LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 SAN DIEGO 
 
 Private 
 
 OF 
 
 . FRED W. DAVIS. 
 
 No

 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 Will >i)afcefpeare'0 little Lau 
 
 With illustrations and cover design 
 
 by Reginald B. Birch 
 
 izmo, $1.50 
 
 The author has caught the true 
 spirit of Shakespeare' s time, and 
 paints his home surroundings with 
 a loving, tender grace. The little 
 lad, who loses his life in endeav- 
 ouring to save that of his dog, 
 is but a youthful Shakespeare in 
 spirit, a lovable lad, truly, whose 
 nature accords with all that is 
 beautiful, harmonious, and true. 
 BOSTON HERALD.
 
 God's Puppets
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 A Story of Old 
 
 New York 
 
 By 
 
 Imogen Clark 
 
 " God's puppets, best and worst, are we." 
 
 PIPPA PASSES. 
 
 $eto Horfc 
 
 Charles Scribner's Sons 
 1901
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1901 
 By CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 * 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 (Cfce (Scott printing Companp
 
 My Dear Father
 
 Contents 
 
 Page 
 
 I. A Letter i 
 
 II. The Garden Street Church 15 
 
 III. In Annetje's Garden 26 
 
 IV. The Domine's Story 40 
 
 V. A Friend of the Family 55 
 
 VI. Mother and Daughter 65 
 
 VII. A Conspiracy 76 
 
 VIII. At Greenwich 89 
 
 IX. A Little Lad from Home 102 
 
 X. A Friendly Asylum no 
 
 XI. The Immediate Jewel of Her Soul . .121 
 
 XII. An Only Child 133 
 
 XIII. The Weaving of Fate 143 
 
 XIV. An Unexpected Visit 157 
 
 XV. The Consistory 1 66 
 
 XVI. A Little Provincial 179 
 
 XVII. Peggy and Annetje 190 
 
 XVIII. Jan Praa Speaks His Mind 201 
 
 ix
 
 Contents 
 
 P*ge 
 
 XIX. The Fulfilling of a Trust 215 
 
 XX. Master and Servant 228 
 
 XXI. The Weekly "Post-Boy" . . . . 243 
 
 XXII. At Trinity of a Sunday 256 
 
 XXIII. The Strands Tighten 268 
 
 XXIV. An Unwritten Message 282 
 
 XXV. At the Church Door 292 
 
 XXVI. Within the Church 302 
 
 XXVII. Jan as Knight 314 
 
 XXVIII. Peggy Intercedes 327 
 
 XXIX. The Angel of the Darker Drink . . .344 
 
 XXX. The New Day 355 
 
 XXXI. Fulfilment 367
 
 God's Puppets
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 A LETTER 
 
 FROM CAPTAIN JOHN BELLENDEN TO SIR HARRY 
 FEN WICK, BART. 
 
 AT THE PROVINCE ARMS, 
 NEW YORK, April 22, 1757. 
 
 MY DEAR HAL: 
 
 Faith, 'tis no Paradise here, but 'tis not that other 
 Place either and so a Man must needs be content. 
 'Tis a vast improvement upon Barbadoes anyway, and 
 though I made no Choice in coming hither, since 'twas 
 His Lordship's command, neither did I make a Choice 
 of coming into the World which, after all, is infinitely 
 better than some misanthropical Fellows say they find 
 it. Gad, 'tis but say so on their parts, for when the 
 Time comes for their quitting it they call you in my 
 Doctor this, or t'other, to physick 'em into some show 
 of Health. Plague take it! what won't those same 
 grumbling Fellows do to stay upon this Earth, and not 
 under it? They'll even fall to drinking Asses' milk, 
 like My Lord Hervey at Home, (vide Mr Pope's 
 Epistle to Arbuthnot) and call it Living too ! But that's
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 not for Jack Bellenden. A merry Life, not a long 
 one, say I, and a quick Death at the end, like the go- 
 ing-out of a Candle on a gusty Night when Betty, the 
 maid, leaves the Door ajar one Flare after the steady 
 shining and then the Dark. ' Tis a Consummation 
 devoutly to be wished/ as that melancholic, mad 
 Prince says in the Play. Lord Lord! I can hear 
 the sound of little Davy's Voice in the words now, and 
 I can see the tragical Face of him too, and I haven't 
 laid Eyes on him for more than twice a Twelvemonth. 
 
 I do protest, Hal, thou art a lucky Dog Money in 
 thy Purse and London all before thee, London and 
 the Play-houses, London nay, 'tis a Picture to draw 
 tears from a Jew, and but for an accident of Birth 
 thy Fate might be mine own, and mine thine. How 
 wouldst like standing in my Shoes a poor Devil of a 
 Captain with a beggarly pay and Debts mountain- 
 high? Wouldst find Fruits then for thy Philosophy 
 and Sweets in this new World to rival those proven 
 Ones in the old ? Wouldst wear thy Scarlet Coat with 
 a swagger to beat mine own ? For let me tell thee I 
 carry a brave Front and outface the Boldest as why 
 not? say I. Thou hast fathomed ere this, I warrant, 
 that 'tis not so bad with me after all ; 'tis ever the trick 
 of my Pen to write first in a mournful Strain, as your 
 Fiddler will play you a plaintive Measure to set your 
 Senses a-quivering and bespeak your softest Mood. 
 
 Sure, New York is not London, but 'tis New York 
 and that means something. Tis not so big a Town 
 as Boston, or Philadelphia, but with regard to its 
 Opulence, its Commerce, its fine Buildings, it disputes 
 the Preference with either of 'em. The Streets are 
 
 2
 
 A Letter 
 
 not so straight as those of Philadelphia and have some- 
 times considerable Bendings, however, they are very 
 Spacious and well built, and most of 'em are paved, 
 except in high Places, where it has been found of no 
 avail. There are Trees in the chief Streets, too, which 
 must give 'em a fine appearance in Summer and afford 
 a cooling Shade, for 'tis devilish hot here at that time, 
 they tell me. 
 
 Most of the Houses are built of Brick and are strong 
 and neat and several Storeys high ; some have, accord- 
 ing to the old Architecture, turned their gable ends 
 towards the Street, but the new Houses are altered in 
 this respect. Tis a pretty sight to come across the 
 older kind sending up sharp peaks Skywards, their 
 gable-ends notched like Steps and their sides curiously 
 flowered with black Brick in quaint Patterns and dated 
 with the same. These Dwellings belong principally 
 to the Dutch, or those of mixed Dutch ancestry, and 
 are surrounded by trim Gardens or big, or little, as 
 best may suit the Purse of Mynheer the owner. 
 
 The English, who represent the People of Fashion, 
 dwell at the Polite end of the Town near the Fort 
 where His Excellency resides. Their Houses are 
 built after our own Models with Gardens often slop- 
 ing to the Waterside. Queen Street, too, has some 
 fine Mansions and Broad as well. These People have 
 their Country-Seats in the Villages beyond the Town 
 and along the High-road to Boston, great Estates 
 lying in the midst of innumerable Acres. Tis a rich 
 Country and a pretty. 
 
 I and two of my fellow Officers Whyte and Nevil 
 (you remember that sad dog Dick Whyte, I'll wager 
 
 3
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 a crown !) rode out beyond the Town on our first com- 
 ing hither and stopped at a Tavern on a Hill. 'Twas 
 a fine View we commanded, and if I possessed a tithe 
 of Mr. Gray's Genius I might write you an Ode on 
 the distant Prospect, but there's small rhyming in my 
 pate. Still, I'll put down the things as I saw 'em and 
 you can hunt up some Grub Street hack and let him 
 bring forth a Breed of Couplets. Then he can dedi- 
 cate the same to his noble Patron, get up a Subscrip- 
 tion-list and publish 'em, but know, in case a large 
 Fortune accrues, that 'twas I Jack Bellenden who 
 fathered 'em. 
 
 'Twas near the close of Day when we halted and 
 egad, the Scene was a pleasing one. On our right a 
 great fresh water pond the Collect it is called, the 
 delight of all true Anglers flashed like Metal in the 
 light, beyond stretched marsh-lands where Snipe 
 abound, and gently swelling Hills ; there was, too, the 
 glint of a lesser lake the little Collect (I know not 
 what will rhyme with that!) while to the South lay 
 the Town itself with its Roofs and Spires distinct 
 against the glowing Sky, with here and there a Wind- 
 mill to tell where some old Burgher lived and, girding 
 all about like a Silver setting, the gleam of the Water 
 on the edge of the Island. At the foot of the Hill at 
 the entrance of the City is a Bridge hight the Kiss- 
 ing-Bridge which spans a streamlet (egad, I'm turn- 
 ing to the Muse myself,) dancing its way through the 
 Meadows to where I care not. But oh, the Bridge 
 the Bridge! Tis not 'by your leave, my Lady,' 
 but no words and all action. Be she in a coming- 
 on disposition, or the reverse, 'tis your right and, 
 
 4
 
 A Letter 
 
 though the flout you, she may not deny you. Tis 
 kiss and come again, and yet again if she be Sweet- 
 and-Twenty. Truly, a most excellent Custom and one 
 with which I'd never quarrel not I ! 
 
 It would seem as if that same Tower of Babel were 
 situate on this Island for the Inhabitants speak many 
 and diverse Tongues. Here, you find your swag- 
 bellied Hollander, your German, and your right, hon- 
 est Englishman the Peer of 'em all. Here also are 
 many French, descendants from the Huguenots who 
 came hither when Times were hot for 'em overseas 
 and have prospered mightily ever since, Spanishers a 
 few, dusky Africans the child of Israel to barter, and 
 sell, and lend out Moneys (at a low Usury, now 
 Heaven be praised !) skulking Copperskins our Allies 
 for the nonce and I know not how many other Folk 
 besides. All the nations of the Earth met together, as 
 it were, and all compounded of the same Stuff. It 
 makes no difference whether the Skin be dark, or fair, 
 within 'tis the old Adam, ay, and the old Eve too, and 
 who shall not say the old Nick to leaven the whole. 
 
 'Tis a bustling, busy Town a Mart of the World. 
 All day at the Wharves great Ships are loading with 
 Riches from the Provinces and other great Ships are 
 unloading their Cargoes from foreign Lands and from 
 mine own dear England for the advancement of this 
 new Country. Does my Lady go rustling in Brocades 
 in London? Madam Fine-Airs apes her here. You 
 have no Fashion that is not speedily welcomed hither. 
 Why, the very Streets are full of the same Sounds you 
 are hearing at this moment, and they'll cry you as 
 lustily ' Buy my Wash-balls, Gemmen and Ladies ' 
 
 5
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 ' Sevil Oranges and Lemens ' as though 'twere Cheap- 
 side or the Fleet. Miss Hoity-toity throws me a dis- 
 dainful Glance from her Chair as she swings by to 
 the Mantua-maker's, or to the Wharf there to pull 
 over the lading of India muslins, Italian silks, or Dutch 
 linen and did I not know better I might think myself 
 at Home ogling Lady Betty, or Lady Prue. There's 
 more fire though in Hoity-toity's Glance arid less of 
 languishment and ease. Faith, she's young at it, just 
 as this new World is young, but marvellous tender 
 and, I doubt not, teachable ! 
 
 Tis a Town for junketing. Coffee-houses and 
 Ordinaries a-plenty and young Bloods ready for a 
 Game at any hour with Stakes well worth the playing 
 for ; Dinners with the Merchant-Princes fit for Lucul- 
 lus aint that the Fellow's name? and Cards and 
 Routs with the Fair Sex almost nightly. There's an 
 indifferent Play-house too, and a company of Players, 
 not as God made 'em, more's the pity! There are 
 also Concerts of pleasing variety and on the outskirts 
 of the Town is the Tea-water Pump set in the midst 
 of a fair Garden whither People of the first Fashion 
 repair of an Afternoon to drink a dish of Tea and talk 
 a pound of Scandal The same World, my Hal, or 
 here, or there ! The Coffee-house I frequent chiefest, 
 and indeed the one patronized almost exclusively by 
 our Officers is The Province Arms (see per heading) 
 kept by a Mr. Willet the prince of Bonifaces. He 
 takes in all the Papers both from this Town and Phila- 
 delphia with an occasional Sheet from Boston and our 
 own Papers, but two Months old, so I am well advised 
 of the Happenings of the World. Hither daily come 
 
 6
 
 A Letter 
 
 many Men of Parts, in whose Society I delight, and 
 besides from this Room I've a goodly View of the Mall 
 where the fashionable Folk walk, and close at hand is 
 Trinity church-yard where the fashionable Folk lie, 
 so there's Food in abundance for my merry or sober 
 Moods. 
 
 I waited on my Cousins the Crewes yesterday. 
 They are of the Crewes of Kent, and relatives of mine 
 on the Distaff side as I may have told you. The Pro- 
 genitor of the family came out to the Colonies with 
 my Lord Cornbury as His Excellency's something, or 
 t'other, to push his Fortune and here he stayed, after 
 my Lord's return, pushing his Fortune so well by 
 Preferment, natural Wit, and Marriage with the only 
 Daughter of a rich Ship-owner that before he de- 
 parted this Life he the Son of a poor, out-at-elbows 
 county Squire was one of the greatest Grandees of the 
 Province. By his Wife he had one Son, the Husband 
 and Father of the present Crewes. That Son stayed 
 with us when I was a little Lad for weeks on end, my 
 Father could not bear to have him from his sight, 
 though I've scant remembrance of him myself. He 
 was educated in England and, at the time I write, 
 though 'twas long since he'd quitted Cambridge he'd 
 no Mind to go back to his own Home. He was see- 
 ing the World, he said. Faith, he saw it well before 
 he got through and no mistake ! His name is still re- 
 membered in London where his Gallantries set the 
 whole Town talking you've heard my Father tell a 
 hundred times that Story of him and Mrs. Sally L 
 and the Poem that was writ about 'em at Bath, and 
 then those other Stories hmm hmm They came 
 
 7
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 rushing into my Mind as I made my bow to his 
 Widow, and I wondered if she'd see their Wit if I 
 told 'em to her. Women have so small a sense of 
 Humour and my little Lady, for all her Simpers, has 
 none at all, I'll warrant. How Tony must have missed 
 the lack of it in her ! 
 
 He made ducks and drakes of his Property back in 
 the Thirties, and speedily thereafter returned to his 
 own People like that prodigal Fellow in the story Par- 
 son Law is always telling us, and the next we heard 
 he'd married and settled down. Gad, how my Father 
 roared ! Then no more Word of him until some years 
 ago a Letter advised us of his Demise. His Fortune, 
 as I've said, had been impaired, but he married Money 
 he was ever a lucky Dog and Beauty as well. 
 Trust him for that ! Cousin Tony would run from a 
 Squint, or a Hump, as if the Devil was after him. The 
 Widow is a marvellous fine Woman still, though now- 
 adays, what with the paint, powder, and stuffing the 
 dear Creatures use, one can't tell the real from the 
 false. But there's enough of the original Foundation 
 left, else I'm much deceived, to believe she was once the 
 Toast they say. And a Toast she is yet, sub rosa, but 
 mainly because of her Money-bags, I'm thinking. 
 She aint old though, still far from fifty I'll wager a 
 crown, and her teeth are her own, or my name's not 
 Jack Bellenden. Gad, her Fortune would be a pretty 
 Plum to my taste ! 
 
 The Crewes' town-house is situate near the Glacis 
 of the Fort and is built of Stone. It has wide Gardens 
 in the rear which extend to the Water-side and thither 
 was I conducted immediately so I'd but a fleeting 
 
 8
 
 A Letter 
 
 Glimpse of the richly appointed Interior. As I de- 
 scended the stone steps of the Terrace to where my 
 Cousins were taking the air, for the Day was soft like 
 Summer Spring being come early this Year it was 
 as pretty a Picture as a Painter could wish. I could 
 almost have sworn I was at Home so familiar were the 
 trim Parterres, where already some early Flowers 
 were blooming, the crisp walls of close-clipped Box, 
 and the Yews cut out in fantastic shapes of Peacocks 
 the Crewe crest. 'Twas like Castle Crewe in little, 
 and I thought I'd die a-laughing at the Pride of the 
 younger Branch, and my Lord not knowing 'em any 
 more than Savages, as how should he, seeing they're 
 some half dozen times removed? 
 
 Through the trunks of the Trees I could catch a 
 view of the Water beyond and, at the foot of the last 
 Terrace, was a little Quay where some Boats lay 
 moored, but I turned aside and followed the servant 
 to some stone Seats around an old Sun-dial where the 
 Family was sitting. At my approach the Widow rose 
 and made me an elegant Curtsey, which I matched 
 with a Bow fit for Versailles, then she gave me her 
 Hand to kiss and scolded me roundly because I'd been 
 a week in Town and had not let 'em know, or her Son 
 would have waited on me. Whereupon she called a 
 slim young Beau of nineteen, or twenty, to bear out 
 her words. He looked more like her Brother, and so 
 I told her, which pleased her monstrously. It's not 
 much, after all, which will pleasure the Women a few 
 words and a Glance and the dear Creatures are ready 
 to swear they love you, though they'll hate you for a 
 less Cause the next moment. 
 
 9
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 ' And I've a strapping big Girl too, Cousin Bellen- 
 den,' she cries, * Time was when my Children had to 
 look up to me, but now I have to look up to both of 
 'em. This is your Cousin the Captain, child.' 
 
 Then Miss, who'd been lounging on the Bench 
 against a red Cushion, as I'd seen from the tail of my 
 Eye, came forward and dropped me an indifferent 
 Curtsey, but when I would have kissed her Hand she 
 drew it away with a Laugh that was like a dash of cold 
 water in my Face. ' Keep your pretty Speeches for 
 those who believe in 'em/ she says quite low and, 
 turning, she went back to her place and leant over the 
 Dial. 
 
 'Twas a cold enough Welcome, I warrant you, but 
 the Widow and her Son made up with the warmth of 
 theirs. And so we chatted for the better part of an 
 Hour of Home, and how I liked York Colony, and 
 what People of Fashion I'd seen, and of His Excel- 
 lency, the Governor, and of our Forces in the North, 
 and more of which I cannot tell you, seeing that my 
 Letter is already so long, but which was vastly divert- 
 ing. And all the while Miss sat mum, and but for that 
 one remark I'd have thought her too shy to speak. 
 
 ' Peggy has the Vapours to-day/ cries Larry at last, 
 * 'taint often a Stranger can quiet her Tongue which 
 goes faster, as a rule, than my horse Touchstone can 
 run. What's amiss, child? Has our Cousin fright- 
 ened you?' 
 
 ' 'Tis little I know of Fear/ snaps Miss, with a good 
 deal of Vixen wrote large on her lovely Face, ' I'm no 
 Frenchman to tremble at the sight of a Red-coat ; be- 
 sides, a toy Soldier signifies no more to me than a sign- 
 
 10
 
 A Letter 
 
 post does to a person born blind ' (she meant that 
 because I'm quartered here in Town), 'To tell the 
 truth I'm occupied with weightier Matters.' 
 
 ' Such as your Lessons doubtless, little Cousin,' says 
 I, rising to take my Leave, ' I see you've been conning 
 your Letters since I sat here.' 
 
 She drummed an impatient Hand upon the old Stone 
 and made as if she didn't hear me, but the colour rose 
 in her Cheeks and her Eyes glittered. 
 
 ' What, have you got as far as Latin ? ' says I, lean- 
 ing over her shoulder; her Mother and Brother had 
 gone to meet some Visitors and, for the moment, we 
 were alone. 
 
 ' Do you know Latin ? ' says she, with an impudent 
 toss of her Head and not heeding my question other- 
 wise. ' La, if that's the case I ought to have more re- 
 spect for a Red-coat than I must own I have. I 
 thought they only taught you to bow, and scrape, and 
 say silly things to Women.'' 
 
 ' We know a few other things,' says I, nettled by 
 her tone, ' we know, for instance, that Courtesy is 
 our Due until we've proven ourselves unworthy 
 of it.' 
 
 ' So,' says she, not a whit disturbed, ' and Latin 
 besides ! Tis a liberal Education and I cry you par- 
 don.' 
 
 ' It's a good Legend,' says I, still standing above 
 her and reading it off softly, ' but it lacks a Word that 
 should be between us, Cousin.' 
 
 ' What Word is that ? ' she asks, thrown off her 
 guard. 
 
 ' Let me be your Master and teach you,' says I mon- 
 ii
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 strous gently, ' put your Finger on that second Letter 
 there come, come, 'twill not bite you.' 
 
 She was holding a small Twig and suddenly she 
 flicked it down on the Letter and looked up at me 
 I had not expected such Obedience, and my Face 
 showed as much. 
 
 ' You'll find me a ready Scholar,' she laughs. 
 
 ' Say " a " then,' says I. 
 
 ' Oh master, " a," ' she drawls with the killingest 
 Sigh imaginable. 
 
 ' Now this Letter here,' says I, ' not " v," but " m " 
 say it.' 
 
 ' " M." ' 
 
 I put my Hand on hers to guide the little Stick 
 further along to a weather-stained Vowel, but she 
 snatched it quickly away and jumped to her feet. 
 
 ' What, another Letter, and still another ? ' she 
 mocks, with a Glance that convinced me she was not 
 ignorant of my Meaning. ' Tis too difficult a Task 
 for my indifferent Parts, Captain Bellenden. I never 
 could learn it in a year of Sundays.' 
 
 ' It might take time,' says I looking hard at her, ' but 
 I promise to teach you.' 
 
 ' In faith, sir, you've a pretty Confidence in your 
 Powers,' cries she amazing soft. ' Make me patient ! 
 You Gentlemen never suffer from a lack of Modesty. 
 Will you ask my Mamma's permission to be my In- 
 structor in this matter, Cousin Bellenden ? ' she goes 
 on next coaxingly. ' She has hitherto superintended 
 my Education. And when shall I begin? To-mor- 
 row, or the next Day, or the Day thereafter ? ' Here 
 the Jade broke out laughing in a way that set my blood 
 
 12
 
 A Letter 
 
 a-tingling, and she looked so devilish handsome, and 
 defiant, that I didn't know whether I wanted most to 
 kiss her, or to shake her. 
 
 ' What's the jest, Peggy ? ' cries her Brother com- 
 ing up. 
 
 ' Share it with us, you dear Creature,' puts in one 
 of the Visitors, ' I'm so low in my Mind because my 
 Woman has just broke my gilded Indian fan.' 
 
 Miss shot me a Look as she greeted her Friends and 
 named me to them. 
 
 ' "Pis a Latin jest,' she says soberly, though her 
 Eyes danced, ' that truly would suffer from Transla- 
 tion and besides,' here she glanced at me again, ' 'tis 
 only amusing to Two, isn't it, Cousin ? La, Mamma,' 
 she goes on, ' the Captain is prodigiously learned. 
 His Excellency ought to secure him for Instructor at 
 the new College, for his Talents are wasted as a mere 
 Soldier. He'd be of vast Assistance to the young 
 Gentlemen in a most important Branch. Won't you 
 take my word for it, Madam, and persuade His Ex- 
 cellency ? ' 
 
 ' La, child, you talk a deal of Nonsense,' interrupts 
 Mamma sharply she didn't relish the Laugh she didn't 
 understand, ' and we've had enough of your Jests/ 
 
 I protest 'twas my own thought, and glad was I to 
 take my Leave soon thereafter, for I don't like being 
 routed by a mere Chit. And there was no fighting her 
 before all the Company. Egad, she kept it up to the 
 very last and called after me and Larry as we walked 
 away (for he offered to accompany me to the Coffee- 
 house). 
 
 ' 'Twould be a thousand pities to let your Talents 
 13
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 rust, Cousin^ so if there's no Vacancy at the College 
 you might give me a Lesson in Lul-Lul-Latin some- 
 times, to keep your Hand in that is, if my Mamma 
 is willing.' 
 
 The little Vixen ! 'twill go hard with me if I don't 
 get even with her one Day. Meanwhile, I find I've 
 wrote my Paper out and like enough your Patience; 
 so no more for the Present from your true, 
 
 JACK. 
 
 N.B. My cousin Peggy is full Eighteen, her 
 Brother says (I'd thought her younger), and on his 
 Authority she's a deuced tender-hearted, merry Minx 
 for all her sharp Tongue. Merry, yes, I'll chime to 
 that, but tender-hearted no! 'Twere easier talking 
 Sentiment to a Potato than to that young Jade, and 
 Larry himself owns that she laughs at Love and flouts 
 her swains past Endurance, while they poor Fools! 
 dance Attendance on her least Whim. Since my 
 coming I've heard the Toast: 'All Glasses to the 
 lovely Peggy ! ' uttered again and again, but little I 
 thought 'twas Tony Crewe's Daughter. Sink me, but 
 I'll drink that Bumper whenever they give it, though 
 Jack Bellenden is not to be snared by her dark Eyes. 
 I'll pledge my Cousin in Friendship always, but never 
 once in Love.
 
 II 
 
 THE GARDEN STREET CHURCH 
 
 The bell of the Garden Street church tolled heavily, 
 one beat solemn and slow, then silence while the air 
 echoed the reverberations moaning, another beat 
 and still another. Steadily, relentlessly, it pealed, its 
 voice differing widely from the one it used the first 
 day of the week. At that time the mounting chime 
 which sang " come worship here " held a species of 
 sanctified merriment, as it were, in its invitation, but 
 this other clanging boom, though it also indicated the 
 opening of a portal, was resonant with sorrow. And 
 had it not been for that swinging point of darkness 
 against the blue it would have been difficult to believe 
 that the same mouthpiece could give forth such diverse 
 sounds. 
 
 If there was one thing the parishioners of the old 
 Dutch church prided themselves upon, aside from 
 their piety, and their own high standing in the com- 
 munity where it had pleased a gracious Providence to 
 call them, it was this bell the first of its kind upon the 
 island of Manhattan. Had not the Indians in those 
 early times listened, dumb with wonderment, as it rang 
 out its changes, deeming it the voice of the Great Spirit 
 so clarion clear it spoke ? What if the bell in the Mid- 
 dle Dutch Church, farther up town in Crown Street, 
 
 15
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 claimed and could substantiate its claim by well-at- 
 tested proofs that on the occasion of its casting silver 
 coins had been thrown into the other metals by those 
 good citizens of Amsterdam, was it the only bell cast 
 overseas? Was it the only bell to come from the 
 fatherland with silver in its heart and tongue? And, 
 moreover, could it, or any other in York Colony, show 
 so long a record as this one ? 
 
 Before the rule of the English the bell had swung 
 in the belfry inside the Fort, when the Fort bore a 
 Dutch name and was governed by Dutch officials, 
 and there it remained when, the dominion of Their 
 High Mightinesses the States-General coming to an 
 end, New Amsterdam became New York. Amid the 
 changes it had known no change, but had gone on 
 with its utterances Dutch for the Dutch in the morn- 
 ing, when the rubicund-faced burghers, with their 
 wives and children, walked solemnly into the little 
 sanctuary and English for the English in the after- 
 noon when His Excellency, the Governor, with his 
 staff and the members of his household, came clatter- 
 ing into the church for the Episcopal service. Once, 
 for a short space, when New York was New Orange 
 the bell had welcomed its true people with jubilant 
 peals, and then, until the century had almost reached 
 its close, it swung in its place, knowing English rule 
 but keeping its sturdy Dutch heart and doing its duty 
 in shine, or storm, with no accent of churlishness to 
 mar its beauty. 
 
 It had come to its own, however, in Garden Alley, 
 the little blossoming lane that diverged from the thor- 
 oughfare. There, in the midst of Mrs. Domine Dris- 
 
 16
 
 The Garden Street Church 
 
 ius' peach-orchard, it found its home within sight of 
 trim flower-beds where, in their season, lily-cups 
 chimed along their slim, green stems, the foxglove 
 rang its fairy music, and the bluebells sounded a joyful 
 peal to the hearing of the vagrant butterflies frequent- 
 ing the spot. And high above them all, in its perch 
 against the sky, the bell, as it vibrated to and fro, noted 
 the changes in the lane at its feet which, with the pass- 
 ing of time, became a street and, as it swept out to its 
 limit, caught glimpses of the little world beyond and 
 the alterations written there by the hand of Progress 
 and Fashion. 
 
 Flowers still nodded from the gardens of near-by 
 dwelling-houses, as fragrant as those of earlier days. 
 It had seen them come and go, year after year, in the 
 more than half century that it had kept guard in the 
 brick steeple, missing their brightness at one time, 
 cheered by their brightness as speedily again, for win- 
 ter and summer slip by with wings. It was not jeal- 
 ous of their music, nor of the flutings of birds in neigh- 
 boring trees and hedges, nor of those other sounds 
 that came with the years, breaking the noon-day 
 stillness the shouts and cries of the boys swarming 
 out of the Free Dutch school on the opposite side of 
 the way. Often, too, the jingling note of the pie-man, 
 or the voice of the vender calling: " hot, spiced ginger- 
 bread, smoking hot! " increased the jubilation of the 
 darting throng. 
 
 But on Sundays the old, brooding calm returned, 
 and between the throbs of the bidding-bell one could 
 hear the solemn tread of the church-goers, fewer in 
 number than formerly, for Death had called to many, 
 
 17
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 and others had been lured away by that voice from 
 Amsterdam with its silver cry. Only a comparative 
 few remained to worship in the old place, yet un- 
 daunted by this change the bell chimed forth its in- 
 vitation as cheerily as ever : " Come to pray to pray 
 to pray." 
 
 Jan Praa, full of years though he was, could make 
 the syllables fairly sing themselves into the ears of the 
 godly, and the ungodly alike. It was only when 
 Evert Fels, strong in the dignity of his office, gripped 
 the rope that the melody changed and, dirge-like and 
 solemn, the words " gone away away away " an- 
 swered to the touch of his resolute hand. Then the 
 bell of the Garden Street church revealed the whole 
 gamut of human suffering despair, bitterness, loss, 
 and what seemed farthest from its blithe nature was 
 but part of it after all, as the lightest of characters holds 
 at bottom those deeper feelings which only leap to the 
 surface under the stroke of sorrow. 
 
 On this May morning Jan Praa listened to the mourn- 
 ful strains with sentiments which, since all flesh is 
 grass, he was mindful ought to be composed chiefly 
 of resignation, tinctured by a mild regret at the de- 
 cease of a brother, but which were so dominated by 
 discontent as to convict him of the charge of envy. 
 At all other times he was proud of his many-officed 
 position and would not have exchanged it with any 
 man. The coming of Evert Fels within his line of 
 vision, however, dispelled his satisfaction with more 
 rapidity than the snow in the spring-time vanished 
 from Flattenbarrack hill. Of what use was it to be 
 voorleezer (that position he had assumed on the death 
 
 18
 
 The Garden Street Church 
 
 of the former incumbent some few years back and 
 which represented the height of his ambition), sexton, 
 and bell-ringer, as the exigency of the occasion de- 
 manded, when he was not an aanspreecker? It had 
 never been his lot to go from house to house with the 
 news of some person's death and invite the attendance 
 of friends and relatives at the funeral. That duty be- 
 longed to another! There was no one in town to 
 dispute his supremacy and the additional fact that, 
 only a few days before, the Weekly Post-Boy had con- 
 tained an announcement that Evert Pels the New 
 York inviter (Jan felt his neckcloth bind him at the 
 remembrance of the phrase) had changed his resi- 
 dence and could be found next to King's stores, proved 
 that he was willing to serve the English, or those 
 of mixed ancestry, who should leave directions that 
 their funerals be conducted in the old Dutch fashion. 
 And rumor had it that he was growing rich in the mo- 
 nopoly ! 
 
 Jan glowered wrathfully before him. That cunning 
 hand might toll the bells farther up town and the som- 
 bre-apparelled messenger of death might strut through 
 streets and lanes with a queue of wondering children 
 awed into silence at his heels ; he might pause at happy 
 homes along the way and by his presence hint at the 
 mortality of all humanity, but Jan Praa, busy over his 
 own tasks, could be oblivious to the triumphal progress. 
 This intrusion of his own premises, however, was 
 wholly different. To have the aanspreecker boldly in- 
 vade the precincts of the church of St. Nicholas, de- 
 mand its key and turn its rightful sexton and bellringer 
 without, was gall and wormwood to the listening man 
 
 19
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 whose curiosity and bitterness kept him chained to 
 the spot. 
 
 " I might crawl in through the basement," he mut- 
 tered desperately, " and I will too steady, Jan, steady 
 boy! there's no knowing when he'll stop, and if he 
 should find you peeking he'd have to begin tolling the 
 bell again in no time he's twice your size ! Patience, 
 lad, patience ! That would be eighteen shillings in his 
 pockets, you know." 
 
 He sighed dismally; the idea of increasing Evert 
 Fels's already considerable store by his demise was so 
 obnoxious as to make him wish on the moment that he 
 belonged to the race of Struldbrugs. " Sacrament," 
 he growled, " I won't die until after he's gone. He 
 sha'n't fatten off my bones." 
 
 He seated himself upon the church steps and rocked 
 backward and forward in the sunlight. The street was 
 very still, save for that strident voice in mid-air, but he 
 could see the occupants of the houses across the way 
 peering from doors and windows and he knew that they 
 were wondering, even as he was, and trying to spell 
 out the meaning of the dolorous sounds. 
 
 That the deceased belonged to the Garden Street 
 church the voice of its bell testified, but who he was, 
 or of what status in the congregation, the perturbed 
 sexton could not tell. He made a hasty mental re- 
 view of the parishioners. There was old Mynheer de 
 Hooge, who had not set foot within the church since 
 the new year such a punctilious, God-fearing man as 
 he was too! everyone knew he was failing fast, still 
 the creaking door is apt to hang the longest and it might 
 not be he. Then there was Mevrouw Van Giesen 
 
 20
 
 The Garden Street Church 
 
 she had absented herself from the Lord's house for a 
 month or more, and illness might have been the true 
 cause, though it was whispered about that she was tired 
 of Dutch ways and had been seen at Trinity amid the 
 fashionable folk there children of Beelzebub! as 
 gayly attired as the best of them, and Johannes Van 
 Giesen under ground scarce a twelvemonth. The old 
 man's face darkened wrathfully, though it brightened 
 the next moment as a new thought appealed to him. 
 The deceased might be little Petrus Bickers that 
 young limb of Satan whose early translation would be 
 but the removal of a brand ostensibly marked for the 
 burning. And besides, here Jan rubbed his hands in 
 great glee, it would mean only eight shillings in Evert 
 Fels's pocket. 
 
 The bell tolled slowly, lingering on the eleventh 
 stroke as though about to cease then, to one listener's 
 dismay, it caught up the rhythm with the twelfth boom 
 and rolled forth again a new agony in its note. It was 
 not little Petrus after all, he was spared to be the tor- 
 ment of the sexton of St. Nicholas's, while incidentally 
 the aanspreecker's fees would be larger. There was just 
 the chance, however, that they might stop short of eigh- 
 teen shillings and considerably appeased by this pros- 
 pect Jan counted the measured strokes hoping that each 
 would be the last, but still they went on nineteen 
 twenty Again there came that momentary hesitation 
 then, resistless as fate and grim as the fact it chronicled, 
 the bell climbed up the numbers. What did less or 
 more signify now? Evert Fels had gained his full 
 wage the fullest the law allowed but there was no 
 diminution of zeal on his part. He swept the rope with 
 
 21
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 his mighty hands without haste, without rest, and all 
 Garden Street throbbed with the sounds that reached 
 through to the Broadway and mingled with the gay 
 strains of the band there, where the soldiers were on 
 parade. 
 
 Presently the voice of the bell ceased, ending with 
 a note, part shriek, part sob, like the wail of some lost 
 soul and for a long minute the air quivered with the 
 vibration, then gradually the stillness of the street set- 
 tled down again the same but with a difference for 
 the sonorous tongue had awakened a new train of 
 thoughts in the breasts of all who had listened to its 
 tidings. Jan Praa hardly noted its cessation as he sat 
 nursing his impotent wrath; the age of the departed 
 might be a thousand as far as he was concerned, he had 
 lost all count. Suddenly the door back of him was 
 opened violently and the aanspreecker stepped proudly 
 forth and began to descend the steps. The rusty crape 
 streamer which adorned his hat flapped tantalizingly in 
 Jan's face and the long black cloak whipped against 
 his body; he caught the edge of it between his fin- 
 gers. 
 
 " Who? " he managed to articulate. 
 
 The inviter drew his garment away and folded it 
 closer about him. He was a tall, gaunt man whose 
 height was increased by the straight lines of his dress 
 and his large conical hat ; he seemed to tower far above 
 the squat figure of the sexton. He wore a full wig of 
 coarse black hair which was left untied and fell, with 
 every motion of his head, in heavy strands across his 
 face and through which his little dark eyes peered as 
 from a screen, with something sinister in their gleam. 
 
 22
 
 The Garden Street Church 
 
 Save for the flabby pallor of his countenance he was 
 like a figure carved out of ebony. 
 
 " I've some good Brazile here," Jan said irrelevantly. 
 
 For the briefest moment the heavy face lost its 
 lugubrious expression, then the set mask resumed its 
 imperturbability again. But the watchful sexton was 
 as quick to note the change as he was to see the half 
 extended hand, hidden though it was in the folds of the 
 aanspreecker's cloak. He drew a small box from the 
 pocket of his leather apron and shook some of its con- 
 tents into the huge palm. 
 
 Evert Pels moved a step or two away on the narrow 
 walk, halted there and lifted his staff, waving it sol- 
 emnly several times in front of Jan's fascinated eyes. 
 After a short interval he began to speak in Dutch, the 
 language he always used to his compatriots, uttering 
 a medley of phrases which he had woven into a for- 
 mula of his own, in a gruff, sing-song key. 
 
 " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people saith your God. 
 Tis a day when the grasshopper is a burden, when his 
 hops are leaden with sorrow. Man cometh up like a 
 flower and goeth down like the same, and the place that 
 knew him once shall know him from this time hence- 
 forth and forever no more no more Alack! alas! 
 that what our brother hath garnered must be strewn by 
 another's hand, but we brought nothing into this world 
 
 and certain it is we can carry nothing with us when we 
 
 
 " Then it is Mynheer de Hooge," Jan interrupted in 
 great excitement. 
 
 The aanspreecker glowered wrathfully at the speaker 
 and without another word turned his back and strode 
 
 23
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 off down the street. After a moment the sexton, his 
 curiosity getting the better of his discomfiture, hastened 
 after him, running a little to keep up with his gigantic 
 strides. The black clad figure paused at the first house 
 like some ugly shadow and Jan, in his turn, came to a 
 sudden halt. Then the great staff smote the door 
 which flew wide on the instant, as if the summons were 
 some ghastly open sesame, and disclosed a group of 
 trembling women and children huddled together in the 
 hall-way. There was no danger of interruption from 
 any of their number and, well assured of this fact, Fels 
 threw back his head pompously and began to declaim 
 his formula in his usual sonorous fashion. As he fin- 
 ished he let his voice sink to a grewsome whisper which 
 seemed to penetrate to the farthermost corner of the 
 house and did not escape the listener without. 
 
 " Gathered to his fathers is Johannes de Hooge, 
 sleeping in the Lord, atat eighty. Life is short, 
 friends, man that is born of woman has but a little 
 day." 
 
 There was a momentary pause, then, in quick stac- 
 cato tones smacking solely of business, the inviter ad- 
 vised his hearers of the day and hour of the funeral and 
 requested their honorable presence at the late home of 
 the departed. The message delivered, he stalked out 
 into the street again, stopping with the same tidings at 
 each house named in the list which fluttered from his 
 girdle. The air resounded with the noise of those 
 heavy knockings, and the tap-tap of his staff along the 
 walk made a constant comment on his progress. 
 
 So he passed at last from the neighborhood to the 
 thoroughfare beyond, and Jan, smarting with the sense 
 
 24
 
 The Garden Street Church 
 
 of his rival's supremacy, followed him in fancy, real- 
 izing with the bitterest pang of all that not even Myn- 
 heer de Hooge, brought suddenly into prominence by 
 his decease, was of so much importance as he who 
 chronicled the way to dusty death.
 
 Ill 
 
 r IN ANNETJE'S GARDEN 
 
 The neighbors spoke of it as Domine Ryerssen's 
 garden, whereas in reality it belonged to Annetje his 
 daughter. The birds, and bees, and nodding flowers 
 that made it their home were wiser, for they knew and 
 acknowledged her to be mistress. At first she crowed 
 and blinked at the budding beauties from the vantage 
 ground of Heilke's arms, grasping exultantly at the 
 riches within reach ; then, grown a little older, she trot- 
 ted untiringly after Jan, watching him at work and 
 imitating him in her turn. Here, or there, in some re- 
 mote sunshiny corner, or even in the midst of the brown 
 paths, she made her posy beds; bits of grass waved 
 their tiny blades in air like so many swords of com- 
 batant fairies, short-stemmed flowers, plucked when no 
 one was looking, were planted close to the heart of the 
 great mother and with them all a child's dearest hopes. 
 They never answered to her coaxing, nor rewarded her 
 expectancy ; sometimes she would find the bright, pretty 
 things crushed and dirt bedraggled and in the near-by 
 loam the print of an immense foot to mark the passing 
 of the destroyer, or they drooped beneath the pitiless 
 sun or rain ; disappointed, she would bedew them with 
 tears and cast them forth in wrath, only to begin her 
 planting the next day with undiminished ardor. Over 
 
 26
 
 In Annetje's Garden 
 
 and over the little tragi-comedy was enacted through 
 the spring, and summer and she, knowing no better, 
 suffered the same heart-aches and miracle of child- 
 hood ! kept her faith entire. 
 
 The years brought wisdom. A little later she swag- 
 gered through the garden with a tiny rake of Jan's fash- 
 ioning slanted over her shoulder and, hanging from her 
 arm, an infinitesimal basket which held small paper 
 cornucopias, grimy and broken from much handling, 
 containing seeds. These latter she filtered through her 
 chubby fingers into a certain heart-shaped bed marked 
 by a low border of box. Oh those days of planting and 
 the mysteries of investigation that followed! Nature 
 must be watched and heartened at her task. The seeds 
 were lonely, or afraid, or cold, or warm, or lazy and 
 away down there in the earth how could they hear wind 
 and sun calling to them? Excuses multiplied with 
 every passing hour to account for the tireless, explor- 
 ing fingers. Now and again some wary little seed 
 eluded capture and presently thrust up a curious head 
 to see what the world was like, but the wonder of its 
 coming was so unexpected that it had to be borne off in 
 instant triumph. That summer the heart-shaped bed 
 was a reproachful blot upon the fairness of the sur- 
 rounding garden another year it was a little greener 
 and more blessed, and a third it presented a brave front 
 even to Jan's critical eyes and was its own best excuse 
 for being. 
 
 Thereafter Annetje became first a disciple of the old 
 man's, then for a time his equal, and then suddenly one 
 day she reached her sovereignty at a bound. It was 
 she who gave directions, she who, when the April 
 
 27
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 mornings came, sallied forth to her labors in her trim- 
 ly pinned-up gown and great calash, with her rake and 
 her little painted basket of seeds, seeking advice from 
 no one. Jan let his authority go without a murmur, 
 recognizing that after the garden was dug in the spring 
 he had no right there save as he was bidden to assist in 
 the weeding, or at other tasks under the girl's orders. 
 The care of plants was regarded as distinctively the 
 woman's province in the Dutch community and An- 
 netje had only come to her own a little earlier than most 
 of her sex. 
 
 It was an old garden before the girl became its mis- 
 tress, one that sprang into being just as the seventeenth 
 century was passing away, when the pastor of the Gar- 
 den street church set up his household-gods in its midst, 
 and to his wife had fallen the charge of transforming 
 this portion of land in the new world into some sem- 
 blance of the garden she had loved over-seas. If she 
 and Mother Drisius had continual disputes about their 
 respective territories, the flowers were none the less 
 sweet because of the grudging thoughts they awak- 
 ened ; nor were the herbs less efficacious in the domestic 
 pharmacopoeia and cuisine. The rivalries came to an 
 end soon enough and only the gardens remained. That 
 of the dominie's wife under the rule of her successor 
 showed a more lavish display of blooming things and a 
 richer array of color. Rivers of tulips and hyacinths 
 streamed along the paths flaunting defiant faces above 
 the barriers of box that kept them in bounds, and in 
 their proper season there were " paus bloemens of all 
 hues, laylocks and tall May roses and snowballs, inter- 
 mixed with choice vegetables and herbs." Then her 
 
 28
 
 In Annetje's Garden 
 
 little day reached its close and house and land passed 
 into other hands. 
 
 Their new owner was a man who made but few de- 
 mands on life. If the house had been a hovel, so long 
 as it sheltered him and his beloved books from the stress 
 of the elements he asked nothing more. The stiffly 
 laid out, but beautiful, beds of luxuriant bloom that 
 crept up to his door were barely regarded by him, save 
 when they offered a fitting, though general, figure for 
 his sermons ; the names of the different blossoms con- 
 veyed no meaning to him. 
 
 From the first coming of Domine Ryerssen Jan, who 
 had already served several years at the Garden Street 
 church as sexton and bellringer, added the duties of the 
 minister's garden to his other cares, gladly taking up 
 his abode in the parsonage at the domine's suggestion 
 and identifying himself thenceforth with its interests. 
 He was a passionate horticulturist and resented that 
 the place should go to waste, as would have been the 
 case but for his intervention. The domine had no 
 knowledge of flowers, while Heilke, his housekeeper, 
 was satisfied with the herbs from which she com- 
 pounded many wholesome and bitter curatives. It was 
 enough for her that her beloved tufts of Donderbloem 
 were planted near the house as " a defensative against 
 thunder," and incidentally to furnish her with its leaves 
 which she used for many purposes, boiling them in milk 
 for a pleasant drink to be given in time of fever, mix- 
 ing their juices with honey for a sure cure-all for sore 
 throats, or simmering them with cream for an emollient 
 application for erysipelas. There was, indeed, no herb 
 in the length and breadth of the garden (and there were 
 
 29
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 many) which held so high a place in her esteem, but 
 the flowers in which Jan took so much pride won no 
 praise from her. They were only useful this grudg- 
 ingly in proportion as they yielded their sweets to 
 those domestic marauders the bees, for crowning glory 
 in Heilke's sight were the benches full of bee-skepes 
 and wooden hives set a-row under the quince-trees and 
 the well-filled dove-cote near-by that cast its long 
 shadow almost to their feet. The soft flutter of wings 
 and the stir of busy life were music to her^ whereas 
 color and fragrance held no meaning in their mes- 
 sage. 
 
 There was therefore no one to wrest Jan's sceptre 
 from him for years. Then the domine's wife came, a 
 soft girlish presence, who wandered up and down the 
 paths, pausing to bend over the flowers a flower her- 
 self. Never had Jan's supremacy been securer than in 
 those days when he dreaded to see it snatched from 
 him with every passing moment, but she made no de- 
 mand during the short three years of her stay. The 
 locust-trees were in flower when she came, their grace- 
 ful hanging racemes of pink-touched blossoms filling 
 the air with their sensuous perfume ; he reached up at 
 her asking and plucked a branch for her and she held 
 it lightly against her cheek as she walked. They were 
 in blossom again when she went away, like some faintly 
 glowing torches to light her going. She left no im- 
 print of ownership on the garden that bore so strongly 
 the tastes of those other owners ; as she had found it 
 so she relinquished it, resigning the authority she had 
 neglected to a baby's little hands. 
 
 It could never be said of Annetje that she had failed 
 30
 
 In Annetje's Garden 
 
 in the work entrusted to her. Too distinctly Dutch to 
 make any great alterations in the stiffly laid out beds, 
 as she grew older there yet crept in certain indisput- 
 able innovations. Flowers that Jan had seen in the 
 gardens of the English in Queen and Broad Streets sud- 
 denly thrust their faces up at him in friendly recog- 
 nition. How they had found their way thither was the 
 girl's secret; it was only asked of the old man to bid 
 them welcome and note their beauty, which he did un- 
 grudgingly, because the good God had made them after 
 all and not the English who were anathema in Jan's 
 eyes. That the good God had also made the Briton 
 was something which he was not so ready to admit; 
 the inroads their speech was making in the Dutch com- 
 munity seemed to him the work of the Evil one. 
 
 The large English immigration and the government 
 of the colony, as well as the constant requirements and 
 influences of commerce and the frequent intermarriages 
 of the English and Dutch, had robbed the language of 
 the latter of its predominance by the middle of the eigh- 
 teenth century. Despoiled in great measure of its 
 power, though it was, it still held its ground with the 
 pertinacity which has been one of the dominant charac- 
 teristics of its people. In the more conservative house- 
 holds and in those where the inmates were of pure 
 Dutch origin no other speech was employed, as was 
 also the case in the Dutch Reformed church ; there the 
 services were conducted entirely in the beloved tongue, 
 there was given " the gospel undefiled in Holland 
 Dutch," and there also were chanted the hymns of the 
 Fatherland. Though English was recognized, at this 
 period, as the current language of the province it was
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 not yet taught in the Dutch schools, nor had it en- 
 tirely superseded the speech of the earlier settlers of 
 New York at the wharf or in the counting-house. 
 
 Jan understood the language perfectly and could 
 speak it when necessity required, but it enraged him to 
 hear what he deemed Annetje's fluency in the tongue 
 he contemned. Dutch had always been good enough 
 for him and for the children of his generation ! If he 
 had any fear, however, that the girl, whom he had 
 watched over like a second father since her babyhood, 
 would be taken for one of the hated nationality a sin- 
 gle glance at her ought to have convinced him other- 
 wise. 
 
 He found her the day after Mynheer de Hooge's 
 funeral at work in the garden. She was singing to 
 herself, but at his approach she broke off in her song 
 and stood erect, clasping her hands behind her neck 
 and drawing a long, deep breath. The face she turned 
 toward him, with the little smile of welcome dancing 
 in her sea-colored eyes, was one of exquisite loveli- 
 ness. It was still a child's face, sweet and wistful, and 
 holding the promise of greater beauty when the bud 
 should become the flower. She wore a dress of some 
 gray homespun material with a tight-fitting bodice, the 
 skirt opening in front and looped high at the back to 
 show her quilted petticoat of dark blue camblet; her 
 clocked stockings were of a lighter blue and her high- 
 heeled shoes were adorned with little gleaming buckles. 
 Her calash lay disregarded upon the ground, her head 
 uncovered save for a small white cap which did not 
 hide the glinting sheen of her hair which was rolled 
 back from her brow escaping, here and there, in little 
 
 32
 
 In Annetje's Garden 
 
 curling tendrils put aside occasionally by an ineffectual 
 hand. Jan, who could no more describe her appear- 
 ance than he could voyage to the moon, was yet con- 
 scious that this was no English maid, nor one aping 
 English ways. 
 
 " You have so many flowers like these," he said, em- 
 boldened to comment by her smiling aspect. 
 
 She looked at him for a moment and then down at 
 the little purple and yellow faces at her feet ; she had 
 been working at the heart-shaped bed which was her 
 favorite spot in her whole domain. Beyond her some 
 cherry and pear trees lifted their snowy arms high 
 against the blue, the grass beneath them white with 
 fallen petals ; beyond them again, a peach-tree blushed 
 at its own loveliness in the sun and farther away 
 still, the quince orchard all misty pink and waxy 
 green flung its perfume like a message upon the 
 air. 
 
 "Like what, Jan?" 
 
 " T'ese ' noan zo praetty,' " he returned slowly in 
 English, then he added hastily in his own language. 
 " I never meant it." 
 
 " Vat, my ' laties' telights ' my little telights you 
 ton't like t'em?" 
 
 " You taught me to say ' noan zo praetty ' " 
 
 " Oh ! t'at vas yestertay, foolish man. To-tay t'ey 
 are laties' telights, ant to-morrow vill t'ey pe ' yump 
 up ant kiss me,' and t'e next tay ' t'ree faces unter a 
 hoot,' ant after t'at ' Herp Trinity ' or ' Cuttle unto 
 you,' or " 
 
 " What ! all those names for just the one poor 
 flower?" 
 
 33
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 She fell in with his humor to speak their common 
 tongue. 
 
 " 'Tis not a poor flower, there is none other so wel- 
 come in the spring; 'tis like a little child's face ever 
 laughing. None of its names, many as they are, will 
 do for me. I shall call it Heart's own, which is pret- 
 tier, I think, than ' Heart's-ease,' as they say the Eng- 
 lish term it." 
 
 " One plain, sensible name ought to be enough for 
 any flower. We wouldn't trust a man that was known 
 here by one name and there by another men would 
 say evil of him." 
 
 " Look at me, Jan. Who am I ? Father calls me 
 Annetje and sometimes Little one, and Heilke says 
 White lamb, that's when things go well with her, or 
 Child, or Torment 'tis but a toss-up then, before she 
 loses her temper. I don't fear her though, until she 
 draws the corners of her mouth so, and snaps out Missy, 
 then I know it's high time to be off. You call me 
 Missy, but I never want to run away from you, do I ? 
 Have I too many names ? I should like to borrow me 
 one from this flower it would never miss it." 
 
 " Noan zo praetty," he spoke again in English, his 
 old face breaking into a whimsical smile. 
 
 " Flatterer, not that, the one of my own devising." 
 
 His expression changed and she, watching him, 
 had the grace to blush a little. 
 
 " It has a nice sound." Her voice was a challenge. 
 
 " The home ones are better in my ears." 
 
 " There you go, Jan you, and my father, and Heilke 
 would have me always mewed up here, making no ex- 
 cuse for a young maid's light-heartedness." 
 
 34
 
 In Annetje's Garden 
 
 " Yes, yes, the old forget. Well, these hands will be 
 ringing the joy-bells yonder before long, I doubt not." 
 
 " Oh ! as to that I don't really like Adrian de Hooge, 
 Jan, in the way you mean you'll never ring those bells 
 for me. It was all so terrible yesterday after the 
 funeral. I could see the women watching me as they 
 ate the burial cakes and sipped their sangaree, and I 
 well knew what they were whispering about. And 
 when Mevrouw de Hooge kissed me good-by before 
 them all it made me shiver, she seems so strong and 
 as if she would have her way in all things, no matter 
 how much you sought to oppose it." 
 
 " Ay, they do say she wore the breeches and that the 
 gray mare was the best horse but I don't hold with 
 such gossip." 
 
 " Adrian is like her. When I'm with him I can only 
 think of a great bowlder you might batter yourself to 
 death against it, but you could never move it once it 
 obstructed your path." 
 
 " He's a nice lad and has a great sufficiency of this 
 world's goods, now that he has stepped into his father's 
 shoes, and he loves you, little Missy." 
 
 " Ye-es, because I flouted him when I was a child 
 and because I am pretty you said so yourself, Jan 
 and because I don't care overmuch for him; reasons 
 enough to make a man like Adrian de Hooge wish to 
 win a maid and bend her will to his. Sometimes I 
 almost think I could love him and then I remember 
 that day oh ! years ago when he beat his dog till his 
 arm fell useless, I can see the evil look on his face still 
 and I grow afraid." 
 
 " He's a high-tempered man, a better friend than a 
 35
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 foe any time, but there is much good in him and he's a 
 power in the church the people look to his family as 
 they would," Jan stopped and glanced cautiously 
 around, " to the Lord almost. That's what it is to be 
 of the salt of the earth and have lands and moneys. 
 He'd be a bad enemy, remember that Missy ! If the 
 domine saw an inch farther than his nose he'd tell you 
 that it's well, sometimes, to make friends unto yourself 
 of Mammon, he would indeed. And besides, Mynheer 
 de Hooge is a true Dutchman and has a proper venera- 
 tion for the old ways " 
 
 " I know that," Annetje breathed with a sound, half 
 sigh, half laugh. 
 
 " We've fallen on evil times, Missy, there is back- 
 sliding among us and even a whisper," the old man's 
 voice trembled, " a whisper that is growing steadily 
 that English shall be spoken in our churches. Oh ! if 
 that day should come and Jan Praa is in this sinful 
 world, may his right arm wither and fall powerless ere 
 ever it rings the bidding-bell, may these eyes lose their 
 sight before they behold a minister of the Holy Word 
 so forget the dignity of his calling, may these ears be 
 deaf to a voice that would praise the Lord in the ac- 
 cents of those accursed people " 
 
 "There, there, Jan!" 
 
 " I tell you Adrian de Hooge is a stanch Dutch- 
 man and your father is sure to stay in the church while 
 he has his friendship and the friendship of his follow- 
 ers." 
 
 " My father's office does not depend upon the favor 
 of Mynheer de Hooge, or on that of his hangers-on, 
 as you know well, Jan Praa, and there's not the least 
 
 36
 
 In Annetje's Garden 
 
 danger of his adopting the English speech, even if the 
 whole congregation demanded it of him. He might 
 preach in Latin, or French, but he has no skill in Eng- 
 lish," she paused suddenly, her face dimpling and per- 
 plexed at the same time. " I wish I knew something 
 about the Englishman," she continued half to herself. 
 
 "What Englishman?" 
 
 " Why, the one who was here, Tuesday, haven't you 
 heard ? Heilke and I had seen a stranger in the candle 
 the night before, and when there sounded a great 
 knock, rat-tat-ta ! on the front door we fell a-trembling. 
 And Heilke, who was busy making wonders, bade me 
 answer the summons. So I went and opened the upper 
 half of the door quite softly to see who it was, know- 
 ing full well that none but a stranger would come to 
 that entrance, and there stood an English officer as I 
 saw by his dress. He was humming a song beneath his 
 breath and tapping the step with the little cane he car- 
 ried. He didn't heed me at first, and indeed I was like 
 a mouse, so I was forced to cough. At that he looked 
 up and a little gleam like a star came into his eyes. ' Is 
 Domine Ryerssen within ? ' he asked slowly. ' Yes 
 sir,' I answered in English, whereat his face brightened, 
 ' he is even now in his study.' ' Tis good news you 
 give me, pretty one,' he laughed, ' and in pleasing 
 fashion, I had not thought to have my tongue spoke 
 here, and so well spoke too ' Those were his very 
 words, Jan ! He took off his hat then, and made me a 
 low bow, such as the officers make the ladies in the 
 Mall, and he did not replace it after that, but kept it 
 against his breast looking at me. 
 
 " ' Will you conduct me to the domine ? ' he said at 
 37
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 last, ' or stay, first bear this message to him : " One, 
 Captain Bellenden, a stranger with tidings from a dis- 
 tant land, waits without." Let me hear you say it, 
 child.' I said the words after him two or three times, 
 as was his pleasure, to make sure I would not forget, 
 then he let me go and I hastened to my father and he 
 just as if the stranger was some every-day visitor 
 bade me show him in. When I had done that I dared 
 not linger, but as soon as the door was closed I crept 
 back and I heard the Englishman say with all the mer- 
 riment gone from his voice ' Domine Ryerssen, I bring 
 you a message from the dead ' ' 
 
 " Na na impossible ! and then? " 
 
 " I came away. It was too dreadful ! Only that 
 morning Evert Eels had been here with his news, and 
 in the afternoon to have this stranger come It seemed 
 as if death had thrown his shadow in through our very 
 doors. Heilke says it's a bad omen " 
 
 " Heilke doesn't know everything in the world, 
 though she may think so. Has the domine told you 
 aught?" 
 
 " Jan," cried the girl sharply, " when does he ever 
 tell me aught? Food, clothing, shelter, he gives me, 
 and sometimes a word, but the book he reads is more 
 to him than I am." 
 
 " The old forget the ways of youth." 
 
 "Did he ever know them? Was he ever young? 
 You have told me that he was old when my mother was 
 here and she was a girl like me ; dead though she is, 
 she is nearer and dearer to me than he can ever be. I 
 wonder much how she could have become his wife." 
 
 Jan kicked a stone from the path. 
 38
 
 In Annetje's Garden 
 
 " The ways of women, who shall discover them ? " 
 he asked sententiously, then he raised his head, and 
 went on solemnly. " Missy, you are the child of your 
 father's old age, he loves you, take my word for that ! 
 but he hasn't the trick of petting and love-names. 
 We're not the people to show our deepest feelings." 
 
 Annetje laughed and, stooping, gathered a few of 
 the little flowers at her feet and thrust them in her 
 bodice. 
 
 " I wonder if the Englishman will ever come again," 
 she said irrelevantly. 
 
 39
 
 IV 
 
 THE DOMINE'S STORY 
 
 " Domine Ryerssen, I bring you a message from the 
 dead." 
 
 " Vill you t'e gootness haf to unfolt t'e name of t'e 
 senter tireckly ? Ant speak slow, I peseech you, I com- 
 prehent your language, put not much felicity haf I in 
 speaking it. I haf your parton ? " 
 
 The minister spoke slowly enough himself ; his voice 
 was deep and curiously balanced with a marked stress 
 in the intonation which seemed to weigh his words, as 
 if they were golden coins, yet it did not carry far. 
 There were those in the Garden Street church who 
 hinted at a general breaking-up in their pastor and this, 
 they said, was one of the encroachments of age. 
 
 He was a little, bent-shouldered man, so frail in ap- 
 pearance that for years it had seemed as if he and the 
 grim shadow were walking hand in hand, and yet his 
 grasp on life was so tenacious that none of the ills of 
 the flesh had plagued his long tenureship. His dress 
 was entirely black, a trifle rusty from wear and rig- 
 orously plain, and his powdered wig, of an ancient 
 cut, was so large that the face beneath it appeared at 
 first sight as small as a child's, but it lacked the con- 
 tour and smoothness of youth as a second glance dis- 
 covered. Age and study had traced a network of lines 
 across the drawn yellowish skin, like the fine writing 
 
 40
 
 The Domine's Story 
 
 upon parchment, and the imprint of the graver Sorrow 
 was also there. It was a plain, rugged face, unusually 
 broad in the brows with deep-set eyes, gray as steel 
 but without the brilliancy of that metal quiet, steady 
 eyes which seemed to hide more than they revealed, a 
 Roman nose, and a mouth and chin expressive of a 
 strong, dominant will. There was much sternness in 
 his aspect, but it also held a touch of benignity, as a 
 frowning crag will bear a trace of summer to crown it 
 with its freshness and be no anachronism in the ways 
 of nature. 
 
 The room, into which Captain Bellenden had been 
 ushered, was a long, rather narrow, apartment lighted 
 by a single window which commanded a view of part 
 of Annetje's garden. The walls were dull of hue and 
 destitute of adornment, the only touch of color being 
 in the tiled facing of mantel and hearth, where coarsely 
 executed drawings of scriptural scenes were repre- 
 sented in lifeless blue, the figures discreetly attired in 
 Dutch costumes; there Daniel, clad as a respectable 
 burgher, dominated the lions as complacently as 
 though they were cows, which they closely resembled, 
 and Miriam, in her bodice and short skirt, clashed her 
 timbrels before the Lord. There was no valletje 
 that chimney-cloth valance so marked an adjunct of 
 all Dutch houses and the narrow shelf above was bare, 
 save for a pair of pewter candle-sticks and the snuffer 
 and tray at one end; nor were there any curtains at 
 the window. 
 
 The whole place was almost puritanical in its simplic- 
 ity; a few straight-backed, rush-leather chairs and an 
 oak table, black with age, made up the furniture, with 
 
 41
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 the addition of the tall cherry secretary which stood 
 between the mantel and the window in just the posi- 
 tion where the westering sun could gleam the longest 
 upon the brass handles of the glass-panelled doors of 
 the upper portion, as if they were the golden keys to a 
 mine of riches ; and such, indeed, they seemed to the 
 domine for they guarded his precious books. 
 
 The small library consisted almost entirely of works 
 on religious topics, principally in Dutch. Cats, Brakel, 
 Sauren's Catechism, Van Thuynen's little volume on 
 the " Faith of the Reformed," Bekker's " World Be- 
 witched," " The Imitation of Christ," and translations 
 of Newton's Cardiphonia and of Doddridge's works, 
 together with some theological treatises in stately Latin 
 with, here and there, an earnest French polemic and 
 numerous Calvinistic tracts. On the top shelf, as rep- 
 resenting an almost forgotten period in their owner's 
 career, the comedies of Brederoo elbowed the tragedies 
 of his great rival Vondel and there were, besides, some 
 dark, slender little books containing the poems of the 
 Engraver-poet Jan Luiken and the songs of Storter 
 bold and simple these latter in a breath, bold as the 
 times in which they were written and simple as the 
 hearts of the sturdy folk. Nor was the Dutch Colony 
 in the New World unrepresented ; its poets Steendam, 
 Nicasius de Sille, and that gentle Latinist and accom- 
 plished scholar Domine Selyns, an early minister of the 
 church of St. Nicholas, found a place with the writers 
 of the Fatherland. 
 
 The domine moved a trifle impatiently and looked at 
 the dandified figure of the officer with something like 
 intolerance in his glance. The stranger was taking a 
 
 42
 
 The Domine's Story 
 
 supercilious survey of his surroundings but, as if con- 
 scious of the scrutiny to which he was subjected, he 
 turned his eyes upon his host. For a long minute the 
 two men gazed at each other unwaveringly, as if match- 
 ing their relative strength, then the elder broke the 
 silence. 
 
 " I vait your pleasure, Captain Pellenten," he said 
 coldly. He had an odd trick of protruding his upper 
 lip when he spoke, and his face at that moment was 
 not prepossessing. " You haf a message " his eyes 
 sought the open book before him, as though to say his 
 time was precious. 
 
 The captain uncrossed his long legs and straightened 
 himself with the air of a man who has suddenly deter- 
 mined upon action. As a rule he was careless of giv- 
 ing pleasure and indifferent to giving pain ; it was a 
 mere question of moods at any time with him, though 
 more often than not he affected, as did many of the 
 men of fashion at that period, an icily impertinent mode 
 of speech, especially to those whom he regarded as his 
 social inferiors. It was not an age of reverence, or of 
 consideration even. On this occasion, however, it 
 suited him to be almost deferential to his companion. 
 
 " Tis no light task this trust of mine," he returned 
 courteously, " and I ask your patience. Faith, I know 
 not where to begin." 
 
 " Name me first t'e name of him t'at sent t'e message. 
 If t'ere pe a tale, t'en you haf your puppets reaty to 
 hant." 
 
 " Gad, 'twas no man but a woman." 
 
 " A voman ! ant to me ? So, how is she calledt ? " 
 
 " Katrina de Vos." 
 
 43
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Katrina some mistake is t'ere Katrina say it 
 once again, I I ton't hear fery veil." 
 
 The young man, his eyes averted, repeated the name 
 slowly, then he rose suddenly and walked to the win- 
 dow, pausing there to look out at the burgeoning gar- 
 den, but he only saw an old face distorted with grief. 
 After a few moments the domine spoke. 
 
 " Vill you continue, sir ? " 
 
 Bellenden went back to his chair, manifestly ill at 
 ease, the sight of the other's composure did not restore 
 his own; he sat regarding his feet for some time in 
 silence, then, without any preamble, he plunged into his 
 story. 
 
 " I had not a long acquaintance with the lady, for 
 lady she was first and last, I could see that though her 
 clothes were mean, and we, of my world, oftenest judge 
 a jewel by its setting. Some two years back I went 
 with my regiment to Barbadoes (I have but recently 
 come thence), and there, shortly after my arrival, I fell 
 a victim to fever and would have died but for her kind 
 offices. She came to me out of charity, hearing of my 
 illness a wraith of a woman with a slow, sweet smile 
 to charm you, and a low voice to sing as a mother sings 
 lullabies to a tired child, and long, slim hands, that by 
 a touch, seemed to banish the pain that racked your 
 bones and the fever that burned you with the fires of 
 hell. 'Twas said of her that she had nursed many in 
 their need since her coming to the island. I thought 
 she belonged to some religious order, that she was a 
 Beguine, for I knew by her speech she was of your 
 country, but when I asked her she said no she was 
 not fit." 
 
 44
 
 The Domine's Story 
 
 The domine settled himself back in his chair, but he 
 made neither protest, nor comment. 
 
 " I did not think her that sort, still one can never tell, 
 a sinner may look like a saint ; 'tis only a trick to learn. 
 But this woman was different there was no passion 
 nothing. She was a saint. I'd have staked my life on 
 that. I would not believe her testimony against herself 
 and I think she liked me the better because of my faith 
 in her. A strange affection sprang up betwixt us dur- 
 ing the slow weeks of my recovery; she was like a 
 mother to me and I was like a child, unreasonable, gay, 
 petulant, tyrannical and tractable by turns. I made 
 her free enough of my past, i' faith, but hers was ever 
 a sealed book to me, and when once I was able to re- 
 sume my duties she slipped out of my life and I did 
 not see her for months ; then, one day, a messenger 
 brought me word that she had need of me. I found 
 her in a little, bare room alone, and near to death, and 
 what I could do for her in the hour she let me stay, I 
 did. I had always thought of her as of my mother's 
 age she looked so old and worn, though she had the 
 figure of a girl, but she told me then that she was still 
 in the thirties we might even have been playfellows 
 in our childhood. But she was old she had been old 
 for years she had lived by heart-beats, not by the pass- 
 ing hour. She told me her story slowly, and painfully, 
 and she said no word in self-justification. 
 
 " Sir, you know that story of the broken home, the 
 wronged husband, the deserted child and the young 
 wife's flight with her lover. There is no need for me 
 to repeat it to you. But what you do not know is this : 
 That that woman's life was one long penitence, that 
 
 45
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 deserted in her turn by the man for whom she had re- 
 linquished everything 1 , thrown aside like a broken toy 
 she suffered grief and penury and yet the remembrance 
 of the little child she had left kept her from further 
 sin and made her the angel of mercy and tenderness I 
 knew. She had gone to Barbadoes with her lover and 
 there she remained after he forsook her, stumbling back 
 into life somehow. Another woman would have made 
 way with herself, once all the glamour was gone. Not 
 she. Was any little child ill? She bent above it and 
 soothed its cries with her singing, cradling it in the 
 arms that were bereft of her own flesh and blood. No 
 distance was too great for her to go to help some little, 
 ailing one and she never tired of the service. Gradu- 
 ally she became nurse to whoever fell ill to the sol- 
 diers especially; she was unwearying in her ministra- 
 tions, and so Death found her. 
 
 " She bade me give you no excuses, save only this. 
 She had loved her betrayer and her love was stronger 
 than her feelings of duty and honor. It took them 
 both in its hands and made light of them. It was too 
 strong for her, but she paid to the full for every moment 
 of happiness ; it turned to dead sea fruit and ashes in 
 her grasp. With her dying breath she begged me seek 
 you out as soon as ever I came to the Colonies and tell 
 you of her repentance. She did not ask for your for- 
 giveness, knowing she had wronged you too deeply, 
 but she gave me these pearls that had once been her 
 mother's and from which she had never parted, not 
 even when Want knocked loudest at her door, because 
 she felt that she held them in trust for her child. She 
 bade me bring them to you to give to her one day with 
 
 46
 
 The Domine's Story 
 
 some word of the mother who had failed her. ' Some- 
 thing tells me,' says she, ' that my child is not dead, 
 she is almost grown now, and a woman's heart under- 
 stands another woman's ; she will think more tolerantly 
 of me perhaps, she will pity and forgive me. For the 
 sake of the love she might have given me had I stayed 
 with her, ask Domine Ryerssen to place this gift in her 
 hands.' That was all. She kissed the pearls and 
 watched me with a smile as I put them away in my 
 breast, then she signed to me to go. And I, not think- 
 ing the end so near, but seeing how wan she looked, 
 obeyed her. She died that night." 
 
 Bellenden rose a trifle awkwardly and walked over 
 to the table. He had taken a little, flat leather case from 
 some inner pocket while he was speaking and now he 
 placed it within reach of his host. 
 
 " So I fulfil my trust, Domine Ryerssen," he said 
 slowly. " Will you do your part ? " 
 
 The old man's hands flew up suddenly to his face, 
 hiding it from the other's gaze. 
 
 " I can't," he cried tremulously, " I can't." 
 
 The younger man waited a moment, tapping his leg 
 impatiently with his cane and studying the drooping 
 figure before him. 
 
 " Sir, you must, there is no alternative ; you cannot 
 refuse the dead and the woman, whatever her sins were, 
 repented long ago. This is a responsibility you may 
 not shirk. If you will not do this thing, if your the- 
 ology has so steeped you in bitterness that you are 
 deaf to the voice of true repentance, if you will nurse 
 a rancor as narrow as your creed, then tell me where 
 the girl is to be found and by heaven ! I will give her 
 
 47
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 the pearls myself, if I have to go to the Indies to 
 do it." 
 
 " Is it possible t'at you ton't know it is Annetje ? Put 
 efen now t'e toor to you she openedt. I cannot haf her 
 tolt, I forpit it it shall not pe." 
 
 " It shall." 
 
 Again the men gazed at each other in an interval of 
 silence, matching each other's strength unwaveringly; 
 then the dark eyes fell before the dim, gray ones. 
 
 " It is in your power. Put listen. She ton't know, 
 she t'ink her moeder " the husky voice trembled with 
 indescribable softness over the word " is tie, oh ! so 
 long time ago so many years. I vill not haf her tolt. 
 I vill not say to her myself ' your moeder, she is un- 
 vort'y ' I vill not haf her soul t'at is like some pure 
 v'ite flower, whose name I ton't know, contaminatet vis 
 sin. I push sin from her vis my two hants. She is 
 so tear to me, put she ton't know t'at eit'er I can't tell 
 her, only I feel it here." He stopped a minute, press- 
 ing his hand to his heart. 
 
 " Psha, she must know about her mother, man. Here 
 in your study you have not heard the gossip, the world 
 is not so kind as you think," the captain broke off with 
 an uneasy laugh. " Faith, you do strange things in 
 this country, still I thought scandal was a plant that 
 throve everywhere." 
 
 " You are right. Like t'e pay-tree of t'e Scriptures 
 it flourisheth, put my Annetje she ton't know. Yes, I 
 vill tell you you a stranger pecause of t'at one whose 
 vorts you pring. Sit again. So! I am an olt man, 
 sir, ant t'ese many years haf I hat acquaintance vis 
 grief. Ven I vas a poy at school in Fat'erlant t'ere vas 
 
 48
 
 The Domine's Story 
 
 a poy t'at my heart vent out to, efen as Tafit's heart 
 vent out to Jonathan's, ant I lofedt him ant his heart 
 vas to me pount likevise. Not'ing is efer come pe- 
 tween our f rientship ; to t'e ent it lasts. So it vas t'at, 
 ven he is apout to tie, he sent me vort vouldt I look 
 after his taughter for his sake? He t'ink it vouldt pe 
 goot ven I marry her my home is lonely, he know. 
 Veil t'en, nefer hat I t'ought of t'at marrying for me, 
 I hat my pooks ant t'ey vere enough. Put my frient's 
 little girl is alone in t'e vorlt, ant I write her to come 
 to me, I vant to marry her as her fat'er hat sait. So 
 she is come. You know vat t'at lofe is like, sir, per- 
 haps nefer hat I known it ant I vas more fan fifty 
 years of age t'at time. Put it is come vis t'e little mait 
 from ofer t'e sea. My gart'ner say to me one tay, 
 ' Domine, t'ere is one little flower (I haf forgot how 
 he calledt it!) t'at nefer appears till summer is gone 
 ant frost is in t'e lant, t'en it vakes, pringing peauty 
 ant glatness.' My heart, sir, vas like t'at t'ere vas a 
 late flower, only one." 
 
 The domine was silent a moment. 
 
 "If she hat tolt me t'e trut' ! If she hat sait ' I can- 
 not marry you, alreaty I lofe some ot'er one,' I vouldt 
 haf let t'e little flower tie in my heart ant gone pack 
 to my stuties again. Put she keep t'at from me, she 
 tells me not'ing. So ve are marriedt, ant t'ere is such 
 sunshine in my house ant in t'e vorlt nefer so much 
 pefore, I t'ink. I am olt ant ugly I fint t'at out at 
 t'at time put I lofe her, only I can't speak of it it is 
 as holy as Kott! I know t'e church peoples smile to 
 see me vis so young a vife, t'ey ton't know how much 
 I care how s'ouldt t'ey? Veil, perhaps she isn't 
 
 49
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 happy she ton't say much, put she smiles slow ant 
 sweet ant I t'ink she is pleasedt. T'en, v'en two years 
 are gone, t'e kleintje comes ant I tremple vis joy. I am 
 afrait to speak to mofe! Sometimes, I creep to t'e 
 room ant vatch t'e two together t'rough t'e toor, ant 
 nefer is t'e voman so tear as v'en she sits t'ere singing 
 to t'e little one. You likedt her voice ? Put I listenedt 
 to it vis my heart, ant t'e angels vill not sing petter." 
 
 He stopped again and glanced about wearily; the 
 man before him sat with lowered eyes and an impassive 
 face that seemed cut out of stone, but he lost no 
 word of the simple story for all his seeming indiffer- 
 ence. 
 
 " T'en one tay, v'en Annetje is maype a year olt, I 
 come home. It is in t'e spring ant sickness ant sorrow 
 are in t'e lant, only not in my house, t'ank Kott ! I go 
 to fint moeder ant chilt, and Heilke has t'e kleintje in t'e 
 kitchen, t'e moeder, she say, is gone out to t'e country 
 to see a sick frient. I go to my stuty t'en to prepare my 
 sermon ant t'ere I fint a letter ant it say t'e trut' t'at 
 is all t'e trut' ! She is going avay she ton't efer lofe 
 me, put alvays t'at ot'er one she hat known since chilt- 
 hoot in Fat'erlant he is young, he is gay, he is v'at I 
 am not. She lofes t'e chilt, put she can't stay, he is 
 going to sail t'at tay to a far country ant she vill go 
 vis him. It is all arrangedt. 
 
 " Veil, sir, t'is is most t'e ent ; it grow tark all at once. 
 I cannot vork. Py ant py Heilke comes ant she say 
 ' v'ere is Mrs. Ryerssen ? t'e chilt cry for her moeder.' 
 Ant I say all in a flash, t'at Mrs. Ryerssen comes not 
 home t'at night ant maype not t'e next tay her frient 
 is so fery sick she haf left me vort. So Heilke goes 
 
 50
 
 The Domine's Story 
 
 avay ant I hear her singing to t'e little one ant it is so 
 tifferent m'y'n God! so tifferent. Put I must pe 
 pusy, vis teath ant sorrow eferyv'ere t'e peoples neet 
 me. T'ey ton't look at me queer, ant I say to myself 
 t'ey ton't know. In t'eir preoccupation t'ey haf not 
 seen anyt'ing not right. T'at young man he is put 
 shortly come to t'is country, a veek two maype ant 
 t'ere is t'e fefer here, as I haf sait t'ey to not heet him. 
 Sir, I am a prout man, I couldt not haf t'em know my 
 home is tisgracedt I couldt not haf t'em sneer at her 
 t'at is t'e moeder of my chilt. Ant all tay, ant all night, 
 I ask myself ' how long pefore t'ey hear how long? ' 
 Ant eferyv'ere I see t'em pointing t'e finger at me ant 
 crying ' Shame ! ' to her. I vill not haf it I am t'e 
 one to plame I shouldt haf guartet her petter. How 
 can t'e veak rise if t'ey t'at lofe t'em, ant are strong, 
 help t'em not?" His voice broke, after a minute he 
 went on. 
 
 " I hat failedt her, efen v'en I lofedt her most ant 
 she vas gone, put she hat left her name vis me ant I 
 tell myself t'at, at least, shall pe pure I ton't know 
 how only it shall pe pure ! T'en all at once it is easy 
 to me, it is easy, ant it is hart at t'e same time. All 
 my life I hat lofedt Trut' ant followedt her, now to 
 t'e pranching of t'e vays I hat come. Ant along one 
 like a star Trut' shone, ant along t'e ot'er vas a little 
 glimmer in t'e dusk v'ere Falsehoot crept. Ant it spoke 
 low to my ear, it tolt me how my vife's name is kept 
 v'ite how my chilt vill haf a peautiful memory of her 
 moeder. Veil, I consiter I consiter. So t'e time 
 goes, ant alvays to Heilke I make excuse, her mistress 
 cannot come, her mistress is sick ant finally one tay I
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 say : ' Mrs. Ryerssen comes nefer any more she is 
 teadt.' Heilke cries ant cries, put my eyes holt no 
 tears. Ten I tell t'e same to Jan Praa " 
 
 "WhoisJanPraa?" 
 
 " He is my voorleezer, t'at is he tunes t'e Psalms ant 
 turns t'e hour-klass on t'e pulpit v'en I preach, he is 
 also pell-ringer ant sexton ant it is he t'at has charge 
 of my garten he is vis me many years. He is a goot 
 man ant tiscretious. ' She is teadt ? ' he says slow. 
 ' Yes,' I answer, ' she is teadt to us all.' ' She is teadt 
 from t'e plague/ he says again. So he leafes me ant I 
 creep pack here ant close t'e toor. T'en it is t'at my 
 church peoples hear t'e news not t'e true news you 
 unterstant, put v'at t'ey t'ink is true ant some say my 
 vife is tie from t'e small-pox, t'ere is so much of it 
 eferyv'ere, ant I ton't contratict t'em. Ant t'ey praise 
 me, v'ich is hart to pear pecause I stait vis t'em in 
 t'eir sorrow, v'ile my vife vas sick among strangers. 
 T'ey can nefer forget, t'ey say. Oh ! it is a goot peo- 
 ples my congregation ant I haf teceifedt t'em, put 
 I couldt to no ot'ervise, I vouldt haf t'em t'ink no harm 
 of her. 
 
 " Veil, t'ey peliefedt she vas really teadt ant t'ey haf 
 put up a taplet, now t'ese many years, in t'e church vis 
 her name engrafedt upon it ant t'e vort ' Gcdachtcnis ' 
 as you vouldt say, ' in rememprance.' And t'ere, efer 
 since my Annetje is eight years olt, half peen placedt 
 flowers in t'eir season py her hants. Jan ant Heilke 
 haf tolt her of her moeder ant she lofes her; to her 
 mindt t'at moeder is young alvays, ant peautiful, ant 
 pure I cannot unterceife her." 
 
 ' 'Twould not be necessary, the child would think 
 52
 
 The Domine's Story 
 
 you had kept the gift in trust till she had reached a 
 fitting age to receive it." 
 
 " Ah ! so t'at is goot. Young vits are petter t'an 
 olt ones ; I vill gif her t'e pearls one tay." 
 
 " And, moreover, I tell you the woman died repent- 
 ant, her later life was that of a saint's for purity." 
 
 " Let Him jutge, I cannot I am only a proken- 
 heartedt man put t'e chilt neet nefer know. I haf your 
 vort, sir? " 
 
 Bellenden rose and approached the table again with 
 outstretched hand. 
 
 " The word of a soldier and a gentleman." 
 
 " Goot, I haf no fear. Yet to you, as to no one put 
 my Maker, haf I shown my heart, its shames, its te- 
 ceits, its lofes. I haf taken town all parriers, I am 
 tefenceless. One vort from you vouldt proclaim me, 
 ant my life t'at men teem holy, a lifing lie a v'itedt 
 sepulchre put I trust you completely." As he fin- 
 ished speaking he left his place and came slowly to the 
 captain's side. Both men clasped hands in silence. It 
 was the solemn ratification of a vow given and taken ; 
 then their hands fell apart. The domine stepped back 
 and looked up at his guest. 
 
 " T'e roats of our life may nefer cross after t'is tay, 
 unless it vouldt pe your kintness to come here again. 
 Put if t'at is impossiple, rememper t'e olt man stants 
 reaty to help you in your neet as she helpedt you. 
 Great pain haf I known t'is tay, put a great comfort 
 also. A secret is a heafy loat to carry, see! alreaty 
 haf you mate my purten lighter. Ve can't any of us 
 meet ant part in t'is life, ant remain just t'e same ve 
 color unconsciously each ot'er's existence. Ant you 
 
 53
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 stant fery near me forefer. I souldt like it much if 
 you vouldt come again." 
 
 Bellenden hesitated. He might promise, that was 
 easy enough, and then forget that surely was easier. 
 There were too many claims on a man's time, if he 
 were a man of fashion, to make it possible for him to 
 spend an hour or so in this room when no sacred duty 
 called him thither. The trust which had held him 
 faithful in the midst of frivolities had been executed 
 and he was free henceforth to do as he pleased. What 
 pleased him most lay in the world without, and not in 
 this dull place where laughter and merriment never 
 came. Yet the spectacle of that other's naked soul 
 stirred him strangely and, in some unaccountable way, 
 made him conscious that the secret he shared was like 
 a chain which bound him, if lightly, still inextricably, 
 to the old minister. The responsibilities which are 
 thrust upon us without the asking are none the less re- 
 sponsibilities. Something in the domine's attitude 
 toward life thrilled him unspeakably. Unmartial in 
 appearance, little, broken-hearted, old and worn the 
 man had waged his battle single-handed, and the 
 younger soldier stood ready to salute the courage of the 
 elder. He would, at least, say he would come again. 
 
 And then, because good and evil lie in close juxta- 
 position in the human breast, there rose suddenly be- 
 fore Jack Bellenden the vision of a half-open Dutch 
 door and set against the dark wood of the upper por- 
 tion the flowerlike beauty of a girl's face. He glanced 
 down at the old man and smiled. This time he knew 
 his promise would be kept. 
 
 " Yes, I will come again." 
 54
 
 A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY 
 
 There were two ways of entering Annetje's garden. 
 The path from the street that led up to the front door 
 and, there diverging, crept around the house past the 
 kitchen, in whose spotless depths Heilke grim as Cere- 
 bus kept guard, and so on to the garden where it was 
 lost among the broader walks ; and the other, in the far- 
 away corner below the apple orchard, a little grass- 
 grown track which, for reasons best known to himself, 
 Jan had left unweeded for years. He never used it, 
 though often it would have been more convenient for 
 him and would have saved him many a rating from 
 Heilke's sharp tongue as he trudged by her windows 
 to his work. The distant gate gave upon an unfre- 
 quented lane, and anyone passing through it could 
 enter, or leave, the garden without the knowledge of the 
 inhabitants of the sleepy, old parsonage embowered 
 among trees and bushes. 
 
 It had not taken Captain Bellenden long to perceive 
 this mode of entrance and to determine to enlist it into 
 his service if chance should offer; for a dash of in- 
 trigue, to the men of his time, always lent an additional 
 charm to their affairs of gallantry. His second visit 
 to Domine Ryerssen opened drearily enough. He had 
 been admitted by Heilke and shown immediately to the 
 
 55
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 study, but along the way there had been no faintest 
 glimpse of a girl's face the house fairly reeked of age 
 then the door had closed upon the servant and the 
 interview began. 
 
 There was a little stiff, formal talk on either side 
 which the younger man tried to carry off lightly, though 
 he soon discovered that his host was scarcely attending 
 to his impressions of York colony. The colony meant 
 nothing to Cornelis Ryerssen who was in no sense pub- 
 lic-spirited, and neither cared for, nor noticed, the im- 
 provements that had taken place during his stay in the 
 busy harbor town. The time that was not spent in the 
 pursuit of his parochial duties he lived to himself, keep- 
 ing aloof from the happenings of the day. He seldom 
 if ever discussed colonial, or political, situations; it 
 mattered little to him whether affairs at the Fort ran 
 smoothly, or otherwise. Governors might come, and 
 governors might go, there might be wars and rumors 
 of wars all about him, but they concerned him not at 
 all. The only thing he desired passionately was the 
 welfare of his church. If he could make up to his 
 people by strenuous, loving service for the faith they 
 had placed in him, he asked nothing else and nothing 
 better of life. 
 
 With this end in view he toiled early and late, throw- 
 ing his whole heart into the composition of his tediously 
 dull sermons and giving the best in his power for the 
 spiritual advancement of his little flock. Some of the 
 older members of his congregation, with the marked 
 conservatism of their race, regarded him with a good- 
 natured tolerance that bordered on affection ; but the 
 younger ones, who were beginning to feel the slow 
 
 56
 
 A Friend of the Family 
 
 blood quicken in their veins in response to the rising 
 stress of the world without, listened almost impatiently 
 to his exordiums finding him, as Captain Bellenden 
 found him on this occasion, devoid of all interest. 
 
 The domine, however much he lacked the grace to 
 show his pleasure at the English officer's coming, was 
 heartily glad to welcome him again, though aside from 
 the friendly grasped hand and the half awkward prof- 
 fer of his snuff-box he could do nothing to indicate his 
 feelings. Shyness and shame possessed him to a 
 marked degree; the shyness which was a part of his 
 nature and which always hampered his slow speech, 
 and shame at the remembrance that he had drawn away 
 the covering from his wound and had exposed the fes- 
 tering sore at his heart of life to another's view. Yet, 
 at the same time, in the presence of this man whom ear- 
 lier, in his intolerance, he would have stigmatized as a 
 fop, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Here he 
 was known for what he was and the mere fact that the 
 Englishman had come again and so soon was in part 
 proof that he did not despise him for the deceit he had 
 practised. He, who had been debarred from the 
 sympathy of man, woman and child for so long, thrilled 
 a little at the thought of what was comprised in Bellen- 
 den's attitude toward him. Pity in part but he did 
 not revolt from pity and comprehension. He was 
 very grateful inwardly and the captain would have been 
 flattered had he been able to read the thoughts that were 
 passing beneath that quiet exterior, but, such power be- 
 ing denied him, the young man cursed himself for a 
 fool for having walked a second time, and that with 
 wide open eyes, into so stupid a trap. 
 
 57
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 The talk dragged wearily, intermittently on, each 
 man conscious of the growing barrier between them. 
 They might have been on mist-enwrapped islands 
 shouting vainly to each other, their voices dropping 
 sadly into the void between, for all the understanding 
 their speech evoked. They, who for a moment had felt 
 the nearness of their souls, as is often the case, had 
 drifted so far asunder as to be beyond any reach. And 
 then, suddenly, to bridge the distance and bring them 
 into touch again, a girl's voice singing clearly came to 
 them from the garden. 
 
 The domine paused in his halting sentence, happiness 
 flickering up through the pallor of his face ; and again 
 the visitor had a revelation of the other's inmost be- 
 ing. It was like seeing into a shrine whose purity was 
 dazzling. Even his careless nature was stirred as if an 
 unseen hand had swept the strings and had brought 
 forth some antiphonal note. In that moment, if he had 
 followed his better inclination, he would have taken 
 himself out of the little room and away from the sim- 
 ple home forever. Some such thought touched him, 
 but he let it go quickly. 
 
 " Your daughter ? " he said tentatively. 
 
 "My Annetje,my little v'ite tofe ! Among her flowers 
 she sings. Some tay, not yet, I gif her v'at you pring." 
 
 " I should like to see her garden." 
 
 " So ! You take an inter-est in flowers ? T'at is veil. 
 For myself, I am an ignorant concerning t'em, ant yet 
 ve are tolt to consiter how t'ey grow visout t'ought, or 
 care. It is no easy lesson for man to learn. Vill you 
 come, sir?" 
 
 Together they stepped through the open window, the 
 58
 
 A Friend of the Family 
 
 captain following his host a trifle shamefacedly. At 
 the sound of their approaching steps the girl turned 
 and, for a moment, it seemed as if she were about to 
 run ; there was something half of fear, half of dismay, 
 in her attitude ; then her glance, shy as a bird's, sought 
 Bellenden's face. She had no thought to give to the 
 small, bent figure in rusty black in front of him, she did 
 not even see it ; she only saw that other coming toward 
 her, erect and manly in bearing, his beaver beneath his 
 arm, his head bared to the sun and the warmth of his 
 smile engulfing her. Then her heart followed her eyes. 
 
 She was slower herself in complying with her father's 
 command and advanced to meet his guest, as timidly 
 as if she were a little child adventuring into the pres- 
 ence of some giant. As she sank before him in an awk- 
 ward curtsey her distress and, at the same time, her 
 delight were very evident to the young man's practised 
 eye. The soft wild-rose tinge that suffused her cheeks 
 and throat spoke more loudly than she was aware, but 
 aside from the faintest greeting she had no word for 
 him. 
 
 Bellenden's eloquence, however, was something to 
 make gods and mortals stare. The stone, that in the 
 domine's study had so effectually barred his conversa- 
 tional powers, had been miraculously rolled away, and 
 he found himself talking with fluent ease to the father 
 and daughter on such subjects as he felt were not re- 
 mote from their interest. He was absolutely impar- 
 tial in his attentions, save for the occasional putting-by 
 of vine, or shrub, from the girl's path and she, to whom 
 this bewildering mixture of deference and admiration 
 possessed all the charm of a novelty that set her pulses 
 
 59
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 rioting, and not yet mistress of herself, thanked him 
 shyly with her glance. 
 
 It was an extensive garden, but only the earlier flow- 
 ers were in bloom, though everywhere there was prom- 
 ise of beauty and abundance in the summer whose fore- 
 runner had come, sweet-scented and light of foot, sing- 
 ing into the land. Its present parsimony, however, 
 could not be eked out into any great show of wealth and 
 Bellenden knew he had no reasonable excuse to linger 
 with his platitudes, despite the fact that it was a pleasant 
 spot wherein to loiter indefinitely with one of his com- 
 panions at least. He had extolled Dutch gardening 
 with the fervor of a proselyte, not once, but many 
 times, had pointed out the difference between the trim, 
 stiff beds and the models of English taste, awarding the 
 palm to the former with flattering candor; he had 
 claimed an intimate acquaintance with the tulips of 
 Holland and, in almost the same breath, when brought 
 face to face with a mass of their blossoms, lying like 
 some still sea of color held in bounds by edgings of 
 pungent green, he had demanded their name with 
 childish simplicity. 
 
 If the domine, who was the most unsuspicious of 
 men, did not discover his guest's ignorance and du- 
 plicity, Jack Bellenden made a not unpleasing discovery 
 for himself. To wit : that when Annetje smiled a little 
 dimple, the size of a small hazel-nut, played at hide and 
 seek in the soft roundness of the cheek nearest him. 
 But her eyes were persistently lowered, and what lurked 
 beneath their satin-white lids he could not guess; his 
 curiosity was piqued. For the moment all thoughts of 
 departure were summarily dismissed. 
 
 60
 
 A Friend of the Family 
 
 The day was almost done. The sunshine was grow- 
 ing fainter ; it seemed woven half of glittering threads 
 of light, and half of green caught from the new leaves 
 of trees and vines that hung delicate and feathery 
 against the pale blue sky. The breeze had fallen in 
 this hour before sundown and the air was full of the 
 silver pipings of frogs in near-by pools and every now 
 and again the bass boom of a bull-frog added a martial 
 sound to the unceasing chorus. From a distance came 
 the merry note of a bobolink, that happiest bird of the 
 spring-time, and closer at hand some sparrows, chat- 
 tering in the tulip-tree over the last important happen- 
 ings of the day, made ready for the night. 
 
 The little party of three had reached the end of the 
 garden-walk ; below them the land dipped a trifle and 
 as they stood on a slight eminence they could see, 
 through the lightly veiled shrubbery, the high wall that 
 girt it round and the gate that led out to the unfre- 
 quented lane. 
 
 " Do I leave you here ? " Bellenden asked. 
 
 " No," Annetje breathed. 
 
 " No," the domine answered. " Nefer usedt is t'at 
 gate I t'ink it nefer has peen usedt in my tay; vis 
 veets is it grown ofer. Is not t'at so, kleintje? " 
 
 Annetje murmured something: she had not opened 
 it for years and years, not since she was a child. 
 
 " Oh ! ho, you openedt it t'en ? Put v'ere vas I ? 
 Ofer my pooks, eh ? Fery like fery like." 
 
 The father smiled indulgently at the belated con- 
 fession, the deception mattered nothing to him. As he 
 had bent above his books, he had not heard the clang 
 of the gate when the little fingers had let it slip to 
 
 61
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 gently ; he had not heard it grate on its hinges in those 
 other days when it had been opened and closed by older 
 hands. Yet the years held both memories, guilty and 
 innocent figures met and clasped for a moment. Bell- 
 enden regarded the wicket intently as his companions 
 spoke, he should not err in finding it again, if ever the 
 occasion offered that disused stretch of land beyond 
 the old wall, and the gate standing there near the black 
 trunk of a lightning-riven tree were unforgettable. He 
 turned with the others and retraced his steps. 
 
 When next he sought the parsonage he had a brief, 
 and not altogether enjoyable, interview with the domine 
 alone, which was succeeded by one even more dreary, 
 if that were possible. Another time the domine was 
 abroad and when Bellenden, very timidly because of 
 Heilke's chill demeanor, inquired for his friend's 
 daughter, the keeper of the keys, as if stricken suddenly 
 deaf and dumb, banged the door resolutely to and locked 
 it with dire significance. A similar result coming soon 
 thereafter fanned his feelings into a quicker flame. He 
 was one of those men whom opposition, even if it were 
 but the blind intervention of inanimate things, rendered 
 absolutely intolerant. He would brook no opposition. 
 He meant no harm. If he had seen Annetje every time 
 he visited her father, the chances are he would have 
 tired of her quickly enough. But not to see her to 
 go to the dull, old place, knowing that somewhere with- 
 in its four walls, or in the garden without, there was 
 beauty to quicken a man's pulse and make him forget 
 the world was like the spark to tow. He simply would 
 override circumstances. 
 
 . He saw her again, and in her father's study. She 
 
 62
 
 A Friend of the Family 
 
 came into the room bearing a tray, on which were 
 two high drinking-glasses painted in bright colors, a 
 pitcher of hot water, a slender, fluted glass-bottle con- 
 taining arrack and a silver bite-and-stir box, holding 
 in its shell-like divisions the different kinds of sugar. 
 He did not know that she had just routed Heilke in 
 the kitchen and it was only owing to her dexterity and 
 subtlety that an old and ugly Hebe was not attending 
 to his wants. Heilke, at that very moment, was in the 
 depths of her vast store-closet whither she had gone 
 to get some little seed-cakes to supplement the punch 
 and where she must remain until her more skilled ad- 
 versary should turn the key again and set her free. As 
 it was, he attributed the glitter of victory in the girl's 
 eyes and the heightened color in her cheeks to the fact 
 that she was seeing him again. The thought tickled 
 his complacency. 
 
 The old minister sweetened his drink to his liking, 
 but the younger man left his cup-bearer to serve him, 
 watching her face, through the steam of the water, grow 
 rosier under his regard. As she stood before him and 
 the domine clattered his spoon in his glass, there came 
 a knock at the door and Jan Praa appeared on the 
 threshold intent upon some errand. Domine Ryerssen 
 set down his punch reluctantly and crossed the room to 
 speak to him. 
 
 "No more sugar; faith, it needed no sweetening when 
 once you'd glanced therein," Bellenden whispered 
 hastily. " We've a song writ by a rare, old fellow and 
 two lines go this way : ' Or leave a kiss but in the cup, 
 and I'll not look for wine/ Not I. I'd seek the kiss 
 instead." 
 
 63
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 The girl kept her eyes on the floor, though her dimple 
 showed she had heard him and was not displeased. 
 
 " I have been here several times and until to-day not 
 a glimpse have I caught of you. Is it to be always so ? 
 That ugly, old woman will have it you're not at home 
 she's small liking for me and I've done her no ill. 
 May I not come by the little gate down there and trouble 
 no one to let me in ? " 
 
 The girl trembled, but still she maintained the same 
 silence. 
 
 " It's easy finding it and the afternoons are long 
 when one is alone very long. Tell me that I may 
 come." 
 
 " How s'ouldt I know ? " she murmured swiftly. She 
 hardly moved her lips, he had to bend his head close to 
 catch the words. 
 
 " How ? Listen. Was that a bird, mistress An- 
 netje?" 
 
 She gave a low laugh and cast a quick, frightened 
 glance over her shoulder. The two men at the door 
 were deeply engrossed, the one in giving, the other in 
 receiving some order ; they did not heed the soft suc- 
 cession of rippling notes near at hand. 
 
 " A bird was it, child ? Some might think it so, but 
 you and I know different." 
 
 64
 
 VI 
 
 MOTHER AND DAUGHTER 
 
 " You sent for me, madam ? " 
 
 At her daughter's entrance Mrs. Crewe glanced up 
 from her writing-table ; she looked old and jaded in the 
 pitiless sunshine which streamed into the little blue and 
 gold leather closet, where it was her custom to sit before 
 dinner busying herself with her accounts. It being 
 still early morning she had not put on her red, and her 
 face, in comparison with the freshness of the young 
 beauty before her, showed sallow and lined, nor had she 
 apparently devoted either much time or care to her 
 dress. She was one of those women who consider that 
 anything, no matter how shabby, will do for the privacy 
 of the family circle and in consequence her mob-cap 
 was draggled and grimy furnishing a fit accompaniment 
 to her tumbled chintz wrapper. She did not speak for 
 the space of a minute, but continued scribbling on some 
 cards; when that was done she threw sand on the 
 writing from her caster, shaking it with a vehement 
 hand. 
 
 " I am forced to be my own secretary," she said with 
 temper. 
 
 " La, mamma, is the poor man indisposed ? " 
 
 " The third secretary I have had since Michaelmas," 
 Mrs. Crewe went on fretfully, "and such a nice-spoken, 
 gentlemanly man and well-connected too he made an 
 
 65
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 appearance at one's table that even the most captious 
 could not quarrel with." 
 
 " Indeed yes, you say right, until just lately, until his 
 nose grew peaked and he sighed like some monstrous 
 furnace. He fell off villainously in his appetite, too. I 
 vow it took away what little I possessed to have the 
 fellow sitting opposite fiddling with his food like a girl 
 in the vapors. But there ! they all have had the same 
 complaint, I think." 
 
 " Think, miss," Mrs. Crewe interrupted, unable to 
 contain herself longer. " You know as well as I." 
 
 Peggy tapped her foot reflectively upon the floor. 
 
 "A lingering illness," she said after a moment, 
 '* symptoms stuttering speech, hollow eyes darting 
 burning glances, an indifference to work, a tendency to 
 write execrable verses, disinclination for food, pains in 
 the chest to the left side, that is a predisposition to 
 melancholy and moonlight hm ! hm ! Patient talks 
 much of early death, with all the probability that he 
 will see three-score and end with gout from high liv- 
 ing. Don't distress yourself^ madam, they never die of 
 the complaint." 
 
 " No, they don't die of it, but it unfits them for their 
 duties," Mrs. Crewe snapped. " I was willing enough 
 to let the other two go, having the promise of this 
 young fellow out of Surrey. Such an excellent pen- 
 man as he was and of quick understanding, a word 
 was sufficient for him a good voice, too, in reading 
 aloud " 
 
 " And in singing also, madam. Did you ever hear 
 his : ' Oh so white ! Oh so soft ! Oh so sweet so 
 swee-ee-eet is she ' ? " 
 
 66
 
 Mother and Daughter 
 
 " Recommended by Sir Charles Hardy himself," 
 pursued the angry woman, taking no note of the girl's 
 song, " who assured me that he was a gentleman by 
 birth, a cadet of the family of " 
 
 " Mercy on us ! and this paragon has slipped through 
 your fingers. Let's have the town-crier out to call your 
 loss." 
 
 " If you're not more respectful, miss, I'll lock you in 
 your chamber and keep you there for a week on bread 
 and water. I'll let you know I have some authority in 
 my own house at least." 
 
 " Nay, I meant no harm. I was but offering my con- 
 dolence in a proper spirit and I see I've offended you 
 I cry your pardon. Has the young gentleman gone to 
 drown himself incontinently off the quay, or will the 
 fish pond suffice? A little cold water will do him in- 
 finite good. Why, ma'am, having some faint suspicion 
 of his complaint I did honestly try to overcome it by 
 such measures, but I presume the fever must run its 
 course. Shall you ask for prayers in the church ? " 
 
 The corners of Mrs. Crewe's mouth were drawn 
 down ominously. 
 
 " One thing you must learn, Margaret : I am not 
 going to suffer impertinence. You'd best have a 
 care." 
 
 " La, I think so, when you forget to call me Peggy. 
 Such a stiff and stately name as that same Margaret is 
 to come from the lips of a girl's mother, and all because 
 a little scrubby secretary chooses to pout and cry for 
 the moon." She paused a moment, standing irresolute 
 in the sunlight, her laughing face lengthening into sud- 
 den gravity. Then, as if vanquishing her fears, she 
 
 67
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 threw back her head and tip-toed across the room to 
 the writing-table. " You don't want him to have the 
 moon ? " she demanded softly. 
 
 The elder woman twitched her arm away. 
 
 " I want you to leave him alone." 
 
 " But I did, oh ! la, yes, and that's the trouble. If I 
 hadn't he'd be here to-day blotting all this nice paper 
 and drawing pictures of me when you weren't looking, 
 and trying to make ' secretarry ' rhyme with ' Peg I 
 marry.' Indeed, I know him. But he'll come round 
 perhaps." 
 
 " I wish you'd remember," her mother returned peev- 
 ishly, " that those creatures are really men, and if you 
 flatter them by listening to them as you've a trick of 
 doing, miss, I'm neither a fool, nor blind they will fall 
 to dreaming. And this was such a nice boy, you might 
 have left him alone." 
 
 " Faith I did, I swear it ! What pretty little ears you 
 have, madam, and how those garnet rings become 
 them." 
 
 " They can't help dreaming and the waking is dis- 
 agreeable for everyone. Here am I with all these cards 
 for my drum unwritten and that pile of business letters 
 there to be answered, and Mr. Secretary sends me 
 word he's too ill to wait on me this morning. Pre- 
 sumptuous ! " 
 
 " Presumptuous," echoed Peggy with righteous in- 
 dignation, though she stifled a yawn the next moment. 
 "Well, let him go ! 'Twill not be difficult to replace him. 
 La, mamma, you're never going to make the fellow more 
 conceited than he is by having him suppose he is in- 
 dispensable to you. There are good secretaries going 
 
 68
 
 Mother and Daughter 
 
 a-begging at this very moment, those who would mind 
 their p's and q's better than he, I warrant." 
 
 " Tis you, miss, who should mind your p's and q's 
 as you call it. I'm tired of your behaviour. When I 
 was a young lady my name was not on every lip " 
 
 " Oh ! fie, mamma. I've heard you were the toast of 
 the town ' Gentlemen, I give you the eyes of Nelly 
 Fanshawe ' " 
 
 "Hm! I had fine eyes." 
 
 "Had, madam?" ' 
 
 " There run away, child. You disturb me and I've 
 double work to do all on account of your nonsense. I 
 suppose you mean no great harm." 
 
 " Indeed, no, but what can a poor girl do when those 
 simple creatures swear they love her? It's like my 
 Lady Betty in the play where she says she could no 
 more choose a man by her eye than a shoe. ' We must 
 draw them on a little to see if they are right,' says she, 
 ' and then the poor wretch tells one he'll widen 'em, or 
 do anything, and is so civil and so silly that one doesn't 
 know how to turn such a trifle as a pair of shoes, or a 
 heart, upon a fellow's hands again.' 'Tis very hard," 
 she drew a deep sigh and dropped her head in mock 
 melancholy ; the chief charm of her face was its mobil- 
 ity it could assume at short notice any expression she 
 willed, but at this moment there was a mischievous light 
 in her eyes that gave the lie to her demure lips. 
 
 " You must marry, Peggy." 
 
 " Not I," she snapped her fingers disdainfully. 
 " What ! be chained to one of those tejus creatures for 
 a life-time, to hear, first his vows, then his protestations, 
 then his ratings, then his jealousies, to be at his beck 
 
 69
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 and call ? Not I. I am in love with no man, I am in 
 love with my own freedom." She moved away from the 
 arm of the chair, where she had been lounging, to the 
 centre of the room and took a few dancing steps, hold- 
 ing up her gown on either side. The sight of her radi- 
 ant, flippant beauty angered the watching woman. 
 
 " But I tell you you must marry," she retorted, bring- 
 ing her little fist down on the table angrily, her face 
 red with passion. " I'm worried half to death by my 
 affairs. There have been losses Jameson has misman- 
 aged and I am hard put to meet all your extravagances 
 and those of your brother. He is in debt half the time 
 and he, wanting two years of full age, forgets that what 
 I give him I give out of my own generosity. As for 
 you, there's not another girl in town who fritters away 
 as much money on fallals, and if they brought any good 
 results, the Lord knows I'd not begrudge it " 
 
 "If they brought any good results?" Peggy inter- 
 rupted coldly, her head high. " I don't understand you. 
 Faith, do you think that when I don my blue gown it's 
 with the object to draw an offer of marriage from this 
 man, or t'other? Or when I put on my rose-colored 
 taffetas that I say to myself ' this will fetch Tom, Dick 
 and Harry to your feet ' ? I know they're there, they'd 
 be there if I looked a frump in linsey-woolsey because 
 I'm Peggy Crewe." She shrugged her shoulders, her 
 face dimpling. " No, when I study the fashion-babies 
 at my mantua-maker's 'tis for the reason that I want to 
 go as fine nay finer than any Miss of my acquaint- 
 ance. La, I'm not thinking of the men at all when I 
 dress, 'tis only to be a thorn in the flesh of my sisters." 
 She threw back her head, laughing immoderately. " Oh 
 
 70
 
 Mother and Daughter 
 
 lud ! how I prick some of 'em," she added after a mo- 
 ment, wiping her eyes with a little square of lawn edged 
 with lace. 
 
 " I don't know what I've done," the widow moaned, 
 "that Heaven should punish me with such undutiful 
 children. I'm sure I was the pattern of docility to my 
 own poor, dear mamma and papa I never thought of 
 questioning their authority. When they said ' marry ' 
 I was willing to accept their word as final, and so I told 
 your father when he came a-wooing. Even if he hadn't 
 adored me to distraction I should have obeyed them 
 unquestioningly." 
 
 Peggy's short upper lip curled wickedly. She was 
 not oblivious of the fact that her grandfather's money- 
 bags were largely instrumental in buying the hand and 
 heart of a certain impecunious gentleman, whose old 
 family name had been an object of envy to many of 
 lesser birth in the new colony. She carried the remem- 
 brance of numerous heated discussions waged between 
 her parents stowed safely away in the lavender of her 
 memory. 
 
 " And when I only have your good at heart," the 
 fretful voice went on, " I don't counsel you to marry 
 everybody " 
 
 " Goodness gracious, I should hope not, mamma ! " 
 
 " You know very well what I mean, miss," cried Mrs. 
 Crewe shrilly. " I want you to be particular, I am par- 
 ticular for you myself. You've the pick of the town at 
 your feet and the best of all the strangers who come to 
 us. Who are you, I'd like to know, that you should not 
 be thankful of a good match when it is offered ? Youth 
 doesn't last forever, let me tell you. You'd best remem- 
 
 71
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 her that ! There's young Lofters now, who is travelling 
 over here with his tutor it's a good title and rich " 
 
 "That little fool?" 
 
 The widow drew her breath with a deep gasp of 
 horror. 
 
 " I marvel at you for saying so. He is cried up on 
 all sides for his parts. They are remarkable for a lord." 
 
 " I've heard an oyster speak as eloquently fifty times. 
 La, if he's a wit 'tis only by the grace of our women, 
 and not from any gift of nature. One would think he 
 chewed opium, he's so tejus stupid." 
 
 " The alliance would please me vastly, such noble 
 estates Jameson has made all inquiries and he adores 
 you, my dear, he does indeed the whole town talks of 
 his infatuation. Come, think better of it a title and 
 court, a house in London and several seats in the coun- 
 try What could a girl ask better ? He's not so simple 
 after all, though your cousin laughs horrid at him and 
 counsels me not to press his suit." 
 
 " I'd thank our cousin Bellenden to hold his tongue," 
 Peggy cried with flaming cheeks as she paced up and 
 down the room, setting by an encroaching chair with a 
 tempestuous hand. " Lofters is a a he's not so bad, 
 really, when you come to think of it. I don't know a 
 man who bows with more grace." 
 
 " Then you will be kind to him ? " 
 
 " I won't promise, but if my cousin thinks to influence 
 me by what he says I'll show him different. Cousin 
 Bellenden, forsooth! The man has bewitched you all 
 Larry is his very shadow and you like to have him 
 here, you know you do. A man who, first and last, is 
 in love with himself and thinks every petticoat he meets 
 
 72
 
 Mother and Daughter 
 
 shares the infatuation, one who dawdles about all day 
 and plays cards all night. A pretty fellow, he, to give 
 counsel on any subject! If you're vexed with Larry 
 because he spends too much, forbid him my cousin 
 Bellenden's company then." 
 
 " The captain is not one to lead any boy astray. 
 Larry was reckless and extravagant before his coming, 
 as you know. This is not the first time I've spoke 
 to you about him. I've just had an interview with 
 him and I told him that I'll give him no more money 
 until next quarter, and pay no more debts whatever 
 they be, nor to whom incurred I've let as much get 
 abroad Do see who's knocking, Peggy." 
 
 The girl lounged over to the door and flung it wide, 
 disclosing a servant in the passage without. 
 
 " What is it, Hobbes ? Never visitors at this un- 
 earthly hour? " 
 
 " It's Capting Bellenden, miss. He's in the tapes- 
 try-room and he presents his compliments to my lady, 
 and he 
 
 " That will do. Tell the gentleman Mrs. Crewe will 
 be with him shortly." She waited until the flunkey 
 was out of hearing, then she stepped back into the 
 room. 
 
 " Your precious captain, madam," she announced 
 pompously, " and I've not denied you to him." 
 
 " But I can't see him in this ojious dishabille, I'm 
 such a fright! Help me, love, my hair has all come 
 down and this cap is outrageous unbecoming. Do you 
 go to him, dear child, and keep him talking. I promise 
 to join you in five minutes at the most. Oh! you 
 wouldn't have me go looking as I do." 
 
 73
 
 " He might not come again," Peggy laughed wick- 
 edly. 
 
 " Then run, there's a pet ! and you shall have the gar- 
 nets you coveted so the other day." 
 
 Peggy made a wry face and stood balancing her 
 hand, almost as if she were weighing the jewels in 
 question against her scruples. 
 
 " They come pretty high," she mused. " I wonder if 
 they're worth it Well ! I'll close the bargain. But not 
 more than five minutes, remember." 
 
 The last words were uttered to empty air, for Mrs. 
 Crewe had beaten a hasty retreat. The girl looked after 
 her flying skirts with some amusement, then, affecting 
 a yawn, she walked carelessly over to the mirror be- 
 tween the windows, twitched the lace at her throat, 
 patted her hair into shape and drew a little patch-box 
 from her pocket and applied a small, black crescent to 
 one cheek, shifting it from one position to another. 
 When it was at last satisfactorily disposed she played 
 the peacock for some moments longer, then she leaned 
 closer to the mirror, with her hands resting on either 
 side of the frame, and studied the reflection there until 
 the mist from her breath blurred the smiling picture ; 
 she gave a short laugh as she turned away. 
 
 A long acquaintance with her mother had imbued 
 her with the knowledge that to hasten over the mys- 
 teries of the toilet is not one of the prerogatives of 
 advancing years, and her manner, therefore, was leis- 
 urely and unconcerned as she sauntered along the cor- 
 ridor until the tapestry-room was reached. She paused 
 there a moment, her eyes kindling with mischief, and 
 drew one end of her gauze scarf closer to her cheek, 
 
 74
 
 Mother and Daughter 
 
 then she set the door ajar. Slight as was the noise she 
 made the man, who was studying a picture on the far 
 side of the room, heard it and turned to meet her. 
 
 She sank before him in a low curtsey, almost touch- 
 ing the floor with her knee and letting the scarf drop 
 slowly from her mocking face. 
 
 " Not your charmer, cousin Bellenden," she said de- 
 murely, " but do not grieve as those without hope. She 
 will come later very much later, I fear me! For the 
 present I am here to comfort you in your affliction and 
 to divert you, so my mamma hath commanded. Shall 
 I show you my new dancing-steps? My master says 
 I do them with uncommon grace, but la, the poor man 
 dotes on me. Or shall I say a verse to you out of the 
 poets, or my alphabet perhaps? 'Twas only this very 
 morning that my mamma cautioned me to mind my 
 p's and q's." 
 
 75
 
 VII 
 
 Peggy stood at one of the long windows in the 
 chintz-room, gazing disconsolately at the sodden land- 
 scape and beating a little monotonous tattoo upon the 
 rain-splashed glass. The day was full of gloom ; a gray 
 mist rose from the river to meet the gray sky closing 
 the prospect in, and through the sheets of falling water 
 the trees loomed indistinct shapes, now distant, now 
 near at hand, dripping with moisture ; even the flowers, 
 in the trim parterres, had lost their vivid hues and cow- 
 ered, like so many wraiths of their former beauty, be- 
 fore the driving wind, or lay bent and broken where re- 
 sistance had proved unavailing. 
 
 The girl yawned dismally and glanced back at her 
 brother sitting at the table in the center of the room, 
 ostensibly busy with a book which, her keen eyes told 
 her, he was only making a pretence of reading. He 
 seemed to ignore her presence, though that he was 
 aware of it was evidenced by the fact that, when she 
 was not looking, he cast stealthy glances her way. The 
 silence between them continued for some time un- 
 broken, save for the sound that came from her im- 
 patient fingers ; then finally, as if it had grown unbear- 
 able even to her, she quitted her place at the window 
 and seated herself opposite him, leaning forward and 
 resting her elbows on the polished surface of the table 
 
 76
 
 A Conspiracy 
 
 and dropping her chin into the little hollow formed by 
 her hands. 
 
 " ' Why so pale and wan, fond lover, prythee, why 
 so pale ? ' " she mocked. 
 
 He pushed the book from him and thrust his legs 
 out to their utmost extent, eying the buckles which 
 adorned his shoes with a sudden keen interest. 
 
 " Where's my mother ? " he demanded after a mo- 
 ment. 
 
 A smile twitched at the corners of Peggy's mouth, 
 though she kept her voice demure enough as she an- 
 swered his question. 
 
 " In her office, putting the new secretary through his 
 paces. A chaplain this time that sounds well, doesn't 
 it? Mrs. Crewe's chaplain so domestic and sedate! 
 I'd have dispensed with the cloth and the squint had I 
 been consulted. It's good he closes his eyes when he 
 prays, else would he disconcert the Lord in very truth. 
 Well, I shall never be able to tell when he is looking 
 my way which will set my mother's fears at rest " 
 
 " I should think you might be serious some time," 
 grumbled her brother. 
 
 " Serious, oh, la, yes, as serious as you please," the 
 girl shrugged her shoulders indifferently. " Why should 
 you doubt me? But you ask too much. Do you re- 
 member the brook up at Crewe Park ? It chatters and 
 dances over the stones on its way to the sea and even 
 when it passes through the darkest woods it doesn't 
 stop its laughing, being just a shallow, little brook it 
 keeps its merry voice unaltered. It can't change. The 
 shadows have reached its heart, we know, and yet the 
 chatter goes on unceasingly, because that's its nature. 
 
 77
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 You don't quarrel with it on that account, do you ? " 
 She put her hand on his arm half-caressingly. " What 
 is it the old trouble?" 
 
 He shrugged away from her touch and turned in his 
 chair to cast a cautious glance around the room, which 
 even the cheerless light could not rob of its brilliant 
 coloring; then he leant nearer his companion. 
 
 " Clean broke," he whispered. 
 
 " I'm so sorry, boy, and I can't help you. My mother 
 was in a pretty tantrum t'other day when she discovered 
 those silly beads were missing. I don't know how she 
 found out. She's taken my jewel-case into her keep- 
 ing now, and doles me out an occasional trinket as if I 
 was still a child. Here's a locket though, if 'twill be 
 of any use. But faith ! things will take a turn, Touch- 
 stone will save you " 
 
 " Touchstone ! " Larry's voice broke over the sylla- 
 bles. " I tell you what it is, Peggy, I'll go hang my- 
 self." 
 
 The girl's hands flew up to hide her face turned sud- 
 denly ashy gray. 
 
 " Don't," she cried from behind their shelter. " Oh ! 
 how could you how could you ? Why should you re- 
 mind me of it every moment ? I can't sleep nights for 
 seeing that figure hanging there it's always before me 
 every nodding branch makes me think of what they 
 found in the woods " 
 
 " I didn't know you cared " 
 
 " Why ? Because I laughed, and teased, and seemed 
 light-hearted ? It's the brook's way, I tell you, it's my 
 nature and it helps me to forget. When I am quiet my 
 thoughts are enough to drive me mad. The daylight 
 
 78
 
 A Conspiracy 
 
 doesn't keep the sight away, though I bless the day- 
 light that is so long in coming. Oh ! Larry I think the 
 nights are fifty hours long." 
 
 " You might have averted all this," he admonished 
 pompously, perplexed by her vehemence and her un- 
 natural, tremulous voice ; her chatter was more to his 
 liking, though he had seen fit to quarrel with it a mo- 
 ment before. 
 
 " I never dreamt it would end this way," she said un- 
 steadily. " How could I know he would be so weak ? 
 For it was weak in him to take his life because a girl's 
 love was not for him, as if that was all the world had 
 to offer as if the struggles the buffetings, the over- 
 coming, amounted to nothing. Love! I hate the silly 
 mawkish word. What does it mean after all? You, 
 who have sighed to this woman and that, tell me if 
 you can what you mean by love. A thousand times 
 you've sworn you'd die for her I'll wager that then 
 one day she frowns, or her beauty's askew, or more 
 likely still your own fancy, which is lighter than this- 
 tledown, blows cold and you go your way forgetting 
 quickly, and all that dies is that little, formless thing 
 you called love. Bah! It's vanity, it's caprice, it's 
 passion perhaps, it's anything but what will endure. I 
 please one man because of my shape, another because 
 his fellow admires me, a third because of the arch of 
 my foot, a fourth because of my mother's gold, and 
 were I not by any other girl would win the same re- 
 gard. He'd swear to her in just the same fashion, 
 swear to a dozen hers, very like, at the same time, for 
 you men are spendthrifts in your protestations." She 
 stopped out of breath. 
 
 79
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " I I thought he was like the others," she went on 
 after a moment. " I'd heard it all before so many times, 
 read almost the same verses, met almost the same 
 glances it was just in the play, you know. And I 
 I laughed at him, bade him stick to his desk, go or 
 come it mattered not to me. But the end " her voice 
 dropped to a shuddering whisper, " here one day 
 alive and well, and I mocking him and the next, that 
 ghastly, silent thing they found yonder, upbraiding me 
 with his poor dead lips. His heart meant nothing to 
 me 'twas a mere plaything but his life Ah ! how 
 different how different. To give up all the joy of liv- 
 ing, the beauty of the earth and sky to become 
 that! " 
 
 " Lord ! Peggy, the fellow had little spirit and so let 
 him go. My mother talked a deal about his breeding, 
 but he was a craven when everything's said and done. 
 Tis only a coward, after all, that will let circumstances 
 get the best of him. A man should be master of his 
 fate, or make a good fight for it, then conqueror, or 
 conquered he has proved his mettle." 
 
 A sudden smile broke up the misery on the girl's face. 
 
 " Hear the parson ! " she jeered. " A moment ago he 
 was all for hanging himself." 
 
 " Words are not deeds," he returned sententiously, 
 "but if I was, it was for no such trivial thing as a 
 woman's favor." 
 
 " No, your head will take care of your heart, past a 
 doubt. We Crewes are like that. I've no fear for 
 either of us whatever fate may bring gay words to the 
 end and no showing of wounds for the pity of others 
 that's our creed ! But despite my brave speeches I'm 
 
 80
 
 A Conspiracy 
 
 going to do what no Crewe has ever yet done I am 
 going to run away." Her voice grew tremulous again. 
 " I can't stay here that's the truth ! with that dread- 
 ful shadow haunting me at every turn of the paths and 
 stepping out to meet me on the stairs, and in the cor- 
 ridors. I hate every soul I see, and as for drums, and 
 cards, and gossip at the Pump, or in the Gardens 
 why, I've no taste for 'em. It's all so tejus dull the 
 same stale round, nothing diverting, nothing new ! So, 
 the chance offering, I'm going to Albany to visit Nancy 
 Stirling. I've my mother's permission to stay a month 
 at least. My boxes are nearly packed and Bennet and 
 I go by the Speedwell, Captain Lewis, the day after to- 
 morrow. I'd wait for the Runs only my mother won't 
 have it, the ship must sail Thursday, willy-nilly, she has 
 already been delayed a sennight past her time. But I 
 wish you luck, boy my prayers go with you." 
 
 " Keep 'em for yourself," he retorted gruffly. " I've 
 no need of 'em." 
 
 She missed the note of confidence from his bluster- 
 ing tones and scanned his face curiously. His eyes 
 in which anger, disappointment, and stolid resignation 
 struggled and rent one another for supremacy met 
 hers unflinchingly for a moment ; then her lips framed 
 a questioning word, though she did not utter it aloud. 
 
 " Sandy got into a brawl with some roughs last night 
 and they did for him," he cried " broke his ribs and 
 his head he's a mass of pulp. He'll not ride again 
 this season, curse him ! " 
 
 "Was it foul play?" 
 
 " He swears as much, says they set on him without 
 provocation but I know him for a swaggerer. What 
 
 81
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 does it matter? The mischief's done and he's unfitted 
 for his work. As for me, with this confounded stiff- 
 ness, I couldn't ride my beauty through any race with 
 the hope to win and oh God ! he's in such prime con- 
 dition." 
 
 Peggy sat and stared open-mouthed, open-eyed ; her 
 ready tongue silenced in the presence of her brother's 
 misery. 
 
 " And the purse gone ! " his voice seemed to come 
 from a great distance, it was so husky. " I'd looked on 
 it as mine it would have been mine, I tell you there 
 isn't a horse in the field to be feared, none of 'em are 
 any good compared to Touchstone. The purse was 
 ours, past a doubt! And then the bets out on him 
 Gad, I meant to wipe out old scores and begin afresh. 
 At the coffee-houses the odds are all in our favor and 
 now I must sneak away and hide myself, or go and 
 grin, and wave my hat when another man's horse 
 streaks past the winning-post while my own beauty is 
 fretting his heart out, useless in his stall." 
 
 " There's no one " Peggy began softly. 
 
 " No one you know the stables as well as I. Sandy 
 was the only one of the lot who could manage Touch- 
 stone. There isn't another of the boys but Greene that 
 that horse will stand having near him and Greene 
 can't ride straight the sight of a crowd paralyzes him, 
 he has no head ! It'd be throwing over the race at the 
 start to put him up." 
 
 " I know I know poor Touchstone " 
 
 " Don't ! I've been through that until I'm half 
 mad." 
 
 There was a long silence between the two which was 
 82
 
 A Conspiracy 
 
 broken at last by the girl with a faint scream, as she 
 jumped to her feet and ran around in front of her 
 brother. 
 
 " Larry, there is some one else ! We were fools to 
 have forgotten." 
 
 "Who? For God's sake, don't keep me in sus- 
 pense." 
 
 She paused half breathless, half laughing. Then with 
 a sudden stiffening of her figure, so that on the moment 
 it seemed to grow awkward and wooden before his 
 eyes, she put her hand to her head and pulled an im- 
 aginary forelock, scraping her foot behind her as a 
 country lout might have done. 
 
 " Your sarvint, Mester Larry." 
 
 A wave of crimson flooded the young fellow's face 
 and the muscles in his throat throbbed visibly with the 
 strain he put upon himself to keep from striking her. 
 He stared at her a moment without a word, contempt 
 growing in his glance, then : " You little cat ! " he cried 
 in smothered accents as he flung himself out of his chair 
 and made as though to leave the room. She caught 
 him by the arm, unheeding the fury in his eyes. 
 
 " Larry, listen ! I mean every word. I can ride 
 Touchstone. What's to prevent my riding him the day 
 of the race? Hush! let me speak. You want the 
 money, Touchstone wants the glory and I I want the 
 excitement. Oh the novelty of the thing the crowd 
 the start the run the finish the victory! Why 
 shouldn't I do it? Because I am a girl? Well, see! 
 you are in a great strait, crippled with debts and our 
 mother is obdurate, or so she says, and the solution is 
 very simple. This race, the purse, and the money from 
 
 83
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 your bets are all yours if you will let me help you. 
 Won't you?" 
 
 Their faces were very close; the one flushed with 
 recklessness, the other white and wavering, touched 
 with hope, incredulity and despair. 
 
 " You couldn't do it, Peggy," he said hoarsely after 
 a moment. 
 
 " Couldn't do it couldn't it. Do you remember 
 what cousin Bellenden told us of the Woffington mas- 
 querading in private life as a young gallant to avenge 
 herself on that faithless Irish lover of hers ? How she 
 frequented the garden never mind which one dressed 
 as a fop and met the titled lady for whom he had desert- 
 ed her ; how she, still in her disguise, paid court to that 
 lady and when she had won her liking denounced that 
 other's deceit and treachery ? What Peggy Woffington 
 could do to punish a lover, Peggy Crewe can do to help 
 her brother. Lud, Larry, don't frown on the scheme 
 'tis not so difficult, once you look sensibly at it. I'll 
 wager my mocus set nobody would recognize me, and 
 think of the rare sport I'd have, passing them by on 
 the run me and Touchstone beating them beating 
 them and a girl at that ! " 
 
 " You couldn't do it, Peggy." The words were the 
 same but the indecision in his voice filled her with 
 rapture ; she clung to his coat with both hands. 
 
 " So simple, Larry," she went on eagerly. " Sandy is 
 about my height and you've got a fire-new racing suit 
 for him let me have it and I'll manage the rest and 
 do you no discredit. That part is easy of arrangement 
 and sure, there's no question of my horsemanship. I'm 
 as much a part of my horse, once I'm on his back, as 
 
 84
 
 A Conspiracy 
 
 one of those thingumighigs in the history books. Since 
 the time I was five until I was fifteen I rode astride 
 both in saddle, or bareback, up at Crewe. In all our 
 rides together you never had to stop to remember I was 
 a girl and make allowances for me, did you? I rode 
 abreast with you across country, took the same leaps, 
 faced the same dangers oh! a cause loses when you 
 have to patch it up with boasts but you know what I 
 say is true." 
 
 " Every word is true, except that instead of riding 
 abreast with me you led and I followed, and thought it 
 no shame to be beaten by a girl when that girl was 
 Peggy. And 'tis the same to-day." 
 
 Her eyes danced with delight, her hands went up and 
 met about his neck. 
 
 " And Touchstone," she cried with a little break in 
 her voice that was half sob, half laugh, " he's my slave. 
 Skill and subtlety have made him obedient to you and 
 Sandy, but love has won him to me. You've not for- 
 got 'twas I that tamed him. I go into his stall without 
 a fear and he whinnies with joy at the sound of my 
 step. He will follow me in the paddock like a dog close 
 at heel a word from me and his muzzle is thrust into 
 my hand and his eyes look deep into mine until we 
 both read each other's heart. He stands motionless un- 
 der my caress, where he starts and trembles at the ap- 
 proach of yours. Is not that so? Think how often 
 I've rode him up at Crewe and of that first time when 
 I saddled him with my own hands and not a man in the 
 stables daring so much as touch him and he was as 
 gentle as gentle as a kitten to me." She stopped 
 breathless and shook her brother slightly, releasing 
 
 85
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 him the next moment. " Oh ! you don't trust me," she 
 wailed. 
 
 " I'd trust you anywhere," he answered hotly, " but 
 this is different. The crowd the race it takes a 
 steady head to disregard all the tumult and then 
 there's the disguise. What if you were recognized ? " 
 
 " Only let me ride, that's all I ask. If you trust me 
 so far, sure you can safely trust me for the rest. I sup- 
 pose the news of Sandy's disaster has got abroad by 
 now, and the talk everywhere is about who'll ride your 
 horse. Well, you can say an under-groom a lad from 
 England." 
 
 " But all this will interfere with your visit." 
 
 " Not a whit. I shall still go the day after to-mor- 
 row." She paused and laughed outright at the expres- 
 sion which blotted out the awakening joy in his face. 
 
 He stiffened at the sound of her mirth. In a mo- 
 ment the thought that had tortured him earlier appealed 
 to him again ; she was simply playing with him. All 
 her pleadings and little enthusiasms were but puppets 
 which she had marshalled forth, and dandled one after 
 the other, to relieve the tedium of a rainy day and to 
 help her forget what it would be well for her to remem- 
 ber always. She read his thoughts, even as they were 
 passing through his mind, and stopped him with a gest- 
 ure before he could denounce her. 
 
 " You silly boy to doubt me," her voice was a caress. 
 " Can't you see that I must go away so people won't 
 suspect anything? If I am here in town and not at 
 the races, though you should swear never so that I'd a 
 headache at home, some wise person would put two and 
 two together and by nightfall the whole place would 
 
 86
 
 A Conspiracy 
 
 know the answer to the sum. And then, there's my 
 mother, she must not dream of it she least of all ! No, 
 I must be out of every one's mind, so I'll set sail with 
 my woman as we've arranged. You must bring a vast 
 company to the wharf to bid me God-speed and that's 
 the last of Peggy for a month. Meanwhile, I'll only go 
 as far as Yonkers. There, for some excellent reason, 
 I'll have Captain Lewis set us ashore oh ! believe me, 
 he won't refuse anything I ask and you'll have horses 
 and coach awaiting us, and we'll post back to Green- 
 wich and stay at our cottage. The rest is simple you'll 
 come and fetch me away the morning of the race " 
 
 " The prettiest little groom in Christendom." 
 
 " Indeed, not so, the ugliest if you will, or only so 
 far ugly as to escape comment of any kind. I must 
 avert attention, not court it. Greene may recognize 
 me, but he'll swear black's white on my saying so we 
 need not fear him. And Larry, as soon as it stops rain- 
 ing, go you to Rosemary Lane to that old peruke-maker 
 hm ! how is he called ? The one, you know, who says 
 he might have worked for the King if His Majesty 
 would have employed him. Lord! what is his name? 
 Oh, John Sill that's it ! Go you to him and bring back 
 some wigs tell him you want the shock head of a coun- 
 try boy fetch them yourself, trust no one." 
 
 He caught her hands and swung them jubilantly to- 
 gether, his face kindled with the confidence of hers, his 
 joy at white heat. 
 
 " I'm discretion itself, don't doubt me. Oh ! my girl, 
 three cheers for the Crewe colors three cheers for 
 the purple " 
 
 She put her hand on his lips. 
 87
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Hush ! not beforehand it's bad luck. What 
 horses are to be feared ? " 
 
 " Morris's and De Lancey's. Touchstone can walk 
 away from the rest of the field, but American Childers 
 is no mean rival, and Lath presses him hard. If you 
 should fail " 
 
 " I won't fail. A woman's hand is light and her will 
 is firm, and, moreover, the gods are kind. I won't 
 fail!" 
 
 88
 
 VIII 
 
 AT GREENWICH 
 
 From the earliest morning the various ways leading 
 to the course on Sir Peter Warren's estate in Greenwich 
 village were thronged with people, and especially was 
 that true of the road from the south that lay along the 
 water-side and crossed Lispenard's Meadows and Ma- 
 netta brook on a raised causeway. The river, blue as 
 the sky above, flowed tranquilly seawards ; one would 
 almost have declared it slept, for the still air scarcely 
 rippled its surface and the trees, motionless too, 
 drowsed in the brilliant sunlight, dreaming those lazy 
 dreams of summer. 
 
 Everywhere, as far as eye could see, the land was full 
 of fairness, with the flash of little streams looping back 
 and forth amid the lush green, like marvellous silver 
 embroidery, jewelled with the gleam of flowers that 
 brimmed field and thicket with beauty. The air was 
 sweet with their manifold perfumes, and with the de- 
 licious scent of the blossoming wild-grape. Also from 
 the grass, from the banks of the brooks, from the shade 
 of the woods, luring children and grown-folk alike, the 
 strawberry flashed its ripeness in the sun that berry 
 which God has never bettered flavor, hue, fragrance 
 forming the trinity of excellence. 
 
 89
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 The field, at the approach to the course, hummed with 
 life. It was a tumult of sound, a vast unceasing med- 
 ley laughter, chatter, the pounding of tomtoms, the 
 blowing of horns, the jangle of the pieman's bell, the 
 calls of chapmen passing hither and thither with their 
 wares ' A new love-song only half a penny/ ' Fans 
 a-plenty for sweet-and-twenty ' and, mingling with 
 these, the strident voice declaiming : ' Memorandum 
 books a penny a-piece of the poor blind pity the 
 blind ! ' and from a distant corner, like the buzzing of 
 angry bees, the cries of the bookmen calling out bets 
 on the run. On every side, booths had been erected for 
 the day where all the diversions of the times were of- 
 fered to the public, the attention of the passer attracted 
 thereto by shrill noises ; while mountebanks, tumblers, 
 fortune-tellers, vagrants and darting children added to 
 the general hurly-burly. 
 
 Every minute saw the arrival of different vehicles, 
 and parties of pleasure-seeking on horseback, consist- 
 ing of men and women of fashion, with here and there 
 a scarlet-coated officer; grave farmers jogging along, 
 with their wives, or daughters, seated on pillions be- 
 hind them, made their entrance to the enclosure and the 
 humbler folk, who had tramped it all the way, came 
 blithely forward. It was a shifting motley. The peo- 
 ple of wealth dressed in the prevailing court styles with 
 the gleam of many a jewel and buckle to outdazzle the 
 sun, the soberer garb of the merchants, the homespun 
 of the farmer, the mechanics and artisans in their leath- 
 er-breeches and aprons, with baize vests of red, or 
 green, the multi-hued gowns of the poorer women and 
 children, and the livery of servants offered a new point 
 
 90
 
 At Greenwich 
 
 of color at every turn. Fashion, beauty, respectabil- 
 ity, poverty, vice and crime elbowed one another every- 
 where ; all strands in the great web of life, bright and 
 dun, pure and stained, they crossed and recrossed mak- 
 ing up the day's work. 
 
 By far the greater number of those who had ridden 
 descended from coach, or chair, to stretch their limbs 
 after the long ride, and strolled about exchanging greet- 
 ings with friends and acquaintances; some few, how- 
 ever, sought the course immediately where, if they so 
 wished, they might remain in their conveyances, or find 
 places on the benches that were raised at one side of 
 'the race-track. As for the poorer folk the older and 
 wiser among them separated into little groups and be- 
 took themselves to some eminence overlooking the 
 grounds that would enable them to view the quarter- 
 dashes and the more important races, without the ex- 
 penditure of the sixpence which constituted the en- 
 trance fee for every one save the riders, or owners of 
 the running horses. But the majority of the humbler 
 class lingered to gaze openmouthed at the fashion of 
 the quality. 
 
 As they stood gaping, the sound of horses' hoofs 
 on the road broke in upon the bustle and, turning, rich 
 and poor alike recognized Robert Murray's " leathern 
 conveniency," as the shrewd Quaker called his coach 
 to avoid scandal of pride and vain-glory. Following 
 quickly after came other coaches the De Peysters', 
 with their outriders and postilions in blue and yellow, 
 and the gilded chariot of the Livingstons, with the 
 armorial ship emblazoned on its doors, drawn by four 
 'snow-white horses, the servants in gorgeous livery.
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 The crowd, with its ready knowledge, whispered the 
 names of the newcomers so that the murmurs sounded 
 almost like the announcements made by an usher at 
 some function of state. In that way was heralded the 
 coming of Madam Alexander ' the Queen of Petticoat 
 Lane,' and also the owners of the succeeding coaches 
 the people guessing by the burning castle of Morris 
 and the lance of the De Lanceys to whom each be- 
 longed. 
 
 His Excellency the Governor Sir Charles Hardy 
 arriving with his suite hard upon these latter, was greet- 
 ed with hand-clappings and cheers. It was one of his 
 last public appearances, but his hold on the public at- 
 tention at this time was brief, as his chariot had scarcely 
 rolled away when four strong, ugly geldings drawing 
 a cumbersome coach came to a standstill for its occu- 
 pants to alight. The vehicle was hung on great straps, 
 with a hammercloth covering the coachman's seat, and 
 its doors were emblazoned with the family arms a pea- 
 cock in his pride. The livery of the outriders and 
 postilions was a rich purple laced with silver, with tri- 
 angular cocked hats trimmed with silver lace. The 
 foot-boy, hanging by the tassels behind, was clad in 
 similar fashion, save that he wore a jockey cap of Tur- 
 key leather with silver seams and bands. The lady 
 within lowered her black velvet riding-mask and showed 
 a peevish, pretty face to the crowd, who looked in vain 
 for a younger, merrier one at her side, to whom every 
 man and woman of them all would willingly have done 
 homage. The persons in the coach were three in num- 
 ber, an elderly dame de compagnie, Mrs. Crewe and 
 her chaplain-secretary a sleek, rotund little man with 
 
 92
 
 At Greenwich 
 
 a cast in his shifting gray eyes and an unctuous expres- 
 sion on his coarse, purplish lips. 
 
 As the steps were let down by the eager foot-boy, 
 running almost to the point of self-annihilation in his 
 efforts to serve his lady, with whom celerity alone found 
 favor, Captain Bellenden detached himself from a 
 group of mounted fellow-officers and, leaving his horse 
 with a groom, hastened forward. Quick as his move- 
 ments were, however, several gentlemen had antici- 
 pated him and the widow alighted without his aid. It 
 was perhaps because of his dilatoriness that she chose 
 to greet him coldly, or, he told himself as he moved 
 back, the presence of Lord Lofters might well account 
 for any fall in the barometer of a woman's liking. For 
 Peggy being absent, the young nobleman was prepared 
 to pay court to her mother, not as ' the mother ' as 
 Mrs. Crewe took excellent care to avoid, but to a 
 woman whose ripened charms made her very evident 
 appreciation of his society doubly alluring. 
 
 Secretly relieved at being thus exempt from dangling 
 attendance on this occasion, when his inclinations were 
 all with the racers, Bellenden turned quickly and, be- 
 fore he could be recalled to her side by any reproachful 
 glances, screened himself behind some bushes. Nor 
 did he know any bitterness because other men were pre- 
 ferred to himself. He was glad to be free from what 
 had become an irksome duty to him the constant wait- 
 ing upon a vain, silly woman who presumed upon their 
 relationship to demand all sorts of services from him, 
 and who kept him at her beck and call. The real lode- 
 star in all his visits to the Crewes' home little as moth- 
 er and daughter suspected it little as he had suspected 
 
 93
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 it himself until just a short time back, was the girl her- 
 self. Peggy, laughing, radiant, now this, now that; 
 the trickiest compound of fun, mischief, good-humor 
 and quick temper that ever bothered a man and filled 
 his waking and dreaming hours with a fascinating 
 eidolon. 
 
 He waited until Mrs. Crewe with her train of admir- 
 ers had turned to the course, then he stepped forth war- 
 ily and, making a wide circuit to avoid detection, 
 sought the paddock. His way thither was beset by 
 many hindrances, chief among them being the excite- 
 ment occasioned by the discovery of a stolen horse with 
 an ill-looking jockey up, who had entered the steed ac- 
 cording to requirements and who, possession being nine 
 points of the law, refused to return her to the rightful 
 owner until after the runs. Such crooked proceedings 
 to recruit the field and to keep up the interest in racing 
 were not infrequent and similar instances had occurred 
 at Hempstead and also on the Church Farm course the 
 previous year. 
 
 " 'E aint proved the 'oss is 'is," the jockey maintained 
 in aggrieved tones as Bellenden paused on the outskirts 
 of the crowd. " Jes' becos she looks like 'is mare aint 
 no reel proof. My brother an' me are breathin' himages 
 of heach other, but we aint the same men. Lord love 
 ye, gemmen, I've entered this 'oss fair an' square an' 
 ride 'er I will. Mebbe when the party gets back to 
 Rose 'ill to-night 'is proputty '11 be there before 'im, an' 
 then 'e'll take shame to 'isself for haccusin' one as hin- 
 nercent as the babe unborn " 
 
 Bellenden passed on leaving the altercation to work 
 out its own end. Before he sought the course he want- 
 
 94
 
 At Greenwich 
 
 ed to have a look at Touchstone and, if possible, a word 
 with Larry whom he had not seen for several days as 
 he, himself, had but just returned from a short stay in 
 Philadelphia. On his arrival in town he had found that 
 the bets on Touchstone, that had been unusually high 
 when he left, were going begging. He had quickly put 
 himself in possession of all the details of the change. 
 The news of Sandy's accident had spread like wildfire 
 everywhere and there had followed a thousand contra- 
 dictions hard upon. Touchstone would not run, 
 Touchstone would run, the backers of the horse were 
 in a state bordering upon frenzy ; then came the assur- 
 ance that Crewe had no intention of withdrawal and 
 that an under-groom would take Sandy's place. After 
 that the excitement had subsided somewhat, but, as if 
 the jockey's ill-luck had spread to the horse, people 
 looked askance at the whilom favorite and many of 
 the former bets on him were cried off. 
 
 Bellenden ground his teeth in rage as he threaded his 
 way in and out among men and horses, looking appreci- 
 atively at the latter and taking in good and bad points 
 at a glance. He paused for a moment near American 
 Childers and studied him with regretful eyes. In him 
 he thought he saw the winner and yet, as he had 
 watched Touchstone day after day in his cousin's pad- 
 dock under Sandy's manoeuvres, he had felt with a thrill 
 that the splendid creature well deserved Larry's en- 
 comiums and no other horse in York Colony if any- 
 where was his equal. He prided himself upon his 
 knowledge of horseflesh and knew that partiality had 
 not led him astray in his estimate of the chestnut's qual- 
 ities. Touchstone with Sandy up, Sandy who had rid- 
 
 95
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 den him twice to victory in the only races the horse had 
 ever run, was sure to win, but Touchstone at the mercy 
 of a strange rider, one who did not know and appreciate 
 his manifold vagaries, was defeated almost at the out- 
 set. It was impossible to think otherwise a man 
 would be a fool to imperil any money on such a chance. 
 
 A prey to these thoughts Bellenden continued his 
 search for Larry and finally discovered him in the cen- 
 tre of a noisy group of beaus and officers. The young 
 fellow, usually so fastidious in his dress, had apparently 
 paid but scant attention to it this day, his laced ruffles 
 were tumbled, his coat unbrushed, and the only evi- 
 dence which marked the occasion from the ordinary 
 was the enormous bunch of purple ribbons on his left 
 breast. He stood with his feet far apart swaying back 
 and forwards and, as he talked in high, boisterous tones, 
 he whipped the air with a small cane guided by an un- 
 steady hand. 
 
 " Drunk, the young fool ! " Bellenden muttered dis- 
 dainfully to himself, as he noted all this from a dis- 
 tance. 
 
 But Larry was not drunk, as the older man was 
 speedily convinced. He was simply unstrung with ex- 
 citement; his face was haggard and drawn he looked 
 double his age and his eyes were feverishly bright. 
 He was betting at fearful odds as his cousin joined the 
 group, and his wagers were snapped up eagerly amid 
 shouts and roars of laughter ; some of his companions, 
 taking advantage of his reckless frame of mind, egged 
 him on shamelessly. 
 
 " Larry, a word with you," Bellenden said shortly. 
 Then, when the two had withdrawn to a little distance, 
 
 96
 
 At Greenwich 
 
 he put his hand on the young fellow's shoulder. " Man 
 alive," he exclaimed, " you don't know what you're 
 about and that's the truth. If victory is yours it's all 
 right, but if it's defeat what then? " 
 
 " Oh ! I'll go break stones or or something," the 
 other groaned. " But Touchstone will beat 'em yet," he 
 added fatuously. 
 
 " I believe in a man's backing his own of course ; 'tis 
 the only thing to do. But you've made an infernal mess 
 of it. When you found it was all up with Sandy you 
 should have withdrawn from the race and given us the 
 chance to put our money elsewhere " 
 
 " I'll take up whatever bets you have out on Touch- 
 stone, Captain Bellenden," Larry interposed magnifi- 
 cently. " 'Twas not to favor me that you backed my 
 horse." 
 
 " No, you young gaby, it was to favor myself, I 
 well know that. I don't bet on a man's horse because 
 the man happens to be my cousin. There's no thought 
 of kinship in racing. It's the best horse, or the one I 
 consider the best, that carries my money. I'd have 
 staked ten thousand, if I'd had it, on Touchstone when 
 Sandy was there to put him through, but now a shilling 
 is too much to venture with this other fellow up, I don't 
 care how well he rides. Touchstone's no common hack 
 to be taken in hand by any new-comer a groom, you've 
 picked up from the Lord knows where." 
 
 " He's a good groom, let me tell you that, sir. I'd 
 back his riding against the best ; I've known him all my 
 life " 
 
 " They told me he was just out from England." 
 
 " Yes yes so he is a lad from England, that's 
 97
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 true enough," Larry stammered. " 'Sdeath ! aint we all 
 English when you come to think of it?" he finished 
 with an unsteady laugh. 
 
 Bellenden shot an angry glance at the excited face 
 and turned away with an oath. He was up to his ears 
 in debts and this last extravagance was like to cost him 
 dear. He had hoped as Larry had hoped to recoup 
 himself on this race, and now the only thing left for 
 him would be to leave the army and join his cousin in 
 breaking stones. He walked quickly over to the fur- 
 thermost corner of the paddock where his roving eyes 
 had discovered Touchstone, apart from the other rac- 
 ers, in company with two grooms, Greene at the bridle 
 and the jockey in the saddle. 
 
 Despite himself, he could hardly suppress a groan as 
 he neared the group and noted afresh the splendid pose 
 of the animal with force and energy manifest in every 
 line of his body, in the expression of his countenance 
 and the lofty toss of his head. A chestnut horse with 
 a white blaze up his face, and his off -leg white from the 
 hock downwards. In stature he was a fraction over 
 fifteen hands, of a neat, elegant appearance ; the head 
 light, lean and well set on, the forehead broad and flat, 
 the eyes luminous, the nostrils large and dilating, the 
 muzzle fine and the limbs supple and perfect. The 
 blood of Arab stock was expressed in the thin, high 
 crest of the glossy neck with its prominent veins ; the 
 mane and tail fell full and silky. And this gorgeous 
 creature was bestrid by a slouchy looking lad bunched 
 forward in his saddle, his shoulders drooping dejected- 
 ly, his chin fallen in the manner of an idiot's. A boy, 
 as Bellenden discovered on a closer approach, with a 
 
 98
 
 At Greenwich 
 
 tanned, sullen face that showed small beneath a shock 
 of yellowish hair, a face devoid alike of fear, or con- 
 fidence, with indifferent, half -opened eyes gazing stol- 
 idly before him. Never had the Crewe colors been 
 seen to such disadvantage ! The jockey cap was pulled 
 far down over the boy's brows and the peak cast a deep 
 shadow over his countenance; for the rest, he was 
 dressed in a loose, purple shirt with full trousers and 
 high leather boots. 
 
 Bellenden surveyed him disdainfully, but the boy did 
 not turn his eyes nor seem to notice the new-comer, 
 though a tinge of red deepened in his face as if, in his 
 dull fashion, he resented the disparaging scrutiny to 
 which he was subjected. He was holding the reins 
 loosely, for Greene was at the horse's head, but sud- 
 denly his fingers tightened upon them and, with the un- 
 expected strain, Touchstone began to curvet wildly. 
 
 " Best let 'im go," Greene cried, suiting the action to 
 the word and scrambling to one side. " Look lively 
 there, Capting Bellenden." 
 
 The captain started back, then, with a quick turn of 
 his wrist, he caught the bridle dexterously ; he was ab- 
 solutely without fear and, in this instance, it infuriated 
 him to see Touchstone mismanaged as he thought. The 
 horse chafed and reared at the touch of his hand and 
 cast it off impatiently, but the jockey, apparently un- 
 concerned and thoroughly master of his mount, brought 
 the frightened creature into quick subjection. 
 
 "Where's your whip, sir?" Bellenden demanded 
 sternly when the horse came to a standstill, quivering 
 in every nerve but conquered by that slight, impassive 
 figure. 
 
 99
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Lord love ye, sir, no one aint ever used a whip on 
 Touchstone," Greene interposed. 
 
 " Do you carry no whip with you into this race ? " 
 Bellenden repeated the question twice. 
 
 " No-a," the jockey drawled, without turning his 
 head. 
 
 " Have you ever raced before ? " 
 
 " Nigh abaout fifty toimes, mester." 
 
 " Fifty times you young liar ! What part of Eng- 
 land do you come from ? " 
 
 " From Yorkshire." 
 
 " Do they breed anything else there besides fools ? " 
 
 " All t' fools 'at coome out o' England baint bred in 
 oor plaice, though theer be soam theer too, soa's when 
 they start out into t' warld they won't feel lonesome- 
 like lackin' coompany." 
 
 Bellenden glanced sharply at the stolid face above 
 him to see if there was aught of design in its owner's 
 speech. Save for the persistent flush beneath the heavy 
 coat of tan the countenance was unchanged, dull and 
 spiritless and averted somewhat from his gaze. The 
 boy seemed utterly indifferent ; but again there was that 
 nervous twitching on the reins, as if the only life he 
 felt was centred in his finger-tips. Bellenden, smart- 
 ing with a sense of helpless rage which included all 
 mankind and especially the jockey before him and 
 suspicious of, he knew not what, looked angrily at the 
 shaking hands, then with sharpened vision he looked 
 again. Such hands as they were ! Small, brown, deli- 
 cately formed with long slender fingers, flexible and 
 firmly grasping, that bespoke both refinement and force. 
 Hands darker in color, but in shape the same that the 
 
 100
 
 At Greenwich 
 
 old painters loved to put into their pictures of high- 
 born dames, and not of stable-boys. He moved nearer, 
 trembling on the brink of discovery. 
 
 " By heavens ! you shall not ride," he cried between 
 his closed teeth. 
 
 For a moment the jockey's eyes met his, were forced 
 to his by his will and held there as, in a lightning's 
 flash, he read the defiance, the shame, the pleading, in 
 their brown depths. He was more than sure. 
 
 " You shall not " 
 
 A hoarse cry went up all over the paddock. The 
 hour had come. Touchstone, quivering like a dog held 
 in leash, pawed the ground impatiently; then, in re- 
 sponse to the touch on the reins, he bounded forward 
 and joined the throng. 
 
 101
 
 IX 
 
 Two heats had been run with Touchstone winner of 
 the first, and American Childers of the second; the 
 third and most important was still to run. The best of 
 two out of three heats was to be the winner, provided 
 the said horse was not distanced in the third heat the 
 distance-post being a furlong beyond the winning-post. 
 Such were the conditions of the race. 
 
 Forward they charged in a great bunch; the cry 
 " They're off ! " beating up from the enclosure and 
 echoing on every side. The thunder of many hoofs 
 pounded on the turf, and the different colors blue, 
 green, red, purple, orange, flashed in the sun like brill- 
 iant-hued birds as horses and riders swept by. 
 
 The crucial moment had arrived. It was now or 
 never with Touchstone, so Peggy felt, as, quivering 
 with fatigue and excitement, she flew onward with the 
 rest. The blood tingled in her veins; her heart was 
 like a smith's hammer thump thump thump 
 Could she do it ? her lips were a line of scarlet could 
 she do it ? One by one the lesser rivals gave way, drop- 
 ping behind. Pouf ! let them go. Vanity stumbled 
 and went down, horse and rider an inextricable mass ; 
 but surging past them unimpeded in their mad rush 
 Lath, American Childers and Touchstone raced, 
 
 102
 
 A Little Lad from Home 
 
 eager for the supremacy. So for a few minutes they 
 ran abreast with never a hair-breadth of advantage to 
 choose among them, then Lath, covered with clots of 
 foam that whitened his knots of blue and silver, wav- 
 ered perceptibly and fell to the rear. The distance be- 
 tween him and the other two increased momentarily. 
 The beginning of the end was at hand. 
 
 The crowd shouted madly as the two horses went 
 thundering past on the long reach of the home-stretch, 
 Touchstone a neck to the fore. The sound was music 
 in the girl's ears, she was drunk with it; her head 
 swayed, her eyes swam. She had outdistanced the 
 field, outdistanced them all, Vanity, Lath, Childers 
 the others didn't count. She relaxed her vigilance for 
 a moment and lost command of herself, her mouth curv- 
 ing into a smile ; content wrapped her round dulling her 
 senses. She had outdistanced the field ! The thought 
 beat in her breast, throbbed in her pulses and found 
 vent in the shouts of the onlookers and the dumb echoes 
 in her own heart. 
 
 Steadily, surely, the nozzle of the bay crept up past 
 the mottled head of the chestnut, and a whip flashed, 
 like a streak of light, in the blue as the jockey cut at 
 Childers' quivering flank Peggy could hear it singing 
 singing The horse leapt forward, his rider a blur 
 of red and gold, and instantly a roar went up a great, 
 sickening roar! The air was rent with cheers and 
 hand-clappings, a wild tossing aloft of hats, the flut- 
 ter of innumerable handkerchiefs, laughter, screams 
 a tumult of noise. 
 
 " Childers ! Childers ! Childers ! " 
 
 The course grew dark then before the girl's eyes. 
 103
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 She could not see the winning-post in the near distance, 
 she could see nothing but the great bay forging unwav- 
 eringly ahead, his form looming, like some huge mon- 
 ster, between her and success, blotting out even the sky 
 itself. Her courage flickered. For one moment it 
 seemed like an eternity despair touched her. Help- 
 less, beaten, Larry's cause lost, her own name dragged 
 deep in the mire, the scorn and laughter of her cousin 
 these thoughts passed like wildfire through her mind, 
 the last a lash to rouse her drooping spirits. She would 
 not fail would not! Her will was iron again. The 
 mist cleared from before her vision. 
 
 " Touchstone," she cried imperiously, " run run for 
 my sake ! run as you've never done before." 
 
 The short, pricked ears were thrown backward for 
 an instant at the sound of the beloved voice sharp with 
 its affection and entreaty, then eyes, ears, nose forward 
 the horse, in response to the command laid upon him, 
 redoubled his energies. She gave him the rein. 
 
 " So so ! " she crooned. " Well done, old fellow, 
 well done! Hark! 'tis Peggy speaking the Crewe 
 colors and victory, lad the purple for success! It 
 shall not bite the dust." 
 
 She seemed to flash her will along the rein ; the thrill 
 of her confident spirit passed into his frame like new 
 life. She touched his neck, where the big veins swelled, 
 with a caressing hand for the fleetest of moments. 
 
 " For my sake for my sake " she implored. 
 
 Steadily, surely, inch by inch they gained on the fly- 
 ing steed in front. Up to him even shoulder to 
 shoulder! Peggy sat perfectly motionless, crouched 
 low over the withers of her horse; she knew that 
 
 104
 
 A Little Lad from Home 
 
 Touchstone had understood her and was making his 
 last, his best effort. She hardly breathed. 
 
 Again there came the swift singing of the whip and 
 the maddened, forward leap of the animal at her side. 
 An instant the advantage was his, then she felt his 
 breath hot upon her cheek as she flew past. On on 
 a neck's length ahead, now another, now a full length 
 on past the winning-post past the distance- 
 post 
 
 " Huzza ! Huzza ! Touchstone wins Crewe has it 
 Crewe has it ! " 
 
 The paddock was a-roar with a mob of shrieking men 
 and boys ; she let the reins slip through her fingers at 
 sight of Greene hurrying up. His glowing face, with its 
 expression of mingled ecstasy and reverence, loomed 
 large and almost comical to her through the mist that 
 seemed to envelop earth and sky. The game was not 
 yet played out, but she was so tired she must have a 
 care ! he had no right to look so so abjectly hum- 
 ble he seemed to forget, she told herself querulously. 
 And everything was racing past; as if men and boys 
 and horses were engaged in some vast trial of speed. 
 Her hands shook, twitching at the reins and Touch- 
 stone swerved sharply to one side ; as sure-footed, usu- 
 ally, as the antelope in rocky defiles, he stumbled over a 
 fallen log that lay in his path and unseated the jockey 
 already trembling in the saddle. The horse was on his 
 feet in a trice, but the rider lay motionless. 
 
 Greene was at the bridle almost instantly with reas- 
 suring words to soothe the frightened, high-strung 
 animal, while the surging crowd, that a minute before 
 
 105
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 had been crowding around the victors, fell back ; each 
 man actuated by a deep respect for Touchstone's heels. 
 Larry, who had been hurrying up to congratulate his 
 successful jockey, had witnessed the scene from a short 
 distance and stood transfixed with horror to the spot; 
 his face blanched to a ghastly hue. 
 
 " My God ! " he cried in shaking syllables. 
 
 " Have a care, you don't want the world to know." 
 The whisper steadied him. " Come on," Bellenden 
 commanded. 
 
 The next minute the two men were bending over the 
 prostrate form and the crowd, appeased by the sight of 
 Touchstone being led away, pressed close upon them. 
 
 " My God ! Jack," Larry cried tremulously, " she's 
 dead." 
 
 " Be still, or spoil all for a fool ! She's not dead, 
 she's swooned that's all," Bellenden answered between 
 his teeth. " We must get her away from this. Damn 
 those curs for their curiosity, the game's up! Give 
 back, gentlemen," he called authoritatively, " the boy 
 is coming to." 
 
 He raised the limp figure partially in his arms as he 
 spoke, intercepting his own form between it and the 
 onlookers. The dark eyes flew open. 
 
 " Well done, Diccory, well done, boy ! 'Twill be a 
 proud day at home when they hear how the little lad 
 rode to victory." 
 
 His bluff voice steadied her, and the expression of 
 his face warned her to keep guard over herself. She 
 had a dim perception of a sea of people staring at her 
 over his shoulder. 
 
 " Oh ! mester Jack " It was only a whisper, but 
 106
 
 A Little Lad from Home 
 
 it convinced him that she still had control of the situa- 
 tion. 
 
 " Are you hurt much, lad ? " 
 
 " Nowt but a stiff arm, I'm thinkin'. Is that Mester 
 Larry? Doan't be a foo! 2 sir, I bain't killed," the voice 
 was weak, but it carried. " Larry," she went on vic- 
 iously, though so low that only her brother and cousin 
 heard, " if you look like that I'll I'll I don't know 
 what I'll do scream, or play the woman to my un- 
 doing." 
 
 " Naught but a sprained arm, Dick lad," Bellenden 
 continued in a loud, cheerful tone, " come, come, the 
 pain will soon be over. Has any gentleman a chaise 
 we can hire," he called over his shoulder, " so we can 
 get the boy back to town and have his bruises dressed ? " 
 
 Several proffers were made, and, at the same time, a 
 case bottle of rum was passed from hand to hand until 
 it reached Bellenden. He took it gratefully. 
 
 " Take a pull at this, lad," he said, stooping down. 
 
 She turned her head close against his arm, mutiny 
 in her eyes. 
 
 " Drink it," he commanded sternly, and held the flask 
 to her lips until she was forced to swallow some of its 
 contents, then she took refuge once more against his 
 sleeve. 
 
 " So, that's good. Now the question is, can you 
 walk? Or stay, I'd best carry you; 'tis but a step. 
 What? Rather walk eh? Well, try your mettle 
 then." 
 
 He lifted her gently to her feet, but he did not let 
 her stand alone, and she was glad enough to feel the 
 support of his arm around her shoulders as they moved 
 
 107
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 slowly off, with Larry walking close on her other side 
 and part of the crowd following curiously. After a 
 few steps she murmured something and Bellenden 
 stooped to catch the words. 
 
 " Is my wig straight ? " 
 
 " It's all awry, but no one will mark that. Best put 
 your head closer against my arm to make sure. That's 
 right! Keep up courage, Diccon boy." 
 
 As they neared the chaise he saw, by the moving of 
 her lips, that she wished to say something further. He 
 bent again. 
 
 " Larry's such a fool ! and I I can't think you must 
 decide for us," the proud eyes were persistently low- 
 ered. " The cottage here is out of the question, my 
 woman's as true as steel, but Mrs. Masher the house- 
 keeper clatters outrageously. I can't go home you 
 know my mother, and besides the servants would talk. 
 And the doctor not Evans, remember! he's such a 
 gossip, and Dr. Bard's as bad he'd tell for the sake of 
 the jest. I won't go home. Oh ! help me, do." 
 
 He felt the blood quicken in his veins. She was su- 
 ing to him, in her weakness it was true, but he knew 
 that she felt there was no one on whose presence of 
 mind she would so readily rely. He kept his voice 
 steady. 
 
 " Don't worry, but trust me," he said reassuringly, 
 and a sudden thrill of elation passed through him as 
 she submitted, without a further word, to his will. 
 
 The confidence of a creature like that was something 
 to win and the love? He put the thought by for a 
 less strenuous hour. His wits must serve her now. 
 Then the remembrance of Domine Ryerssen's placid 
 
 108
 
 A Little Lad from Home 
 
 home came unevoked to his mind. The little gate, that 
 had swung open so many times of late, should afford 
 her entrance in this extremity and Annetje would be 
 there to minister to her needs. It was a safe asylum 
 well removed from the gossip of the fashionable world, 
 and he was sure it would not be denied to them. Their 
 course was crystal clear. 
 
 With Larry's aid he lifted the girl into the carriage 
 and busied himself with efforts to make her comfort- 
 able. Her eyes were still lowered, but the quick flush 
 that mounted to her face at his touch was like a little 
 light to show him her awakening consciousness of the 
 changed relations between them. 
 
 She glanced up momentarily as her brother took his 
 place by her side^ glanced beyond him to Bellenden 
 standing without, whispering some final instructions. 
 
 " You " her voice was very faint. 
 
 " I'll be waiting for you at the end of your journey. 
 Keep up courage." 
 
 Her eyes fell before the look in his ; she made a little 
 clutch for her waning sovereignty. 
 
 " And mamma ? " she murmured. 
 
 " Drive on, Larry," Bellenden said shortly. 
 
 109
 
 A FRIENDLY ASYLUM 
 
 What Cotton Mather called " the angelical conjunc- 
 tion " of piety and physic was occasionally found in the 
 person of the ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church, 
 and though New York, at this period, was said to boast 
 the honor of above forty gentlemen of the medical 
 faculty (many of them being set down as mere pre- 
 tenders to a profession of which they were entirely 
 ignorant), Domine Ryerssen had often been called 
 upon to assist his parishioners in other than their spir- 
 itual needs. The law protecting the community from 
 irregular practitioners quacks and charlatans, who 
 abounded like the locusts in Egypt had not yet come 
 into being, but even had it been in force the domine 
 would not have been restricted from practising. He 
 would easily have passed the examination to which, a 
 few years later, the candidates were subjected to prove 
 their learning and skill in physic or surgery, as in his 
 youth he had studied medicine, considering it a neces- 
 sary supplement to his theological career, especially in 
 the new world whither he was bound. 
 
 As a younger man he had found this knowledge in- 
 valuable particularly among the poor of his own tongue, 
 who could not meet the fees of the established physi- 
 cians, and the needy of other nationalities whom dis-
 
 A Friendly Asylum 
 
 tress brought to his door. That his skill was not 
 deemed insufficient it is enough to say that Dr. Van 
 Buren always spoke of him in terms of the highest con- 
 sideration, an opinion which Dr. Du Bois shared also ; 
 nor would those gentlemen have felt it beneath their 
 dignity to act in conjunction with him had occasion 
 demanded. Their sphere of usefulness, however, was 
 not encroached upon by his humbler efforts. As he 
 said of himself he only helped when better and wiser 
 men were busy elsewhere ; when they took the helm he 
 slipped quietly back to his books. Of those other, and 
 poorer, sufferers whose thanks were the only payment 
 offered to him whether they were few, or many, the 
 outside world did not know. But the Garden Street 
 church had this to say of him, that the summer of his 
 wife's death there was no more tireless physician in the 
 length and breadth of the town ; despite the grief that 
 lay black upon his own hearthstone he carried comfort 
 into many households, the comfort of religion and the 
 alleviation of physical pain. Of late years it was only 
 in the capacity of minister that he visited his parish- 
 ioners, his age exempted him from other demands; 
 though they knew that, in times of great stress, he 
 would be ready to serve them again. 
 
 Jack Bellenden's one thought in sending Peggy to the 
 parsonage had been that it would prove a safe hiding- 
 place for her, until she could return to her own home 
 without awakening the suspicions of her friends and 
 acquaintances. He had expected to find some physi- 
 cian to attend her there, but as he galloped down the 
 Broadway the remembrance of the old domine's medi- 
 cal ability flashed through his mind. The whole mat- 
 
 III
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 ter seemed instantly simplified as by a providential 
 intervention, and the danger he dreaded might there- 
 fore be averted. He was not sure that the girl's dis- 
 guise had passed muster everywhere; Larry's barely 
 concealed anxiety was a damaging factor and if it 
 should creep out through the doctor's gossip, or be 
 known that she was in hiding, or had returned to her 
 mother's house so shortly after her departure for Al- 
 bany, the whole town would be agog with her mad 
 prank. It had been worse than mad. She had carried 
 her design to a successful issue, but it had been at fear- 
 ful risks. 
 
 Bellenden bit his lips as he passed in mental review 
 his own feelings when the race was on. He had been 
 sick with suspense from start to finish. It had meant 
 nothing to him whether he should lose, or win the 
 money he had on Touchstone ; he would willingly have 
 lost a hundred fortunes had they been his to prevent 
 Peggy from riding. When the horses had streaked by, 
 though the crowd saw but an indifferent-looking jockey 
 on Crewe's mount, he was able to penetrate through the 
 disguise ; the tanned face, under the purple cap and the 
 coarse shock of hair, which the spectators greeted with 
 deafening cheers, was an arch, sparkling one to him. 
 And a misstep on Touchstone's part, a swerve aside, 
 would reduce that beauty to nothingness. His rider 
 would be crushed, killed, perhaps, in the stampede of 
 rushing horses, or maimed so cruelly that her stay in 
 the world which she loved so keenly would be a mock- 
 ery and a constant pain. It was a girl's life held sway- 
 ing in the balance a little, soft life, something to be 
 protected cherished and yet it was placed on the 
 
 112
 
 A Friendly Asylum 
 
 mercy of a hazard with no thought of its great value. 
 Above the roar of the crowd he could hear the sound 
 of her merry voice ringing in his ears, now twitting 
 him, now singing, now flouting him, and any moment 
 it might be silenced forever ! 
 
 He hardly heeded the fact when the Crewe colors 
 were victorious; victory, or defeat, meant nothing to 
 him; he only desired her safety. While the others 
 shouted frantically around him he remained silent, 
 stilled, by gratitude, into the momentary mood of 
 prayer. Then he hurried to the paddock to guard her 
 from the enthusiasm of the crowd; he doubted her 
 power to meet it in the right spirit without exposing 
 her sex and he had been just in time to save her, though 
 in a different fashion from what he had purposed. 
 Larry, reduced to shuddering uselessness, had been the 
 most ineffectual shield between her and the gaping pub- 
 lic, but he had been able to protect her from carping 
 tongues. He had held calumny, reproach, and ridicule 
 at bay, and he had no intention of relaxing his hold. 
 
 Almost within sight of the parsonage Bellenden 
 reined in his horse, perplexed by a new difficulty. He 
 had sufficient acquaintance with Cornelis Ryerssen's 
 character to know that any hospitality accorded to 
 Peggy would be granted solely on his account and not 
 for her sake, or because of her graces winning and 
 irresistible though other men found them. The 
 pseudo- jockey would meet with scant favor from the 
 old man, who reprobated horse-racing and betting with 
 the sternest invectives; nor would the rigid moralist 
 find any excuse for the girl's disregard of her sex 
 that would be unpardonable to him. These thoughts
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 took but a moment to pass through the captain's mind, 
 but they were powerful enough to make him change his 
 plan. He would save Peggy, at least, from the domine's 
 scorn. It was marvellous, indeed, this sudden wish on 
 his part to serve his cousin so scrupulously that the 
 good, or bad, opinion of an old man, utterly unknown 
 to her and at whom she would probably laugh when 
 once she had recovered, should be of such consequence 
 to him. He cantered on through several by-ways until 
 he reached the unfrequented lane where he had ar- 
 ranged to meet the others, revising his plans as he rode. 
 Annetje, so he determined, should help him with her 
 woman's wit. It would not be necessary to tell the 
 domine anything about the race, for Peggy's sufferings 
 would be sufficient to enlist his attentions in her behalf 
 and Annetje could probably so manage that the ob- 
 noxious jockey suit should not offend his eye. 
 
 Bellenden dismounted and secured his horse to the 
 old gate, then he let himself into the lush grass and 
 advanced cautiously, whistling those soft, sweet notes 
 which always heralded his coming. He waited sev- 
 eral moments in the hush that seemed to spread every- 
 where before he repeated the signal; waited again, 
 whistled again with impatience sharpening his call. 
 Then he dragged out his watch and consulted it fever- 
 ishly. In a short time, at most, his cousins would be 
 at the place of rendezvous and should he fail Peggy in 
 this instance he did not see his way to help her further. 
 And she trusted him ! Eyes, voice, manner had told 
 him that much. He could not fail her ; besides, she was 
 probably suffering from lack of proper attention to 
 her hurt poor, little brave Peggy proud and strong 
 
 114
 
 A Friendly Asylum 
 
 in her very weakness ! The thought made him rage 
 the more at his incompetency. 
 
 He must help her. Again he whistled, this time 
 shriller and with greater insistence, yet he dared not 
 delay longer. The fact that Annetje did not come 
 proved that she was absent and the only thing left for 
 him was to go boldly to the front door, confront the 
 grim porteress who kept watch and ward there and lay 
 the matter before the domine without reserve. But if 
 he were not at home, and with Annetje away also, 
 Peggy's chances for succor in this place were vain. 
 There was little to hope for from the tender mercies of 
 Heilke. Bellenden ground his teeth, gave a quick, 
 backward look at the lane then turned to make his way 
 up through the garden to the house. As he did so, 
 there was a faint rustle in the grass, a sound of hurry- 
 ing steps, and Annetje came running toward him. He 
 gave an eager cry of welcome that sent the red up to 
 her soft, fair hair and made her eyes dance with de- 
 light ; her heart misinterpreting the gladness and relief 
 in his face. He sprang to meet her half-way, catching 
 her hands in his and drawing her quickly to him. 
 
 " I thought you would never come." 
 
 " Great haste I mate, oh ! yes. Apofe I vas in my 
 champer sewing, ant Heilke vas vis me, so t'at I knew 
 not how to come. Like a cat she vatch me efer." 
 
 " What did the little mouse do? " 
 
 " I how to you say ? I mate one sacrifice of t'e 
 trut' most wrong vas t'at, visout toubt." 
 
 " A little white lie, child. Let it go. You ought to 
 put Heilke to sleep these afternoons." 
 
 " Sir, unpossiple is t'at ! Of herself, she say, vis one 
 US
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 eye open she alvays sleeps, ant t'at is most true. If she 
 put nots ofer her knitting, creak ! t'e poarts go, ant in 
 one moment is she avake. Ant her neetles stop not 
 no once click click click forefer ! I sait," his face 
 was turned from her and, despite the joy manifested in 
 his voice, she thought that he was displeased with her, 
 " I sait ' Heilke vill you for me a favor to ? Some 
 rippon must I haf to bint t'e slippers for my fat'er ant 
 t'at v'ich I pought have I lost, eferyv'ere I seek for it 
 in vain. Go you, tear Heilke, ant puy me some ot'er.' 
 Ant she say ' no,' at first, ant t'en she vill haf it t'at 
 I also go, put I tell her my headt it aches ant it aches 
 not, sir I sait t'at pecause oh ! pecause In t'e ent 
 Heilke vent, put so long she took to get reaty ant I 
 helping her Gracious Powers ! I t'ought you vouldt 
 go avay. Vait, t'at is not all." 
 
 She freed one hand from his hold and drew a little 
 roll from her bodice and shook it out before his eyes ; 
 the dark strip of silk uncurled and fell to the ground, 
 waving lightly to and fro with the movement of her 
 fingers. 
 
 " Peholt t'e rippon ! I I hit it." 
 
 " Bravo strategy ! " He caught her hand again and 
 patted it softly; he would have kissed it but for his 
 preoccupation. " So that's your trouble I grant you 
 absolution. Is the sky clear now, little one? " 
 
 " If you say so." 
 
 " If I Faith, I've a trouble of my own that none 
 but you can straighten out. Listen." He poured forth 
 his story rapidly, watching her intently the meanwhile 
 so as not to outdistance her understanding. Her eyes 
 shone. Peggy riding to save her brother in his trouble 
 
 116
 
 A Friendly Asylum 
 
 was a magnificent creature, her daring atoned for 
 everything. And hurt? The fair face grew tender 
 on the moment. The rapid voice went on persuasive, 
 masterful, explanatory; she was like wax to take the 
 impression he wished. 
 
 " Put of course, sir, Captain Pellenten my fat'er 
 vill glatness haf to serfe you ant your cousin also. I 
 speak for him. T'e half of v'at I haf is hers for al- 
 vays " She paused visibly distressed. 
 
 "What is it, child?" 
 
 " T'ose fine laties oh ! you ton't know t'ey look at 
 one ofer t'eir noses t'is vay. Ant t'e ploot purns! I 
 I vouldt like not t'at treatment, not efen from your 
 cousin." 
 
 " Gad, you needn't fear Peggy." The confident 
 voice faltered. How could he or any man predict what 
 Peggy would, or would not, do? Far easier was it to 
 forecast the uncertain glory of an April day from dawn 
 to dusk, than to account for her wayward moods in an 
 hour's space. He hastened on. 
 
 " You will be kind to her because I ask it? Just at 
 first she may be may be ahem ! a little She has 
 been under great excitement to-day, and her fall has 
 injured her probably," he finished lamely. 
 
 " I know. I vill pe goot to her so goot like a sis- 
 ter efen you vill like t'at ? Is she fery peautiful ? " 
 
 " Not so beautiful as someone I know." 
 
 " Put you you lof her maype? " It was the mer- 
 est whisper. 
 
 " She has given me scant cause, egad. I don't stand 
 very high in my lady's good books, let me tell you. 
 Hark ! here comes the chaise. I have your word." 
 
 117
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Yes, yes, I vill help you ant I vill keep secret here 
 v'at you haf salt you may trust me. T'e all t'at I 
 haf is lait at her feet, pecause you ask it." 
 
 He let her hand go with a slight pressure and hur- 
 ried to meet the advancing carriage, running up to its 
 side with an anxious question as it stopped. Larry 
 sprang out quickly and, with Bellenden's aid, helped 
 the young jockey to alight. Annetje's heart beat tu- 
 multuously at the sound of a querulous voice ; then as 
 the two men, with the boy between them, came slowly 
 through the gate she took a step forward to meet them. 
 She paused in her errand of mercy half-frightened at 
 the low whistle of surprise that Larry let fall, the 
 color mounting in her face under his bold stare. 
 
 " Sink me, Jack, but she's a beauty ! " 
 
 The weary little jockey stopped short at her brother's 
 whispered ejaculation and looked up to see the girl 
 standing a trifle removed from them in the glow of the 
 afternoon sunlight, with the tangle of green bushes 
 and spreading trees that cut the sky into blue frag- 
 ments above and behind her. The dark eyes, heavy 
 with pain, flashed ominously. 
 
 " Is this your doctor, Captain Bellenden? " 
 
 " The doctor's daughter and your nurse, madam." 
 
 His voice was not conciliatory and before the stern- 
 ness in his face the passion in hers abated somewhat. 
 
 " I protest I will go home." 
 
 "That you cannot do; you must abide by my de- 
 cision. Besides," he spoke more gently, " you said you 
 would trust me, and these friends of mine are very 
 willing to help you " 
 
 " Friends ! " She shrugged scornfully away from his 
 118
 
 A Friendly Asylum 
 
 supporting arm and took a step forward, making an 
 imperious gesture to the girl. Annetje advanced to 
 meet her shyly and dropped a stiff, frightened little 
 curtsey. 
 
 " What is your name, child ? " asked Beauty in her 
 most disdainful tones, totally unmindful of the incon- 
 gruity between her attire and her assumption of town 
 airs." 
 
 " Annetje." 
 
 " Bless us ! it sounds like a sneeze. I shall have to 
 sit in a draught before I can catch it. Well, madam, 
 it seems that, willy-nilly, I am forced to accept your 
 hospitality for this night." 
 
 " For t'is night, or for so long as it may unto you 
 pe a pleasure. I make you fery velcome to my home, 
 ant my heart likevise. Vat I haf is yours " 
 
 " Faith, then, I'd like a petticoat immejiately. I'd 
 not care to meet your father in this guise. Larry stop 
 gaping. This is my brother, Miss I told you I 
 couldn't say it ! he's like the rest of his sex, forgetful 
 of his manners when Beauty is abroad. But la! you 
 know the captain, so why should I excuse his fellows ? 
 Must I sneeze also when I address your father and 
 mother?" 
 
 " Domine Ryerssen is my fat'er calledt, Miss Crewe. 
 To say t'at is not hart, ant I haf not any mot'er. Since 
 I vas a little chilt is she teadt ; not'ing of her I know 
 only v'at Heilke ant Jan haf tolt me put she vas of 
 a peauty like a flower ant goot ! oh ! one of t'e antgels 
 of Kott. V'at I know of her vill I tell you one tay, if 
 it is your pleasure to hear. Put now you must not 
 tarry great pain visout toubt is yours. Captain Pel- 
 
 119
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 lenten has tolt me apout t'e nopleness of your toing 
 ant how grant t'e rite ! My headt it goes t'is vay vis 
 t'e fought. Ant you hat not any fear? For me t'e 
 shoutings ant t'e peoples t'ey vouldt haf mate me like 
 one crrazy. See, now you suffer fery v'ite are your 
 
 lips Gentlemens, help me I pray " 
 
 " Just giddy, I protest, and your bushes dance " 
 
 " T'at is right. Oh ! fery careful carry her, tear sirs, 
 ant step soft. My fat'er is in his pook-room put I vish 
 not t'at he hear us, for first vill I make her look tiffer- 
 ent like herself, you unterstant. He is how you 
 say? t'e soul of trut' he is trut' in t'e poty t'at is 
 it ! ant it vouldt pain him to know your sister hat a 
 lie actet efen for you, Mr. Crewe. I t'ink he vouldt 
 not pe toleratet of t'e same. So everyt'ing in my power 
 vill I for Miss Crewe to ant t'en vill ve call him. T'ank 
 Kott! Heilke is from home a long, long hour vill it 
 take her, she has efer a voman's eye ant a voman's 
 heart for a pargain. Ah ! gentlemens, t'e step t'at is 
 it ant now t'e stairs. Hush ! hush ! t'is vay to my 
 champer I vill go pefore. Put her gently on t'e bet 
 town so, yes now t'e toor close. V'en reaty I vill 
 call." 
 
 1 20
 
 XI 
 
 THE IMMEDIATE JEWEL OF HER SOUL 
 
 It was with the frankest manner imaginable that 
 Captain Bellenden presented himself at the study-door 
 and told his simple story. Miss Crewe had been 
 thrown from her horse and he had taken the liberty of 
 bringing her to the domine for aid, her mother being 
 from home and the town-house closed. Her brother 
 here Larry stepped forward was prostrated with 
 alarm and had looked to him for guidance in the mat- 
 ter. And his thought had been the domine and Miss 
 Ryerssen. He had felt sure of their assistance and al- 
 ready Miss Ryerssen was doing the work of an angel 
 she had taken his cousin to her room and her care. 
 
 The old man's face brightened the little one was a 
 woman and mercy dwelt with her. He rose hurriedly 
 to his feet. 
 
 " Put yes, my serfices are yours, of course. Prop- 
 aply no cause is t'ere for alarm, young sir. I vill see. 
 Holt yourself firm ant apprehent no tanger." 
 
 He left them then to their own devices and their not 
 unjustifiable fears; after the lapse of an hour, which 
 to each of them seemed double its length, he returned. 
 The young men sprang forward eagerly. 
 
 " So so she vill not tie a proken arm only ! 
 Fearfully ant vonterfully are ve mate, says t'e Holy 
 
 121
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 Pook, fearfully ant vonterfully ! Put a proken arm is 
 easier to recofer from t'an a proken heart for t'e one 
 t'ere is not any cure. Your sister is to pe congratu- 
 latet, sir, at t'is time." 
 
 " Faith, sir, for all time. You don't know Peggy," 
 the boy laughed unsteadily. " Her heart's not the sort 
 to be broke. And as to that, whose is? Tis but a 
 phrase." 
 
 " A phrase ? Hmm ! perhaps nowatays. Veil, 
 she vill recofer, t'ere is no toubt. For t'e present, how- 
 efer, she is veak like a little chilt ant t'ere is some fefer 
 pesites. Haf no fear! A cooling traught I haf gifen 
 her ant soon she sleeps. No no she must not pe 
 tisturpt now. Your anksiety is most natural, sir; I 
 comprehent it, put you must tepent on me. T'ere is 
 not any tanger not any. My taughter to your sister 
 is so like a sister, she vill care for her ant likevise vill 
 I I promise you. Alreaty in t'e morning vill t'ere pe 
 great improfements, put for many tays veeks maype 
 quite useless is t'e arm. Nature must take her own 
 time, ve cannot hurry her." 
 
 " And I may come ? " 
 
 " V'en you vill ; my house is yours v'ilst your sister 
 continues here. Ve are not of your peoples, sir; ve 
 speak not t'e same tongue, t'ink not t'e same t'oughts 
 for you t'ere is stir ant fashion, for us quiet 
 quiet Our vays are not your vays; put t'e same 
 Kott mate us ant you are fery velcome to v'at I can 
 gii" 
 
 "Then I will take my leave now, sir, and return 
 hither in the morning. Faith, words are but words 
 after all." the young fellow went on brokenly, "ill 
 
 122
 
 The Immediate Jewel of Her Soul 
 
 things at best to pay one's debts with, but I thank you 
 heartily. You've done more for my sister than I can 
 
 tell you, you've saved " 
 
 ' Tis even as my cousin says," Bellenden interrupted 
 quickly, for Larry vibrating with the sudden relief that 
 had come to his anxiety was clearly not to be trusted 
 to voice his gratitude " what we feel deepest can find 
 small vent in our speech. Still we thank you, though 
 the comfort you give us can't be put into words. 'Twas 
 enough to make a man's blood run cold to see the girl 
 pitch headlong we knew not what to think! And 
 now to know the truth, to feel that she will be abroad 
 again, singing, laughing, alive, unhurt 'Tis too 
 much " 
 
 " Ah ! " The domine glanced up at the shaken face, 
 then with an impulse foreign to his slow, undemon- 
 strative nature he put out his hand and touched the 
 captain's arm. 
 
 " I unterstant," he said simply. " Comfort yourself ! 
 For her sake t'at young girl's I vill to my pest, ant 
 for your sake, ant for t'e sake of one whom you once 
 knew, yes, I vill to my possiple. Not any vort of 
 t'anks. Sir, I am a human man put here to to my tuty. 
 My tuty v'at is it? I know a little meticine goot! 
 t'at knowletge is not for myself alone ; I know a little 
 t'eology goot! t'at is not for me alone eit'er. V'ere 
 I can serfe I must serfe, ot'ervise I am ontrue to a 
 trust. Ant v'ere I can serfe one who not only is in 
 neet, put who has my respect ant has tone me great 
 serfice in t'e past, t'en it is I Cornelis Ryerssen t'at 
 am t'e grateful one. T'ank me not any t'anks, t'ere- 
 fore. Come again in t'e morning you ant you per- 
 
 123
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 haps you see t'e little mait ; I to not promise, only per- 
 haps." 
 
 He accompanied his guests to the door and watched 
 them for a moment as they stepped out into the street, 
 unusual figures for that part of town, the captain in 
 his brilliant uniform, and the young fop in fashionable 
 attire. A window-curtain across the way stirred 
 faintly and then was drawn back by a frankly curious 
 hand, but the domine, being short of sight, did not per- 
 ceive the action. His mind was more busy with the 
 past than with thoughts of his neighbors, or even with 
 the stranger within his gates and what the possible out- 
 come of her stay might be. As he had said he was 
 here to do his duty. After a little he went within and 
 closed the door. 
 
 Meanwhile the cousins walked away, the younger 
 man hanging upon the elder's arm. For the moment 
 they were silent, then Larry's tongue began to wag. 
 
 " You're a sly dog, Jack, and she's a beauty, with an 
 ankle fit to be a toast ! Sink me, if I've seen her equal 
 anywhere. Peggy can't hold a candle to her, and 
 Peggy has looks, or the town lies. Gad, I couldn't tell 
 when she was most distracting when she looked at a 
 man and fired him with her glance, or when she cast 
 her eyes down and her lashes lay like a heavy, silken 
 fringe upon her cheeks. And such divine red and 
 white! But she aint so unsophisticated after all she 
 was painted by God ! " 
 
 " And by God alone, where's your discrimination ? 
 She's none of your fine ladies with their paints and 
 powders. Come, come, a simple, little lass." 
 
 " A Venus, sir," Larry cried striking an attitude, " a 
 124
 
 The Immediate Jewel of Her Soul 
 
 Venus or stay what did they call that other? 
 Hmm! the Post-Boy had lines t'other day The 
 charms of He faith, I'll swear they meant She the 
 charms of He He Hebe Hebe that's it ! 
 
 'The tender charms of Hebe fair 
 The roseate flesh, the sunny hair.' 
 
 Whoever writ that must have seen the domine's daugh- 
 ter, but the domine Lud ! she didn't get her looks 
 from her sire. Where are you taking me, Jack? I 
 protest, this is a world of your discovering "Tis all 
 new to me and a Paradise to boot. What fresh sur- 
 prises have you in store what other beauties ? Where 
 are we going? " 
 
 " We are going after our horses and thence to the 
 Province Arms, or where you will so that it be back 
 to our world where they are talking of Touchstone's 
 victory and wondering why you've gone to so much 
 pother about a mere groom." 
 
 " 'Slife! I'd clean forgot. We must throw 'em off 
 the scent, man ; swear black's white if need be. They 
 mustn't dream 'twas Peggy." 
 
 " You were a fool to let her ride." 
 
 " A fool ! " The young fellow came to a standstill 
 and withdrew his hand from his companion's arm. 
 " Captain Bellenden, I take such words from no man ! 
 Our relationship does not protect you, sir " 
 
 " I don't fight with boys ; you needn't finger your 
 sword. Your sister's name has got to be saved from 
 scandal it shall not be the jest of every low-mouthed 
 cur in the taverns and the slur of every sleek Tabby 
 over her dish of tea. Whether you like it, sir, or not, 
 
 125
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 I say you were a fool to let her ride. The risks were 
 too great." 
 
 " Didn't I point 'em out to her? " Larry interrupted 
 hotly, " I'm not a child. I counted the costs before- 
 hand, I did everything in my power to withhold her, 
 and in the end she had her own way. You might stop 
 the river there from running to the sea by building a 
 dam of feathers, easier than you could stop Peggy once 
 she'd started out to do any thing. But see what we've 
 gained, man. Isn't that worth the risk ? " 
 
 " She might have been killed." 
 
 " Might have been, but wasn't. Might have beens 
 are as useless to think on as the shadows on the grass. 
 Touchstone might have been beaten, but he wasn't 
 and that means some pretty chinking yellow-pieces to 
 me. When I've got 'em I aint going to think of what 
 I'd been doing if he hadn't won the run. Time enough 
 to cry over spilt milk when the pitcher's broke and the 
 ground's wet ; but when you can drink your fill- 
 though not of milk, thank you ! it doesn't sweeten the 
 draught to bother yourself with possibilities. I've got 
 a pretty turn for philosophy in my make up, even if I 
 am called a fool and I've thought considerable, sir, con- 
 siderable the brains of the family are happily not con- 
 fined to but one branch. Come, let's go drown worry 
 in a bumper and drink to this day's luck." 
 
 " Where's your proper feeling for your sister's suf- 
 ferings, you young brute ? " 
 
 " Have a care, Captain Bellenden ! I don't want to 
 fight you, for you've done us a pretty service this day 
 and I and my sister are beholden to you thus far ; but 
 il swear I'll be called names by no man, no matter what 
 
 126
 
 The Immediate Jewel of Her Soul 
 
 he has done for me and mine. Pesites," Larry drew 
 his mouth down and mimicked the domine, " she von't 
 tie it's only a proken arm." 
 
 "You " 
 
 " A proken arm ant pruises perhaps. Egad, Peggy 
 was willing to pay the piper though I warned her at 
 the outset. So she gets well and the old fellow said 
 there was no such great ill it has turned out for the 
 best. If she had not fallen, the crowd would have got 
 her off the horse and carried her about the course on 
 their shoulders " 
 
 " And you would have subjected her to that? " 
 
 " On my word I never thought of it, nor did she ; 
 yet 'tis ever a custom here, the crowd goes mad over 
 the lucky jockey. It came upon me, on a sudden, when 
 Touchstone ran past the distance-post and I meant to 
 save her from it if I could and then oh! Jack, Jack 
 I thought she was killed He drew a long, shud- 
 dering breath. " Well, it's only a broken arm," he 
 laughed unsteadily after a moment. 
 
 " I thought to see her neck smashed, her beauty gone. 
 Discovery seemed inevitable to me." 
 
 " How did you know her? " 
 
 " I guessed." 
 
 " Slife ! then if you did, the others might " 
 
 " That's the point, but I don't know. I was near her 
 before the start and something about her hands so 
 little, so unlike a boy's set me thinking and then I 
 knew." 
 
 " Gad, Jack, my mother and the rest it was a fear- 
 ful risk ! It means what ? Peggy would laugh, but 
 if the town knew she'd be praised for her pluck and 
 
 127
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 victory, but oh ! the lampoons and the scurrilous verse 
 that would be writ about her. A woman has no right 
 to forget she's a woman that's what they'd say to go 
 breeched like a boy in a public sport. Were she not 
 Peggy I'd be quick to sneer at such doing, and so would 
 you. We'd think it deuced brave in a girl, but we'd 
 hold her light ever after as light as we hold those 
 others. Jack you're right, I was a fool a damned 
 fool to let her ride, when I was older than she and 
 knew the world. She's a very madcap with no thought 
 beyond the hour and she felt she'd much at stake not 
 money, I don't think she'd a shilling on but she 
 thought of me and my debts and the daring of the thing 
 carried her away She did it for my sake! I 
 couldn't stop her. Perhaps I didn't try hard enough, 
 but I swear I'd lose every stiver of what Touchstone 
 has brought me this day to undo what has been done." 
 
 " We must be wary now, that's all there's left to us. 
 Wrap your secret up in frankness, but have a care what 
 information you give about your groom ; too much 
 openness when 'tis a mask is as damaging as secret- 
 iveness, best take the middle course. Your mother's 
 ignorance is a good card, one groom is like another to 
 her. Sandy disabled, she would think it but natural 
 that you would put another jockey up and servants are 
 so continually coming out to you from home that she 
 wouldn't question the advent of this fellow. Where 
 she goes there will be no likelihood of suspicion. It's 
 among the men where it will crop up first and Peggy's 
 name her good name We mustn't quarrel, Larry 
 boy, my sword's to be kept bright for her cause." 
 
 " Faith, I was an addle-pated fellow to doubt you, and 
 128
 
 The Immediate Jewel of Her Soul 
 
 here's my hand. But where are we going to the 
 world's end ? And you know time's gold. Why didn't 
 we go back through the garden instead of coming all 
 this way round ? " 
 
 Bellenden laughed shortly. 
 
 " The domine never questioned how we came, and 
 'tis no wisdom to tell more than you're asked." 
 
 " You mean the gate's unused ? But how the deuce 
 did you know about it to give us the directions so clear- 
 ly? I marvelled at the time you, who have been in 
 town so short time. How ? And he has great respect 
 for you oh ! lud, lud won't Peggy laugh to hear this ? 
 Well, you're a man of taste, sir egad, a man of taste ! 
 1 never doubted it, but selfishness is a deadly vice. I 
 took you here and there, made you acquainted with this 
 Beauty and t'other, and here you've kept the queen of 
 'em all to yourself. How did you compass it? What 
 was the service you rendered his fustiness the do- 
 mine?" 
 
 " He chooses to magnify the deed. A packet was 
 entrusted to my care at Barbadoes which I promised 
 to place in his hands. Now you know the truth, though 
 I see no reason why you should be enlightened. He 
 gave me the hospitality of his house in consequence. 
 As for the gate 'tis apparent to anyone who walks 
 in the lower part of the garden and to-day it has served 
 us well. Said I not true that the lane is unfrequented. 
 I doubt if it is ever travelled." 
 
 They had turned into the grass-grown alley as he 
 spoke. It was a narrow strip of land bounded on one 
 side by Domine Ryerssen's garden whence it dipped 
 and straggled away, losing itself at the far end in a 
 
 129
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 tangle of bushes and quagmire. The whole place had 
 a deserted, inhospitable air, though the green of sum- 
 mer clothed it with a lavish hand, spreading her mantle 
 upon ground, and shrubs, and arching trees. Little 
 wayside flowers peered curiously from the rank grass, 
 or glanced with inquisitive faces from the thicket 
 beyond, and somewhere an unseen thrush tinkled out 
 its vesper hymn. The silence was unbroken, save by 
 that sound and by the restless pawing of the captain's 
 horse where he fretted at his restraint near the gate. 
 The horse in the shafts, being of a philosophic turn of 
 mind and finding the weeds to his taste, had long since 
 given over any signs of rebellion. 
 
 The day had worn to its close and in the primrose- 
 colored west Hesperus, like some rare, jewelled lamp, 
 hung low ; the air was cool as it crept up from the bay 
 with a trace of the ocean in its breath, bringing its 
 savor of strength into the little, neglected lane where 
 peace and safety lay as securely as though the hand 
 of man had builded high walls to keep all danger with- 
 out. 
 
 " I'm for the Province Arms," Bellenden cried. 
 " Join me there over a bottle of Madeira ? " 
 
 " With all my heart, after I've seen about the disposal 
 of this chaise. It belongs to one Mr. Josiah Storrs of 
 Fair Street and I promised to deliver it in good case. 
 I'll drive home now and get one of the boys to take it 
 back. I'll be with you in half an hour." 
 
 "Good, then. I'll wait, but hasten if you love 
 me." 
 
 Bellenden rode forward almost noiselessly, the 
 grasses bending down before his horse's tread and 
 
 130
 
 The Immediate Jewel of Her Soul 
 
 keeping the secret of his passing to themselves on this, 
 as on many another, occasion. The chaise lumbered 
 after, lurching over the uneven ground and creaking 
 in protest, as the philosophic horse set about obeying 
 his borrowed master's will with an alacrity which the 
 thought of his evening meal might have accounted for, 
 or which might have been the result of the lash that 
 sung its message in his ears and spelled it on his back. 
 
 The lane was quiet after a moment ; the sharp cry of 
 the whip, the revolutions of the wheels and the strain- 
 ing of the carriage gear were sounds forgotten speed- 
 ily by the little spot. Nor did it notice those other 
 sounds that were part and parcel of its being. A bird, 
 whirring up from the thicket, was no disturber of its 
 peace, though the swift wings clove the air with a 
 strident rush, and a squirrel, scurrying through the 
 underbrush where twigs and leaves made instant com- 
 ment on its going, seemed shod with silence. One by 
 one, and then in a swelling chorus, all those little, in- 
 numerable noises, that, paradoxically, make the hush 
 of a summer night more complete, began to thrill the 
 stillness. 
 
 From far away a whippoorwill uttered its melan- 
 choly note and suddenly, near at hand in Domine Ry- 
 erssen's garden, there was a stir among the clump of 
 bushes just beyond the old gate. A scamper of tiny 
 feet told of fright among those little brothers of the 
 ground, and the feeble cries of half-awakened birds 
 seeking a securer haven heralded some instant danger. 
 The hardy, leaf-laden branches of the laburnums were 
 bent back and, from their shelter, eyes that belonged 
 to neither beast, nor bird, glanced keenly around. Af-
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 ter a moment, with no trace of caution in his bearing, 
 a man stepped out into the softly gleaming dusk. He 
 stood quite still looking up and down the little lane 
 that men said led nowhither then, in his turn, he left 
 it to its dreams. 
 
 132
 
 XII 
 
 AN ONLY CHILD 
 
 When three and twenty years before Mevrouw de 
 Hooge was delivered of a man-child, her first question 
 was not an unusual one. In that respect she did not 
 differ from the average woman in a similar situation. 
 
 Tryntje Jansen hesitated. During her career of 
 " sworn and approved midwife " which had lasted a 
 good score of years, she had become familiar with the 
 words and had never been at a loss for an answer be- 
 fore. Invariably her own syllables were those of af- 
 firmation whatever the real truth might be and, with 
 the loquacity of her profession, she would draw com- 
 parisons between the tiny features before her and those 
 larger ones of the sire in question until the mother, 
 lulled by her soothing garrulity, would sink into pro- 
 found slumber. If Tryntje had a conscience and one 
 doubts it she silenced it with the assurance that babies 
 change and if, by the time the mother was up and about, 
 the desired resemblance had faded, she could not be held 
 accountable for the vagaries of nature. On this occa- 
 sion, however, doubt assailed her and a furtive glance 
 at the determined face among the high pillows further 
 convinced her that she must be wary in her speech. 
 
 " Does he favor his father ? " 
 
 Tryntje gasped. Should she say, as only the month 
 133
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 before she had said to the wife of Councillor Wendell, 
 " Never have these eyes of mine beheld such a re- 
 semblance. After this very fashion must your worthy 
 husband have looked when he first came into this world 
 of storms and sighs " ? Before she had finished her 
 asseverations the little lady, settling down among the 
 pillows with a murmur of satisfaction, had fallen asleep. 
 The sentences had worked like a charm. Should she 
 use them again? 
 
 " Does he favor his father ? " 
 
 The voice had grown sharper, not fainter ; there was 
 a pucker, but not of pain, between the heavy eyebrows 
 that dominated the large, shapely nose. The perturbed 
 midwife glanced at the resolute features, at the haughty, 
 imperious eyes turned questioningly upon her, then her 
 look strayed to the little atom of humanity in her arms. 
 The tiny, red face offered no solution to the dilemma, 
 though on the instant the old woman recalled the 
 anxious countenance Mynheer de Hooge had turned 
 upon her only that morning in the passage-way with- 
 out, where he had waited since dawn a prey to not un- 
 natural fears, the usual shiny pink of his full moon 
 face deepened to an almost cardinal hue and his un- 
 certain mouth tremulous with excitement. Poor 
 gentleman ! great drops of moisture had stood out like 
 beads upon his brow over which his wig was set at a 
 rakish angle and his blue eyes mere slits like a pig's 
 had shone but dimly through the water which filled 
 them. Poor gentleman! nervous over this his first 
 born coming after a period of ten years' married life, 
 this heir to the ships, and lands, and money of the great 
 merchant De Hooge. There was a resemblance un- 
 
 134
 
 An Only Child 
 
 doubtedly ! She opened her mouth to speak the words 
 which had gladdened so many women's hearts and then 
 before she knew it, and for no discoverable reason, she 
 altered the formula. 
 
 " I cannot say," she faltered, feeling her way 
 cautiously, " the light is so dim hush thee, my lamb- 
 kin! But a fine bit of flesh and blood, and a man- 
 child, mevrouw." 
 
 " I wouldn't have had a woman-child," snapped the 
 voice from the bed. " I've no patience with women and 
 blind ones especially are not to my taste. If I'd known, 
 Tryntje Jansen, that your eyes were failing you I would 
 have had Lysbert Riemer to help me in this hour " 
 
 " That old maid ! what does she know about bring- 
 ing children into the world ? And blind ? Who says 
 I'm blind? This very moment from where I stand I 
 can see Mevrouw Opdyck across the street all agog to 
 discover if the cushion on your knocker is blue, or white. 
 There's sight for you ! " 
 
 " It's blue, I never had any doubts in my mind about 
 the color, and all of hers have been white poor thing ! 
 How many times, Tryntje ? " 
 
 " Eleven. Eleven girls God save us ! Three to 
 oncet once, two to oncet twice, and one to oncet all the 
 other times." 
 
 " I could almost find it in my heart to forgive her 
 her peevish, meddling tongue since the Lord hath af- 
 flicted her so grievously." 
 
 " Well, well, mevrouw, that is as it is. Doubtless a 
 great affliction, who shall say? If they all comb St. 
 Catharine's hair then the world is no better for the 
 trouble of bringing them into it, even if they live to the 
 
 135
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 age of Methusalamus. But if, in His mercy and dis- 
 position, He hath husbands for them all, though eleven 
 for one family would be hard to seek even for Provi- 
 dence ! then they may do their share for the next gen- 
 eration who knows ? But sight ! I can see the very 
 expression of her face, and you can be sure if she knew 
 I was watching her she'd not show her feelings so 
 plainly, and green with envy has it become. What will 
 it be when this precious babekin takes the air for the 
 first time? A proper child as you could wish to see 
 none properer and beautiful as the summer's 
 sun " 
 
 " Then Heaven be praised, he bears no resemblance 
 to his father ! " 
 
 " Not for a moment, mevrouw ; he is like you and 
 like your late-lamented father. Such a resemblance 
 these eyes of mine have never beheld never never 
 It is wonderful. Your nose in little, and your eyes, 
 and the commandingful turn to his very chin like 
 yours at this blessed minute and pale even like you 
 but that will mend with both mother and child. And 
 now to sleep, dear lady, to sleep. But stay, will you 
 have any speech with your husband? He is with- 
 out " 
 
 " 'Twas he then, fiddling with that knob I might 
 have known as much. Yes, yes, call him in. If you 
 don't he'll wait there till midnight. But remember, 
 it's only for a moment." 
 
 Tryntje raised her voice authoritatively, and in an- 
 swer to the summons the door was pushed open cau- 
 tiously inch by inch, until the aperture was wide enough 
 to admit the appearance of a head which was with- 
 
 136
 
 An Only Child 
 
 drawn immediately, only to be thrust forward again 
 after an instant's absence. This performance was re- 
 peated several times, the head remaining stationary for 
 a longer period on each successive occasion. 
 
 " Come, come sir, one side of the door, or the other, 
 and make up your mind quick about it ! I can't have 
 this new-born infant exposed to the blasts from the 
 passage-way! to say nothing of his mother. The in- 
 consideration of mankind is enough to try a saint ! " 
 
 Thus admonished, the rest of the figure belonging 
 to the head appeared within the room, and the door was 
 closed with trembling fingers which yet executed their 
 task with utmost gentleness. For another moment the 
 little man, still a prey to his timidity, stood clinging 
 to the knob as if it were his only friend, for notwith- 
 standing the very generous bit of gold which had found 
 its way from his pocket to Tryntje Jansen's capacious 
 bosom a few hours before, she glowered at him with 
 malevolent eyes in which he read no sympathy, and her 
 strident tones struck terror to his heart. He was many 
 years the senior of his wife whom he held in great awe, 
 and he had a very deep love and adoration for little 
 children, though a shyness also that had always kept 
 him aloof from them. But this was different. This 
 son who was his, who- would love him and look to him 
 for help, and be a help to him in his declining years ! 
 Yet the realization of this dearest of all dreams left 
 Mynheer de Hooge dumb. 
 
 " Come, come, sir." 
 
 He dared not hesitate a second longer. He forsook 
 his material support, stood erect after some fashion 
 then, with knocking knees, he sidled up to the great 
 
 137
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 four-poster where his wife lay regarding him through 
 half-closed lids. 
 
 " Thanks be to God, my my dear," he stammered, 
 " that a son is born to us this day. Had it ah ! had 
 he been a daughter, he I should say she would have 
 been welcome, but because the Lord in His kindness to 
 us has seen fit to send a son to comfort our old age, 
 my cup is overflowing " 
 
 " Cup ? Cup ? I hope you have not been drinking 
 so early in the morning, Mynheer de Hooge." 
 
 " No, my my dear a figure of speech merely. 
 But with your permission I will drink your health, and 
 the health of our son later in the day." 
 
 Something like a deep gasp of relief escaped him 
 and he turned quickly from the bed to meet those other, 
 piercing glances. 
 
 " Is this is this the little fellow, Vrouw Jansen ? " 
 he asked in an awestruck whisper. She looked at him 
 without speaking, and in the interval of silence he put 
 out a shaking, cautious finger toward the mass of 
 clothes in her arms which was surmounted by the 
 puckered, old-young face of his child. The next mo- 
 ment he withdrew it hastily as though he had been 
 burned. 
 
 " Ky-ems ! " he chuckled, " ky-ems ! " 
 
 "Tryntje, send that man away! My son is not a 
 fool." 
 
 "Of course not, of course not, my my dear. Twas 
 a figure of speech merely. I ah ! I naturally doubted 
 if he would understand any set phrase in our more 
 studied vernacular. I " 
 
 " There, there, sir," Tryntje interrupted, reading the 
 
 138
 
 An Only Child 
 
 stormy face on the pillows aright, " go you must now. 
 Sakes alive! but irritating isn't the word for it, and 
 well-intentioned too. Well, the Lord help us ! This is 
 the way out, sir. Drat the man ! has he gone blind all 
 of a sudden? Mind how you step there's a board 
 that creaks outrageous, and crying wood is the ag- 
 gravatingest sound to a just-delivered woman that there 
 is. Have a care ! " 
 
 " And don't fiddle with the knob once you are out, 
 Mynheer de Hooge, but shut the door and go away 
 instantly instantly, do you hear me ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, my dear, I will go directly. I will go and 
 drink Baby's health " 
 
 " Don't say ' baby ' again I will not have it. My 
 son's name is Adrian after my father. Thank God! 
 he already bears a strong resemblance to him, Tryntje 
 says, a marvellous resemblance. Close the door tight." 
 
 The hinges did not creak, it being a perfectly ap- 
 pointed and well-ordered house as anyone, who knew 
 Mevrouw de Hooge, would have felt sure would be 
 the case, but the latch clicked gently as it fell into place. 
 Both women heard it and the receding footsteps tip- 
 toeing along the hall ; when all was silent again they 
 glanced at each other. Tryntje rolled up her eyes 
 piously. 
 
 " God save us, but what fools even the best of hus- 
 bands be ! Lacking in sense, lacking in sense, I always 
 say and one man presentical with another for dearth 
 of wisdom peas in the pod are not so similar. Now 
 praise be to Heaven that women have been created into 
 this world to keep it from the utter darkness of ig- 
 norance. Take heart, good lady. Never have I seen 
 
 139
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 such a resemblance betwixt mother and child, not once 
 in all these years! And if that be true of the outer 
 skin which is but surface-deep and changesome, what 
 can be spoke of the mind within that changes not? 
 The counterpart, I swear, very like very like." 
 
 Time proved that Tryntje's words uttered with 
 deep conviction, whatever their hit and miss quality 
 might have been held an indisputable truth. Not 
 only did Adrian de Hooge outwardly resemble his 
 mother and her late-lamented, often-referred-to father, 
 but those inner graces of mind, and temper, were so 
 similar to the ones possessed by his maternal parent 
 that Mynheer de Hooge husband and father secret- 
 ly trembled beneath their sway and uncomplainingly 
 bent his patient shoulders to the double lash of tyranny. 
 
 More and more, as his son waxed in stature, did the 
 little old man withdraw to his counting-house there to 
 spend his waking hours over his affairs, which increased 
 greatly as the years passed. In his own home he was 
 treated as a nonentity and allowed no word in the di- 
 rection of house, or son, but where the management of 
 his wealth was concerned he reigned absolute lord. 
 That domain was indisputably his. He possessed the 
 easy business success which sometimes seems the native 
 element of otherwise stupid men and unquestioned, un- 
 hampered, he wielded his authority with a foresight 
 and discretion that won him ungrudging respect from 
 his compeers. 
 
 So at last, working early and late in the interests of 
 a wife and son whose affections he had never known, 
 Death and he came quietly to terms and Evert Pels, as 
 has been related elsewhere, chronicled the event with 
 
 140
 
 An Only Child 
 
 fitting pomp and precision. And speedily thereafter 
 that portion of the town, where he had lived and 
 labored through a long lifetime, forgot him as com- 
 pletely as though he had never been. 
 
 Adrian de Hooge was three-and-twenty when he 
 succeeded to the sole management of the great business 
 house of De Hooge and De Hooge, for thus the sign 
 had read since the anniversary of his twenty-first birth- 
 day, when he had been admitted as equal partner into 
 the firm. In the future, he intended, it should bear his 
 name alone, but for the immediate present, out of defer- 
 ence to the widow's conservatism, he refrained from 
 making any change and inwardly prided himself upon 
 his own fine feelings in thus honoring his father's 
 memory. As a rule he seldom regarded any one's 
 wishes, unless they were in accordance with his own, 
 and his mother had long since discovered that her au- 
 thority was but a straw where he was concerned. 
 Proud, obstinate, implacable, he was everything she 
 was and more, for she had learned to give way to him, 
 her great love making such sacrifice possible, while he 
 made no concession. 
 
 He had been spoiled from his cradle both at home 
 and abroad ; even his masters at school had treated him 
 with a partiality never shown to the other pupils. As 
 a boy he had been in some sense a favorite among his 
 mates for, when he was not crossed, he was a good fel- 
 low enough, eager for any sport as long as he might 
 be leader, full of fun and high animal spirits ; there had 
 always been, therefore, plenty of children to run at his 
 beck and call, hosts of little sycophants ready to swear 
 black was white at his dictation. The conditions had 
 
 141
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 not changed by the time he reached manhood and 
 among the young men in the circle in which he moved 
 he held indisputably first place. Aside from the 
 tangible fact that Prosperity and Plenty smiled upon 
 him the gods had also seen fit to give him a pleasing 
 exterior, so that even to his detractors he possessed the 
 appearance of a not inconsiderable Adonis. Added to 
 his personal beauty he dressed in the height of Dutch 
 fashion, aping, to some extent, the airs of the English, 
 whom he cordially hated, and certainly wearing his 
 clothes with as much grace as the greatest dandy of 
 them all who lounged on a Sunday morning at the doors 
 of Trinity. 
 
 There was no beauty discernible in his scowling face, 
 however, that summer night as he strode away from 
 Domine Ryerssen's garden. He moved slowly with 
 the air of a man whose mind halts at every turn. The 
 easy confidence, with which he had swung through the 
 little lane hours before, had vanished from his bearing, 
 but he carried his head proudly and his eyes, looking 
 moodily before him, were as full of dominant fire as 
 ever. 
 
 142
 
 XIII 
 
 THE WEAVING OF FATE 
 
 It was not until his thirteenth year that Adrian de 
 Hooge became really conscious of Annetje's existence. 
 Up to that date, from the superior altitude accorded to 
 him by his five years' seniority, he had simply disre- 
 garded her. Then the influence which she was to wield 
 over his future life made itself evident, faintly at first 
 but no more to be thwarted than the call of the fresh 
 spring winds is to be ignored by the sleeping buds and 
 grasses. As the time comes for them to follow blindly 
 the law of their own growth so these two mere chil- 
 dren as yet were drawn irresistibly together. 
 
 He found her one January day standing, a forlornly 
 pathetic, much-bundled-up little figure, at the foot of 
 Flattenbarrack Hill, looking longingly at its summit. 
 The place was deserted, though the twinkling snow 
 flashed a thousand invitations in the sun and the path- 
 way worn by the passing of the children's sleds gleamed 
 like a silver road to bliss. He himself should have been 
 at school busy with his Latin, as his mother fondly 
 imagined, while Heilke, if questioned, would have de- 
 clared that the domine's little daughter was working 
 her sampler in the sunny corner of the attic like the 
 good, obedient child she was. Adrian passed with an 
 
 143
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 indifferent glance, dragging his sled after him, then, 
 from the depths of the innumerable wrappings, there 
 came a sigh so faint, that it must have escaped the boy's 
 hearing had it not been among the written things which 
 he could not avoid. 
 
 " Do you want a ride ? " he demanded gruffly, won- 
 dering at himself. 
 
 The yes of ecstasy mollified him a trifle, his sight 
 grew clearer ; young as he was her fairness even then 
 appealed strongly to him. He lessened his stride in 
 order that her quickly pattering, little feet need not 
 hurry so much to keep step with him ; he was lordly, 
 magnificent, and shy, in a breath. When they had 
 climbed the hill he placed the sled in position and the 
 next instant they were skimming over the dazzling sur- 
 face, her laughter, like a peal of bells, mingling with his 
 whoops of delight; as far as eye could see the white 
 world held only them and their joy. 
 
 The sport continued a good hour or so, the two com- 
 panions growing better acquainted with every passing 
 moment. He found he could not tell her much about 
 himself which she did not already know from Heilke 
 and the gossip of the neighborhood. He swelled with 
 his importance. In her turn, her tongue once loosened, 
 she told him everything concerning her little life, and 
 even whispered a confession about the neglected sam- 
 pler in the garret and how she had stolen away through 
 the garden out of a gate, far beyond Heilke's super- 
 vision, which nobody supposed was ever opened. He 
 took her back to it when she was ready to go home 
 and, in the years that followed, he used it frequently 
 when it suited his pleasure, or convenience, though 
 
 144
 
 The Weaving of Fate 
 
 there was no bar to that other entrance, which all 
 the world might see, for the heir of the rich De 
 Hooge. 
 
 His liking for his child-friend increased as time went 
 on he domineered over her, teased her, adored her as 
 the mood impelled him, and never doubted but that 
 one day he should win her. To him, whose least wish 
 had always been accomplished, she was already won. 
 Sometimes, when she teased him with her caprices, he 
 realized with a pleasing sense of security that she was 
 only struggling as the bird struggles when the net closes 
 about it, making the last futile attempts for a freedom 
 that is vanishing. 
 
 Mevrouw de Hooge, it is true, had other plans in 
 view; she had several candidates for the position 
 of her son's wife, inestimable, docile girls, good house- 
 keepers, passing fair to look upon with the addi- 
 tional fairness of a not inconsiderable dowry. It was 
 an open secret, moreover, that these candidates and 
 others less desirable in the maternal eye were only 
 too eager to secure the biggest plum in the matrimonial 
 market; and innumerable were the snares laid to en- 
 trap his affections. He had thus far been delivered 
 from them, owing to a watchful Providence, a jealous 
 mother and not the least important factor to be con- 
 sidered his own calculating nature. There were 
 times, however, when he had seriously weighed the ad- 
 vantages of a marriage with money and had even al- 
 lowed his attentions to become marked in certain direc- 
 tions, yet always before the fatal step was taken 
 inclination he called it love swung him back An- 
 netje's way. And love it undoubtedly was the deep- 
 
 145
 
 est he could feel though the girl, despite her worth 
 and beauty, would never occupy the chief place in his 
 thoughts since that was completely filled by his own 
 image. 
 
 By degrees, and as the first step toward the attain- 
 ment of his desire, he vanquished his mother's opposi- 
 tion, wringing a grudging consent from her, though 
 he did not deem it necessary to the furtherance of his 
 plans. He welcomed it gladly, however, as another 
 proof of his power. If he could bend her strong will 
 to his, there was little to worry about in the ultimate 
 disposal of so slight a thing as a girl's heart. 
 
 Solely to please him during the winter preceding his 
 father's death Annette was bidden, not once but many 
 times, to the great house the house which Adrian 
 meant should be hers one day. On several occasions 
 she accompanied her father, making one at the sumptu- 
 ously laden table where there were long intervals of 
 silence between the two old men, domine and host, 
 lighted by rare flashes of speech, reminiscent in quality 
 on either side. And all through the meal Adrian talked 
 in his boastful voice of what he had done and would 
 do, while his mother sat magisterially silent behind the 
 massive tea-equipage letting nothing escape her. To 
 the girl, sitting shy and frightened near that awful pres- 
 ence, the time passed like a nightmare; she did not 
 know whether it was harder to meet her lover's eyes 
 irritating in their boldness, or his mother's glance of 
 chilling disparagement. 
 
 But there were other evenings at the De Hooge man- 
 sion that held only pleasant memories for Annetje. 
 Waffle-frolics and simple diversions, when the young 
 
 146
 
 The Weaving of Fate 
 
 folk danced to the music of fiddles played by negro 
 slaves, or romped through kissing-games, or sang 
 rounds. Her beauty made her easily the queen of these 
 little assemblies, though her gown was always the same 
 simple India silk fashioned by Heilke's fingers, but 
 many were the appreciative glances cast her way and 
 Mevrouw de Hooge, looking on from her corner, re- 
 garded the girl with more tolerance. A thing gained 
 or lost in her esteem according to the value placed upon 
 it by the world, and being a wise woman she trimmed 
 her sails to the wind. So it was, that with matters at 
 this pass, Annetje was singled out by the chief femi- 
 nine mourner at the time of Mynheer de Hooge's ob- 
 sequies, and showered with attentions which gave food 
 to the gossips and set them speculating about the near- 
 ness of the wedding. 
 
 Domine Ryerssen, going a few days later to offer 
 spiritual consolation to the widow in her affliction (and 
 he ought to have known better!) was considerably sur- 
 prised at the interview which followed. She cut short 
 his words of sympathy, and also his directions as to 
 where she could find peace of mind and resignation, 
 the latter with considerable warmth of manner, (she 
 needed no one to point out her Christian duty, thank 
 Heaven !),and plunged immediately into a declaration 
 of her son's passion and a formal demand for An- 
 netje's hand. The old minister fell back in his chair, 
 his face working piteously. At first his hostess, pos- 
 sessed by the belief that the splendor of the offer had 
 dazzled the unworldly eyes turned upon her, was more 
 kindly inclined toward her visitor, for whom she had 
 for many years entertained only a feeling of contemptu-
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 ous toleration; but, as he stammeringly found his 
 tongue and she learned that he was not overwhelmed 
 by the honor done him and his, her sentiments 
 changed with the velocity of a whirlwind. His simple 
 iteration that Annetje was too young filled her with 
 rage. 
 
 "Young young? She isn't any younger than her 
 mother was when you made a laughing-stock of your- 
 self, Domine Ryerssen, and set her up among us as 
 the pastor's lady. It was a mercy she died when she 
 did, for I doubt if she would have filled the position 
 satisfactorily to the parish if she'd been spared. Well, 
 wisdom lies with God, as I've said to myself a thousand 
 times since Mynheer de Hooge was taken," she paused 
 out of breath. 
 
 " Consider this affair as definitely settled, sir," she 
 continued with flashing eyes, "and let us thank the 
 Lord for the benefits He has seen fit to shower upon 
 your child. Truly, as hath been said of another, she 
 is blessed among women " 
 
 "Mevrouw!" 
 
 " I said it, sir. Is it worse to say, than think it ? 
 When it is noised abroad that your daughter weds my 
 son will not that be the thought everywhere? If you 
 place no high estimate upon his attainments and his 
 standing in the community, let me assure you that the 
 world has a different opinion. It is an honor, sir, 
 which he bestows upon your child, an honor I trust 
 she will appreciate but she is not blind, if you have 
 been. I wish her to come to me day after to-morrow 
 without fail, remember Adrian is forced to go to 
 Virginia then, on business which will keep him from 
 
 148
 
 The Weaving of Fate 
 
 home for a month or more. When he returns we will 
 speak more precisely of the wedding." 
 
 Then he was summarily dismissed and half-dazed 
 by this sudden turn of affairs, which swept aside all 
 thought of his other parochial duties, he sought his 
 home, not quite sure in his own mind as to what had 
 really happened. Annetje was spinning in the kitchen 
 and listened to his news without a word, though Heilke 
 kept up a running comment of delighted cries, like a 
 little joyful tune which offered a marked contrast to 
 his grave voice. In the light of her appreciation, how- 
 ever, the mists lifted somewhat from the old man's 
 heart and he reproached himself for the selfishness that 
 had made him cry out against the good fortune that had 
 come to his child. He had hoped to keep her with him 
 till the end; yet her happiness, doubtless, lay else- 
 where. 
 
 He touched the rosy, downcast face timidly, raising 
 it a little toward his dim eyes that he might read the 
 joy it held. But it was like a book in a strange tongue 
 to him, he did not understand it perhaps it was be- 
 cause he was too old to understand. Age is so far away 
 from youth that one forgets the way back oftentimes. 
 There were such mixed thoughts in the girl's breast, 
 however, that it would have taken a person of keener 
 insight than Domine Ryerssen to read them ; even she 
 was puzzled herself, she could not tell whether she was 
 glad, or otherwise. She was dazzled a little by the fact 
 that she had been asked in marriage by the most eligible 
 young man in Dutch circles she was only too con- 
 scious of Adrian's position, as Mevrouw de Hooge had 
 surmised and her liking for him dated from her child- 
 
 149
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 hood : though, already, other thoughts were beginning 
 to stir within her. 
 
 " Does it make you happy, little one ? " 
 
 She hung her head. If she said no what would that 
 mean? Just the dull stagnation of home with Heilke 
 for companion and the garden for amusement, with 
 perhaps an occasional invitation ' to take tea out ' at 
 some stately house. All through her life, save for 
 Adrian's friendship, she had been singularly alone; 
 there had been no other intimacy and scarcely any 
 other young companionship. And now a little word 
 of hers would put an end to everything dances, games, 
 songs there would be nothing left but quiet from 
 morning to night. It was in the early days of her 
 acquaintance with Bellenden and, though her dreams 
 were full of him, she clung childishly to the slight hold 
 she had upon the world of delight as represented by 
 Mevrouw de Hooge's parties. She wavered slightly. 
 
 " Do you love him ? " 
 
 " I I love you, father, and Heilke and Jan I will 
 stay here, if you please." 
 
 " The child is mad mad don't listen to her Do- 
 mine. The best match in town and ' I will stay here, 
 if you please.' Owed Owee! another would snap at 
 the chance. Another? Twenty others ! You can't de- 
 ceive me, I'm not blind ; there's not a girl of marriage- 
 able age in the parish but would thank God fasting for 
 such a piece of good fortune, and all you say is ' I will 
 stay here, if you please.' Where's your gratitude? 
 That fat Bertha would burst her sides with envy if she 
 knew this. Think of the mevrouw's laces and jewels, 
 child. She can't take them with her and they'd all be
 
 The Weaving of Fate 
 
 yours some day. And such a fine, strapping fel- 
 low " 
 
 " The child shall say no if she wishes, Heilke." 
 
 " You'll live to rue this day, sir, if you uphold such 
 doings it's flying in the face of Providence! Oh! 
 my dear dear dead mistress, when you used to kiss 
 your baby daughter and make plans about her growing 
 up to womanhood, little did you think she'd ruin her 
 prospects for a ninny's whim. Oh ! if you were here 
 to counsel you, a woman, knowing more of such 
 things than a holy man steeped in book learning and not 
 having his child's welfare at heart " 
 
 " Heilke Heilke what can I do? " 
 
 " Rule her, sir, rule her ! Tis written children obey 
 your parents, and again, honor thy father and mother, 
 and honoring means obeying. Command her. Re- 
 member Solomon, a man wise in his day and genera- 
 tion and mindful of a parent's duty." 
 
 " But her happiness? " 
 
 " Her happiness ? " Heilke exchanged a glance with 
 Heaven. " We ain't going to live forever, Domine Ry- 
 erssen, and when we've gone who'll look out for her 
 happiness? Who better than a husband? Can she 
 take care of herself? A weak, backboneless creature 
 good, yes, but without managing qualities helpless 
 as a babe, you can take my word for it ! And Adrian 
 de Hooge offers her houses, carriages, money she 
 mustn't say no It's the best match in town, I tell 
 you. And child, think of all the women in the Garden 
 Street church and what their feelings would be when- 
 ever you went past them in your rich robes " 
 
 " Peace woman ! "
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Nay, there's nothing like being on a pinnacle and 
 looking down on others," Heilke cried, disregardless of 
 reproof. " It's the sauce to the pudding every day, and 
 generally speaking folks have to take their pudding 
 plain and pretend they like it best so, thankful enough 
 to get it at all, for the most of the world goes without. 
 Happy ? " she broke off to laugh. " I'd stake my 
 chances for Eternity upon it ! or she isn't like the rest 
 of us." 
 
 " Heilke, you pain me." 
 
 " There, there, sir let be. Tis but the froth on top, 
 cast it aside as of little worth. Who am I, do you ask, 
 who lifts her voice to counsel one old in wisdom ? A 
 humble handmaiden serving in the house of a man of 
 God, and knowing her duty too. Oh ! listen to me, 
 Domine, I must speak. Ever since my dear, departed 
 mistress changed her mortality for shining robes of 
 bliss I have looked after this child, thought of her good, 
 worked my fingers to the bone for her day and night. 
 And I can't see her throw away this wonderful piece of 
 luck this assurance of happiness for her future. I 
 stand in a mother's place, I speak as a mother would 
 Be guided, sir." 
 
 " My little maid, I think Heilke is right, I think 
 perhaps were your mother here, she would say the 
 same I I cannot tell I live so much with my books 
 and I grow old very old. But Adrian de Hooge 
 comes of God-fearing parents and he is also a good 
 man. He loves you very deeply, little one, he has loved 
 you since you were a child, his mother says, and he is 
 near your own age, too, as should be as should be 
 between man and wife. Can you not find a different 
 
 152
 
 The Weaving of Fate 
 
 answer ? Come ! Mevrouw de Hooge would see you 
 this week." 
 
 Annetje shivered a little. 
 
 " Well then, I will not go to her no, Heilke, I will 
 not. Let Adrian come to me if he wishes to marry me 
 and let her likewise " 
 
 " God help us ! 'tis flat and open rebellion. Go away, 
 Domine, and leave me to wrestle with the girl alone; 
 she used to have some sense. What! Mevrouw de 
 Hooge come here and the grass not sprouted yet on 
 her husband's grave and such good growing weather 
 as it has been for the past few days. Owee! Owed 
 To come here, as if my lady there had all to give and 
 nothing to receive. Owee! Owee!" 
 
 The mutiny was soon quelled. It never occurred to 
 Annetje that she could do otherwise than follow her 
 father's wishes, for, imbued by Heilke's unceasing 
 arguments, he speedily laid his commands upon the girl 
 and then, having once definitely expressed himself, he 
 returned to his books and regarded the matter as settled. 
 To obey had been the key-note of Annetje's life, though 
 whenever she had been able to evade authority she had 
 been quick to do so. In this instance, however, there 
 was but one alternative. She must obey, or tell 
 what? Little foolish, lovely dreams that her father 
 and Heilke would not understand, because such as they 
 had never dreamed them little floating fancies that 
 made the blood rise and rise again to her cheeks. 
 
 In the end she went, as Heilke knew well would be 
 the case, to pay the desired visit. At which time Me- 
 vrouw de Hooge, with a show of kindness which took 
 off the edge of her condescension, received the girl al- 
 
 153
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 most cordially and made her feel more thoroughly at 
 ease than she had ever been in the older woman's so- 
 ciety, while Adrian's undisguised delight helped the 
 interview to a satisfactory close. Annetje returned to 
 her home considerably lighter-hearted than she had 
 been for many days, and not a little flattered by her 
 lover's protestations and his mother's graciousness. 
 The satisfaction of an accomplished duty gratified her 
 and there was comfort in the reflection that the autumn, 
 with the hinted-at wedding, was months away. When 
 Adrian returned from Virginia, she told herself, she 
 would never think of anyone else, though for the pres- 
 ent there could be no harm not the least harm in the 
 world ! in dreaming those happy dreams. 
 
 The races were being run on Sir Peter Warren's es- 
 tate up at Greenwich the day of Adrian de Hooge's 
 arrival in New York. The information was given him 
 at the wharf and later at the deserted coffee-house 
 whither he went for his mail, but the young Dutchman, 
 pleasant as the sport usually was to him, had no in- 
 tention of making one of the on-lookers. Instead, he 
 hastened to his home and held a short interview with his 
 mother, who was secretly tremulous with the joy of his 
 coming, and then, after a prolonged toilet, he set forth 
 to seek Annetje. He would have hesitated to say how 
 many times he had dreamed of this first meeting, go- 
 ing over each detail in his fancy with a rapture hitherto 
 unknown to him. He had a hundred things to tell her 
 and many pretty trinkets with which to delight her eyes. 
 He had planned that she should pay for them all in 
 kisses, and he told himself again and again, chuckling 
 
 154
 
 The Weaving of Fate 
 
 at the thought, that he would have the best of the 
 bargain. 
 
 He made his way rapidly to the lane, resolving to go 
 up through the garden and surprise her among her 
 flowers, or spinning at the kitchen door. In his im- 
 patience he did not wait to unfasten the gate, but vault- 
 ed over it, missed his footing and fell headlong. It 
 was the accident of a moment ; he was on his feet al- 
 most instantly again with a muttered imprecation, and 
 paused to arrange his disordered dress. The last 
 crease smoothed out, and his temper somewhat re- 
 stored, he looked up casually just in time to see an Eng- 
 lish officer on horseback riding rapidly forward. The 
 unusual sight shook De Hooge more than his fall had 
 done. He felt the pain of it in every nerve, then a 
 quick glance convinced him that the new-comer, pre- 
 occupied with his own thoughts, had not perceived him 
 and, following an inexplicable impulse, he secreted 
 himself hastily among the laburnum bushes. There, a 
 prey to rage and jealousy, he remained to see all his 
 golden plans of home and happiness crumble and fall 
 into nothingness. 
 
 Away off at the edge of the world, where they say 
 the Fates sit spinning the skein of human destiny, the 
 threads of certain lives became entangled that after- 
 noon. Such diverse threads, so remote from one an- 
 other that, at first sight, their meeting seemed of all 
 improbabilities the most improbable. Such diverse 
 threads and yet, one by one, the inexorable spinner 
 crossed them in her weaving the worn, gray thread 
 of age, the rich, strong thread of manhood, the lighter 
 quality of youth, the glancing gold where a girl's way- 
 
 155
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 wardness ran side by side with the little, white thread 
 of a sister soul, and the darker strand where jealousy, 
 thwarted desire, and revenge spread over the whole. 
 
 Away off there Fate chuckled grimly, then, with those 
 strange, inexplicable eyes sad with the mystery of life 
 she looked down at the work as it slipped through 
 her fingers. 
 
 156
 
 XIV 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED VISIT 
 
 To seek out the different coffee-houses and there 
 make public the story of the Beauty's escapade seemed 
 to Adrian de Hooge the first step toward securing his 
 vengeance. But that plan was speedily dismissed. 
 His quarrel was not with the brother and sister, who 
 would be the chief sufferers by the disclosure, but with 
 the man who had supplanted him in Annetje's favor, 
 and primarily with the girl herself, who had held her 
 betrothal in so slight a fashion. For her secret was 
 no secret to his jealous eyes, and in the moment when 
 he read the joy in her upraised face every good and 
 tender feeling within him knew its death. There was 
 no bottom to the hatred he suddenly felt for her, and 
 no scheme too hellish that he would not seek to devise 
 it for her undoing, and in compassing it he cared not 
 how many others would be included likewise. Abso- 
 lutely merciless at all times, when blinded by anger he 
 had a supreme lust for inflicting pain ; he was one of 
 those men whose spirit of revenge demands a wide 
 orbit it must sweep everybody, guilty and innocent 
 alike, in the circle of its wrath. To have Annetje suf- 
 fer alone would not satisfy him, those bound to her in 
 kinship must suffer also throb for throb, ache for 
 ache. If the girl had been one of a large family, he 
 would not have rested until he had brought sorrow and 
 
 157
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 disgrace to each member; having only her father, it 
 was but the most natural thing that Adrian de Hooge 
 should instantly conceive an unreasoning and brutal 
 dislike for the domine, which could only terminate to 
 the old man's disadvantage. 
 
 As he revolved scheme after scheme in his mind, the 
 thought occurred to him that it would injure Annetje's 
 standing with her new friends, and deprive her of their 
 liking, if Miss Crewe's secret were to remain inviolate 
 until after her departure from the parsonage ; when its 
 disclosure would seem prompted by feminine jealousy, 
 or disregard of honor. Who would believe Annetje's 
 protestations of innocence? Who, but she, was sup- 
 posed to know of the English girl's disguise? What 
 were the suspicions of a few spectators, if any had been 
 quick enough to discover the jockey's identity, com- 
 pared to Annetje's own knowledge ? And who would 
 be the first to repudiate her, if not her lover the cap- 
 tain? That would be one way in which to inflict pain, 
 exquisite in quality, upon her, and others would not be 
 wanting. With this end in view the young Dutchman 
 determined, for the present at least, to give no hint of 
 what he had heard and witnessed in the garden and, as 
 he passed cautiously by back streets and lanes to his 
 home in Gold Street, he smiled cruelly to himself in the 
 dark. He would watch and wait wait an eternity, if 
 need be for power lay in his hands. 
 
 In the week that followed, despite this resolution on 
 the part of Adrian de Hooge, the whole parish of the 
 Garden Street church quivered with .curiosity. The 
 daily visits of the two young men to the domine's house 
 were viewed with suspicion and dismay by the neigh- 
 
 158
 
 An Unexpected Visit 
 
 bors living along the route. The women speculated 
 over their work and especially, when, after the custom 
 of the times, they congregated in little groups on the 
 stoops of the houses in the cool dusk the air was rife 
 with their surmises ; while the men, sitting by, smoked 
 their long-stemmed pipes and pondered over the scan- 
 dal in their turn. Secret as Peggy's coming had been, 
 the fact of her being in their midst was something that 
 could not long remain unknown, though the chintz cur- 
 tains at Annetje's window, persistently veiled the mys- 
 tery of her presence from inquisitive glances. It was 
 Heilke who was chiefly responsible for the first impetus 
 to the ball of gossip, though she would have strenuously 
 denied any such charge; yet, waylaid in the street 
 whenever she made her appearance and assailed with 
 questions, she fanned the excitement into a flame with 
 the audacity of her unreserve. She was smarting with 
 a strong sense of disapproval and her condemnation of 
 her master's guest was as unguarded as her hearers 
 could well wish ; what her own lack of knowledge with- 
 held, they pieced out with surprising ingenuity and did 
 not spoil the story in so doing. 
 
 Strangers coming at any time into their placid lives 
 would have caused some sort of ferment, but when the 
 unknown represented the world of fashion and another 
 nationality than theirs, manifest danger stalked abroad. 
 It was a danger that threatened to undermine every- 
 thing home, society, church. The domine was old 
 and, as Heilke truly said, had the heart of a child for 
 seeing guile, still he held the highest, most responsible 
 position in the community and if he entertained world- 
 liness and vice (the two seemed inseparable in the 
 
 159
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 minds of his accusers), to whom could they turn? 
 How could they follow his teachings ? Vague rumors 
 of ill buzzed throughout the parish, gaining in bulk 
 over many a Del ft- ware tea-cup ; they were even car- 
 ried to the doors of St. Nicholas's where on Sunday the 
 people lingered, after listening to Domine Ryerssen ex- 
 pound the Heidelberg catechism, to compare notes on 
 the distressing situation. 
 
 The clamor did not reach the old man at his books 
 and Annetje, unwearying in her attendance on their 
 guest, was equally unconscious of the storm of detrac- 
 tion and disapproval that was gathering about them. 
 
 Heilke, swelling with importance, threw wide the 
 study-door without the preliminaries of a knock, and 
 Jan Praa, immediately behind her, peered over her 
 shoulder, lowering and breathless. His person was 
 partially enveloped in a leather-apron spotted with 
 earth stains, his coarse wig above his hot, streaming 
 face was stuck full of bits of twigs and stray leaves 
 which gave him the effect of an ancient satyr return- 
 ing from some orgy, while for a thyrsus he carried a 
 spade to which blades of grass were still clinging. 
 
 " Their most gracious High-Mightinesses " 
 
 " Foei, woman, foei! Sinful mortals, such as we all 
 be " 
 
 " God's elect, I tell you." 
 
 " I stand as good a chance as they I, a doorkeeper 
 in the house of the Lord since ever I reached man's 
 estate " 
 
 "Tis with the Lord to judge; He knoweth the 
 properer heart." 
 
 160
 
 An Unexpected Visit 
 
 " He'll not need your promptings, creature of pots 
 and pans." 
 
 The domine turned a bewildered face toward the two 
 disturbers of his peace. 
 
 " Cease wrangling," he commanded sternly. " Jan, 
 Jan, how often must I tell you that the house is Heilke's 
 province ? " 
 
 " But consider, sir, if the consistory holds a meeting 
 do not I open the door to them ? Do not I arrange the 
 places ? " 
 
 " Surely surely." 
 
 " I told the woman so and she usurped my office ; 
 she opened to them, bobbing like a cork upon the 
 waters " 
 
 " You you lover of untruth ! Sir, to liken me to 
 a cork was there ever such infamy? I am no cork, 
 thank God! I am no light-headed, light-heeled thing 
 such as he consorts with at the ale-houses. A cork 
 indeed ! Hear me, sir, I did but make my duty to their 
 High-Mightinesses " 
 
 " Elders and deacons, woman." 
 
 " Their High-Mightinesses ! I did but say ' good- 
 day Mynheer Kip, good-day Mynheer Roelofsen I 
 rejoice to see your honor so well, Mynheer Van der 
 Grist, Mynheer Van Corlear you are welcome ' " 
 
 " You should have held your clack, praatster, what 
 did they care for your greetings ? " 
 
 " When was this Heilke ? I do not understand." 
 
 " Even now, sir At this very minute their High- 
 Mightinesses sit in the parlor God be praised! I 
 cleaned it yesterday." 
 
 " The elders and here ? I do not understand. Is 
 aught amiss with the chamber in the church, Jan ? " 
 
 161
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Naught, sir, spick and span is it, as these two 
 hands could make it and yet cheated of this meeting. 
 Riddle me why? Besides the elders, the woman has 
 named, have come Mynheer Kiersted, Mynheer Jacob 
 Kay and Mynheer Van Cortlandt; Mynheer Tiemen 
 alone is absent, but he'd not leave his shop on so bright 
 a business day not he ! " 
 
 " The consistory and here ? Was there a meeting 
 called? I I my memory is treacherous sometimes. 
 Did they go to the church and find us unprepared ? " 
 
 " Jan Praa is never unprepared, sir. I should have 
 reminded you had there been any necessity." 
 
 Domine Ryerssen fumbled hurriedly through the 
 notes on the table, bringing them up to his near-sighted 
 eyes and scanning them closely ; he put them down with 
 a shaking hand. 
 
 " You say true, Jan, you are a zealous servant, you do 
 not forget. But to come here it must be a mat- 
 ter of great importance some, some personal mat- 
 ter perhaps," he stopped, visibly disturbed, his face 
 growing suddenly pinched and gray. He caught his 
 breath. 
 
 " My sermon was overlong last Sunday," he said al- 
 most apologetically after a moment, " but those minor 
 prophets are of stupendous interest I I could not 
 seem to let them go. I was angered when you rapped 
 thrice on the pulpit, Jan." 
 
 " I did not exceed my duty, sir ; twice had the hour- 
 glass run its course." 
 
 " Yes, yes, but a little longer a half hour perhaps, 
 would have seen the end. You are sure you wait till 
 the last drop has run out before you turn the glass ? " 
 
 162
 
 An Unexpected Visit 
 
 " The last trickle, sir. In these times of change I 
 must be careful, we must all have a care, minister and 
 voorleezer alike. We are serving, sir, serving. That 
 very morning Mevrouw de Hooge yawned out loud 
 twice, and old Mynheer Opdyck gaped also, and that so 
 prodigiously the whole church would have echoed it in 
 another moment. There's nothing so catching as your 
 real, down-right, come-from-your-heels yawn. It 
 tickles a man's jaws whether he will or no, pops them 
 open, and sends the water flying to his eyes " 
 
 " Their High-Mightinesses sit in the parlor and the 
 sun is streaming in where I have drawn the curtain. 
 Let the domine attend to his guests, Jan Praa. It's 
 yawns enough, we all know, once you begin your prat- 
 tling. Hurry, sir, hurry, I beseech you. 'Tis the time 
 of day when the sun must shine on the red velvet chair 
 and red fades red fades! Do not keep their honors 
 waiting any longer, sir, and mind, when once you're in 
 the room, that you move the chair, or let the curtain 
 fall you don't need much light." 
 
 The chiding voice aroused the old minister from a 
 painful reverie and brought back very forcibly the sense 
 of the present and its duties. He looked up helplessly, 
 staring first at one and then at the other of hiz old ser- 
 vants, as if he would read some encouragement in their 
 faces, but neither showed any comprehension for him 
 at that moment. He moved away from the table and 
 walked slowly, almost uncertainly, to the door; on a 
 sudden his years seemed to weigh like a burden upon 
 him. Jan put out a kindly hand and steadied him by 
 the arm. 
 
 " Remember the chair and the curtain," Heilke 
 163
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 cautioned shrilly, as the two men turned into the 
 passage. " The sun will creep in by and by as far as 
 the table. Be sure you keep it out. And come you 
 back, Jan Praa, once you've opened the door for the 
 domine. The meeting can get along without you well 
 enough. The consistory's here to talk about matters 
 above your wool-gathering wits." 
 
 While she was still speaking, from the upper part of 
 the house there came the sound of a girl's voice singing 
 gayly, every word clipped clear and distinct : 
 
 " ' Then sigh not so, 
 But let them go, 
 And be you blithe and bonny; 
 Converting all your sounds of woe 
 Into, Hey nonny-nonny.' " 
 
 As Jan threw the door open the rippling music floated 
 into the parlor with something like a challenge in its 
 merry note. The men sitting there, each one rigid and 
 erect, seemed suddenly to stiffen under its spell into 
 figures of stone, their faces lengthening into preter- 
 natural gravity. Mynheer Roelofsen, who was a trifle 
 hard of hearing, was the only one to alter his position, 
 he bent forward with his hand to his ear in order not 
 to lose a single word, his little gimlet-like eyes rolled 
 into the corners. For the moment, though the domine 
 had entered the room, not one of his guests appeared 
 to see him. He stood hesitating near the threshold, 
 scanning the faces before him a touch of longing in 
 his glance but he, too, was mute. 
 
 Jan Praa nudged his arm. 
 
 " Say something, bid them welcome," he whispered. 
 164
 
 An Unexpected Visit 
 
 Domine Ryerssen advanced a few steps, and still 
 through the open door behind him came the song : 
 
 " ' Sing no more ditties, sing no mo 
 
 Of dumps so dull and heavy; 
 The fraud of men was ever so, 
 Since summer first was leavy. 
 Then sigh not so, 
 But let them go, 
 And be you blithe and bonny; 
 Converting all ' ' 
 
 " Voorleezer," commanded Mynheer Kip in stento- 
 rian tones, " close that door ! " 
 
 Jan Praa obeyed the order with surprising alacrity, 
 shutting himself out, greatly to his discomfiture. But, 
 despite his endeavors, it was not possible to silence 
 that happy, audacious voice ; like a little, mocking echo 
 the words floated in through the keyhole with some- 
 thing malicious in their utterance : 
 
 " ' Into, Hey nonny-nonny.' " 
 
 165
 
 XV 
 THE CONSISTORY 
 
 The room, with its mingled odors of calamus and 
 myrrh and its air of disuse, seemed to hold a strange 
 chill to the domine, though the brilliant afternoon sun 
 was streaming in through the flowered-tabby curtains 
 making a great, golden patch on the chair just as 
 Heilke had predicted would be the case. He shivered 
 slightly and his imploring glance wandered almost pit- 
 eously from one guest to the other and then away from 
 them all to the little alabaster image in the centre of 
 the mantel, as if its familiar shape alone embodied the 
 spirit of friendliness. There was nothing else on the 
 shelf except the brass blekker, hanging at one end, with 
 its green bay-berry wax candle ready for a usefulness 
 that was never demanded of it. The only ether orna- 
 ment the room contained was a jar of pot-pourri upon 
 the near-by table, but its cover guarded by a coiled 
 dragon was seldom raised and the little heap of rose- 
 leaves within lay undisturbed, dreaming of past sum- 
 mers, with not a hint of their sweetness to relieve the 
 half-musty atmosphere. 
 
 The embellishments that constituted the chief pride 
 of the homes of the well-to-do-Dutch in the parish were 
 singularly lacking here, and, no matter how Annetje 
 might sigh for them, Heilke was well content with their 
 
 166
 
 The Consistory 
 
 absence. Others might have carved furniture and ad- 
 mire it mere traps for dirt, she averred rare China 
 monsters to grin at one from the chimney-place, give 
 her, instead, the old valletje with its bit of silver lace 
 garnishing. Let others keep their tapestries and their 
 pictures; just the little one of the Zuyder Zee, in its 
 frame of Dutch wood scalloped and painted black, with 
 touches of gold here and there, was enough for her. 
 Let others have their ivories from the Orient, their 
 sweet-smelling woods carved into fans and boxes, their 
 Venetian mirrors what were they, after all, but inven- 
 tions of the Evil One to catch the dust and hold it, and 
 be the housekeeper's bane ? 
 
 She could show substantiality and order. Two fine 
 red velvet chairs, a black oak settle, a table ditto, and 
 three high-backed, leather chairs. What could heart 
 of woman desire more? In accordance with the cus- 
 tom of the times the stately room was but seldom used ; 
 to admit a visitor to the contemplation of such treas- 
 ures, Heilke considered a boon to be granted only to 
 the most worthy, as on this particular occasion. It had 
 been one of the greatest crosses she had ever known 
 that the beloved spot had been profaned there was no 
 other word during the preceding week by the pres- 
 ence of Captain Bellenden and his cousin. 
 
 The former gentleman had grown tolerably familiar 
 with his surroundings and their lack of entertainment 
 during those visits, when he was forced to cool his 
 heels there while Larry spent the time above-stairs ; for 
 Peggy, long after it was necessary, kept her room when- 
 ever the captain appeared and insisted upon Annetje's 
 society. The three merry voices invaded the sacred 
 
 167
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 stillness of the parlor and often piqued the waiting 
 man into losing his temper, especially that little gay, 
 mocking laugh which was fast growing into the dear- 
 est sound in all the world to him. A thousand times 
 he swore to himself that he would come no more he 
 was a fool ! but as regularly as Larry sought out the 
 domine's home, just so regularly did Bellenden accom- 
 pany him ; though his anxiety concerning his cousin's 
 welfare was never appeased by a direct message from 
 the sufferer herself. Mynheer Van Corlear would 
 never have rested so complacently against his chair, 
 had he known that its unyielding back had supported 
 the captain during those periods of vexation; but the 
 old velvet told no tales of the scarlet coat to the elder's 
 silk camlet. 
 
 Domine Ryerssen leaned a trifle heavily against the 
 table ; what seats the room afforded were occupied and 
 he was, therefore, obliged to stand. It was no physical 
 fatigue, however, that caused him to droop before the 
 little assembly of stern-faced men, but rather an over- 
 powering fear that the secret, which he had guarded 
 for years, was at last laid bare. The thought made 
 everything swim before him. He fastened his gaze 
 resolutely upon Mynheer Kiersted's large, rubicund 
 countenance, squinting somewhat as if it were indeed a 
 fiery sun. 
 
 " Gentlemen," he began slowly, almost painfully, " I 
 am at your service. I trust no great need of church, or 
 home, has given occasion for this visit, I I " he 
 stopped, glancing helplessly around. 
 
 " It is not a matter concerning our beloved church," 
 Mynheer Kip asseverated pompously, " else would the 
 
 168
 
 The Consistory 
 
 consistory have met as usual within the sacred pre- 
 cincts " 
 
 " But 'tis of crying importance, sir " the interrup- 
 tion was winged with heat ; the new speaker a small, 
 fussy-looking man wore an habitually bellicose ex- 
 pression on his sharp, prominent features as if he were 
 at odds with the whole world " it is useless to disre- 
 gard that." 
 
 " Slowly slowly neighbor Van Cortlandt. Mod- 
 eration is a jewel whose price is esteemed far above 
 rubies. As I have said, Domine Ryerssen, the matter 
 does not pertain to the church, nor is it a subject for 
 discussion in a house of prayer. Knowing this, sir, 
 we have presumed to invade your solitude " 
 
 " Solitude, Mynheer Kip ? I object to the phrase 
 it is injudicious, ill-advised I appeal to the others. 
 What solitude did we find ? We have heard this after- 
 noon a ribald song, one only fit to be voiced in the 
 taverns by those light denizens of perdition " 
 
 " An English song," interrupted Mynheer Roelofsen, 
 sitting well away from the back of his chair and fairly 
 quivering with the enormity of the offence. " In the 
 atmosphere of sanctity we have listened to the lutings 
 of a female " 
 
 " The lady, gentlemen, is my guest." 
 
 " A female," sputtered Roelofsen, his little pale, blue 
 eyes snapping vindictively, " an English female. The 
 whole parish knows the truth of what I speak. It is 
 scandalous scandalous! Domine Ryerssen, you are 
 harboring a serpent in your bosom, have a care that 
 you be not stung." 
 
 A flush of annoyance crept into the lined, gray face ; 
 169
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 relieved as the old minister was to discover that his 
 secret was still safe with him, he was yet visibly dis- 
 tressed to have his hospitality arraigned. He was not 
 a man, despite his feeble aspect, to brook interference 
 of any sort. He drew himself up to his full height. 
 
 " You are right, gentlemen, in saying this matter is 
 not a subject for discussion in church, but I will go 
 farther than that and tell you it is not a subject for dis- 
 cussion anywhere. I have heard that the English have 
 a saying that an Englishman's house is his castle ; sirs, 
 a Dutchman's house is his castle no less. It is his to 
 say who shall enter, who shall dwell therein, and no 
 other individual can arrogate that right unto himself." 
 
 " Friends, friends, is not this condemnation enough ? 
 Out of his own mouth has he convicted himself. To 
 quote the English to us, to take their ways for his 
 standard what can you ask more ? Verily, I say unto 
 you, like Jeroboam of old hath he followed after strange 
 gods. Oh Ichabod, Ichabod, the glory is departed 
 from Israel ! " 
 
 " Slowly, slowly, neighbor Van Cortlandt. Let not 
 your zeal after righteousness consume you. Gentle- 
 men, bear in mind, I beseech you, that by previous ar- 
 rangement it has fallen to me to be the mouthpiece of 
 this assembly. I must insist, therefore, that there be 
 no further interruptions until I have made plain to Do- 
 mine Ryerssen the reason of our coming." 
 
 Mynheer Kip eyed his colleagues wrathfully, but the 
 most of them evaded his glance of outraged authority 
 and studied the elaborate pattern traced upon the sand- 
 ed floor. After a brief interval of reproachful silence 
 he turned again to his host. 
 
 170
 
 The Consistory 
 
 " Sir," he continued, his lagging syllables tuned to 
 sadness and reproof, " we felt that a matter so domestic, 
 so ah ! personal, was without the jurisdiction of the 
 Classis at Amsterdam. And, moreover, it was a ques- 
 tion in our minds whether we could afford to let so dan- 
 gerous an action wait until we should obtain directions 
 from over-sea. Cautious as we are, and loath to judge, 
 it seemed wrong to wait. Nor did it seem feasible to 
 convene a Classis here, as has been done in times past, 
 before pointing out to you the error you have commit- 
 ted. It would be possible quite possible to have the 
 domines from the Middle Church and from Breucklyn, 
 Esopus, and Albany sit upon this case and by their dis- 
 tinguished counsel throw light upon our troubled way. 
 But think, sir, of the valuable time that must elapse 
 before even such a meeting could be convened. In the 
 meanwhile our wives and daughters are exposed to 
 the licentious glances of the British soldiery and the 
 oglings and grimacings of a simple fop, for such idlers 
 God save the mark! have of late frequented this 
 neighborhood and entered this very house. Our lit- 
 tle children are daily witnesses of this unthrift of the 
 hours, this shameful disregard of the golden minutes, 
 this " 
 
 Mynheer Van der Grist uncrossed his ponderous legs 
 with the air of a man who has taken a sudden resolu- 
 tion, and cleared his throat significantly. 
 
 " And above-stairs," Mynheer Kip spoke more quick- 
 ly than was his custom, though the acceleration of his 
 speech diminished almost immediately into its placid 
 dog-trot, " there is a female a young woman admit- 
 ted to the society of your daughter a true Dutch 
 
 171
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 maiden, as we have rejoiced to think. Do you not 
 tremble at the danger that encompasses your child? 
 She stands upon the brink of an abyss ; below her yawns 
 the deadly pit of fashion and vice of perdition to her 
 soul. How long before she, too, will sing ' Hey nonny, 
 nonny ? ' Words, sir, that no self-respecting female 
 would ever utter, words of such dread significance that 
 in our tongue we have no equivalent for them. Thank 
 God, they are untranslatable ! Shall we look to see An- 
 netje flaunting in the streets with the graces of the 
 fashionable women whose souls are snared with the 
 fleeting beauties of this world? And for yourself 
 what danger is imminent! No man has the right to 
 expose himself to the wiles of the other sex we are but 
 flesh, sir, flesh and the devil lays bait for us even when 
 we are descended in years. Age is no safeguard; it 
 is easier to slip then, than when the road is level and 
 our step firm " 
 
 " Mynheer Kip, I am a man of God." 
 
 " Sir, sir, be your thoughts never so spiritual there 
 are moments when the carnal will creep in ; the Elders 
 themselves were tempted of Susannah so it stands 
 written, and they were devout and holy men." 
 
 " But this girl, this child nay, I must speak she is 
 of my daughter's age, merry-hearted like like " the 
 domine hunted painfully for a simile, " like the sun- 
 light there, and as pure. You shall not defame her by 
 such imputations. I know not how you heard of her 
 coming hither, though I think it be true that walls not 
 only have ears but tongues as well. Let that pass. 
 There is no need for secrecy in the matter that I can 
 see. The child was thrown from her horse and her 
 
 172
 
 The Consistory 
 
 arm broken and her cousin the soldier you referred to, 
 an honorable gentleman, let me assure you, one pre- 
 viously known to me and deeply respected brought her 
 to my home, thinking I could help her in her distress. 
 What I could do, sirs, I did, not one of you would have 
 acted otherwise. She was suffering, ill from excite- 
 ment and, for a few days, was feverish and even de- 
 lirious at times " 
 
 "But her people?" 
 
 " They were in the country, save the young man 
 her brother and he has been here daily to see her, as is 
 most natural. My house, then, in her need is hers. 
 May I not play the good Samaritan unrebuked ? " 
 
 " The Samaritan, Domine, left the stranger at the 
 inn." 
 
 " But only because the inn was near at hand and his 
 home distant. O generation of cavilers ! " his voice 
 shook with sudden anger, " is not the spirit the same ? 
 Must we go by on the other side if the fashion of the 
 garment is different, saying : ' because you are of other 
 blood than ours you must lie there until your own peo- 
 ple come to succor you.' Friends, friends, it matters 
 not who it is the service is demanded of us, our hands 
 must give the cup of cold water, or failing the lost 
 opportunity is placed against the credit of our souls." 
 
 The grave faces seemed to grow longer and graver, 
 the perplexity deepened ; the sunbeam, as if it were in- 
 deed of the same light-hearted composition as Peggy 
 Crewe, danced persistently upon the silver buckles that 
 adorned Mynheer Kiersted's colossal feet, throwing off 
 little derisive sparkles ; it had quite left the chair occu- 
 pied by Mynheer Roelofsen. 
 
 173
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 The domine was the first to break the silence. 
 
 " Are we not teld to show hospitality to strangers ? " 
 he asked almost gently, his whole aspect changing and 
 becoming on the instant full of tolerance. " You re- 
 member the injunction, surely. For thereby, it is said, 
 some have entertained angels unawares." 
 
 " Nay, if you will pervert the Scriptures and quote 
 them twisting their meaning to serve your turn, I'll 
 meet you on the same ground, I'll match you ' He that 
 is surety for a stranger shall smart for it,' mark me 
 well ! shall smart for it " 
 
 " Stil! Stil! Slowly neighbor, curb your zeal." 
 
 " Why waste the time in further discussion ? It is 
 unavailing. We had better appeal to the Classis " 
 
 " But, gentlemen, my brothers, think a moment. I 
 have labored long among you, I have " the old man's 
 voice trembled, " I have endeavored not to fail you. 
 This guest is not of my own seeking, but hospitality is 
 the law and honor of my house as it is of each one 
 of yours, and I could do no otherwise. Were the girl 
 of frail character I still must give her shelter." 
 
 " Your charity and toleration exceed your discretion, 
 Domine Ryerssen. However, until the case is proved 
 different we prefer to believe that your guest is unim- 
 peachable in her morals ; though we must consider her 
 protracted stay ill-advised. What pains us most at this 
 time is the rumor that in your sympathy with the Eng- 
 lish you wish to make certain innovations in our 
 church " 
 
 " It is false. I would not change an iota. Your in- 
 formant?" 
 
 " Such a step is to be deprecated. It would involve 
 174
 
 The Consistory 
 
 the loss of doctrine, mode of worship, government, ay 
 the very name of the church itself." 
 
 " Gentlemen, listen to me. On my honor, I protest, 
 this is farthest from my heart. For me there is no 
 speech so beautiful as this our language I speak the 
 English but haltingly, as you know, though I compre- 
 hend it I comprehend it. But I would be loath to 
 welcome it, or any other alien tongue, into our church 
 and yet He, who made us, hears and understands every 
 word and thought of ours, be we who, or what we may. 
 For Him there is no difference in nationalities." 
 
 " 'Twill be a black day when English is preached 
 from the Garden Street pulpit I'll not submit to the 
 change I'll fight the matter to the extent of the law, 
 and if the case goes against us then if I must have 
 English, I'll have all English I'll go to Trinity. I 
 won't listen to an English sermon set in between 
 Dutch prayers and Psalms, as we give a child a bolus 
 hidden away in some delectable wrapping. I won't 
 be hoodwinked in that fashion all, or nothing, is my 
 motto." 
 
 " Be moderate, neighbor, be moderate. There is no 
 prospect of such preaching in our midst. Happily, for 
 the present at least, that danger does not threaten our 
 beloved church." 
 
 " You say true, Mynheer Kip the danger is to be 
 averted while we keep our stanch Dutch hearts, while 
 we hold to old customs and oppose the encroachments 
 of the English, whose speech has crowded ours to one 
 side, though it is not moribund, thank God ! We will 
 resist the tendency of the mart in our house of prayer 
 like men of might." 
 
 175
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Amen and amen, neighbor Van Corlear. Even 
 the domine is with us there, I doubt not " 
 
 " Hold ! " The minister's voice was sharp with com- 
 mand. " I object to your phrase ' even the domine,' 
 Mynheer Kay. I tell you the domine is heart and soul 
 for the preservation of the church as it is to-day. Not 
 one of you I care not who he is feels it more a part 
 of himself than he does. Sirs," Cornelis Ryerssen 
 glanced slowly around at each one of his guests, " I am 
 older than the oldest of you and change does not come 
 readily to age; the old ways are best to me. I had 
 hoped I hope to die in the service of the Garden 
 Street church such as you and I have always known it. 
 With a sadness that I trust you may never know have 
 I looked upon the decreasing congregation there ; per- 
 haps, if you noted that such an one absented himself 
 from the house of God, you said among yourselves, 
 ' Well, the domine ages, he does not see/ And all the 
 time every defection has been a knife-stab to my heart." 
 He had been walking up and down in front of the 
 table, restless with pain, but suddenly he came to a 
 pause. 
 
 " You have misunderstood me cruelly cruelly," he 
 cried. " The speech of my people is mine while I live, 
 their ways are my ways, their God my God." 
 
 An audible sigh of relief went up from the little as- 
 sembly, and the heavy faces brightened a trifle. 
 
 " You have set our minds at rest," blustered Mynheer 
 Kiersted, usurping the place of the slower spokesman. 
 " The rumor came from many quarters we were 
 forced to give it credence. We understand English, 
 being men of education and meeting the other nation- 
 
 176
 
 The Consistory 
 
 ality frequently in trade, but we love the old tongue and 
 cleave to it at home and, wherever it is possible^ abroad. 
 Your stanchness is goodly news to us." 
 
 " But he must rid himself of his guest, if he would 
 thoroughly convince us," Mynheer Roelofsen whis- 
 pered. " We have the right to demand that much of 
 him. Insist upon it, neighbor, insist upon it." 
 
 " You ask more than lies in my power to perform," 
 the domine interrupted before anyone else could speak. 
 " My guest has recovered, but my roof still shelters her 
 and I cannot bid her begone. To-morrow, or the next 
 day perhaps, it may be her whim to leave us. Cannot 
 you wait till then? Cannot you, knowing me, trust 
 me?" 
 
 " It is pernicious for the neighborhood for your 
 daughter." 
 
 " Ah ! my Annetje, never fear for her ! Say she 
 speaks the other's language most excellently to her 
 father's ear, that is well, she learned it, picked it up, 
 as the expression goes, and your little daughters have 
 they not done likewise ? There is no harm in that ; she 
 and they are none the less Dutch maidens because of 
 their proficiency. Have no fear ! My child comes of 
 Dutch parents, she is true to her people the English 
 are nothing to her, nothing you may believe me. Be- 
 sides, though I lift the veil from her heart in telling 
 you, one day she will wed a Dutchman, Adrian de 
 Hooge by name " 
 
 " No no, that cannot be ! " Mynheer Van der Grist 
 stuttered vehemently, his mind whirling with certain 
 secrets that had been whispered to him on the conjugal 
 pillow about his daughter Bertha and the young man 
 
 177
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 the domine was now claiming as his prospective son- 
 in-law. " You err, sir, you deceive yourself, sir " 
 
 Whether the congratulations that filled the air and 
 drowned the bewildered father's indignant protesta- 
 tions were sincere, or not, was beside the question ; for 
 the moment they bridged over an awkward situation, 
 and that was no trifling service. The visitors rose, 
 with one accord to take their departure, warned by the 
 lateness of the hour and their host's inflexible demean- 
 or that nothing could be gained at this time by a longer 
 stay. Yet they had satisfied themselves in one regard 
 at least. There was no doubting the domine's loyalty 
 to his native tongue that was clear to them all 
 though his tolerance, to their more rigid thinking, 
 seemed a sad fall from grace. 
 
 A species of truce was therefore declared ; the subject 
 under discussion being held in abeyance. With that 
 rooted aversion to change so deeply implanted in their 
 natures the elders and deacons were not a little relieved 
 by the fact that the affairs of the Garden Street church 
 were to remain as of old and, mollified in some meas- 
 ure, they sought their own homes. But mistrust and 
 suspicion, quiescent though they seemed, were not 
 sleeping; they lay with wide open eyes watching in- 
 tently. 
 
 178
 
 XVI 
 
 Meanwhile Peggy, the real cause of all this perturba- 
 tion, was as unconscious of the disturbance she had 
 created as the pebble cast into a placid pool is uncon- 
 scious of the agitated surface of the waters where the 
 widening circles communicate their knowledge to one 
 another long after the little stone has ceased falling. 
 
 During the early stages of her convalescence her at- 
 titude toward her host and his daughter bristled with 
 arrogance tinctured by a certain amount of suspicion, 
 but their simple kindliness disarmed her completely 
 and, however petulant and capricious she might com- 
 port herself to the world at large, she was full of a 
 pretty show of deference and gratitude in her bearing 
 to them. And Peggy, under the dominion of such feel- 
 ings, was a creature of better and softer moods than 
 even her intimates knew, and altogether adorable. 
 
 It never occurred to her, being for the moment well 
 pleased with her surroundings, that her presence might 
 prove an inconvenience to the household. Wherever 
 she went welcome always ran on tiptoe to greet her, 
 and the fact seemed a natural one even among these 
 strangers, who gave their hospitality with such unstint- 
 ing hands. Their quaint speech and manners afforded 
 her infinite diversion ; and the tranquillity of their life, 
 coming after the excitement through which she had 
 
 179
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 passed, she was not slow to appreciate. To make a 
 virtue of necessity was never a characteristic of her 
 nature, but, all precedent aside, in this instance she was 
 content to remain in the haven which her cousin had so 
 unexpectedly provided for her, without troubling her- 
 self with questions of delicacy, or departure. 
 
 Bellenden surprised her one afternoon in the garden 
 which, emboldened by some such hope, he had entered 
 by the little gate. In vain had he presented himself 
 with Larry day after day he had never been able to see 
 her. The glimpse of a vanishing petticoat, the sound 
 of a ringing laugh were the only rewards doled out to 
 him for his very evident concern in her well-being. A 
 swift thrill of elation passed through him as he recog- 
 nized her from a distance and perceived that she was 
 alone, save for Annetje's old hound. She was seated 
 on the ground in the shade of a cherry-tree, leaning 
 against its trunk, with the dog close at her side. The 
 grass all around her was splashed with little sun-discs, 
 dancing down through the lightly moving leaves over- 
 head and one, more venturesome than the others, played 
 in and out of the soft shadows of her unpowdered hair. 
 The boughs above were shining with fruit set thick like 
 jewels garnets in the shade, rubies where the sun 
 smote them against the turquoise glory of the sky. 
 And so quiet was she, and so much a part of the sum- 
 mer loveliness, that the robins flew fearlessly about in 
 their wholesale maraudings and the bees hummed in 
 lazy circles in the golden air. 
 
 He made his way noiselessly across the grass, which 
 gave no hint of his coming save to the finer hearing of 
 the hound, who stirred into instant attention. With 
 
 1 80
 
 A Little Provincial 
 
 her free hand Peggy drew the dog back and, uncon- 
 scious of the watching eyes, laid her cheek against his 
 sober face. He submitted to her caresses stolidly, but 
 as soon as he was released he bounded off to meet the 
 new-comer with a quick, glad bark. 
 
 Bellenden put him by with a hasty touch and came 
 around in front of the girl. 
 
 " Have you no welcome for me, too ? " he demanded. 
 
 She disregarded his outstretched hand and strove for 
 an air of indifference, but all the color in the cherries 
 above her seemed on the moment to be concentrated in 
 her cheeks. She cast a helpless glance around, then, 
 seeing that flight was not possible, she met his eyes half 
 defiantly. 
 
 " Faith, Joris is the older friend, I doubt not. I'd 
 not forestall him." 
 
 " Then imitate him." 
 
 She was mistress of herself in an instant. 
 
 " La, Cousin Bellenden," she tittered, " is this how 
 you'd spoil my pretty manners ? Fie, sir ! to counsel a 
 young lady to fall upon you as Joris has done and kiss 
 your hand, and frisk, and caper with no becoming sense 
 of dignity. I wonder whatever my mamma would say, 
 could she hear you now, and she always declaring you 
 the very pink of propriety." 
 
 " You are pleased to be merry." 
 
 " Oh ! ' your only jig-maker,' as the man in the play 
 says. Well, 'tis better being merry than sad on a day 
 like this." 
 
 " Will you not bid me welcome, Peggy ? " 
 
 " As many times as you may desire, seeing that you 
 must be wofully out of humor because the mistress of 
 
 181
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 this garden is absent and I so indifferently fill her place. 
 But the rose not being by, the humbler flower may play 
 the queen. You are very welcome, sir." 
 
 " I vow I'd expected better treatment " 
 
 " From me, or from the rose ? Truly, by this, you 
 must have learned that a man's expectation and its frui- 
 tion are seldom on bowing acquaintance. The surest 
 way of being pleased is to expect nothing. What do 
 they say abroad ? " 
 
 " They still talk of Touchstone's victory.'* 
 
 Her eyes fell. 
 
 " Ungenerous ! I had not thought that of you." 
 
 " A woman's thoughts and a man's expectations end 
 of tenest in disappointment. Shall we cry quits ? 'Tis 
 true that at the coffee-houses they still remember the 
 run, and that deeply; too many were losers through 
 their lack of confidence in the little lad from home to 
 make forgetfulness possible. I know of no wound 
 so slow of healing as that which the purse suffers. 
 But no one has yet hazarded a guess as to the jockey's 
 identity that danger may pass. 'Twas a fearful risk, 
 Peggy." 
 
 He put his hand on hers where it lay on the great 
 dog's head, and, for the moment subdued by the gravity 
 of his manner, she let it rest without stirring her own. 
 
 " I thought you would be killed, child." His voice 
 was shaken by a deeper feeling. 
 
 She flung his touch pettishly aside. 
 
 " Lud, you'd a pretty confidence in my horsemanship, 
 Captain Bellenden, and I thank you. There was small 
 danger. I owe Touchstone something for his lack of 
 manners, though, poor beast, he was not so much to 
 
 182
 
 A Little Provincial 
 
 blame after all. Never did I see such a great, gaping, 
 vulgar crowd. Is my mother well ? " 
 
 " Lord Lofters could give you more trustworthy in- 
 formation." 
 
 " Hmn ! Sits the wind in that quarter? I'd best be 
 going home perhaps. Tell me," she threw him an 
 arch glance, " is there anything of shorter life than a 
 man's love ? " 
 
 " Unless it be a woman's." 
 
 " La, the old trick ! I might have remembered that 
 the pot will always call the kettle black. Well, I'll stay 
 here and dream of faith." 
 
 " I have thought " he paused, disconcerted by her 
 eyes. He was as ignorant as the others of the storm 
 which was gathering about the quiet household and at- 
 tributed the domine's more broken appearance to his 
 age, but it seemed to him, remembering that fact, that 
 they had already trespassed too long upon his hospital- 
 ity. " I have thought, Peggy, now that you are so far 
 recovered of your hurt, it would be better every way if 
 you were to leave here. The domine is old and prob- 
 ably unused to visitors, and this was to be but a tem- 
 porary asylum " 
 
 " And where to go ? " Her manner was so meek that 
 it deceived him. 
 
 " Your friend still waits for you at Albany." 
 
 " The boat that was to carry me to her carried 
 my excuses instead, she knowing me as she does 
 knows, too, that I sometimes change my mind." 
 
 He laughed, but had the instant wit to alter the sound 
 into something resembling a cough. She darted a sus- 
 picious glance at his quiet face and lowered eyes. 
 
 183
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Besides," she went on sharply, " I'd run the risk of 
 discovery surely, if I went by public transport, for none 
 of my mother's ships are sailing again this month 
 there'd be always the chance of some acquaintance 
 aboard." 
 
 " You say true ; yet with this constant coming and 
 going of your friends you run another danger. Those 
 who look to see you in Albany will think it strange to 
 find you've not been there, and their reports will set 
 others wondering." 
 
 " I wrote Nancy that I wasn't in the humor for 
 gayety, and so I was going to Crewe instead. I care 
 not if she believed it, or remembered it to quote me. 
 La, out of sight is out of mind as any man can tell you. 
 I'm not of so much importance in folks' thoughts as 
 in yours, Cousin Bellenden. I wonder, such being the 
 case, that you seek to banish me." 
 
 " I'd not banish you willingly, unless I might banish 
 myself at the same time and to the same place. Tis 
 only for your sake, child, because I would have no whis- 
 per of disgrace attached to your name. It should be as 
 sweet and fair," he looked around swiftly, his glance 
 encompassing the beauty of the earth and sky within 
 its range, then it came back to the face before him ; she 
 offered the only comparison, " as sweet and fair as its 
 owner." 
 
 " Bravo, Captain Bellenden." 
 
 He flushed under her jeering tones and went on with 
 heedless precipitancy. 
 
 " Why will you always mock ? Before God I swear 
 your name is dearer to me than my own, because it is 
 
 184
 
 A Little Provincial 
 
 yours, because I hope to take it into my keeping one 
 day and give you mine instead." 
 
 A short silence followed his daring words. She 
 tugged at a tuft of grass without speaking, almost as if 
 she had not heard him, though a warm flush deepened 
 perceptibly along her face and throat. A robin flut- 
 tered past, its soft wings disclosing the rich color of 
 its breast as it mounted to a higher bough and burst 
 into an ecstasy of sound. Little tell-tale of what its 
 eyes had seen in passing, a man's love, and that curious 
 thing the heart of a girl. Bellenden moved a trifle 
 nearer the quiet figure and put out his hand to touch 
 her shoulder. She was on her feet in an instant facing 
 him. 
 
 " Tell me," she demanded in that unusually gentle 
 voice, " did you ever lead a forlorn hope? " 
 
 He could not miss her significance. 
 
 " A forlorn hope, child," he laughed as he said it. 
 " How shall I answer you, seeing that to you the words 
 mean one thing, to me another ? With us soldiers they 
 stand for the troop sent forward to perform some 
 service, whereas you would have them of a different 
 nature. And yet, often, yours is the truer meaning, 
 the quest is hopeless enough, God knows ! " He looked 
 before him as if he did not see her, as indeed was the 
 case just then. His face kindled. 
 
 " It ill becomes a soldier to speak of his prowess," 
 he went on a moment later, " but once the good fort- 
 une was mine to lead such a charge. If you will 
 have the tale, it is a short one. The battle was against 
 us, our men had fallen by scores you'd not have 
 found the scene a pretty one, but Pity and Mercy 
 
 185
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 came there later and bent above it and soothed away 
 the horrors. There was a gun to capture a hand- 
 ful of men might do it, or die in the attempt and 
 victory was swaying in the balance. That outpost ours, 
 the day was ours ; if not the enemy's. And our gen- 
 eral saw it in the flash of an eye, he pointed out the 
 work, the danger as well he would not command us, 
 yet there stayed the opportunity grim but golden. 
 Well, a man has only one life to live, one death to die 
 I volunteered I and some others. That is all." 
 
 " You knew no fear? " 
 
 " I knew the fear and faced it. There was the one 
 chance of victory set against awful odds, but they were 
 worth the risking to clasp it close. I was conqueror 
 that day." 
 
 " It has left you with a brave spirit." 
 
 " It has left me with the will to dare all obstacles to 
 win my heart's desire in love, or war." 
 
 " La, I'd rather hear about the latter any time than 
 the former, and about neither just at present " she 
 made a pretence at stifling a yawn. " I marvel," she 
 went on, " that you should care to fall into sentiments 
 with one who reads you so well. What's to gain on 
 my part? The king's shilling, against a crown. Since 
 my lord's coming I've thought often of a coronet- 
 shall I sha'n't I? And I've even dreamed of a 
 throne." 
 
 " You'd grace them both, my pretty Provincial." 
 
 The words escaped him, smarting as he was beneath 
 her disdain, before he realized what they would mean 
 to her ; the next minute he could have bitten his tongue 
 out for his rashness. She gazed at him in silence with 
 
 186
 
 A Little Provincial 
 
 angry, reproachful eyes that said more than she knew, 
 then, still silent, she swept past him, inflexible of face. 
 /' ne na d overtaken her, " Peggy - " 
 
 She made an effort to shake off his detaining touch, 
 but her fingers were like snow against the iron of his. 
 
 " Say you'll forgive my ill-temper, child come, say 
 it. I'll not let you go until you do. Tis useless to 
 struggle, you've but one hand to fight your battles. 
 I've a great mind to kiss you, sweet." 
 
 " If you should dare" she panted, " and I'll not 
 forgive you. What ! call me provincial, try to woo me, 
 to win me, and then, because I'll not listen to your suit 
 call me provincial ! " 
 
 " I never meant it, I swear. You know, if I could, 
 I'd carry you home to England, my country should be 
 yours. You've but to speak the word and the domine 
 here will say his say - " 
 
 " The domine oh ! this is past endurance. And 
 what of his daughter, sir? " 
 
 " I do not understand you." 
 
 " What of your pretty speeches to her, your love- 
 makings trust me, I know something of the world and 
 men." 
 
 " I am no Lovelace, madam suppose I have found 
 some pleasure in looking at a pretty girl, in being with 
 her, the matter ends there." 
 
 She uttered a sound half of contempt, half of dissent. 
 
 " Do you think if what I say is untrue," he continued 
 slowly, " that I would have had so little respect for you 
 as to bring you here in your need? I told you that day 
 that these people this father and daughter were my 
 friends, and I told you the honest truth they are 
 
 187
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 nothing more. You chose then to insult me and them 
 by a gross suspicion I was not blind to it you choose 
 to hint at it now. Are you the only one to be angered ? 
 Does forgiveness lie alone in your gift? I, too, have 
 something to pardon and I pardon you so." 
 
 He stooped, as he spoke, and kissed her full on her 
 disdainful mouth, then he moved away from her. 
 
 "Jack Bellenden has many faults, as he himself 
 knows well it's a long score ! but falsity is not among 
 them, and once having loved he will love on to the end." 
 
 " Oh ! " she interrupted in a voice choked with anger, 
 " that's what it is to be a man and presume upon your 
 strength the strength of a bully to overcome a 
 woman. Swear what you will, I'll not believe a single 
 word. Not ten minutes since you were all for having 
 me leave here, and why? I'm not a child. I can see 
 what must be patent to everyone but the poor old dom- 
 ine your friend, as you would say. Save us from 
 such friendship ! My presence in this household makes 
 too great a demand upon the time of Miss who, if I 
 was not here, would be free to listen to your philander- 
 ings." 
 
 " Your thoughts do you scant honor, but 'tis idle for 
 me to try to dispel them ; I leave that task to your cooler, 
 more generous moments. If you were not here, neither 
 should I be, no matter how much I may have frequented 
 this garden in the past. Let a man see Paradise once 
 and he is not content with a lesser glory. Despite your 
 bitter words I have had my glimpse this day." 
 
 " And that will have to suffice you. Have you for- 
 got that a man's presumption lost him Paradise? As 
 it was then, so is it now." 
 
 188
 
 A Little Provincial 
 
 " The expulsion was not so hard, since the woman 
 went with him. If you parallel the case, Peggy, what 
 is lost is regained a thousand-fold." 
 
 " You go too fast for me. I have neither the wit, 
 nor the inclination, to follow you. Our ways lie apart, 
 as your discernment should have taught you long ago." 
 
 " Then it's good-by Paradise," he bowed low and 
 turned to take his departure. " For the present," he 
 amended over his shoulder. 
 
 " For always. A wiser man would know that the 
 banishment was eternal, but la, your Mr. Pope under- 
 stood some natures well when he said : ' fools rush in, 
 where angels fear to tread.' " 
 
 "Mr. Pope was a cynical, captious little man who 
 would have been glad to scale Paradise in any guise. 
 But I thank you, child, for quoting him, since you show 
 me there is still a way back by daring to attain; the 
 folly would lie in disregarding it to my thinking." 
 
 She bit her lip in vexation and fell to tapping the 
 ground with her little, slippered foot. He waited a 
 moment, then he spoke more gravely. 
 
 " I'll not weary you further with my presence since 
 it seems so distasteful to you. But if I can serve you 
 in any way, command me ; my time, my love, my life are 
 at your service, though until you need any, or all of 
 them, I will take good care that there shall be no intru- 
 sion on my part." 
 
 He walked a few steps from her, then turned again. 
 
 " Surely now that Eden is closing upon me, you will 
 bid me good-by, Peggy ? " 
 
 " With all my heart," she cried tartly. " Good-by ! 
 I never said the words more cheerfully, not even to a 
 toothache." 
 
 189
 
 XVII 
 
 PEGGY AND ANNETJE 
 
 Annetje's room was lighted by two bayberry wax 
 candles which stood, like diminutive link-boys erect and 
 important in their conscious splendor, upon the nar- 
 row mantel. One tallow dip was the usual allowance, 
 and that only in winter, but with the visitor's coming 
 the old order of things had been overthrown and 
 Heilke, tremblingly guarding her store-closet, doled 
 out the evidences of her thrift with a rage that was 
 none the less bitter because it could not leap its bounds 
 as far as the chief offender was concerned. 
 
 Peggy, accustomed to the brilliancy of many lustres 
 in her own home and not aware of the concessions made 
 in her favor, secretly termed the place ' villainously 
 lit/ even when it was bravely putting forth this un- 
 heard-of show of wealth which dazzled its mistress and 
 filled her with pride in that she had given of the best 
 the house held, wresting it from the hand of authority 
 at a cost undreamed of by the guest. 
 
 Heilke, on her way to her room, grumbled wrathfully 
 as she came in sight of the open door. What had God 
 put a moon in the heavens for, unless it was to serve 
 His purpose ? Search the streets of the town, and not 
 a lantern would be found blazing anywhere. Man 
 knew better than to set up his little trumpery light in 
 the face of the great luminary. And moon, or no moon, 
 
 190
 
 Peggy and Annetje 
 
 couldn't a girl go to bed in the soft, summer dark 
 what need had she of candles ? And such candles ! 
 
 The low rumble was like the growl of distant thun- 
 der. It came nearer, increasing in volume as the steps 
 lagged momentarily at the bar of light cast out into the 
 passage-way. It was like treading upon gold gold 
 thrown underfoot wantonly and not to be recovered by 
 any effort. A glance at the shelf revealed the candles 
 to their creator, slim, straight, pale in color like a leaf 
 set against the sun, with a crowning glory of flame. 
 She gulped hard. By judicious management each 
 ought to last a week, perhaps longer, before entrusted 
 to the save-all, and here for the sake of a fine lady's 
 whim ! the two would not live out the night. A thief 
 had crawled into one and the sight was too much for 
 the onlooker. She made a quick swoop into the room, 
 descended upon the candle and expelled the luckless 
 intruder with a great show of wrath. The proceeding 
 hardly occupied a moment's space ; she was a large, un- 
 wieldy woman, but extraordinarily quick in all her ac- 
 tions, then with a look of undisguised contempt at the 
 girl who, still dressed, was lolling upon the bed, she 
 stalked majestically away. 
 
 Peggy had a book open beside her upon the pillow, 
 though she was not reading and had not turned a page 
 for an hour ; she was too far from the light for a book 
 to be much of a pastime as any person, gifted with pene- 
 tration, must have discovered. She started up at the 
 unwonted intrusion, angry in her turn, and met the old 
 woman's eyes, understanding their meaning more clear- 
 ly than if their owner had hurled an anathema at her 
 head, for a glance is at home in any language and needs 
 
 191
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 no lexicon to define it. She did not speak, however, 
 and her adversary passed on unchallenged. The girl 
 listened to the heavy footfalls growing fainter each 
 moment then, when a door had been closed with wrath- 
 ful significance, she made a wry face. 
 
 " There's one who'd be of my Captain Bellenden's 
 way of thinking," she said half aloud, " glad enough, I 
 warrant, to have me leave bag and baggage, and the 
 sooner the better." 
 
 She looked before her. Should she go? If she did, 
 would it not be a tacit admission that her actions were 
 guided by his will dependent on his say-so? The 
 comfort of her present position was owing to him, the 
 care and skill of the domine, and Annetje's gentle nurs- 
 ing were but the result of his provision for her. And 
 if he had been different, or not by to help her, what 
 would have happened ? Her cheeks flamed at the prob- 
 ability; her mother's displeasure, the admiration and 
 the contempt of the town passed before her in swift 
 procession. She had escaped the danger, yet, safe 
 though she was, she suffered from it almost as keenly in 
 her imagination. But he had helped her with the deli- 
 cacy and tenderness of a woman, the strength and re- 
 sourcefulness of a man. The fairness of her name was 
 more to him than the fairness of his own. The 
 thoughts wove themselves into an unending pattern in 
 her mind; they had come between her and the printed 
 page earlier that evening making it impossible to follow 
 the thread of the story. Nor were they the only ones ; 
 anger, outraged pride, triumph, met with them and a 
 feeling, she could not define, which crept in and out of 
 the maze like a will-o'-the-wisp vanishing, when she 
 
 192
 
 Peggy and Annetje 
 
 sought to detain it with the grasp of reason, to mock 
 her from a distance. 
 
 Her fingers lifted the cover of the book almost shyly 
 and fluttered the fly-leaf apart. It was not for the first 
 time. " Jack Bellenden." The words leapt up and 
 challenged her glance. She smiled lazily, but confi- 
 dently, to herself. Even her amusement he had pro- 
 vided for, and it was through no fault of his that she 
 had yawned over the trials and adventures of Joey 
 Andrews and old Parson Adams, nor that her mind 
 continually wandered from that journey to the seat of 
 the Boobies to the pleasant sunlit slope of Annetje's 
 garden. The scene stood out suddenly before her as 
 if it had been conjured into being by his name. The 
 trees dreaming against the tender blue of the sky, the 
 swift coming and going of happy birds, the gleam of 
 a butterfly's wing in the sun, the glowing touches of 
 color in the flower-beds and the breath of fragrance 
 and well-being that everywhere pervaded the air. Her 
 smile deepened. 
 
 She would not go. If she must try to avoid any 
 smirch on her name she would remain where she was, 
 for nothing could endanger its purity in this little peace- 
 ful haven. She sat up leaning on her elbow, a smile 
 half of derision, half of satisfaction, curving her lips 
 as she noted the different articles of furniture around 
 her. Something like contempt for their plainness 
 stirred her momentarily and the remembrance of her 
 own room, only a short distance away, came swiftly to 
 her mind. She put the picture by and yet how An- 
 netje's eyes would widen at sight of the silken curtains 
 there, at the long mirror that reflected the beauty of the 
 
 193
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 apartment into double seeming, at the elaborately 
 carved wood and gleaming brass and at all the para- 
 phernalia of the dressing-table the little boxes made 
 of Battersea enamel, or curiously wrought in silver, 
 and the numberless bottles and jars containing sweet- 
 smelling waters, unguents, and cosmetics. Would she 
 understand how their owner could find content in these 
 humbler surroundings? 
 
 The high feather-bed occupied the space at one side 
 of the room opposite the mantel with its clean, sweet 
 linen frill, and between the chintz-curtained windows 
 stood a chest of brass-ringed drawers surmounted by 
 a small mirror in a narrow, black frame ; farther along, 
 a low table, holding a silver-clasped Bible and some 
 Psalm-books, was drawn out a trifle from the side 
 wall; these, with the addition of a chair, from which 
 was hung a book suspended by a ribbon passed through 
 the rings at the back of the volume, and a little wooden 
 stool, made up the plenishings. The walls, unlike the 
 tapestried ones Peggy knew, were white and bare of 
 ornament save for two samplers, one, with the colors 
 almost as fresh as when alphabet and numerals were 
 fixed there by Annetje's fingers in her childhood, the 
 other faded and dim the letters, the basket of roses, 
 the verse of Scripture and the name Katrina de Vos all 
 partaking of the same lifeless hue. Peggy, since her 
 coming, had studied both pieces of needle-work with 
 unflagging interest, learning the alphabet and how to 
 count under Annetje's instruction. She had mastered 
 both verses, but the one on the older sampler had taken 
 the firmest hold on her memory. She repeated it softly 
 to herself : 
 
 194
 
 Peggy and Annetje 
 
 " ' Beter is een goede name dan goede olie.' " 
 
 A good name ! How everything came back to that. 
 No matter what the time, the rule of the Preacher, or 
 that of His Majesty George the Second, nor where the 
 place it was the one, priceless possession. And yet it 
 was as brittle as glass, its beauty so perishable that the 
 breath of public disfavor would dim it past repair. 
 She stirred defiantly. Why should she trouble herself 
 with these fancies? She had done nothing wrong, 
 wild, yes unwomanly, yes but not wrong. People 
 might blame her, would blame her without a doubt if 
 the truth were ever known, still they could accuse her 
 of no real harm. She put the thought aside. 
 
 " Annetje," she called softly. 
 
 There was a slight sound of someone moving in the 
 next room and a moment later, in response to the sum- 
 mons, the girl entered, blinking a little as she came 
 into the light. 
 
 " What were you doing," Peggy demanded per- 
 emptorily, " sleeping or dreaming ? " 
 
 Annetje gave a low laugh. 
 
 " Toget'er t'e two go ; put not many treams haf I v'en 
 I sleep." 
 
 " What girl doesn't know that the best ones come 
 when her eyes are open wide open? Confess, were 
 yours closed ? " 
 
 " No-o, py t'e vintow vas I kneeling toing not'ing, 
 joost looking out at t'e night." 
 
 " Was that the way to treat your friend ? " 
 
 " Nefer a girl frient haf I hat pefore," Annetje cried 
 in delight, amazed at this sudden graciousness on the 
 part of her guest who, all that evening, had borne her- 
 
 195
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 self with a chilling demeanor which precluded any 
 companionship, " not one." 
 
 " Oh lud ! I've had a plenty of 'em, horrid missish 
 things who'll kiss you one minute and scratch you the 
 next. We aint a very nice lot, if the truth's spoke of 
 us." 
 
 " Put you are not nef er of t'at sort ? " 
 
 " Bless you ! my dear, no, a thousand times no, I'm 
 what your fancy paints me just perfection." Peg- 
 gy broke off to laugh and, for an instant, her glance 
 strayed to Annetje's sampler and a swift picture of 
 the lonely child making it day after day came into her 
 mind. 
 
 " When men fall out," she continued, " swords are 
 the best weapons, or pistols though they make such 
 a prodigious noise I can't endure 'em and it's so many 
 paces, then ' Gentlemen, are you ready ? One, two, 
 three hack, or blaze away ' and honor's satisfied. 
 What round eyes, sweet ? La, we women do different. 
 Our tongues are our swords and we don't fight fair. 
 If we can stab in the back so much the better, if we can 
 keep on stabbing best of all." 
 
 " Put Miss Crewe " 
 
 "But Miss Simplicity?" 
 
 " You to not vant to pe a man ? " 
 
 " I tried once, as you know, and I didn't like it I 
 looked so outrageous ugly. What, be one of those 
 great, clumsy creatures all feet and hands? Not for 
 the universe. And I wouldn't be a fop, thank you, with 
 his silly, simpering airs and his ' oh luds ! ' and ' sink 
 mes ! ' and his mincing, little steps and eye-rollings at 
 the sight of a Petticoat just like a clucking hen running 
 
 196
 
 Peggy and Annetje 
 
 from danger. But to be master of one's fate to do 
 great things to lead desperate charges " she checked 
 herself quickly, a smile curving the corners of her lips. 
 " Ah ! that's a different matter still even the bravest 
 is slave to a girl's whim, trembles and goes all colors 
 before her, hems and haws, and looks the fool," her 
 laughter clear as a thrush's note interrupted her. 
 " La, I'd rather be the girl," she resumed, " and wield 
 that power. Heaven is wiser than we are, child, and 
 we won't quarrel with what we are." 
 
 " You how can I say it ? t'ere haf perhaps peen 
 many ? " 
 
 " By the thousands have I slain them, yea, by the 
 tens of thousands. In the morning I have gone forth 
 and when evening hath come I have not stayed my 
 hand." 
 
 " T'at you couldt pe cruel, I treamedt not." 
 
 " I don't know the word, believe me. But a truce to 
 the silly creatures, they're not worth your sympathies. 
 Prick 'em, and they bleed wounded vanity, naught else. 
 I'd like to set you down at some rout, child, and see the 
 havoc you'd make in their ranks there's not a woman 
 of us all but would hate you " 
 
 Annetje's lips parted in a smile of frank vanity ; she 
 rested her arms on the top of the foot-board and leant 
 toward her companion. 
 
 " Not you." 
 
 " Even I, Flatterer^ I should probably poison you at 
 the very least. How do you know that I don't hate you 
 already?" 
 
 " Put for t'at, no cause haf you something fery 
 wrong must I first to unto you." 
 
 197
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Does hate grow that way ? Don't steal my broth- 
 er's heart then, Miss Sly Eyes." 
 
 " No tanger is t'ere to t'e young man." 
 
 " Nor my cousin's." 
 
 A quick wave of color flushed the girl's face and 
 dyed even her throat crimson. Peggy, watching, 
 smiled almost cruelly. 
 
 " No tanger is t'ere," she mimicked. 
 
 Annetje stood erect, her breath coming hard. 
 
 "Is itt'at you lof him?" 
 
 There was a short pause during which the two girls 
 eyed each other unflinchingly. It was the first time 
 the subject had been broached between them, though 
 they had played with it indirectly ever since the be- 
 ginning of their acquaintance, each eager to discover 
 the other's real attitude. 
 
 " Who I ? A hopeless passion that I may recover 
 from in time if I have change of air and can drink 
 asses' milk but not else. Was there ever so distress- 
 ful a plight ? " Peggy stopped to laugh at the mystifi- 
 cation in the face before her, then her voice grew grave. 
 
 " Tell me, child, do you love him ? " 
 
 " T'e frient of my fat'er is he, ant fery kint has he 
 likevise peen to me ; prout am I of his f rientship, Miss 
 Crewe." 
 
 " Spoken like a true woman and so understood. 
 We're not such fools after all, are we, dear? " 
 
 Again the mocking, rippling laughter held that irri- 
 tating quality that made the blood tingle in Annetje's 
 veins and filled her with a helpless feeling of resentment. 
 She did not know what to think of this bewildering 
 creature, with her clear gaze and her frank admissions 
 
 198
 
 Peggy and Annetje 
 
 that told everything and nothing in a breath. Some 
 sense of courage, however, kept her from changing her 
 position; she remained quite still under the merciless 
 scrutiny that seemed to penetrate to her very heart 
 through the flimsy veil of an acknowledged friend- 
 ship. 
 
 Suddenly, in the tense quiet of the room, the atten- 
 tion of each girl was attracted to a moth flying about 
 the candles, its shadow thrown large upon wall and 
 ceiling. They watched it for some moments, in that 
 strange silence that had settled down between them, as 
 it circled around the light, now near, now remote, 
 though the flame with the steady patience of a fixed 
 destiny drew it continually back to its destruction. It 
 fell at last with fluttering wings to the chimney-ledge ; 
 this time it did not rise. Peggy was off the bed and 
 bending above the little lifeless thing in an instant. 
 
 " There are none who'd blame the light," she said, 
 drily, " 'twas the fault of the moth alone and it had 
 wings beside." 
 
 She put out her hand and extinguished one of the 
 candles, watching the trail of smoke that ascended slow- 
 ly like the spirit of the flame. The aromatic smell of 
 the bayberry was pungent and pleasing; it had the 
 savor of sunlit pasturelands in its breath. She turned 
 toward the other candle, paused, and looked back over 
 her shoulder at her companion still standing by the bed, 
 clasping and unclasping the knob at the top of the post 
 with nervous fingers. 
 
 " My cousin was here this afternoon when I was in 
 the garden," she said coldly. " He thinks now that I've 
 recovered I had better go." 
 
 199
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 Annetje took a step in her direction, uttering a quick 
 protest. 
 
 " But I shall have to go some time," Peggy's voice 
 softened at the other's evident distress. 
 
 " Most true is t'at, only not joost now, if you please. 
 Fery lonely vill it pe visout you, let me get first accus- 
 tomedt to t'e t'ought of your going, pefore you really 
 
 go." 
 
 Peggy blew out the candle. 
 
 " Draw the curtain and let the moonlight in, child. 
 I protest I think you like me after all." 
 
 200
 
 XVIII 
 
 JAN PRAA SPEAKS HIS MIND 
 
 Sunshine and little, wandering airs, and all the 
 ecstasy of June at its full, streamed in a flood of 
 gold into the Garden Street church through open 
 doors and windows where, it being Saturday, Jan 
 Praa was making his preparations for the next day. 
 It was his custom to assume a different manner for 
 each of his vocations as another man, possessed of a 
 larger wardrobe, might have dressed the parts with 
 fitness. 
 
 As gardener, he whistled at his work, or croaked 
 some ancient tune. As bell-ringer, he was bluff in his 
 demeanor and heartened himself with a low chant like 
 the singing of sailors weighing anchor, or bending to 
 their oars. As voorleezer, the dignity of his office was 
 increased a thousandfold by the importance of his car- 
 riage, and the beauties of an assured religion were not 
 half so worthily evidenced by the domine in his minis- 
 terial robes as by his subordinate. 
 
 As sexton, however, Jan wore his honors with a 
 difference. The austere bearing of Sunday, as he lin- 
 gered near the door before assuming the role of voor- 
 leezer, was not apparent in his deportment of Saturday 
 when he was in working-day clothes, and when he al- 
 
 20 1
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 lowed himself considerable latitude. Sing he did not, 
 whistle he did not such conduct would have seemed 
 nothing short of profanation to the temple ; but as he 
 sanded the floor, or chased stray particles of dust from 
 the pulpit cushions, he kept up a little mumbling talk 
 there being no sound quite so dear to him as that of 
 his own voice. Yet on this particular morning the self- 
 satisfaction, which usually lightened his labors, had 
 little effect upon him; he moved about flicking his 
 brush half-heartedly. Presently he paused beneath the 
 pulpit and looked up at the desk with something like 
 consternation in his face. 
 
 " I remember the first time he preached there," he 
 murmured after a moment in a troubled tone. " If it 
 was yesterday it couldn't be clearer and it was seven- 
 and-thirty years ago last week. Twas on St. John's 
 day, I mind me, and he made a picture of the little, 
 brown herring-boats leaving the Amstel, dropping 
 down stream abreast, and one after the other, on their 
 way to the sea. The folks didn't think it seemly to 
 bring them into a sermon, but 'twas meant for a figure, 
 and he gave them doctrine enough before he got 
 through. 'Twas a longish sermon a longish sermon 
 for he runs to words, and the sand fairly galloping 
 through the glass. Seven and thirty years! and I'd 
 been here twice a twelvemonth when he came," the 
 old sexton broke off with a sigh and resumed his 
 polishing. 
 
 It was apparent to him, as to the others, that for once 
 minister and people were at variance, and not one of 
 the Consistory felt the danger which hung like a cloud 
 over the church as keenly as did its old servant. Ever 
 
 202
 
 Jan Praa Speaks His Mind 
 
 since Bellenden's first, mysterious appearance at the 
 parsonage Jan had subjected the domine to the most 
 rigorous supervision, following every word he let fall 
 from the pulpit, and watching him jealously to dis- 
 cover the least deviation from the true path on his part. 
 Several times, as the days wore on^ there had seemed 
 as a sorry reward for this untiring vigilance a new note 
 of gentleness in the minister's teaching and a less 
 marked insistence on the sternness of his creed. They 
 were a deeply religious people that little congregation 
 of the Garden Street church but their piety was the 
 terrible piety of the ancient Hebrews which smote hip 
 and thigh without mercy, and this inexplicable tender- 
 ness from the domine's lips might well set Jan Praa 
 wondering. 
 
 " He weakens, he weakens," the old man told himself 
 with a groan. " God help us, when will the others see 
 as I do?" 
 
 It was a long while before they perceived any lapse 
 of doctrine, so accustomed were they to the familiar 
 voice as almost to disregard it, as the noise of the break- 
 ers upon the shore sinks to a lulling note to the hearing 
 used to their thunders. The news of the stranger in 
 the domine's household was the first intimation of the 
 approaching storm and aroused the folk into instant 
 alertness. There would be no fear henceforth of nod- 
 ding during sermon-time, though the summer breeze 
 wooed never so languorously; words, looks, gestures 
 were to be subjected to the minutest scrutiny and every 
 man and woman of the church of St. Nicholas became a 
 self-constituted spy to act in its interest. 
 
 On the Sunday following the visit of the Consistory, 
 203
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 which had become public talk, Jan listened with the 
 hearing of the entire congregation, it seemed to him, 
 to the domine's words, but as the sermon progressed 
 peace entered the voorleezer's breast. Never had the 
 doctrine been so forcibly expounded, never had the 
 Dutch tongue sounded more majestic, or more beauti- 
 ful, than as it came from the sacred desk. Not a trace 
 of English speech, or influence, was manifested that 
 day, but only an unusual lingering upon the words as 
 if he, who uttered them, appreciated their charm with 
 new significance and an increase of tenderness, perhaps, 
 in the old husky voice ; the tenderness of a father for 
 his children the tenderness and love that had grown 
 and grown through seven-and-thirty years. Plainly, 
 the domine was not to be convicted of heresy at this 
 time, though he was self-willed and obstinate to a de- 
 gree almost past pardoning. 
 
 Since then nearly a fortnight had elapsed, and though 
 the error of his way had been clearly indicated to Do- 
 mine Ryerssen he showed no disposition to act upon 
 either the suggestions, or the admonitions, bestowed by 
 elders and deacons. Peggy Crewe still laughed and 
 chattered in the sombre, old house and sunned her saucy 
 loveliness in the glowing garden. An ominous calm 
 settled upon the waiting church-people, but their still- 
 ness, like that of the tiger about to spring, held the 
 concentration of energy not of repose in its atti- 
 tude. 
 
 Jan Praa drew his sleeve across his eyes, trembling a 
 little, then he passed to one side and went slowly down 
 the aisle, pausing at last in front of a small tablet let 
 into the wall. The record was not a long one. 
 
 204
 
 Jan Praa Speaks His Mind 
 
 GEDACHTENIS: 
 KATRINA DE VOS, 
 
 GELIEFDE VROUW VAN CORNELIS RYERSSEN, 
 GEBOREN DEN 8 AUGUSTUS 1720, 
 
 GESTORVEN DEN 4 JUNY 1740. 
 
 "DE GEDACHTENISSE DES RECHTVEERDIGEN SAL 
 TOT ZEGENINGE ZYN." 
 
 He stood gazing at the inscription, reading it again 
 and again; suddenly he struck the stone fiercely as if 
 it were some sentient thing deserving of his anger. 
 
 " Lies, lies, lies," he cried aloud, " I might have 
 known when I held my peace, abetting him, that evil 
 would descend upon this church. Our God is a God 
 of truth and His judgments will not be delayed for- 
 ever." 
 
 He broke off with something like a sob choking him, 
 for his wandering glance had fallen upon the lower 
 edge of the tablet which, jutting out like a small shelf, 
 held a bunch of dead roses. He lifted them almost 
 tenderly and dropped them into his apron, gathering up 
 the stray leaves that had been jostled apart by his touch, 
 all traces of wrath gone from his face. The faded 
 petals in his hand were like little keys which, on the 
 moment, unlocked the days of the past and showed him 
 the simple unfolding of Annetje's life. Would he have 
 had it different clouded ? He did not answer the in- 
 sistent questions, though the past and the present fought 
 long within him. Yet his duty his duty. What was 
 required of him? He could see the domine's duty 
 plainly enough trust a man's eyes to perceive what his 
 
 205
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 neighbor ought to do! but his own was hidden in 
 darkness. 
 
 Presently his face cleared a little of its perplexity, as 
 the sun comes out in a feeble way through a mass of 
 clouds, and something like resolution kindled its flame 
 in his glance. He straightened himself gradually and 
 drew a long, deep breath ; then he put out his hand and 
 touched the tablet again, but this time with fingers that 
 held a rough caress in passing. The next moment he 
 turned away. 
 
 Ordinarily Jan considered himself a brave man ; the 
 doggedness of ancestors who had resisted Philip II. of 
 Spain lived in him after some fashion, yet despite that 
 fact he felt his courage desert him rapidly at the mere 
 prospect of the task which now loomed big on his im- 
 mediate horizon. 
 
 " Why should the pleasing face of a gentlewoman 
 terrify me? " he muttered as he hastened home, leaving 
 the church to sweeten itself in the summer air and sun- 
 shine. " I've encountered many angry men in my day 
 and have not been fearful above measure. All flesh is 
 grass ; there's naught to tremble at in a weed, Jan lad." 
 
 Fortunately for him, on his arrival at the house, 
 Heilke was absent, and he crawled noiselessly through 
 the deserted kitchen and up the stairs to his own room. 
 There he decked himself out in his Sunday apparel, in 
 much the same spirit that a certain brave, military 
 leader used to don his best uniform on the eve of a 
 battle honoring the awful hour with all pomp and cir- 
 cumstance. Jan, however, despite his trappings, did 
 not present a martial front even to his own fancy. Had 
 he been a catholic his next move would have been to 
 
 206
 
 Jan Praa Speaks His Mind 
 
 throw himself upon his knees to implore the aid of his 
 patron saint, but his theology did not admit such ap- 
 peals for assistance, though it did not exclude a very 
 fervent worship on his part of some of the heroes of 
 the Fatherland. These illustrious personages he re- 
 garded in the light of lesser gods and, when hard 
 pressed in previous emergencies, he had often fortified 
 himself with a mere mention of their names; as if, by 
 so doing, their strength descended upon him and kept 
 him true to their standards. Once dressed, he began 
 to mumble them eagerly to himself, checking them off 
 on his fingers much as a devout monk tells his beads, 
 and though he would have been appalled at the dis- 
 covery with each name his heart sent up a mute, little 
 prayer. " William the Silent Admiral Home 
 Count Egmont ! brave men brave men all ! " 
 
 He hesitated on the threshold, then, as if thrilling 
 with the power he had invoked, he shut the door be- 
 hind him thus closing off retreat, and took his way 
 through the silent house. The enemy he was about to 
 encounter was not within doors, that much the quiet 
 told him ; and he was not sorry for two reasons. First, 
 because the meeting was deferred for a little longer, 
 and next because he was more at ease in the open, on 
 ground he knew and loved and which owed much of 
 its beauty to him. He reached the kitchen and peeped 
 cautiously in ; nothing was stirring there save a trem- 
 ulous vine which danced lightly on the oblong patch 
 of sunshine upon the floor. Heilke's voice, grumbling 
 in the still-room, and the tinkle of Annetje's laughter 
 came to him with semi-distinctness. He started at the 
 sounds, wavered an instant, then fled precipitately to 
 
 207
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 the garden beyond. The quiet and harmony there 
 stilled his fears in some measure and he passed slowly 
 along, his swaggering exterior giving no evidence of 
 his timorous heart as he studied his surroundings with 
 a conscientious glance that was born of his will, not 
 of his desire. On a sudden a great tremor ran through 
 his frame and his knees knocked loudly together; he 
 stopped, perforce, in his walk, cast a longing look over 
 his shoulder at the house, then eyes front again he 
 steadied himself. " William the Silent ! " he gasped 
 faintly. 
 
 For the moment flight was imminent and Jan's cause 
 would have been lost at the outset, had it not been for 
 so trivial a thing as a flower lying, with broken stem, 
 across his path. He stooped in anger and possessed 
 himself of it, shaking the dust gently from the wilted 
 leaves. He knew well enough what careless hand had 
 plucked the rose and had dropped it one of God's fair- 
 est blooms broken, and useless to die. He forgot his 
 former apprehension, under the lash of this keener emo- 
 tion, and walked boldly across the intervening space to 
 the quiet figure dreaming beneath the cherry-tree. 
 
 " Taughter of Papylon," he said sternly. 
 
 Peggy turned quickly, the smile, which had begun to 
 break upon her face at the sound of his steps, slipping 
 into a stare of icy wonderment. 
 
 " Taughter of Papylon." 
 
 " I do not know what you mean," she cried angrily, 
 " nor can I imagine why you should address me, and 
 certainly not by that name and in that voice." 
 
 " Pecause it is my tuty, pecause Papa Tromp ! 
 
 Egmont ! so so I " 
 
 208
 
 Jan Praa Speaks His Mind 
 
 Jan glanced wildly around and wrestled with his 
 neckband. " No, jonge juffrouw, you must listen," he 
 went on. " From t'at house must you go, harm ant 
 trouples haf you prought t'ere alreaty, ant shame pe- 
 sites " 
 
 " How dare you?" 
 
 " It is t'e trut'. So goot a man as nefer vas ant hard- 
 nekkig has he pecome no vomans is vort' it. T'e 
 church peoples say, ' pest haf her go, for us are not 
 Enklish vays.' Ant he say, ' It is my house. I cannot 
 pit her pegone.' " 
 
 Peggy was on fire in an instant. 
 
 " Why was it necessary that my stay here should be 
 public talk? I did not wish it known I looked for 
 quiet. What concern is it of your people when I go? 
 What right have they to talk about me as if I was some 
 charity patient rescued from the street ? Your domine 
 shall not lack payment, I promise you, for every mo- 
 ment I have passed beneath his roof and for the poor 
 skill he has made me beholden to." 
 
 She sprang to her feet in a tempest of wrath. 
 
 " Vait," Jan stuttered, " vait a leetle, leetle moments, 
 ton't you go ant act hot-headtet, ton't you get egsitet." 
 
 " Annetje might have spared me this the deceitful 
 minx!" 
 
 " Annetje ? She is glat as nefer vas to haf you here 
 she ton't know v'at t'e ot'ers say alvays apout t'e 
 Enklish pusy in her mindt is she. Ant t'e domine, he 
 ton't say not'ings apout you, no more as Annetje toes, 
 put t'e neighpors see t'e young mens coming ant t'ey 
 ask Heilke. T'at vomans, juffrouw, is like a a t'at 
 t'ing you cannot carry vater in pecause of t'e leetle holes 
 
 209
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 in t'e pottom, ant she gapples gapples For myself, 
 I say nothings I am tisgretious ! " 
 
 Peggy tapped the ground angrily with her foot. 
 
 "This is too much it is unendurable! Where is 
 the domine ? " 
 
 Jan retreated a step in horror then, under the excite- 
 ment of the moment, he moved forward and laid a de- 
 taining hand upon the girl's arm. 
 
 " T'e great t'e great Peggar ! Horn ! Egmont ! 
 oh listen ! Ton't you efer a vort to t'e domine speak, 
 put joost go. He say his roof it is sacret ; to a guest 
 he can not teny it. Ton't you unterstant? T'e elters 
 ant teacons make it a question of his right-toing t'ey 
 temant it of him. Ant he answer t'at you go of your 
 own vill, not pefore, t'ey must vait for t'at. Veil t'en, 
 t'ey vait tays, ant tays, ant tays it is now most two 
 veeks t'at t'ey are here, ant alvays he tisregart t'eir 
 varnings ant t'eir plack looks. Sacrament! " Jan fin- 
 ished with a snarl, " ton't you see v'at harm you vork 
 him in t'eir mindts? " 
 
 " Do you mean to say that the domine is suffering 
 for my sake," Peggy asked sharply, " that he is being 
 persecuted " 
 
 " P per per secutet, yes, only Kott forgif me ! 
 he teserfes it in a measure. Veil t'en, ve say not'ings 
 apout t'at not'ings ! T'e domine lofes his peoples so 
 tenter like a fat'er, ant it hurts him not to to as t'ey 
 say, put he t'inks no ot'ervise can he act. T'e ent is 
 not yet ; v'en grumplings rise in a church t'en must t'e 
 minister pevare for himself. Ant he has peen t'ere 
 sefen-ant-t'irty years ach! it vill preak his heart, Kott 
 knows, it vill preak his heart." 
 
 210
 
 Jan Praa Speaks His Mind 
 
 The slow tears gathered in Jan's eyes and, brimming 
 over, ran down his furrowed cheeks ; he turned his head 
 aside to hide his grief. There was a certain amount 
 of dignity in the action. Peggy stared at him incred- 
 ulously, different emotions filling her breast ; suddenly 
 she put out an impulsive hand and plucked his sleeve 
 very gently, with a touch that was like a caress. 
 
 " You don't mean that they would turn him away ? " 
 she demanded in an awestruck whisper. 
 
 " I ton't know. T'ey vait now, only t'ere is mur- 
 murings ant tiscontent eferyv'eres, t'ey say he is hard- 
 nekkig like in your speech stiff in t'e neck not eassily 
 to pe turnedt." 
 
 " They would not dare to send him away on my ac- 
 count. I will not have it. I will go to them and tell 
 them how good he has been to me I am sorry if I've 
 worked him any harm I will explain " 
 
 " Nefer, juffertje, nefer. Put if you vouldt some- 
 t'ings for him to, joost so softly like t'e shatow from 
 t'e grass go avay, ant let t'e sun shine clear once more." 
 
 Peggy threw back her head with a laugh. 
 
 " 'Tis the first time ever I was called so black and 
 ugly a thing ; my going has hitherto brought the shad- 
 ows, or men have lied. But vex yourself no further, 
 if light and happiness will come here by my leaving 
 then I'll go quickly, I'd have gone long ago had I 
 known ; no one shall ever suffer on my account," she 
 paused, meditating upon her flight. "You will help 
 me ? " she asked after a moment. 
 
 " So goot as in my power lies, put put " his face 
 became troubled again, he hated to ask favors of so 
 generous a foe, " t'e domine, if he s'ouldt know It 
 
 211
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 is for his sake I speak, put his home is also my home, 
 to me is it sacret likevise." 
 
 She put her hand again upon his arm, laughing into 
 his perplexed eyes. 
 
 " I shall say nothing, you may trust me. He will 
 think my going so hastily at the last is prompted by a 
 girl's whim. A woman has many a wayward mood 
 that there's no accounting for." 
 
 " Vonterful ! vonterful ! out of t'e mouths of papes 
 ant sucklings comet' vistom. Tis efen as you say 
 unstaple, like vater, is t'e mindt of vomans, now one 
 t'ing, now anot'er no tepentance can pe placedt upon 
 her. All t'e trouples, ant follies of t'e vorldt are to pe 
 lait at her toor." 
 
 " Jan Jan were you ever crossed in love? " 
 
 " No vomans haf I lofedt efer, t'ank Kott ! For me 
 has my neighpor's misery peen enough, put I haf eyes 
 I haf eyes. Not one of t'em is to be trustet " 
 
 " How can you think, then, that I will be true to my 
 word?" 
 
 " I ton't t'ink I know." 
 
 Peggy clapped her hands delightedly. 
 
 " Bravo, that's as pretty a compliment as ever came 
 my way, and I thank you you'll have no cause to rue 
 it." 
 
 " T'ere vill t'ere vill pe, perhaps, no vort to An- 
 netje?" 
 
 " Not one that could pain you at any time. Now 
 will you carry a note to my brother, so he may come 
 and fetch me away after sundown? I must go to 
 Greenwich." 
 
 212
 
 Jan Praa Speaks His Mind 
 
 Late that night Jan sat upon the kitchen door-step, 
 his complacent face turned ruminatingly toward the 
 stars ; they were like so many kindly eyes beaming ap- 
 probation upon him. 
 
 " Praise be to God, the hussy's gone," Heilke's 
 strident voice cut across his reflections, " gone, and 
 good riddance to her! But who'd a-thought the end 
 would come so sudden? Well well the ways of 
 Providence are past our poor human finding out." 
 
 Jan's breast swelled triumphantly and, under cover 
 of the dark, he allowed himself the gratification of a sly 
 wink at a certain star which flashed a significant sparkle 
 back at him ; but he remained silent, not trusting him- 
 self to speak in this moment of elation. The quietness 
 of his attitude angered his companion. 
 
 " I'll be bound you were caught by her pretty face," 
 she went on wrathfully. " I saw how she bewitched 
 you, and you as soft as butter in August when she came 
 to go away." 
 
 He sat still, outwardly unmoved, though anger was 
 beginning to stir within him. 
 
 " There, get away with you, do 'tis time you went 
 to your bed. Merciful Powers, it would try the pa- 
 tience of Job to see you sprawling there, as if you'd 
 earned the right to dawdle that way. You don't catch 
 me ever lolling like that, and I do the work of twenty 
 like you " 
 
 " Woman, it's false ! Know that I've done the great- 
 est work of my life this day, and it's been set to my 
 account in the courts above. I have made this house 
 fair and sweet again " 
 
 " This house ! Not a hand have you laid to it, Jan 
 213
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 Praa, not a finger. Oh ! the conceit of your kind. A 
 little brandishing of a broom in a church, a little polish- 
 ing, and dusting, where dust never comes. Don't talk 
 of making fair to me ! A child would turn your task 
 into play, and yet you call it work." 
 
 " 'Twas I that did what elders and deacons could not 
 do, 'twas I that brought home to the English girl her 
 duty, 'twas I that bade her go and be no further an- 
 noyance to this house to the domine to the church. 
 Can you say now I've done no work ? " 
 
 Heilke stared at him through the dusk. 
 
 "You didn't?" she breathed, then she wrestled 
 with her admiration and surprise. 
 
 There was an interval of quiet during which Jan 
 thrilled with a deep sense of pleasure ; her silence was 
 the highest tribute that could be paid him. The sound 
 of her voice aroused him from his content. 
 
 " When the ass spoke to Balaam," she said slowly, 
 " 'twas to be wondered at, past a doubt, yet no instru- 
 ment is ever too humble for Providence to use and hav- 
 ing done it once He could do it again, to be sure. Let 
 thanks be given where thanks are due, Jan Praa." 
 
 214
 
 XIX 
 
 THE FULFILLING OF A TRUST 
 
 Heilke's relief at the visitor's departure found a nat- 
 ural vent in increased nagging, not only of Jan who, 
 lest his complacency should unduly inflate him, was 
 kept in a state of continual abasement, but of Annetje 
 who came in for her share of the old woman's displeas- 
 ure. A hundred times a day was the girl convicted of 
 aping the airs of the good-for-nothing young gentle- 
 woman and charges of temper and utterly demoralizing, 
 soul-destroying idleness were laid at her door. If Jan, 
 with a sudden realization of the loneliness which en- 
 compassed Annetje, could make allowances for her lack 
 of spirits it was more than Heilke could do. 
 
 " So," she cried one afternoon when Annetje, driven 
 at last to desperation, fled to the garden with Joris lop- 
 ing at her side. " So ! no sooner are we rid of one fine 
 lady than another settles down among us. God help 
 us ! folded hands and the sun hours from setting. I 
 tell you, Jan Praa, Domine Ryerssen has more to an- 
 swer for than he knows. You can't touch pitch and 
 keep your fingers clean ; and no more can you consort 
 with idleness and keep a mind for work. Human nat- 
 ure is dreadful quick at imitating ; the most of us play 
 follow my leader from the cradle to the grave. Look 
 at Annetje now, she's doing nothing nothing and me 
 with the work of the whole house on my shoulders. It's 
 
 215
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 all that brown-eyed, laughing hussy's fault. She never 
 knew the worth of a moment, I'll be bound, nor that 
 try as hard as you will you can't set back Time's clock 
 and pick up a lost chance. Just laziness day in, and 
 day out sheer wanton laziness and the devil ramp- 
 ing up and down the earth seeking food for his net. He 
 don't so much tempt the idle after all, as the idle tempt 
 him ; the sight of dawdlers is enough to make his fingers 
 itch to set them at some mischief and small blame to 
 him ! " 
 
 Jan ventured a pacific remark which was swept aside 
 with the force of a mountain torrent after a storm. 
 
 " Annet je will be all right again, eh ? It's natural 
 to miss a guest? Foei! I said you were bewitched by 
 her big eyes. Think shame to yourself, Jan Praa, and 
 at your age, too, your mind should be set on other 
 things. There's no excusing Annetje's idleness and 
 that's not all. What's come to Adrian de Hooge, I'd 
 like to know ? " 
 
 " But woman, he's in health, he was at church Sun- 
 day." 
 
 " Ay, and the Sunday before and in health truly, as 
 you say oh! blinder than the mole. Before he went 
 to Virginia he was all for Annetje, he'd lover written 
 on him from top to toe. But since he's come back has 
 he been here once ? Has he waited to speak to her af- 
 ter church ? Has he cast glances at her even ? Though 
 she wouldn't have seen them, so full of dreams is she 
 about those children of the Evil One, but I was watch- 
 ing " 
 
 " Your eyes should have been on the domine." 
 
 " And so they were, but a woman can look at one 
 216
 
 The Fulfilling of a Trust 
 
 object and see a dozen others at the same time It's the 
 way the Almighty made us! I marked the domine's 
 face and lost no word of his sermon, and I saw besides 
 that there was a slit in the sleeve of his gown, no wider 
 than this nail, but still a slit I saw there was dust in 
 the corner of the pulpit-stair and, moreover, that be- 
 neath our tablet were some dried leaves you must do 
 your duty better, Jan Praa, before you preach mine to 
 me I saw, too, that Mynheer Bickers's coat needed 
 brushing, and that Mynheer Kay's linen was hungry, 
 and especially did I note the change that has come to 
 Adrian de Hooge. Once he looked at Annetje with 
 anger, not love, in his eyes, 'twas the merest glance 
 here, and gone again in a twinkling, but I caught it 
 I caught it. And after service, when he could have 
 stopped for a word as of old, he was all smirks and 
 bows for Bertha Van der Grist and her mother wad- 
 dling on behind the two, with the strut of a duck whose 
 offspring has taken to the water for the first time. Oh ! 
 you can't deceive me." 
 
 Jan gazed before him, speechless for the moment in 
 the face of this complication which he had not fore- 
 seen. 
 
 " And all because the domine would harbor the 
 stranger within his gates," Heilke wailed despairingly. 
 " I don't quarrel with the decrees of Providence I 
 know my own sinful state better and if it seems right 
 to Him that the sins of the fathers shall be visited upon 
 the children He knoweth best, that's all ! But it is cruel 
 hard and bitter that so fine a match should come to 
 naught, just because the domine chose to be pig-headed. 
 There's no one yet has brought that home to him and 
 
 217
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 he'd never see it for himself even if it was written in 
 letters of fire." 
 
 She hesitated momentarily then, as if her mission 
 were as clearly indicated to her as she would have had 
 the domine's wrong-doing evidenced to him, she sought 
 him in his study. She returned thence, after a short 
 stay, so triumphant in her bearing that Jan, glancing 
 askance at her from the door-step, grudgingly acknowl- 
 edged her superiority to himself with a swift groan. 
 She had neither word, nor look, for him, however, but 
 swept out into the open and summoned Annetje in a 
 loud, strident voice. 
 
 The girl came in answer to the call obediently enough, 
 and listened almost sullenly to the message which 
 Heilke, scorning its pristine simplicity, chose to em- 
 bellish with comments and chidings of her own ; but at 
 the first pause for breath on the woman's part Annetje 
 betook herself to her father's room. She had no lik- 
 ing for the place and seldom frequented it, save on oc- 
 casions like the present one when duty, not love, drove 
 her thither. She had but a single pleasant remem- 
 brance to set against the memory of numerous, depress- 
 ing visits there, and over that one she often lingered. 
 In answer to the summons from within she opened the 
 door and passed up to the table with something of the 
 bearing of a little child in her mien, half frightened, 
 half defiant. Heilke's words had left her in a state of 
 angry wonderment. 
 
 The domine pushed aside some papers and turned his 
 face toward her ; she did not notice its increased pallor 
 and weariness, nor did she appreciate the depth of love 
 in his glance of welcome. She regarded him with in- 
 
 218
 
 The Fulfilling of a Trust 
 
 different eyes, while his, sharpened by a truer affection 
 than hers, noted with distress the trace of sadness in 
 her looks. He put his hand out timidly it was his 
 nearest overture to a caress but she made no motion 
 to take it ; did not perceive it in fact. 
 
 " You miss your companion ? " 
 
 Annetje held her peace mutinously. If she spoke the 
 truth, or a quarter of the truth, what would follow but 
 reproof and sermonizing? She was tired of being 
 scolded, why should she be subjected to it further? 
 She had lately learned of the disapproval of her father's 
 congregation and, resenting it, she included him in her 
 resentment also, as if in some way he were culpable 
 because his position, instead of being powerful enough 
 to exempt him from reproach, had but laid him open 
 to a keener censure. Heilke took every means to keep 
 her aware of the scandal which had arisen since Peggy's 
 coming and remembering that, next to the desire for 
 aid, Bellenden's demand had been for secrecy the 
 knowledge filled the girl with dismay. She blamed 
 her father in unreasoning anger because the sanctity 
 of his roof had afforded food for the market-place. 
 
 " It is natural, of course, that you should miss your 
 your companion. The house must be lonely without 
 her." 
 
 "Very lonely," she admitted tacitly, wondering at 
 him. She did miss the English girl, not only on ac- 
 count of her merry ways but because, while she had 
 been present, Annetje had felt that her ministrations 
 were laid upon another altar, one higher and more 
 beautiful than would ever be erected in her heart to 
 PeggyCrewe. She had seen little of Bellenden during 
 
 219
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 his cousin's stay at the parsonage ; yet knowing that she 
 was serving him, in serving her, and thus earning a 
 place in his thoughts she was well satisfied. Now that 
 she was alone again she found herself listening con- 
 tinually for the signal that never came. Her face had 
 sharpened a trifle, her eyes were saddened, but she was 
 willing to wait, telling herself, with unshaken trust, 
 that he would come one day. 
 
 " Gray with shadows, gray with shadows," her father 
 went on in a low tone as if to himself, " and youth loves 
 the brightness, loves its kind." He looked toward the 
 girl with a wavering smile. " I had forgotten how 
 lonely the house must seem to you," his voice dropped 
 wistfully. 
 
 " I was used to its quiet/' she answered a little de- 
 fiantly ; " it never has been different. If my mother 
 had lived the sunshine would always have been here, I 
 know." She stopped abruptly, going on after an almost 
 imperceptible pause, " Heilke blames me for moping, 
 but she can't understand, and it would have been so 
 easy for my mother, that's all. When Miss Crewe was 
 here it was as if a window had been opened and the sun 
 came in and little sweet, cool breezes and the songs of 
 birds. Now," she spread her hands out before her, 
 " the window is closed and barred, there is no sunshine 
 anywhere and no singing." 
 
 He watched her through his half-closed eyes; the 
 tremor in her voice hurt him like the pricking of a 
 knife. 
 
 " My little child," he murmured slowly, then again 
 and lower, " my little child." 
 
 A short silence settled down between them; in the 
 
 220
 
 The Fulfilling of a Trust 
 
 interval of quiet comprehension hovered, with soft, 
 dove-like wings, over their hearts. It was a lovely mo- 
 ment for them both, during which they knew a near- 
 ness of spirit never before experienced. The domine 
 was the first to speak, as if some power outside of him- 
 self compelled him to break the charm which lapped 
 him in a content he knew he did not merit. 
 
 " Your mother," he said hoarsely, " your mother " 
 He tried to speak further, but a kind of paralysis held 
 his throat. 
 
 He turned his face away, clutching at the table's edge 
 with tremulous fingers. He had determined, when 
 there should be mention of the mother between them, 
 that he would tell her story as he knew it from begin- 
 ning to end. He had faltered over this purpose, de- 
 ferring it at one time, revolting from it at another, and 
 yet it had grown into a definite, powerful shape within 
 him, something that must be communicated no matter 
 at what grief to him and to his child. The struggle 
 between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, had 
 warred incessantly within him ever since he had 
 wrapped his wife's shame in the trappings of a lie ; and 
 there had hitherto been nothing but that futile juggling 
 with resolution, that putting off to a vague to-morrow 
 for the ultimate triumph of his soul, while each day saw 
 what he felt was its deeper degradation instead. 
 
 The moment that had also held a great peace for 
 Annetje passed for her likewise, and she was back again 
 in the mists, but a little trail of its light still lingered to 
 govern her actions. She thought she understood the 
 reason of his evident suffering. Shyly, and yet with 
 a compassion that softened her face into exquisite ten- 
 
 221
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 derness, she put her rosy, little fingers on the shaking, 
 bloodless hand that was old, and withered, and as cold 
 as ice to the touch ; they clung to its irresponsiveness 
 almost fondly. 
 
 " Father, father." 
 
 It was her heart calling to him, he told himself dully. 
 He was all she had in the world he and the beautiful 
 memory of her mother. He could not darken it 
 would not ! His face set grimly. He could not, with 
 his own hand, destroy forever that thing more beauti- 
 ful than earth's greatest beauty the faith of a child in 
 its parent. Let him alone answer for his sin he could 
 not have her suffer he could not set night in the place 
 of glowing day, could not give her great shadows to 
 cloud her sun of love, when the brightness and the 
 warmth were dear to her. Lie, or no lie, she must be 
 kept in the ignorance that so far had wrought only for 
 her peace. He loved her too deeply to sacrifice that 
 even in the interests of truth, even as an expiation for 
 his own wrong-doing. It was for her good ! 
 
 Suddenly, with a precision that smote and blinded 
 him like a flash of lightning, the thought occurred to 
 him for the first time that in taking upon himself the 
 double burden of their common grief he had deprived 
 her of a means of development for her soul. She was 
 not strong enough to withstand the approach of calam- 
 ity ; even the regret she experienced at the loss of a com- 
 panion, known not many days, made her droop like 
 some frail flower before an oncoming tempest. But if 
 the ground beneath her feet should be torn away, if the 
 support around which she had twined her young life 
 should be withdrawn what then ? Had he this to an- 
 
 222
 
 The Fulfilling of a Trust 
 
 swer for as well, not only her incapacity to meet trouble, 
 but her inability to triumph over its attack? Bearing 
 one another's burden is to mutual advantage, and a law 
 never lightly to be disregarded, so the domine had al- 
 ways taught; now he felt with a bitterness of heart 
 too deep to be controverted that to take upon one's 
 self a cross which God has fitted to another's shoulders 
 is to do a great wrong not only to that other, but to the 
 Love and foresight which placed it there. 
 
 The old man stirred uneasily and turned his shaking, 
 haggard face to the girl. Her eyes were like the bit 
 of sky he could see through the window, blue and in- 
 finitely tender, the purity of heaven was in their smile. 
 They were young eyes, too, and had never looked upon 
 shame. He watched them half fascinated, picturing to 
 himself how they would droop and grow sorrowful be- 
 fore the words he must speak. This unexpected inter- 
 view, with the opportunity it offered by her mention of 
 her mother, was one he could not evade. In sending 
 for her, he had meant to let her know that he appreci- 
 ated her loneliness, doubly accentuated as it was by 
 Miss Crewe's departure; he had wished to give her 
 some little word of comfort, and it was left for him to 
 fasten a heavy grief upon her instead, one that could 
 never be removed. 
 
 He made an effort at self-control and sat erect in his 
 chair ; his face, still sad, was stern with a resolve that 
 stiffened his whole bearing and made him like a man 
 of stone. She was sensible of the change, though she 
 comprehended it as little as a flower comprehends the 
 cloud that shadows the sun and casts a chill into the 
 very soul of summer. Her hand fell away from his 
 
 223
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 arm ; the old barrier was established once more between 
 them, so high that her heart could not find the way to 
 his. He stared at her moodily for some moments with- 
 out speaking, then he pushed his papers aside and be- 
 gan to fumble in the table drawer. His hands shook 
 as if he were smitten suddenly with palsy ; they could 
 hardly hold the little leather case which he finally 
 brought out to view. Annetje took a step nearer in 
 childlike curiosity. 
 
 " It is your mother's gift to you," he said slowly and 
 with much pain, " a trinket that was her mother's be- 
 fore her." 
 
 The girl's fingers closed tremulously, yet with a cer- 
 tain greed in their touch, over the case, but she did not 
 speak. 
 
 " Your mother," he went on again, " your mother 
 she " his lips were so dry he could hardly move 
 them, he made another effort, " she did " 
 
 " No, no," Annetje protested. " Please it's not 
 necessary to tell me the least, least thing don't I know 
 how good she was ? " Her voice trembled with its rapt- 
 ure, then sank like oil upon the troubled waters of his 
 spirit. " And it hurts you. I won't listen to anything, 
 I don't want to hear anything My mother my 
 beautiful mother." 
 
 He covered his eyes to shut out the sight of her 
 glowing face ; the ecstasy and love it held were almost 
 blinding. There was silence in the room again while 
 he fought with himself and lost. He could not put 
 out the light in the faithful young heart. Besides, he 
 told himself speciously and to excuse his paltering, if 
 the truth were known at this late day Adrian de Hooge 
 
 224
 
 The Fulfilling of a Trust 
 
 might repudiate Annetje not only on account of her 
 mother's sin, but for her father's deception as well. If 
 lie could be displeased by so trivial a cause as the young 
 gentlewoman's stay, as Heilke declared was the case, 
 what would he say to those other, graver charges ? For 
 another moment Annetje's happiness trembled in the 
 balance, then it outweighed the domine's scruples and 
 silenced the voice of his conscience. 
 
 He lowered his hand and stared at her. He was not 
 a man to be deeply stirred at any time by the sight of 
 beauty, it was something he did not perceive ; but sud- 
 denly he became aware of its presence, though like a 
 blind person, who conscious of a rose that holds the 
 whole of summer in its loveliness is yet unable to an- 
 alyze its charm, he was at a loss to define the subtle at- 
 traction. She had fastened the pearls about her neck, 
 where they fell to her bodice, and as he looked she raised 
 the chain and held it close against the dewy freshness 
 of her lips ; her eyes were limpid wells of joy that had 
 brimmed over a little of their water upon her flushed, 
 dimpled cheeks and her glistening hair formed a nim- 
 bus about her April face. She was thrilling with de- 
 light in the possession of the necklace, not only because 
 it had once belonged to her mother, but because of its 
 beauty as well. She loved the beautiful for its own 
 sake with an almost sensuous adoration. 
 
 " These dear, dear pearls," she said childishly. 
 " They are so pure and lovely, they are like angels' 
 tears." 
 
 He looked at her with a tinge of pity in his glance. 
 
 " The angels don't weep," he answered tonelessly, 
 " only mortals do that. The voice of weeping does not 
 
 225
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 enter there, ' neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 
 there be any more pain.' " He was silent a moment, 
 during which the gladness went down in her face. 
 
 " Now go," he added not ungently, though he re- 
 sumed his book on the instant as if her presence an- 
 noyed him. 
 
 She moved away softly, but half-way to the door his 
 voice arrested her steps. 
 
 " You may not wear that that necklace, the best 
 ornament for a young maid is a meek and quiet 
 spirit." 
 
 She unclasped the pearls in a spirit of outward obedi- 
 ence, her pulses throbbing in quick revolt at his tyranny. 
 She had been trying to gather sufficient courage to offer 
 him some little caress, though such was never the cus- 
 tom between them, but now she told herself resentfully 
 that he was ungenerous, first he made her glad with 
 the gift, and then he disregarded her happiness by bid- 
 ding her keep it hidden ; he deserved no especial mark 
 of gratitude since the necklace was not of his giving, 
 but of her mother's. She let the door slip to behind her 
 without speaking and hurried away. 
 
 Domine Ryerssen sat quite still after her departure 
 with his book held close to his short-sighted eyes, but 
 he turned no page; the printed matter did not exist 
 to him. He seemed to be listening for the sound 
 of steps without, yet usually he was hard of hearing 
 and the silence around him remained unbroken. Pres- 
 ently, as if he could no longer stand the strain, he stum- 
 bled almost feverishly to his feet and crossed the room 
 hastily to the door ; he flung it wide with an impatient 
 hand and craned far out into the passage-way, anxiety 
 
 226
 
 The Fufillling of a Trust 
 
 sharpening his gaze. Once his lips framed the word 
 " Annetje," but he did not utter it aloud. 
 
 After a few minutes of this futile waiting he closed 
 the door and went slowly back to the table, though he 
 did not sit again ; instead, he stood leaning there lost in 
 thought. He roused himself at last with a start and 
 gazed about in some bewilderment like one in the midst 
 of strange surroundings, then suddenly, as the familiar 
 objects presented themselves to him with their old dis- 
 tinctness, he fell upon his knees by the chair and threw 
 his arms across the seat, burying his face in them. 
 " Oh ! my God my God," he cried in a shaking voice, 
 " be merciful to me a sinner." 
 
 227
 
 XX 
 
 MASTER AND SERVANT 
 
 Notwithstanding Jan's prophecy the figurative sun 
 which, according to him, was to shine so clearly after 
 Peggy's withdrawal from the Ryerssen household re- 
 mained persistently hidden. The people regarded their 
 pastor with the utmost disfavor. They were aware 
 that his guest's departure was due to her own whim 
 and not to any compliance on his part to their wishes, 
 and the thought fed their displeasure until it grew out 
 of all proportion to the original cause. Mists of dis- 
 trust and misunderstanding hung low over the church ; 
 there was a scarcely veiled antagonism everywhere 
 which set even the peace of the sanctuary ajar. 
 
 Nor was this all. A more serious matter had oc- 
 curred about this time, in consequence of which a ship, 
 bound for Holland, bore with it a long chronicle of the 
 troubles of the Garden Street church. In stating their 
 grievances to the Classis at Amsterdam the members 
 of the Consistory had not omitted any details of Miss 
 Crewe's stay at the parsonage, nor was the domine mis- 
 represented in his vindication of his own actions the 
 complainants were just, though their ideas of justice 
 were narrow. Still, to each one of them, it was evident 
 that his office among them must come to an end. If 
 his neglect to follow their admonitions was deemed 
 insufficient reason to warrant his recall, they were con- 
 
 228
 
 Master and Servant 
 
 vinced that other, and graver, charges could be laid at 
 his door which the Classis would neither overlook nor 
 condone. In short, keeping their personal disapproba- 
 tion as a side issue, they accused him of holding hereti- 
 cal opinions. It was apparent to them that a marked 
 change had taken place in his preaching. Several 
 times in his sermons he had inferred that it was God's 
 eternal purpose to save all men ; he had been heard to 
 say that all men possess the divine image, and he had 
 shown, not once but with alarming frequency, an un- 
 usual spirit of toleration toward all persons whatever 
 their religious views might be. 
 
 The members of the conferentie party, as the con- 
 servatives were called, smarting at the heresy of their 
 pastor and disdaining to treat with him, moved with 
 the utmost secrecy in the matter and petitioned the 
 Mother church to discipline the offender and free them 
 of his influence. With the departure of the ship they 
 experienced a sense of relief, as if the responsibility of 
 his wrong-doing had been shifted to other shoulders, 
 and prepared to possess their souls in patience to await 
 the judgment from over sea. 
 
 The domine, utterly unconscious of the net that was 
 closing about him, felt the trouble in an indefinable way 
 and ascribed it wholly to his unwillingness to act on the 
 suggestions of the Consistory. He knew that from his 
 people's stand-point he had failed them signally ; yet in 
 pursuing his line of conduct there had seemed no other 
 alternative open to him. That his parishioners would 
 not recognize this was a very bitter drop in his cup, but 
 even more bitter was the thought that no comprehen- 
 sion helped to make his own position easier; for self- 
 
 229
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 justification, while it offers some panacea to one's 
 wounds, does not bring the same healing that lies in 
 the commiseration of others. At this moment he stood 
 remote from the sympathy of his kind, as it had been 
 his lot to stand in another and darker period of his life 
 and indeed, for that matter, through all his days. 
 
 His interview with Annetje left him utterly broken. 
 Never before had he so fully realized the power of the 
 secret, whose shackles had eaten into his very soul ; he 
 was unable to free himself from the dragging weight. 
 It was not that he feared his congregation, nor even 
 the wrath of God, but just the happiness of a girl. The 
 voice of his duty sounded clear to him with the thun- 
 ders of Sinai, yet above and beyond it rang that little 
 cry: " Father father! " in which she had called to his 
 heart. The touch of her hand clinging to his made it 
 impossible for him to stand before men as he was, not 
 as he seemed. 
 
 As the days passed Jan Praa realized that matters 
 were not improving in the least ; though with the faith 
 which he had kept sunny throughout a long life he told 
 himself that the dark hour would soon slip away. Even 
 the sight of Annetje dull, tuneless, indifferent, could 
 not dispel his confidence ; nor could the attitude of the 
 church people shake his trust. Their anger which had 
 been slow to kindle would die as slowly, but that it 
 would die eventually he did not doubt. Meanwhile, far 
 from dying, a little breath from no one could tell 
 whence fanned the flame into keener life. In the in- 
 creased glare the picture of that idle young gentle- 
 woman with her laughter and her disgraceful songs 
 was not so distinctly seen as the figure of a girl in a 
 
 230
 
 Master and Servant 
 
 jockey's attire seeking and finding admittance at the 
 domine's door. And it was for such an one that he 
 had scorned the wise and tender admonitions of elders 
 and deacons. It was to protect such as her that he had 
 set the power of the church at naught. 
 
 These first, faint rumors assailed Jan with great 
 fear, their very incongruity gave them a reality which, 
 to his mind, was not suggested by fancy alone they 
 must be true, no one could have conceived such mon- 
 strous suspicions else. Then he laughed them to 
 scorn ; they were utterly false as every member of the 
 domine's household could testify. His words, how- 
 ever, carried small weight with them. The informa- 
 tion, fed from some secret source, throve daily hourly. 
 Whispers of horse-racing, of betting, of gambling- 
 debts, of riotous living, became intermingled with those 
 other accusations. The name of the mysterious stran- 
 ger, hitherto unknown, was bandied hither and thither 
 until Peggy Crewe grew to be the synonym for all that 
 was evil. The whole community was like some mon- 
 strous witches' cauldron that seethed and bubbled with 
 its poison brew. 
 
 Jan, beside himself with grief and rage, sought out 
 Heilke as if she, and she alone, were responsible for the 
 accumulation of calumny. 
 
 " You know it's a lie," he cried. 
 
 " I don't, I feel in my bones that it's God's truth ; it 
 has all the air of it. There's no gainsaying that, or 
 calling it a lie just because it don't smack good to your 
 lips." 
 
 " You saw her when she first came " 
 
 " I did not. Where was I ? Sent off me, at my 
 231
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 age! to do a girl's errand, tramping up and down 
 William Street, stopping now at this mercer's, now at 
 that, for a bit of ribbon and the shops so temptsome, 
 even to a woman of my golden sense, that the minutes 
 slipped away like a knotless thread. 'Twas done for 
 Annetje, and she at home here with a a headache, 
 forsooth. What had she to do with such a fine lady's 
 thing as a headache? She never knew the throb of 
 one until that day and since look at her now, heavy- 
 eyed and white-faced, as washed out in appearance 
 as a bit of calico that won't keep its color when water 
 touches it." 
 
 " But I thought " 
 
 " Don't put yourself into a fever with thinking. I 
 saw the hussy when she first came, did I? I did not 
 see her until she was safely tucked away in Annetje's 
 bed with one of the child's night-rails on. There's no 
 deceiving me ! I saw at a glance that it was Annetje's, 
 and not a trace of that Miss Crewe's clothes anywhere 
 to be seen it struck me as strange even at the time. 
 Then the next morning on that very step was a box that 
 had been conveyed there somehow during the night, 
 and when I went to open it Annetje flew at me as fierce 
 as a hungry cat, and nothing would do but the both of 
 us had to carry it up to her room. That's the truth, 
 Jan Praa, now dovetail it in with what folks are say- 
 ing and see how it matches. Annetje was the only per- 
 son to be with the minx." 
 
 " Surely then she'll tell you these stories are false 
 the idle gossip of silly women " 
 
 " Oh ! ay, and of sillier men. There's no doubt the 
 world's given over to lying. It's a good catch phrase 
 
 232
 
 Master and Servant 
 
 and she had it at her tongue's end when I confronted 
 her with the story, and she put up her shoulders just 
 as that hussy used to do, but for all that she went white 
 as the yarn she spun and her hands shook over her 
 work. I'm not blind, heaven be praised ! If the tales 
 are a parcel of lies, you don't get the real truth out of 
 Annetje; she's as secret as the grave. A woman ain't 
 a convicted liar, I suppose some would hold, because 
 she don't tell all she knows, but she comes precious near 
 being one to my way of thinking. Well, God be 
 thanked, truth speaks with more than just the human 
 tongue. If it's only a question of butter and eggs I 
 can tell by the shifting of an eye, or the trembling of 
 a lip, when dealings are false or not. Providence has 
 given to those poor souls, whose invention runs to tricks 
 of lying speech, some outward and visible signs by 
 which men shall know them for what they are. An- 
 netje can't impose on me, even though she denies every- 
 thing and talks so grand about being above listening to 
 gossip." 
 
 Jan groaned in bitterness of spirit. 
 
 " And the domine's child," Heilke went on. " Nat- 
 ure's mighty curious when you come to think of it. 
 Many a time I've asked myself how he could ever have 
 fathered such a little, soft thing and now with these 
 double-dealings of hers the mystery grows. I always 
 said there was more of the mother in her, not that she 
 ever stooped to deceit, poor soul! she was like new 
 fallen snow for whiteness. Well, you can't tell, a twist 
 will appear in one generation and be lost in the next, 
 and then crop out again when you least look for it 't 
 ain't for us to fathom. Annetje's like her mother, feat- 
 
 233
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 ure for feature, there's no denying that the child's get- 
 ting kinder mazy-eyed, too, just as that other did before 
 she went. Somehow, I don't like it I don't like it. 
 And moreover, Jan Praa, though it's a terrible creep- 
 some thing to say I've smelled death in the air of late 
 it's sort of hovering about this house oh ! you can't 
 deceive me ! " 
 
 Jan fled precipitately. He was not so much dis- 
 turbed by Heilke's croakings, being in a measure ac- 
 customed to them, as he was seriously troubled by the 
 manner in which she fell in with the current reports 
 and dragged Annetje after her as a silent, but indis- 
 putable, witness on the side of the plaintiffs. For him- 
 self he would not believe any untruth in Annetje, 
 though his confidence in the young gentlewoman was 
 weakening to a fall ; but, maintaining his right of ap- 
 peal to a higher court, he carried his perplexities to his 
 master. 
 
 The domine was visibly distressed by this fresh proof 
 of meddling, as he termed it, on the part of his parish- 
 ioners and deeply incensed at the grossness of their in- 
 vention. It was with scarcely veiled impatience that 
 he listened to the charges laid before him and long 
 before Jan had reached the end of his recital the per- 
 turbed man began to pace up and down the room snap- 
 ping his fingers nervously. 
 
 " I did not see the child until I saw her in Annetje's 
 room," he interrupted vehemently. " But even if she 
 had come to me disguised, as they say, needing shelter 
 and aid I should have given both without reserve. I 
 would do it this day. Will they not understand that 
 what is mine is my own, and not subject to their de- 
 
 234
 
 Master and Servant 
 
 crees? Why do they seek to annoy me? The child 
 has gone. Why will they not be satisfied and let 
 peace take up her abode once more among us? I 
 will not tolerate this backbiting and scandalmonger- 
 ing." 
 
 " But the shamelessness of it," Jan gasped. " A min- 
 ister is not as a common man, as you know, domine, he 
 is set apart of the elect. What he does he must do 
 with care. They knew better than you about the girl 
 it was not right for her to be here. As soon as ever 
 my duty was clear to me I spoke to her myself, I bade 
 her begone. Would to God it had been borne in upon 
 me earlier in her stay." 
 
 Domine Ryerssen came to a sudden pause within a 
 few feet of the speaker and looked at him curiously, 
 almost as if he were seeing him for the first time. 
 He waited several moments, his gaze fixed and pierc- 
 ing. 
 
 " You told her," he said at last very slowly. 
 
 Jan threw back his head, every muscle in his face 
 strained tense ; he did not flinch. 
 
 " I told her." 
 
 " That my roof could no longer shelter her ? I would 
 not deny its hospitality to my dearest foe, if fate placed 
 him beneath its cover. The rights of a guest are sacred. 
 And you dared violate the law of my home my home 
 that has been yours, let me forget how many years," he 
 stopped for an instant fighting with himself. " Traitor 
 to its customs," he continued, huskily, " traitor ! " 
 
 " It was because you you did not know how the 
 people were talking even then, though this last indig- 
 nity, this unwomanly attire, was unguessed. There 
 
 235
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 was discontent everywhere everywhere ! I was 
 driven to do it, and she saw that herself when I told her 
 oh ! I'll give her credit for that quickness." 
 
 " There is no justification, none. You robbed my 
 house of its most precious jewel as much as if you had 
 broken in and stolen away some tangible thing. There 
 is no excuse for you. Do you suppose that I would 
 willingly pain my people? If I could have satisfied 
 their demands, I would have done so long ago. But 
 interference in this matter was out of their province, 
 as it was out of yours it was not even in my own 
 hands. The spirit that dwells upon my hearth wields 
 a power before which I must bow. Yet you dared " 
 his voice shook with passion, " you dared to do secretly 
 what you knew would hurt me most." He trembled, as 
 if he were suffering from some physical injury, and in 
 his self-absorption struck out in his turn, not caring 
 how deep was the wound he inflicted. " This is your 
 home no longer, Jan Praa, you have forfeited it forever. 
 Go at once." 
 
 The old man retreated a step in dismay, his weather- 
 beaten face growing a sickly white, his eyes staring 
 incredulously. 
 
 " You can't mean it," he gasped in a hoarse whisper, 
 " you can't mean it." 
 
 " Every word." 
 
 " After all these years? " 
 
 " Were you faithful to the years and their teach- 
 ings?" 
 
 " It has been my home as long as it has been yours," 
 Jan's voice was a wail of anguish. " It's honor is as 
 dear to me as to you, nay, I mean no disrespect. I loved 
 
 236
 
 Master and Servant 
 
 it too well to see it smirched in the eyes of the people. 
 You will not turn me off ? " 
 
 " You may not stay." 
 
 " Cast out set adrift and Annetje and the the 
 garden my garden ! Oh ! God, it's too hard to bear. 
 Why, look you, you can't treat me this way any more 
 than you can tear up that tree yonder and toss it aside. 
 It's old old and its roots have struck deep, I tell you. 
 Tear it up and it dies. I can't go ; my roots have struck 
 too deep." 
 
 " I cannot keep you longer in my service." 
 
 Jan drew his sleeve across his eyes. 
 
 " The south beds were fair choked up with weeds 
 when I came," he murmured to himself after a minute, 
 as if he were thinking aloud and had forgotten his 
 immediate surroundings. " My fingers were itching 
 to get at them. The domine never knew aught about 
 growing things, and Heilke only thinks of herbs. The 
 garden was fast going to destruction, but I labored 
 over it I labored over it. The flowers bless them! 
 got to know me and love me seemingly, and all the 
 tender young growths had a trick of bowing down to 
 me like the sheaves in Joseph's dream, making obeis- 
 ance to me their master, I always thought of that on a 
 breezy day always. 
 
 " Years, and years, and years," he rambled on mus- 
 ingly, " my garden all my own. Even when she 
 came, even when she left it to the baby. Annetje says 
 it's hers now Well, well, let the child think so I 
 just keep watch keep watch. She's got the reins fast 
 enough in her little hands, but she knows I'm back of 
 her ready to take them when she's tired, or things get 
 
 237
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 too masterful. It's my garden, I tell you." He lifted 
 his head and stared into the domine's face, the realiza- 
 tion of the moment striking him sharply. 
 
 " Why," he continued bitterly, " men let old stumps 
 of trees bide even if their day is over. They don't 
 drag them out time makes them sacred. Say they 
 played beneath them when they were boys that's rea- 
 son strong enough why they should stay. It's for old 
 sake's sake ! And no more do they cast an old friend 
 off, no matter what the offence " 
 
 " I cannot do otherwise, God help me. You may 
 not stay." 
 
 A sudden flame of passion leapt into Jan Praa's face, 
 his eyes narrowed until they became a mere slit through 
 which his glance glittered like a weapon. He moved 
 to the door without a word, no longer broken in aspect, 
 and paused there with his hand on the knob. 
 
 " You can't take my church office from me, Domine 
 Ryerssen," he snarled. " You can't go to the Con- 
 sistory and say that I'm unfit unworthy for service." 
 
 The subtle taunt in the angry voice was not lost upon 
 the minister. He raised his head inquiringly and 
 looked back into the other's eyes, before their fixed, 
 contemptuous stare his own wavered and fell ; his face 
 grew ashy. He put out his shaking hands as if to ward 
 off a blow. 
 
 " You you knew ? " 
 
 " I knew all these years I knew. Wait, I'll tell you 
 how. The day she went away my cousin Gysbert Praa 
 sailed by the same ship. I was at the wharf to bid him 
 God-speed and as I tarried, while the sailors made ready 
 to cast off, a man and woman hurried aboard. They 
 
 238
 
 Master and Servant 
 
 passed so close I could have touched her, without 
 stretching out my hand more than this, and the end of 
 her veil flapped in my face so that I could not help 
 but see that it was jagged and rent, as if it had been 
 caught in some place and wrenched away. There was 
 something familiar about her, though she was heavily 
 cloaked and hooded, that made my heart sink like lead 
 in my breast. Something in the turn of her head, the 
 little sideways walk I couldn't tell what it was but I 
 went cold as ice on the moment. I put the thought by, 
 telling myself I was a fool to be troubled by a chance 
 resemblance when she was home here, safe with her 
 child " 
 
 The domine gripped the edge of the table so hard that 
 his knuckles gleamed a luminous white, and the veins 
 on the backs of his hands seemed strained almost to 
 bursting. 
 
 " Go on," he commanded hoarsely. 
 
 " When I got home Heilke had the child and she said 
 that Juffrouw Ryerssen was gone to the country she 
 cried out as she finished speaking to know if I had seen 
 a ghost, but I put her off as best I could and went away 
 to the garden. Something, I don't know what it was, 
 drove me down to the little gate. It was open and there, 
 clinging to the upper hinge, was a wisp of black ma- 
 terial a bit of a woman's veil." 
 
 A deep groan seemed wrung from the listening man 
 as he let go his hold of the table and covered his face 
 with his hands. 
 
 " Then I remembered," Jan continued more gently, 
 " that often had I found the gate ajar and once, in the 
 lane without, I had picked up a woman's glove her 
 
 239
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 glove. I knew she used the gate and it was borne in 
 upon me then, like a flash, that she had gone through it 
 for the last time, that it led to the way of shame. After 
 that I waited waited I couldn't go to you with my 
 suspicions soon I knew you knew, for the heartbreak 
 was written on your face. Then came that day when 
 you said she was dead to us all you know the rest." 
 
 " You kept quiet all this time for my sake ? " 
 
 " For yours, for hers, for the child's, since that was 
 your will." 
 
 " I laid no command upon you." 
 
 " You showed me your desire more clearly than if 
 you had said, in so many words, do this, or that." 
 
 " I I did that ? Then I digged a pitfall for your 
 steps, too, my poor Jan, I made you take a lie into your 
 life, I snared your soul as with a net woe is me ! " 
 
 Jan shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. 
 
 " And there's nothing so fair in all this world as the 
 truth," the domine went on shudderingly. " Oh ! my 
 God, how have I sinned in Thy sight and caused this 
 other to sin. Lay not this charge against him." 
 
 " No, no," Jan interposed, speaking soothingly as if 
 to a little child, " never fret. He doesn't look at sin 
 with our eyes, that's very certain! Maybe He makes 
 allowances. He knows what the woman was to you 
 didn't He create her ? And He knows, too, how griev- 
 ous hard it is to see those you love suffer scorn, deserv- 
 ing or otherwise, it don't much matter. The world's 
 cruel bitter to the weak and helpless " 
 
 " Hush ! I must not listen to you hush ! The very 
 argument I used. I made it seem right. I wouldn't see 
 that it was of the devil the father of lies." He stopped 
 
 240
 
 Master and Servant 
 
 brokenly, then : " Unfit for service, unfit for service," 
 he went on with a bitter cry, " oh ! worse than hypocrite 
 that I have been." 
 
 Jan moved away from the door and went quite close 
 to the trembling man. 
 
 " When I said that I was smarting with rage I I 
 did not mean it I but struck with the first weapon that 
 came to hand. Forgive me." 
 
 " Am I so blinded by my sin that I cannot behold 
 truth when she sweeps by with her mighty wings? 
 Unfit unworthy Those are the badges to fasten on 
 my coat after the heat and the burden of the battle. 
 But there shall be no more dalliance with evil to lap me 
 in ease " 
 
 "And Annetje?" 
 
 " Annetje oh ! God, what shall I do? My one little 
 ewe lamb, my one little lamb ! Nay then, Annetje must 
 suffer with me it is the only course " 
 
 " Listen to me," Jan pleaded. " Surely there's no 
 need to speak. I was never one for dragging the dead 
 past into the living present. The Scriptures say ' suffi- 
 cient unto the day is the evil thereof,' and that, I take it, 
 means what is gone the day that has held its wrong 
 and shame as well as what's to come. This is over 
 and done with long ago. Let the past rest." 
 
 " I I cannot see my duty I am bewildered like 
 one blind. Go now." 
 
 " Do you mean as you meant before ? " Jan's voice 
 was the merest whisper. 
 
 The domine looked at him and hesitated, a sad per- 
 plexity in his gaze. 
 
 " If I bid you stay," he said after some moments, 
 241
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " does it not mean that I fear you ? Does it not imply 
 that you are my master, even though you serve me, even 
 though I bind the irons of secrecy upon your lips by 
 bribing you with your heart's desire ? I I know not. 
 But if, ignoring your fidelity, I bid you go," his voice 
 trembled, " because out of love for me you have dis- 
 regarded a principle of mine, am I not still master 
 master most of all of my weak, wayward self ? " 
 
 He stood gnawing his lip irresolutely, while the 
 watch among the papers on the table made a noisy com- 
 ment on the passing minutes ; presently he moved closer 
 to his companion and touched him gently. 
 
 " You shame me, Jan, every way you shame me. 
 Oh ! more than friend, I cannot bid you go." 
 
 Jan took the trembling hand from his arm and 
 clasped it between his work-worn palms. 
 
 " And my garden mine " he cried brokenly. 
 
 242
 
 XXI 
 
 THE WEEKLY " POST-BOY " 
 
 The long room at the Province Arms was almost de- 
 void of company. It had been well frequented during 
 the earlier evening by the habitues of the place ; there 
 had been the usual faces at the tables, the usual amount 
 of wine taken, gold lost, and jests passed. To the hum 
 of many voices had succeeded this semi-quiet. The 
 candles were burning low in branches and sconces, the 
 air was close and stifling, though the windows were 
 flung wide to catch any stray breeze that might be 
 abroad, the ones in the rear opening on the broad piazza 
 which commanded a view of the river and the line of 
 the Jersey shore beyond, lying dark against the star- 
 gemmed heavens. Many of the guests had idled the 
 moments away there when the night was younger, or 
 had descended into the sleeping garden which sloped 
 to the water's edge, strolling about in the soft dusk far 
 from the excitement of the game that sharpened the 
 feverish faces of the players into unlovely lines. 
 
 But garden and veranda were deserted and wrapped 
 in silence, while in the house itself a number of weary 
 serving-men lounged against the wall at one side of 
 the room yawning furtively and casting distasteful 
 glances, from time to time, at the group of revellers 
 still gathered about one of the card-tables. 
 
 " A bottle of Madeira, Hobbes, and don't let the grass 
 243
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 grow under your feet while you're getting it," one of 
 the players called peremptorily. " Step lively, do you 
 hear? I say gentlemen," he continued, turning back 
 to his companions, " the trick's mine the queen takes." 
 
 " Ay, just your luck, Moulton, the petticoats are al- 
 ways for you." 
 
 " Not always," interpolated another slyly. 
 
 " 'Sdeath ! sir," Moulton cried with a quick lowering 
 of his hand to his side, " am I to understand " 
 
 " No offence in the world, my bully boy. A man 
 may be lucky at cards and you know the adage. But 
 that was not my thought." The speaker paused with a 
 laugh. " Lord ! if we all moped and wore the willow 
 because a certain lady is deaf to our sighings, we'd form 
 a line that might take the King's fancy for numbers, 
 though it doesn't take hers. 
 
 ' Be she fairer than the day, 
 Or the flowery meads in May, 
 If she be not so to me, 
 What care I how fair she be?' " 
 
 He broke off in the song and looked around, " There ! 
 she's gone and God speed to her," he resumed. " I was 
 thinking of that other jade hight Fortune. Didn't you 
 get bit up Greenwich way with the rest of us ? " 
 
 " Ay, I lost a pretty sum, curse the luck ! How did 
 I know the Beauty would be up to fresh tricks ? " 
 
 " You don't mean " the words were tumbled out 
 with a hasty oath. 
 
 " I do, though, who doubts it ? It's a pity we didn't 
 suspicion it then and there. I'd given ten times the sum 
 
 244
 
 The Weekly " Post-Boy" 
 
 I lost to have been able to say to her ' Ah ! ha, madam, 
 I know you.' " 
 
 " But who says?" 
 
 " Man, who says who says ? Who doesn't say ? 
 It's all about us ; you can't disentangle it, any more than 
 you can disentangle the air we breathe. Who can tell 
 how a rumor grows? A whisper here, a whisper 
 there, a word, a glance, a sneer softer than snow 
 quicker than steel and hydra-headed at the last. What 
 does it matter to us how it came into being when the 
 fact remains that my fine lady, who prides herself upon 
 never having had the reputation of an intrigue, is con- 
 victed of as pretty a piece of unwomanly daring as ever 
 the sun shone on ? The heroine of a nice bit of scan- 
 dal ! Oh ! she'll come back to us devout enough, never 
 fear. She's been tarrying of late in the household of a 
 Dutch minister getting back her roses, forsooth " 
 
 " Not not " the girl's name was uttered in a sharp 
 whisper. " Gad, was there ever such a jest ? And we 
 thought her safe at Albany revenging our ills on the 
 fellows there." 
 
 " Norrie swore to me Sunday that she hadn't been 
 there at all 'twas just a blind! and Miss Stirling 
 gone to all the trouble to make a rout for her. He said 
 'twas given out that she was staying at Crewe Park up 
 country. I began to smell a rat the moment he spoke. 
 You know we thought it deuced queer the way the 
 jockey was hustled off that day and old Middleton at 
 hand, too. Somebody had gone to fetch him from the 
 seats and when he came running up with his ' Eh man 
 alive ! is the lad hurtit ? ' Sink me ! if the patient hadn't 
 flown." 
 
 245
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Yes, yes, I remember. And here in town, you say, 
 all the while? I wonder did she make a conquest of 
 the minister domine, don't ye call him? He must 
 wear his heart on his sleeve. Was it he that told ? " 
 
 " There you're at it again ! It's well for the rest of 
 us that we are satisfied with facts as they come to us 
 and not troubled with the itch to trace the news step by 
 step. You've seen the Post-Boy, doubtless? No? 
 Well, I can tell you this much it's no secret there 
 came a letter to the office t'other day with the news of 
 the Beauty's daring writ therein in full, and a pretty 
 poem's the result." 
 
 " That accounts for your preoccupied air these last 
 days, and your ' don't-trouble-me-rm-not-in-the-hu- 
 mor-for-junketing.' " 
 
 Moulton's breast swelled complacently as he settled 
 his ruffles aright. 
 
 " Nay," he laughed nonchalantly, " you give me too 
 much credit. A sonnet, or a quatrain perhaps, but an 
 epigram now egad! it's beyond me. I'd be but a 
 'prentice hand at it." 
 
 " Still there must be a beginning some time. Where's 
 the Post-Boy? I say you somebody there, fetch 
 the Post-Boy. How slow that cursed drawer moves; 
 he'd be a good one to bring in Death. Hola, the Post- 
 Boy, I say." 
 
 " Have a care, Drake, here come Bellenden and 
 Larry." 
 
 " Who's Bellenden that he's to be feared? " growled 
 Moulton under his breath. "Damn his high and mighty 
 airs, he's only a two-penny captain after all ! And as 
 for Crewe, I wish somebody would take me that young 
 
 246
 
 The Weekly "Post-Boy" 
 
 fool and drop him in the river. Look at his swagger. 
 Is he the only man who ever had a horse win ? Have 
 you heard him bleat ' my horse my horse ? ' Lord ! 
 you'd think 'twas he that created Touchstone. By 
 heavens, I'll take the conceit out of him and out of that 
 cousin of his before I'm an hour older." 
 
 The party of men who entered the room at this junct- 
 ure was composed of Bellenden, two fellow-officers 
 Whyte and Nevil and Larry. The three soldiers 
 were in uniform, their coats thrown open because 
 of the heat of the night, while the slim young ex- 
 quisite was foppishly arrayed in a suit of silver gray 
 with an elaborately embroidered waistcoat London 
 was written on him from top to toe. Despite the chorus 
 of greetings showered upon them the new-comers could 
 not but feel that they had furnished food for the pre- 
 vious conversation ; the lull that followed their entrance 
 was surcharged with an intangible suspicion. 
 
 Bellenden looked keenly about. He had been an- 
 noyed throughout the day by a hundred little happen- 
 ings, too insignificant to put one's finger upon and yet 
 more irritating than the constant buzzing of a blue- 
 bottle against the pane is to the hearing of a man in 
 fever. In the gardens, whither he had strolled in the 
 afternoon, the hilarity of the different groups there was 
 noticeable, but a sudden cessation of the chatter fol- 
 lowed in each instance his appearance within ear-shot. 
 Broken sentences, peals of laughter, chance words, set 
 every nerve within him ajar with the thought of what 
 they really might mean. 
 
 " La, Jack," Mrs. Crewe called as he stalked past, 
 raging at the covert innuendoes, and quite oblivious to 
 
 247
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 the smiling presence of the widow and her companion, 
 whom she was parading for the benefit of her less fortu- 
 nate friends, " la, Jack, I'll have to send for Peggy. All 
 the town is talking of her and wondering why she don't 
 come home. I protest, a person would think there was 
 no one in the world but Peggy." 
 
 She paused to let the young nobleman at her side 
 whisper a contradiction to her words and Bellenden con- 
 tinued his morose way unheeded. 
 
 No one in the world but Peggy! It had been his 
 thought for many weeks though he felt, rather than 
 knew, that this sudden public interest in her was but 
 the result of her escapade which had leaked out in some 
 fashion. He chafed at the continued queries : " How 
 was she ? " " When was she coming back ? " What 
 could he say? He had not seen her himself, save in 
 his dreams, waking and sleeping, for a full fortnight. 
 Smarting with these thoughts and full of suspicion he 
 had betaken himself to the Province Arms with his 
 companions that night to have a try at cards, or the 
 bowl, and so win forgetfulness one way or the other. 
 
 " Have a game, any of you fellows," Drake called 
 glibly, throwing himself into the breach, " or shall we 
 say cuts? Come, you're deuced flush, Crewe, and can 
 afford to stand the crowd and let us win back some of 
 our money." 
 
 Larry put his hands on his hips and swayed from side 
 to side, humming lightly. 
 
 " I'll keep what I have, thank you, and thank my 
 horse. Truth is, I've sworn off pro tern., but I'll join 
 you in a glass fast enough. Cards, gentlemen," he 
 added with a pretty air of sententiousness, " play the 
 
 248
 
 The Weekly "Post-Boy" 
 
 devil with us. Best give 'em the cold shoulder when 
 we can." 
 
 " Ay, cards and women," Drake laughed, " though 
 you've no need to complain at the fair hands of the lat- 
 ter, Crewe." 
 
 Larry smiled fatuously and smoothed his laces to an 
 imagined advantage. 
 
 " Tis not for me to say," he ventured with assumed 
 simplicity. 
 
 Bellenden, looking on, was possessed with a sudden 
 desire to shake the boy. He was angry at him and doub- 
 ly angry at the laughter of the others. That there was 
 more in Drake's remark than appeared on the surface 
 he was very sure ; he had not lost the quick glance which 
 had passed between him and Moulton. He knew Drake 
 for a mischief-maker, a dare-devil, who could never let 
 well enough alone; Moulton, dark-browed, sinister- 
 eyed, lacked the other's frankness, though immeasur- 
 ably his superior in cleverness. There had never been 
 more than the shallowest pretence at friendship between 
 Bellenden and Moulton ; belonging to the same set, they 
 met almost daily in the diversions of fashionable life, 
 yet each man, from the start, had had an instinctive dis- 
 like for the other. 
 
 " Well, there's no occasion to shun wine, thank God," 
 Nevil ejaculated piously. " You're with me there, 
 Jack?" 
 
 " That I am," Bellenden returned, throwing aside his 
 heavy mood. " Care vanishes with the first gulp here 
 goes! I'm one also with that old fellow who has set 
 down for our creed five good reasons for drinking " 
 
 " Out with 'em, Captain. What are they ? Tell us 
 who fathered 'em." 
 
 249
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Sink me, but I forget how he is called. What 
 tricks a man's memory plays him sometimes! Well, 
 'tis small matter. A dean of Oxford, gentlemen, his 
 verses are more rememberable than his name. Come, 
 count me off the reasons : 
 
 ' Good wine, a friend, or being dry, 
 Or lest you should be by and by, 
 Or any other reason why.' " 
 
 " And if Oxford were situate in York Colony the old 
 duffer, like one of his cloth here, might have added a 
 sixth argument to his five Beauty in boots ! Gentle- 
 men, I give it now." Moulton stood up as he spoke, 
 his glass lifted high. 
 
 Bellenden and Larry started in surprise, though each 
 man had himself in check almost immediately, and not 
 so much as a look passed between them to show that 
 they had noticed the covert allusion to Domine Ry- 
 erssen. 
 
 " 'Slife ! but that's good," Drake cried as he drained 
 off the bumper. " Only you've forgot to say whose 
 boots." 
 
 " A most grievous omission, Mr. Moulton," Bellen- 
 den put in coldly, shifting his untasted glass and watch- 
 ing the liquor it contained with a curious glance. 
 " Your friend is right Whose boots ? Your words 
 need simplifying to my understanding at least." 
 
 " The Post-Boy might offer sufficient enlightenment, 
 that is, if you have any acquaintance with the muses." 
 
 " No personal acquaintance, I regret to say. It has 
 not been my custom, or my privilege as you might term 
 it, to lisp in numbers, still I've a tolerable familiarity 
 
 250
 
 The Weekly "Post-Boy" 
 
 with the endeavors of other men. We've some poets 
 of our own at home, as doubtless you have heard. I 
 didn't know you bred 'em here." 
 
 " A few," Motilton raged. " I fancy we'll be able to 
 boast as good singing-birds in the future as any of 
 yours." 
 
 ' Tis a question to be left for time and ' pert pos- 
 terity ' to decide. Meanwhile I wait with impatience 
 the commentary of your gazette." 
 
 Moulton picked up the paper, which a servant had 
 previously placed upon the table at his elbow, and 
 smoothed out the sheet several times with the back of 
 his hand. He turned it, in the same precise, irritating 
 fashion, running down the page with his eye until he 
 came to that which he sought. Then he cast a swift 
 glance around at the hushed, expectant group, threw 
 back his shoulders with an air of bravado and, after 
 clearing his throat noisily, began to read. 
 
 In the silence that followed the closing words Larry, 
 his face drawn with rage, his hand gripping his sword- 
 hilt, moved a step nearer his cousin. Bellenden stood 
 apparently unmoved, though in the blur before his eyes 
 he saw all things red, and his mind was a whirl of con- 
 fused impressions out of which whole lines of the scur- 
 rilous lampoon rose and smote him again and again. 
 The pause was not of a minute's duration, though it 
 seemed of interminable length to the entire company. 
 Bellenden was the first to speak. 
 
 " As a man of taste, sir," he said calmly and delib- 
 erately, " I cannot praise this effort of the muse. It 
 halts sadly and it owes besides, or I much mistake, a 
 line to Mr. Pope at his worst, as if your poet's ingenuity 
 
 251
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 must needs borrow something of another's brains to eke 
 out the poverty of his own. In short, sir, if you will 
 have my opinion the verses are most villainously writ." 
 
 Moulton struck the table angrily with the folded 
 paper. 
 
 " At least, my good critic," sneered he, " there's no 
 fault to be found with the sense." 
 
 " Does it contain sense ? Egad ! I never looked for 
 that pearl there, I only heeded the sound it so got into 
 my ears, confusing 'em. It made me think of a time 
 at home when I was sitting at White's and a fellow in 
 the street was playing the bagpipe ; my teeth were set 
 on edge with the noise, I remember, and I let fly the 
 first thing that came to hand, knowing 'twas but what 
 the wretch merited. Nay, I could never bear with 
 some noises and damn me ! if hearing vile poetry vilely 
 read isn't the worst of 'em all. 'Tis a monstrous waste 
 of good wine, some would say, but I know no better 
 use to make of it than in this fashion." As he spoke 
 he threw the contents of his glass into the jeering face 
 opposite. 
 
 " 'Sdeath ! you'll answer for this," Moulton choked 
 through the liquor coursing down his cheeks. 
 
 " With pleasure, when you will, where you will, how 
 you will." 
 
 " Nay, you'll answer for it now." 
 
 " That would be to my best liking. I was ever one 
 with the poet : ' defer not till to-morrow to be wise.' " 
 
 " Then out with your sword, sir. Clear a space, 
 gentlemen, give us room. Or stay, let's adjourn to the 
 garden, there'll be less danger there of interruption 
 from the watch." 
 
 252
 
 The Weekly "Post-Boy" 
 
 " A happy suggestion that. I second it with all my 
 heart. We want no interference in this matter. After 
 you, sir." 
 
 The company had almost instantly divided into two 
 groups, the one composed of Moulton and his friends, 
 the other of Bellenden and his. 
 
 They made their way now with but little noise out 
 to the piazza and thence to the garden below. The two 
 cousins walked side by side. 
 
 " I wish I was you, Jack," Larry said sadly. " I'd 
 like to put my mark on that low fellow. 'Twas he that 
 writ that poetry, I'll swear. He's had a grudge against 
 Peggy ever since she laughed at his wooing as if she 
 would have stooped to him," he stopped contemptu- 
 ously. " But how the devil did he hear of the domine," 
 he demanded the next moment, " through Annetje, do 
 you think? P'r'aps he knows the little gate, too, eh? 
 'Twas in the verse." 
 
 Bellenden came to a standstill, a sudden light dawn- 
 ing upon him. " Through Annetje my God, yes 
 yes, of course she was the only one to see Peggy in 
 the garden that day." He ground his teeth in rage. 
 " She's let her tongue wag to her neighbors, damn 
 her!" 
 
 " She may not " Larry began. 
 
 " Let her go," Bellenden interrupted hotly. " I'm fin- 
 ished with her. Nothing can undo the mischief she's 
 wrought. God ! if she was only a man and in Moul- 
 ton's place for five minutes that's all I'd ask." 
 
 They turned into the path, down which the others 
 were passing, and walked gravely along. The air, 
 sweet with the perfume of dew-bedrenched flowers, was 
 
 253
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 doubly refreshing after the stifling atmosphere of the 
 room they had just quitted, with its fumes of wine and 
 the drip of tallow candles. The little pause of quiet 
 was welcome, too, though it held danger, and perhaps 
 death, in its clasp. It brooded over them with the 
 weight of mystery in its still breath. 
 
 " Tell Peggy," Bellenden said swiftly, breaking the 
 silence. 
 
 " I won't be burdened with messages," Larry cried, 
 his face twitching despite himself. " There's no need 
 for 'em, Jack, you're going to pink him, bleed him, kill 
 him you know you are ! And so you'll carry your own 
 messages, old fellow." 
 
 " But there's a chance that he'll do for me ; he's mas- 
 ter of his weapon, I've been told. 'Tis but a fancy of 
 mine anyway and if the worst befalls me, why tell 
 Peggy I've dreamed of Paradise " 
 
 " Tut, tut, man, don't talk of the place at a time like 
 this; 'tis enough to make a jelly of your courage. 
 Come, here we are." 
 
 They joined the others where they stood the two 
 parties still separate in a little clearing well removed 
 from the house. Someone had brought out a torch 
 and had stuck it in the earth where the garish, orange 
 flame showed crude and artificial in the beauty of the 
 scene. The night was clear; remote stars burned in 
 the heavens and a waning moon was making its slow 
 way across the sky. It swung above them, pale and 
 languid, like the ghost of a passion long since dead, 
 looking down wearily, ironically, upon the hate and 
 discord in this little place of life. The white light 
 smote the still tree-tops into a weird loveliness; the 
 
 254
 
 The Weekly "Post-Boy" 
 
 beams, moving lower, blanched boughs and shrubs and 
 made a path of radiance across the grass. Heavy 
 shadows gathered outside the plain of light and hov- 
 ered beneath the bushes and in the thickets like waiting 
 foes. The ground dipped sharply to the river that 
 throbbed black, and almost voiceless, in the dark be- 
 yond ; it was like that other river of which each man 
 present had heard some word whose dank chill struck 
 across the soft, sweet air. 
 
 Bellenden and Moulton stepped forward into the 
 very heart of the white glory. They stood facing each 
 other, looking unflinchingly into each other's eyes for 
 the moment, then they saluted punctiliously at the given 
 signal, as if the exquisite courtesy of the formality were 
 some token of friendliness which did not conceal a bit- 
 terer, darker intent. 
 
 There was a flash of steel, the smiting of blade on 
 blade and across the tumult came the voice of the 
 watchman in the street beyond, calling the hour: 
 
 " Past two o'clock, my masters, and a fair morning." 
 
 255
 
 XXII 
 
 AT TRINITY OF A SUNDAY 
 
 Mrs. Crewe twitched her head impatiently away from 
 her woman's hands and turned in her chair at the sound 
 of the opening door. 
 
 " Peggy," she cried in a voice of displeasure as she 
 recognized the new-comer. 
 
 " Just Peggy," the girl answered with a touch of 
 bravado, though she looked tired and white, and her 
 eyes were full of an unaccustomed gravity " Peggy 
 the wretch, the sinner, come home again. Are you glad 
 to see her ? " 
 
 " I wonder you dare show yourself here. Tis too 
 brazen-faced ! The whole town is talking of you." 
 
 " I know, Larry rid out to Greenwich last night with 
 the information. He showed me the Post-Boy, too." 
 
 Mrs. Crewe groaned aloud. 
 
 " The whole town I shall never survive it never ! 
 Filkins," she continued sharply, " do you go on with 
 your work. I don't pay you to stand with idle hands. 
 Lower that curl you've dragged it so tight it makes 
 me look hidjus. Not so far down oh! I should 
 think you could see for yourself how outrageous unbe- 
 coming it is, but my servants never take any interest in 
 their work. So it's over and done with quickly, that's 
 all they ask. There! that's better, but the pin oh! 
 you're driving it into my very skull I think you do it 
 
 256
 
 At Trinity of a Sunday 
 
 on purpose, you hussy. You ought to have more feel- 
 ing after all the time you've been here, and I always 
 kindness itself to you you ought to be considerate 
 when I'm half distracted with these slanders we're 
 undone forever ! " 
 
 " La, mamma, don't take it so much to heart. 'Twill 
 be forgot as soon as a fresh trouble for someone else 
 arises. We women sweeten our tea with scandal, and 
 no one remembers last week's dish when one is satisfy- 
 ing one's thirst with a new brew." 
 
 " There you go, trying to find some excuse for your- 
 self. Heaven knows what I've done to have such a 
 child ! I never slept the whole night through thinking 
 of your conduct you can see the ravages on my face. 
 Filkins, put on more red. What gown have you laid 
 out for me? My green taffetas, did you say? By 
 whose orders, stupid, by whose orders ? I said my yel- 
 low lute-string." 
 
 " Then my blue won't clash with your gown," 
 Peggy's cool voice cut in. " I'm glad, for my heart 
 was set on wearing it to-day." 
 
 " Where are you going, miss? " 
 
 " To Trinity, of course. Where else should I go of 
 a Sunday morning? Isn't that what a devout, well- 
 brought up girl would do ? " Peggy paused, then she 
 went on her defiant tones growing almost wistful, 
 " Don't you see the people won't talk so much if I am 
 there ? My presence will give the lie to their words." 
 
 " 'Twill but confirm them you're as white as a mar- 
 ble image and fallen off desperately in your looks." 
 
 " They won't see that when I've on my fine feathers. 
 Never fear, madam, I won't do you any discredit." 
 
 257
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " You've done me enough as it is," the older woman 
 retorted. " Ain't the whole town laughing at me at 
 me, looking on at you riding the race, ignorant that it 
 was you ? " 
 
 " La, who says I rode the race who can prove it? " 
 
 " But everyone is talking of it and of those Dutch 
 people who took you in Ryer Ryer something. 
 Hang the creatures ! I'd like to see them at the whip- 
 ping-post." 
 
 " And I too, madam, especially that little she-thing," 
 Peggy cried between her teeth. " 'Tis not often we 
 agree so well." 
 
 "Then that poetry! Half the town has it off by 
 heart already, I'll swear. Lord, who writ it? That 
 sneaking Moulton, do you think ? It's like him but for 
 the wit, for wit there is, though your cousin made the 
 lack of it his cause for quarrelling. Oh ! if I was you, 
 Miss, I'd want to go away and hide. I'd die of shame 
 because of all this trouble scandal such as never was, 
 and a brave man brought to death's door for your sake." 
 
 Peggy caught at the dressing-table with shaking 
 hands that jarred the bottles and boxes there into a 
 tinkling commotion. 
 
 " Larry said 'twas but the veriest scratch," she cried 
 in a dull, toneless whisper, her eyes wide with fear. 
 
 " Larry pouf ! of course, he'd say so. There was 
 a great deal of blood shed, a great deal. Mr. Willet was 
 mad with rage. He says gentlemen oughtn't to bring 
 their differences into a coffee-house and its pleasure- 
 grounds, it gives the place a bad name; if they must 
 meet there's Golden Hill, or Ranelagh, or " 
 
 " But Jack ? Larry swore on his honor 'twas only 
 258
 
 At Trinity of a Sunday 
 
 a pin-prick through the shoulder he swore it twenty 
 times." 
 
 " Twenty, or forty, it makes no difference ; he did it 
 to save your feelings. I have it on good authority that 
 Jack's wounded past cure that patch a little higher, 
 Filkins, nearer the eye, so ! And Moulton " 
 
 " Leave Moulton alone. Who cares one way, or the 
 other?" The defiant voice broke and Peggy's hand 
 slipped to her mother's negligee. " I I why it can't 
 be true about Jack," she stammered faintly. " Tell me 
 it isn't true." 
 
 " Lud, Miss Peggy," Filkins interposed, " sit you 
 right down. See, mem, if she hath not gone as white 
 as curds even to her very lips." 
 
 " There, child, sit down do," Mrs. Crewe cried pet- 
 tishly. " I declare you've given me a dreadful turn. 
 Where are my drops, Filkins, and my volatile salts? 
 Quick, get 'em for me. Lord, Peggy," she continued 
 sharply, " I didn't suppose you cared so much for the 
 fellow as that." 
 
 A sudden flame of red chased the white from the 
 girl's face and she tossed back her head defiantly, 
 though she trembled against Filkins's arm and clung 
 to its support. 
 
 " Who says I care ? " she cried with spirit. " It 
 always makes me giddy to hear about blood and and 
 such things. Besides, I've had a longish ride, and I 
 didn't sleep well last night." 
 
 " That's it, that's it, now rest you quiet, miss," Fil- 
 kins crooned, " 'taint to be wondered at your feeling 
 so. My Lady Betty Withers at home had just the 
 same weak stomick as you, she couldn't a-bear to hear 
 
 259
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 about juels and wounds she'd fall to shaking at the 
 mere word of 'em and she'd go white if she pricked 
 her finger ever so little that she would ! 'Twas the 
 constitution and the sensibility, she said, as only goes 
 with the first families. Come, miss, sit quiet, there's a 
 love, and watch me fix your mamma. Ain't my lady 
 just ravishing this morning, and don't that style of hair- 
 dressing become her ? " 
 
 The woman returned obsequiously to her place be- 
 hind her mistress. " Lud, mem," she simpered, " a 
 hundred times it's been on the tip of my tongue to tell 
 you that I saw Mr. Larry's gentleman this morning, and 
 he told me that those shocking stories we heard over- 
 night about poor, dear Capting Bellenden hadn't a word 
 of truth in 'em. The Capting, mem, hath sustained but 
 the smallest injury oh ! the very smallest he will be 
 abroad in a day or so." 
 
 " Very good news indeed, Filkins," Mrs. Crewe ob- 
 served complacently. " Where's the powder ? I de- 
 clare I can go to church now with a thankful heart and 
 I was feeling so low about the poor fellow." She 
 glanced sharply at the figure on the sofa, then her face 
 softened a trifle. " You'd better not think of coming, 
 child." 
 
 " Nay, madam, 'tis as you say, though I, too, might 
 carry with me a thankful heart because our cousin has 
 not suffered too deeply in my cause. Larry and I 
 thought," Peggy faltered a little, " we thought as long 
 as I must come home some time that 'twould be best 
 to be here now. 'Twould look as if I was innocent of 
 all the monstrous things folks say." 
 
 " H mm ! there's some truth in that of course," 
 260
 
 At Trinity of a Sunday 
 
 Mrs. Crewe mused. " They'd be apt to argue that if 
 you were guilty you'd stay away. But your arm ? " 
 
 " La, mamma," Peggy laughed, " you're not ever go- 
 ing to believe that silly story. Why, see, one arm looks 
 like the other to my eyes, at least." 
 
 " Ay, mem, if so be that you will pardon my speak- 
 ing, there's naught amiss with my young lady that any 
 one could remark a little palish perhaps, but Mrs. Ben- 
 net will soon mend that. And the blue gown goes so 
 beautiful with your yellow lute-string, mem, 'tis the 
 advantageousest way to set it off! It's my humble 
 opinion that you two ladies should always be seen to- 
 gether, looking like sisters as you do, for no one would 
 ever think you was mother and daughter, as Mr. De 
 Lancey's gentleman remarked to me only the last Sun- 
 day you walked out together. ' Mother ? ' says he 
 taken aback monstrously. ' Stepmother you mean, 
 mem,' says he, ' that's all I'll believe, though you swore 
 never so.' And I just laughs for answer. ' Step- 
 mother,' says he again, ' come, Mrs. Filkins, out with 
 the plain truth, if so be plain is the word to use about 
 so lovely a lady.' But I wouldn't give him no satis- 
 faction." 
 
 " La, Filkins, you'll never get me ready in time if 
 you keep up such a chatter, though I do protest you've 
 surpassed yourself in fixing my hair this morning. I 
 like it hugely. There! run away Peggy love, and 
 dress if you mean to accompany me it lacks a half- 
 hour to starting." 
 
 A little more than a quarter of a century earlier New 
 York had an ill name among the Puritans of New Eng- 
 
 261
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 land, because " it was too much given over to Episco- 
 pacy " which, some years before, had been virtually es- 
 tablished by law in a large part of the province. To 
 those serious-minded folk " the show, and ostentation, 
 and purse pride " which obtained in the town seemed 
 to be an effectual barrier to the kingdom of Heaven, 
 but despite their intervention, which bore unmistak- 
 able fruits of righteousness, the high-church party con- 
 tinued to flourish and people of all denominations were 
 obliged to contribute to its support. 
 
 The " English set," as those who worshipped at Trin- 
 ity came to be called, was composed of the Governor 
 ex officio, his council, and the fashionable inhabitants 
 of the colony, who represented largely the most conse- 
 quential families in the province. It was an aristocratic 
 company, therefore, that met in the church of a Sunday 
 morning to listen to a little sermonizing and, at the 
 close of the services, to indulge in unlimited scandal- 
 mongering and flirtation among the graves without. 
 
 Trinity, at that time, was a social register where one 
 might discover what persons of importance were in 
 town. The latest arrivals from England made their 
 first public appearance within its walls, as did also the 
 visitors from the manors, and the country-people in 
 general, though they might belong to other denomina- 
 tions. It was the speediest way to advertise their pres- 
 ence. Even rigid Presbyterians, forgetful for the 
 nonce of the antagonism existing between them and 
 the Episcopalians (a feud that was being materially 
 increased by the growing dissensions between the two 
 representative families of the rival churches), availed 
 themselves of this custom to spread the news of their 
 
 262
 
 At Trinity of a Sunday 
 
 return to their homes and sat complacently under the 
 Rev. Mr. Barclay, quite unmindful of the fact that their 
 own house of prayer opened its doors to them only a 
 few steps away in Wall Street. 
 
 All the world, in Peggy's parlance, seemed to have 
 invaded Trinity the Sunday after the duel at the Prov- 
 ince Arms. The square, roomy pews, made more com- 
 fortable with " the great luxuries " of cushions and 
 hassocks, were filled by the owners and their families ; 
 there was not a vacant place anywhere, save in the big 
 pew well up toward the front, where persons of the 
 greatest social prominence sat, and that was significant- 
 ly empty. As the organ pealed out the last notes of the 
 Gloria, there was a swift sound throughout the church, 
 scarcely musical and yet not dissonant, of brass tinkling 
 on brass as the little green moreen curtains hanging 
 from the slender rail surrounding each pew to shield 
 the occupants from observation during prayers were 
 drawn back almost by one accord and the people settled 
 themselves to follow the sermon, for the worthy divine 
 had ascended the pulpit and was about to give out his 
 text. 
 
 He paused, according to his custom, and surveyed 
 his flock in a gently urbane manner, looking slowly 
 from right to left, and from left to right, as if scanning 
 each face within his range of vision. As his glance 
 lingered on its way the quiet of the sacred edifice was 
 broken by a slight commotion at the door, the sound of 
 advancing steps on the stone pavement of the aisle, 
 the swish of silken draperies, and then, in full sight of 
 the congregation, the belated comers swept to the empty 
 pew near the chancel rail. 
 
 263
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 Mrs. Crewe, a trifle in front of her companions, 
 moved languishingly along, a self-righteous little sim- 
 per upon the fixed red of her face, her yellow lute- 
 string gown, with its garnishing of silver, floating 
 around her like a sun-touched cloud. She was an ele- 
 gant figure, from the waving plumes in her hat to the 
 tip of her satin slipper that peeped decorously from 
 beneath her petticoat as she walked, yet after a single 
 glance no one heeded her, nor was any but the scant- 
 est notice accorded to the young fop strutting in her 
 wake. A slim, girlish shape riveted the attention 
 everywhere. It was impossible to believe impos- 
 sible! The same graceful bearing they were all ac- 
 customed to see, the head carried high, the Sunday face 
 devout, demure presented to them in profile, the 
 eyes fixed discreetly on the pulpit beyond Innocence 
 in blue lute-string, with a bunch of little country flowers 
 at her breast. 
 
 An involuntary stir, like the rustle of leaves when 
 the finger of the approaching storm touches them in 
 swift monition of danger, ran its round from pew to 
 pew. There were other sounds bravely, almost in- 
 stantly, suppressed; a gasp of amazement that, on a 
 sudden, turned to a sigh, a sneer that became a sneeze, 
 a smile trembling on the brink of laughter that safe- 
 guarded itself as a cough, and the quick, agitated sweep 
 of the fans everywhere, setting ribbons and laces a-flut- 
 ter and rattling out an indescribable meaning against 
 the breasts of their owners. Then quiet settled down 
 again, save for the little clatter of fan-sticks, not an 
 unusual accompaniment of a summer Sunday and the 
 sonorous voice of the clergyman filled the church. 
 
 264
 
 At Trinity of a Sunday 
 
 The Rev. Henry Barclay had had some misgivings at 
 the time of the composition of this particular sermon. 
 It had seemed to him to be short a noble, notable ef- 
 fort, but wofully short five minutes, nay, ten minutes' 
 shorter by the slowest reading than the usual length 
 of his sermons. But his peroration being couched in 
 well rounded terms and the weather being unconscion- 
 ably warm, he had the good sense to leave well enough 
 alone, trusting that his parishioners would not notice 
 the brevity which, in any other instance might safely 
 be attributed to wit, but which here he felt almost 
 guiltily must signify a mental deficiency of some sort. 
 
 Short then, by actual page and delivery measurement, 
 the sermon undeniably was ; and yet, never within the 
 walls of Trinity had there seemed, to the majority of 
 the listeners assembled there, one so tediously dull and 
 lengthy. The women fidgeted in their seats and cast 
 indignant looks at the pulpit. Would he never be 
 through? No one knew the text, no one cared what 
 it was, and still Mr. Barclay droned on in that slow pre- 
 cise fashion of his, slower and more precise than usual 
 this morning as he best knew why, though his people 
 were in the darkness of ignorance. 
 
 If the sermon seemed long to the others, it was 
 doubly so to the girl who furnished the subject-matter 
 for much of the thinking that went on within the sacred 
 place. She kept her gaze riveted upon the benign face 
 above her, knowing only too well that those of her 
 neighbors who could watch her were cognizant of 
 every least change in her expression and every motion 
 of her body. She tired with the unusual strain ; ordi- 
 narily she did not preserve so discreet a demeanor. 
 
 265
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 Sometimes (generally) she looked around numberless 
 times to see who was present, sometimes (generally) 
 she yawned twice, or thrice, behind her fan, sometimes 
 (generally) she sent arch glances to those of her lovers 
 within reach of her eye, and very often she would fur- 
 ther divert herself by making a doll out of her hand- 
 kerchief to match the one little Johnny Watts would 
 concoct in the adjoining pew and each puppet would 
 seek to outvie the other in a series of marvellous per- 
 formances. But this day eyes straight before her, 
 head high, features immovable she must sit and sit, 
 and Mr. Barclay seemed to be going on forever ! 
 
 Every minute was like an hour to her. She let her 
 glance wander to the altar-piece at the rear and studied 
 the familiar details, though they were powerless to hold 
 her attention long. She knew all the adornments of 
 the church by heart ; the little gilt busts of the winged 
 angels at the tops of the pillars supporting the galleries, 
 the glass branches suspended from the ceiling, their 
 beauty enhanced at this time by the sunlight that played 
 among them in red, and green, and yellow sparkles, the 
 different escutcheons on the walls and the furniture of 
 the communion-table, desk and pulpit. From where 
 she sat she could catch a glimpse of a sculptured en- 
 tablature on the side wall, and she shivered at the 
 thought of what it signified the name cut deep in the 
 stone, and beneath the floor the vault containing 
 She shivered again. Every pulse in her body was ting- 
 ling with the mere joy of living; she was in love with 
 life, and the idea of its grim counterpart filled her with 
 unaccountable terror. She put the thought from her, 
 trying to think of something different and suddenly her 
 
 266
 
 At Trinity of a Sunday 
 
 mother's words sounded again in her ears : " A brave 
 man brought to death's door ! " The whole place 
 seemed to swim round, echoing with them. 
 
 She set her teeth hard on her lip. She was very 
 tired. So many things had contributed to her fatigue ; 
 the long anxious night, the slow coming of dawn, the 
 sickening distaste for food that had made breakfast 
 impossible, the drive down in the lumbering chaise 
 whose revolving wheels had comforted her a little with 
 their refrain " a mere scratch a mere scratch " and, 
 at the end, to be met with that other news " a brave man 
 brought to death's door ! " Something trembled in her 
 throat, she made a swift effort to maintain her self- 
 control and, on the moment, there appeared before her, 
 as if heaven-sent, Filkins's simpering face with its thin, 
 flat mouth primmed up as if holding invisible pins. 
 What was it she had said ? " Abroad " yes ! yes ! 
 " abroad again in a day or so" 
 
 Peggy almost laughed aloud with the relief that came 
 to her. She steadied herself and glanced furtively 
 around, wondering how it would seem if she were to 
 encounter anyone's eyes. Lenny Lispenard's, for in- 
 stance, that young boy-lover of hers. Would she find 
 a new boldness in his gaze because of what she had 
 done, or contempt, or just the old adoration? He was 
 such a nice boy ! She looked up resolutely, looked his 
 way with, if she had known it, an unusual wistfulness 
 in her brown eyes, the next moment a little, soft smile 
 tugged at the corners of her lips. Well, she'd face the 
 whole world after that, and hold her own. 
 
 267
 
 XXIII 
 
 THE STRANDS TIGHTEN 
 
 " Lord, Jack, you'd died a-laughing to see the way 
 Peggy routed 'em all, and she so monstrous sweet and 
 gentle the whole time, but her words went home, sir 
 egad ! they went home." 
 
 Bellenden turned an attentive face toward his guest, 
 smiling grimly to himself; none knew better than he 
 the direct quality of his young cousin's speech. 
 
 " I'd my misgivings at first," Larry continued re- 
 flectively, " but they didn't last long. Peggy wouldn't 
 see the looks that made my blood boil 'Slife ! from 
 our pew to the door I wished a thousand times that the 
 folks had but one head, and I'd my sword handy so I 
 might smite it off. Well, sir, what d'you think ? The 
 first thing that minx did was to get Lewis Morris in 
 tow you know the old fellow 'twas his horse that 
 so nearly won that day. I'm a brave man, Jack, but my 
 knees shook at her daring and she as unfluttered as 
 you please." 
 
 " ' And have you missed me at all ? ' says the jade, 
 ' or have the beauties of Morrisania driven poor Peggy 
 Crewe entirely from your memory?' 
 
 " * No beauties anywhere could do that/ says he with 
 a bow. ' No matter how they may take our eyes some- 
 times, there is but one that hath our hearts.' 
 
 " ' La, sir,' simpers the wretch, ' you overcome me 
 268
 
 The Strands Tighten 
 
 with kindness! But a moment since I called myself 
 poor, now I can never apply that term to myself again 
 while I have Mr. Morris for a friend. Is never too 
 long a word, sir ? ' she adds amazing soft. 
 
 " ' It's short to measure the term of our friendship, 
 child,' he answers, in a voice as solemn as Mr. Barclay's, 
 ' there hath not been one coined yet to do that.' She 
 shot him a look then, I can tell you. ' And what mis- 
 chief have you been doing ? ' he laughs. ' Speak up, 
 there's no place like a church for confession.' 
 
 " ' Mischief,' says Peggy with a long face, ' how can 
 you suspect me of that? Why, sir, I've just this morn- 
 ing come to town.' And then, off she goes and tells 
 him about the country and talks most learnedly of crops 
 and such, and my gentleman listening with all his ears. 
 Tis admitted when he says anything he never departs 
 from it, so nothing could have been better for our cause 
 than his advocacy, as the girl knew. Oh, she played 
 her cards well ! By the time she reached the door she 
 was holding a regular levee." 
 
 Larry paused, chuckling to himself at the remem- 
 brance. 
 
 " 'Twas sport I wouldn't have missed for the world," 
 he went on, " the prettiest give and take you ever heard ! 
 There were some sarcastical speeches too, but Peggy 
 turned 'em off without the quiver of an eyelash, though 
 once I thought she'd come a cropper. 'Twas when 
 that bony Hutchinson took the field. ' La, Peggy, and 
 did you do much riding? ' says she. Peggy gave her 
 the innocentest look. ' Why, to be sure, child,' she 
 says simply, ' there's nothing I so much dote on when 
 I'm in the country as to be a-horseback.' ' And in 
 
 269
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 town, too,' titters Miss, ' only here there's always the 
 danger of a fall/ ' For some riders,' Peggy says, look- 
 ing full at her. At which, a smile went round among 
 us all for the Hutchinson wobbles like a jelly in the 
 saddle, she couldn't sit straight even on Mary Price's 
 horse. ' But 'tis something out of my own experience,' 
 Peggy goes on, as modest as a Quaker, ' I have no fear, 
 as perhaps my friends will vouch.' ' Ay, that we will,' 
 cries Mr. Morris. ' There's no unseating Miss Peggy 
 from her horse, or in our hearts.' And then that 
 precious sister of mine swept him a curtsey, and taking 
 a flower from her dress she kissed it and handed it to 
 him before the whole company." 
 
 " What's your mother's attitude ? " Bellenden de- 
 manded. 
 
 " Now this, now t'other. All the way to church she 
 rated Peggy soundly, but after, she was in better hu- 
 mor. Peggy so diverted us, mimicking some of the 
 folks, that my mother couldn't hold out against her ; and 
 between their two tongues they didn't leave a shred of 
 reputation to anyone by the time they got home. 'Twas 
 cut and come again with a vengeance. Oh! she'll 
 stand by the girl fast enough in public, however she 
 may rate her in private. She has already bidden half 
 the town to our house to-morrow night for quadrille 
 and whist, and I'll lay a guinea no one will stay away. 
 She writ this card for you." 
 
 " And Bard says I may not leave this room till the 
 end of the week," Bellenden groaned. " Does your 
 mother want me? What does Peggy say? " 
 
 " Yes to your first question ; the second is harder to 
 answer, Peggy? Lord! Peggy says nothing about 
 
 270
 
 The Strands Tighten 
 
 you. There! women are the ungratef idlest creatures 
 living, I think. Do 'em a favor and 'tis like writing 
 in water. My sister's the lightest-hearted jade I ever 
 saw, singing, flirting, dancing, while two men are suf- 
 fering on her account. When I told her up at Green- 
 wich of the duel I thought she'd some sensibility at 
 first. Gad! I looked to see her swoon, she went so 
 white but that was past in a minute, the next she cries 
 sharply : ' I thought our cousin Bellenden was an ex- 
 pert at swords. How comes it that he is wounded? 
 He should have managed better for my sake.' " 
 
 Bellenden's face brightened. 
 
 " Why why " he stammered. 
 
 " Oh ! " Larry cut in almost brutally, " you can't 
 suck any comfort out of that. She meant you'd you'd 
 forgive me, Jack, don't you see, you'd bungled. 
 She hadn't a word of thanks for what you'd done." 
 
 Bellenden turned away irritably. 
 
 " I don't want any thanks. And Moulton was as 
 good a swordsman as I've ever seen ; 'tis no slight on 
 a man's skill to be wounded at his hands. You may 
 tell your sister that." 
 
 " Lord ! I daren't, and save my skin whole. She's a 
 pepper-pot if Moulton's name is mentioned, she'll hear 
 nothing of him, nor of fighting either. She's in a 
 pretty temper, too, about Annetje I think she'd 
 scratch her eyes out if they were to meet; she lays all 
 the blame at her door." 
 
 "Where it belongs," Bellenden interposed. "The 
 domine knew nothing about it, I'll be bound." 
 
 " And I thought her an angel," Larry cried ruefully, 
 " so gentle and sweet, I was vastly taken. Oh ! have 
 
 271
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 nothing to do with girls, sir, leave the whole lot 
 they're builded of vanity and ingratitude, honor isn't 
 in their make-up." 
 
 " Amen, say I. You're to be congratulated for hav- 
 ing your eyes opened so early. Yes, let them go ! Get 
 out the cards there and have up a bottle " 
 
 " But the doctor " 
 
 " The doctor be hanged ! Can't a man amuse him- 
 self as he likes ? There's the bell-rope behind you." 
 
 The affair of the duel occupied the town for several 
 days, and the lampoon which was supposed to be prima 
 facie its cause was repeated everywhere, discredited by 
 some, believed by others, as the people were inclined for, 
 or against, the Crewe faction. Peggy's presence upon 
 the scene did much to lessen the slanders, for no tongue 
 was bold enough to wag when she was within ear-shot, 
 however loudly it might contemn her the moment her 
 back was turned. 
 
 In the swift succession of gayeties organized for her 
 entertainment, as well as in the interests of the card- 
 tables and their stakes, there was little time afforded 
 for the discussion of scandal. At evening concerts, 
 however, when violins and German flutes discoursed 
 most eloquent music, and where the ' thin, metallic 
 thrills ' of the harpsichord furnished a slight accom- 
 paniment to the whispered gossip, there was occasional 
 mention of her daring and conjectures as to its truth, 
 or falsity. But for the most part her name was allowed 
 to rest in the accumulation of newer material. The 
 robbing of the Philadelphia coach, over which the timid 
 shrieked, the losses sustained by Madam B at quad- 
 
 272
 
 The Strands Tighten 
 
 rille, the defection of Miss H 's lover, the elopement 
 of a certain lady with her husband's partner, the pecca- 
 dilloes of a few gilded youth and all the other tittle- 
 tattle of the town yielded sufficient food for the passing 
 hour. 
 
 As for Peggy, herself, she danced, sang, chattered, 
 flirted from morning to night, presenting to the world's 
 eye the same merry, insouciant face as formerly. She 
 allowed herself no graver moments. If she thought 
 of Moulton lying at death's door, or of Bellenden con- 
 fined to his room by his wound, she gave no evidence 
 of such thinking in her demeanor. Nor did society 
 seem to remember them, having a fashion of forgetting 
 those who do not live within the range of its vision. 
 It had been Peggy's intention, in the first heat of her 
 anger, to seek out Annetje and upbraid her for her fals- 
 ity ; but, subjected as she was to a constant surveillance, 
 she soon realized that her wisest course was to avoid the 
 neighborhood of the Ryerssens's home, if she would 
 free her skirts entirely from the charges that already, in 
 certain quarters, were beginning to die from lack of any 
 real evidence. There was small danger that her scorn 
 for the girl's disloyalty would be lessened because, for 
 the time being, it was forced to remain unexpressed. 
 
 Meanwhile other influences were at work in the little 
 portion of the Dutch community which acknowledged 
 Domine Ryerssen as its pastor. In formulating his 
 scheme of revenge Adrian de Hooge had not clearly 
 foreseen the ultimate fate of the intelligence he sub- 
 mitted to the Post-Boy; but knowing that the news- 
 paper was the speediest medium for reaching the public 
 ear, he felt confident that so succulent a morsel of scan- 
 
 273
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 dal would not be disregarded. The appearance of the 
 lampoon, and the duel following in quick succession, 
 threw him into a state of delight bordering upon ec- 
 stasy. Let men quarrel over the false quantities of a 
 verse; he knew, and the world knew, how flimsy was 
 the pretext in veiling the real cause. He gloated over 
 the picture of the wounded contestants, though it would 
 have pleased him better if Bellenden and his adversary 
 could have changed places. He speedily recognized, 
 however, that in one way Bellenden's sufferings, 
 though not so dangerous as Moulton's, were keener 
 increased, as they must be, by his suppositions regard- 
 ing Annetje's violation of faith. 
 
 It was all De Hooge could do, at this time, to refrain 
 from seeking out the girl to give her the details of the 
 duel. As a boy he had found one of his chiefest de- 
 lights in watching the ineffectual struggles of en- 
 trapped animals and he gloried in the idea of Annetje's 
 helplessness under his sneers. He longed to taunt her 
 with her lover's plight, brought about in defending an- 
 other woman's name ; he wanted to see her droop and 
 whiten under the vile aspersions he would cast upon 
 her. It seemed as if this were a fitting revenge for 
 what he had suffered at her hands ; then he put the 
 thought resolutely away. He had formulated a scheme 
 for the ultimate confusion and downfall of the old do- 
 mine which could not but give pain to the daughter 
 also; and her own punishment would not be long de- 
 layed, if constant espionage on his part could bring it 
 about. 
 
 The news of the duel in the rear of the Province 
 Arms spread almost immediately in and around Gar- 
 
 274
 
 The Strands Tighten 
 
 den Street ; it became the current topic everywhere, save 
 in the domine's household. Jan heard it with trepida- 
 tion, but he kept it jealously to himself ; his master was 
 utterly unconscious of the report and Heilke, who usu- 
 ally gathered gossip as if it were some precious fruit, 
 being willing to go far a-field for its ripest clusters, re- 
 mained closely within doors at Annetje's side. As for 
 the girl, she had no inclination to go abroad and there 
 was, consequently, not the slightest suspicion on her 
 part that harm had befallen Bellenden. Only he did 
 not come! At first, love found many excuses to ac- 
 count for his absence, save the bitter truth ; so impossi- 
 ble is it for faith to perceive unfaith. But after a time 
 it occurred to her that he had heard of the gossip con- 
 cerning Peggy's disguise, which was rife in the neigh- 
 borhood, and, thinking she had divulged the secret, he 
 remained away in his anger. She longed to go to him 
 and plead her innocence. That he would believe her, 
 she was very sure, even in the face of the inexplicable 
 mystery which surrounded them. Ignorant, however, 
 as to where he should be found, she shrank from mak- 
 ing inquiries, fearing that in so doing she might dis- 
 please him further. Her own indignant denials of the 
 story to Heilke and Jan seemed to her the best way to 
 serve him. 
 
 As for seeking Peggy at Greenwich, feasible as the 
 idea was, it was speedily dismissed. Annetje knew, at 
 the time of their guest's departure, that she was going 
 into further hiding, and to go to the little village, there- 
 fore, demanding her whereabouts, might only plunge 
 the girl into fresh difficulties. It was out of the ques- 
 tion. Not even to vindicate herself could Annetje 
 
 275
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 make the captain's cousin suffer. Besides, would she 
 believe her ? Would she not mock at her rather, when 
 the little, pitiful veil that hid her true feelings should 
 be drawn aside ? " Do you love him ? " she had asked. 
 Would it be necessary to ask that now ? 
 
 The days dragged by leaden-footed, yet swifter than 
 a weaver's shuttle when compared to the long, still 
 nights with the dazzling stars that would not pale. A 
 hundred times throughout the day it seemed to Annetje 
 that the rippling signal called to her from bush and 
 tree, the whole garden rang with the sounds; though, 
 on fire with expectancy as she was, she could not run 
 to discover if they were true or false. Heilke was al- 
 ways watching her, plying her with questions and lay- 
 ing tasks mountain-high for her to execute. Annetje 
 felt too pitifully weak to resist the stronger will and 
 in a way the work was a boon to her; it stopped the 
 dreadful thoughts, tired her and deadened the ache of 
 suspense in her breast. 
 
 Finally, throbbing with the audacity of her purpose, 
 she determined to write to Bellenden. If he came (as 
 she tried to cheat herself into believing he had come 
 many times !) and she was unable to evade Heilke's vig- 
 ilance, he might look for some message from her in the 
 hollow of the old tree, which he had used as a post- 
 office on two memorable occasions. She guarded the 
 notes he had hidden there as her most precious treas- 
 ures. How dark the days had been because he didn't 
 come and then, in a moment, how bright, and beauti- 
 ful, and sweet ! Those blessed letters ! What happiness 
 was hers just to hold them in her hands, against her 
 lips, to let them lie near her heart, to go over them 
 
 276
 
 The Strands Tighten 
 
 again, and again, until she knew every word. If she 
 read more between the lines than had existed in the 
 writer's intention, she was not the first, and far from 
 being the last, so to construe a love-letter. 
 
 Her decision once formed she went stealthily to the 
 study, during the domine's absence, and purloined some 
 paper from his portfolio, returning almost immediately 
 to Heilke's side, outwardly calm but tingling in every 
 nerve of her body with the enormity of her enterprise. 
 The intervening hours before she could go to her room 
 for the night seemed interminable to her, but when she 
 was at last within its four walls, though she had made 
 a rough outline in her mind of what she wished to say, 
 she did not set about her writing for some time. She 
 had secreted a bit of candle in her dress and she waited 
 for the noises in the house to cease before she lighted 
 it ; yet that night, of all others, Heilke chose to be wake- 
 ful, and moved about her room, muttering wrath fully 
 to herself. Annetje quivered with fear lest those vig- 
 ilant eyes might see the design in her breast, and drew 
 the folds of the window-curtain more closely around 
 her. The soft night-air came in like some cool hand 
 to touch her hot face; she leaned farther out to meet 
 it as if it were the caress of a lover. 
 
 She let the hours go by, not daring to risk her task 
 by disturbing Heilke's first light sleep ; from the streets 
 beyond she could hear the cry of the watch calling the 
 time ' past eleven ' ' past twelve ' ' past one ' 
 At the last words she got to her feet softly, and, striking 
 a spark from the flint upon the steel, she ignited the bit 
 of cambric tinder, trembling lest the unwonted sound 
 should give the alarm. She waited momentarily with 
 
 277
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 the little, flickering flame in her hand, then in the si- 
 lence that settled down about her she lighted the candle 
 and placed it upon the seat of the chair, kneeling down 
 beside it to begin her letter. As she smoothed out the 
 paper she became aware that she had neglected to pro- 
 vide herself with either pencil, or pen; the discovery 
 stunned her, and she knelt there inertly, letting the 
 precious minutes slip by ; presently, however, stung to 
 the fact that she must act necessity showed her the 
 way. 
 
 She took up the candle and crossed the room on tip- 
 toe, stopping breathlessly for a moment on the thresh- 
 old, then, still in the same noiseless fashion, she began 
 to descend the stairs. The house lay wrapped in dark- 
 ness, save for the tiny point of light which moved as 
 she moved. She reached the hall and passed swiftly 
 to the study. The door was closed but, as she put out 
 her hand to open it, she was conscious in some inex- 
 plicable manner that the room was not untenanted 
 Yet it was dark dark ! She paused wondering, listen- 
 ing, every nerve in her body stretched to its utmost 
 tension. There was no sound within, then suddenly, 
 as she waited, there came a sigh, keyed with doubt and 
 pain, and a low murmur of words : 
 
 " Oh ! God, what shall I do? " 
 
 Her hand fell away from the knob. In an instant 
 she remembered, what had hitherto glanced off from 
 her self-absorption, that her father, during the last few 
 days, had altered indescribably. She had not noticed 
 it at the time, but now it flashed upon her, almost as if 
 he stood before her and she noted the ravages of trouble 
 upon his face. She grasped the knob softly again, 
 
 278
 
 The Strands Tighten 
 
 pressing against the door as if to open it the more read- 
 ily ; the next moment she started back, her hand falling 
 to her side. What comfort could she give? Was he 
 not sufficient unto himself? If she should go to him, 
 would not his first question be why she was there? 
 Would he not discover the true meaning of her er- 
 rand? No, he must suffer alone, as she must suffer 
 alone. 
 
 She turned and crept back to her room, extinguish- 
 ing the candle as she went, then she sat down at the 
 window again, shivering a little. All over the world, 
 perhaps, others were keeping just such vigils as she 
 was keeping here, and her father was keeping there. 
 She had not comprehended until this moment that 
 " grief walks the earth and sits down at the foot of 
 each by turns ; " but suddenly, with the realization that 
 suffering brings, she understood the birthright of hu- 
 manity. 
 
 The night went on to that solemn hush that comes 
 before the dawn the hush that waits on death and life 
 and she still sitting there, wakeful, thinking her own 
 thoughts, heard her father leave his study and stumble 
 cautiously up the stairs, each footfall weighted with 
 fatigue. Her heart stirred with a great wave of pity. 
 How old and tired he must be to move so slowly ! How 
 cruel life was! Presently the door of his room was 
 closed softly and the silence lay unbroken around her ; 
 so it continued for a while longer, save for the cocks 
 crowing faintly in the distance. 
 
 It was almost day. She descended swiftly once 
 more to the study, found quill and ink-well, and carried 
 them back to her room where she made her other prep- 
 
 279
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 arations expeditiously. She was but an indifferent 
 pen-woman at best, and in this task she had the addi- 
 tional difficulties to surmount of a language which she 
 spoke with inaccuracy, and had had but little experience 
 in writing. The letter was not a long one only a few, 
 shaky lines that ran up and down hill lamentably on 
 one side of the sheet, but before it was finished the 
 candle had burned itself out, and the early day was fill- 
 ing the land with a glory as fresh and fair as that other 
 day which received the commendation of the most 
 High. And just as the quill fell from her stiff, little 
 fingers, the last word written, a lark flew by her win- 
 dow showering down note after note of rapture. She 
 followed its flight with shining eyes, then fled, fleet as 
 a deer, to the garden. It was the work of a moment 
 to deposit the letter and to return, panting slightly after 
 the run but back again before Heilke set foot in the 
 kitchen. 
 
 Throughout the rest of the day Annetje waited, busy 
 at her different tasks; her ears strained to catch the 
 faintest indication of the signal. Twice she was al- 
 most positive that she heard it, once clear, sweet, 
 plaintive, then again after an interval of quiet sharp 
 with impatience, but there was no evading the strict 
 watchfulness to which she was subjected. 
 
 The sleepless night passed slowly, the dawn came 
 again flooding the land with its silver and the girl, the 
 first astir in the house, ran through the waking garden 
 to the old tree. She peered half-frightened into the 
 aperture peered again, her eyes widening, her whole 
 frame trembling. The letter was gone! The next 
 moment she threw herself down on the grass, glisten- 
 
 280
 
 The Strands Tighten 
 
 ing in the new-risen sun with myriad points of dew, 
 and flung her arms about the old dog's neck. 
 
 " Oh ! Joris," she breathed against his ear, " oh ! 
 Joris " then she turned her happy face to the sky, her 
 lips dumb, her heart quivering with a great gladness. 
 
 281
 
 XXIV 
 
 AN UNWRITTEN MESSAGE 
 
 It was Joy glowing-eyed, rosy cheeked, lark- 
 throated, that Heilke found in the cool depths of the 
 stone dairy at the churn, singing the old charm in time 
 to the movements of the dasher : 
 
 " ' Buitterchee, buitterchee, comm ; 
 Alican laidlechee, tubichee vail ! ' ' 
 
 The woman stood speechless, scarcely crediting what 
 she saw. She could not reconcile the picture of this 
 radiant, laughing creature with that little, white-faced, 
 dejected girl who had crept like a shadow through the 
 house, or had bent silently above her tasks, on the yes- 
 terday. She looked to see her vanish as, good house- 
 wife that she was and retaining her superstitions, she 
 told herself the evil spirits that were exorcised by the 
 fresh, lilting voice vanished into thin air. 
 
 But Annetje did not disappear. She was tangible 
 flesh and blood never so gay, never so tractable, never 
 so helpful before. She anticipated Heilke's wants in a 
 thousand ways, she was light of foot, deft of hand, and 
 through all her services there tinkled an irrepressible 
 murmur of song as if the little bird at her heart must 
 sing from sheer ecstasy and never tire. 
 
 No sound of the happiness that glorified the rest of 
 the house penetrated to the room where the domine sat 
 
 282
 
 An Unwritten Message 
 
 inertly among his books. For the first time, in all the 
 years of his ministry, Saturday was at hand and his 
 sermon still unprepared. Occasionally the thought of 
 this neglect of duty on his part pricked him, and he 
 would rouse himself from his abstraction and plunge 
 into a fever of composition. So by fits and starts he 
 worked throughout the day, with little interest in the 
 undertaking, and night had grayed in before the dis- 
 course was finished. He pushed it from him then with 
 a sigh of relief, yet he was thoroughly dissatisfied with 
 his efforts. 
 
 It was very still everywhere. Heilke had come ear- 
 lier with his supper and had lighted his candles and 
 then had gone away, returning after the lapse of an 
 hour to remove the tray. Her hands jarred the china 
 in their distress as she noted the untouched food, but 
 she left the room without a word either of reproach, or 
 coaxing, going back to the kitchen which, whether men 
 ate or sulked, must be set in order. It was silent there 
 too. Annetje had gone to her own room, the singing 
 bird was mute at last, but still happy. 
 
 The domine did not change his position for some 
 time. He was so motionless one would have thought 
 him asleep, but the repose of his body did not penetrate 
 below the quiet exterior, within that incessant warfare 
 robbed him of any peace. Finally he rose from his 
 chair and went to a corner cupboard where he took 
 from one of its shelves a small lantern. He lighted the 
 candle it contained and after finding his hat he extin- 
 guished the lights on his table and left the room, step- 
 ping out through the window into the garden. Thence 
 he passed, almost swiftly for him, around the house to 
 
 283
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 the deserted street. The July night was still and dark, 
 everything lay shrouded in shadow. The far away stars 
 gleamed small and faint through the thick haze which 
 lay like a veil between them and the earth, but the dom- 
 ine did not need a light to guide him. It was a famil- 
 iar way, one he had travelled for thirty-seven years; 
 he could have gone over it blind-folded, not deviating 
 an inch. 
 
 The church reached, he unlocked the side door with 
 the key he always carried and let himself into the silent 
 building. The lantern was not a necessity to him here 
 any more than it had been without, though there was 
 something heartening in its gleam which made it very 
 acceptable ; it was like the presence of a friend who has 
 a message of cheer. He held the light up and threw 
 its little beam searchingly around, smiling indulgently 
 at the action as one smiles at a child. He knew every 
 detail of the church his church not a thing escaped 
 him. He flashed the lantern on the iron-bound strong 
 boxes that stood one on either side of the door those 
 boxes for the poor, with the small hole in each pad- 
 locked lid, and painted also with the figure of a beggar 
 leaning on his staff. The old eyes grew misty as they 
 looked. To give to the needy how blessed! how 
 blessed ! He could almost hear the sound of the falling 
 coins as he paused there. It was very sweet music, that 
 chant of benevolence. 
 
 He moved forward step by step, casting the light 
 about on the familiar walls where the painted escutch- 
 eons of many of his congregation hung between the 
 long, narrow windows with their little panes of glass, 
 whereon good Master Gerard Duykinck had burned the 
 
 284
 
 An Unwritten Message 
 
 arms of the principal families who worshipped in this 
 house of prayer. The windows in the semi-obscurity 
 showed the merest blotches to the domine's eyes, yet 
 mentally he reconstructed each one, line for line, legend 
 for legend. Vestigia nulla retrorsum! The words 
 leapt out before him almost as if they were written in 
 letters of fire. Vestigia nulla retrorsum ! The lantern 
 shook in his hand, he lowered it quickly and drew his 
 breath hard ; all the little elation and affection he had 
 felt for these adornments of his church dying out of 
 his face as it settled again into its former despair. 
 
 He crept forward after that very slowly, looking nei- 
 ther to right nor left, and not pausing until the pulpit 
 loomed above him, then he came to an abrupt standstill 
 at the foot of its stairs. Some irresistible impulse had 
 driven him, at this time, to seek the church as in earlier 
 days sinning men, hunted and despairing, sought 
 Sanctuary, finding in its stronghold a temporary respite 
 from the dangers that threatened them without. 
 
 By degrees a sense of supreme peace and well-being 
 pervaded him, easing his troubles; he put the lantern 
 down and looked around. How he loved every inch 
 of space every inch ! The body of the church showed 
 dim and shadowy in the feeble light that barely indi- 
 cated the place to his glance, yet to him it was as if the 
 full glare of day penetrated everywhere. He saw 
 everything. The brass branches, the small organ loft, 
 the two galleries, one for the white folk, the other for 
 the black, the silver baptismal basin with its learned in- 
 scription and, not far away, the " Juffrouw's Bench " 
 where, for three short years, his wife had sat her face 
 showing like some flower amid her surroundings. He 
 
 285
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 shivered from head to foot at the memory and clung to 
 the rail for support ; so he remained for some moments 
 half crouching there, his shadow cast forward upon the 
 steps. Suddenly, in moving, his attention was arrested 
 by that dark spot flung before him. He looked at it 
 curiously, wonderingly looked again. Then the real- 
 ization of the meaning of that black, distorted shape 
 smote him with the sharpness of a knife. Like some 
 ugly stain his presence lay upon the pulpit stairs ! 
 
 He sank down, covering his face with his hands. The 
 candle's little beam on the instant became an accusing 
 finger to point out the truth which he had disregarded 
 for so long a time. Sunday after Sunday, year after 
 year, he had stood facing his people stimulating them 
 to the confession of sin and to the desire for grace and 
 pardon, and all the while he had carried that vile weight 
 of hypocrisy in his own breast. He had stifled the voice 
 of his conscience with the thought that, in acting this 
 lie, he was trying to shield others. But was that the 
 only reason? Had he not been influenced by his own 
 pride of name, his love for the church office and his 
 dread of the laughter of men ? Had he not found for- 
 getfulness in his books, losing himself so far in his 
 studies that the little affairs of each succeeding day 
 were unheeded, and the past lay unstirred almost as if 
 it had never been ? 
 
 He scourged himself bitterly with these questions, 
 realizing, now when it was too late, that he might have 
 reserved the right of reticence in his trouble and no 
 one would have gainsaid him. But to do that other 
 thing, to give out false evidence, to continue in his high 
 position accepting the sympathy the love, and the 
 
 286
 
 An Unwritten Message 
 
 trust of his people what did such conduct stamp 
 him ? Jan's words, uttered in the heat of anger, came 
 into his mind with the solemnity of a final judgment in 
 their syllables. 
 
 " Unfit unworthy." 
 
 On the instant it seemed to him that the whole church 
 throbbed with the stir of life there was a sense of the 
 human presence everywhere. Pews and galleries were 
 crowded to the uttermost and a vast concourse of peo- 
 ple pressed about the doors and thronged the aisles. 
 The silence was broken by the tread of many feet ad- 
 vancing to the pulpit, as to some shrine, pausing there, 
 then turning and going dejectedly away. There was 
 no cessation in the pilgrimage; the steps were always 
 coming coming. He slipped his hands from his eyes 
 to his ears to shut out the terrible sounds and, on a 
 sudden, the place swarmed with faces. In the remotest 
 corner of the building he could see their gleam. The 
 faces of the people who gathered within these walls on 
 a Sunday to listen to his teaching; the faces of other 
 parishioners, whom he had known once and had not 
 looked upon for years; the faces again of those other 
 worshippers, whom he had never seen, but who had 
 brought their sorrows and their joys into this holy spot. 
 Turn which way he would they confronted him re- 
 proachfully accusingly and nearer, so close that he 
 could reach them with his hand, though they shrank 
 back at its touch, were those predecessors of his who 
 had spoken the word of the Lord from the desk above. 
 Their glances seared his soul. 
 
 " Unfit unworthy ! " 
 
 He stumbled to his feet and moved tremblingly from 
 287
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 the pulpit, keeping his eyes averted lest they should 
 behold again what had terrified him earlier what he 
 could never forget. Silently, as he had come, but with- 
 out another glance at the familiar objects, he made his 
 way out into the night and back to the parsonage. The 
 window was open, as he had left it, and he paused on 
 the sill a moment to rest, then he entered the dark, 
 silent room with a deep sigh of relief. He had come 
 home. The church, which through the years had been 
 a place of refuge and of divinest comfort to him, had 
 suddenly become void of all peace because of his wrong- 
 doing, but this other asylum did not fail him. Here 
 he had committed no desecration. The walls had wit- 
 nessed his misery, his fears, his doubts, and he crept 
 back to their shelter as a tired child creeps into loving 
 arms, with no question of his worthiness, or unworthi- 
 ness, to their clasp, satisfied only to know that he has 
 reached home. 
 
 The domine put the lantern on the table and sank 
 wearily into his chair, making no effort to get further 
 light. He was very tired. He sat, shielding his eyes 
 for some minutes with one hand as if even the meagre 
 rays from the almost burned out candle were too brill- 
 iant for him to endure. Presently he leaned forward 
 a trifle to rest his elbow on the table and a quick sound 
 of wood striking on wood followed the action. Too 
 fatigued to feel any curiosity he settled himself into a 
 more comfortable position, extending his arm further 
 and again there came that dissonant clatter. He 
 looked around in some bewilderment. The place where 
 he had rested his arm was partly occupied by a clumsily 
 tied bundle through the wrapping of which the end of 
 
 288
 
 An Unwritten Message 
 
 a stick protruded. It was that which had jarred against 
 the surface of the table. He drew the lantern nearer 
 and inspected the package carefully. The paper bore 
 the superscription " Domine Ryerssen " in great letters. 
 
 There was no mistake. Someone, during his ab- 
 sence, had probably left the bundle with Heilke and 
 she had brought it into the study, placing it where she 
 knew he would find it on his return. Was there a 
 message ? What could it mean ? He moved the parcel 
 aside, but no note met his eye, no scrap of writing even, 
 except his name in that big, unfamiliar hand. The 
 message might be within, he told himself making no 
 effort to seek it, or Heilke might be able to give some 
 information concerning the bearer. Longing for 
 speech with someone of his kind, he went over to the 
 door to seek her. But, as he turned the knob, he discov- 
 ered that the door would not open, it was locked from 
 vithin the key in its place where he had turned it some 
 hours before. 
 
 He retraced his steps to the table, confused a trifle 
 In the face of this little mystery. Whoever had left the 
 parcel had come in through the window, relying upon 
 the darkness of the night to conceal his identity. That 
 much was plain. But why? Suddenly a smile trem- 
 bled about the old man's lips, though his eyes grew 
 misty. In a moment everything was clear to him. The 
 package was a surprise a gift from his people, that 
 was it, from his people to him and he undeserving. 
 His hands trembled excitedly as he tried to open it. 
 He undeserving, but they loved him ! Why had he not 
 trusted that love earlier ? The knot loosened under his 
 shaking endeavors, the two ends of the string slip- 
 
 289
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 ping apart; then the paper crackled open beneath his 
 touch. 
 
 With the expectancy of a little child in his attitude 
 and softening the haggard lines of his countenance, he 
 leaned down and peered at the contents of the bundle. 
 A stout club, a pair of old shoes, a crust of bread and a 
 silver coin. He rubbed his eyes, as if doubting their 
 testimony, and peered closer, touching the queer med- 
 ley curiously with lingering fingers. Then he drew the 
 lantern nearer and let its faint light fall upon the ob- 
 jects one by one. What did they mean ? What could 
 they mean? Gradually he became aware that each 
 article before him held some symbolic import which, if 
 unravelled, would furnish the key to the whole matter, 
 and on the moment there flashed through his mind in- 
 stances from his reading and from common hearsay of 
 certain emblematic communications sent to individuals, 
 in time of trouble to warn, or threaten, the purport hid- 
 den in just such trivial details as now confronted him. 
 He sat half stunned, groping vainly for some inter- 
 pretation to the puzzle and feeling at heart, with a 
 strange, sickening fear which amounted to conviction, 
 that no loving thought had framed this message, and 
 no loving hand had placed it there. 
 
 " Money, bread," he went over the little inventory 
 slowly, checking off each object on his fingers, " pro- 
 visions for a journey surely, shoes to wear on the road 
 and stick to support one's steps, or or " 
 
 He broke off with a strangling sound in his throat ; 
 he could not put into words the thought that burned 
 within him. There were other uses for the stick it 
 was to drive him hence to push him away! These 
 
 290
 
 An Unwritten Message 
 
 things were means for his departure from the church 
 he had served so long they indicated that he must be- 
 take himself to other fields. The message was clear at 
 last. 
 
 He fell back in his chair staring wildly into the dark- 
 ness, for the candle in the lantern had burned itself out. 
 He was thrilling from head to foot with the degrada- 
 tion put upon him. From his people to him and he 
 undeserving 
 
 " No, no, no," he cried, " deserving of it all, God 
 knows, deserving of it all." 
 
 291
 
 XXV 
 
 AT THE CHURCH DOOR 
 
 Heilke glanced sharply at her companion as they took 
 their way churchwards. The girl had grown a trifle 
 thinner but, aside from that, her beauty was more tri- 
 umphant than it had ever been for it had gained ma- 
 terially in expression during the past weeks. Her 
 mouth curved happily and the color rioted in her 
 cheeks with the intensity of her emotions; the joy of 
 the previous day still lingered in her face less ex- 
 uberant perhaps, but equally as confident. The watch- 
 ful woman, who, only a short time before, had bewailed 
 the alteration in Annetje's appearance, felt secretly re- 
 sentful at this sudden change which was attributable 
 to no visible cause that she could discover. It angered 
 her to note the unreasoning exhilaration that found 
 vent in a ringing laugh at so slight a thing as a bird's 
 flight, and the little soft hum the girl kept up, though 
 it was one of Datheen's hymns, irritated her beyond 
 expression. 
 
 " Your father's got to have some new neck-bands," 
 she broke out shortly. " Will you set about making 
 them to-morrow ? " 
 
 There was no answer for the moment. 
 
 " Did you hear Annetje ? " she demanded sharply. 
 " I can't tell what's come over you, one would think 
 you were going to some waffle-frolic instead of to 
 
 292
 
 At the Church Door 
 
 church, you've been smiling ever since we started and 
 stepping out as if you were keeping time to music. I 
 don't hold with sour looks on Sunday, goodness knows ! 
 but such conduct as yours is unseemly and you a min- 
 ister's daughter, besides." 
 
 Annetje started guiltily as if she had been detected 
 in some wrong-doing. 
 
 " It's such a beautiful world," she cried with a little 
 gasp, " I can't help being glad to be alive in it. Every- 
 thing seems so happy to-day, birds, flowers every- 
 thing. Don't spoil it all with a long face, Heilke." 
 
 " Your father's neck-bands that was what I was 
 saying. Did you happen to notice the one he had on 
 this morning? " 
 
 " No yes no, I think not." 
 
 She had not noticed anything about him, though she 
 had stood at the door for some minutes after his de- 
 parture watching him, as he passed along the sun- 
 checkered way. But her happy, indifferent eyes had not 
 been keen to note anything amiss in either his dress, or 
 his face, so busy were her thoughts elsewhere. 
 
 " Well then, it was not fit to be seen. I hope Me- 
 vrouw de Hooge won't perceive it, that's all ! A thrifty 
 daughter makes a thrifty wife as the whole world 
 knows." 
 
 The flush deepened in Annetje's cheeks. 
 
 " Mevrouw de Hooge ! " she cried contemptuously, 
 then she repressed her anger. " I'll begin the bands to- 
 morrow," she finished humbly enough. 
 
 It would be pleasant work to take into the garden and 
 set the little stitches while she waited. It wouldn't be 
 for long. The shade on the dial would mark three 
 
 293
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 o'clock when he would come three or the half hour 
 past, not later. He had found the letter Friday, she 
 had been right in thinking he had called to her that day 
 Saturday there had been engagements to prevent his 
 coming and Sunday he knew she had the two services 
 at her church, so 'twas a day dropped out of their calen- 
 dar as he had said, but Monday he would surely come 
 on Monday! No wonder then that it was a difficult 
 matter to walk sedately with such a thought beating in 
 one's breast. The same sky that smiled down upon 
 her, smiled on him taking his way to Trinity ; the little 
 breeze that touched her cheeks, fanned his likewise; 
 and the bird, flying westward, might sing to his under- 
 standing ears : "I come from Garden Street!" She 
 laughed aloud. 
 
 " There you go again giggle, giggle, giggle ! The 
 whole morning long! And singing before breakfast, 
 too, I heard you at it. Well, then, that bodes tears 
 when will you ever learn ? Tears before the day is out 
 you mark my words. Is that the last bell? Come, 
 come, don't dawdle so. There goes Juffrouw Bickers 
 hurrying along with her little, mincing steps she's al- 
 ways late she'll be late, I warrant you, even on Judg- 
 ment day, only the Lord won't listen to her excuses that 
 the clock was slow, or she'd mislaid her cap not He ! " 
 
 Annetje lagged behind. Earth and sky were so fair 
 it seemed a pity to exchange their loveliness for the 
 walls of a church. One was so much nearer God, 
 somehow, in the open under His blue heavens, than in 
 a man-reared temple, under the critical, carping glances 
 of fellow-worshippers ! 
 
 " It's early yet," she said wistfully, " see how many 
 294
 
 At the Church Door 
 
 of the folks are still in the street. Let's wait a 
 little." 
 
 " There's something a-foot," Heilke ejaculated 
 shrilly, stepping along more briskly. " Now what's to 
 do at the church, I wonder, that the folks stand gaping 
 about when the bidding-bell's ceased ringing? Look 
 at Vrouw Pieterse and Vrouw Blauvelt gabbling away 
 for dear life. Dear ! dear ! the tongues those women 
 have as long as my arm and swung in the middle 
 as all who know them can testify. And scandal ! 
 When those two get together there's suffering for some 
 one; they're like crows lighted upon carrion oh! 
 they'll pick it bare, skin and bones, I promise you. 
 Make haste." 
 
 Instead of heeding this injunction Annetje came to 
 a sudden standstill. 
 
 " Wait," she implored, " let the others pass in first. 
 It's something more about Miss Crewe, I am sure, and 
 they are angry with me. I can't bear to meet their 
 glances. I will not go in now." 
 
 " Hoity toity ! Something more about Miss Crewe, 
 eh? Haven't we got through with that hussy yet? 
 Now you see what harm has been caused by yours 
 and your father's foolishness, setting the house of 
 God by the ears in this fashion. Well, then, this is 
 your punishment. You have brought it all on yourself 
 and you can't escape it. A wrong done is like a walnut- 
 juice stain it just bides and bides water won't wash 
 it out and sun won't fade it much the stuff carries that 
 spot to the end. Come you at once." 
 
 As Heilke finished speaking, she put her hand au- 
 thoritatively on the girl's arm and pushed her slightly 
 in the direction of the church. 
 
 295
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Don't," Annetje cried below her breath. " Don't 
 shame me like this before all these people. I'm not a 
 child to be dragged along, I am a woman. Take your 
 hand away, I tell you. I have done nothing wrong." 
 
 Heilke cast a swift glance at the face near her and 
 released her hold instantly. The intrepidity of her 
 companion's bearing filled her with a kind of awe. She 
 did not recognize any similarity between the fearless 
 creature and the little, pliable girl she had watched 
 over and guarded since babyhood. This was a dif- 
 ferent Annetje, one made strong not only by her sense 
 of right, but by the thought that the persecution she 
 was about to undergo was laid upon her in consequence 
 of her endeavors to serve Bellenden. The idea steeled 
 her nerves. She walked firmly, almost buoyantly, for- 
 ward, the flush deepened to a vivid red upon her cheeks, 
 her eyes shining, her mouth kept from trembling by the 
 pressure of her teeth along the scarlet line of her lip. 
 
 " How that deep blue does set off her skin," Heilke 
 muttered to herself, " milk and roses, milk and roses, 
 I never saw its like. Say what they will, there isn't 
 one on this island that can hold a candle to her for 
 looks." 
 
 The group, gathered about the centre door, was made 
 up of about twenty persons, men and women though 
 the latter outnumbered the former. Some of these had 
 early noticed the appearance of Heilke and Annetje, 
 and the fact was speedily communicated to their com- 
 panions, so that as the two made their way nearer, every 
 eye was turned upon them. For the most part the 
 glances were distinctly hostile. 
 
 " We can go in by the side door," Heilke murmured 
 296
 
 At the Church Door 
 
 in sudden relief, her courage deserting her rapidly as 
 the crucial moment dawned. " Thank God, it's not be- 
 set by venomous toads." 
 
 " We never use that door," Annetje returned coldly, 
 though her voice trembled, then it softened a little, 
 " but if it will be easier for you, Heilke, go please go 
 that way and let me keep on by myself." 
 
 The old woman gulped down something in her throat 
 and set her lips firmly. 
 
 " We'll go in together, child. You can't learn an old 
 dog new tricks, and I'd feel like asking the Lord's par- 
 don if I sneaked in at the side, because I was afraid to 
 pass a few gaping fools." 
 
 Annetje's mouth quivered into a little smile of thanks 
 and she moved on steadily, Heilke pressing close at her 
 elbow. The people, at their approach, fell back a trifle 
 on either side, leaving an open space between their lines 
 up which the new-comers must pass to the church. Not 
 a smile of greeting met them anywhere ; the faces An- 
 netje swept with her swift regard were cold and im- 
 movable as though made of stone, only the eyes, look- 
 ing back into hers, seemed to be alive and full of a 
 contempt that burned to her soul; her little, gentle 
 salutations fell upon deaf ears, eliciting no response. 
 
 Short though the passage was to the entrance it was 
 interminable to her fancy, stretching on indefinitely be- 
 tween the lines of the silent onlookers, who seemed like 
 the sands of the sea for numbers. At the end how 
 far away! rose the few steps to the open door and 
 beyond lay the cool depths of the church, where the 
 majority of the congregation had already assembled 
 unconscious of what was taking place without. De- 
 
 297
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 spite the brilliant rays of the July sun beating down 
 upon her Annetje shivered at the thought of the fresh 
 glances of disapproval she must encounter as she passed 
 up to the Juffrouw's Bench. She faltered a moment, 
 then kept on without wavering, her eyes fixed resolutely 
 before her. A group of young men assembled on the 
 top step gazed down at her with a freedom in their 
 glances she had never before encountered. 
 
 " Hoity toity, Vrouw Pieterse," Heilke growled in 
 great wrath, " there's no call for you to draw your 
 dirty petticoats aside when your domine's daughter 
 goes by. Think shame to yourself, dame, and bear a 
 humble mind. If you've forgot that Pinkster week of 
 twenty years syne, it's more than the rest of us have. 
 How dare you act as though you thought you'd be be- 
 fouled in the face of this whiteness ? " 
 
 The woman retorted with a sharp laugh, using a 
 word that whipped the color from Annetje's cheeks; 
 she stopped aghast, breathing like one in great pain. 
 
 " You can't mean me ? " she cried brokenly. 
 
 " Go you on," Heilke commanded. " This is not for 
 your ears. I'll give her her dues." 
 
 She turned with the spring of a tigress upon the 
 calumniator who, foreseeing the attack, warded it off 
 with considerable dexterity. The attention of the on- 
 lookers, diverted for the moment by the altercation, 
 swang back almost immediately to the girl herself as 
 she crept forward pale and trembling. The music of 
 the organ swelled out through windows and doors, 
 deep and calm, to meet her and silenced her fright with 
 its message of peace. It deadened the sounds of 
 Vrouw Pieterse's shrill voice as she took her revenge 
 
 298
 
 At the Church Door 
 
 upon Heilke in taunts and jeers, and it softened the 
 grief-stricken cries of the old housekeeper, each one 
 falling slowly and brokenly upon the air like the signals 
 of distress from a ship on the rocks. 
 
 Annetje reached the steps and began their ascent. 
 The ordeal was almost at an end and within lay quiet. 
 Through the hours of the service she could regain some 
 measure of calm and at its close she could creep home 
 into hiding. There was only a short way further to 
 travel ! Then, suddenly, a low sound near her stung 
 her into instant attention; she glanced aside to where 
 Bertha Van der Griest stood with parted lips as if she 
 had just spoken. But no other word was uttered only, 
 as Annetje looked, the girl raised her hand and pointed 
 with unmistakable significance before her. Annetje's 
 wondering eyes followed the line of the plump, rounded 
 crm, from which the Psalm-book swung by its silver 
 chain, the sun smiting the links with dazzling radiance, 
 followed the curve of the wrist, the back of the dimpled 
 hand to the upraised forefinger pointing pointing 
 steadily At what? 
 
 She moved nearer, like one under the impulse of a 
 stronger will, driven forward resistlessly. Through 
 the open door came the voices singing : 
 
 " ' Ik roep tot U, O eenwtg Wezen 
 
 Myn Rot ss teen, novit naar eisch volpreezen ' " 
 
 She did not heed the appeal in the words, she did not 
 heed the holy peace of the sanctuary beckoning to her. 
 Her eyes were held by the bit of paper nailed at the 
 side of the entrance just above Jonkheer Wendell's 
 head. He moved away smiling impertinently into her 
 
 299
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 face, but she did not even see him. She only saw the 
 paper with its little, staggering characters upon which 
 the sun beat so pitilessly. She steadied herself to keep 
 from falling. Her letter to him her letter to him 
 scorned in this fashion; the little, loving contents ex- 
 posed to the jeers and taunts of men ! It couldn't be ! 
 It was some church notice some church notice yet 
 there her name stood out boldly, confronting her. 
 What did it mean? All at once she knew. He 
 wouldn't be in the garden on the morrow, he would 
 never come He was angry angry angry This 
 thought was the first to pierce her dulled brain, then 
 came another, and another, swiftly bitterly to ac- 
 count for the scornful glances on every side and the 
 horror of Vrouw Pieterse's condemning word. 
 
 She turned from the open door she could not enter 
 and looked down at the people watching her. Sud- 
 denly she stretched out her hands with a little, eager 
 cry and stepped hurriedly to the pavement. 
 
 " Adrian," she called softly, seeing only him and back 
 of him her childhood, " Adrian." 
 
 She smiled bravely, though her face was very pitiful 
 to see. 
 
 He let her come close to him and put her hand on 
 his sleeve and look into his eyes, challenging his 
 friendship the friendship of so many years then he 
 dragged his coat from her fingers and thrust her bru- 
 tally aside. 
 
 " Discarded by one lover, my pretty light o' love, you 
 would comfort yourself with another," he sneered with 
 a laugh that drove the color into her cheeks, though 
 it receded the next instant leaving her ghastly white. 
 
 300
 
 At the Church Door 
 
 " But know, you must seek him elsewhere than in 
 Adrian de Hooge." 
 
 She fell back in consternation and stared at him, try- 
 ing to speak, but her pallid, shaking lips refused to 
 utter a word, nor could her mind frame any denial to 
 his taunt. For a minute her glance, like that of some 
 wounded animal, swept the faces around her for some 
 sign of pity, then she moved off very slowly. 
 
 " Ay, get you gone," Heilke cried in choking sylla- 
 bles, " get you back to the home you've blackened, and 
 God forgive you, Annetje Ryerssen." 
 
 301
 
 XXVI 
 
 WITHIN THE CHURCH 
 
 At the end of the singing the people settled into their 
 places, the little bustle, attendant upon the action, in- 
 creased by the arrival of the participants in Annetje's 
 humiliation. Their coming caused no small measure 
 of excitement among the more punctual worshippers 
 who had entered by the other doors, or who, passing 
 through the central entrance, had not noticed the letter 
 at its side. Ordinarily a few belated comers might 
 creep in almost unnoticed, save by the immediate few 
 whom they inconvenienced, and who meted out angry 
 glances to the offenders; but that so many should be 
 late, and should take no pains to conceal the fact as 
 they clattered to their seats, was enough to overthrow 
 the established precedents of the church. 
 
 Curiosity and consternation struggled for the ascen- 
 dency, the former swinging highest by virtue of its su- 
 premacy in every breast. No one was too blind to read 
 the elation in Bertha Van der Griest's face, that showed 
 as plainly through the set righteousness of her features, 
 as sunlight through an uncurtained window; nor was 
 there any chance of mistaking the triumph and satis- 
 faction in Adrian de Hooge's whole bearing. His 
 mother, making room for him on the Blue Bench, felt 
 her pulses tingle and her blood leap faster with the sense 
 of the dominant power he brought with him. Vrouw 
 
 302
 
 Within the Church 
 
 Pieterse flaunted her petticoats as never before, the air 
 of piety clinging to her like its perfume to a flower 
 the piety of that kind of converted sinner who is quick 
 to perceive another's misstep, and quickest of all to be 
 the first to hurl a stone at the offender. It needed no 
 especial perspicuity to interpret her attitude, though its 
 significance, for the time being, was not discoverable. 
 
 But Heilke herself occasioned the greatest bewilder- 
 ment as she made her way to the Juffrouw's Bench, 
 which she always occupied with her charge. The 
 alteration in her usually self-reliant demeanor was 
 very perceptible, the traces of tears and the disorder of 
 her dress being the least factors in the change in her 
 appearance. She had struggled momentarily with the 
 desire to follow Annetje for, despite her own wrath, 
 she was touched by the heartbroken aspect of the young 
 face, but throughout a long life nothing had ever kept 
 her away from the house of God and habit is a stronger 
 master oftentimes than love. Recognizing its domin- 
 ion, therefore, she had entered the sanctuary with the 
 others, bowed under the keenest trouble she had ever 
 been called upon to bear ; Annetje was dearer than her 
 own flesh and blood and the revelation of the girl's in- 
 fatuation for the English officer, and his treatment of 
 her overtures, darkened the whole world to the grief- 
 stricken woman. 
 
 The domine, unconscious of the commotion going 
 forward, moved slowly, but without any apparent hes- 
 itancy, to the high, circular pulpit which stood in the 
 space at the end of the centre aisle. He paused at the 
 lowest step and knelt down, holding his hat before his 
 face, while he offered silently a short prayer for a bless- 
 
 303
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 ing on his coming labors, in which he sought the aid 
 of the Lord. Such that voiceless petition meant to the 
 onlookers. It was an established custom of the church, 
 but they could not know how insistent on this occa- 
 sion never so insistent before was the appeal for 
 strength that filled their pastor's heart. He was visibly 
 altered as if a withering breath of age and pain had 
 swept over him ; his step was slower, his face more hag- 
 gard, yet these changes were unperceived by his parish- 
 ioners. Unfriendly eyes are never the discerning ones. 
 The small figure in the black silk gown, with the large 
 flowing sleeves which gave it an odd batlike resem- 
 blance, was too familiar an object to awaken any par- 
 ticular comment in their breasts. 
 
 He ascended the narrow stairs to the sacred desk, his 
 hand clinging to the curved balustrade the better to 
 support his weakness. The platform reached, he pre- 
 pared to open the Bible but, as he noted the stragglers 
 moving along the aisles, he waited several moments for 
 them to be seated. Then the quiet that followed was 
 broken only by the soft fluttering of the leaves as he 
 sought his text. He raised his head and faced them 
 all. 
 
 " II. Corinthians, thirteenth chapter, eleventh verse," 
 his voice, husky as of old, held a certain note which, 
 while not loud, penetrated to the uttermost corner of 
 the building. " Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, 
 be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and 
 the God of love and peace shall be with you.' " 
 
 He repeated the words slowly, and more gently, his 
 tones softening into a tenderness that seemed to probe 
 the heart of each listener, making the matter a personal 
 
 304
 
 Within the Church 
 
 one between him and his pastor, then as was the cus- 
 tom of the church the text given, he exclaimed: 
 " Thus far ! " and paused, looking almost vacantly be- 
 fore him. After a moment he seemed to recover him- 
 self and shut the Bible with a touch that trembled in 
 the accomplishment of its duty, yet carried with it an 
 air of irrevocability which admitted no wavering of 
 purpose. 
 
 The noise of the closing covers, doubly accentuated 
 as it was by the surrounding stillness, jarred the hear- 
 ers into instant attention, and set them thrilling with 
 apprehension as they sought to explain to themselves 
 this unusual conduct on the part of their minister. The 
 abrupt sound, with its ungracious cry of finality, dis- 
 pleased them vaguely ; they tried to fathom its meaning. 
 
 He did not leave them long in suspense. That thud 
 of the closed book nerved him to action, pricked him 
 as if it were some goad. He leaned toward them, his 
 hands pressed tightly one above the other on the edge 
 of the desk. 
 
 " I have no sermon this morning," he said very slow- 
 ly, " I had prepared one, but last night at a late hour I 
 I determined not to use it. There seemed to me good 
 and conclusive reasons why I should not, yet I knew 
 you would assemble here, according to your wont, and 
 I resolved, therefore, to speak to you instead, taking 
 the words I have just read as my text in some measure. 
 They are words of farewell sent, as you all know, by 
 Paul to that church of God in Corinth. Even the lit- 
 tlest child here must recognize that they mean good-by 
 and so I borrow them now, in my need, to use to this 
 church of God in this new world. It does not surprise 
 
 305
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 you, perhaps, that I am about to bid you farewell. One 
 could not indeed do otherwise after the message of dis- 
 missal that you saw fit to send me ; though possibly an- 
 other man would have refrained from again entering 
 the pulpit which had been so closed to him." 
 
 An electrical stir ran through the entire building; 
 something like a murmur of consternation and protest 
 seemed to leap forth on every side, though there was 
 no word spoken. Dismissal? Who had mentioned 
 dismissal ? It was one thing to wish one's pastor away, 
 and another to cast him out. Faces full of wonder- 
 ment were turned from neighbor to neighbor. The 
 members of the Consistory glanced guiltily at one an- 
 other. Had the domine heard of that letter sent to the 
 Classis? How had he heard? They would not act 
 without authority, and there could be no answer to their 
 charges for months to come. What did he mean? 
 The unspoken questions passed from man to man as 
 distinctly as if they were uttered in a voice of thunder, 
 meeting no solution. 
 
 In the excitement of the moment vague mutterings 
 were heard but, for the most part, the people, remem- 
 bering that it was contrary to precedent to speak in 
 church, kept themselves well in check, though the 
 amazement everywhere increased in volume and surged, 
 like a wave, to the pulpit itself. Domine Ryerssen, 
 glancing around with eyes made clearer and keener by 
 sorrow, recognized, in some measure, the perplexity 
 before him. A little thrill, which amounted almost to 
 pleasure, sent a touch of color into his gray face. 
 
 " Perhaps," he said, and his voice trembled, " many 
 of you are unaware of the message. It may have been 
 
 306
 
 Within the Church 
 
 the work of just a little handful of your number acting, 
 I am very sure, from what seemed to them their Best 
 convictions. When a surgeon uses the knife to lop off 
 some dangerous growth he knows that pain will follow 
 close upon the operation^ yet he does not stay his hand. 
 He is seeking health for the whole body, and the pain 
 is surely of little consequence to gain that end. So it 
 seems to me that, in the minds of those who framed the 
 message, there was the thought that this dear body of 
 our church was ailing and could only be healed and 
 strengthened by measures that, in seeming cruel, were 
 really kind. They acted on that impulse, as firmly and 
 unfalteringly as the surgeon acts, sorry to inflict suf- 
 fering but recognizing the necessity which admitted no 
 other course. That I would have withdrawn from my 
 office at a word is beside the question, yet for some 
 reason this method seemed best and I do not quarrel 
 with it. I am not here to blame, or to condemn any 
 man, save the one I know best of all myself. 
 
 He let his glance wander momentarily to the little 
 pew directly in front of the pulpit which Jan Praa oc- 
 cupied. The voorleezer was sitting forward on the 
 edge of the seat, his chin dropped, his eyes fastened on 
 the rod swaying in his quivering hands, on which it was 
 his duty to affix the notices and pass them up to the 
 minister to be read aloud. He did not meet that sad 
 regard ; he alone, of all the people in the church, could 
 not look upon that old, shaken face, but the domine did 
 not misconstrue his apparent aloofness. 
 
 " I have not been unconscious of late," the husky 
 voice continued, " that the attitude I was forced to take 
 has occasioned displeasure among you, though I trust 
 
 307
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 you will believe that it has been a sorrow to me to act 
 apart from your desires. Let that pass. I told the Con- 
 sistory that it was my dearest wish to labor in this 
 vineyard till the close of day it was something that, 
 through all my unworthiness, I longed for as the most 
 precious boon life could give me. Despite that un- 
 worthiness I clung to it clung to it " he paused, 
 choking a little. " And then last night, even before I 
 received your message I knew the end had come." 
 
 He stopped speaking and looked around again at the 
 people near him; at that window on the side with its 
 legend clear in the light of day, letter for letter, like 
 the writing on the wall " Vestigia nulla retrorsum " 
 but his glance did not seek out the Juffrouw's Bench. 
 He could not force himself to see, even for a moment, 
 the lifted face of his child with its likeness to that other 
 flower-like face. 
 
 " Last night, perplexed, and sorely troubled, I came 
 hither," he said presently, with no faltering in his voice, 
 " very often have I come here at odd hours for com- 
 fort it has been like a home to me. I came to the foot 
 of this sacred desk, thinking only of these beloved sur- 
 roundings and suddenly, the light from my lantern re- 
 vealed my shadow on the pulpit stairs. I am not afraid 
 of shadows what man is ? yet I trembled before this 
 one. It was very dark, very ugly, and it lay like some 
 great stain stretching up and up before my eyes. 
 We must have light to see darkness by and that little, 
 slanting beam showed me at last the blackness which I 
 had hitherto disregarded. It was the light of my con- 
 science. I could not evade it ! I knew, then, that it was 
 laid upon me to show you what I had seen. I went 
 
 308
 
 Within the Church 
 
 back to my home and found those symbols there the 
 stick the bread the old shoes and the bit of money 
 and I read their meaning aright. I must go forth 
 that is your wish away from you from this place 
 go forth." 
 
 A sound of protest interrupted him ; something like 
 a sob, from an impressionable woman, made itself heard 
 with startling distinctness. He turned in its direction 
 almost fiercely. 
 
 " You shall not pity me. I will not have it. I am not 
 worthy to receive it. Nor shall you blame, for so much 
 as a moment, the persons who devised that message, 
 cruel and insulting though it seemed to me at first. It 
 was my punishment. For thirty-seven years I have 
 preached in this house and I have met with love and 
 kindness far beyond any deserving of mine, God knows ! 
 For the last sixteen of those years I have nursed a black 
 hypocrisy in my own soul and yet during that time I 
 have counselled you, and rebuked you for your short- 
 comings ; I have been the mouthpiece for your prayers 
 in which confession was made and pardon implored ; I 
 have sought to lift up the veil that hangs before each 
 heart to search its corners, and I have kept my own 
 closely curtained. That is why I am undeserving of 
 your sympathy now. 
 
 " Is there a word of extenuation, do you ask in your 
 tolerance ? Is there ever any extenuation for falsehood 
 when the command has been laid upon us ' Speak ye 
 every man the truth to his neighbor ? ' You know the 
 answer ; I know the answer. Yet believe me, in my per- 
 plexity I found some excuse for myself for a time. I 
 saw the sin, but I kept it in my life while I told myself, 
 
 309
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 trying to justify the act, that it was done for another's 
 sake. That was insufficient reason. Either a thing is 
 good, or bad, half-good, half-bad, will not stand." He 
 turned his face from the Juffrouw's Bench ; now that 
 he was about to strike and wound that faithful heart, 
 he must keep his gaze averted from its woe. 
 
 " Many of you doubtless remember my my wife. 
 She was a young girl of great beauty, as was evident 
 to everyone who saw her, but more beautiful than her 
 face was the loveliness of her soul ; I can say that who 
 had some glimpses of its purity. And, moreover, in 
 her tongue was the law of kindness and her ways were 
 ever those of pleasantness, and peace. She was with 
 me three little years ; then she went away oh ! not as 
 you have always thought be very merciful in your 
 judgment not by the way, we all must travel, through 
 the valley of the shadow of death. There had been 
 how can I tell you ? one of her own years in Father- 
 land no, no, you must not blame her ! She was very 
 young, and I was more than treble her age; she only 
 married me because it was her father's dying wish. 
 There had never been between us that love which God 
 places in the hearts of some men and women to make a 
 heaven of this life for them, to be steadfast and pure 
 through sorrow, shame and adversity to the end and 
 beyond. I loved her like that, God knows, but I stood 
 apart from her, busy with my books, my work she 
 was very lonely, very young, and she loved that other 
 even as I loved her. He came to this country to seek 
 her and they went away together. 
 
 " Now you know my secret and my sin. The essence 
 of lying is the intention to deceive and, knowing this, 
 
 310
 
 Within the Church 
 
 I wilfully deceived you. I did not contradict the re- 
 ports that were current after my wife's disappearance ; 
 I wished you to believe them. It was a time of great 
 sickness in the land, as you may recollect, and death 
 was reaping his grim harvest everywhere ; that my wife 
 should be among the number did not seem singular to 
 you, knowing how many old and young alike were 
 taken. I let you think so, I I took your sympathy. 
 I wanted to save her from your scorn to keep my 
 child's memory of her mother pure and beautiful. It 
 was enough sadness for her to miss, throughout her 
 life, a mother's care, without the additional burden of 
 knowing that that mother had forsaken her. That is 
 what I told myself. I see now it was done chiefest to 
 save my own pride. I could not bear finger-sticking, 
 laughing, jeers at an old husband tricked and deserted. 
 I let you believe she was dead, I I kept still even 
 when you placed that tablet there I would not trust 
 your love. 
 
 "All through the years that followed I heard no word 
 of her. She was as dead to me, as if I had seen her 
 buried yonder. But a short time since, there came to 
 me this news: she died two years ago after a life of 
 holiness and charity, spent far from here in ministering 
 to the sick and dying. There were many, at the last, 
 to call her blessed thank God for that! She loved 
 much, suffered much, and surely to such much is for- 
 given." He stopped to rest for a moment and the little 
 silence was appalling in its quietness ; there was not the 
 least sound anywhere. 
 
 " I have not told you my story in order to palliate 
 your judgment of my deception toward you/' he went
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 on, his voice dragging wearily. " As I have said, there 
 is no justification for what I have done I see that now. 
 My grief might have remained my own, without being 
 built around with a lie; you would have respected it, 
 and sympathized with it had I trusted your affection. 
 I chose the other way, preached one thing, practised 
 another, cried ' forgive us our sins,' condemned yours, 
 and hugged my own close. There was no peace for me 
 anywhere ; yet all the while I knew how life and living 
 may be made good. To look on the face of Truth, to 
 know one's self a man to love what belongs to man- 
 hood ay, and to womanhood, too, honor, nobility of 
 purpose, strength, purity these are the things to win 
 for us the ' well done ' at the end of the course. These 
 things comprise the love of God, and in setting them at 
 naught God is set at naught likewise. Yet knowing 
 this, to His judgment, to His forgiveness, to His mercy 
 I appeal." 
 
 He was silent a long minute looking before him, be- 
 yond him, with eyes that perceived nothing; presently 
 he recovered himself and glanced down at the upturned 
 faces, seeing them but dimly through the mist that 
 clouded his vision. He leant toward them with hands 
 outstretched in a gesture of renunciation, the wide 
 sleeves falling away and revealing his sharply attenu- 
 ated wrists. So he stood for a moment, his face grow- 
 ing very tender, then he spoke again : " ' Finally, breth- 
 ren farewell. ... Be perfect, be of good comfort, 
 be of one mind, live in peace ; and the God of love and 
 peace shall be with you.' " 
 
 In the silence that followed, he turned and crept un- 
 steadily down the stairs ; at their foot Jan Praa met him 
 
 312
 
 Within the Church 
 
 and transferred the shaking hand from the rail to the 
 curve of his own arm. Something like a smile trem- 
 bled about the domine's mouth, but he gave no other 
 evidence of Jan's presence. The two men went for- 
 ward slowly in that great, encompassing hush which 
 seemed to hold no other sense of life ; suddenly a heavy 
 footfall sounded near them and Heilke stood close at 
 her master's side. He looked at her in wonderment as 
 she caught his gown between her fingers and pressed 
 a kiss against its folds. 
 
 " We'll go home now," she murmured, as if she were 
 speaking to a little child. 
 
 313
 
 XXVII 
 
 JAN AS KNIGHT 
 
 The day wore to its close, as all days be they happy 
 or sad have a fashion of doing since Time, although 
 relentless is also merciful, and night settled down. 
 The domine was in his study, whither he had retired 
 directly after his return from church. There had been 
 no word spoken on that slow, homeward walk in the 
 glare of the summer noon strident with the clamors 
 of myriad insects ; but sympathy and love have a thou- 
 sand means of expression, other than with the human 
 voice, and the old man was not unconscious of what lay 
 in the hearts of his faithful companions. If he missed 
 Annetje, and his occasional furtive glances showed that 
 he was seeking someone, he said nothing. He could 
 make allowances for her suffering; he was willing to 
 wait until, of her own accord, she should seek him out. 
 
 Heilke and Jan, whose minds were usually at the 
 antipodes of things, agreed in this instance with sur- 
 prising alacrity that for the present, at least, the domine 
 must be kept in ignorance of the pain and humiliation 
 which had overtaken his child. It was enough for him 
 to think, as he did, that she was bowed down by the 
 deception which he had practised, without being 
 troubled by the further grief that had entered into her 
 life. 
 
 " Wait a bit," Jan counselled, " wait a bit ! The 
 314
 
 Jan as Knight 
 
 stoutest bow will break with too much straining, I 
 doubt if he could stand up under this fresh sorrow." 
 
 He himself was almost prostrated by it. Heilke's 
 distress and amazement at the revelation of the dom- 
 ine's secret were but slight when compared to what 
 Jan felt when she told him of the scene enacted without 
 the church. He would not believe it ; not until he pos- 
 sessed himself of the despised letter and read and re- 
 read its little, pitiful sentences was he convinced. For 
 the time he was the victim of a dreadful inertia which 
 rendered him unable even to form any plans of ven- 
 geance, thrilling though he was with rage against Bel- 
 lenden and the longing to punish him. He could only 
 think of Annetje disprized, cast aside, the scorn and 
 laughter of the neighborhood. Through the long af- 
 ternoon he sat in the kitchen nursing these thoughts. 
 For the first time in its history the bell of the Garden 
 Street church was mute ; there could be no services un- 
 der the existing order of things and no need, therefore, 
 for the voorleezer to stir abroad. 
 
 Heilke, not far from him, clicked her needles reso- 
 lutely ; she could not sit with folded hands even in the 
 fairness of her surroundings which bespoke her right 
 to rest. The shining splendor of copper and pewter 
 brought no balm to her ; the plates looked down from 
 their racks with unsympathetic moon-faces and the 
 knives and spoons gleamed in derision from their racks 
 also. She had been industrious, working always from 
 dawn to dark, proud of results and this was the end ! 
 She filled the air with reproaches, recriminations, self- 
 laudings and heartbroken, little cries ; she was by turns 
 noisy in her grief and then again plunged into a bitter 
 
 315
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 silence, during which her needles went on unceasingly 
 the only sign of life about her. 
 
 Jan fingered his long-stemmed pipe, but he did not 
 smoke ; that consolation was not for him. For the most 
 part he was very quiet, though every now and again he 
 would break out with some reminiscence of Annetje's 
 childhood, speaking in that subdued tone the voice takes 
 on in recalling the ways and likings of those who are 
 no longer living. It almost seemed to him that An- 
 netje was dead. Certainly that little simple, pure- 
 souled girl he had once known and loved was no more. 
 She had vanished. He droned half to himself, half to 
 his companion, about the trivial happenings of those 
 other days. The words the child had first learned ; her 
 little fancies about the flowers, her delight in the thumb 
 and finger play and how she used to laugh over his 
 change of voice for the Dame and the Friar, and the 
 squeaking treble of the small maid-servant. 
 
 " Laugh laugh laugh," he said slowly, his own 
 face breaking into a smile as he looked before him see- 
 ing the whole scene. " And then it was : ' Over again, 
 dear Jan, over again.' Twenty times in succession 
 have I done it at her bidding." 
 
 In the grief the man and woman shared in common 
 neither one heeded the other's sorrow; each went on 
 with a separate monologue, or remained sunk in deep 
 thought. The old dog wandered restlessly in and out 
 of the kitchen, the pad-pad-of his step breaking the 
 quiet there. Sometimes he would climb the stairs and 
 snuff loudly at the closed door, scratching for admit- 
 tance, or he would lie on the floor without with the 
 patience of his kind, waiting through the long hours. 
 
 316
 
 Jan as Knight 
 
 He came boisterously down the stairs with the rol- 
 licking spirits of a puppy as the tall clock in the corner 
 struck nine, preceding his mistress running forward 
 a few steps and then back to her and throwing himself 
 against her in his delight. The girl moved slowly, 
 dragging her feet a little, but she came on resolutely 
 to the kitchen door. The room was lighted by a single 
 candle on the table where Heilke had just finished pre- 
 paring a tray of food for her master. She looked up 
 as Annetje entered ; she had not seen the girl since that 
 morning and she opened her lips now to upbraid her, 
 reproof being sometimes a veil for her deeper feelings. 
 Annetje came quite close, the light revealing her white 
 face, with its dark-ringed eyes, over which the waters 
 of sorrow had gone drowning all its former happiness. 
 It was like the face of the dead^ so strangely aloof did 
 it seem. 
 
 " Is that for my father? " she asked swiftly. " Let 
 me take it to him, please, Heilke dear Heilke " 
 
 She put her hands on the old woman's where they 
 grasped the tray and displaced them gently, but firmly. 
 Heilke, too much surprised to offer any opposition, fell 
 back without a word and watched the girl as she left 
 the room. As her steps receded along the hall without, 
 Jan leaned forward from his corner grasping the stem 
 of his pipe so tightly that it broke in twain and fell to 
 the floor. 
 
 " Dear God ! she doesn't know," he whispered 
 sharply. 
 
 " No more she doesn't," Heilke breathed. " Oh ! my 
 poor lamb, clean gone distracted as she is and wearing 
 her Sunday gown all these hours was there ever such 
 
 317
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 shiftlessness ? The domine thinks she knows and 
 he'll speak sudden owee! owee! I must go after 
 her " 
 
 " Let be," Jan commanded in a voice she dared not 
 disobey. " Suffering draws folks together and plants 
 love between them; let them find that out for them- 
 selves. It's God's will." 
 
 Annetje, in the meantime, went on to the study, found 
 the door ajar and entered the room. The candles 
 were burning on the table where the domine had 
 set them earlier ; he had been busy over some writing, 
 but at her step he started, almost as if he had been 
 listening for it, and turned his shaking face toward 
 her. 
 
 " Myn -wit lammetje it is you at last " the words 
 came with a rush. 
 
 " Yes, father," her voice trembled, " Heilke let me 
 bring your supper see, I put it here. You must eat 
 every mouthful " 
 
 " Yes yes come closer, kleintje, it has been a sad 
 day for you." 
 
 She turned slightly from his glance. 
 
 " It is over," she said wearily, after a short pause. 
 " I am only tired now, and somehow I can't talk I 
 want to be very still you you don't mind and you 
 understand? I just came to say good-night." 
 
 " My little one my little one God bless you for 
 coming to your old father." 
 
 They were at cross-purposes even in this moment of 
 sorrow, as they had been all their lives, each misunder- 
 standing the other. She had expected to be greeted by 
 bitter reproaches and rebukes and had steeled herself
 
 Jan as Knight 
 
 to meet them ; after the other punishment love had en- 
 dured all pain seemed trivial in comparison. While he, 
 on his part, had looked for vehement upbraiding and 
 poignant sorrow. Near as they were physically they 
 were only at the surface of things after all ; real com- 
 prehension of each other's needs did not touch them. 
 It was the tragedy of misapprehension the most piti- 
 ful tragedy of all. He put out his hand and drew her 
 face down to his and kissed her fondly. 
 
 " Myn wit lammetje myn lammetje " he said 
 brokenly, then he released her. 
 
 She clung to his arm with both hands, trembling in 
 her turn. 
 
 " You are so good so good," she cried a trifle wildly, 
 " my heart is very grateful." 
 
 She stood away from him after a moment, regaining 
 her self-control with a great effort; then she moved 
 toward the door, paused, and looked back. 
 
 " Eat every mouthful, father," her voice was still un- 
 steady, though she tried to make it playful and sweet, 
 " every mouthful please, else Heilke will be vexed and 
 good-night good-night." 
 
 The last words came to him from far down the hall 
 as she took her way back to her room. Heilke called 
 to her sharply and she turned from the stairs and en- 
 tered the kitchen again. 
 
 " You have had no food since morning," the woman 
 began. 
 
 " I am not hungry just tired very tired. I must 
 rest. I I could not even talk to my father. Let me 
 pass. You shall not look at me like that, I have done 
 no wrong," her voice sharpened in sudden agony. 
 
 319
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Oh ! you don't believe that I am what Vrouw Pieterse 
 said." 
 
 The silence hung heavy in the room ; Jan leaned for- 
 ward breathlessly. 
 
 " No," he almost shouted. 
 
 " No," the old woman stammered faintly, " no no 
 that is " 
 
 " Don't spoil it please," Annetje interrupted with 
 simple dignity. " Let it be that way. Good-night to 
 you both." 
 
 " Now perdition snatch Vrouw Pieterse and all who 
 listen to her foul tongue," Jan cried in a whirlwind of 
 grief and rage as the door of that upper room was closed 
 softly, " and forty million plagues seize on that black 
 hearted villain. I'll seek him out, I'll trounce him, I'll 
 shame him, who has cast shame upon the whitest soul 
 that ever lived. She could have done no wrong and 
 shown us that face." 
 
 " No/' Heilke said again very slowly, " I'd believe 
 her against the whole world." 
 
 With the morning light Jan's confidence was un- 
 shaken, but Heilke's had suffered some diminution ; the 
 kindlier feelings she had held toward the girl overnight 
 were tinctured largely with the thought of the scandal 
 in the neighborhood and, seen through that medium, 
 they were very bitter. Dull and tired from the long 
 sleepless hours in which she had repeatedly gone 
 through the misery of the previous day, she stumbled 
 about her work with swollen eyelids. At first, she did 
 not resent the fact that Annetje still lingered above- 
 stairs, though it was contrary to all precedent ; one part 
 of her nature was ready to make excuses for the girl 
 
 320
 
 Jan as Knight 
 
 who was in such sore distress, even though the other 
 part disapproved strongly. But as the day advanced 
 she began to grumble. The necessity that is put upon 
 women to toil, even while they weep, was one which 
 Heilke observed herself and demanded all others to ob- 
 serve likewise. Imbued with this thought she went 
 noisily up the stairs, fortified with authority, but a min- 
 ute later she came hurrying down with a distorted, ashy 
 face, from which all semblance of power had fled, leav- 
 ing only a great fear in its stead. Jan, who unlike her 
 could find no relief in employment, was lounging with- 
 out on the porch; he ran quickly into the kitchen at 
 the sound of her agonized wail, and with blanching face 
 listened to the news that Annetje was not in her room. 
 
 " She's somewhere in the garden, never fear," he 
 said cheerily enough. " Nature's got a way of calling to 
 her children to comfort them in their trouble she'll 
 help the little maid better than we can." 
 
 Partly convinced by this reasoning and the confidence 
 of his tones, and too much disturbed at the time for 
 further argument, Heilke returned to her work. Jan 
 waited for a while, pretending a sudden deep interest in 
 the roots of a creeper near the house, but when the 
 clatter of pans assured him that she was deeply en- 
 grossed in her labors he moved rapidly away whipped 
 by fears he could not overcome. He sought the gar- 
 den, beating up every nook and corner and searching 
 the little lane without, and the adjoining thicket. Twice 
 he went over the ground calling now softly, now more 
 loudly, using the little heart-names of her childhood, 
 ' Ladybird Sweetheart Jan's Bright Eyes ' but no 
 answer greeted him anywhere. 
 
 321
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 Finally he crept back in great dejection to the 
 kitchen door where the sun had long since passed the 
 noon mark and Heilke^ who had evidently kept only 
 half an eye upon her work, came briskly out to meet 
 him. When she saw his face she threw her apron over 
 her own, and broke into little, whimpering moans. 
 Neither spoke for a few moments, then the old woman 
 withdrew her apron and they fell into a low talk made 
 up of vague surmises and ill-disguised fears. Jan, the 
 more hopeful of the two, argued that Annetje had been 
 driven by her grief out into the country in the hope of 
 finding relief far from the haunts of men in the heal- 
 ing stillness; she had probably gone out in the early 
 morning before they had risen and would return with 
 the nightfall. But Heilke would not listen to such a 
 suggestion, convinced as she was that Annetje would 
 never go of her own free will while there remained the 
 chance of an encounter with anyone who had witnessed 
 her degradation. Harm had come to the child. The 
 bees had not swarmed low that spring for nothing, 
 and there had been other signs of ill besides it was 
 useless to disregard them they boded disaster and 
 sorrow. 
 
 Utterly cast down, her strong nature shattered, the 
 old woman as if she were indeed a child was anxious 
 to seek her master in her distress relying upon his coun- 
 sel ; but Jan stopped her fiercely. There seemed, to his 
 mind, no necessity to involve the domine in deeper sor- 
 row, for in speaking of Annetje's absence and their 
 fears the whole story of the letter and what it signified 
 must be told in its turn. Happily, for the moment, the 
 father was ignorant of the grief and shame to which 
 
 322
 
 Jan as Knight 
 
 his daughter had been subjected, and Jan determined 
 to keep the matter secret for a while longer at least. 
 He would seek Annetje himself and bring her home 
 safely; his vengeance against the English officer must 
 wait in the face of this new difficulty. 
 
 Suddenly it dawned upon him, as he cast about for 
 some way out of the trouble, that the girl in her de- 
 spair, eager for sympathy which she could not find 
 among her own people, had sought out Peggy Crewe 
 at Greenwich. The thought came like an inspiration. 
 In an instant, though usually slow of action, he formed 
 his plans communicating them rapidly to his compan- 
 ion who saw no hope in the enterprise and derided them 
 with a bitter tongue. Jan, however, was not to be 
 turned from his purpose by mere words. The day had 
 unexpectedly grown brighter to him. He hurried 
 away intent on his quest, leaving to Heilke the sad- 
 der task which women must always bear of remain- 
 ing at home, practically useless through hours whose 
 every minute seems age-long in the dark period of 
 waiting. 
 
 He went directly through to the Broadway and 
 walked rapidly on beneath the shade of beech and locust 
 trees in their rich leafage of summer. At that hour the 
 street was almost deserted and he met but few wayfar- 
 ers ; several chapmen loitered by bawling their wares, 
 an empty chair swang past, the bearers swearing loudly 
 at each other, and a pretty girl, attended by a negro 
 wench, sauntered demurely along. Once he caught 
 sight of a scarlet uniform well on in front of him and, 
 tingling with excitement, he started in pursuit, stum- 
 bling in his haste to overtake the wearer. He came up 
 
 323
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 with him at Little Queen Street and put a stern hand 
 on his collar, but the officer turned out to be a fat, blear- 
 eyed individual who swore roundly at the Dutchman 
 for his impudence and was for haling him off to the 
 magistrate on the instant. Happily for the offender, 
 however, there was a little stir at this juncture occa- 
 sioned by the appearance of the Public Crier crying the 
 loss of Miss Sally Remsen's purse and, in the confusion 
 attendant upon that ceremony, Jan escaped and crept 
 on to Old Windmill Lane where he turned down to the 
 waterside. There, in full view of the river its surface 
 just windkissed into tiny, glinting ripples and the lux- 
 uriant green of the Jersey hills on the other side he went 
 forward; tired, faint, sick with apprehension, utterly 
 regardless of any beauty in God's earth, or sky. 
 
 The little village reached at last, he was beset by 
 fresh difficulties. At the time of Miss Crewe's depart- 
 ure from the parsonage he knew she had gone immedi- 
 ately to Greenwich, but whether to her own home, or 
 to visit friends, he was equally ignorant. Acting upon 
 the supposition that she lived there he went from house 
 to house, making inquiries, and was finally rewarded 
 by being directed to a cottage lying some distance be- 
 yond the settlement to the north. 
 
 The house, when he came up to it, despite the beauty 
 of its vine-covered, rambling exterior, struck a chill to 
 his heart and sent a blinding mist of tears into his eyes. 
 The windows and doors were closed, and the whole 
 place wore a deserted appearance. He steadied him- 
 self against the support of the porch. It was too much 
 to bear ! All that time lost his own fatigue counted 
 for less than nothing it was only of the precious min- 
 
 324
 
 Jan as Knight 
 
 utes that he thought, and of Annetje where was she? 
 He stormed at the door in his despair, throwing him- 
 self against it and bruising his hands with knocking, 
 as if the senseless wood held a message for him, which 
 he must beat out in some way. But it remained closed 
 and deaf to his appeals like Heaven, he told himself 
 dully. 
 
 Utterly spent and hopeless he turned at last to go 
 and, at the same moment, a woman thrust a sleepy 
 face out of an upper window and demanded his busi- 
 ness. As her vision cleared, and she noted his attire, 
 she overwhelmed him with coarse vituperations, but he 
 cared little for them, standing his ground and repeating 
 his questions whenever she paused for breath. In the 
 end his patient punctiliousness, which would have soft- 
 ened a heart of stone, won the desired information. 
 There had been no little Dutch maiden there that day, 
 nor any day, and Miss Crewe was with her family at 
 the town house over against the Fort. 
 
 Back again by the way he had come Jan toiled. The 
 river gleamed now rose, now amethyst, now gold, in 
 his unseeing eyes, the little waves chattering happily to 
 one another in the freshening breeze. A wood-thrush 
 from a low bush bubbled out its joyous notes and far- 
 ther away a Bob o' Lincoln gave its soft call, but he 
 did not heed them. How long the way was ! 
 
 Through the lane again to the Broadway where a 
 few figures of fashion strolled idly and some leather- 
 aproned apprentices hastened past, their day's work 
 over and done. The air was full of the sad donging of 
 the cow-bells as the cows went slowly homeward in 
 the glow of the setting sun. The clanging sound smote 
 
 325
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 Jan's ears fearfully and sent him along with new im- 
 petus, running a little at times, and then again moving 
 with feet weighted with a heaviness that made it im- 
 possible for him to do more than crawl. How long 
 the way was how long ! 
 
 326
 
 XXVIII 
 
 PEGGY INTERCEDES 
 
 The door was opened and closed by an impetuous 
 hand, and the further sound of silken skirts rustling 
 over the waxed floor aroused the old man from his bit- 
 ter thoughts. He had been waiting but a few minutes 
 though they had seemed like hours to him in the 
 brilliantly lighted room where the candles, reflected on 
 every side in long mirrors, mocked him with their glare. 
 Candles candles candles an infinity of splendor 
 that dazzled him, unaccustomed as he was to such lav- 
 ish display. He rubbed his eyes to ease their ache and 
 took a step forward to meet the advancing figure 
 dressed, for some rout, in silver stuff brocaded with lit- 
 tle roses, with creamy lace making a soft mist about the 
 whiteness of throat and bosom and falling from the 
 elbow-sleeves over the rounded arms. The same light 
 that accentuated the girl's loveliness showed him a dis- 
 cordant note amid the rich surroundings with his dis- 
 ordered dust-stained clothes, the tired droop of his 
 shoulders and his haggard face in which hope kindled 
 anew at sight of her. He uttered a little cry. 
 
 " You " her clear voice cut like a whip-lash. 
 " They told me it was someone with a message of deep 
 import. I wonder you dare come hither." 
 
 " I couldt not my message py your serfing-man gif, 
 327
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 juffrouw, it vas alone for you. I am come to seek our 
 chilt our Annetje " 
 
 " And what should she do here, pray ? " 
 
 " I ton't know. I joost t'ink maype she has neet of a 
 vort vis you." 
 
 " What word from her would I hear ? " Peggy de- 
 manded swiftly, blind to the anguish in his face which 
 drowned his piteous attempts at a smile. " Oh ! I know 
 I was a stranger to you all, but you showed me kind- 
 ness and I trusted you, Annetje especially she knew 
 why I had taken refuge among you, and she promised 
 to keep my secret. Fool that I was, I thought it safe 
 with her. Then I was forced out of my hiding you, 
 yourself came to me with the story, and the moment I 
 was gone the tongues of your people were let loose in- 
 stigated by that little cat " 
 
 " No, no, juffrouw, so of Annetje shall you not 
 speak. No vort has t'e chilt sait, nopoty toes she efer 
 see, ant alvays to Heilke she say t'e people ton't know 
 v'at t'ey talk of. Tat is so, peliefe me." 
 
 Peggy snapped her fingers disdainfully. 
 
 " Oh ! of course you are telling me the truth," she 
 mocked, " 'tis a pity it does not fall in with my humor 
 to credit it. And now that you have said your say I 
 can very readily dispense with your company." 
 
 She moved a step or two nearer the mirror, ignoring 
 him as if he were no more than the chair she brushed 
 by impatiently, spread her fan wide and half saluted 
 'the vision that faced her from its depths with a pretty 
 show of dimples. Jan stood watching her for a mo- 
 ment ; then he caught her gown almost roughly between 
 his fingers, fearful lest she might vanish. 
 
 328
 
 Peggy Intercedes 
 
 " Juffrouw listen, t'e chilt how can I tell you ? she 
 is no more at home she is gone " 
 
 " As I wish you were." 
 
 " Juffrouw, to your heart I haf a vort to say." 
 
 The insistent appeal in his voice, no less than in his 
 touch, arrested her attention. She stepped back a few 
 paces and instantly the figure in the glass retreated also, 
 hovering like some gay little shadow in the distance as 
 if peering curiously at the two actors of the scene. 
 
 " Why do you annoy me in this way ? I do not know 
 where she is, I tell you, nor do I care. She would not 
 come here. She has wronged me too deeply oh ! deny 
 it, deny it, if you wish only that doesn't alter matters. 
 I'm not one of your soft kind ; I don't forgive easily and 
 I don't forget. It's just as well for her, perhaps, that 
 she didn't come. What could she want to say to me ? " 
 
 Jan remained silent as if, with this opportunity to 
 unburden himself, he had lost all power of utterance; 
 he did not appear even to have heard her questions. 
 The impatient sweep of her fan recalled him to a real- 
 ization of his surroundings and he plunged into a pitiful 
 account of what had befallen Annetje the day before. 
 His story was uninterrupted from beginning to end, but 
 as he finished the girl, unable to control herself longer, 
 turned upon him in a frenzy of anger. 
 
 " How dare you slander my cousin in this fashion ? " 
 she cried, white with displeasure. " I wish I could have 
 you whipped He would not stoop to do what you have 
 said. It's some trick on your part to force his liking 
 for that little soft-faced she-thing, to bind him to her. 
 He never received the letter " 
 
 " Put, juffertje, it vas t'ere nailt to t'e toor, I tell 
 329
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 you, for t'e people to see ant laugh at it ant her at 
 her, oh ! my tear Kott. Ant she must go pack home 
 tisgracet. If I couldt kill him t'at tone t'at crime it 
 vouldt not help her she is proken-heartet forefer. 
 Tear Kott ! t'at proken-heartet, little v'ite face she show 
 to us last night, so pure as any lily." 
 
 " My cousin did not do that thing he is a gentleman 
 That was the work of a cur." 
 
 " Put t'e letter vas to him only to him," Jan pro- 
 tested obstinately, "not any ot'er one couldt haf it. 
 Impossiple! See, here it is reat you yourself ant 
 tecite." 
 
 Peggy seized the paper which he tobk from his breast 
 and bent over it with relentless, mocking eyes ; she felt 
 little mercy for Annetje. 
 
 " Tis not an easy hand," she murmured with a con- 
 temptuous laugh, " hmm ! hmm ! " Then she began 
 to read the contents half to herself, half aloud. 
 
 Jan crept nearer, intent on hearing, though every 
 word of the letter had bitten into his memory as in- 
 delibly as the etcher's acid bites upon his plates. 
 
 " A little louter, p*lease." 
 
 " ' Dear my captain,' " Peggy's voice softened mo- 
 mentarily. " ' Never you come to my garden any more, 
 very dark is it, like the winter is here and the flowers 
 live not. Oh ! believe me, no word do I ever say about 
 Miss Crewe I swear it by the most holy thing to me 
 the thought of my mother! I say nothing. You 
 will come some more here? So long the time is when 
 I see you not. Please come, sir, please to come soon 
 right away. Good-by, your Annetje.' " 
 
 Something between a sob and a roar escaped from 
 330
 
 Peggy Intercedes 
 
 Jan's throat, as grief and anger wrestled afresh within 
 him. Peggy looked his way ; the disdain gone from her 
 glance, her face full of pity. She had taken up the 
 letter prepared to ridicule it, but the sight of the girl's 
 heart that showed between the lines and in every word 
 conquered her. Her eyes were wet and tears, as a gen- 
 eral rule, were far from their laughing depths. The 
 truth of Annetje's denial seemed unmistakable. But 
 even if it were false and she had disclosed the secret, 
 what punishment could be keener than the one inflicted 
 upon her ? It was out of all sense of proportion, Peggy 
 told herself with quickening breath. It was too dread- 
 ful. Public whipping, the stocks, the pillory the ig- 
 nominy of each and all was nothing in comparison to 
 the disgrace Annetje had suffered. If the covering 
 had been dragged from her body and she had been cast 
 naked on the streets, it would not have been so fiendish 
 an indignity as this stripping the veil from her heart 
 and showing its inmost corners. Peggy's cheeks 
 flamed, all her womanhood up in arms against this cru- 
 elty to one of her sex. Her anger against Annetje had 
 merged into wrath and contempt against the man who 
 had subjected the girl to so great an insult, yet there 
 were tenderer feelings stirring within her, too, to de- 
 fend and excuse him, to deny strenuously such an ac- 
 tion on his part. 
 
 " Put t'e chilt, juffertje you haf not seen her? " 
 The despair in Jan's voice struck across that constant 
 see-saw of did and didn't in her breast ; one minute dis- 
 belief in her cousin's innocence rode high, then belief 
 swung in its stead. She was dizzy with the alternate 
 thoughts. 
 
 331
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Not since I left how long ago it seems ! " She 
 faltered a moment. " Do you think she has gone to 
 him ? " she asked in a low voice. 
 
 Jan recoiled as if she had struck him a blow. 
 
 " To him, juffrouw, to him ant he has tone like t'at 
 to her?" 
 
 " She may excuse him, who can say ? She loves him, 
 and women don't change all in a minute. She has no- 
 where else to go. Heilke is right in thinking that she 
 would shrink from being seen by the persons who had 
 witnessed her shame." The girl was very gentle, it 
 was Peggy at her best who was speaking. 
 
 " Veil t'en, v'at is it I can to? In t'e tark am I." 
 
 She hesitated momentarily, her face softening and 
 growing hard by turns with the stress of her emotions. 
 
 " We'll go together and find her," she said simply. 
 " Poor little Annetje ! If she is not with him, he may 
 be able to tell us where to seek. But first I must get 
 something to throw over my gown. I will be with you 
 again directly." 
 
 She returned after a short absence wrapped in a long 
 cloak of scarlet cloth, the hood drawn low over her face. 
 She moved with the utmost caution and, signalling him 
 to follow, led the way along the corridor through the 
 great door, which she opened almost noiselessly though 
 she was less careful about closing it, out into the quiet 
 street. The few pedestrians they met were too intent 
 upon their own concerns to give more than a casual 
 glance to the heavily shrouded figure attended by the 
 old Dutchman. Sometimes, when a link-boy threw his 
 light across her path, she cowered nearer her compan- 
 ion and once, when a band of sailors on shore for a 
 '332
 
 Peggy Intercedes 
 
 night's frolic passed them and several of their num- 
 ber turned with the cry ' A petticoat ! A petticoat ! ' 
 she clung to Jan's arm like a little child. The simple 
 dignity of his presence was sufficient protection and her 
 tormentors withdrew with boisterous laughter. After 
 that, she met with no other adventure. 
 
 For the most part they found the Broadway as peace- 
 ful as at high noon ; the night was still young and few 
 roisterers were abroad. The coffee-houses and ordi- 
 naries they passed were as yet slimly patronized, but 
 through the open windows they could see the card- 
 tables all laid out, and occasionally there came the 
 rattling of dice and the quick slapping down of paste- 
 board on wood where some of the most inveterate 
 gamesters were already at play. 
 
 The man and girl went rapidly forward, without a 
 word to each other, until they reached Crown Street, 
 into which they turned and walked a short distance 
 west. Then Peggy stopped in front of a moderate-sized 
 brick house and arrested her companion's progress by 
 a hasty touch. The windows on the second floor were 
 oblong patches of light and, through their parted cur- 
 tains, the spectators had a glimpse of a meagrely 
 furnished sitting-room with a solitary, dejected-look- 
 ing figure lounging over a table. Peggy felt her heart 
 beat tumultuously. It was the first time she had seen 
 Bellenden since that long-ago day in Annetje's garden 
 and, angry as she told herself she ought to be with him, 
 she was conscious only of a great delight at this mo- 
 ment which swept all other considerations aside. She 
 knew he had been abroad both that day and the previous 
 one; she knew also that he was too proud to come to 
 
 333
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 her home until she sent him word. If she sent him 
 word! What would not that mean to him and her? 
 That very evening the balance had swung well to the 
 side which spelled both Bellenden's happiness and her 
 own, but a little touch on Jan's part had swung it back 
 irrevocably. She choked down the thought. 
 
 Acting under her hurried directions, Jan rapped sev- 
 eral times on the door which, after a long period of 
 waiting, was opened by a surly looking man who 
 held some dirty cards in one hand, as if he had been 
 interrupted in the midst of a game. He admitted them 
 without a word and, after indicating the upper room 
 with a comprehensive sweep of his thumb, he went 
 back along the way he had come, leaving Jan and 
 his companion to mount the stairs, or not, as they 
 saw fit. 
 
 Bellenden, who was trying to amuse himself with an 
 old number of " The Spectator," heard the approach to 
 his floor with the utmost indifference; the house held 
 other tenants and he was looking for no company. He 
 was almost entirely recovered of his wound, though his 
 whole person wore an air of lassitude and his face was 
 white and haggard as a result of his sufferings both 
 mental and physical. As the steps paused at his 
 threshold he turned to throw an inquiring eye at the 
 intruders. Jan was in front, his features blazing with 
 hatred, but after the briefest glance Bellenden, seem- 
 ing scarcely to recognize him, looked past him at the 
 woman's figure which, heavily cloaked and hooded 
 though it was, bore an indisputable appearance of qual- 
 ity. In a moment he was on his feet and across the 
 room. 
 
 334
 
 Peggy Intercedes 
 
 " What fresh folly is this ? " he demanded in an angry 
 voice as he put his hand roughly on the girl's shoulder. 
 " Why will you so disregard consequences ? " 
 
 " La," Peggy retorted, flaring up in her turn at the 
 reproof and authority in his manner, " 'tis not for any 
 pleasure the sight of your face can give me, I warrant 
 you, but for a vastly more important matter. Pray 
 have the civility, sir, now that I am here to allow me 
 to enter." 
 
 " Stay where you are," he commanded shortly, " at 
 least until I have drawn the curtains. Then you may 
 come in and be very welcome, Peggy," his voice soft- 
 ened, " even though I know it is not right for you to 
 be here." 
 
 She would not allow herself to be appeased by any 
 tenderness on his part, but remained testily on the 
 threshold while he screened the windows and removed 
 the candles to a greater distance. When he had fin- 
 ished she advanced into the room, unloosening her car- 
 dinal and throwing back its hood. He devoured the 
 fairness of her face with greedy eyes, and she flushed 
 a little beneath his gaze, though she met it defiantly 
 enough at first. Then her own glance wavered and 
 fell. 
 
 " All this to-do to save a girl's name from gossip," 
 she sneered, for the sake of saying something to quiet 
 the gladness that filled her heart at this evidence of his 
 care of her. " 'Tis a thousand pities that you did not ob- 
 serve the same precautions toward that other girl. Her 
 name is as much to her as mine is to me. For my own 
 part, knowing what my errand is, I care not if the whole 
 world should see me here. I am come to learn some- 
 
 335
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 thing about Annetje Ryerssen. Tell me where she is 
 and I will be gone immediately." 
 
 "If you were a man I should know how to answer 
 you, but because you are a woman I find it a more diffi- 
 cult matter. I have not seen the lady you mention, 
 madam, for weeks." 
 
 Jan uttered a bitter, wordless cry and covered his 
 face with his hands. He had moved aside to let Peggy 
 enter and then had taken up his position near the closed 
 door, he was somewhat removed from his companions, 
 who were within a few feet of each other, as if his grief 
 set him apart from them. 
 
 " You will say next that you have not heard from 
 her?" 
 
 " Whatever I say will be the truth." 
 
 " So this is the home of all the virtues? Very pretty 
 very pretty." 
 
 Bellenden did not take any notice of the slow, im- 
 pertinent stare with which Peggy glanced around the 
 four walls of his room. 
 
 " Whatever I say will be the truth," he repeated. 
 "Though I confess it mystifies me, notwithstanding my 
 slight acquaintance with your vagaries, that you should 
 take up cudgels in behalf of one who has done so much 
 to injure you. Both you and I, madam, have a long 
 score to settle with this same Annetje Ryerssen." 
 
 " Then I think you have settled it shall we say sat- 
 isfactorily? from your stand-point, that is," Peggy 
 cried sharply. "For myself I would never stoop to your 
 methods, not even if she had injured me a thousand 
 times more deeply than she has, I would scorn to use 
 them. Vent your spleen as you like, sir, but don't dare 
 
 336
 
 Peggy Intercedes 
 
 to say it was done in my behalf. What, treat a girl 
 like that, hold her up to contempt, use her own hand 
 to testify against her ? Oh ! gallant conduct, worthy of 
 a gentleman and a soldier. Disgraced as Annetje was 
 in the sight of those people, I warrant she was a far 
 nobler figure in their thoughts than the man who, for- 
 getting his manhood, subjected her to that treatment." 
 
 " You are speaking in riddles," he interrupted hotly, 
 though his voice dragged with pain, " I do not under- 
 stand you. Perhaps you will have the goodness to 
 make your meaning clear." 
 
 She did not answer him but took the letter from her 
 dress and tossed it contemptuously upon the table. He 
 leaned forward and, picking it up, read it through 
 slowly, read it again, and still again ; then he raised a 
 wondering face to the two pair of watchful eyes. 
 
 " First you come here demanding Annetje's where- 
 abouts, then you give me a letter from her. I confess 
 I stand in need of some more definite explanation." 
 
 " Put t'at letter, sir it is yours alreaty ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is mine, it belongs to me. I do not know 
 how it came into my cousin's keeping." 
 
 Jan choked over a torrent of indistinguishable words 
 and leapt toward the speaker, his fist upraised. But 
 Peggy, with a quick, catlike spring, caught his arm be- 
 fore it could descend upon the man who stood regarding 
 them both in apparent unconcern for himself. 
 
 " There, there, Jan, one moment let me speak. Let 
 me tell this gentleman how I came to be in possession 
 of property which he shows us he prizes so highly." 
 
 " Go on, madam, I am all attention." 
 
 She poured forth her scorn rapidly, her cheeks flam- 
 337
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 ing, her accusations winged with bitterness. A short 
 silence followed her words broken only by Jan's la- 
 bored breathing; even the sound of her cloak falling 
 from her shoulders to the floor was increased tenfold 
 by the absolute quiet of the room. 
 
 " That you could suppose me guilty of such conduct, 
 Jan Praa, I can readily understand," Bellenden said at 
 last. " I know how sincere your devotion to Annetje 
 has been, and is, and to have her treated in such fashion 
 is enough to drag the very sun from the firmament. It 
 is enough to blind you to any fair estimate of a man's 
 honor. This letter was written to me, it bears my 
 name hence you may be excused for thinking I 
 scorned it as it was scorned. But until this moment I 
 never saw it, believe that, or not as you choose. It is 
 the truth ! May I be blasted where I stand if it is not 
 so. Who held this up to public ridicule, I cannot guess, 
 but I will leave no stone unturned to discover and pun- 
 ish the person who has dared to fix this blot on her and 
 on me as well." He went a little closer to the old man. 
 
 " Even if you believe me," he said in a lower voice, 
 " you will not find it easy to forgive me for what my 
 thoughtlessness has wrought, since it is now so inex- 
 tricably woven with this wrong. It is true that, until 
 a few weeks ago, I passed many an afternoon with An- 
 netje in her garden my visits unknown to the domine. 
 Yet never for a moment have I loved her, nor have I 
 treated her with less respect than I should make the test 
 of a man's conduct to my own sister. This I swear by 
 all that is holy. It was just a pastime for me, I thought 
 it the same for her. In the face of this, however," he 
 touched the letter gently, " such a justification as mine 
 
 338
 
 Peggy Intercedes 
 
 casts small glory upon me and for that reason I feel 
 very guilty, though innocent, indeed, of what you ac- 
 cuse me." 
 
 Jan eyed him doubtfully, at a loss what to think or 
 say. Bellenden had the appearance of a man speaking 
 the truth, and the unsparing fashion in which he blamed 
 himself did something to lessen Jan's wrath toward 
 him, though he had neither the heart, nor the tact, to 
 admit as much. Bellenden stood waiting for some 
 word; even anger would have been preferable to the 
 silence which, filled by his own condemning thoughts, 
 was unbearable. He looked almost wistfully at the old 
 man, seeing only him in the room. He seemed to have 
 forgotten the girl's presence but, as she moved, he 
 turned in her direction and stared coldly at her letting 
 his glance wander over the graceful, slender figure in 
 its pretty show of finery. Suddenly a spasm of pain 
 contracted his face. 
 
 " I can find excuses in plenty for Jan Praa's censure," 
 he cried with quick scorn, " though I can find none for 
 you. I have suffered your injustice before, but I will 
 not suffer it now. By heavens ! you shall take back your 
 accusations." He stepped swiftly to her side and seized 
 her wrist, his fingers closing around it like a vise. 
 " Look at me," he commanded, between his teeth, " do 
 you hear? And tell me if, in your heart, you believe 
 the charges your lips have made." 
 
 She kept her eyes persistently lowered, the flush 
 deepening along her face and throat under his stern 
 regard which seemed to penetrate to her very soul. 
 He tightened his hold. 
 
 " Look at me." 
 
 339
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " Sir, sir, like a pirt tefenting its young she tefentet 
 you ; no vort of plame vouldt she hear. Two wrongs 
 ton't efer make a right, juffertje, ant pecause t'ere once 
 haf peen misunterstantings ant sorrow apout t'e letter 
 is no reason t*at t'ey shouldt pe again. Up, ant speak." 
 
 Peggy gave a low laugh for answer, but she would 
 not lift her eyes ; she tried instead to free her hand. 
 
 " You hurt me," she murmured. 
 
 " Not so much as you hurt me," Bellenden returned 
 in a swift whisper, and though he loosened his fingers 
 a trifle he did not relax his hold. " One word to con- 
 firm what Jan has said bless him ! " 
 
 " Two words forgive me." 
 
 " Freely. Come, sweet, just one look." 
 
 " La, you men are never satisfied," her face dimpled, 
 then suddenly grew very grave. " Let me go, Cousin 
 Bellenden," she cried, but not ungently, so he could 
 take no offence, " I came hither seeking poor Annetje ; 
 you must help us if you can. She has been from home 
 all through the day and Jan has sought her out to 
 Greenwich " 
 
 " So proken-heartet vas t'e chilt, Kott knows v'at has 
 pecome of her." 
 
 " You don't think " Bellenden began sharply, then 
 his voice broke. 
 
 " I ton't t'ink not'ings only gone avay is she." 
 
 " What does the domine say ? " Bellenden demanded. 
 " Surely he did not believe that black thing of me." 
 
 " Not'ings he knows yet of t'e letter ant Annetje 
 to him ve keep quiet. He has trouples so teep, so pitter, 
 as nefer vas. Put it grows late. I must t'e chilt 
 
 seek " 
 
 340
 
 Peggy Intercedes 
 
 " I will go with you and on the way you can tell me 
 what has befallen the domine. It will be best to go 
 directly to the parsonage, for Annetje may have re- 
 turned during your absence, though first I must take 
 my cousin to her home " 
 
 " No no no I will not go back there. The do- 
 mine helped me in my need and if he is in trouble I may 
 be able to help him a little. You will not hinder me? " 
 
 Bellenden wrapped the cloak around the girl, smiling 
 into her beseeching eyes as he fastened the hood be- 
 neath her chin. 
 
 " Have your way, child, I can refuse you nothing." 
 
 She put her hand timidly on his arm as they quitted 
 the room ; Jan, somewhat in advance, had already begun 
 the descent of the stairs. 
 
 " Jack," she breathed. 
 
 He bent toward her, a great happiness in his face. 
 
 " Mischief Torment Sweetheart " 
 
 " No, no, forget everything, only that once you prom- 
 ised to serve me in any way I desired with your time, 
 your heart, your life." 
 
 " I remember they were not mere words." 
 
 " Then when Annetje is found, you will make her 
 your wife." 
 
 He recoiled a step. 
 
 " You ask too much," he said with a bitter laugh. 
 
 " She loves you, and think what her life will be with 
 those narrow people always crying her down; she can 
 never rise above their suspicions and their taunts with- 
 out your aid. Think of the degradation she has en- 
 dured and besides, you owe her some reparation for 
 
 this indignity " 
 
 341
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 " I owe her none 'twas not of my doing I will not 
 marry her." 
 
 " For my sake, Jack." 
 
 " It is for your sake that I cannot do as you ask I 
 love you." 
 
 She turned from him slowly and moved to the stairs. 
 
 " Between us both we have brought nothing but sor- 
 row and trouble to that father and daughter," she said 
 sadly. " Jan told me, long ago, that the domine's par- 
 ishioners were angered by my stay in his house; that 
 he might even lose his church in consequence ; and now 
 this stigma laid upon Annetje he must suffer as well. 
 Oh ! try to right the wrong It is in your power " 
 
 " It is easy for you to ask this of me," he interrupted 
 savagely, " because my love is nothing to you." 
 
 " Is it so easy for me ? " She paused, with her hand 
 on the stair-rail and turned her face over her shoulder, 
 looking steadily at him where he stood some paces back 
 of her ; the light from the room shone full into her up- 
 raised eyes. " Would it make it any easier for you to 
 know that it is hard for me the hardest, bitterest thing 
 I have ever done or could ever do ? " 
 
 He uttered a sharp cry and moved unsteadily toward 
 her with outstretched arms ; she put up her hand to keep 
 him away. 
 
 " If I had not thought I could trust you I would not 
 have told you this, but because I rely on your honor 
 I let you see into my heart, and I know you will respect 
 what you have seen. Think of Annetje Ryerssen's 
 heart exposed there to that crowd of curs and be very 
 merciful to her." 
 
 " Peggy you ask too much/' he cried again. 
 342
 
 Peggy Intercedes 
 
 " Not more than you will do." 
 He waited a long minute ; they both waited. 
 " No," he said at last, " not more than I will do." 
 She did not trust herself to look into his face again, 
 but bent swiftly and touched his coat-sleeve with her 
 lips. Then she ran down the stairs and joined Jan in 
 the door-way. 
 
 343
 
 XXIX 
 
 THE ANGEL OF THE DARKER DRINK 
 
 It was growing light, though it was still some time 
 before dawn ; everywhere the gray sky bent above the 
 gray land, and in the east the morning star, its fires un- 
 dimmed, kept watch over the sleeping world. A half- 
 awakened bird, stirring in the eaves, let fall a drowsy 
 cheep and from a distance, mellowed into a silver note, 
 came the crowing of a cock. Then deep silence seemed 
 to rush in on the extinction of these small sounds as if 
 Nature imposed quiet upon her creatures of tree and 
 field and stayed breathless herself to witness the mira- 
 cle of the new day's coming. 
 
 In the hush Annetje stepped out upon the kitchen 
 porch and closed the door cautiously behind her. She 
 stood for some moments, awed by the great stillness, 
 her face turned toward the garden where indistinct 
 shapes rose out of the mist melting vaguely into one 
 another. The perfumes of the dreaming flowers came 
 to her like a message, calling with an insistence she 
 could not resist. She moved toward them with extrem- 
 est care, but light as her footfalls were, and powerless 
 to arouse the inmates of the house, they did not escape 
 the hearing of the old watch-dog. With a low growl 
 he bounded up from his slumbers and ran swiftly after 
 the dim, receding figure, his menacing note changing 
 to a sharp woof of delight as he overtook the girl. She 
 
 344
 
 The Angel of the Darker Drink 
 
 knelt down, her arms stretched wide to welcome him, 
 and dragged him close to her breast, stilling his glad 
 cries with little soft whispers. So for a few minutes 
 they remained close together in that big, silent world 
 with love speaking low between their hearts. 
 
 It grew lighter. Near-by objects stood out more 
 clearly; the trees and bushes took on their own forms 
 and back of her the house became a definite shape. The 
 star paled slowly before the surer, nearer approach of 
 dawn. 
 
 Annetje looked up at the increasing brightness with 
 dilating eyes. It was so pitiless it seemed to mock her. 
 She pushed the dog aside with an impatient touch and 
 sprang to her feet, taking her way swiftly through the 
 garden. Hollyhocks, drenched with dew, rose tall and 
 straight on either side of the path; beyond them the 
 tiger lilies showed blurred outlines, their glowing, 
 freckled cups unseen ; then came the phlox, not ready 
 yet to bloom, and the little lane of sweet peas with each 
 blossom " on tiptoe for a flight." She knew the whole 
 array only too well, but she would not pause anywhere 
 though, as she passed, like fairy voices the fragrance 
 of the growing things called out to detain her : ' Here 
 am I, lavender ' ' here am I, sweet marjoram ' ' here 
 am I, lemon-balm ' no cry too tiny to escape her 
 hearing. 
 
 Something stronger than her resolution, however, 
 made her crouch down by the side of the heart-shaped 
 bed and lean across its low border. In the growing 
 light she could distinguish the flowers perfectly. The 
 pansies of the earlier year were gone and, in their stead, 
 tufts of sweet alyssum gleamed up at her with friendly, 
 
 345
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 little white faces; china pinks and clove whispered a 
 welcome with their spicy breaths and the mignonette, 
 too, had its own message of gladness. She pulled some 
 of the blossoms and bent over them with murmuring 
 words and kisses before she put them into her dress 
 then, without another glance, she fled through the rest 
 of the garden to the little gate which friendship, play- 
 ing at love, had often opened and which had so recently 
 been closed by another hand. 
 
 She did not realize until she set it ajar, so preoccupied 
 was she with her thoughts, that Joris had followed her 
 and, before she could detain him, had run past her 
 into the lane. She ordered him home sternly. Usu- 
 ally obedient, for the dog's part is always to love and 
 serve without seeking to understand, Joris was muti- 
 nous on this occasion. He would not go back but 
 couched at her feet, his head pressed close against his 
 paws, his eyes raised to her face. It was his way of 
 begging for a favor. She prodded his side cruelly 
 with her foot, hating him for forcing her to do such 
 a thing and hating herself the more for doing it. He 
 would not heed her commands, instead he lay motion- 
 less, entrenched in his revolt, looking at her mournfully 
 and submitting without a groan to the unaccustomed 
 blows which were rained upon him. She tried to drag 
 him back, but he was very heavy, and she unusually 
 weak, so that her efforts availed hardly to stir him. 
 She desisted finally and sank down at his side, her tears 
 falling unchecked upon his face. 
 
 " Oh ! I have hurt you," she wailed, " forgive me, 
 old dear heart, forgive me. But won't you understand 
 that I can't take you with me? You must go home. 
 
 346
 
 The Angel of the Darker Drink 
 
 Ah ! " she broke off with a shrill cry, looking wild- 
 ly around. " It's morning it's morning I cannot 
 stay " 
 
 The day had come at last triumphant, rose- 
 crowned it's fore-runners, with their slender lances of 
 gold, pricking through the heavy purple clouds, rend- 
 ing them apart and leaving everywhere a trace of red 
 to mark the march of conquest. Sky and earth 
 throbbed with brightness and the loveliness of dawn 
 found an echo in the voices of happy birds. From the 
 laburnum bushes within the gate a robin tinkled out 
 its thin, sweet song of midsummer and across the lane, 
 right in front of Joris whose mind was on other mat- 
 ters, an impudent squirrel frisked, eager to seek his 
 breakfast. 
 
 Annetje followed the flash of his audacious tail with 
 an indifferent glance that suddenly became attentive 
 and fixed upon a long, motionless object which, half 
 hidden in the grass, had been disturbed by the animal's 
 progress. She was on her feet in an instant and ran 
 to the spot to see if her eyes had deceived her, but there, 
 to support their testimony, lay a piece of rope heavy 
 with rain and dew, yet offering her a means of escape. 
 She picked it up with a cry of relief and strained it 
 backward and forward to test its strength. The rope 
 had been used by Larry to tie his horse the day of 
 Peggy's departure and he had neglected to put it in the 
 chaise when they had driven away. To find it at this 
 moment, however, caused no wonderment on Annetje's 
 part. She did not question anything, satisfied only to 
 recognize in it a speedy deliverance out of her trouble. 
 For stay she could not, and to go with Joris as com- 
 
 347
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 panion would be to balk the purpose that had grown 
 steadily within her through the long hours of her an- 
 guish, and which could not now be put aside. 
 
 She went back to the motionless dog, her eyes averted 
 from his loving glance, and passed an end of the rope 
 through the leather strap which formed his collar. It 
 was the last indignity love could offer, or receive. 
 Never, in a long life, had Joris known the gall of bonds. 
 He had been free as air, free to go, to come, to follow 
 unrebuked. The faith and affection, meted out to 
 him, had met their counterparts in him though, on his 
 side, they reached a far loftier stature for memory and 
 gratitude were always with him. He was perhaps a 
 little slow in comprehending her action now, since he 
 had only the past to go by, for he lay very still and 
 once he thumped his tail upon the ground half-play- 
 fully, and once he ran his tongue out and licked her 
 fingers as they made the knot firm. He did not seem 
 to understand. 
 
 She stood away from him and dragged the other end 
 of the rope to a tree, binding it around the trunk and 
 tying it fast, her hands trembling, yet relentless, at the 
 same time. So she could hurt love too, hold him up 
 to scorn, deride his weakness. A dog's heart or a 
 girl's what were they for unless it was to suffer 
 through too much loving? All through the scale of 
 creation, from the higher to the lower, injury ran, the 
 stronger inflicting it upon the less strong, the less 
 strong in its turn on a weaker, the weaker on a weaker 
 still. A chain of endless suffering power misapplied 
 and abused ! 
 
 Yet she told herself there was some excuse for what 
 348
 
 The Angel of the Darker Drink 
 
 she had done. It was imperative that she should so 
 act. The fault was his, since he would not understand 
 and obey her. He understood her at last, and got to his 
 feet straining at his bonds. It was only a play, to 
 his thinking, though hers was the face of heartbroken 
 despair. He strained a second time, a third, bringing 
 all his strength to the action, but the rope held firm ; 
 he confessed himself beaten with a low whine. She 
 stood, eying him a moment in sorry triumph, then 
 victor though she was she knelt to him the van- 
 quished one and took his head between her hands. 
 
 " Oh ! Joris, my Joris, forgive me look at me, deep 
 down into my very heart and see how I love you, even 
 though I hurt you this way. By and by someone will 
 find you and will set you free won't you be patient till 
 then, Joris boy ? Oh ! I cannot stay here I cannot 
 just as you would be free of this, so must I be free of 
 what drags me down, and in my own fashion." 
 
 She covered his face with kisses then relinquished it 
 and stood up turning to go, but swift as thought she 
 bent again and kissed his neck where the knot of rope 
 bit against his skin. 
 
 " Forgive me, forgive me, and good-by." 
 
 She left him then, running with her head bent, her 
 hands covering her ears to keep out the clamor of his 
 protesting voice. She did not glance back for a last 
 look and yet, for a long time in the gathering bright- 
 ness, she would have been able to see his lonely figure 
 making those futile leaps in air. 
 
 By degrees she slackened her pace, not so much from 
 fatigue, though she was quivering under its lash, as 
 from the fear that if she chanced to meet anyone her 
 
 349
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 haste might arouse surprise and perhaps suspicion. 
 It was as yet early day and the streets and lanes were 
 empty of all human life, but already, in some of the 
 humbler homes that she passed, the folk were astir ; the 
 clang of opening shutters, or doors, and voices calling 
 to unseen persons gave evidence that the world was 
 waking to its tasks once more. The sounds filled her 
 with dread, yet made her outwardly more circumspect. 
 In a little while the streets would be full of people 
 people who would stop to sneer at her as she went by, 
 and to point her out in derision to one another. 
 
 Under the stress of this thought she crept swiftly 
 forward, not running, but walking at a quick pace ; she 
 dared not loiter. Part of the way her route lay within 
 view of the East River, gleaming like silver in the new 
 risen sun, the wharves filled with shipping, whose ser- 
 ried masts clove the sky with their sturdy points. Now 
 and again the voice of a sailor in the rigging calling to 
 a fellow-sailor reached her on the clear, fresh breeze 
 and once a burst of laughter sent her cowering nearer 
 the earth, as if it had fallen like a blow upon her bare 
 flesh. 
 
 For the most part, however, she paid scant regard to 
 her surroundings, her mind was filled with two sights 
 and two alone. Her letter fixed against the church door 
 in the cruel sun and Joris bound and helpless back 
 there in the lane. Love crucified in both instances, love 
 mocked at ! When she remembered the one, she must 
 remember the other. Yet the extremest bitterness she 
 suffered was for her action to Joris, for her heart, as 
 his, was ready to forgive the insult the loved one had 
 inflicted, but she could not pardon herself. She felt 
 
 350
 
 The Angel of the Darker Drink 
 
 no resentment against Bellenden ; she was too crushed 
 by his treatment to cry out against it even. That he 
 had justified to himself his punishment of her she was 
 most sure, he would not could not have imposed it 
 else. So she reasoned, knowing that Joris, in his turn, 
 must think that though she had treated him so merci- 
 lessly she had but acted according to her best wisdom 
 he could not tell why ! Nor could she any the easier 
 find an explanation for Bellenden's conduct. Only she 
 was willing to exonerate him from blame ; she would 
 not doubt him. Love must pardon and trust unre- 
 servedly if it is to remain love to the end. 
 
 Queen Street reached, she walked a trifle slower ; in 
 this quarter there was small danger that she would en- 
 counter any acquaintances, as the residents were mostly 
 fashionable folk of English origin, but the fact gave 
 her scant comfort. To her mind the whole world knew 
 her story and here, or elsewhere, voices would not be 
 lacking to swell the chorus of reproach against her. 
 The hum of life had begun everywhere. Apprentices 
 lounging to their work passed her with curious glafnces, 
 a man driving some cows to pasture called out a " good- 
 morning " to her, but the salutation so terrified her that 
 she hurried on without a word, leaving him to gape 
 after her white, grief-stricken face and to think no par- 
 ticular good of her ; children, running out to play, eyed 
 her with wonderment and once a dog frisked about her 
 feet and gave a new wrench to her heart. Almost 
 fainting with fatigue and despair she yet kept on un- 
 falteringly, and before long the street brought her out 
 into Bowery Lane. 
 
 She turned away gladly to where the green of hills
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 and lowlands beckoned, experiencing, for the first time 
 in many hours, a feeling of relief. Everything was 
 very calm and still around her ; there were no sneering 
 faces or voices to be encountered anywhere; nothing 
 but the great, sweet quiet of the mother earth and the 
 peace of the high, blue heavens waited for her with 
 their encompassing content. The leaping silver of a 
 brook flashed in her eyes and the tinkle of its voice 
 greeted her merrily; bright flowers nodded a recogni- 
 tion from marshy places; long grasses waved their 
 blades softly, like so many friendly hands, and on every 
 side there was a note of welcome in the gush of bird 
 song. She crept on reassured. Presently, just before 
 her, the Collect gleamed from out the sedges on its 
 shores, its still surface holding a picture of the sur- 
 rounding trees and the soft summer sky. 
 
 She looked at it curiously. How placid it was with 
 the bit of heaven in its grasp ! It did not seem possible 
 that in its bottomless depths there dwelt great sea-mon- 
 sters, terrible of aspect, yet such had been seen by sol- 
 itary individuals. She gave a little shudder and 
 glanced apprehensively about as the old legends flitted 
 through her mind. And there were other stories as 
 well stories of those dead sachems who used to pre- 
 side over the village on the pond's western shore and 
 whose spirits came back night after night to revisit the 
 glimpses of the moon. Many a loiterer near the spot 
 at such times had heard the dip-dip of ghostly pad- 
 dles, though not a ripple could ever be seen on the 
 crystal waters. Even in the light of day she could not 
 keep the growing fear out of her heart. 
 
 She stood fighting with herself. Back there in her 
 352
 
 The Angel of the Darker Drink 
 
 home those blue waters had offered such an easy escape 
 from all her troubles. The thought had come to her, 
 at first the merest suggestion, then with a force she 
 could not resist, as she tried to readjust her plan of 
 life to meet the morning's demand. Poor little broken 
 plan ! She could not go through life day after day 
 day after day to old age perhaps, with that intoler- 
 able, undying ache in her breast, facing scorn, shamed 
 in the sight of men. It was impossible. Death was 
 easier preferable far ! All the beauty had gone out of 
 her world it was very dark. 
 
 Why should she fear? What was there to fear? 
 She stepped a little nearer, and looked around with a 
 more intrepid glance. From the shores of the pond 
 the hills stretched upward clothed with trees, bushes 
 and long trails of blackberry vines, birds darted in and 
 out of the tangle of green undaunted, and above the 
 sky watched. There was nothing to fear the place 
 was full of the very peace of God. Outside in the 
 world, where cruel things were said and crueller, 
 thought, and done where Love went broken-hearted, 
 and Faith and Trust could not live, there stayed the 
 things to tremble before, but not here oh ! not here. 
 
 She cast about for ways and means. After just the 
 first it would not be difficult. The waters would take 
 her to themselves so gently, she would know nothing 
 more. It was very simple. She hesitated, looking 
 again at the hills all about, at the green earth, at the 
 vivid, kindly sky and suddenly her whole soul was in 
 revolt. With death so near, that she could almost hear 
 the trailing of the great, shadowy wings, all the strong 
 love of life and for life, which is in every human being, 
 
 353
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 rose in her and tried to overwhelm her purpose. She 
 drew her breath in with a deep gasp, and moved to the 
 bank seizing the bough of a young tree firmly with her 
 hands. As she waited to swing herself free there was 
 a strange, panting noise almost at her side and the 
 sound of hurrying feet, with nothing human in their 
 tread, coming closer and closer. She turned giddy; 
 sky, earth, water became an indistinguishable blur be- 
 fore her eyes. On the moment she was filled with a 
 shivering dread of the unseen. All the traditions of 
 the horrors of the pond seized upon her afresh; she 
 trembled from head to foot and half let go her hold 
 then, with a quick rush of courage, she swung herself 
 out. The sapling bent with her weight and slipped 
 back to its place void of all encumbrance ; the waters 
 opened smilingly to receive her. If was not so hard ! 
 
 She rose to the surface, struggling a little, and 
 reached out vainly toward the shore that seemed so near 
 and yet was beyond her grasp. Oh God, how bright 
 the sun was on the trees how beautiful the world! 
 Something large and dark splashed in the water a short 
 distance away, she glanced helplessly in its direction 
 the light was growing dim 
 
 " Why Joris Joris " she breathed. Then the 
 arms of death closed round her and drew her tenderly 
 down. 
 
 So Joris found her in their embrace, requited her act 
 of cruelty to him by one of loving service, brought her 
 back again to the earth and its ways, her body at least 
 her soul was free. Only he could not know that. 
 
 354
 
 XXX 
 
 THE NEW DAY 
 
 Jan led the way into the kitchen, his companions fol- 
 lowing. They had come round the house, thus avoid- 
 ing the front door. 
 
 " Is the child home ? " he demanded in a tremulous 
 voice of the darkness. 
 
 " She is not with you ? Merciful Powers ! I 
 thought, because you were so long gone, you had 
 surely found her. Well, then, you are trying to trick 
 me ; I heard other steps than yours. Come you in, An- 
 netje, my little one, I've made you some cinnamon 
 cakes " 
 
 " She is not with me would to God she were ! I 
 have brought Captain Bellenden and Miss Crewe." 
 
 Heilke did not utter a sound at this piece of informa- 
 tion, nor did she stir from her corner. 
 
 " They will help us seek the child. Get a light, 
 woman, na na in a time like this we can't turn aside 
 sympathy." 
 
 " If it hadn't been for them," Heilke muttered in her 
 own tongue, " this evil wouldn't have come to us. They 
 are at the bottom of all the trouble we want none of 
 their sympathy." 
 
 " There, there, woman," Jan interposed wearily, " let 
 be. The captain says he had no hand in the business 
 
 355
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 of the letter; he had not seen it until Miss Crewe 
 showed it to him and I believe his word." 
 
 " Ay," Heilke returned bitterly, " I suppose he says 
 true as far as the nailing up of the letter goes, at least. 
 Little Petrus Bickers and Gysbert Arentse were here 
 not long since to say that they saw Adrian de Hooge 
 do it with his own hands early Sunday morning with 
 his own two hands, they swear. There's a dirty trick 
 for you ! Said I not true, Jan Praa, that he'd a grudge 
 against our child ? Oh ! you can never deceive me." 
 
 Though she continued to speak in Dutch, as if to 
 mark her disapprobation of the intruders, both Peggy 
 and Bellenden had gained sufficient knowledge of the 
 language during their intimacy with the family to un- 
 derstand her meaning. 
 
 " Then Mr. Adrian de Hooge will answer for his con- 
 duct to me," Bellenden cried savagely. " Tell me 
 where he may be found " 
 
 " To-morrow vill I show you, sir, ant t'at glatly, put 
 for to-night t'ere is Annetje to seek." 
 
 " Jan is right, Jack ; everything else must wait. 
 Where is Joris? " 
 
 Heilke set down the lighted candles upon the table 
 and turning, looked at the girl with the old animosity 
 kindling in her glance, then she faced Jan and addressed 
 him as if the others did not exist. 
 
 " All through the early day, as you know, was Joris 
 absent, never once did I see him. He came back some 
 time ago and in at the door there, running like a young 
 dog. I've always said he put on his lameness for the 
 sake of an extra bone oh ! you can't trick me. Frisky 
 and fawning was he and jumping up against me so 
 
 356
 
 The New Day 
 
 that I needs must drive him off. Then out he went 
 like mad into the garden." 
 
 " He misses the child," Jan said brokenly. 
 
 " Perhaps " Bellenden began, the next moment he 
 stopped abruptly for the dog, coming again to the 
 door and hearing voices, hurled himself frantically 
 into the room and fell upon Jan uttering short, sharp 
 barks. 
 
 " Do you miss her, boy? " the old man asked, putting 
 out his hand to fondle the restless head. As he did so, 
 the bit of rope dangling from the dog's collar caught 
 his eye. " Joris bound ? " he cried in a voice of thun- 
 der. " Whose doing was that ? " 
 
 " I tell you until now I have not seen him." 
 
 " And I tell you he's been bound tied our Joris 
 tied." 
 
 Peggy knelt down on the floor and called the dog 
 to her. He eyed her mistrustfully for a little space be- 
 fore he went slowly up and licked her hands. 
 
 " He freed himself," she cried, excitement quivering 
 in her voice. " Look at the rope's end, and his collar 
 is torn almost in two and see his poor neck where he 
 strained to escape. Good fellow good fellow ! Where 
 is Annetje ? " 
 
 The animal gave a low howl, hobbled to the door 
 and gazed out into the night, then came whimpering 
 back and dragged at her skirts. 
 
 " Get some lanterns," Bellenden said gravely. " We 
 will seek her with Joris for guide and find her too. 
 Come, cheer up, man, cheer up." 
 
 He waited, while the necessary preparations were 
 being made, looking down without a word at the girl 
 
 357
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 as she caressed the dog ; when everything was in readi- 
 ness he took the proffered lantern and went swiftly up 
 to the kneeling figure. 
 
 " You will wait here for our return ? " 
 
 Her lips framed yes, but she neither spoke, nor 
 glanced at him ; she bent and kissed the dog's head. 
 
 " Bring her back, Joris," she whispered softly. 
 
 " Take us to Annetje, sir," Bellenden commanded. 
 "Find Annetje!" 
 
 The dog gave a quick bark, turned sharply and 
 limped to the door, looking anxiously over his shoul- 
 der to sec if he was being followed. When he per- 
 ceived the two men close on his heels he leapt out 
 into the night and they hastened after to keep up with 
 him . 
 
 Left to themselves the women did not alter their po- 
 sitions for some minutes, except that each bent forward 
 slightly to listen to the receding steps. Heilke was the 
 first to turn her eyes from the open door and the ob- 
 scurity beyond to her surroundings. She let them rest 
 coldly upon her companion still kneeling in the little 
 circle of light, her cloak lying disregarded upon the 
 floor, her face full of indefinable sadness. Peggy, sen- 
 sible of the unfriendliness in the glance, got to her feet 
 quickly and went quite close to the old woman, touched 
 by her appearance of suffering into forgetfulness of any 
 resentment which she might cherish against her. 
 
 " They will bring Annetje back safe," she cried with 
 the confidence of youth, " they must bring her back." 
 
 Heilke retreated a step or two, deriving no apparent 
 comfort from the other's hopefulness. A muscle 
 throbbed almost painfully in her cheek at the mention 
 
 358
 
 The New Day 
 
 of Annetje's name, but otherwise her features remained 
 grim and forbidding. 
 
 " T'at vill ant must are vorts for Kott to speak, juf- 
 frouw, not for us. Put to Domine Ryerssen you vill 
 like to go. I pray you not'ings say of t'e chilt to him, 
 he ton't know yet." 
 
 " No, I will not go to the domine. Let me stay here 
 with you I will be quiet, if that pleases you best. And 
 yet sometimes just to know, if only for a moment, that 
 another grieves with us in our sorrow oh ! not so deep- 
 ly as we grieve, but comprehending us a little is often 
 like a soothing hand laid upon an ache. You and I are 
 very far apart, but I should like to come near enough 
 to say ' I am sorry for you.' " 
 
 Heilke stiffened in every line of her body, then, as 
 the meaning of the girl's words penetrated through the 
 hard crust which she usually presented to the world, a 
 deep quiver ran through her frame. It was like the 
 writhing of some mighty tree before the fury of the 
 storm, its helplessness so much more pitiful than the 
 weakness of lesser growths. She tried to conceal her 
 emotion, but her voice shook despite her efforts, yet 
 she spoke with a certain simple dignity. 
 
 " Kreatly it hurts v'en t'e vorldt points at one you lof 
 ant folks, no petter as t'ey shouldt pe, spurn t'at one 
 unterfoot ; no pitterness is t'ere like unto it ! Sit, juf- 
 frouw, since you vill not to t'e domine go." She was 
 silent a moment then she burst forth again, " In efery- 
 poty's mouth t'e story is, ant eferyv'ere t'ey t'ink shame 
 of her my chilt." 
 
 " Have patience ! When my cousin makes known 
 what part Mynheer de Hooge has played in this vil- 
 
 359
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 lainy the people will make amends. Oh ! he'll punish 
 the coward well, I promise you." 
 
 " Ay, let him," Heilke cried with great fury, " let 
 him." Then her voice dropped to a wail. " Put t'at vill 
 not Annetje help, v'en t'e tofe's ving is proke nefer any 
 more toes it fly again ; it must keep close to kroundt. 
 Ant I t'ink v'en she marry t'at man she vill pe happy 
 as nefer pefore fool fool t'at I vas ! Put, juffrouw, 
 till joost now is he tifferent ; prout alvays ant lofing to 
 rule or he't not pe son to Mevrouw de Hooge put 
 not pat. Veil, t'en, who can say from t'e outsite if rot- 
 ten t'e apple is? Nopoty. Koot ant pat must t'ey pe 
 gatheredt in. To Adrian de Hooge maype t'at plackness 
 of heart nefer comes v'en all t'ings go as he vish some 
 men are like t'at, please t'em, ant antgels are t'ey all 
 t'eir tays, cross t'em ant tefils t'ey pecome. So strange 
 is life! He hat kreat lof for Annetje, put v'en he is 
 come pack from Firginia, v'en you are first here, I see 
 a change in his looks ant nefer he speaks vis her I 
 say it is pecause of t'e kossip about you ant t'e domine's 
 pik-heatetness, ant also is he angry apout t'e young 
 mens' coming. He t'inks Annetje vill not lof him any 
 more, so he vaits ant punishes her like you know 
 ant maype " Heilke's voice grew shrill as the new 
 thought occurred to her " maype it vas he t'at sent 
 t'e message to t'e domine." 
 
 Peggy uttered a sharp cry. 
 
 "You can't think he would do such a thing? Say 
 he loved Annetje and was jealous of my cousin, there 
 was no need to hurt the domine. Jan told us as we came 
 along It was too cruel too cruel. Oh ! that poor, 
 good old man what he has suffered." 
 
 360
 
 The New Day 
 
 Heilke's rugged face became transfigured with gen- 
 tleness ; it was like the sun breaking through the clouds 
 after a day of storm. 
 
 " Ay, v'at he has sufferedt ! You say fery true. Veil, 
 t'en, let us t'ank Kott pecause t'ere is One t'at unter- 
 stants petter as ve to ; like as a fat'er pities his chiltren 
 so vill He pity him ant haf mercy upon him." 
 
 The words, direct, simple, free from doubt, were the 
 crystallization of a humble faith. Prone to condemn 
 all shortcomings as Heilke usually was, and an adept 
 at pointing out the duty of others, she had no censure 
 to make upon the domine's conduct. She was ready to 
 leave him to the tenderness of an all-seeing God, whose 
 ways are not as the ways of men. 
 
 The two women in the silence that followed were 
 brought very close in their thoughts of Cornelis Ry- 
 erssen, the one throbbing with the memories of many 
 years, the other with her little record of a few weeks, 
 yet both meeting on the common ground of sympathy 
 for him in the trials he had undergone. It occurred to 
 Peggy, after a little, that her companion was ignorant 
 of the fuller details of the domine's story which she and 
 Jan had learned that evening and she broke the quiet 
 to tell of Bellenden's acquaintance with Katrina de 
 Vos. 
 
 She spoke simply as to a child, with constant reiter- 
 ations, for Heilke, bewildered by this new communica- 
 tion, did not seem able to grasp the meaning of even 
 the most ordinary words. Not for a moment, however, 
 did Peggy lose patience, though she was generally in- 
 tolerant of interruptions; very gently, very tenderly, 
 did she give the account of that other woman's life, her 
 
 361
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 own renunciation of happiness making it easier for her 
 to comprehend the sufferings of others. 
 
 Heilke listened in open-mouthed astonishment, for- 
 getful of the happenings of the present in that record 
 of the past; but every little while she let fall faint ejac- 
 ulations and deep sobs, and when the end had been 
 reached for the third time she sat staring dumbly be- 
 fore her. Her love for her young mistress, which had 
 amounted almost to worship, had been kept alive 
 through the years by constant reference and remem- 
 brance and the domine's revelation, coming like a bolt 
 out of the blue, had not dispelled it. It had shaken her 
 heart to the core, but the old, adoring faith was still 
 there, broken a little, yet not destroyed. Oftentimes it 
 is difficult to give up the old faiths; even though they 
 be proved undeserving we cling to them not so much 
 for their sakes, perhaps, as for the sake of what they 
 once have been to us. Better, far better, than the 
 empty niche is the old idol, though its feet be of clay. 
 We love it despite its unworthiness even for its un- 
 worthiness, God knows ! 
 
 The room was very still. The tall eight-day clock 
 in the corner ticked loudly, as if glad to hear the sound 
 of its own voice in that deep quiet, and the night wore 
 on. Occasionally Heilke, stirring under the stress of 
 the different emotions in her breast, uttered a few words 
 in her own tongue, disjointed reminiscences about the 
 dear, dead mistress, chidings to Annetje, or quick com- 
 mands, as if the girl were present and once, fully 
 aroused to the meaning of the slow-dragging hours of 
 suspense, the old servant cried out wildly about the 
 screeching woman of Maiden Lane and trembled vio- 
 
 362
 
 The New Day 
 
 lently at the possibility of Annetje's encountering the 
 ghost. Peggy put her hand soothingly upon Heilke's 
 and coaxed her back into quietness, not mocking at her 
 superstitions as she would have done the day before, 
 but making them, even to the distraught fancy, seem 
 like shadows that vanished speedily. The old woman 
 did not speak, but she patted the girl's arm with her 
 coarse, work-worn fingers ; after a moment she leaned 
 forward and touched a fold of the glistening brocade 
 half in admiration, half in awe. 
 
 " Pret-ty, pret-ty," she said with the heartbreaking 
 pathos of the old become like a little child, then she 
 settled back in her chair, weariness showing in every 
 line of her face and figure. For a time she fought 
 against it, trying to preserve her old dauntless demean- 
 or, but the body was too weak to obey the commands 
 of the iron will and at last even the will faltered. 
 
 Presently, attracted by the huge bobbing shadow 
 upon the wall, Peggy turned to find her companion al- 
 most asleep. There was something repulsive in the re- 
 laxed countenance and the head falling inertly from 
 side to side ; something unlovely in the open mouth and 
 blinking eyes. Yet the girl, with that new insight 
 which the last few hours had bestowed upon her as an 
 inalienable gift, perceived nothing of this, tuned as she 
 was to pity and helpfulness. To be weak and to be in 
 trouble were henceforth sure ways of finding Peggy 
 Crewe's heart. She stooped quickly and rolled her 
 cloak into a makeshift pillow which she slipped behind 
 the old servant's head. Heilke stirred and opened her 
 eyes, as if to rebuke the touch that brought her back 
 to a knowledge of her troubles, then soothed almost 
 
 363
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 instantly by the increased comfort of her attitude and 
 the lulling note in the quiet voice she laid her tear- 
 stained face against the improvised cushion and, in the 
 dreamless sleep of exhaustion, forgot for a little while 
 the existence of grief and shame. 
 
 There was no sleep for Peggy, and no wish for it 
 on her part. Despite the loneliness and strangeness of 
 her position, despite her fatigue, she felt that it was 
 good for her to be in the simple kitchen during those 
 dark hours before the dawn. It was a time of spiritual 
 rebirth. Amid just such surroundings she became a 
 new creature. The old domineering, arrogant self 
 slipped away and in its stead there arose another Mar- 
 garet Crewe one more compassionate, more womanly, 
 stronger in the strength that makes for character in 
 remembering the needs of others. She looked out to 
 meet the light of the new day with brave, sweet eyes. 
 The long vigil was over it was morning again. 
 
 After a little she left her chair and went to the door, 
 glancing around at the freshness and beauty of earth 
 and sky and, as she waited there, Bellenden came up 
 through the dew-impearled garden. At sight of him 
 she uttered a glad cry which died instantly, as the mean- 
 ing in his haggard face forced itself upon her with un- 
 compromising directness. The sound of her ejacula- 
 tion and the increasing light aroused Heilke, and when 
 he reached the house both women were waiting for him 
 on the porch, the younger with her arm thrown pro- 
 tectingly around the other's shoulders. So they re- 
 mained for some minutes after he had delivered his 
 painful news, clinging mutely together; Peggy out- 
 wardly the more shaken of the two. Then Heilke 
 
 364
 
 The New Day 
 
 moved away. There was no outlet for her grief. She 
 came to a sudden standstill and looked longingly at her 
 companions with burning eyes that held no tears, her 
 white lips moving yet uttering no words. 
 
 " The domine " she managed to articulate at last. 
 
 " You mean he must be told before before Jan 
 comes ? " Peggy said softly. " You would like us to 
 tell him?" 
 
 The old woman nodded assent and stepped back into 
 the house almost gladly, the others following her, Bel- 
 lenden bringing up the rear. In this order they went 
 along the hall to the study door which, as usual, was 
 closed. But the domine was always an early riser and 
 often at his books before the others of his house- 
 hold were astir and, knowing this, Heilke sought 
 him here. She motioned to Bellenden to knock, then 
 pushed his hand jealously aside and struck the pan- 
 elled surface in his stead struck it again when, after 
 an interval of waiting, there came no summons from 
 within. 
 
 " It is so early," Peggy interposed, " perhaps he is 
 still above-stairs." 
 
 Heilke did not heed her, but turning the knob she set 
 the door wide. " He is here as I knew," she took a step 
 forward into the room, " Domine ! " Her voice had 
 lost its confident triumph and was wonderfully gentle, 
 " Domine ! " 
 
 He did not answer. He was leaning back in his chair 
 with closed eyes, apparently sleeping after the fatigue 
 of the night, for the burned out candles showed that he 
 had been sitting there through the long watches busy 
 with books and papers. His folio was open before him 
 
 365
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 and several closely written sheets had fallen from it to 
 the floor. 
 
 " Domine," the voice sharpened, but more with fear 
 than with impatience. 
 
 Bellenden stepped swiftly past the trembling woman 
 and went up to the quiet figure. After a long minute 
 he moved back with lowered head. 
 
 " The domine does not hear you will not hear you 
 again he is dead." 
 
 A half smothered cry came from the girl at the door, 
 but Heilke, uttering no word, crept close to her master 
 and stood gazing down tenderly at the still face with 
 its faint, inscrutable smile as if the eyes that had looked 
 upon the great mystery had been satisfied, knowing no 
 fear. All sorrow, all worry, seemed to have been 
 smoothed away as by some angel's touch and, in the 
 light of the new day, only a beautiful peace remained. 
 
 " No no no " the old woman cried as she fell on 
 her knees beside the chair, " just gone home beyond 
 the fret and heartbreak of this life gone home to 
 God." 
 
 366
 
 XXXI 
 
 FULFILMENT 
 
 It was an odd trio that waited on the steps of the De 
 Hooge mansion and, as the door swang back, the serv- 
 ing-man stood, round-eyed, gaping at the new-comers. 
 Two of their number were not unknown to him. In- 
 deed, there was hardly a person in town, no matter of 
 what nationality, who was not more or less familiar 
 with little Petrus Bickers and his constant companion 
 Gysbert Arentse yoke-fellows as they were in all the 
 mischief a-foot. But after a wrathful stare in their 
 direction, for their temerity had hitherto consisted in 
 loudly banging the heavy knocker and not in waiting 
 to be detected in the act, the man let his attention wan- 
 der to the other member of the group. He caught his 
 breath with a quick gasp of astonishment. The tall 
 English officer was an utter stranger to him, prepos- 
 sessing at all times in appearance, on this particular 
 occasion his pale stern face, full of an indomitable pur- 
 pose, and his proud bearing materially increased his air 
 of dignity. 
 
 On the instant, even to the servant's slow wits, it was 
 evident that, in some way, the visitor was connected 
 with the trouble and distress which prevailed in the 
 parish of the Garden Street church, and had become 
 widespread among the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of 
 the town. The domine's story had carried consterna- 
 
 367
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 tion everywhere, and censure and opprobrium had been 
 quick to leap forth in many quarters, though among the 
 humbler folk there was uttered no least word of blame ; 
 perhaps the remembrance of the old man's many kind- 
 nesses to them made it an impossibility to convict him 
 of any deep wrong. For the moment he was nearer to 
 them a thousandfold because of his fault; he was a 
 man like themselves, suffering and sinning where they 
 would have suffered and sinned. They had no con- 
 demnation to offer. 
 
 Annetje's disgrace, however, had raised up cham- 
 pions in her defence on every side. Despite her light 
 behavior which seemed an indisputable fact in the 
 minds of all, the bitterness of her punishment called 
 aloud for vengeance with an intensity not to be with- 
 stood. 
 
 The information which the two boy witnesses were 
 not slow to produce had a benumbing effect temporar- 
 ily upon their hearers, though it served to divert the 
 attention from Bellenden into other channels. After 
 the first surprised and indignant refutation of the chil- 
 dren's testimony, their words gained credence with 
 lightning-like rapidity. And even before Heilke was 
 aware of the part Adrian de Hooge had played in re- 
 gard to the letter, men were turning from him in aver- 
 sion in the streets though, wrapped as he was in his 
 own self-satisfaction, he did not perceive their scorn. 
 He had his usual following; there was small danger 
 that the number of sycophants would diminish while 
 his riches remained. 
 
 The servant's eyes gleamed as he took in the situa- 
 tion; he knew little love for his master that day. 
 Though the morning lacked an hour of noon the news 
 
 368
 
 Fulfilment 
 
 of Domine Ryerssen's death had already reached the 
 household in Gold Street and several of its members 
 had also witnessed the sad passing of Annetje as Jan, 
 with the aid of some men, conveyed her body home, 
 Joris trailing dejectedly along in the wake of the little 
 procession. Mute as the girl was forevermore her 
 woes cried trumpet-tongued for vengeance, and some 
 echo of those cries must have sounded in the man's 
 hearing and made him fling the door wide to admit the 
 stranger and his companions. 
 
 "Where is he?" Bellenden demanded. "Take me 
 to him at once, I will not be denied." 
 
 The servant made a gesture of comprehension and 
 turning led the way along the spacious corridor, with 
 its rich plenishings, to the door at the rear which opened 
 on the garden. He set it ajar with a firm hand and 
 stood back while the guests passed through, then he 
 followed them running to precede the officer. 
 
 " It is not necessary to announce me," Bellenden said 
 savagely, impeding his progress. " I see your mas- 
 ter." 
 
 Adrian de Hooge was standing a short distance be- 
 yond them, his back turned to the house, his hands 
 thrust in his pockets and his body bent a trifle above 
 some object on the ground which seemed to hold his 
 undivided attention. He had returned a short time be- 
 fore from his counting-house, earlier than was his cus- 
 tom, but the news of the double affliction in the 
 Ryerssen family had made all idea of business im- 
 possible. The grief, as grief, did not touch him, he 
 knew no least throb of sorrow, nor did remorse prick 
 through his callous bearing. The pitiful tragedy at 
 
 369
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 the Collect left him dry-eyed, and even smiling a little. 
 If he felt any regret at all it was because Annetje's suf- 
 ferings had so speedily passed away. He would have 
 had them prolonged indefinitely through the years ; the 
 thought that she might terminate them by her own act 
 had not occurred to him. Still, powerless though he 
 was to hurt her further, he gloated over the fact that 
 he had gained his ends. His vengeance was sweet as 
 honey in his mouth. He swaggered home with a gay 
 exterior and, his mother being absent at a neighbor's, 
 he betook himself directly to the garden there to while 
 away the time until the dinner hour. 
 
 The brilliant masses of bloom on every side seemed 
 to fling out their rich color and perfume in welcome, 
 though he had but an indifferent regard for their beauty. 
 He broke a late rose from its stem in passing, crushed 
 it momentarily against his face and then dropped it 
 with a laugh, and gathered another flower, despoiled it 
 of its leaves and cast it in quick distaste after its prede- 
 cessor. His mood was one of wanton destructiveness. 
 As he gazed slowly about, malignity sharpening his 
 features, his attention was attracted by a bird that, 
 startled by his approach, had whirred up from a near- 
 by bush. It was but newly fledged and he watched it 
 idly as it fluttered timorously upward and hovered a 
 moment around a neighboring branch before it settled 
 in fancied security amid the leaves. Then he stooped 
 and with a cautious movement possessed himself of a 
 handful of stones. He rose to his feet again and sent 
 one skimming through the air at the little, soft thing 
 poised beyond him. It struck the tiny wing spread in 
 sudden alarm to gain a safer haven and the bird 
 
 370
 
 Fulfilment 
 
 dropped earthward. De Hooge chuckled aloud and 
 moved slowly forward to where it lay a mass of palpi- 
 tating feathers. He prodded the small object with his 
 foot and, as he twitched it now this way, now that, 
 bent lower the better to hear its faint cries of pain. 
 
 The sound of the opening door and of steps on the 
 gravel came as an interruption to his pastime. He 
 turned from his tiny victim and confronted the new- 
 comers. For a moment he stood, with fallen jaw, star- 
 ing into Bellenden's face, his own going white with 
 rancor as he recognized the Englishman; then his 
 gaze strayed from him to the two boys and the half- 
 frightened, half-defiant servant. 
 
 " I left orders that I did not wish to be disturbed," 
 he snarled in his own language, " I have no concerns 
 with this gentleman, no acquaintance with him and no 
 desire of an acquaintance " 
 
 " Neither is the acquaintance desired on my part," 
 Bellenden interposed hotly. " Oh ! I understand you, 
 sir. But you shall not be rid of me until I have placed 
 my mark upon you so that, to the longest day of your 
 life, John Bellenden shall be a name that will live in 
 your memory." 
 
 De Hooge looked quickly about. Between him and 
 the house stood his enemy, the wide-eyed, alert boys and 
 the servant, through whose familiar exterior unfamil- 
 iar signs of revolt gleamed boldly. The master's glance 
 darkened, then went on. Beyond and around him 
 stretched the garden of fair size, but no maze the 
 paths were straight and unobstructed, good for flight, 
 yet equally good for pursuit. He was not much of a 
 runner and though he might lead in the chase, double on 
 
 371
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 his tracks and so reach the house, there was always the 
 chance of being overtaken and routed. The gleam of 
 a scythe in the sun in an adjacent meadow caught his 
 eye and, nearer at hand, the sound of a spade throwing 
 up earth was a welcome note to his hearing. He put 
 his fingers to his mouth and whistled shrilly. 
 
 " Balthazar," he shouted, " Oloff hi boys ! Hans 
 Michel hither directly make haste." 
 
 He moved back a few steps to the tree, from which 
 the little bird had fallen but a short time before, keeping 
 his gaze fixed on Bellenden's face, an easy smile grow- 
 ing about his lips. There was an interval of silence, 
 broken only by the noise of the approaching men as 
 they came running up from different directions in an- 
 swer to their master's summons. A fifth, hearing the 
 excitement, had joined the others, racing breathlessly 
 in their wake with an impetus that sent him sprawling 
 headlong against the house-servant and almost over- 
 turned him. De Hooge gave a loud laugh as the two 
 men regained their footing and glowered angrily at 
 each other ; then he flicked a twig from his coat-sleeve, 
 glanced superciliously at Bellenden and laughed again 
 waiting a little. 
 
 The men stood gazing at him, panting and crimsoned 
 from their run, waiting, in their turn, for his further 
 instructions. He studied their mute, questioning faces 
 briefly. 
 
 " Some of you take my gentleman in scarlet there 
 and throw him into the street," he ordered. " Trundle 
 him out in your barrow, Paul, dump him in a ditch 
 anywhere anywhere so that you free the garden of 
 his loathsome presence. Do you hear me ? " he cried 
 
 372
 
 Fulfilment 
 
 shrilly as no one moved. " Out with the vermin at 
 once." 
 
 Bellenden drew his hand from his breast, and some- 
 thing showed dark in the clear light of noon. 
 
 " One moment/' he called in a voice of thunder, " the 
 man who obeys that cur and so much as touches me, 
 or interferes with my purpose, shall have a taste of this 
 for his pains. I don't speak your language, but this 
 little trusty friend shall be my interpreter." 
 
 He lifted his hand as he spoke and fired into the 
 air there was a loud report and a trail of smoke rose 
 like a soft little cloud into the blue, floating gently 
 up and up. He lowered his weapon with a smile. 
 
 " There's more of that waiting here, but I swear to 
 you the next shots shall find their home in your 
 breasts if you thwart me. Now, will you heed your 
 master ? " 
 
 A hasty scuffling of feet was his only answer as the 
 wild-eyed, trembling men huddled closely together. 
 The stranger did not speak their tongue, but they un- 
 derstood his ; had he been of their own kin his meaning, 
 enforced as it was by such an object-lesson, could not 
 have been plainer. 
 
 "You cowards!" shrieked De Hooge. "You cursed, 
 beggarly cowards I'll have you flogged to jelly. How 
 dare you disregard my orders ? Put that villain out." 
 
 Bellenden held his pistol steady. 
 
 " Paul my good, brave giant Paul show us your 
 mettle and shame these dastardly knaves. Only drop 
 that scarlet play-soldier into your cart and wheel him 
 away and I'll double your earnings " 
 
 "And I'll double your sufferings, good master 
 373
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 Paul," Bellenden interrupted, " if you try to carry out 
 the bidding of that popinjay. Come, choose between 
 us." 
 
 " At him at him" yelled De Hooge. 
 
 The great burly gardener stood his ground for a mo- 
 ment debating the question then, before the blazing eyes 
 of his master, he retreated slowly step by step. Bellen- 
 den drew a trifle nearer. 
 
 " Bravo, my man," he cried with a quick smile. 
 " This is not your quarrel and I have no wish to shed 
 innocent blood. My business to-day is to punish that 
 poltroon, because he is a villain and a murderer a mur- 
 derer as black as the blackest that ever overcame his 
 victim with steel, or poison," he paused a moment. 
 " Do you understand me ? " he cried sharply. " Try 
 see I will make it plain You knew the domine's lit- 
 tle daughter? Well, she is dead dead by her own 
 hand but as true as there's a God in heaven she was 
 driven to seek her death by that wretch there. Some 
 of you have heard, perhaps, how she was shamed on 
 Sunday, how the little letter she writ was nailed upon 
 the church door for all the world to jeer at. He put 
 it there your master, who calls you cowards who, 
 out of his generosity, gives you the name he bears him- 
 self. These boys saw him nail it up, if you want other 
 testimony than his face." 
 
 " It's a lie," sputtered De Hooge with white lips, " a 
 damned lie. He did it himself because he was tired 
 of the drab." 
 
 Bellenden's infuriated cry was drowned in the vehe- 
 ment clamor the boys let loose and the coarse invect- 
 ives showered by De Hooge upon his accusers. The 
 
 374
 
 Fulfilment 
 
 men remained grimly apart with grave, impenetrable 
 faces, but letting no word escape them. 
 
 " Silence ! " Bellenden commanded, making himself 
 heard above the din. " You've had your say, lads, and 
 time presses it's my turn now." He moved close to 
 the group of servants. " I ask you to give me fair play 
 and I offer you no bribes. I appeal to you as men. I 
 ask you to stand aside while I punish that false, foul- 
 mouthed cur. Do you understand me ? " 
 
 " Ve to ve to," Paul cried. 
 
 There was a low growl among the others, then one 
 of their number said slowly : 
 
 " So v'ite like t'e Holy Tofe vas she t'at little 
 meysje Kott rest her soul. To as you vill, sir, ant 
 Kott ait you ! " 
 
 Bellenden gave his pistol into the keeping of the boys 
 and unfastened the sword from his side. 
 
 " Take this also," he said clearly, " I'd not mar its 
 brightness with one drop of that craven's blood." Then 
 he sprang toward his enemy. 
 
 De Hooge swept the silent house with his eyes. It 
 offered him no refuge and flight, with that agile figure 
 in pursuit, was beside the question. He pressed back 
 against the tree, sick with apprehension and terror, and 
 suddenly the remembrance of his adversary's wound in 
 the recent duel smote through his mind like a light- 
 ning's flash. His vision cleared, his strength returned, 
 swelling back into his veins, a tide of energy which 
 must sweep all weaklings aside in the flood of its fury. 
 With a howl of rage, like that of some maddened beast, 
 he hurled himself upon Bellenden with such tremendous 
 force that, for a moment, he almost overpowered the 
 
 375
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 slighter figure which trembled beneath the shock like 
 some tree caught in the grip of a mighty tempest. To 
 the onlookers it seemed as if the outcome of the en- 
 counter was not to be long delayed. 
 
 De Hooge, perceiving his advantage, uttered a loud 
 cry of triumph, but even as it rang out upon the air 
 Bellenden rallied from the collision and his arms closed 
 like a vise about his antagonist. On the instant the 
 two seemed molten into one hideous, shapeless mould 
 as, locked in that implacable embrace, they writhed and 
 swayed backward and forward beneath the trees, trip- 
 ping and stumbling in their endeavors to throw each 
 other to the ground. They were not men but mon- 
 sters strung with hatred and lust of revenge beyond 
 and below the capacity of beasts their eyes starting 
 from their heads, their faces distorted with passion out 
 of all human semblance. 
 
 Despite Bellenden's recent sufferings he was more 
 than a match for his enemy. He was a skilled wrestler, 
 whereas De Hooge had had no training to stand him in 
 good stead in this his extremity, and his muscles were 
 flabby and inert in comparison with the firm, clean 
 brawn opposed to them ; neither could his danger, nor 
 his animosity, help him at this time, though they af- 
 forded him a certain amount of expertness. Unable to 
 do anything with his fists he used his teeth, biting like 
 an animal, yet gradually he was forced to the earth and 
 pinioned by an iron strength. There, from his lowly 
 position, he shrieked for assistance, mingling his cries 
 for aid with the most fearful threats and imprecations. 
 
 Bellenden regarded the supplicant contemptuously 
 for a moment, the next, as if incensed at the unceasing 
 
 376
 
 Fulfilment 
 
 din, he closed his fingers about the throat of his foe and 
 held them there with a deepening pressure until an 
 ominous gurgle recommended mercy on his part. Then 
 he withdrew his grip and watched the natural color 
 creep back into the livid countenance. 
 
 " So," he said, " now that you've got your breath 
 again you'll use it for something else besides bellowing 
 like a calf, or I'll know the reason why. We want a 
 word or two from you, Mynheer de Hooge. Come, 
 confess that you nailed the letter at the church door. 
 Speak in your own tongue, sir, I've no desire to hear 
 mine from your lips speak, that these men may hear 
 and understand you." 
 
 De Hooge maintained an obstinate silence, glaring 
 venomously back into the disdainful face above him. 
 
 " Speak," ordered Bellenden, his fingers closing again 
 on the other's throat. 
 
 " I I did it Take off your hands you're 
 you're choking me Oloff Michel " 
 
 " And you sent that message to the domine ? " 
 
 Even under the deadly pressure of those relentless 
 fingers, even under the blaze of shrivelling scorn in the 
 watchful eyes, a gleam of satisfaction lighted up the 
 abject features of the vanquished man and something 
 like a laugh escaped him. 
 
 " I did," he said slowly, then in a louder key " I did 
 I did " 
 
 Bellenden took his knee from his enemy's breast and 
 sprang to his feet, spurning the prostrate form in a 
 new access of fury. De Hooge, relieved of his weight, 
 stirred a little but before he could rise Bellenden, who 
 had seized a whip from one of the boys, beat him back 
 
 377.
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 to the ground again. Over and over the lash descend- 
 ed like some live, insatiate thing eager for the taste of 
 blood, curling, as if with a hundred greedy tongues, 
 about the victim while he writhed in the grass present- 
 ing now his uncovered head and face, now his defence- 
 less body to the attack. A man no longer, but just a 
 slavering, sobbing creature calling upon his servants, 
 his mother, the vengeance of the smiling, blue heavens 
 and calling in vain. 
 
 There were no other sounds but his cries, the singing 
 of the whip and Bellenden's quickened breathing. The 
 spectators remained perfectly impassive ; not one of the 
 servants lifted a finger, or made the slightest effort to 
 go to his master's rescue. They had all suffered 
 through the years from his arrogance and tyranny, but 
 in that moment, deep though their wrongs had been, 
 they were deaf to his pleadings from no personal griev- 
 ance. His treatment of the domine and that little 
 flower-faced girl had rendered them utterly inexorable. 
 
 Wearied out at last Bellenden's arm fell powerless 
 and the whip dropped from his nerveless grasp. He 
 went quite close to the huddled-up, quivering figure 
 and looked down at the pitiable spectacle. 
 
 " Now get you out into the highway and show your- 
 self for the hero you are," he sneered, " or skulk at 
 home behind your mother's petticoats and these men 
 shall go forth and testify of this morning's work. Oh, 
 the scars will heal, I warrant you ! Unguents and salves 
 and Mammy's nursing will make another manikin of 
 you, but no unguents no salves will ever heal your 
 reputation. Go where you will, when you will, the 
 story of your villainy will precede you and follow after 
 
 378
 
 Fulfilment 
 
 you. And even if, as the years go by, your blackness 
 shall be forgotten of men, know this, Adrian de Hooge, 
 you will not forget it yourself. It will come between 
 you and your pleasures, between you and your griefs 
 the memory of that broken-hearted old man the 
 sight of that broken-hearted little girl. I leave you to 
 your own punishment, a bitterer one than I could ever 
 devise for you." 
 
 He turned on his heel and passed from the garden 
 to the street, the boys following him in rapt adoration 
 as if he were some god. At the gate he encountered 
 Mevrouw de Hooge, returning from her morning's gos- 
 sip, and stepped back to allow her to enter. As she 
 availed herself of his courtesy she glanced askance at 
 his disordered dress, and instantly some premonition 
 of his identity flashed through her mind. 
 
 " You," she cried, bridling with passion. 
 
 " I am but just come from an interview with your 
 son, madam," he interrupted with a low bow, " and 
 Gad ! I've never so enjoyed myself in my life. I have 
 the honor to wish you a very good day." 
 
 He moved off, taking his way back to his rooms, his 
 exultation deadening his weariness and filling him with 
 a buoyancy of spirit that made him forget the sorrow 
 of the previous night. The mood lingered after he had 
 refreshed himself and repaired his toilet and, under its 
 dominion, he was eager to find Peggy whom he had not 
 seen since the early morning when they had stood to- 
 gether in the domine's study. 
 
 His first thought was to seek her in her own home, 
 but almost immediately the realization came to him that 
 his duty lay at the parsonage where he might be of some 
 
 379
 
 God's Puppets 
 
 service to Heilke and Jan. He went directly, there- 
 fore, to the old house going around to the kitchen whose 
 door, as usual, stood wide. 
 
 As he entered, he perceived that the room was unoc- 
 cupied and, despite the brilliant sunlight, cheerless with 
 that mysterious sense of loss which creeps into every 
 chink and cranny at the approach of death. He stood 
 waiting for a few moments oppressed by his own help- 
 lessness, then he went along the passage-way very soft- 
 ly, walking on tiptoe in order not to disturb that deep, 
 dreamless sleep where the little sounds of the world 
 never come. 
 
 The door of the study was closed, but the one leading 
 into the parlor was ajar. He peered in cautiously. 
 Through the window the sun slanted in across the red 
 velvet chairs unrebuked, and fell in a golden shaft upon 
 the couch in the centre of the room where Annetje lay, 
 like some beautiful snow image, only her hair gleam- 
 ing with its rare sheen above and around the pallor of 
 her peaceful face. There were great masses of blos- 
 soms everywhere; the garden had been rifled of its 
 treasures for her, to whom its sweetness and bloom had 
 no further interest. As Bellenden waited, Peggy, who 
 had been moving about intent upon some task, went 
 close to Annetje's side and paused there with lowered 
 head, while Heilke, a few feet away, crouched on the 
 floor with her face hidden. 
 
 He passed through the door noiselessly and joined 
 his cousin ; she looked up at his approach and then down 
 again, stooping to readjust some vines with trembling 
 fingers. He did not speak could not speak but 
 Heilke, made aware in some subtle way of his coming, 
 
 380
 
 Fulfilment 
 
 glanced up in her turn. The next instant she flung her 
 arms in jealous protection across the motionless, flower- 
 decked figure and strained herself against it as if in 
 protest. The grief was hers hers alone ! 
 
 Half comprehending the sacredness of the old 
 woman's sufferings, Bellenden drew Peggy very gent- 
 ly from the room. Together they went along the cor- 
 ridor back to the deserted kitchen ; then the girl put her 
 hand on his where it rested on her arm and unloosened 
 its clasp. Her eyes were very misty. 
 
 " Not yet, Jack," she said brokenly, " we must wait 
 a little I can't be happy yet." 
 
 But even as she spoke she knew that happiness was 
 both his and hers, that the world was still a beautiful 
 place to live in the world where pain and sorrow form 
 the shade of living, as pleasure and gladness form its 
 shine. 
 
 Oh ! mystery of life, where one must go in sadness 
 all his days, and another know only the beauty of joy. 
 Riddle beyond our poor finite solving! And yet, it 
 is no slight thing to look upon the face of Truth, to 
 strive after what crowns humanity honor, strength, 
 nobility of purpose to know that the soul triumphs 
 over death, and everywhere and always Love is eternal.
 
 7 i / 
 
 " SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000 681 276 2