cried Miss Lady 
 roused from her apathy. " Remember it s Satur 
 day and Father s home." 
 
 " I wish he was n t," said Bertie. " I hate a tip 
 toe house! When can I call extras? " 
 
 " When we get up to Thornwood. You and I 
 will play all over the hills, and I 11 teach you to be 
 a real country boy." 
 
 " And can Chick be there, too? " 
 
 " Yes, and perhaps by that time Chick will have 
 been to the hospital and can talk like other boys." 
 
 Bertie was standing on the back of her chair by 
 this time, apparently trying to strangle her. 
 
 " And can we slide down the ice-house like you 
 used to do? And will Uncle Jimpson call up the 
 doodle-bugs out of the ground like he did when you 
 was a little girl?" 
 
 " Listen ! " cried Miss Lady suddenly starting up. 
 "What is that?" 
 
 From the far end of the street came the sound, 
 " Wuxtry ! Here s your Wuxtry ! All about " 
 
 " It s just the newsboy I was being like," said 
 304 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Bertie. " What s the matter ? . What makes you 
 shake so, Miss Lady ? " 
 
 Myrtella thrust her head in the door. " Here 
 comes that there Mrs. Ivy running cross the yard. 
 She s good fer a hour." 
 
 But Mrs. Ivy did not seem to be good for any 
 thing by the time Miss Lady reached her. She was 
 half reclining on a haircloth sofa in the front hall 
 with a bottle of smelling salts to her nose and a news 
 paper in her hand. 
 
 " Oh, my dear!" she managed to gasp. " Such 
 a frightful shock! So utterly unexpected! " 
 
 " Do you mean Don ? " Miss Lady s lips scarcely 
 moved as she asked the question. 
 
 " No, the bank ! I was all alone in the house 
 when I heard the boys calling the extras Ah ! my 
 poor weak heart ! " 
 
 " Brandy? " suggested Miss Lady anxiously. 
 
 Mrs. Ivy raised feeble but protesting eyes: 
 " Never! The Angel of Death shall never find me 
 with the odor of liquor on my lips. Could you send 
 for some nitroglycerin ? " 
 
 By the time Mrs. Ivy was revived, Connie and 
 Hattie had joined the group in the hall, and the lat 
 ter was reading aloud in awe-struck tones the ac 
 count of the People s Bank failure. The age and 
 reputation of the institution and the prominence of 
 
 305 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Basil Sequin as a local financier gave the subject 
 grave significance. 
 
 " And to think that I should be involved ! " wailed 
 Mrs. Ivy. " I Ve only been treasurer of the W. A. 
 Board for six weeks and this was my first invest 
 ment ! They told me to use my judgment, and I did 
 the best I could ! Only last Thursday I went to see 
 Mr. Gilson the broker, you know, about investing 
 the money we re collecting for building the Parish 
 House. He said I had come at the right moment 
 as he had just gotten hold of some of the People s 
 Bank stock, gilt edged, he called it, and I remem 
 ber just what I said to him, I said, * Mr. Gilson, I 
 simply let Providence lead me, and it led me to your 
 door! and I bought it! " sobbed Mrs. Ivy; " forty 
 shares ! " 
 
 " I suppose Father s lost awfully," said Hattie, 
 sitting round eyed and anxious on the steps. 
 
 " And all the Sequins, and Don," added Connie. 
 
 " It says that all the stockholders and most of the 
 depositors stand to lose heavily," said Miss Lady, 
 scanning the paper ; " I must tell the Doctor at 
 once." 
 
 She sped up the steps and knocked breathlessly at 
 his study door. It was only at the second knock 
 that she was bidden to enter. 
 
 The Doctor sat at his desk in a long, gray dress 
 ing-gown, with a rug across his knees : around him 
 
 306 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 were ranged several straight-backed chairs on which 
 were spread hundreds of pages of closely written 
 manuscript. At his elbow on a stand was an im 
 mense dictionary, from which he lifted a pair of 
 absorbed and preoccupied eyes. 
 
 " Doctor ! " Miss Lady burst out impetuously, 
 " the Bank has failed the paper says " 
 ? " If you please ! " the Doctor raised an imploring 
 hand ; " don t tell me now. The news will keep and 
 I am in a most critical stage of my summary. To 
 day s work is important, very important. Kindly 
 close the door." 
 
 Miss Lady stood in the hall without and stared 
 at the drab-colored wallpaper. A fierce anger rose 
 in her, not against the Doctor, but against that vam 
 pire work which was sucking all the vitality and 
 sympathy and understanding out of him. She was 
 eager to bear his burdens ; she was willing to fight his 
 battles ; but it was hard to take his side single-handed 
 against herself. She wanted love, and affection and 
 sympathy, and she wanted a manly shoulder to weep 
 on when the way became too hard. But the Doc 
 tor s slanting, scholarly shoulder afforded no rest 
 ing-place for a world-weary head. 
 
 " Mis Squeerington ! " called Myrtella from the 
 lower floor. " The grocery man did n t have no 
 beets, and his new potatoes is hard as rocks, an if 
 I was you I d go over to Smithers jes to spite him 
 
 307 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 out fer a spell. And I fergot to tell you that that 
 there Mr. Wicker called you up a hour ago, an 
 sez the case was lost. I don t know what he meant. 
 I hope he ain t lost it round here. Next thing I 
 hear they 11 be sayin I took it! " 
 
 308 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 IT is a depressing law of life that worries in 
 variably hunt in packs. If it were just a mat 
 ter of one yelping little annoyance that barked at 
 your heels, you could frighten it away with a laugh ; 
 but when a ravenous horde gets on your trail with 
 the grim determination of running you to earth, it 
 is quite a different matter. 
 
 Donald Morley, pacing the terrace at Angora 
 Heights on a certain dark night in March, felt the 
 breath of the pursuing pack close upon him. The 
 failure to win his case had been a serious blow not 
 only to his pride, but to his faith in his fellow man. 
 He had gone into the trial with the assured con 
 fidence of an innocent man who is still young enough 
 to rely absolutely upon the justice of the law. In 
 spite of the array of damaging evidence presented 
 by the prosecuting attorney, and the opinionated 
 egotism of Mr. Gooch which rendered him un 
 popular with judge and jury, Donald s victory was 
 almost assured, when the rumor of the People s 
 Bank failure swept the court room. In the instant 
 wave of suspicion that rose against Basil Sequin, 
 
 309 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Donald s cause was lost. Half the men on the jury 
 were directly, or indirectly, involved. The case 
 was summarily disposed of and the smaller matter 
 swallowed up in the larger. 
 
 Humiliated and chagrined as Donald was over his 
 own position, he was equally concerned about the 
 bank. The papers were full of disturbing innuen 
 does; people avoided speaking of it in his presence; 
 distrust and suspicion lurked around the corners. 
 
 Donald paused at the end of the terrace and 
 looked up at the dark massive pile of masonry above 
 him. In every leering gargoyle and carved coping, 
 he read the ruin of some humble home. 
 
 At the first hint of impending trouble, Mrs. Se 
 quin had taken Margery and fled to Europe, leaving 
 Mr. Sequin fighting with his back to the wall to 
 meet the difficulties into which her extravagance had 
 plunged him. " I have no fear for Basil," she as 
 sured her friends on leaving. " He 11 straighten 
 things out. Of course he 11 be talked about, clever 
 people always are, and the directors have been rather 
 nasty. But he 11 control the situation yet, you 11 
 see." 
 
 And Mrs. Sequin s confidence was being justified. 
 Basil Sequin was controlling the situation. He had 
 emerged from the ruin with his finances less af 
 fected than his reputation. 
 
 Each time that Donald turned at the end of the 
 310 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 long terrace, his eyes involuntarily sought a light 
 that gleamed far below through the bare trunks of 
 the trees. It was the light from Thornwood that 
 once more threw its familiar beams across the Cane 
 Run Road and up the gentle slope of Billy-goat 
 Hill. He rested his arms on the balustrade and 
 stood looking out into the night. There was a soft 
 ness in the air, a smell of upturned earth, a faint 
 whispering among the newly budded treetops that 
 hinted of things about to be revealed. 
 
 Suddenly there was a strange fluttering in the air 
 above him, a tremulous, expectant thrill. Looking 
 up he saw a flock of birds, wheeling and circling 
 above him, making ready to light. Night after 
 night they had traveled, over forests and across 
 dark rivers, valiantly beating their frail wings 
 against the gale, one purpose urging them on, 
 straight as an arrow through the silent air, the 
 longing to find their old haunts under the friendly 
 shelter of the Hill, and there to keep their love 
 trysts in the place called home. 
 
 Donald s throat contracted sharply. Never in 
 those tumultuous days in Japan, nor in those des 
 perate ones in Singapore had he wanted Miss Lady 
 as he wanted her now. It was not her youth or 
 her beauty that he was thinking of ; it was the firm 
 confident clasp of her hand, the unfaltering courage 
 of her eyes, her words, " I do believe in you, Don, 
 
 [311 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 with all my heart and soul." He was like a starving 
 man who must have bread even if it belongs to an 
 other. Before he knew it he was plunging down the 
 footpath to the road. 
 
 Connie would be his excuse, although he had been 
 rather conscience-stricken about Connie of late. 
 She had developed a taste for exploring that be 
 guiling land of Flirtation where the boundary lines 
 have never been defined, and dangers are known to 
 lurk beyond the borders. As an old and experienced 
 adventurer he felt that he had already accompanied 
 her too far. 
 
 As he reached Thornwood s big colonial gateway, 
 he found some one alighting from a buggy. 
 
 "Hello, Wick!" he said. "Wait, I ll open it 
 for you. I thought you were staying in town ! " 
 
 Noah removed a pair of unmistakably new tan 
 gloves and opened the gate for himself. 
 
 " I am staying in town," he said distantly. " Are 
 you coming in here? " 
 
 "Yes,. I think I will drop in for a little while, 
 unless you have an engagement?" 
 
 Noah s pause was even longer than usual. " No," 
 he drawled presently. " I can t say I have. Will 
 you get in? " 
 
 Donald could not suppress a smile as he got in 
 beside him, and noticed the grandeur of his toilet. 
 
 312 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " You are getting awfully dressy these days, old 
 chap. Who s the girl?" 
 
 " You know who it is." 
 
 " You surely don t mean Connie Queerington ! 
 Now, Wick, you want to go slow and not trifle with 
 that girl. The first thing you know she will be 
 falling in love with you." 
 
 Noah s lip stiffened. "If you would leave her 
 alone perhaps she might." 
 
 "What am I doing?" 
 
 " The same thing you Ve always done. Going 
 with a girl just long enough to spoil her for every 
 other fellow, then going off and forgetting all about 
 her." 
 
 Donald looked in amazement at the angry face 
 beside him. 
 
 " What in thunder do you mean by that, Wick? " 
 
 " What I say. I guess it has n t been so long ago 
 that we Ve both forgotten another instance." 
 
 " See here, Wick," said Donald, his anger rising, 
 " you d better drop this. You don t know what 
 you are talking about." 
 
 " I know you spoiled my chances once and you 
 are not going to spoil them again. You Ve got to 
 leave Miss Connie alone. You Ve got to promise 
 
 me" 
 
 I promise you nothing." 
 313 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 They had reached the hitching block and Donald 
 got out of the buggy and, not waiting for his com 
 panion, went up the walk to the house. The peace 
 of the old place wrapped him round like the folds 
 of a warm garment. He forgot Noah, and the pur 
 suing troubles; he forgot everything except that 
 Thornwood, with all its memories and traditions, 
 was for the present his, held in sacred trust until 
 that time when he could give it back to the one who 
 loved it best. 
 
 " Why, it s Cousin Don ! " cried Connie who had 
 heard the wheels and come to investigate. " I never 
 was so glad to see anybody in my life. I thought 
 it was Mr. Wicker! " 
 
 " Cheer up ! He s hitching his horse at the block 
 
 now." 
 
 " How tiresome! I thought we left him in town 
 yesterday. I don t believe you are a bit glad to 
 have us for a neighbor. Why did n t you come over 
 last night ? I have n t seen you for four days ! " 
 
 " You have n t missed anything, Connie. I ve 
 been down and out." 
 
 " Everybody has ! It s too stupid for words. 
 Since the trial and the bank failure I have n t been 
 able to get a smile out of anybody! I hope the 
 Turtle won t be grumpy." 
 
 "Who is the Turtle?" 
 
 3H 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Mr. Wicker. Hat calls him that, because he 
 never lets go til it thunders. Aren t you coming 
 in the parlor? " 
 
 " No, I 11 give Wick the field to-night. I want 
 to see your Father on business." 
 
 "That sounds interesting!" said Connie auda 
 ciously. " You might have spoken to me first ! " 
 
 The Doctor was preparing to go up to bed when 
 Donald entered the sitting-room, but he put down 
 his candle and greeted him warmly. 
 
 " A phenix rising from his ashes ! " he said. " I 
 am glad to see that you have survived the trials of 
 the past ten days. It is very kind of you to come 
 over in the midst of your trouble to welcome us to 
 our new quarters. You are not going to leave us, 
 my dear ? " this to Miss Lady who had risen at 
 Donald s entrance. 
 
 " I was going to get your beef-tea." 
 
 " Oh, to be sure. I can t begin to tell you, Don 
 ald, how much I regret the decision in your case. 
 How did it happen ? " 
 
 Donald, whose hungry eyes were devouring every 
 familiar detail of the homely fire-lit room, shrugged 
 his shoulders. " Eleven jury-men were for ac 
 quittal, I am told, and the twelfth, a fellow named 
 Jock Hibben talked them over." 
 
 " Jock Hibben ? I know the man. A radical 
 
 315 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Socialist who has been giving us some trouble at 
 the university. Quite an orator, I believe, but a 
 fanatic. You have made a motion for a new trial ? " 
 
 " It has been refused." 
 
 " Indeed! And you appeal it, of course? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " The decision is bound to be reversed," the 
 Doctor assured him, " and the second trial will go 
 in your favor. I have never doubted the ultimate 
 outcome. What is that scratching noise? " 
 
 Miss Lady, who was just entering, paused to 
 listen, then she suddenly set the cup she carried on 
 the table, and flung open the door. 
 
 A long, shaggy, disheveled dog, with small, sad 
 eyes, and a stub of a tail, hurled himself upon her, 
 and began rapturously to lick her hands. 
 
 " It s Mike," she cried joyously, sitting on the 
 floor and gathering her muddy visitor into her arms. 
 " I knew he d find out we were home. Oh ! you 
 blessed, blessed dog!" 
 
 Mike, unable to restrain his transports, made a 
 mad tour of the room, upsetting the stack of manu 
 script that the Doctor had neatly arranged on a 
 stand beside him. On his second round he dis 
 covered the visitor whom he sniffed with increasing 
 excitement. 
 
 Donald raised a forefinger, and tapped his knee. 
 In an instant Mike remembered. Lifting his fore- 
 
 316 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 paws, and dropping his head upon them, he answered 
 the call to prayer. 
 
 Two pairs of eyes met involuntarily, and the 
 owners smiled. 
 
 " Do put him out, my dear," urged the Doctor, 
 who had stooped to pick up the scattered sheets of 
 his manuscript. " This is the last volume of my 
 series, Donald. You remember I was collecting 
 data for it when you were at the university. I had 
 expected to publish it this spring, but it will have to 
 be postponed now." 
 
 Donald winced. " On account of the bank 
 failure, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Well, yes. Basil advises a curtailment of all 
 expenditure for the present. However, it may be 
 just as well to publish in the fall. That will give 
 me three more months on the revision." 
 
 " I hope you were not seriously involved, 
 Doctor?" 
 
 " No, no, I imagine not," said the Doctor vaguely 
 as he made a marginal correction on one of the 
 sheets. " Basil and I have been so much occupied 
 that we have scarcely had a chance to discuss the 
 matter. He said I might possibly lose something, 
 but that he would protect my interests. I trust you 
 are not one of the losers? " 
 
 "No," Donald said shortly, "I lost nothing." 
 Then after a pause during which he stared at the 
 
 317 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 floor, he looked up. " Doctor, I want to consult 
 you about something. Your standards of right and 
 wrong seem to me a bit surer than most people s. 
 I m in trouble and I want your advice." 
 
 He was looking at the Doctor as he spoke, but he 
 was acutely conscious of the slender figure that stood 
 with her back to them before the open fire. 
 
 You see," he said, plunging into his subject, 
 " a week before the bank failed I found that I 
 might need a lot of ready money before I got 
 through with the trial. So I sold all my People s 
 Bank stock." 
 
 " That was fortunate." 
 
 " But, Doctor ! Don t you see ? At the time I 
 sold the shares they weren t worth the paper they 
 were printed on ! " 
 
 " But you were ignorant of this." 
 
 "Of course; but does that alter the fact that I 
 took money for stock that was worthless? " 
 
 The Doctor rubbed his hands together thought 
 fully. For once he was not prepared to give an 
 immediate answer to a question concerning a moral 
 issue. 
 
 " On the spur of the moment I should advise you 
 to refund the money, but I do not know if such ad 
 vice is wise. The fact is, neither you nor I are 
 sufficiently versed in financial matters to know what 
 
 318 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 is customary in such cases. What does your 
 brother-in-law advise? " 
 
 " I have had no conversation with him since the 
 bank failed. He stays in town nearly every night, 
 and you can imagine what his days are." 
 
 " Well, I should put the matter before him, ex 
 plain my scruples, and then act unquestioningly on 
 his advice. It has been my rule in life, when my 
 own judgment did not suffice, to consult the highest 
 available authority upon that given subject and abide 
 by it. Basil Sequin, in spite of this unfortunate 
 failure, is undoubtedly our ablest financier. I can 
 only bid you do as I have done; leave everything 
 entirely to him." 
 
 " I should n t ! " cried Miss Lady, wheeling about 
 with a return of her old, childlike, impetuous man 
 ner; "I shouldn t leave it to anybody. I d buy 
 back the stock, every share of it. I would n t keep 
 money for which I d given nothing! You ought 
 to see Miss Ferney Foster ! She bought bank stock 
 only last week ; gave all the money she d made on 
 her pickles for ten years, and when she found the 
 bank had failed, she went out of her head. I ve 
 been there to-day and she did n t know me." 
 
 "Who sold her the stock?" 
 
 " A broker named Gilson." 
 
 " It was my stock," Donald cried. "Of course 
 
 319 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 she s got to be paid back ! And all the rest of them. 
 I 11 buy back every share of it, if it takes my last 
 dollar!" 
 
 " Will it take all you have ? " Miss Lady scanned 
 his face anxiously. 
 
 " Yes, and more. I made an investment with 
 some of the money before I knew the bank was in 
 trouble; then there s the double liability law. It 
 would n t matter so much if it were n t for the trial." 
 
 " Your sister, of course, will be ready to help you. 
 Or has she, too, lost?" 
 
 " No," said Donald, his lips tightening, " she 
 has n t lost. She s had no stock in the bank for 
 a year. But I shan t call upon her." 
 
 " Because she opposed your course so violently ? 
 Oh, I see. A point of honor on which I quite agree 
 with you. But you are not going under, Donald. 
 We will see to that. I am not a wealthy man, as 
 you know. There have been times recently when 
 the future looked very dark. But this little lady has 
 steered us into calmer waters. If you should, in 
 the course of the next few months, be in need of 
 a reasonable sum, I am happy to say we will be in 
 a position to accommodate you." 
 
 Donald gripped his hand. " I shan t call on you, 
 Doctor. But once I m through with this accursed 
 trial, I 11 try to justify your belief in me." 
 
 The tall clock in the hall gave a preliminary 
 320 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 wheeze, then hiccoughed nine times violently. The 
 Doctor carefully arranged his voluminous papers in 
 a shabby, brown portfolio, and rose with an effort. 
 
 " You will excuse me now if I bid you good 
 night? My physician has become rather arbitrary 
 in regulating my hours. Keep up your courage, my 
 boy ; that courage that * scorns to bend to mean de 
 vices for a sordid end/ I admire the course you 
 have taken, I admire you. Good night to you both." 
 
 They watched him go, with his tall/ stooped 
 figure, and his fine, serious eyes that saw life only 
 through the stultifying medium of books. Then 
 they looked at each other. 
 
 " I 11 call Connie," Miss Lady said, moving to the 
 door. 
 
 " Just a minute, please." 
 
 She came back reluctantly, and stood with her 
 hands clasped on the back of a chair, breathing 
 quickly. 
 
 " Do you remember," Donald asked, standing in 
 front of her and speaking in a low, tense voice, " the 
 last time we stood in this room, and the promises 
 I made you ? Well, I Ve kept them. I Ve fought 
 like the devil, You don t know what it means, you 
 can t know. But I Ve kept them. Now I want to 
 tell you that I ve got to break over. You are right 
 about the bank-stock money. It s not mine. I 11 
 pay it back to-morrow. But more money has to 
 
 321 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 come from somewhere to carry on the trial. 
 There s only one chance I can think of. I Ve got 
 to enter Lickety Split for the Derby." 
 
 " No, you have n t ! There are other ways. You 
 must go to work." 
 
 "Work!" he broke out fiercely. "Haven t I 
 been trying to get a position ever since I came home ? 
 Who wants to tie up to me until this cursed case is 
 decided ? I have been trying to write, but my things 
 come back faster than I can send them out. What 
 am I good for? A game at billiards, sixty miles an 
 hour in a motor car, a lark with any idler that hap 
 pens in the club. Bah! I m sick of having people 
 patronize me because I am not in the game, because 
 I Ve never earned a penny, except by gambling, in 
 my life!" 
 
 "But that s all behind you, Don! You ve got 
 the rest of your life to live differently. When the 
 case is decided " 
 
 "Yes, and suppose it goes against me? It did 
 before, it may again. Talk about justice and truth ! 
 I ve failed to find them. I ve had enough of this 
 glorious thing called life; I m ready to quit." 
 
 " You can t quit, Don! " She said it softly, with 
 the firelight flushing her eager, solicitous face. 
 " Don t you suppose we all want to quit sometimes? 
 We ve just got to take a fresh grip on our courage 
 
 322 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 and fight it out. I m in trouble myself, to-night, 
 Don. Will you help me? " 
 
 His eyes flew to hers as he half knelt on the chair 
 before her. 
 
 " I ve sold Thornwood," she went on, her lips 
 trembling. " I can hardly speak of it, even yet. I 
 feel like a traitor to Daddy, to all the Carseys who 
 ever lived here, to myself! You know what the 
 place means to me. I believe I should die if I ever 
 saw any one else living here! I don t know who 
 bought it, I don t want to know. All I know is that 
 I Ve been perfectly wretched every hour since I 
 signed the paper, until just now when the Doctor 
 offered to lend you the money. Oh ! Don, if I 
 thought selling Thornwood meant that we could help 
 clear your name, there d never be another instant of 
 regret ! You 11 let us help you ? " 
 
 He put up his hand as if to ward off a blow : 
 " Don t," he said harshly. " I can t take your help. 
 I can t even take your friendship, or the Doctor s. 
 Don t you see that I m going through hell ? Don t 
 you know that I love you ? " 
 
 The color left her face, and her eyes wavered a 
 moment, then steadied. 
 
 " You must never say that again, Don ! You 
 must try not to think of it. I 11 forgive you because 
 I want you to forgive me for something. You 
 
 323 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 know the letter you sent me from San Francisco? 
 I burned it, unopened, right there where you are 
 standing now. It was a cowardly thing to do, even 
 though I thought you were in the wrong. If I had 
 known the truth I never would have kept silent all 
 those months. It was a great wrong I did you, 
 Don ; can you forgive me ? " 
 
 He studied her face, as if he would by sheer 
 intensity probe those luminous eyes that said every 
 thing and nothing. At last his head dropped. 
 
 " I was a fool ever to think you cared," he said 
 brokenly ; " I knew I was n t good enough for you. 
 I knew it from the first, but I tried. Shall I keep 
 on trying for your sake ? " 
 
 " No, Don, not for mine. For your own, and 
 for the sake of the girl you 11 some day make your 
 wife. But I want you to remember that I shall feel 
 responsible for whatever happens to you. If you 
 give up the fight and go back to the old life, I shall 
 know it was because I failed you; if you succeed, 
 as I believe you will, I shall be happy always in 
 knowing that I had a little part in it. Shall we say 
 good night ? " 
 
 He took the hand she offered him and one of 
 those silences followed which once having passed 
 between a man and woman, is remembered above all 
 spoken words, a silence in which all barriers fall 
 
 324 
 
was a great wrong I did you Don, can you forgive me?" 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 away, and soul speaks to soul. It was like a great 
 harmony quivering with beautiful things unsaid. 
 
 He left her standing in the firelight, her eyes 
 shining strangely in her otherwise passive face. He 
 closed the door resolutely on the light and warmth 
 of the homelike, cheery room, and passing out to 
 the road, miserably turned his steps toward the 
 empty grandeur of the big house whose turreted and 
 gabled roof broke the sky -line at the top of the Hill. 
 
 327 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 IN two of the gloomiest and dirtiest little rooms 
 in the dirtiest and gloomiest of little streets that 
 dangle at loose ends from the courthouse yard, Mr. 
 Gooch had his office. It was a small dark place 
 that suggested nothing so much as an overflowing 
 scrap-basket. Papers littered the table, and spilled 
 out of every pigeon-hole of the old secretary; papers 
 lay in stacks along the book-shelves, and bulged 
 from fat envelopes on the mantel-shelf. Over and 
 above and under all lay the undisturbed dust of 
 months. 
 
 In the corner which was reduced to perpetual 
 twilight by the proximity of the jail wall adjoining, 
 Noah Wicker sat on his high stool, and by the as 
 sistance of a solitary swinging light, excavated lumps 
 of legal lore from the mines of wisdom about him. 
 To one who had not seen Noah since his first days 
 of attorney ship, he presented an unfamiliar appear 
 ance. His feet, still hooked awkwardly under the 
 rung of the stool, were shod in patent leather shoes 
 of a style so pronounced that they rendered him 
 slightly pigeon-toed. His clothes were of the most 
 
 328 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 approved cut, and his hosiery reflected the hue of 
 his tie. 
 
 His hair, only, was reminiscent of the country 
 youth who had emerged from the law school a short 
 time before, in store clothes and creaking boots. 
 A front lock that has been assiduously urged to 
 stand up for many years, is not inclined to sit down 
 at the first whim of its owner. It has reached an 
 age of independence, and is inclined to insist upon 
 its rights. 
 
 Noah, alone in the office one spring day, surrepti 
 tiously took from his desk a small object, which 
 he held in the palm of his broad hand, and studied 
 minutely. When the rays from the swinging elec 
 tric happened to strike it, it sent spots of light 
 dancing on the grimy ceiling. For Noah was be 
 coming anxious about his pompadour and could not 
 refrain from examining it at frequent intervals. 
 Every expedient had been resorted to from surgery 
 to soap, but the stubbly blond lock defied him. It 
 seemed the last barrier that rose between him and 
 cosmopolitan life. 
 
 A light step on the stairs sent the mirror into the 
 desk, and brought a look of absorbed concentration 
 to his expansive brow. 
 
 "Is Mr. Gooch here?" asked Connie Queering- 
 ton, thrusting a plumed hat into his range of vision. 
 
 Noah disengaged himself from the stool and came 
 329 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 forward eagerly, but paused when he found that she 
 was not alone. 
 
 " Come on in, Gerald," she said hospitably. 
 " You know Mr. Wicker, don t you ? At any rate 
 he knows you. I Ve told him reams about you, 
 haven t I, Mr. Wicker?" 
 
 Noah bowed gravely, and after bringing forward 
 chairs, retired to his desk, in a state of outward calm 
 and inward wrath. 
 
 Gerald Ivy daintily dusted the chair with his 
 handkerchief, and sat down, nursing one silk-clad 
 ankle across his knee, in order not to expose more 
 of his garments than was necessary to the grime of 
 Mr. Gooch s abode. 
 
 " What a nuisance he is n t here ! " said Connie. 
 " I could leave Father s message but I left word for 
 Hat to meet me here. What time do you have to 
 go, Gerald?" 
 
 " Four o clock," said Gerald, then glancing at the 
 clock, " it s only three-thirty now." 
 
 " The clock is slow," announced Noah unex 
 pectedly from his corner. 
 
 Gerald leisurely removed his gloves. " What does 
 half an hour matter when I can spend it with you? 
 I was just going to meet Mater at the jail where 
 she has been pinning rosebuds on repentant bosoms. 
 Come, tell me all about yourself! " He leaned for 
 ward with elbows on his knees, and hands clasped, 
 
 330 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 dropping his voice to a confidential tone, and bring 
 ing the whole battery of his glances to play upon 
 her. 
 
 " Why should I? " asked Connie archly. " You 
 have n t been near me since I went to the country." 
 
 " What was the use ? You could n t expect me 
 to compete with a hero, who is making such a grand 
 stand play as Morley. Giving himself up for an 
 act he says he did n t commit, refunding money 
 when he does n t have to, going to work as a scrub 
 reporter when he has lived like a lord all his life! 
 I don t see how the theatrical managers have over 
 looked him ! He is the stuff matinee idols are made 
 of. He s turned the heads of half the girls in 
 town ! " 
 
 " He s turned mine all right," said Connie com 
 placently. " I m crazy about him. And he is n t 
 doing all those things for effect either. He is not 
 that kind. Is he, Mr. Wicker? " 
 
 Noah, thus suddenly appealed to, was compelled 
 to answer truthfully that he was not. But he did 
 so with a protesting jerk of the elbow, that sent an 
 ink-bottle flying to the floor. 
 
 Gerald took advantage of the mishap to get 
 Connie over to the window. 
 
 " It s beastly lonesome without you," he whis 
 pered. " When are you coming home ? " 
 
 " Heaven knows ! " said Connie, putting her hands 
 
 331 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 behind her for safe-keeping. " Now that somebody 
 else has rented the College Street house, and Miss 
 Lady has sold Thornwood, I don t know what s to 
 become of us." 
 
 " Don t you miss me a little bit? " asked Gerald, 
 playing with the silver purse on her wrist. 
 
 "Of course I do, silly. Is my hat on straight? 
 I wish I had a mirror." 
 
 Noah kneeling on the floor, mopping up the ink, 
 reached toward the desk, and then paused. 
 
 "I ll be your mirror!" said Gerald, presenting 
 his eyes in a way that only a very near-sighted per 
 son could have taken advantage of. 
 
 " City Hall clock s striking four," said Noah 
 grimly. 
 
 But Noah s desire to have Connie to himself was 
 not to be gratified. No sooner had Gerald gone, 
 than Hattie arrived, very slim and angular, and 
 carrying a prodigious stack of school-books. 
 
 " What was the sense of my meeting you here? " 
 she demanded of Connie, wasting no time on 
 amenities. " You ve made me miss the four-two 
 train, and come out of my way. What did you 
 want with me ? " 
 
 " I wanted to use your mileage book, dear," said 
 Connie sweetly. " How long do you suppose it will 
 be, Mr. Wicker, before Mr. Gooch comes in? " 
 
 " Any minute now," said Noah, smoothing down 
 332 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 his hair with an inky finger. "I I think the clock 
 is a little fast." Then as Connie laughed, he jerked 
 up the top of his desk and disappeared behind it. 
 
 " Stuffy old place ! " said Connie, wandering about 
 the room. "If Mr. Gooch was n t so stingy he d 
 have it cleaned up." 
 
 " I would n t call a man stingy who had given a 
 library to the law school," Hattie objected. 
 
 " Yes, and he s spent the rest of his life saving 
 every penny to pay himself back for it. He has 
 eaten fifty-two suppers a year at our house for ten 
 years, that J s five hundred and twenty suppers, and 
 he s never even treated us to a chocolate sundae ! " 
 
 " I don t think it s stingy to be economical," Hat- 
 tie said with her most superior air. 
 
 Noah, who was facing the open door, suddenly 
 began making strange gestures, and violent appeals 
 for silence, but the girls were off on an old argument 
 and did not see him. 
 
 " Besides," Connie was saying conclusively, " he 
 cheats at cards; you know he does." 
 
 " Only at solitaire. I don t see any reason why 
 he should n t cheat himself if he wants to. He s 
 all right, even if he is queer, and I think you ought 
 to be ashamed of yourself to talk about him the way 
 you do ! " 
 
 "How do you do, Harriet?" said Mr. Gooch 
 dryly, entering from the outer room and not 
 
 333 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 glancing at Connie. " A message from your 
 father?" 
 
 Connie slipped the note into Hattie s hand and 
 took refuge with Noah behind the desk top. 
 
 " Did he hear?" she whispered hysterically. 
 Then not waiting for a reply she pounced upon an 
 object in the desk. " Is that a mirror? " 
 
 Noah shamefacedly produced it. 
 
 " Hold it for me," she commanded. " Not so 
 far off. Like that ! " 
 
 Standing there behind the desk holding his little 
 mirror for her to powder her nose seemed to Noah 
 the apotheosis of romance. 
 
 " Too much? " she asked, tilting her face for in 
 spection. " And is my hat right ? I want to look 
 my best, because you know I may meet Donald 
 Morley on the steps." 
 
 She was evidently not disappointed, for Noah, 
 standing at the window waiting to catch the last 
 flutter of her feather as she passed up the street, had 
 to wait five agonizing minutes, at the end of which 
 Don spoke to him from the door. 
 
 " Hello, Wick. Is Mr. Gooch here? " 
 
 " He was a minute ago." 
 
 " Is he coming back? " 
 
 " I don t know, I m sure." 
 
 Noah made the answers in a tone that discouraged 
 further conversation, and Donald after a sharp 
 
 334 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 glance at him, shrugged his shoulders and picked 
 up a book. He had not long to wait before Mr. 
 Gooch returned. 
 
 " I ve been telephoning all over town for you," 
 said the lawyer testily. " Is this rumor true tftat 
 you have bought back your bank stock ? " 
 
 " It is. It was the only honest thing I could do." 
 
 " Not at all," complained Mr. Gooch, who became 
 passionately attached to the contrary opinion the 
 moment he ascertained yours. " It was a most 
 quixotic, a most reckless course to take. I suppose 
 you know of the double liability? " 
 
 " Yes, I know," Donald flung out impatiently. 
 
 " You are singularly fortunate, Mr. Morley, to 
 be able to indulge these magnanimous whims. 
 Your resources I presume " 
 
 " My resources consist in a piece of real estate and 
 a couple of race horses. That s about all that s 
 left." 
 
 " The real estate ? " Mr. Gooch looked encouraged. 
 "City property?" 
 
 " No, it s a farm." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " On the Cane Run Road." 
 
 Noah s head appeared above the desk for the first 
 time during the conversation and he looked sur 
 prised, as if he had made a discovery. 
 
 " Adjoining your sister s property, I judge ? " con- 
 
 335 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 tinned Mr. Gooch. " That s good, very good. It 
 ought to bring about ? " 
 
 " It s not for sale," said Donald shortly. 
 
 Mr. Gooch, who had emerged to the rim of his 
 shell, promptly went in again. 
 
 " You see, Mr. Gooch," said Donald, leaning for 
 ward and speaking earnestly, " when you took this 
 case I had no need to think of the financial end of 
 it. I wanted to get the affair straight, and I did n t 
 care a hang what it would cost. Since then things 
 have changed. I think it s only fair to tell you 
 that after I sell my horses and settle things up, there 
 won t be more than a thousand dollars left. Will 
 that cover your fee?" 
 
 Mr. Gooch was visibly offended. " It is not my 
 custom, sir, to name a sum in advance. There s a 
 great deal of work on this case, of a very annoying 
 nature. We might try to come under the amount 
 stipulated, and in a pinch of course you could sell 
 the real estate." 
 
 "No," said Donald, "I shall not sell it. And 
 I Ve got to know to-day what your terms will be. 
 I Ve got work with the Herald-Post as temporary 
 correspondent at the Capitol. I m going up there 
 to-morrow, and will probably stay on until my case 
 is called. I d like to have your definite answer at 
 
 once." 
 
 " Well, I did n t want the case in the beginning," 
 336 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 said Mr. Gooch. " It s the sort of thing I don t 
 care for. I might be able to finish it for a thousand 
 dollars, but I don t know that I d care to commit 
 myself." 
 
 " Very well," said Donald, rising with spirit. 
 " That means that I 11 have to get another lawyer." 
 
 * You 11 be making a mistake," said Mr. Gooch, 
 twisting his small features into a hard knot, and 
 watching Donald closely. " It s a great, risk to 
 change lawyers in the middle of a case. There s a 
 great deal at stake. You ought n t to stand back on 
 a question of money at a critical time like this." 
 
 " Good Lord, man ! I m not standing back on a 
 question of money! I d put up all I had if it was 
 a million. Do you suppose I would have taken a 
 job in Frankfort for ten dollars a week if I had any 
 money ? " 
 
 " But you still hold property ! " 
 
 " I do, Mr. Gooch, and for reasons you could 
 never understand I shall continue to hold it. Good 
 day." 
 
 " Stop a minute ! " Noah Wicker unfolded him 
 self in sections, and got to his feet. 
 
 " Suppose you let me take your case." 
 
 Donald and Mr. Gooch looked at him with equal 
 amazement. 
 
 " I have n t had much experience," Noah went on 
 slowly and grimly. " I did n t even know a repu- 
 
 337 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 table lawyer could throw a case over in the middle 
 when a client lost his money. I ve got a lot to 
 learn. But I do know this case from end to end, 
 and I know you, Don Morley. If I can t clear you 
 with or without money, I d better give up the prac 
 tice of law right here and now. Do you think you d 
 be willing to trust me? " 
 
 Donald hesitated for a moment, glancing from 
 Noah s honest, homely face to Mr. Gooch s sneer 
 ing one, then he jumped to a decision. 
 
 " It s a go, Wick ! And the fee " 
 
 Noah extended a hand, the breadth of whose palm 
 has already been commented upon. 
 
 " The fee be damned," he drawled. 
 
 338 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 DONALD MORLEY packed his few belong 
 ings and went on his small mission for the 
 Herald-Post with a determination worthy of a 
 larger cause. The remuneration was less than he 
 had been in the habit of paying his stable boy, but 
 failure to secure a position, together with a de 
 pleted bank account, had chastened his spirit, and 
 he was ready to grasp at anything that would give 
 him a chance to justify the belief of his friends. 
 
 When he first arrived at the sleepy little town 
 where the state transacted its business, he took two 
 rooms at the hotel. Later he moved to a boarding- 
 house, and by the end of the third week he was in 
 a small, bare room in an office building, eating his 
 breakfasts at the depot, his luncheons at a restau 
 rant, and his dinners at the hotel. For in his de 
 termination to square himself with the world he had 
 managed to dispose of nearly all he had, excepting 
 a thousand dollars which he had secretly deposited 
 to Noah s account. 
 
 At first poverty was a somewhat diverting nov 
 elty; it served to keep his mind off those pursuing 
 
 339 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 cided, was in not knowing what to do with one s 
 things. 
 
 It was not only his things, however, that he found 
 difficulty in disposing of. For a given number of 
 hours a day a man can hold himself down to the 
 task of sitting at a small deal table, covering yellow 
 tablets with words that will probably never be read, 
 but after too long a stretch nature is apt to rebel. 
 At such times Donald raged like a pent lion. His 
 mind involuntarily flew to the possibility of this con 
 finement being but a foretaste of the other that 
 waited for him should the rehearing not be granted. 
 From the beginning he had refused to consider the 
 possibility of conviction; he was innocent, he would 
 be cleared. But as the days dragged on, a shadow 
 began to dog his steps and to sit on the foot of his 
 bed by night, grinning at him through bars of iron. 
 
 Had there been a friend to whom he could turn 
 during these days he might have been spared some 
 of the hours of anguish he endured, but his pride 
 was cut to the quick, and he shrank from seeing any 
 one who knew him or his family. Cropsie Decker 
 could have helped him, but Cropsie was in Mexico. 
 To Noah Wicker he had ceased to be an individual, 
 he had become a client, a first client, and personal 
 ities were swamped in abstractions. The only place 
 where he could have found sympathy and under 
 standing was at Thornwood, the hospitable door of 
 
 342 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 which he had resolutely closed with his own hand. 
 If he thought the depths of loneliness had been 
 sounded out there in the Orient, he had now to learn 
 that it is only in one s own country, among one s 
 own people, that the plummet strikes bottom. 
 
 The day before the case was to be presented Noah 
 came up from the city, and once again they went 
 over every tiresome, familiar detail. By the time 
 evening arrived Donald was in a state of black de 
 jection. Half a dozen sleepless nights, and the re 
 turn of several articles did not tend to brighten the 
 situation, and when Noah accepted an invitation 
 from the Judge to dine with him, Donald felt that 
 he had been abandoned to his fate. 
 
 Twilight was closing in, the kind that has no be 
 ginning and no end, a damp, gray saturating twi 
 light that smothers the soul in a fog of gloom and 
 relaxes all the moral fibers. Donald went to his 
 small window and looked out. The street below 
 was deserted, save for an occasional shabby surrey, 
 splashing through the mud on its way to the station. 
 At long intervals an umbrella bobbed past, and once 
 a drove of cattle lumbered by, driven by a boy 
 astride a mule. Donald jerked down the shade 
 savagely, and lit the single gas-jet. 
 
 In a magazine which he picked up was a graphic 
 article on child labor in the mines, giving pictures 
 of ragged, emaciated children who spent their lives 
 
 343 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 underground, breathing foul air and becoming 
 dwarfed in body and soul. He flung the book from 
 him and dropped his head upon his arms. Life 
 seemed a great, inexorable machine, setting at 
 naught human aspiration, human endeavor. What 
 was the good of fighting it? What was the sense 
 in believing in a divine order, in such infernal 
 chaos ? 
 
 Unable to stand his own company any longer, he 
 seized his hat and started for the hotel. He was 
 in a reckless, hopeless mood, ready to take diversion 
 wherever he found it, and as is usual in such cases, 
 diversion met him half way. 
 
 The little hotel office was in a spasm of activity, 
 bells were ringing, doors slamming, and guests ar 
 riving. The group of loiterers who usually sat 
 facing the fire, criticizing the daily proceedings of 
 the legislature, now stood in a semicircle with their 
 backs to it, watching the new arrivals. 
 
 " It s a theatrical company," explained one of 
 the voluble crowd to Donald ; " the liveliest lay-out 
 we ve had for moons. That s the star talking to 
 the fellow in the checked suit. Some winner, is n t 
 she?" 
 
 The object of this remark, having just told a 
 story that elicited a round of laughter, turned care 
 lessly and swept the room with a brilliant, expe 
 rienced glance. The searchlight passed the porter 
 
 344 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 and bell boys, the obsequious clerk at the desk, the 
 semicircle of admirers at the fire, and came to an 
 audacious pause when it reached Donald Morley. 
 
 He was lighting a cigarette at the moment, and 
 presented an appearance of colossal indifference to 
 all stars, terrestrial and celestial. But when he had 
 tossed the match into the open grate, he nonchalantly 
 sauntered to the desk and glanced at the register. 
 
 There was the dashing signature, the ink -still wet 
 on the flourish, 
 
 " La Florine." 
 
 It was Cropsie Decker s old flame, " The Serpent 
 of the Nile," whom he had last seen poised on the 
 cork of a champagne bottle on a poster on Billy- 
 goat Hill! Without looking up he was aware that 
 the same mischievous eyes which had peeped through 
 the black -gloved fingers on the poster, were watch 
 ing him now with the liveliest interest. They fol 
 lowed him across the room, they laughed at him 
 over the shoulder of the man in the checked suit, 
 they flung a challenge at his feet, and dared him 
 pick it up. 
 
 Donald watched her with increasing fascination. 
 It was good just to be near anything so careless, and 
 gay, and irresponsible. He, too, had once poised 
 tiptoe on the perilous edge of things, and laughed 
 defiance in the face of Fate. Why shouldn t he 
 
 345 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 do it again? A man about to be hanged is given 
 a last good dinner, why should n t he humor himself 
 to one more good time before the die was cast on 
 the morrow ? 
 
 It would only be necessary to present his card 
 and mention Cropsie Decker, and the rest would be 
 easy. He had just about enough money to pay for 
 a theater ticket, and a cozy little supper afterward. 
 But what about flowers? 
 
 He thrust his hand eagerly into his pocket on an 
 investigating tour. As he did so his fingers en 
 countered a small, hard object which he drew forth 
 and looked at curiously. It was the dried hip of 
 a wild rose, that had been transferred from pocket 
 to pocket since the day it dared to bloom before its 
 time, in a cranny of the stone wall that circled the 
 garden at Thornwood. The touch of it brought 
 back an old barrel hammock under the lilacs, and 
 the glowing eyes of a girl, lifted to his with a look 
 of trusting innocence. 
 
 Without another glance at " The Serpent of the 
 Nile," he turned up his coat collar, pulled his hat 
 over his eyes and plunged out into the wet, dismal 
 street. For hours he tramped, neither knowing nor 
 caring where he went. He was fighting the hardest 
 fight a man is called on to fight, the fight against 
 himself with no reward in view. 
 
 When he got back to his room, spent and di- 
 
 346 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 sheveled at nine o clock, he found two letters under 
 his door. One, a black-bordered envelope ad 
 dressed in Connie s familiar scrawl, he thrust into 
 his pocket, smiling in spite of himself at the memory 
 of Miss Lady s bargain stationery. The other, a 
 long, bulky envelope, bearing the device of a well- 
 known magazine, caused him to sit limply down on 
 his steamer-trunk and gaze at it miserably. 
 
 His cherished story had come back at last ! The 
 possibility of its being accepted had been the one 
 hope he had clung to during many a desperate hour. 
 In it he had, for the first time, dared to say the things 
 he felt, to venture boldly into the land of romance 
 which hitherto he had cautiously skirted. Dozens 
 of other similar tales were teeming in his brain, only 
 waiting to know the fate of this one. And it had 
 come back! It was the best he had to offer, and 
 his best was not good enough! He looked at the 
 shabby, dog-eared sheet, and the folded enclosure 
 that doubtless set forth the editor s smug regrets, 
 then with an impatient gesture he flung the envelope 
 and its contents into the scrap-basket, cursing him 
 self and his conceit in thinking he could write, and 
 editors and their conceit in thinking they could 
 judge. 
 
 The folded enclosure, meanwhile, that had been in 
 the manuscript elected to disprove the total depravity 
 of inanimate things, and instead of falling face 
 
 347 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 downward, fell face upward on the very top of the 
 heap. Thus it was that Donald Morley, charging 
 desperately about his limited quarters, suddenly 
 spied a word that made him snatch up the sheet of 
 paper and rush to the light. 
 
 The editor, it appeared, had read the story with 
 genuine pleasure. Khalil Samad was an entirely 
 new creation, presented with an originality and 
 humor altogether delightful. The one fault of the 
 story was its brevity. Of course, the magazine 
 would accept it as it was, but the opinion of the 
 office was to the effect that if the author had ma 
 terial for other stories of a similar nature it was a 
 pity for him not to elaborate it into a book. A novel 
 with Khalil Samad for a hero, if written with the 
 same charm as this first story, would be an un 
 doubted success. This was merely a suggestion, of 
 course, and might not fall in with Mr. Morley s 
 other literary plans. In any case the editor con 
 gratulated him upon the originality of his story and 
 would look forward to publishing it in one form or 
 the other. 
 
 Donald read the note through twice before he 
 mastered its contents, then he drew a prodigious 
 breath. Other stories of a similar nature? Why, 
 he knew dozens of them! Khalil Samad had been 
 his sole companion for two months, and Khalil s 
 chief occupation had been talking about himself and 
 
 348 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 his escapades. Donald knew the main incidents of 
 his dramatic career from the time he had been stolen 
 by a Bengali bandit and sold into matrimony at the 
 age of ten, to the day he had salaamed a tearful fare 
 well from the dock at Bombay. 
 
 Yes, most certainly, the writing of the novel did 
 fall in with Mr. Morley s literary plans. But what 
 about his other plans? He caught himself up sud 
 denly. How did he know what twenty-four hours 
 might bring forth? What if, through some terrible 
 error, he was not granted a new hearing? But 
 Noah Wicker was confident. He had discovered a 
 point in the former trial which was technically in 
 admissible. A witness had been permitted to make 
 a statement over Mr. Gooch s objection, and Noah 
 had succeeded in finding a previous decision that 
 made him believe a reversal was practically certain. 
 
 Somehow since his story was accepted, Donald 
 found it much easier to share Noah s confidence. 
 Waves of returning courage swept over him. Per 
 haps after all, he was going to be able to do some 
 thing worth while in the world! He would work 
 like a Trojan, he would begin to-night. 
 
 He seized pen and paper, but the desire to share 
 his good news prompted him to write letters rather 
 than fiction. He wanted to tell Miss Lady, he 
 wanted to tell the Doctor. He wanted to paralyze 
 Cropsie Decker! Then he thought of Noah, and 
 
 349 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 ramming the editor s note in his pocket, he went 
 plunging down the steps and across to the hotel. 
 
 Noah had gone to bed, but he was unceremo 
 niously routed out. 
 
 "Read that!" shouted Don, thrusting his hand 
 in his pocket and pulling out an envelope. 
 
 "It isn t opened," said Noah, yawning; then 
 recognizing Connie Queerington s handwriting he 
 suddenly woke up. 
 
 " Hang it ! That s the wrong one," said Donald, 
 diving for the other note. " Here it is ! Behold 
 a budding author, Wick ! I ve written some stuff 
 they say is worth while. They want more ! " 
 
 Noah read the note, then returned it calmly. 
 
 " It s encouraging, I congratulate you," he ob 
 served laconically. 
 
 Donald s face clouded, then cleared and he 
 stepped forward impulsively: 
 
 " See here, Wick," he said, " you think I m 
 poaching on your preserves. I m not. That s the 
 first letter I have had from Connie for weeks. I 
 have n t written her a line since I left home, but she 
 likes to keep me on the string. She just plays with 
 Ivy and me to keep her hand in. Don t you mind 
 either one of us. Stick to it and win." 
 
 " Oh, I m sticking to it all right," said Noah 
 doggedly, " but I don t seem to stand much chance 
 with the rest of you." 
 
 350 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "Nonsense, man! Think of your head-piece! 
 The Lord started you out with more brains than 
 most of us end with. The Judge said this morning 
 that you knew more common law than any young 
 lawyer he could think of." 
 
 " Yes, but knowledge of common law won t win 
 this suit. She 11 never look at me, Donald, except 
 as a last resort. She thinks I am a heavy, awkward 
 hayseed, and I reckon she s about right." 
 
 He towered there in his blue pajamas two sizes 
 too small for him, his hair on end, and his large 
 hands grasping the chair back. " I don t know the 
 game," he went on helplessly. " You fellows take 
 the trick while I am making up my mind what to 
 play. She s too much for me. You are all too 
 much for me, but I shan t throw down my hand, 
 not yet." 
 
 Donald got up from the foot of the bed where 
 he had been sitting, and took Noah by the shoul 
 ders. 
 
 " You Ve been working like a dog on my case, old 
 fellow. Suppose you let me take charge of yours ? " 
 
 " How do you mean? " 
 
 " You say you don t know the rules of the game. 
 I know them backwards and forwards and upside 
 down. You let me play this hand for you with 
 Connie Queerington, and you stand to win." 
 
 "But but you?" 
 
 351 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "Heavens, man! Do you suppose if it were 
 anything to me I d have forgotten to read her letter 
 all this time? No, I am through with that sort of 
 thing." He turned his head abruptly and his face 
 darkened. " There never was but one race for me, 
 that was worth the running and I got left at the 
 post." 
 
 " Perhaps Miss Connie " 
 
 "Likes me? Of course she does. And I like 
 her tremendously. That s how I am going to help 
 you. Leave it to me, Wick. Let me write her all 
 the letters I want to. Let me tell her about the stir 
 you are making up here, about the Judge cottoning 
 to you, and the Governor asking you to dinner. In 
 short, let me dramatize you, Wick ; I 11 write her 
 a play in five acts with you for the hero. All you 
 have to do is to ease up on your letters and keep 
 out of her sight for a month or so. Tell her that 
 as long as you can t be anything more to her you 
 will be a good friend. Connie hates a man to be 
 a friend ! She wants him to be either an acquaint 
 ance or a lover. You have gotten out of the first 
 class, and she will never let you alone until she gets 
 you back into the third." 
 
 Noah rubbed his massive and bewildered brow. 
 " It s too complicated for me," he said ; " I guess 
 I 11 have to accept your services." 
 
 352 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 That night Donald worked until the small hours, 
 eagerly blocking out the chapters of his new book. 
 So absorbed was he that it was not until he straight 
 ened his tired back, and started to make ready for 
 bed that he remembered that he had not yet read 
 Connie s letter. 
 
 It was a blotted and incoherent scrawl. 
 
 " Dear Cousin Don/ he read, " I don t see how 
 I am ever going to write, for my eyes are almost 
 out from crying, but Miss Lady simply can t do 
 everything, and somebody has to tell the relatives. 
 Hattie ought to help me, but she thinks she has to 
 write to her intimate friends first, and she s got 
 about a dozen. You know how hateful she is. 
 
 " Well, he was taken worse last week, Father, I 
 mean. I can t go into the details for I have told 
 them over to so many people now that I m about 
 crazy, and every time I go over them I almost cry 
 myself to death. He did n t know any of us all 
 last night or this morning, except once he called 
 for Miss Lady and patted her cheek. At the end 
 he seemed to get stronger and opened his eyes and 
 asked for his manuscript. It was the most pitiful 
 thing you ever saw at the last, to see him trying to 
 turn over the sheets, with his poor eyes staring out 
 at the wall, not knowing any of us. You 11 see 
 
 353 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 about the funeral in the morning s paper. I don t 
 see how we are ever going through with it. 
 * Your loving cousin, 
 
 " CONSTANCE QUEERINGTON. 
 
 " P. S. Please tell Mr. Wicker I d rather die 
 than write another letter." 
 
 354 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE summer that followed the People s Bank 
 failure was one of those uncompromising 
 summers that arrive in May and depart only with 
 the last leaf in October. The river dwindling to a 
 feeble stream staggered between distant banks, and 
 the countryside lay parched and panting beneath 
 an unrelenting sun. 
 
 In the city Noah Wicker toiled laboriously over 
 his first case which had been granted a rehearing, 
 and set for November the sixth. At the Capitol, 
 Donald Morley sat day after day, coatless, collar- 
 less, in the torrid confines of his small bedroom, 
 furiously covering reams of paper with compact 
 handwriting. At Thornwood Miss Lady, who had 
 been left in command of a sinking ship, struggled 
 heroically to bring it into port. 
 
 One day early in July, Myrtella Flathers sat just 
 inside the screen door of the summer kitchen, armed 
 with a fly-spanker and a countenance of impending 
 gloom. She was evidently rehearsing a speech, for 
 her lips moved in scornful curves, and her bristling 
 
 355 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 black locks were tossed in defiance. Mike, ventur 
 ing out of a shady corner and catching a glimpse of 
 her face, thought her inaudible remarks were ad 
 dressed to him and retired with guilty eyelid and 
 drooping tail to the woodshed. 
 
 Myrtella s bitter reflections were interrupted by 
 the appearance of Miss Lady on the vine-covered 
 porch. She looked absurdly young in her widow s 
 weeds, in spite of the fact that her color was gone 
 and her eyes beginning to look too big for her face. 
 
 " They ve come to stay a week ! " she announced, 
 sinking wearily on the top step and casting a desper 
 ate glance at the closed shutters of the guest room 
 above. " And it s Friday, and Mr. Gooch will be 
 here to supper. Do you see how we are ever going 
 to hold out? * 
 
 " / ain t ! " declared Myrtella, spanking a fly into 
 eternity with deadly precision. " I m sick and tired 
 of company. There ain t been a day in the three 
 months since the Doctor died that we ain t had his 
 kin folks on our hands. It beats my time how half 
 the world gits a prowlin fit every summer, and goes 
 pestering them that stays at home. As to these old 
 maids that come to-day, if they had a eye in their 
 heads they d see you was plumb wore out. I 
 would n t a ast em to stay." 
 
 " But I had to. They are the Doctor s cousins. 
 They said they d been coming to see him every sum- 
 
 356 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 mer for years, and they don t want to lose sight of 
 the children." 
 
 " Umph ! The children would n t mind losing 
 sight of them ! Miss Hattie got sent to bed onct 
 for sassing the thin one that wants special dishes 
 and all her water boiled. I bet she 11 ast you to 
 change her mattress." 
 
 " She has already. That s what I came out to 
 tell you, and she wants her supper an hour earlier 
 than ours. But that is n t what s troubling me, 
 Myrtella, I have something much more serious than 
 Cousin Emily to worry over." 
 
 " You ain t no exception," said Myrtella, some 
 what defensively. " Trouble is about the only thing 
 that rich people ain t got a monopoly on. I ve had 
 my share ; it s a wonder I got a black hair left in 
 my head!" 
 
 " Has your brother lost his good place ? " Miss 
 Lady asked. 
 
 " Phineas ? No, mam. He s been at Iselin s 
 ever since he left Mrs. Sequin s, an to hear him tell 
 it he s runnin the whole stablishment. I must say 
 he s doin better n he ever done before, but he s 
 as full of airs as a music-box, an that there Maria, 
 a paternizing me like I had n t been payin her rent 
 all these years. But I kin get along without them. 
 It s little Chick I m a worryin about." 
 
 " What s the matter with Chick? " 
 
 357 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "Matter with him?" Myrtella turned on her 
 fiercely. " Ever thing is the matter with him. 
 What chanct has he got in the world ? Picked out 
 of a ash-barrel, livin in dirt an ignorance, drinkin 
 the beer that leaks outen the kegs on the freight cars, 
 hangin round the saloons an gittin runtier an 
 dumber an more piti fuller every day he lives. My 
 Lord! Ain t that enough the matter with him?" 
 
 Miss Lady s quick, eager sympathy leapt into her 
 face. 
 
 " We must do something for Chick. Dr. Wyeth 
 believes he can cure him if they can ever get him 
 into the Children s Hospital. Why can t we " 
 she checked herself, and sat looking off to the hills 
 across the river. 
 
 " Myrtella, I ve got to tell you something," she 
 began again desperately, " I ve been trying to tell 
 you all day, but I did n t know how. You have 
 been so good to us, all through the Doctor s illness, 
 and before. But I m afraid after this month we 11 
 have to let you go." 
 
 Myrtella had been threatening to give notice for a 
 month, but at this announcement she looked as if 
 she had been the victim of an unsuccessful electro 
 cution. 
 
 " It s a question of money," went on Miss Lady 
 hurriedly. " You see we simply have n t any. I ve 
 kept account of every cent that comes in and goes 
 
 358 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 out, just as Mr. Gooch told me to ; but it does n t 
 balance. We 11 just have to keep on cutting down 
 expenses until it does." 
 
 " An you are going to begin on me," said Myr- 
 tella furiously, " an git in some onery nigger that 11 
 carry home more in a basket than my wages would 
 come to ! " 
 
 " No, Myrtella ; we are going to try to do the 
 work ourselves." 
 
 " You mean you are ! An r Miss Connie 11 primp 
 herself up an go hiking into town after beaux, an 
 Miss Hattie 11 set around with her nose in a book, 
 an you 11 go on workin an slavin an wearin your 
 self to the bone fer them, an their tribe of prowlin 
 kin. Where s the money you got for this farm ? " 
 
 " It went to pay the debts and to carry out the 
 Doctor s wishes." 
 
 " Bout printin all them books he wrote over 
 again, an bringin em out in the same kind of 
 covers? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " How many was there, in all ? " 
 
 " Twenty." 
 
 Myrtella compressed her lips, and with difficulty 
 refrained from comment. However freely the 
 Doctor s will had been discussed in public, no criti 
 cism of it was brooked in the presence of Miss Lady. 
 
 " As to your leaving," she said, changing the sub- 
 
 359 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 ject, while Myrtella vented her wrath on the flies, 
 " you know you have wanted to go for months. It 
 was only your goodness that made you come out 
 here with us after you had saved money enough to 
 start your boarding-house. We have n t been pay 
 ing you enough, I know that, and and we have n t 
 enough to go on even as we are." 
 
 Myrtella wheeled in the doorway, her face purple 
 with anger: 
 
 "If you think I m a-goin an leave you children 
 in this big house, messin up yer own food, an lettin 
 everybody run over you, you are mighty mistaken ! 
 Miss Hattie d be having indigestion inside a week, 
 an Bertie d git the croup, an you d have every 
 female Queerington that could buy a railroad ticket 
 comin an settin down on you ! " 
 
 " But what can we do, Myrtella? I tell you the 
 money is giving out ! " 
 
 "Do? I ll tell you what we can do. We can 
 board the company ! We can fill up the rooms with 
 folks that pay for what they eat, an there won t be 
 any room for the free prowlers. You git the 
 boarders an I 11 manage em." 
 
 " Why, Mrs. Ivy and Gerald wanted to come that 
 way, but I laughed at them. Besides I don t know 
 about Gerald " 
 
 " On account of Miss Connie? " asked Myrtella, 
 who had been too much in charge of the family not 
 
 360 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 to know its secrets. " You let him come. He s 
 one of them men that s like vanilla extract you 
 git too much of him onct, you never want no more ! " 
 
 " And perhaps Mr. Gooch would come." 
 
 " Well it would go kinder hard with him to pay 
 fer anything he s always got free. But git Miss 
 Hattie to ast him. He d do it fer her quicker n 
 anybody." 
 
 The project, under Myrtella s able generalship, 
 developed immediately. Mr. Gooch and the Ivys 
 gladly availed themselves of the opportunity of flee 
 ing from the stifling city to the cool shade of Thorn- 
 wood. Two former pupils of the Doctor s, who 
 were taking a summer course at the university, also 
 asked if they might have a room, and at the end of 
 a week paying guests were in possession and the 
 family relegated to any nook or corner that was 
 large enough to accommodate a bed. 
 
 One problem was unexpectedly solved by the ap 
 pearance of Uncle Jimpson, who announced that 
 " he had done come back home to stay." The dis 
 tinction of driving forth daily in solitary grandeur 
 to exercise the Sequins horses, had palled upon him, 
 and the prospect of conducting the Queerington 
 boarders back and forth to the station, and renewing 
 his intimacy with old John and Mike, had proven 
 irresistible. 
 
 Aunt Caroline had died in the early spring, and 
 
 361 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Uncle Jimpson found even the society of Myrtella 
 a relief after his enforced loneliness. He listened 
 with bulging eyes and sagging jaw to her accounts 
 of the latest murders and obeyed her slightest com 
 mand with a briskness that would have amazed the 
 old Colonel. 
 
 " We s helpin Miss Lady git a start," he would 
 say proudly again and again, " an then maybe she 
 git married some more." 
 
 " Married ! " Myrtella would flare, " yes, she orter 
 git married to another widower with three children, 
 and a thousand kin folks. Besides, who s she going 
 to marry ? " 
 
 " Ain t no trouble bout dat," Uncle Jimpson said 
 wisely; "you jes let her peek over de blinds onct, 
 an you see what gwine happen." 
 
 " Well, she ain t going to peek," Myrtella said 
 firmly. " She ain t got a thought in her head, but 
 gittin Miss Hattie an Bertie educated, an keepin 
 Miss Connie straight, an carry in out that fool will 
 of the Doctor s." 
 
 " Jest wait," Uncle Jimpson smilingly insisted, 
 " dat chile can t no more help cumulatin beaux dan 
 a flower kin bees. An hits de king bee dat s comin 
 dis time, shore ! " 
 
 362 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 TT THERE S Connie? Where s Hat?" cried 
 V V Miss Lady breathlessly, bringing her foam- 
 flecked horse to a halt in front of the porch where 
 Mrs. Ivy was sitting in the twilight. " Don Morley 
 has written a book and it s going to be published 
 this month ! " 
 
 " A book ! " echoed Mrs. Ivy incredulously, then, 
 " Ah, my dear, do get off that vicious beast ; I 
 have n t had a moment s peace since Mr. Wicker 
 sent him over ! " 
 
 Miss Lady slipped to the ground and stood with 
 her arm around Prince s neck, laughing. The thrill 
 of her long ride, the first one in nearly two years, 
 still surged through her, and the news just received 
 made her heart dance for joy. Happiness, in spite 
 of her efforts not to expect it, was beginning to shine 
 across the troubled waters, a dim and wavering light 
 as yet, but drawing her toward it with irresistible 
 fascination. It was something to steer by in times 
 of stress and storm, something to turn to tremu 
 lously, in the lonely hours of the night, when over- 
 
 363 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Uncle Jimpson found even the society of Myrtella 
 a relief after his enforced loneliness. He listened 
 with bulging eyes and sagging jaw to her accounts 
 of the latest murders and obeyed her slightest com 
 mand with a briskness that would have amazed the 
 old Colonel. 
 
 " We s helpin Miss Lady git a start," he would 
 say proudly again and again, " an then maybe she 
 git married some more/ 
 
 " Married ! " Myrtella would flare, " yes, she orter 
 git married to another widower with three children, 
 and a thousand kin folks. Besides, who s she going 
 to marry? " 
 
 " Ain t no trouble bout dat," Uncle Jimpson said 
 wisely; "you jes let her peek over de blinds onct, 
 an you see what gwine happen." 
 
 " Well, she ain t going to peek," Myrtella said 
 firmly. " She ain t got a thought in her head, but 
 gittin Miss Hattie an Bertie educated, an keepin 
 Miss Connie straight, an carry in out that fool will 
 of the Doctor s." 
 
 " Jest wait," Uncle Jimpson smilingly insisted, 
 " dat chile can t no more help cumulatin beaux dan 
 a flower kin bees. An hits de king bee dat s comin 
 clis time, shore ! " 
 
 362 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 <TT THERE S Connie? Where s Hat?" cried 
 V V Miss Lady breathlessly, bringing her foam- 
 flecked horse to a halt in front of the porch where 
 Mrs. Ivy was sitting in the twilight. " Don Morley 
 has written a book and it s going to be published 
 this month ! " 
 
 " A book ! " echoed Mrs. Ivy incredulously, then, 
 " Ah, my dear, do get off that vicious beast ; I 
 have n t had a moment s peace since Mr. Wicker 
 sent him over ! " 
 
 Miss Lady slipped to the ground and stood with 
 her arm around Prince s neck, laughing. The thrill 
 of her long ride, the first one in nearly two years, 
 still surged through her, and the news just received 
 made her heart dance for joy. Happiness, in spite 
 of her efforts not to expect it, was beginning to shine 
 across the troubled waters, a dim and wavering light 
 as yet, but drawing her toward it with irresistible 
 fascination. It was something to steer by in times 
 of stress and storm, something to turn to tremu 
 lously, in the lonely hours of the night, when over- 
 
 363 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 taxed muscles refused to relax and her tired brain 
 ached with the pity and sorrow of the world. 
 
 During her long ride this afternoon she had dared 
 for the first time to give rein to thoughts that had 
 hitherto been held in check. Surely life \vas more 
 than the dreary, monotonous, loveless business of 
 the past summer! With all its problems and per 
 plexities, it was nevertheless a mysterious, fascinat 
 ing thing. She did not approve of it, nor did she 
 altogether trust it, but she was incorrigibly in love 
 with it and would be to the end. 
 
 " I suppose you know that supper is over," said 
 Mrs. Ivy, with veiled reproach. " Were there no 
 letters for me ? " 
 
 " Oh, dear, how stupid of me. I forgot to look 
 through the rest of the mail. Here it is." 
 
 Mrs. Ivy sorted out her own official-looking bud 
 get, then peered closely at the two remaining en 
 velopes. 
 
 " As I suspected," she said with a significant lift 
 ing of her eyebrows ; " two for Constance, in the 
 same handwriting and both postmarked from the 
 Capitol." 
 
 " But what of it, Mrs. Ivy? " 
 
 " My dear," Mrs. Ivy breathed, " don t you see 
 they are from Mr. Morley ? " 
 
 " Yes ; but I have one from him, too ; he s telling 
 us about his book." 
 
 3 6 4 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Mrs. Ivy smiled with sad superiority, " Ah, my 
 dear, you are not a very sophisticated little chap 
 eron. I have hesitated to speak to you before, but 
 I really think this young man s attention to Con 
 stance should be stopped. It is n t fair to poor 
 Gerald. You know how she has always adored my 
 boy, ever since she was in pinafores, and I don t 
 mind confessing to you that I ve encouraged her. 
 Of course Gerald s artistic temperament has made 
 him susceptible to many forms of beauty, but he 
 has really been quite devoted of late. I simply can 
 not endure the thought of that Mr. Morley inter 
 fering with the blossoming of their childhood love." 
 
 " But Mrs. Ivy, he he is her cousin ; he looks 
 upon her as a child." 
 
 " She is only a year younger than you are, my 
 dear, and much more worldly wise. I ve had my 
 eyes open and I ve seen a great deal. She is get 
 ting quite secretive, and she is n t always gracious to 
 Gerald. Mr. Morley s back of it all, you 11 see." 
 
 " I don t think there is any danger," said Miss 
 Lady critically examining the tip of Prince s nose. 
 
 " Ah, my dear girl, you have been too engrossed 
 for the past six months to notice. Ask Mr. Wicker ; 
 he spoke to Gerald about it last spring. Ask Gerald 
 himself, he s wretchedly unhappy. And now you 
 are helping her to get ready to go up to the Capitol 
 to visit, and he s sure to see her every day. I must 
 
 365 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 say that I think it s wretched taste for him to pay 
 attentions to any girl under the circumstances." 
 
 In an instant Miss Lady had wheeled with flashing 
 eyes: 
 
 " Donald s friends know that he has n t done any 
 thing to be ashamed of! I don t believe he thinks 
 of Connie in the way you mean, but if he does she 
 has every reason to be proud of it! " 
 
 And without waiting for an answer she drew the 
 bridle over her arm and tramped indignantly off to 
 the stable. 
 
 Mrs. Ivy sighed, then turned to join Mr. Gooch 
 who had just come out on the porch. 
 
 " Has it ever occurred to you," she said as if 
 enunciating a hitherto unuttered truth, " how reluc 
 tant youth is to learn of age? This dear little 
 widow that the good Doctor left to our care, is mak 
 ing some grave mistakes." 
 
 " I think she does fairly well," said Mr. Gooch, 
 settling himself comfortably; "the beef is not al 
 ways good, but the fowls and the vegetables are ex- 
 excellent." 
 
 Mr. Gooch spoke with unusual warmth. Myr- 
 tella s cooking, together with Miss Lady s gracious- 
 ness, and the sharp proprietorship that Hattie had 
 assumed over him, were working a miracle. Even 
 now as the sounds of music and laughter came forth 
 
 366 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 from the living-room, he paused to listen. He was 
 surprised to find that " Molly Darlings," and " Nellie 
 Grays," and other musical girls he d left behind 
 him, still haunted the dim corridors of his argu 
 mentative mind, and gave him little thrills of 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Ah," purred Mrs. Ivy, continuing the conversa 
 tion. " Far be it from me to criticize her. It is 
 against my principles to entertain a critical attitude 
 toward any one. Besides, I quite adore the dear 
 child. I consider her a precious gift to a grateful 
 world. But you must acknowledge, Mr. Gooch, that 
 with all her sweetness, she does n t always allow 
 herself to be guided." 
 
 " Good Lord, no," said Mr. Gooch testily. 
 " She 11 look you straight in the eye and smile, while 
 you are advising her, then go straight off and do 
 as she pleases. This matter of the Doctor s will, 
 for instance. I spent two days arguing with her 
 about the futility of publishing two dozen volumes 
 that nobody will ever read." 
 
 " But that was his dying request, Mr. Gooch. 
 Only one who has loved and lost can know the na 
 ture of that obligation." 
 
 Mr. Gooch sniffed impatiently. Conjugal fe 
 licity was a subject that irritated him in every fiber. 
 
 " Then her charities," he went on crustily; " she s 
 
 367 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 got no money to be throwing away, yet every family 
 on Billy-goat Hill comes to her when it gets into 
 trouble." 
 
 " Yes, and she does n t hesitate to sit down in 
 those dreadful hovels, and take those unclean babies 
 in her arms. It has made me frightfully nervous 
 since we came here. Gerald is so sensitive to 
 germs." 
 
 " What is this latest tomfoolery about a 
 kindergarten? " 
 
 " Why, she has actually gotten Mrs. Bartrum and 
 Mrs. Horton, and some of those other society 
 women, to rent the hall over the grocery where the 
 Cant- Pass-It Saloon used to be. They are going to 
 open a kindergarten and Margery Sequin is coming 
 home from Europe to take charge of it. I am 
 afraid the project is built upon the sands. There 
 is not a church member on the board ! " 
 
 " Well, they need n t come to me for a contribu 
 tion," said Mr. Gooch. " I don t believe in kin 
 dergartens." 
 
 While this conversation was taking place, quite 
 a different one was in progress, on the up-stairs side 
 porch which had been converted into a summer bed 
 room for Miss Lady and Bertie. 
 
 " Do you spose," Bert was saying sleepily, " that 
 God ud give me a horn stead of a harp when I get 
 to heaven, if I ask him to? " 
 
 368 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I know He will, Bert. Take off your other 
 shoe." 
 
 " Why did n t He give Chick something to say? " 
 
 " He did, but Chick s throat won t let the words 
 come through. Step out of your clothes now, hurry 
 up, Buddikin ! " 
 
 But Bert s feet were firmly planted, and his sleepy 
 eyes fixed in philosophic musings : 
 
 " If He had all kinds of throats I don t see why 
 He did n t give Chick a good one." 
 
 This required elucidation, and Miss Lady at 
 tempted to make the matter clear while extricating 
 the small boy from his clothes. 
 
 " Ain t you going to tell me a story? " 
 
 " Not to-night, Bert. I m so tired ; all the stories 
 have run out." 
 
 Bert crawled into his bed silently, and lay watch 
 ing the shadows in the big tree outside. 
 
 " I wish Cousin Don was here," he sighed. " He 
 never does run out of stories. When is he coming 
 back?" 
 
 " I don t know, dear. Shut your eyes now, and 
 go to sleep." 
 
 He shut his eyes obediently, but continued the 
 conversation drowsily, 
 
 " He knows all about whales and tigers, and big 
 ships and elephants. He s been clear 
 around the earth " 
 
 369 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 But the Sandman had conquered, and Miss Lady, 
 having slipped on a dressing-gown and loosened her 
 hair, tiptoed to the far end of the porch and sitting 
 on the railing gazed fixedly out into the gathering 
 darkness. For half an hour the dim enchantments 
 of twilight had been abroad, transforming hill and 
 valley, and merging heaven and earth in a tender, 
 elusive atmosphere of dreams. But her absorbed, 
 white face, and tense hands locked about her knees, 
 showed that she was not concerned \vith the beauty 
 of the evening. 
 
 Mrs. Ivy s words had kindled a bonfire, by the 
 light of which recent events leapt into view. Con 
 nie had been secretive, not only about her letters but 
 about her engagements as well. She was growing 
 daily more indifferent to Gerald Ivy, and developing 
 a taste for reading that had been the cause of much 
 surmising and teasing on the part of the household. 
 
 Twice during the summer Donald had come to 
 Thornwood, and on both occasions Miss Lady had 
 been seized with an unreasoning fear, not only of 
 him, but of herself. She had received him under 
 the depressing chaperonage of Mr. Gooch and Mrs. 
 Ivy, and she remembered now how Connie had taken 
 possession of him on both occasions. But even if 
 Connie s transitory affections were temporarily en 
 gaged, surely Donald was not encouraging her! 
 
 A low whistle from the path below made her look 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 down. It was Connie and she was stepping very 
 cautiously as if trying to elude somebody. 
 
 " Miss Lady ! " she called softly. " Are n t you 
 coming down again ? " 
 
 " No, I m going to bed." 
 
 " Don t go yet. I m coming up. I want to tell 
 you something." 
 
 A moment later Connie opened the door, and 
 closed it carefully behind her. 
 
 "Is Bertie asleep?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "It s all over!" she announced tragically. 
 " Gerald and I have had an awful quarrel, and he 
 swears he 11 never live to see another dawn." 
 
 " Of course he won t, I doubt if he has ever seen 
 one. What s his trouble? " 
 
 "Everything! He wants me to sit at his feet 
 every hour in the day and adore him, and how can I 
 adore a man who is afraid of a bumblebee, and can t 
 drive, and sleeps with an umbrella over his head to 
 shut out the light? I just simply can t stand him 
 another minute ! " 
 
 " But, Connie, you were so crazy about him, you 
 would n t listen to a word against him." 
 
 " I know it. I Ve been a perfect little idiot." 
 Connie was sobbing now on Miss Lady s shoulder. 
 " The first time I saw him he d just gotten home 
 from Europe. He was playing at a concert. 
 
 371 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Everybody said he was a genius, and his eyes were 
 so wonderful, and I had never seen anybody like 
 him. The more he snubbed me the crazier I got 
 about him. It was n t until Cousin Don came back 
 that I saw him as he really is." 
 
 Miss Lady patted the heaving shoulders, but said 
 nothing. 
 
 " And the very minute, * Connie continued tem 
 pestuously, " that I began to feel differently, Gerald 
 began to like me. He has worked himself up to a 
 terrible pitch, and does n t want me out of his sight 
 for a minute. I feel as if I d been living on choc 
 olate creams for three months ! " 
 
 " Connie ! " Miss Lady took the tear-stained face 
 between her hands. " I m glad it is n t Gerald. 
 I m glad from the bottom of my heart, but are you 
 sure it is n t somebody else ? " 
 
 Connie s blue eyes, never very steadfast, shifted 
 uneasily, and Miss Lady went on earnestly : 
 
 " Are you quite sure you are n t doing just what 
 you did before, getting infatuated, and making your 
 self miserable over some one who doesn t care for 
 you?" 
 
 "But he does!" burst out Connie indignantly; 
 " he cares for me more than for anybody in the 
 world ! " 
 
 " How do you know ? " 
 
 " He s told me so ! There I ought n t to have 
 372 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 told ! I swore I would n t until after the trial. But 
 you won t breathe it, Miss Lady? Promise you 
 won t even ask me to tell you anything more? " 
 
 Miss Lady looked at her strangely. 
 
 " I know everybody is going to disapprove," 
 Connie went on recklessly, " and say horrid things 
 about him. But I don t care if you will just stand 
 by me. And you will, won t you? " 
 
 Twice Miss Lady tried to speak before the words 
 would come, then : 
 
 " Yes," she whispered almost breathlessly, " yes, 
 I promise to stand by you, and by him." 
 
 After Connie had gone she went back to her seat 
 on the railing and stared out into the gathering night. 
 For the first time in her life the dark immensity 
 terrified her. The beacon lights by which she had 
 steered were no longer visible. The great lonely sea 
 of life lay about her, and she had lost her course. 
 
 " Daddy ! " she whispered in terror, " Daddy, help 
 me!" 
 
 But only the faint cry of a whippoorwill in the 
 valley below answered her call. A trembling seized 
 her and feeling her way to the bed where Bertie lay, 
 she crept in beside him, cuddling the soft, warm 
 little body close, and checking her sobs that they 
 might not wake him. Long after the whippoorwill 
 had ceased its plaint, she lay there staring into the 
 darkness, waiting for the dawn. 
 
 373 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE autumn sun struggled palely through the 
 windows of the Children s Hospital, and sent 
 a beam across the high narrow bed where Chick 
 Flathers lay, suspiciously watching the proceedings 
 of the attendant nurses. He was not at all sure 
 that he had done right in coming. For two days 
 he had been made to stay in bed, and this morning 
 he had suffered his third bath and been deprived of 
 his breakfast. His being there at all was merely a 
 concession to friendship. Mis Queerington had 
 persuaded him. He would n t have come for the 
 Other One, the fat one who smiled and talked about 
 The Willows Awful Home. He wouldn t even 
 come for Aunt Telia, but Mis Queerington was 
 different; she understood fellows. She had said 
 that the doctors would fix his throat so that he could 
 yell louder than any boy on Billy-goat Hill! All 
 the suppressed yells of a dozen years quivered on 
 his lips at the thought of it ! 
 
 " Chick, here s a orange and some cookies I 
 brought you." It was Aunt Telia who sat down 
 by the bed and took his hand. "If you ever get 
 
 374 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 well Aunt Telia s going to take you to the circus, 
 or the seashore, or somewheres." 
 
 The seashore presented no concrete idea, so Chick 
 preferred to dwell upon the circus, but even that 
 alluring prospect could not hold his attention while 
 so many disturbing things were taking place about 
 him. One nurse had felt his pulse, another had put 
 a glass tube in his mouth, and now a third was 
 wheeling in a curious little bed on wheels. 
 
 He turned restlessly from the black-browed, anx 
 ious face bending over him to the door where Mrs. 
 Queerington was entering. But he knew by ex 
 perience that it would be some time before she 
 reached him. All those other sick duffers would 
 want her to talk to them, and the nurses would stop 
 her, and the young house-doctor would claim a 
 flower for his buttonhole. Chick hated them all in 
 discriminately. It seemed an hour before her 
 bright, reassuring face bent over him, and he heard 
 her say: 
 
 " It won t be long, now, Chicky Boy. Dr. Wyeth 
 will be here soon, and they will give you a ride on 
 this funny little wagon. I wonder what Skeeter 
 Sheeley is doing about this time ? Going to school, 
 I expect." 
 
 This diverted Chick marvelously. The thought 
 of Skeeter having to spend the morning in the school 
 room, made his own lot less hard. 
 
 375 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Is Number Seventeen prepared for the opera 
 tion ? " he heard some one ask, and at the same mo 
 ment Aunt Telia s fingers closed on his like a vise. 
 
 Then the big doctor, who had brought him there, 
 appeared at the foot of his bed. 
 
 "Ah, Mrs. Queerington ! " he was saying, "the 
 very sight of you ought to hearten up these young 
 sters. But you are still paler than I like to see you. 
 Been overdoing again? " 
 
 She shook her head. " I m all right, but what 
 about your patient?" 
 
 The doctor stroked his chin and appeared to be 
 interested in the ceiling. " Some rather grave com 
 plications. Very anemic. Very little to work on. 
 Possibly an even chance. However " he shrugged 
 his broad shoulders. " Has he any people? " 
 
 " No, except this foster-aunt who supports him. 
 Myrtella!" 
 
 But Myrtella had turned her back at sight of the 
 doctor, and refused to look up. 
 
 Chick narrowly watching the two speakers at the 
 foot of the bed, and trying vainly to understand 
 what they were saying about him, was relieved when 
 Dr. Wyeth handed Miss Lady a book and said 
 lightly : 
 
 " You see that I, like everybody else, have fallen 
 a victim to Khalil Samad. I understand it is al 
 ready in its tenth edition. Young Morley has a 
 
 376 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 career before him, if he gets through this trial. Do 
 you know when it is set for? " 
 
 " November the sixth." 
 
 " So soon as that ? Well, I don t know the young 
 man, but I hope he 11 be cleared. I want him to 
 write some more books for me to read. I m sorry 
 Kinner has charge of the prosecution. He d rather 
 convict an innocent man than a guilty one. All 
 right, my boy, I guess we are ready." 
 
 " Don t try to get up ! " admonished the nurse to 
 Chick; "I ll lift you over." 
 
 But Chick scorned assistance. Had n t he only 
 last week valiantly bucked the center in a football 
 game between the Bean Alley Busters, and the 
 Shanty Boat Bums, and, covered with mud and blood 
 and glory, been carried from the field? They 
 needn t think because he was little and thin and 
 couldn t talk that he was a baby! He got himself 
 on to the wheeled stretcher, but refused to lie down. 
 
 " Let him sit up then," said Mrs. Queerington. 
 " He likes to see where he is going, don t you, Chick ? 
 Here goes our automobile ! Honk ! Honk ! " 
 
 The nurse wheeled him through the tall, gloomy 
 halls, while Myrtella shambled at one side, clinging 
 to his hand, and wiping her eyes. Miss Lady flitted 
 along on the other, telling him about the new foot 
 ball that was going to be on his bed when he woke 
 up. 
 
 377 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Then they halted, and Myrtella bent over him 
 wildly. " Chick ! " she cried, her face suddenly con 
 torted, " look at me just onct more ! Tell me you 
 fergive me, Chicky ! Oh, if they kill you ! " 
 
 The stretcher was shoved hastily into the elevator 
 and the door closed on everybody but Chick and 
 the nurse and the orderly. 
 
 It was about that time that Chick decided to lie 
 down. Where were they taking him? What were 
 they going to do with him ? What did Aunt Telia 
 mean by those strange words? Where had Mis 
 Squeerington gone? With sudden quaking terror 
 he looked at the nurse and broke into hoarse inter 
 rogatory sounds. 
 
 " Here we are ! " she cried soothingly, as the 
 elevator came to a halt. " And here s Dr. Wyeth 
 waiting for us." 
 
 " Well, my little man," said the large figure in 
 white, taking a small cold hand in his large strong 
 one, " we are going to put you to sleep and when 
 you wake up, it will be all over. You are pretty 
 game, are n t you? " 
 
 Chick, trying very hard to keep his knees from 
 shaking the sheet, nodded emphatically. 
 
 " I thought so," lied the doctor cheerfully, look 
 ing into the terror-stricken eyes. " I can almost 
 always tell when a fellow s made out of the right 
 sort of stuff. You don t wear false teeth, do you ? " 
 
 373 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Chick s sudden, toothless smile revealed the fu 
 tility of this question. 
 
 " That s good. No danger of your swallowing 
 them. Now suppose you put this funnel over your 
 mouth and take a big breath. That s right ! An 
 other one ! That s right, once more ! " 
 
 Chick felt a hot, sweet air rush into his throat, 
 and began to choke. But the doctor s voice kept 
 saying insistently, " Once more ! " " Once more, 
 my boy ! " And the doctor thought he was game. 
 He shut his eyes and tried not to be afraid, but fear 
 ful things were happening! His skin was leaving 
 his body; and he was going up in the air; lights 
 danced before his eyes and he was suddenly in a 
 terrible hurry about something. He had never been 
 in such a hurry before! He was leaving doctors 
 and nurses far below, he could hear their voices 
 growing fainter every moment. Then suddenly the 
 lights began to dance again, and the hurry came 
 back, and all the breath was being squeezed out of 
 him. No, he could n t be game any longer ! He 
 must fight ! Savagely, blindly, dumbly he struggled 
 against this awful unknown thing that was master 
 ing him. Then, after a last agonizing effort he sank 
 helplessly into the abyss of sleep. 
 
 Meanwhile, on the floor below, sitting on the cold 
 bare steps beside the door of the elevator, two white- 
 faced women waited anxiously. All was silent in 
 
 379 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 the high, narrow corridor except for the footsteps of 
 passing nurses, and the occasional sharp cry of pain, 
 or groan of weariness from some suffering patient. 
 
 " That s him ! " cried Myrtella hysterically as one 
 of these cries reached her. 
 
 " No, no. He is sound asleep by this time. He 
 won t know anything until it is all over." Then as 
 another cry brought Myrtella to her feet, Miss Lady 
 added, " Please, Myrtella, don t be so frightened. 
 Those cries come from the floor below." 
 
 Myrtella shook off her hand impatiently. " How 
 long have they been gone ? Why did n t you tell me 
 they was going to keep him hours and hours ? " 
 
 " It s only been twenty minutes. I know how 
 anxious you are, but you must try to be calm. If 
 you are n t they won t let you go in the room when 
 they bring him down." 
 
 " Won t let me in the room!" Myrtella s face 
 blazed with anger. " I d like to see em stop me ! 
 Who s got a better right ? The doctor ? The 
 nurse? You? There ain t none of you got the 
 right to him I have. Ain t I his mother ? " 
 
 Miss Lady looked at her with amazement, and 
 shrank instinctively from the desperate, defiant 
 woman. 
 
 " That s right ! " cried Myrtella, almost beside 
 herself. " Snatch your hand off my arm, shrink 
 away from me like I was a leper ! Tell everybody, 
 
 380 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 tell the police that I throwed my baby in the ash 
 barrel and abandoned it! It don t make no dif 
 ference now, nothin makes no difference but Chick. 
 Oh, my God ! How long have they been ? " 
 
 " They will be down very soon now, Myrtella. 
 Don t tear your handkerchief like that. Here, take 
 mine. * 
 
 But Myrtella s eyes were too full of terror for 
 tears ; she sat with her hands locked about .her knees 
 swaying to and fro. 
 
 "I ve never told nobody," she went on wildly; 
 " all these years I ve kept it bottled up in my soul 
 til it s eat it plumb out. I never done it to Chick ! 
 He was n t Chick then. He was just somethin that 
 belonged to a devil. Then he growed to be Chick, 
 and all my hate turned to love, and now God s 
 gittin even, I knowed He would ! He would n t let 
 him live now, just to spite me ! " 
 
 " Myrtella ! " Miss Lady s voice commanded in 
 dignantly. " Don t you dare say such things ! 
 Who knows but this very minute God s giving Chick 
 back to you? Perhaps He is taking this way of 
 showing you He forgives you. Pray to Him, Myr 
 tella ! Ask Him to do what s best for Chick, what 
 ever it may be." 
 
 Myrtella s head had sunken on her knees, and her 
 coarse, work-hardened hands were clinging to Miss 
 Lady s slender ones. 
 
 24 381 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Suddenly they both started. The elevator de 
 scended creakingly and halted beside them. There 
 was a shuffling of feet and the stretcher was wheeled 
 past with a small, white-sheeted form lying motion 
 less upon it. 
 
 " It s all over," said Dr. Wyeth, following brisk 
 ly. " He put up a pretty stiff fight while taking 
 the anesthetic, but we downed him at last. The 
 conditions were less serious than I anticipated. 
 With care and good nursing he ought to get well 
 right away now. Hello ! Here s another pa 
 tient!" 
 
 For Myrtella, glaring at him through her steel- 
 rimmed spectacles, had dropped like a log straight 
 across the corridor and lay unconscious with her 
 fly-away hat crushed under one ear. 
 
 " Loosen her collar," directed Dr. Wyeth, " and 
 bring me some ice water. There ! She 11 come 
 around in a minute." 
 
 He knelt beside her with his hand on her pulse, 
 looking at her curiously. Then he turned to Miss 
 Lady : 
 
 " Queer how faces come back to you. I attended 
 this woman twelve years ago, when I was interne 
 in the maternity ward at the City Hospital." 
 
 382 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 AS the sixth of November approached, Donald 
 Morley s friends for the first time became 
 seriously apprehensive over the result of his final 
 trial. The fact that he had engaged an unknown, 
 inexperienced lawyer to cope with the redoubtable 
 Kinner, was looked upon as his crowning folly. 
 The case, which had always excited considerable 
 local interest on account of the prominence of the 
 families involved, now became a matter of much 
 graver significance, concerning, as it did, the author 
 of " Khalil Samad/ the most talked-about book of 
 the hour. 
 
 Miss Lady, alone at Thornwood now, except for 
 Bertie and Myrtella, fought through the days as 
 best she could. Since Connie s confession she had 
 seen little of her, for after a round of visits in the 
 Blue Grass region, that restless young person had 
 been with friends in town, and was still there when 
 the date set for the trial arrived. 
 
 Up to this time Miss Lady had conquered in the 
 hourly struggle she was making with her own heart. 
 Again and again Donald had tried to see her, but 
 
 383 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 on one pretext or another she had evaded him. She 
 was puzzled, bewildered, and hopelessly wretched, 
 and she asked herself repeatedly why her happiness 
 should be sacrificed for that of a shallow, irrespon 
 sible butterfly. For Donald, she had no blame, he 
 had drifted into this affair with Connie when his 
 need was greatest, and now that his honor was in 
 volved as well as hers, there must be no turning 
 back. 
 
 But when the second day of the trial dawned, and 
 she came down after a sleepless night to read dis 
 couraging news reports of the previous day s pro 
 ceedings, she found that something stronger than 
 herself was taking possession of her. In vain did 
 she try to fulfil her accustomed tasks. Every atom 
 of her was there in the courthouse beside Donald 
 Morley, standing trial with him. Twice she flung 
 on her coat and hat, only to take them off again, and 
 stand at the window impatiently watching the storm. 
 
 For the long summer had finally come to an end. 
 After days of radiant October sunshine, when win 
 ter seemed, like the hereafter, vague and far off, 
 a wind came rushing out of the north, stripping the 
 trees in a single night, and leaving them surprised 
 at their sudden nakedness. Then the sleet came, 
 and, not content with attacking trees and shrubs, 
 must storm the house itself, invading windows and 
 doors, besieging every nook and corner, only to 
 
 384 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 waste away at last into icy streams that went rat 
 tling noisily down the gutters. 
 
 As the morning wore on Miss Lady grew more 
 and more restless. Suppose the preposterous should 
 happen, and for the second time twelve honest men 
 should pronounce an innocent man guilty? Could 
 Connie face the ignominy of the verdict? Would 
 her fickle, inconstant heart steady to such a test? 
 Suppose that once again the person on whom Don 
 ald Morley depended, should fail him in a supreme 
 hour? 
 
 For the third time Miss Lady threw on her wraps. 
 She could no longer stand the suspense, she must 
 go to him, in case he needed her. 
 
 " Fore de Lawd ! " exclaimed Uncle Jimpson 
 when her intention was made known to him. " I 
 dunno what ole John 11 think of us, takin him to 
 de station a day lak dis ! Sides de noon train s 
 done went." 
 
 " Then we 11 have to drive to town. Hitch up 
 as quickly as you can ! " 
 
 " But, Miss Lady, Honey, you fergit de sleet ! 
 Ole John ud slide round de road lak a fly on a bald 
 spot." 
 
 " No matter ! I m going. Hurry ! " 
 
 Myrtella, who was fashioning a dough man, un 
 der the personal supervision of Bert, looked up 
 indignantly : 
 
 385 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " You don t think you are going out in this storm 
 without no lunch, do you ? " 
 
 " I can t eat anything, I m not hungry." 
 
 " That s what you said at breakfast. I ain t got 
 a bit of patience with people that get theirselves sick 
 in bed and be a nuisance to everybody, just for the 
 pleasure of slopping around in the slush on a day 
 like this. I m going to fix you some toast and a 
 egg, while he s hitchin up/ 
 
 " Go on with the story, Telia/ demanded Bertie, 
 carefully bestowing a nose on the dough man. 
 
 " Well," resumed Myrtella, from the stove, cast 
 ing an anxious glance at Miss Lady who stood at 
 the window impatiently tapping the pane, " ever- 
 body was a wonderin what would be his very first 
 words, an Dr. Wyeth he sez, Don t pester him to 
 talk, jes let it come natural/ One day me an the 
 nurse, the stuck-up one I was tellin you bout, was 
 fixin to spray out his throat, an he look so curious 
 at all the little rubber tubes, an fixin s, that she sez, 
 * You 11 know a lot when you leave here, Chick/ 
 And what do you think he up an answered? Just 
 as smart an plain as if he d a been talkin all his 
 life?" 
 
 "What?" demanded Bertie as breathlessly as if 
 he had n t heard the story a dozen times. 
 
 " Shucks/ sez Chick, I knowed a lot when I 
 come ! " 
 
 386 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 Myrtella s pride in this first articulation of her 
 offspring was so great that it rendered her oblivious 
 to the fact that the toast was scorching. 
 
 " When will you be able to bring Chick home ? " 
 asked Miss Lady, gulping down the hot tea with a 
 watchful eye on the stable door. 
 
 " Jes as soon as the doctor quits foolin with his 
 throat every day. He s been gittin on fine ever 
 since I took him back to Phineas . Maria s gittin 
 right stuck on him, now she s got to give him up. 
 Says she always knowed he was smart, but she never 
 dreamed of the things he had bottled up in his head." 
 
 " I have n t forgotten about your house," said 
 Miss Lady absently. " Dr. Wyeth knows a nice 
 place down on Chestnut Street, and says you can 
 make a good living letting the rooms to shopgirls. 
 It is n t right for me to keep you out here any 
 longer." 
 
 " Well, I ain t goin til spring." Myrtella rat 
 tled the pans with unnecessary vehemence. " Me 
 an Chick s goin to stay right here til we git you 
 settled. Now that Mr. Gooch has got a spell of 
 spendin , an is sendin Miss Hattie to college, I guess 
 she s settled fer a spell. Like as not Miss Connie 11 
 be marryin some smart-alecky, good-fer-nothin fel 
 low, then she 11 be settled. But what s goin to 
 become of you and Bertie?" 
 
 Miss Lady leaned impulsively over the child s 
 
 387 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 back as he knelt in a chair beside the table, and kissed 
 the bit of neck that showed between the collar and 
 the curls : " Bert and I ? " she repeated with a little 
 catch in her voice ; " why, we 11 have to take care 
 of each other, won t we, Bert? " 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 THE Flathers family was indulging in a birth 
 day party. The table, set in the bedroom so 
 that Chick might participate, was decorated at one 
 end by a gorgeous pink cake, bearing a single candle, 
 and at the other by Loreny herself, blue of eye, and 
 chubby of cheek, who crawled triumphantly about 
 among the dishes, bestowing equal attention on the 
 sugar bowl and the molasses jug, only pausing to 
 emit ecstatic screams when a rough, red head ap 
 peared above the table rim. 
 
 In the bed, propped on pillows and with throat 
 bandaged, Chick executed a lively tune with knife 
 and fork on his plate, while Maria Flathers dedi 
 cated herself to the task of preventing Loreny May 
 from putting her blue-slippered foot in the butter. 
 
 Without, the sleet pelted the windows, and the 
 red top of Mr. Iseling s wagon waiting at the gate. 
 It whistled and rattled down Bean Alley and con 
 verted the telegraph wires into cables of ice. But 
 the Flathers family, luxuriating in the unusual ex 
 travagance of an open fire, and cheered by the hi 
 larity of the occasion, was happily oblivious to the 
 
 389 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 storm until a sharp rap at the door brought the red 
 headed bear from under the table to answer the 
 summons. 
 
 "Well, if it ain t Mis Squeerington ! " cried 
 Phineas Flathers effusively. " Out in all this 
 storm ! But I ain t surprised. Did n t I tell you, 
 Maria, that I knowed she d bring the baby a birth 
 day present? Come up to the fire, mam. Maria 
 git her a rocker." 
 
 "No, no!" cried Miss Lady, breathlessly. "I 
 can t stay. I must get to town. My horse broke 
 down in the bridge, and I m on my way to the Junc 
 tion to see if I can t get on the next train when it 
 stops for water. I want you to go over and help 
 me on." 
 
 " Next train don t stop. It s a express. The 
 local ain t due fer a hour an a half. You ain t fit 
 to go on yit, mam, nohow. I never seen you all in 
 like this before! Maria, can t you fix her up a cup 
 of coffee or somethin ? " 
 
 Miss Lady shook her head, and leaned wearily 
 against the mantel. 
 
 " I 11 be all right. Are you sure about the 
 trains?" 
 
 " Sure az the taxes. You re in fer a wait, an 
 we 11 git a nice little visit out of you. Guess you 
 are sprised to see me home this time of day? " 
 
 " I had n t thought about it." 
 390 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Well, you see it s her birthday, an* tormadoes 
 could n t a kept me from bringin her a cake. 
 Ain t she the purties object you ever set yer two 
 optics on ? Say Da-da/ Loreny, leave off talkin 
 to her, Chick. Go on, Loreny, say, Da-da fer 
 de purty lady ! " 
 
 " He s that silly about her," said Maria Flathers, 
 trying to conceal her own pride. " He won t leave 
 me put anything but white dresses and blue shoes 
 on her, an he works extra time to pay fer em, 
 Myrtella says there ain t no fools like old ones." 
 
 "That s all right," said Phineas; "she ll have 
 more to say when I give Loreny a diamond ring on 
 her next birthday. Iseling 11 be givin me a raise 
 soon. He s as good as said so. He knows I m 
 good fer everything from bossin a big job to drivin 
 a wagon ; then look at the trade I command ! Why, 
 Mis Squeerington, them Ladies Aiders in the Im- 
 manuel Church, follered me solid, an Mrs. Ivy an 
 the Anti-Tobacs Shoo, I could start out fer my- 
 self to-morrow." 
 
 " It s one o clock ! " warned Maria, anxious to 
 speed her master on his way in order that she might 
 come in for a few conversational crumbs. 
 
 " One o clock ! Holy Moses ! I must be hiking, 
 if I want to hear the rest of the trial." 
 
 " The trial ? " repeated Miss Lady instantly alert ; 
 " were you at the courthouse this morning? " 
 
 391 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Yes, mam, I was. Everybody was. Court 
 room packed to the doors. I sez to Iseling this 
 morning, I sez, I 11 make the noon delivery all right, 
 but the rest of the day s my own. It ain t only be 
 cause of my former connection with the Sequin 
 family/ sez I ; it s because Mr. Don Morley is a 
 personal friend of mine. He s white an he s 
 square, sez I, an the open-handedest young gent 
 I ever done a favor for. If it s a case of standin 
 by him in trouble, or losin my job/ I sez, why ta-ta 
 to the job! " 
 
 " But when you left," urged Miss Lady, " what 
 were they doing ? How did people feel about it ? " 
 
 " Mighty shaky, mam. They ain t got a scrap of 
 good evidence fer him, an enough ag in him to 
 sink a ship. Old man Wicker s son is puttin up a 
 stiff fight, but he s up aginst Kinner, an Kinner 
 could convict St. Peter hisself ! " 
 
 "But can t they get the truth out of Sheeley? 
 Can t they force him to tell what happened? " 
 
 Phineas shrugged contemptuously : " Sheeley 
 lost his memory when he lost his eye. One was 
 put out with lead, an the other with silver. Says 
 now he was n t in the fight at all." 
 
 " It s a lie ! He wuz ! " Chick had risen from 
 his pillow, and was leaning forward excitedly. 
 
 " What do you mean, Chick ? How do you 
 know?" 
 
 392 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 "He wus in the fight !" he cried huskily. "It 
 was tween him an the drunk. Sheeley ketched him 
 fakin a ace, an he calls Sheeley a liar, an they fit 
 all over the floor. The big one was n t in it ! He 
 kep tryin to stop em, buttin in with his whip." 
 
 " But how do you know all this, Chick ? " cried 
 Miss Lady almost fiercely ; " did the Sheeley boy 
 tell you?" 
 
 "Skeeter? Shucks, he don t know nothin 
 ceptin what his paw tole him." 
 
 "But who told you?" 
 
 Chick closed his lips and shook his head : " He 11 
 set the cop on me." 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 " Skeeter s paw. Fer smashin the slot machine. 
 But I never took none of his money, Mis Squeer- 
 ington ; it was mine ! " His lips began to tremble. 
 
 " The cop won t get you, Chick," said Miss Lady, 
 now on her knees beside him, coaxing out each state 
 ment, and trying to keep down her excitement. 
 " Tell me, quick ! How do you know about the 
 shooting? " 
 
 " Cause/ said Chick fearfully, "I I seen 
 it!" 
 
 "Well, if that ain t the limit!" said Phineas, 
 while Maria gathered Loreny up under the impres 
 sion that Chick had lost his mind, and might be 
 come dangerous. 
 
 393 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " I got shut up in the saloon," continued Chick, 
 evidently torn between the desire to be a hero and 
 the fear of the consequences, " an it was night, an 
 I went to sleep." 
 
 " Yes, yes! " pressed Miss Lady; " go on." 
 
 " Then they come in an got to rough-housin an 
 I crawl up-stairs an lay on me stommick an peek 
 through the crack. An Sheeley an the Drunk they 
 got to scrappin like I tole you. An then while the 
 big one was tryin to git Sheeley to quit, the Drunk 
 he come over to the door right where I was layin at, 
 an he steady hisself aginst the wall an bang loose 
 at Sheeley with a pistol." 
 
 " Would you know the Big One again ? Oh, 
 Chick, try to remember what he looked like ! " 
 
 Chick shook his head, " Naw, I don t member 
 what none of em looked like. But you know which 
 one he was; he gimme the silver knob offen his 
 whip." 
 
 Miss Lady sprang to her feet : " We must get 
 him to the courthouse, Mr. Flathers. Quick! 
 Help me with his clothes. I 11 put on his shoes and 
 stockings." 
 
 " But the train " began Phineas. 
 
 " We can t wait for it ! " cried Miss Lady. " You 
 must drive us in the wagon." In a surprisingly few 
 minutes Chick, bewildered but interested, was fully 
 clothed. " Give me the blankets off the bed and 
 
 394 
 
"Tell me quick! How do you know about the shooting? 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 help me wrap them around him," said Miss Lady. 
 " There ! You carry him and I 11 hold the um 
 brella. Keep your mouth shut, Chick; don t you 
 dare open it until I tell you." 
 
 The bewildered Chick, encased like a mummy, 
 was rushed out to the wagon and deposited between 
 two ice-cream freezers, while Miss Lady knelt be 
 side him, trying to shield him from the wind. Just 
 as Phineas was driving away there was a call from 
 the cottage. 
 
 For the first and only time in her life Maria 
 Flathers had collided with an idea. In vain she re 
 versed her mental engines and tried to back off, but 
 the collision was head on, and she and the idea were 
 firmly welded together. 
 
 " Here s the whip han le!" she called wildly, as 
 the wind caught her skirts and twisted them about 
 her. " I been usin it fer a thimble. An here s 
 the whip itself Take em along ! Take em fer a 
 witness! " 
 
 Once again the red-topped wagon got started, this 
 time in earnest. Through the mud and slush of 
 Bean Alley, past the Dump Heap, across the Com 
 mon, the sturdy little mare dashed furiously. 
 
 " Don t breathe through your mouth, Chick ! " 
 implored Miss Lady. " And don t be afraid. All 
 you have to do is to tell what you saw. Don t keep 
 back anything, tell it just as you told it to me." 
 
 397 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Bout the slot machine?" queried an anxious 
 voice from the blankets. 
 
 " About everything. Nobody is going to hurt 
 you, or blame you. You are n t catching cold, are 
 you ? Here put on my gloves, and you must n t 
 talk, not another word." 
 
 For an interminable time they splashed through 
 the slush of the road, before they came to the pave 
 ments of the city. Looking out of the wagon, they 
 could see the broad yellow waters of the river with 
 its long, black coal barges, and the dim outline of 
 Billy-goat Hill, growing fainter in the distance. 
 
 " Faster, Mr. Flathers, drive faster ! " implored 
 Miss Lady. 
 
 Phineas willingly laid the whip across the flank 
 of the little mare, and they dashed along, through 
 the crowded thoroughfare into a broad street of 
 warehouses, where they followed the tramway 
 straight across the murky city. All the while the 
 sleet beat on the red top of the wagon and rattled 
 under the horse s hoofs, and Miss Lady sat clasping 
 Chick, counting the passing moments. 
 
 At last the dark courthouse loomed up ahead of 
 them, and Phineas rounding a curb by a fraction, 
 dashed for the open square. 
 
 " Morley case gone to the jury? " he hung half 
 out of the wagon to shout to a man coming down 
 the wide steps. 
 
 398 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " Not yet." 
 
 Miss Lady was already frantically pulling the 
 blankets from the submerged Chick. 
 
 " Wait for Mr. Flathers to carry you," she cried, 
 springing to the ground and looking up at him 
 anxiously. " Remember you are going to tell them 
 everything. You are helping to save Mr. Morley, 
 and you re doing it for me." 
 
 The eyes of the pale, spindle-legged child, stand 
 ing in the end of the wagon, flashed past the court 
 house to the barred windows of the adjoining jail. 
 Suddenly his legs fell to shaking harder even than 
 they had shaken at the hospital, and his lips quivered 
 threateningly. 
 
 " Chick ! " cried Miss Lady despairingly. " You 
 are n t going to fail me you are going to stand 
 by me, are n t you ? " 
 
 For a moment he shut his eyes very tight, then 
 he transferred the small quid of tobacco which had 
 been his one solace in the past hour, from his right 
 cheek to his left. 
 
 " Sure! " he said resolutely. 
 
 399 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 ONE! two! three! four!" 
 The big clock that had ticked away so many 
 anxious moments for so many anxious watchers, 
 hurled its announcement over the crowded court 
 room. The last testimony had been given, Chick 
 had told his story, produced his proofs and identi 
 fied Morley; the prosecuting attorney had torn his 
 story to tatters, and confused the youthful witness 
 hopelessly; the counsel for the defense had now 
 risen to make his final speech to the jury. Suspense 
 hung thick as a fog over the court room. 
 
 Miss Lady, sitting between Mr. Gooch and Con 
 nie, pushed back her short black veil impatiently. 
 The hours she had fought through since midnight 
 seemed as nothing compared to this eternity of wait 
 ing. Since entering the room she had not once 
 looked at Donald. She dared not open even a tiny 
 sluice in the dike that held back the sea of her love. 
 But in every fiber of her being she felt him sitting 
 there under suspicion, his future in the hands of 
 twelve men who had the power of making him suffer 
 the penalty of a crime which he had not committed. 
 
 400 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 It was unjust, cruel, infamous! Surge after surge 
 of indignation swept over her. She would fight for 
 him against them all. She would get up and tell 
 what she knew of the story, and his reason for stay 
 ing abroad. 
 
 " Is n t he magnificent ? " whispered Connie, clasp 
 ing her arm ; " he has been perfectly calm and quiet 
 like that all along, and yet think what it means to 
 him ! Look at his eyes ! " 
 
 Miss Lady could not look, the grip at her throat 
 was tightening and a dull roar sounded in her ears. 
 
 "But if he loses, Connie? If he loses, what 
 then?" 
 
 " He won t lose. He s going to win. You 
 ought to have heard him this morning. ,He was per 
 fectly magnificent ! Even Mr. Gooch said he made 
 him think of Lincoln. Listen to him now ! " 
 
 Miss Lady followed Connie s adoring gaze until 
 it rested on the stern, earnest face of Noah Wicker, 
 then the truth rushed upon her. 
 
 For a moment a blindness seized her, then she 
 sprang to her feet and lifted her face to Don. He 
 had been waiting for that look ever since she entered 
 the court room, and when it came he was ready 
 for it. 
 
 As Noah Wicker sat down amid a thunder of ap 
 plause, and the jury, after a brief charge from the 
 bench made ready to retire, a slender, black-gowned 
 
 401 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 figure pushed her way impetuously through the 
 crowd. She circled the rear seats and rushed head 
 long to where the defendant sat. 
 
 "Are you a member of Mr. Morley s family?" 
 asked the deputy sheriff. 
 
 " No," said Miss Lady, brushing him aside, " but 
 I m going to be." 
 
 402 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 THAT evening Mr. Gooch went home with the 
 Ivys whom, as he was now adrift, he pur 
 posed adopting. For a long time they sat over the 
 fire discussing the exciting events of the day. 
 
 " I could scarcely believe my eyes," murmured 
 Mrs. Ivy, " when at the verdict, Not Guilty, I saw 
 her fling her arms about his neck ! " 
 
 " Why surprised ? " snapped the attorney. 
 " Are n t women born fatuous ? " 
 
 " But the whole thing is so indelicate, so heart 
 less! A young widow who ought to be mourning 
 beside her husband s grave, and a wild young man 
 who has just escaped the penitentiary. Has n t suf 
 fering taught them anything? " 
 
 Gerald, sitting on a hassock before the fire with 
 hands clasped about his knees, looked up with 
 shining eyes: 
 
 "You don t understand, Mater! All this has 
 been the price they Ve paid for each other. A great 
 love like theirs comes high. One must pay for it 
 with suffering. Jove, it was worth it! That one 
 look" they gave each other, there at the end " 
 
 403 
 
A ROMANCE OF BILLY-GOAT HILL 
 
 " But the dear, dear Doctor," interrupted Mrs. 
 Ivy, " laid away only seven months ago! " 
 
 " Six months and three weeks," corrected Mr. 
 Gooch testily. 
 
 THE END 
 
 404 
 
T HIS BOOK 
 
 OVER DUE . * - ON THE 
 
 LD 2l-lOOm-8, 34 
 
YB 69096 
 
 912943 
 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY