Convict B14 - Forgotten Books

CONV ICT B 14A NOVEL

R. K. WEEKES

NEW YORK

BRENTANO’

S

PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1920 , by

BRENTANO’S

LE TITIA JANE GARDINER

WITH APOLOGIES

CONTENTS

JANUA V IT!E

A LIE THAT I s HALF A TRUTH

NOCTURNE

WHEN F IRST WE PRACTI CE TO DECEIVE

THE FLY ON THE WALL

S I C TRANSIT

AUBADE

AmANDUs, -A,-UM

MELODRAMATIC

A LODGE IN THE W ILDERNESS

COSAS DE BRUJAS

ALL IN THE AIR

ONE NA IL DRIVES OUT ANOTHER

A Two-EDGED SWORD

WANTED

COUNSEL OF PERFECTION

A GREEN THOUGHT IN A GREEN SHADE

WHEN THE HEART SUFFERS A BLOW

DU PART I DU GRAND AIR

ROUGH JUSTI CE

HEU QUAM MUTATUS

BREAD AND SALT

CONTENTS

D IEU DI SPOSE

THE FIRST ROUND

I SENT A LETTER TO MY LOVE 2 1 0

SHE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKETH

DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES

THE GOOD HOURS

CONFES SIO AMANTI S

THE LUCK IEST G IRL IN.THE WORLD

PER ARDUA AD ASTRA

THE ONE SHALL BE TAKEN

SHE ALONE CHARMETH MY SADNESS

CONVICT B14

CHAPTER I

JANUA VITZE

When m en shall say, Peace, and all thing s are sa fe, then shal l sudden destruction com e upon them , as sorrow com eth upon a wom an

trava il ing w ith ch ild, an l they sha ll not escape.

AT the entrance o f a green val ley, where the Easedale“beck

came down f rom Ea sedale Tarn , scatter ing its s ilver tressesloose over the rocks at Sour Mi lk Gil l , and hurrying toj oin the Rotha at Goody Bridge , stood a wayside hostelry : a spruce gray v il la , overflowing with flowers underwhite and green sun-bl inds and a glass p iazza . Not by anym eans a grand place , but attract ive ; the he s itating trave le rmight gu ess that the comfort s in side would answer to thetrimness outside , nor would he be wrong. Withi n its l imits ,the Easedale Hote l was that rar ity, a thorough ly wel l-runEngl ish inn .

The proprietor of the p lace and on ly begette r of i t s pros

perity was reposing on the veranda i n an easy attitude , withhi s hands in hi s pocket s and hi s eye s on the Grasmere road .

Spidering,he cal led it ; which meant that he was looking

out for po ssible guests . He l iked to make a play of hi swork . Harry Gardiner , the son of a country parson

,was

a S l ight young man of middle height , and very brownol ive-brown , sun-brown . He did not look whol ly Engl i sh ;a quarter part of Spani sh blood ran in hi s veins . He haddark eyes and a smal l head , smal l hands and wiry muscle s ,smal l features and a thin mouth . He was quick in al l hethought and said and did, shrewd at a bargain, fond of

2 CONVICT B14;

money,but fonder sti l l of l iberty . After being pitch forked

by ci rcumstances into hi s odd t rade , he had stuck to i t forlove and made i t pay ; he had al ready progressed from ahumble fonda. i n the Canari es to a boarding-house in Sydney ,and f rom the boarding-house to the Easedale Hotel . Buthe was a rol l ing stone , and wou ld never stay long enoughin any one place to reap the full f ruit of hi s toi l .He turned at the sound Of a step behind h im , and hi s

eyes laughed .

“ Hu llo,Deni s ! Got into al l your glad rags ? You ’ ll

scare my people they aren ’ t used to such vi sions .”

You ’d not have me S i t down to dinner without washi n’

my hands,would you ? i nqui red the new-comer i n a voice

which hi s best efforts cou ld never rid of a t race of so ftI ri sh brogue . He was wearing ord inary evening clothes , notvery new

,but in some subtle way he did contrive to give

the impression of being point device i n every detai l . Deni sMerion-Smith was partner i n an aeroplane fi rm ; but he hadonce been i n the Royal Engineers

,and though i t was years

s ince he had resigned hi s Commi ssion,he sti l l carried hi s

handsome nose i n the ai r and looked down on i n feriormortal s through a single eyeglass .Gardiner l aughed .

“ Why not ? My crowd mostly do .

But we'

re going up i n the socia l scale . I began withtrave lers , I went on to arti st s , I

’ve attained the Church,and

I l ive i n hopes of even ri si ng to the army some day . Youdidn

’

t happen to look into the dining-room on your waydown ?

I d id not .I wasn

’

t suggesting that you were nosing out the dinner,Gardiner explained . I thought you might have noticedthe flowers . They ’re rather special . I did ’em mysel f .That

’

s the way to work i t . Ginger up the servants al lround , and add flowers to choice . Sweet-peas I recommendfor the table , blue lobel ia and pink geranium for windowboxes . The Engl i sh touri st can ’t resi st window-boxes . I

could write the i nnkeeper ’s vadem ecun . It ’s a great game .“I can

’

t th ink how you do it ! said Denis in d i sg ust.

JANUA VITZE

I can ’t think how you ever took it on ! Kotowing to al lthese beastly people and l icking thei r boots

NO, no . The boy does that— spi t s on them , anyhow .

We can ’t al l be i n the Sappers,Deni s .” Deni s snorted .

My t rade suits me al l right , though it wouldn’t you ,

” saidGardiner more seriously . I l ike i t

,you know I l ike tak

ing over a disreputable pigsty of a place l ike thi s was, andturning i t out i n a coup le of years blooming l ike the rose .

Thi s Easedale ’

s qu ite a decent l ittle pub now . I shal l behal f sorry to leave i t . ”

Deni s paused , with a l ighted match in hi s hand . You ’renever thinking of giv in i t up ?

I ’ve al ready done SO .

You’

ve given up the Easedale ?Asi es

,s efior. The place is so ld, and I c lear out i n Octo

We l l ! sai d Deni s , a fter a va in struggle with the householder ’s di strust of the nomad ,

“ you know your own

bus iness, I suppose ; but I should have thought th i swas good enough for you . Are you never goin ’ to sett ledown ? ”

“ You ’re so beast ly impatient ! ” said Gardine r,w i th a

laugh . He waited to light a cigarette,cheri shing i t between

h is palms , and then j e rk ing the match wi th a quick gestureacross the road .

“ I ’ve been searching for my ideal ; youwou ldn ’t have me hurry over that , would you ? I

’ve triedthe Canaries , and I

’ve tried Au strylier, and I’ve tried Eng

land , and they’re al l vanity and vexat ion Of spi ri t . But I

think I’

ve got the rea l thing at last .”

Where ?

On the Semoi s . You neve r heard O f i t ? Quite . NObOdy has . The Semoi s i s a r iver, a ravi shing rive r who t ie sherse l f into Complicated knots round forest-covered mountains . On the map she looks l ike a bedivvled corkscrew .

I don ’t know where the charm lies— I ’ve seen fi fty placesmore conventionally beauti ful , but I tel l you , Deni s, I

’ve gotthat ri ver in my bones ! Figure to yoursel f a young mountain, with the r iver plumb be fore it, in ,

a gorge . You look

4 CONVICT B 1 4

down into that gorge,and beyond it over the tops of hi ll s and

h ill s and hi l l s , range behind range , gett ing bluer , and dimmer

,and blurrier

,t i l l they ’re a mere wash of cobalt against

the SkyHil l s said Deni s . I ’ve asked you : where i s thi s

p lace ? ”

The Ardennes . Belgi an Luxemburg . C lose to theFrench front ie r and twenty miles f rom Sedan .

”

“Well,I suppose you know your own business best ,

sai d Deni s for the second time— it was p lain he supposednothing of the kind but I ’d not settl e there i f you paidme .

Why on earth not ? Oh ah , o f course ! the Germanmenace , i sn

’ t i t ? Well , i f they come , I shal l sqer with myadopted country

,that ’s a l l .

“ I f you ’d spent a yea r in Germany , as I have , and seenwhat I did , you

’d not laugh ,” sa id Deni s

,pati ently and

obstinately. The Ge rman danger was one of hi s hobbies .I t was surpri sing that , with so many hoary prej udices , heshould ever have taken up with a new-fangled science l ikeaeronautics ; but who i s consi stent ?

“ I ’m not laughing,my dea r chap . You know more

about i t than I do , and i f you say it’

s on the ca rd s I bel i eveyou . But they ’re not coming to-day , are they ? and m afiana

es otro dia . Meanwhile I go ahead with my Bel levue

( that’s to be the name o f i t : beauti ful ly bana l , what ?) and

t rust to luck . I t hasn’

t se rved me badly so far . Besides,I don ’t stand to lose much . I l ike money al l right , but I

’mnot a slave to that or anything el se . I f I lose every pennyto-morrow I shouldn ’t put mysel f about except for daddy ’ssake ; and a fter al l he

’s not actual ly dependent on me , Ionly supply the amenities . Yes ; bar accidents , I can prettywel l de fy Fate .”

He stretched himse l f complacent ly,as i f rej oicing i n hi s

f reedom . Deni s prese rved si lence .“ I suppose you wouldn

’t say a thing l ike that ? ” askedGardiner , looking at h im curiously.

I wou ld not .”

JANUA VIT!E 5

Ir i shman !I hate boastin said Deni s shortly .

I thought you bel ieved i n an overru l ing Providence ,which orders everything for u s from the cradle to the

grave ? ”

“ It ’s not i ncompatible . And I wi sh you ’d settle down ,said Deni s

,who was a person of few and simple ideas .

Well,i f you ’re good perhaps I w il l . ”

But not i n Be lgium ,Harry ! Belgium ’s such a rotten

hole . And the people are hal f dagoes . Why can ’t you becontent with EnglandGardiner laughed . Because I ain ’t Engl i sh

, Old son

nor Iri sh nei the r . I ’m a bit of a dago mysel f , for thatmatter . B

’ the powers,here ’s a car coming ! You S i t t ight

now , and see me do the fascinating landlord .

The car,an expensive touring mode l

,drew up at the gate .

The driver was a big man with dark gray eyes , regul arfeature s and a dark mustache . It was a handsome head ,but not whol ly pleasant ; in the accepted phrase , he hadevident ly l i ved hard . Deni s with unerri ng fasti diou snessput h im down as a bounder . Beside him sat a lady , muffledup in a long dust-cloak and a vei l , and there was a maidbehind .

How fa r on i s i t to Keswick ? asked the driver , leaning out to address Gardiner wi th care less i nci vi l ity .

Nine mile s .”

Nine,eh ? Are you the proprietor Of thi s place ? ” He

looked the young man up and down with cursory interest .Well , we may want rooms for the night . Can you dous ? ”

The house i s rather fu l l , but I can show you what Ihavef

’

“ What do you say , Dot ? We can’t get on to Keswick

to-night on th i s con founded t ire . M ight as well stop,do

you think ? O f course it’

s a wretched l itt le hole , but wehaven ’t much choice .

”The as ide was whol ly audible both

to Gardiner and to Denis .“ I don ’t care , provided i t

’s clean,said the girl . Her

6 CONVICT B 1 4

features were invi sible behind her vei l , but the voice soundedyoung.

“ What ? Oh yes,I shou ld say it ’s fai rly clean . Yes ,

we ’ l l stay ,” he added

,turning to the owner of the fai rly

clean hotel . No,never mind the rooms

,we ’ ll have dinner

at once . Here , and send some one round to see a fte r mycar , wil l you ? That t i re ’s punctured .

”

“ Very good,sir,

” sai d Gardiner, standing aside for thelady to pass i n . Her husband fol lowed , and they were lostto view . Deni s remained fuming on the veranda . It wasone thing to put on ai rs himsel f , another to see them onsomebody el se . Besides , Deni s was always scrupulou slycourteous to i n feriors ; he considered i t bad form to hit aman who was debarred f rom hitting back . He hoped thenew-comers would not stay ; but t ime passed , and nobodyappeared except a man to take the Ro l l s-Royce to the garage ;and~

presently the gong sounded , and Deni s went i n .

At the back of the hote l two wings j utted out f rom themain block, forming three sides of a quadrangle ; and i nthe r ight wing, j u st at the corne r , Gardiner had hi s den .

I t looked , of course , directly across the garden into thewindows Opposite , but the house did not shut out a l l theview . Sitting s ideways , one could see the broad green va lerunning westwards and narrowing swi ftly to a gorge , downwhich the stream tumbled , white as mi lk . Dark gray thehi l l s were , slate-gray , almost purple , with emerald verdureworn thi n i n places and showing the naked rock—HelmCrag , Seat Sanda l , Dollywagon Pike , St . Sunday Crag ,Si lve r How

,what names O f romance ! A sweet and pleasant

scene , i n thi s summer twi l ight ; mists upstealing along thebrook, and a hal f-t ran sparent moon sharpening into si lveras she sank into the lemon-colored west . When the soundsof the house for a moment lul led , one could hea r the murmuro f the cascade which seemed to hang motionless against therock , flattened ou t l ike a skein o f white wool .The room was smal l ; i t had a big window i n the le ftwal l , a fireplace Opposi te , and a table between , on whichstood a packing-case in a l itte r of straw . Gardiner had

JANUA VIT !E 7

been opening a case of whi sky for Deni s , who l iked to fancyhimsel f a connoi sseur.

“ Do you t rot round a fter everybiddy as you did wi ththose people to-night ? he asked gloomily . Dinner hadpassed since the scene on the terrace , but i t had not bu ri edhi s resentm ent .Not as a rule I don ’t . Miss Marvi n , my housekeeper ,

who’s a rea l t reasure , She’s supposed to see to v i si tors . But

I do i t when I want to I s i t the Trents rankl ing Irather enj oyed them .

Is hi s name Trent ?

His name i s Trent . Major Trent , and wi feof Thurlow Park , Surrey ; he inscribed it i n the vi si torsbook . That ’s him you hea r overhead ; they dined upstai rs .I ’ve had to put them in the old part o f the house , everyother corner i s fu l l . I don ’t know what ’l l happen when hesees h i s bedroom .

”

A line regim ent,o f course , said Deni s , gloomi ly sco rn

fu l . No decent corps wou ld stand him . I wi sh you ’dki ck him out.

”

“That , my young friend , i s not the Spiri t i n which one

runs a succe ss ful hotel . Do you know he’

s paying me upwards of three gu i neas a day ? Besides, he didn

’t mean tobe rude , he was simp ly talking over my head . What am Ito him ? The land lord O f a thi rd-rate i nn . I ’d give mysel fai rs too i f I had a p lace i n Surrey and a 1 9 1 2 Rol lsRoyce .”

Insufferable bounder ! said Deni s . Gardiner laughed .

No , no ; that he’s not . Rather a fine head— a good

man gone wrong. Oddly enough , I be l ieve Tom knew himi n India . I f it’

s the same man , he got hi s D .S .O . i n SouthAfrica

,a very gal lant piece o f work, and then had to send

in hi s papers because o f some row about a woman a subaltem

’

s wi fe , to make things pleasant a l l round . Tom ratherl iked him , bar h i s l i tt le weakness fo r the sex . But he musthave come into money since— through hi s wi fe

,I wouldn ’t

mind betting, and that’s why he

’

s so civi l to her . For he’

s

the so rt who ’s usual ly more civi l to other peop le ’s w ives .

8 CONVICT B 1 4

I can ’t th ink how you can bring yoursel f to speak toh im ! ” said Deni s . He was one of those who find i t hardto understand how others can act differently from themselves . Gardiner laughed more than ever.We can’ t al l be ideal i st s

,my good Deni s . I ’ve my bread

and butter to earn . I had a l l my fine fee l i ngs knocked outofme long ago . Yes , Miss Marv in , what i s i t ?

”

Miss Marvin,a come ly, capab le woman of forty, seemed

a l i tt le flustered.

I ’m sorry to d i sturb you , sir, but i t’s the gentleman In

No . 18. He ’s been at me about hi s room , and I thinkher voice dropped I think he i sn ’t quite himse l f . I f youwouldn ’t mind speaking to himWhat the devil do you mean by putting me to s leep i n

a hay-lo ft ?M i s s Marvin j umped, for the gentleman from No . 18

had fol lowed uninvited and was talking over her shoulder .He stretched an arm across the door to bar her escape .“ No , you don

’t . I don ’t know which of you two i s re

sponsible here , but I am going to have an answer out of

somebody. I pay a decent pri ce , I expect a decent room ,

and you put me i n a garret that st inks l ike a rabbit hutch ,and nearly bra ins me i f I wa lk across the floor ! Why , Iwouldn ’t put a nigger to s leep i n such a ho le ! What do

you mean by i t , I want to know ?”

One moment,

” said Gardiner. Miss Marvin,may I

trouble you for that regi ster ? Thanks . Here we are . Ihad to give you NO . 1 8 because i t was absolutely the lastunoccupied room i n the house . I f you look, you can see

for yoursel f that I ’m speaking the truth .

A l i ttle checked , Trent bent hi s handsome head ove r thepage . He was not drunk ; but he had been drinking .

Gardiner,sitting by the window on the fa r si de o f the

table,leaned across

,pointing out the entrie s with a smal l ,

brown,wel l -kept forefinger.

“ These are my best rooms . They ’re occupied now bya Leeds fishm onger, but I can

’t ve ry wel l tu rn him out forthat . I f I ’d known you were coming—but as i t was I

J ANUA VIT !E 9

s imp ly had to put you where I could .

"

There ’ s not a corneranywhere el se .

The place st inks , said Trent .O f apples . My predecessor used to store them there .

Well, you Should have warned me , then .

”

I did,sa id Gardiner . I f you remember, I told you I

was full and wanted to Show you the rooms , and you

decl ined .

“That ’s right enough , Sai d Trent . He swept up hi s

thick,dark lashes and looked steadi ly a t Gardiner , summing

him up . Travel ing on , hi s eyes met and fixed on a photograph that hung on the wal l . Hullo , I know that face ,

”

he said in a total ly di fferent tone , getting up and goi ngtowards it .

My brother , said Gardiner .Your brother ? Tom Gardiner of the Sappers i s your

brother ? Why the deuce couldn ’t you say so before ?

Here , my good woman He held out hal f-a- crown toM i s s Marv in

,who nearly dropped i t i n her indignation

,and

was only restrained by an imperative sign f rom Gardinerwhich sent her out of the room .

“ Mhow : yes , I wasactual ly with him when thi s was taken

,

”Trent continued

,

with the frame in hi s hand . I used to see a lot of him i nthose days . Nice youngster ; only a mania for Churchgoi n’

, and couldn’t or wouldn ’t play bridge . And so you ’re

hi s brother ! What on earth do you want to keep a pothouse for ? ”

It’

s a way of earning your l iving, l ike another .Leads to misunderstandings , though . Didn ’t he ever

mention me ? ”

Yes ; but I couldn’t be sure you were the same man .

Well , I wouldn’t say I am ; t imes have changed since

then ,”said Trent . He replaced the frame and establ i shed

himse l f on the rug , squaring hi s broad Shoulde rs against themantelpiece , apparently settling down f or a comfortablegossip ; I was a bit of a fire-eate r i n those days . I remember one t ime we were out ridingThe ta le he told was one of those which modest men leave

1 0 CONVICT B 1 4

thei r f ri ends to tel l for them . I t seemed to concern himno more than a casual newspape r paragraph about a casualstranger .

“ I couldn ’t do that now , you know ,

” was hi scomment . He had quite forgotten hi s anger ; i ndeed , heseemed to have worn out al l powe r of sustained feel ing ,to be without shame as without vanity . He rambled on

f rom story to story ; presently he was pouri ng into thei rears the tale of the scandal that had led to hi s reti rement .Out i t al l came , i n a cu rious mixture of i ndifference andmaudlin sel f-pity .

“That was the end of me ,

” he said ,staring at Gardiner with hazy , apatheti c eyes . I wasn ’ta bad sort o f fe l ler be fore— did one or two things a manmight be proud of ; but i t was al l up when I had to leavethe Old regiment . And j ust for the sake O f a l i tt l e devi lwho didn ’t care a rap about me— not a rap , I swear Shedidn ’t ! Yes ! i t ’s the women who ’ve been my ruin .

”

It was a melancholy exhibit ion . One might gather thathe st i l l presented a decent f ront to the world ; whisky hadloosened hi s tongue to-night , making him a tra itor tohimsel f , but he did not habitual ly drink. He said so,

withunblushing candor . It wasn ’t wine with me , you know ;that was never my vi ce . He was

,as Gardiner said

,a good

man gone wrong ; but he had gone very far wrong . Therewas someth ing cruel in the way the young m an led him on

to expose himsel f . Charity would have covered hi s sins,

but cynici sm drew them al l out to look at . Deni s ’s i nstinct swere more healthy .

“Why don ’t you ki ck him out ?” he said i n an angry

whi spe r.I

’

m not done with him yet . He amuses me .

He makes me S i ck . I t’

s beastly,Harry ! You ’ve no

busines s to do i t !“Think not ? Now , he strikes me as fai r game , said

Gardiner, contemplating his guest wi th a complete absenceOf pity .

“ He’

s drinking himse l f drunk on your whi sky,and that

gi rl waiti ng for him upstai rs ! I f you don ’t th ink of him ,

you might of her ! ”

CHAPTER II

A LIE THAT IS HALF A TRUTH

I have slain a m an to my wounding, and a young m an to my hurt.GENESIS.

TRENT lay as he had fal len , with h i s head on the fender,i n a poo l of blood which s lowly enlarged itsel f and soppedi nto the carpet . The sharp edg e had f ractured hi s skul l .He was stone dead , beyond possibi l i ty of doubt , yet bothmen by a common inst i nct knelt down and tried to loosenhi s col lar. The heavy head tumbled si deways , againstDeni s ’s a rm . He sprang up and retreated

,w i th a vio lent

shudder .“ Poor beggar ! Poor beggar ! said Gardiner underh is breath . I never saw anything so ghastly i n my l i fe !Thi s thing’s l ike a razor.” He ran hi s finger down theedge of the fender . Good Lord ! what an appal l i ng busrness ! Well

,I suppose the fi rst thing i s to have i n the

doctor ; he can’t do any good

, of course , but st i l lLucki ly there ’s one actual ly staying in the house . Ringthe bel l , do you mind , Deni s ? O r , wait a bi t , I don

’twant the maids poking round ; I

’

l l go mysel f .”

He was ha l f-way to the door when Deni s seized hi s arm .

Stop a minute , Harry . Think .

”

What ’s the use o f waiti ng ? May as wel l get i t over !No ; but think—think ! Can ’t you see what thi s

means ? ”

His agitation was contagious . I can see i t ’ s going tobe very awkward with the house ful l of vi si tors , but i t

’ snot the time to think of that , i s i t ? What the devi l are

you driving at ?”

You ki lled him, said Deni s ba ldly .

12

A LIE THAT IS HALF A TRUTH 1 3

I did not

You . did . It ’ s mans laughter,i f not murder. It might

mean hanging,and i t ’ l l pretty certai nly mean pri son .

”

Prison !Every trace of color went out of Gardiner ’s face . In

the momentary pause some one tapped at the door.Gardiner wrenched himse l f f ree

,and Deni s sprang to

shut out the intruder ; but he was too late . The door,

le ft unlatched by Mi ss Marvin,sl i d open at a touch . There

stood Mrs . Trent , in her long m ufi’

ling c loak and vei l ; shehad come in quest of her husband .

Deni s tri ed ineffectual ly to block out the v iew of theroom , the lamp on the floor, the dead man , and Gardiner .

“You —you mustn

’t come in , Mrs . Trent . Your husband ’s had a sort of se izureShe said nothing, only plucked at hi s a rm ,

struggl i ngagainst i t , her eyes , her whole being concentrated on thefigure on the floor . Suddenly diving under the barri er

, she

fled to hi s side and sank down,a mere swi rl o f draperies .

Deni s, di stracted , stooped over her . Don ’t— don ’t ! hesaid . Let u s fetch a docto r— perhaps he ’ s onlyfainted

Fainted ! She raised her tragi c l i ttl e head ; her eyes ,ranging round the room , met and fixed on Gardiner . He'sbeen murdered ! ” She cried out.

“ Murdered— and youdid i t , you !The imaginative man i s at the mercy Of hi s nerves ;

th ere i s always an unsound l ink in his courage,l iable to

snap at any unexpected strain .

‘

I t i s a question of shee rluck whether he finds out hi s weakness and i s able to takeprecautions be forehand . The unimaginative man neveru nderstands thi s . TO Deni s’s infinite dismay

,Gardiner

S imply backed into the corner, throwing up hi s arm as i fto ward a blow . Deni s himse l f cried out the first denia lthat rose to his l ip s .

Mrs. Trent , i t was an accident , I give you my word i twas ! ”

“I t was murder , She contradicted swi ftly

,her young

1 4 CONVICT B 1 4

voice gathering depth and force , scorn and angui sh , heroutstretched finger quivering. He did it , he ki lled him ,

I read i t i n hi s eye s . Oh , he was al l I had in the worl d ,and you ’ve taken him away ! Oh , what shall I do—whatshal l I do ? ”

Harry ! Say something te l l her it’

s a mi stake !He can ’t ! cried the gi rl . Look

,look at him cowering

there ! Murderer ! He daren ’t face me— he can ’t denyi t !Less of hi s own wi l l than because Deni s ’s hands were

on hi s shoulders , Gardiner s low ly turned . He lookedhang-dog. I didn ’t do i t ! ” he muttered

,hi s eyes on the

ground . You heard what my f riend said—it was anaccident ! ” And then more loudly

,gaining confidence :

I swear I never laid a finger on h im— did I,Deni s ? I

would have sai d so be fore— I would have explained atonce , i f I

’d taken i n what you were saying .

”

You didn ’t lay a finger on him ? ” Mrs . Trent laughedout, a queer high note of triumph . Ah— but you ki lledhim al l the same ! I know ! I can prove i t ! What Ihave here Besides , l ook , l ook at hi s darl i ng faceOh , Guy ! The name broke f rom her in a great tremulousconvul sive sob . She put out he r hands bli ndly , clutchingthe edge of the table . Oh , what i s i t ? Oh , oh , i t hurts !I ’m frightened— Loui sa !Great heavens ! Ring the be l l , Deni s—quick !Deni s nearly brought down the bell-rope . The nextminutes were a l l con fusion . People gathered l ike fl ie sthe boots , Miss Marvin , hal f-a-dozen f rightened Se rvant s ,at last Mrs . Trent ’s elderly maid . She threw up her handsi n horror

,but she wasted no t ime on the dead man ; her

concern was al l for he r mi stress . Come away , M i s s Dotdear

,come ! ’

Tain ’t fit for you here !” The girl , shaken

now by terri fying sobs , suffered hersel f to be led away ; thei rsteps died out down the passage .Meanwhi le the doctor had arrived , a brusque and dapper

l i tt le man,hasti ly fetched i n f rom the terrace . Gardiner ,

who was everywhere at once , arranging everyth ing, c leared

A LIE THAT IS HALF A TRUTH 1 5

the . room for him to make hi s examinat ion , leaving onlyDeni s , Miss Marv in , and himse lf .Fracture of the base of the sku ll . No , I couldn

’t havedone anything even i f I ’d been on the spot ; must have beenpract ica l ly instantaneous . Slipped , you say, did he ?

H’

m ! He bent to sniff at the dead man ’s l ips . Wherewas he standing ? ”

Gardiner reconstructed the scene , exact i n every detai lsave one . He came across to the table , to fi l l hi s glass

,

I suppose , and seemed to lose hi s balance—hi s feet flewup in the ai r. We didn ’t thi nk anything of i t , ! did we,Deni s ? It was the most ordinary tumble .

”

Didn ’t strike against anything i n fal l ing,did he ? ”

No ; he went flat on hi s back , as you do on a sl i de .

Sure ? Wel l , how do you account for that, then ?He pointed to a t iny star of blood on the dead man ’ s

forehead . Gardiner looked a s he fe lt , nonplussed .

I can ’t account for i t .”

You can ’t,hey ? Your f riend , then— he any i dea ? ”

No ,

” said Deni s f rom the w i ndow , without turninground . There was an uncomfortable pause .

What ’s a l l thi s mess of glass about ? ” asked MissMarvin

, who was l i stening with all he r inte l l igent ears .“ I don ’t know—yes , I do , though ; Maj or Trent had 'been having a whi sky and soda , and dropped the tumbler ashe fell . I remember hearing i t smash .

”

There you are , then , sir . A bi t flew up and hit him .

There ’s nothing cuts worse than broken glass , and theSpli nters they ’l l fly anywhere , they

’re that l ight and f rivo lousthings . Why , I

’ve nearly had my own eye out, fall i ng upthe pantry steps w i th a t ray i n my arms ! That

’

s what doneit,

'

you may depend .

Thus Miss Marvin , practica l and positive . Little D r.Scott nodded assent .H’

m , yes ; might have been that . The fe l low was hal ftipsy , of course . No need to tel l hi s wi fe so, but he sme l lsl ike a pot

-house . She seems to take i t pretty queerly,by

the way, f rom the gl impse I had of her , he added ,‘

bending

1 6 CONVICT B 1 4

hi s bright and piercing eyes on Gardi ner. Has a specia lgrudge against you , hey ?

”

She accused me downright of murdering him at first,

said the young man soberly.

“ Heaven knows why,for

I ’d never set eyes on ei ther of them be fore . I hope she

won ’t keep it up ; it’

s rather a serious thing to have laidto one ’s charge . But I suppose I ’d better take no notice ;women in her state of health o ften take queer fancies i ntothei r heads, don

’t they ? ”

“ Hey ? I s tha t so ? Poor chi ld,poor chi ld ! I hope

we Shan ’t have any furthe r trouble with her. I t’

s a badpiece of work a ltogether, he added , gett ing up and dust inghis knees . You know , of course , that the body mustn

’tbe moved ti l l the pol i ce have seen i t . You ’ve sent for them ,

I suppose ? ”

No, I haven’t .”

You haven ’t ? What are you staring for ? Have tobe an inquest , won

’t there ? Can ’t give the ce rtificate without i t, can I ? snapped the l i tt le man ; and then , lowe ri nghi s voice out Of respect for the dead ' You and yourlong-legged f ri end over there

, who looks as i f he’d be the

bette r for a nip of sal volati le , you’ l l have to give evidence .

Any one wou ld think you ’

d never heard of an inquestbe fore ! ”

“ O f course . I wa s an ass not to think of i t , but yousee i t ’s awkward for me , with the house ful l of people .

However , that can’t be helped . I ’

l l te lephone at once .Yes, what i s i t ?

”

Mrs . Trent ’s maid , at the door, had a very grave face .Can the doctor p lease come at once, sir ? My mistress

i s taken i l l .”

The two men were le f t alone . Deni s , who had beenstanding at the Open window al l th i s t ime , with hi s backto the room , turned round now to see Gardiner on hi sknees , hunting over the floor. What are you doing ? ” heasked , breaking hi s long si lence .Looking for my chi se l . I don ’t th ink I ’

l l leave tha tfor the pol i ce to find .

”

A LIE THAT IS HALF A TRUTH 1 7

The l i ttle doctor ’s j ibe about sa l vo lat i le had not beenbaseless . Deni s , though in h i s youth he had been througha frontier campaign which should have cured him of suchweakness , looked and fe lt rathe r sick . Gardiner was les ssensitive . He pursued hi s search without qualms . Deni swatched him .

What are you goi n’ to say to the pol i ce when they do

come ? ”

What you said to Mrs . Trent . You began it , Deni s .You ’

ll have to give evidence on oath at the inquest .”

That won ’t trouble my conscience .”

I suppose they ’l l cal l me as wel l .”

Sa fe to,” assented Gardiner . Deni s said noth ing . The

younger man , looking up , asked with a certain hardihoodAre you going to gi ve me away ? ”

I won’t i f I can help it .”

By which you meanI f I ’m asked right out, Did you throw the ch ise l at

him ? I ’l l have to say Yes ; but short of that I’ l l do al l I

can to get you out of the scrape . I ’d have been in i t myse l fi f I ’d been standin ’ where you were .

”

Only you ’d have owned up at once , whereas I’m not

going to , said Gardiner , with a short laugh .

“ I mighthave known you cou ldn ’t tel l a l ie , Deni s . Here , I can

’tfind thi s con founded thing . Where the devi l can i t havegot to ? ”

Den i s,putting hi s qualms in his pocket , went down on

h i s knees and j oined in the search . They looked a l l overthe room , i n every corner.I shou ld say i t must be underneath him , sai d Gardiner,

with a reflective glance at the body,“ but I don ’t know

that I exactly want to look and see .

”

Deni s with an uncontrol lable shudder got up and retreatedto the window .

How can you talk l ike thi s ? You make me sick ! ”

My good Deni s , I don’t fee l l ike a murderer be fore the

corpse of his vi ctim , i f that’ s what you ’re driving at ! I

deny that I was in the least to blame . Anybody with a

1 8 CONVICT B 1 4:

spark of decent feeling must , have done what I did . I fhe broke hi s head , poor brute, that wasn

’t my fault ; i t’s

what you might cal l the act of God . I ’m not going topri son

,i f I can help i t , for a crime I haven

’t committed .

In the meantime , I want my chi sel .”

Wel l,i t ’s not where you suggest , said Deni s with an

effort , for I remember see ing it a fter he fel l .You did ? Then i t must be here somewhere !But i t was not .What the dev i l can have come to it ? ” said Gardiner ,

bit ing hi s mustache,and betraying hi s agi tat ion by hi s

language ; for he did not usual ly swear .Mrs. Trent was kneelin

’ over that si de .

What , do you th ink she’ s got i t up her sleeve ? But

i n that case why didn’t she bring it out and denounce me ?

Here,you ’d better have a peg , Deni s , you look as though

you wanted one . What the deuce should she carry i taway with her for ? ”

I don ’t know ; but i t struck me she had something on

the t ip of her tongue to say j ust be fore she col lapsed . Perhaps she meant to produce it , and then felt too si ck .

There was a short si lence . Deni s sipped the whi skywhich hi s f r iend had forced on him . It was not so muchTrent ’s death whi ch had upset him , as Gardiner’s fai lure ,and the part which i t forced him to play . He hated anycontact with deception .

“ We l l , thi s i s a sweet prospect , said Gard ine r, withanother short laugh . Mrs . Trent , and you—let ’s hopethe coroner won ’t ask awkward questions ! Come on out

now ; it’

s no use hunting for a thing that i sn ’t there . I ’ l llock up the room and summon the minions of the law .

I wi sh you ’d own up .

”

Oh , con found you for a prig, Deni s ! I can’t go back

on what , I ’ve said , can I ? It might perhaps have beenbetter i f I ’d done it at first , but I

’m committed to i t now.

I must j ust go on and trust to luck . It was you began i t ;don ’t you forget that !

2 0 CONVICT B 1 4

He and Deni s had been together at schoo l , from whichGardine r had run or rather walked away to sea about thetime when Deni s was going up for Woolwich . Gardinerwent

,not f rom any of the usual motives , but because kind

fri ends had offered him a c lerkship i n one of the Dart fordbanks . He could not re fuse to take himse l f off hi s father’shands , but he wou ld not be a clerk . So one fine morninghe came to town , hung about the Surrey Commercia l Dock

( not for the firs t t ime ) , and being a l ikely looking lad gottaken on at a pinch on board the s .s. Imm erwald

, boundfor South America . He signed on as O S ; but at thelast moment the cook of the Imm erwald, coming on boardvery drunk , fe l l down the companion and had to be le ftbehind i n hospital with a broken leg ; and Gardiner, on

the strength of some indi screet boast s , was turned into thega lley in hi s stead to do hi s worst . It must be ownedthat hi s worst was rather bad . But he was quick andhandy, and by the t ime they reached Bahia he was notcursed by the steward a fter every mea l . In Bahi a hedeserted . Latin America had a lways been hi s goal . Hismother was ha l f Spani sh ; he had absorbed the love ly language of Casti le i n his cradle .In Bahi a they do not ta lk Spani sh

,but Gard iner was

not s low to pick up Portuguese ; and in hi s first shoreberth , as cook in a sai lors

’ eat ing-house , he added to hi svocabu lary a smattering of Ital ian , Dutch , and Swedi sh .

French and German he had learned at home . He wasun-Engli sh in h i s gi f t for languages ; un-Engli sh too i nother ways , notably i n hi s readiness to take color fromhis surroundings . During the next five years he generallypassed for a Spaniard . He wandered over the length andbreadth of America , going north to Los Angeles , west toMol lendo , south to Santiago de Chi le : good cooks are i ndemand everywhere . He was a rol l ing stone

,but he

gathered moss , which he duti ful ly sent home to the Kenti shrecto ry where he had been born .

At twenty-two he was in the Canaries , where Fate , intervening , pushed him into hi s t rue vocation . An Orotavan

NOCTURNE 2 1

fondis ta, who had come into money and was wi ld to gethome to Sevi l le , offered him the goodwil l of hi s place fora song. Gardiner accepted for the fun of the thing , andfel l i n love with h i s t rade . Inns kept by a butler or acook are proverbial ly prospe rou s, and he had been butlerand cook i n one . The Tres Amigos flouri shed ; Gardiner

’

sremittances home became regu lar and substantia l . It seemedthat he had found hi s ni che at last .He stayed i n Orotava three years . Then , without warn

ing , for the first t ime since hi s son le f t home , the rectormissed hi s weekly letter. Four months went by , and Mr.Gardine r nearly fretted himsel f i nto hi s grave . At the endof that time the correspondence was taken up agai n—f romSydney. Over hi s reasons for thi s qui ck change to theAntipodes Gardiner threw an ai ry vei l . I was p lentys ick of the Is lands , I thought I

’d get a move on ,

” he wrote .

Mr. Gardiner accepted the excu se in a l l good faith . Tom ,

hi s younger son , a conscient ious young cadet , thought i tsounded rather fi shy ; but Tom was always a l i ttle di strust fulof th i s nu -Engli sh brother of hi s .The truth being that Gardiner had been burning hi s fingersi n hi s fi rst love a ffai r. I t was strange , i n the l i fe he had led ,that he shou ld have kept hi s innocence so long. He owedthat to hi s mother , who had done what few mothers daretaken her courage in both hands and to ld him p lain ly whatto expect . Then she set the seal on her counsel s by dyingduring hi s first voyage . She had been very fai r

,as wel l as

very wi se ; her son never forgot her, and found i t easi erto fol low her advice because her beauty and wit s had trainedhis senses to be fast idious. But he had a passionate temperament unde r hi s superficial hardness

,and

,never having

f ribbled away hi s feel ings in l ight connections,he came to

Pi lar Anguita w i th al l the fire of unspoi led youth . In herpale tropica l l i ly lovel iness she seemed to him the i ncarnation of hi s dreams , flowe r of the V irgin for whom she wasnamed .

She shou ld have been what he thought her ; she be longedto the guarded cl ass , the class that does not al low its daugh

2 2 CONVICT B 1 4:

ters to set foot i n the st reet s unattended . Her father wasa ri ch man , as r iche s go in Teneri fe , her mother had been acountess . Neverthe less , thi s shel tered l i ly was pleased torun concurrent i ntrigues with Gardiner and with an idleyoung sprig O f nobi l i ty f rom Madrid . Gardiner, i t shou ldbe said , had no thought of i nt rigue ; hi s intent ion s werestri ct ly honorable , and he wou ld have been content to pluckthe turkey-hen ” out side her window i n humble adorationt i l l he was i n a posi tion to ask for her hand . When hefound himse l f launched into another course he was horrified ,conscience-str icken , eage r on ly to make amends . But Pi larhad no intent ion o f getting married . She pre ferred to enj oyherse l f i n her own way i n her own home , wi th the con

nivance of her ama, a latter-day Celesti na . She ran herbrace of lovers ti l l she made the inevitable blunder , andGardiner arrived on an evening dedicated to h i s riva l .The scene that fol lowed brought the house about their

ears , and Pi lar’s career found an abrupt close . She was

whi sked off to a convent , whence she eloped , a month later,w i th one of her father

’ s grooms , who , as i t then came out,had antedated both h i s r ival s by a year or SO.

Gardiner did not hea r the end Of the story t i l l longafte r. He had found i t expedient to leave the Is landsimmediately a fter hi s due l with Don ‘Lui s . You may cal la bullet i n the chest pneumonia, and so long as you donot die nobody can question your assertion . But the verydogs i n the street s o f O rotava knew al l about the duel

,

which was conducted on the American plan of turning bothcombatants loose on opposite si des of a wood , to shoot ats ight . Gardiner was out to ki l l ; only luck, and a si lve rmatch-box , diverted hi s bullet f rom his r iva l

’s heart .He went to Sydney to get away f rom himse l f . I t took

him two years . Then he came home . England , which hehad seen twice only since he was sixteen , amused him atfirst ; but he soon grew ti red of it i t was too cramped

,he

wanted more space,fewer people . Sti ll , he cou ld not go

fa r ; hi s father was gett ing an old m an, and clung to him . A

w i nter walking tour di scovered hi s idea l on the Semoi s . He

NOCTURNE 23

settled hi s affai rs at the Easedale with hi s u sua l luck and

expedition , and was f ree to start h i s new l i fe i f on lySince the affai r w ith Pi lar, Gardiner had given women

a wide berth . The burnt ch i ld dreads the fi re , and besideshe was mighti ly di strust fu l . of hi s own temperament . Hedid not make the mi stake of despi sing al l women for thefau lt of one ; but raptures and revenges , due l s and despai rdid not fi t into the scheme of l i fe mapped out by hi spract ical mind . Friendships did . He had many fri ends .He l iked middle-aged men , unlucky men , l ame dogs of

any kind ; and hi s f ri ends were without exception bette rmen than he . A choice which showed that , given thechance

,he wou ld grow upwards and not down . And of

a l l hi s f riends Deni s stood first , partly for old t ime ’s sake ,but mainly for no other reason than that of al l men i n theworld there was none he respected more .

0

Dear old ass ! ” he sai d to himse l f , between amusement ,a ffection , and envy, contrasting hi s own easy code withDeni s’s Puritan st iffness . “ One of God ’s dandies

,that ’s

what he i s , but I wouldn’t have him different , no , I wou ldn

’t ,though he’

s putt ing me in the divvle of a hole with hi swhimsies . O f course he’

s right , I ought to have ownedup at once , i t wou ld have been far better in every way. Butthat unlucky speech of hi s gave me a Ioophole , and I j umpedat i t I ’d have j umped at anything then . I didn ’t exactlysh ine on that occasion , and he sees I didn

’t I wonder,would i t be bette r even now to eat my own words and makea clean breast of i t ? Upon my soul , I

’ve hal f a mind to !Ten to one I shal l be caught out over thi s i nquest ; i n fact ,I don ’t see how I ’m going to escape , unless Mrs. Trent i s tooi l l to show up

—and I don ’t desi re that , be shot i f I do !poo r l i tt le woman .

”

A blank supe rvened . He took hi s pipe out of hi s mouthand l i stened . He was Sleeping on the roof , a habit he hadlearned i n Orotava , and earl ier i n the -night there had beensignificant sounds below . Al l was quiet now , however .No , I definitely do not want her to be i l l ,

” he resumedhi s meditat ion . I haven ’t sunk to that yet

,no matter

24 CONVICT B 1 4:

what i t costs me . And what wi l l i t cost me ? Not hanging ;Deni s was talking through hi s hat there , no j u ry cou ld possibly bring i t i n murder. But pri son ? I ’m not sure Iwou ldn’ t rather hang .

”

He stared up at the stars . Wa l l s and a roo f instead of

the l imitless f reedom of the night. Day has i ts bounds,

ei ther a bright b lue dome or a cei l i ng of cloud , but nighti s Open to the infinite . You may lose yoursel f cl imbing tothe pale moon , you may send out your sou l for ever throughSpace beyond the ranges of the stars . There were two menin Gardiner . By day he was the prosperous practica l i nnkeeper ; by night even he h imsel f d id not know how muchhe owed to those sol itary nights O f his, though he did knowthat he would have hated to have Deni s spread hi s mattresson the roo f beside him . In cit i es Gardiner was an al ien ; butt rees , mountains , r ivers were a l l al ive for him , large ca lmgracious beings to whom he belonged, with whom he wasat ease . Lone l iness and f reedom were the breath of hi sl i fe ; and was he to exchange them for an eight-foot ce l l witha spy

-hole i n the door ? “ Decidedly I ’d rather hang,” he

said to himsel f i n a crawl ing sweat . He faced a new idea .

I be l ieve I funk pri son .

”

Fear. It was an unfami l i a r fee l ing . He had never beena f ra id of men , not even as a boy on the Imm erwald whenthe mate had been drinking ; he had kept out o f the way atsuch times , but he had grinned i ndifferent . Nor was hea fraid of death ; he had seen i t too o ften . But thi s ? I

’

ve

never had much opinion of men who funk things , but Ibel ieve I ’d run l ike a hare i f i t was a question of pri sonwe l l

,to al l i ntents and purposes I did. Pleasant. I didn ’t

know Iwas a coward be fore . Hul lo ! i s that that poor l itt l ewoman again ? I f she lose s her kid , I shall fee l l ike amurderer.An idea

,conceived i n h i s mind hours be fore , had been

growing in secret , and now came suddenly to bi rth as aresolution .

“ I f She loses her kid through me , I’ l l hold my

tongu e about Trent’ s last bi t o f beastl iness ,

” he said , andregistered the vow .

“ I do owe her something, and I’l l pay

NOCTURNE 25

thi s way. I t’

l l mean a lot to her : I bel ieve nothing, not hi sdeath nor even the kid ’s, wou ld hi t her so hard as that lastthing he said . Probably i t didn ’t in the least represent hi snorma l atti tude

,but a woman wou ld never see that . She ’d

fee l as I fe lt when I heard Pi lar No , that I’l l spare her !

Yet i t ’ l l mean a lot to me too— great heavens, but i t wi l l !Say I ’m committed for trial after thi s inquest . I f I te l l thewhole truth

,I Shal l probably be acquitted . I f I don ’t I may

get— six months ? a year ? Oh,Lord ! The point i s that

mine ’s such a beastly lame story without that speech ; I’m

throwing away my one excuse . Yet i f I speak I sha l lmake a clean sweep of al l she has le ft , after practical lyrobbing her of he r husband and ch i ld—no , I can

’

t andwon ’t , sea lo que fuere, i n common decency I must ho ld mytongue . We ll , anyhow ,

thi s di sposes of any idea of myowning up voluntari ly

,as Deni s want s by the way, I must

give him a hint to shut hi s mouth too . He’

l l do i t to sparea woman

,even i f i t i nvolves sacrificing me . Chivalrous i s

Denis I suspect he ’ l l come a bad cropper one of these days ,and i t 11 hurt him worse than i t did me

,because he ’s finer

stu ff. There ’s the dawn— I wonder how it looks over theSemoi s at Frahan ? What a j olly place the world i s ! andI ’ve an impression that i n a manslaughte r case they won ’tal low bai l . We l l , I

’ve done enough soul-searching for thepresent

,and I think I w i ll now go to by-by. Amanecerci

D ior, y medrarem os .

”

Five minutes late r he was asleep unde r the pa l i ng stars,whi le the dawn came up in si lver over He lve l lyn

,thi s astute

young man who was ready to throw away everything for aromanti c scruple , and cal l i t common decency . Gardinerwas not quite so astute , nor so level-headed, nor so cowardlyas he thought h imse l f .

CHAPTER IV

WHEN FIRST WE PRACTICE TO DECEIVE

Bread of deceit is sweet to a m an ; but a fterwards his m outh shal lbe filled with gravel . PROVERBS.

FATALITY AT GRASMERE

THE inquest on the body of Maj or Trent , who was ki l l edby a fal l at the Easedale Hote l , Grasmere , on Thursdayevening , was conducted by Dr. Ell i s , corone r for Westmorland , at the Easedale Hote l on Friday.

Mr . He lmsley Trent , of Perche Place , Marybourne , Hants ,identified the body as that of hi s brother , Major Guy Gl i ssonTrent

, of Thurlow Park, Surrey, and stated that the ageof the deceased was thi rty-nine years . He was travel ing inthe Lakes with hi s wi fe on a motoring tou r.Mr . H . C . Gardiner, proprietor of the Easedale Hote l ,s tated that the deceased , accompanied by hi s wi fe and hermaid , came to the hote l on Thursday evening and engagedrooms for the night . They dined i n thei r own apartments .About P.M . deceased came to w itness’s pri vate parlorand made a compla int about hi s room . I t was not usua l forguests to come to hi s parlor. Deceased was not drunk, buthe was i n a quarrel some mood , and i ncl ined to make a row .

Witness sat i sfied him that the i nconvenience complained of

was due to the house be ing ful l . Deceased then stayed on

talking i n a f ri endly way. About ten o ’clock witness suggested that i t was getting late . Deceased Came to the tableto fi l l hi s glass , and was standing by it when h i s feet sl ippedfrom under him , and he fe l l backwards . No one was i n theroom except witnes s and hi s f ri end , M r. Meri on-Smith .

They were sitting by the window . The table was betweenthem and the deceased . They could not have reached him

2 6

28 CONVICT B 1 4

also a very s l ight abras ion on the forehead , but th i s was ofno significance . I t might have been caused by a sp l i nterof glass flying up and striking him . Death was due tof racture of the base of the sku ll , and was probably instantaneous. In ca ses O f severe f racture that i s not unusua l .By the Jury : I f the deceased’s feet sl ipped from under

him,as described by the other witnes ses, hi s head wou ld

strike the fender first . Deceased was a heavy man , andsuch a fal l wou ld be quite suffi cient to f racture hi s sku l l .P . C. Thornborough gave detai ls of the posi t ion of the

body. .

There was plenty more . D r. S cott skimmed through ital l to the verdict of accidental death , and the j ury

’s expre ssions of sympathy with the widow. He read i t standing i nthe street O f Ambleside , and then doubled the paper underhi s arm and trudged the five mi le s back to Grasmere .

‘The Easedale Hote l was no longer fu l l . A violent death ,an inquest , and a confinement had emptied the house andattracted in stead a crowd of casua l s ightseers . The loungeand terrace were ful l of them . Scott asked for. Gardiner,and c l imbed many stai rs to the roo f . Coming out of a lastt rap-door, he behe ld Gardiner and hi s f riend among thech imney-pots , i n close conversation , which died instant ly onhi s appearance .There was a table , there were chai rs , there was a bedbeneath an awning. Gardine r , at ful l l ength on a lounge,swung hi s feet to the ground and wel comed hi s vi sitor.Merion-Smith acknow ledged him with a distant nod .

I ’ve brought you the local rag ,” sai d Scott , p lanting him

sel f firmly ou a hard u pright chai r. “ It has a fu l l report .I wa lked ove r to Ambleside for i t .”

Gardiner thanked him amiably , glanced ove r the sheet ,and passed i t to Deni s, who read sol idly through from endto end ; th i s to keep out of the conversation . Here ’s aman I don ’t know : sa fe to be a bounder : confound hi simpudence ! such was hi s atti tude to the casua l stranger.He did not l ike the middle classes .

WHEN FIR-ST WE PRACTICE TO DECEIVE 29

We ’re up here because he didn’t fancy the parlor,said Gardiner, w i th a lazy nod towards hi s f riend . Saysthe place makes h im sick . You

’d expect a flying m an tohave cranks , wouldn

’t you ? He has enough to stock anengine . What do you recommend for ne rves , doctor ?

”

M ’m ! you don’ t look up to much yourse l f . You ’re the

color of brown hol land .

”

Me ? I ’m as l imp as a rag ; never felt so pale i n myl i fe . Al l these agitations are so t rying,

” said Gardine r,

fi l l ing hi s pipe and pushing the cigarettes across the table .Help yoursel f . I can recommend them ; that fel low neve rbuys a cheap smoke . How ’s Mrs. Trent ? ”

As wel l as can be expected .

”

Poor l i tt le woman ,” sai d Gardi ne r. I say, doctor, I

am bea stly sorry about thi s . Sorrie r than I ’ve been aboutmost things i n my l i fe .The sincere feel ing behind hi s words drew out Scott’ simpatient reply.

Woman ! She ’s a ch i ld : not a day over twenty. Agi r l ’s too young at that age to marry and face thi s sort ofth ing. I ’d make i t i l legal .”

My dear man , don’t shout at me ! I don ’t know how

old she i s : cou ldn’t tel l her f rom Eve , i f I met her. I neversaw her without that motor vei l thing hanging over her face .She ’s lost her ch i ld , hasn

’ t she ? ”

She has .”

Do you know where she comes f rom , or anything abouther people ? ”

“ What the maid told me . She has no people . Livedt i l l her marriage with an uncl e and aunt who 0d her agrudge about some money that was le ft to her over theuncle

’

s head . They wouldn ’t let he r speak to a man,for

fear she shou ld marry and they lose the enj oyment of i t .Trent made her e lope with h im . Natural ly she looked on

him as a sort of St . George .A good thing he d ied be fore she found him out, then .

He was a rasca l , was he ?”

Well , he wasn’t preci sely a St . George .

30‘

CONVICT B 1 4

H’

m i said Scott. It was an expression he used o ften ,and with varying meaning. Gardiner smoked i n si lence .Deni s , who had read to the end of the inquest , propped hi stal l , immacu late person against a chimney-stack and watchedthem both . When he did not snap , the l i ttle docto r expressed himse l f l ike an educated man,

and hi s voice waspure i n qua l i ty. These things were i n hi s favor.

“ Has she sti l l got that i dea i n her head about me ?asked Gardiner.How do I know , man ? Do you suppose I talk to my

patients about things of that kind ? She hasn ’t mentionedyou at al l , SO far as I know . Lies sti l l , says nothing , a sks noquest ions—brooding over that scamp , I suppose . We l l ,she ’s gett ing better , and that

’s al l that concerns meYes ,

” sa i d Gardiner. He looked very t i red . I f yousee a chance , give her my regrets and condolences and all

that, w i l l you ? You might pitch i t pretty strong. I shan ’tbe here to do i t myse l f .”

You won’

t ? Where are you going ?”

Oh , I’ve so ld the p lace

,and I ’m c learing out. Didn’t

you know ? I was going i n any case at the end of themonth

,and I ’ve put i t forward a bit , to give my successo r

a chance . A l l th i s f uss i s very bad for t rade . It’s empt ied

the house . I t ’ l l fi l l up aga i n qu icker i f I’m out of i t.

”

Where are you going yoursel f , hey ?”

To the most beauti fu l place i n the Ardennes , which Idesign to run as a sanatorium—no , not a common opena i r shop

,but heal th fu l brac ing breezes for the j aded , don

’t

you know ? Very great it’

s going to be . I i nvite you tocome out and pay me a vi sit .H’

m ! do you th ink I have nothi ng to do bu t run aboutthe Conti nent enj oying mysel f ? ”

Oh,I thought you might combine business with p leasure

see the place , and then recommend”

i t to your patients . I

should be charmed to receive them .

”

You would, would you? Not half so p leased as they

’

d

be to come.

”

IVHEN FIR-ST WE PRACTICE TO DECEIVE 3 1

Why, who are your patients ?” asked Gardi ner, id ly

answering the sign ificance Of hi s tone .Crimina ls ,

” said the l ittle man . I ’m doctor at WestbyJai l - where you ’d be at thi s minute , i f Mrs . Trent hadhad her way .

Deni s would not look at h i s frieind . I can’t say I envy

you your“ j ob , remarked the young man .

“ That j u st Shows you don ’ t know anything about i t ,was the i nstant reto rt . Criminal s have soul s as Wel l as

you ,haven ’t they ? There are better men in pri son than

score s I ’ve met outside , whom our ungodly laws can ’t orwon ’t touch . I ’ve known one man get eighteen months forsteal ing a pai r O f boots , and anothe r let off with a fine and acaution for roasting a cat on the fire . Chri st ians ? Why ,we haven ’t got up to the ten commandments yet ! The Jewsd id put Thou shalt not kill and Thou sha lt not comm it

Adultery be fore Thou shalt not steal ; but impuri ty’s nothing

to us,and cruelty not much more . Chri sti ans ! We reserve

our j a i ls for any one who dares to meddle with our sacredprope rty . Upon my soul , I wonder any man can find theface to re fuse the women a share i n mending the laws of thi sland

,consideri ng the pretty mess we ’ve made of them our

se lves ! ”

He Shot ou t O f h i s chai r and marched to the edge of theroo f . Gardiner fo l lowed , laugh-ing, and sat on the parapet .A rose and si lver sunset was darkening the fel ls above Easedale Tarn , and the moon , a globe of pearl , made beaut i fu l thecold gray eastern sky.

I don ’t know What you want to leave your own countryfor , said Scott , sti l l i rascible , but simmering i nto ca lm .

I sn ’t thi s good enough for you ?”

Oh , I’m out for a land where they have more Chri stian

laws ,” said Gardiner easi ly . England ’s too civi l ized to be

l ivable ,” he added .

Scott d id not hear him . He was studying the house underthei r feet .That

’

s M rs. Tren t’

s room below , I suppose ? And your

32 CONVICT B 1 4:

parlor be low that, on the ground floor ? Any one i n thatsouth w ing opposite could see straight i n . Lucky for youthere was nobody watching on Thursday evening.

“Lucky? What the devi l do you mean ?Scott turned round and stared i n the face .You didn’t want any vi si tors i n hysterics

,did you ?

Enough people invo lved i n i t a lready,aren’ t there ? What

do you mean yourse l f ?I thought , said Gardiner , I thought you we re echoing

Mrs . Trent’s i dea , and suggest ing I

’d done h im in .

”

It was the best he could do, but i t was not good . Scottsta red at him with his bright eyes , shi fted them to Deni s ,and brought them back to Gardiner agai n . Gardiner knewthat i n the fi rst moment of surpri se he had started vio

lently, changed colo r, showed a l l the signs o f gui lt . Nothingcould erase that impression .

You r nerves must be i n a bad way for you to j ump l ikethat at an innocent remark,

” sai d Scott dryly.

They are , I told you so. You can give me someth ingfor them ,

i f you l ike . I don ’t mind swal lowing your beastlinesses.

”

“No, said Scott . He pu l led out hi s watch . I must

go to my patient . Good-night to you both .

” He cl imbeddown through the t rap-door , and then poked hi s head upagai n to add : M ind , I never medd le with what i sn

’ t myconcern . Never.He was seen no more , and they heard h im descending the

ladder.Damn , sa id Gardiner.He won ’t make any use of i t ,

” sai d Denis . That ’s nota bad l ittle chap

,Harry.

”

Not a bad l i tt le chap ? He’

s a most con foundedly in

quisitive l i ttle chap ! He won’t re st t i l l he ’s fe rreted out

the whole thing. Oh, damn ! I wouldn ’t have had thi s

happen for anything. Why the devi l couldn’

t I keep mycou ntenance ? I thought I might have trusted mysel f forthat ! ”

He paced up and down in a fury .

WHEN FIRST WE PRACTICE TO DECEIVE 33

You ’ve had a tryin’ t ime .

Trying ? I ’ve had a sca ri fying time ! That inquest,

when the foreman began pumping you— I’

d have murdered you as wel l , Deni s , i f you hadn

’t been adroit . Buti f I ’m going to lose my nerve over such trifles as thi swhat an ass ! oh , what an ass !He threw himse l f back on the lounge . Deni s cou ld not

help feel ing that he took it rather weakly. He did not a l lowfor the ri ft in his f riend ’s armor , that demorali zing fear ofconfinement . In these last few days thei r posi tions seemedto have been reversed .

Scott can’ t do anything, he said rather cool ly . It ’ sno use hi s suspectin

’ i f there ’s no one he can pump , andthere i sn ’t . I ’m not going to give i t away , and you aren

’tei ther

,when you ’re yoursel f again . AS to Mrs . Trent , she

can ’t prove anything f rom the ch i se l—you might have le ftit there from openin

’ the case . Besides , Scott wouldn’t d i s

cuss i t with her . He’s above that .”“ I dare say you ’re right , but I wi sh I hadn

’t been suchan ass, and I wi sh he weren

’t the doctor at Westby,” said

Gardiner,w i th a huge yawn , i t b ri ngs i t so unp lea sant ly

near. Oh,Lord ! I am ti red . Do you mind clearing ou t

now ? I expect I shal l sleep l ike a log. Please the pigs , i nanothe r Couple of weeks

’ t ime I ’ l l ‘be out o f th i s over-civilized, over-popu lated country !

CHAPTER V

THE FLY ON THE WALL

I only knew one poet in my lifeAnd th is, or som ething l ike it, was his way.

How i t s trikes a Contemporary.

THREE days afte r the i nquest Deni s came up to town to ihterview a timber merchant a s to a contract about whichthere had been a difference of Opinion . He looked downon the man through hi s eyeglass , carri ed al l hi s points , anddeparted , leaving exasperat ion i n hi s wake . After th i s,finding he had some hours to Spare be fore he need catchh i s t rain to Bredon, he went to pay a ca l l on hi s cousinLett i ce .Deni s was , l ike his f riend Gardiner, the son of a c lergy

man ; but not of a poor country parson. Deni s ’s fatherwas honorary canon of Rocheste r and rura l dean ; he he lda family l iving

,and had beside s a com fortable income o f his

own . There was some excuse for the double name . TheMerions were a pennile ss I ri sh fami ly with a pedigree deri ved from the ancient kings ( al l Iri sh pedigrees derive f romthe ancient kings ) . The Smith and the money had cometo them together , a couple of generations back , f rom aneccentric old bachelo r who had loved and lost one of thedaughters of the house . Marrying late , Canon MerionSmith was over fi fty when hi s only son was bo rn and hi swi fe died . Deni s had only a nurse to mother him , but hedid not suffer ; he was a very happy sma l l boy , who f romhi s babyhood never thought of anything but engi nes . Hewas not at al l l ike h i s father , an easy-going I ri shman witha Strong sense of humor , but they were i nseparable f ri ends,who explored the path of knowledge hand in hand . Therewas no quest ion of parenta l authori ty . Deni s did what was

34

36 CONVICT 131 4

hi s l i fe for many years , since she, w i th her mothe r andsi ste rs

,came to settle i n the vi l lage of which Canon Merion

Smith was i ncumbent. Rosabe l and Ste l la were cha rm ing ,hal f Ir i sh and hal f French ; but Lettice , the e ldest , had al

ways been Deni s ’s a l ly . She was de l iberate where they werequick

,si lent whi le they chattered , methodica l i nstead of

happy-gO-lucky. They were clever , but she was the bornstudent

,patient , accurate , thorough . The househo ld was

a lways short of money, so Lett ice , who suffered in that atmosphere of elegant muddle , left home as soon as she cou ldand set up for hersel f . She was very fond of he r re lations

,and they of her, but she found them trying to l ive

with . Letti ce had a temper ; she said hersel f i t was a dumbdevi l . Sti l l , since i t was ve ry stri ctly dumb , you had toknow her we l l , and watch her ca re fu l ly, be fore you di scovered it s exi stence .She now occupi ed an attic i n Piml ico , and worked a l l day

i n the Bri ti sh Museum l ibrary. She might have been morecomfortabl e i n a boarding-house , but she pre fe rred sol itude , or rather si lence ; she was pe rennial ly i nterested in herfe l low-creatures , but she did not want to be talked to bythem. She was always the spectator , never the actor, having eyes , and ears , a syntheti c mind and that del icate senseof humor, pity and i rony i n one , wh ich i s a lamp to the fee tof i t s possessor.But what marked Letti ce off f rom other people was her

passion for se l f-obl ite rati on . Most of us in ou r heart s loveto fi l l the center of the stage . Lettice was mi serable there .She l iked to be the fly on the wa l l. Yet she was unse lfish aswe l l as selfless , gent le , accommodat ing , al l things to al l men .

She was l ike a penny-in-the-Slot machine for doing good

you put in your need , out came her response : and she askedno more grati tude than the machine . To thank her was l iketouching the horns of a snai l . A harmless whim i n manyways , yet with e lements of danger ; for tastes of thi s sortst rengthen as they grow , and Lettice

’s f riends were beginning to fear she would fade away al together to an impersonal ghost, un less something happened to cal l her back.

THE FLY ON THE WALL 7

She shou ld have been Merion-Smith too ; she owed theaffix to the same Iri sh grandmother from whom Deni s hadi nherited h i s profi le , hi s accent , hi s supersti ti ons , and hi sfamily pride . He had been known to send back a letter addressed to the name of Smi th . Lett i ce , on the other hand ,had dropped the hyphen with al l ce lerity . Deni s might lecture her on her slackness ; She concurred am iably so longas she was with h im , and then went on her way exactly asbe fore . Lett ice on the sur face was al l sweet pliabi l ity, butunderneath lay soli d rock . Deni s faced the world as anobsti nate

,pugnacious Iri shman

,whereas a ski l fu l hand

could guide him with a si lken thread . Letti ce read h im l ikea book and made so ft fun of h im , but always with a reserveof pecul ia rly tende r a ffection ; she thought a great dea l ofher cousin . And Deni s thought a gread deal a very greatdea l— of he r. He was aware that i n ha l f her innocentspeeches she was , to put i t grace ful ly , having him on ; butwhat did that matter ? Lett ice was Lettice . He did not

analyze hi s f riends ; he idea l i zed them .

Deni s was recei ved at No . 33 Canning Street by thedaughter of the house , a smart young person in si lk stockings who invi ted him , with never a Si r ” to her sentence ,to step up and find Miss Smith in the top back atti c . The

stai rs were dark ; Deni s , gloomily reflect ing on the decadence of the lower classes , fel l over a pai r of boots and trodin a dust-pan which flew up and hi t him . He was not i nthe best of tempers when he knocked at h i s cousin ’s door.

Com e i n ! cal led out an abstracted voice , weari ly rai sed ;and he obeyed . There stood Lettice i n the middle of thefloor, ho lding out with both arms be fore her nose a newspaper which enwrapped her, mind and body. Lett ice hadbeen known , when she came in f rom the Museum a fte r herday’s work

,to read through the who le of a nove l , standing

under the gas , be fore she moved to take off her hat . I ttook some time for Deni s

’

s presence to penetrate, and thenshe lowered her arms slowly and looked round .

O-oh ,

”she said . I thought you were the mi lk. S it

down , sit down .

”

38 CONVICT B 1 4

She folded up her pape r and poked it under a book, tookaway hi s hat and sti ck , and fetched the mi lk from thepassage, hurrying s low ly, as her custom was . Deni s satdown , and di scovered that he wa s very glad to be with heragain . A cool i ng fountai n i n l i fe ’s d ry, dreary sand , thatwas what Lett i ce represented . She was not a beauty ; shehad none of the attributes of a heroine . Her nose wasnondescript , her complexion poor , her mouth large , thoughthere was character i n the ful l under l i p ; character al so , andbrains , in the b ig forehead whi ch she hid beneath her so ftbrown hai r. For the rest , she had drooping shou lders anda long s l im neck ; she chose and put on her Clothes l i ke aFrenchwoman ; but her best point s were the set and shapeof her grace fu l l i ttle head , and the somewhat mi sleadingsweetness of her haze l eyes .Her room was a long white attic , one end curtained off.

There was a window in the gable facing west,and i n the

window a tabl e overflowing with manuscripts and books ;sheets of fool scap covered with her grace fu l writing

,an

Old Engl i sh text , a Lati n grammar, a treat i se on court hand .

She was trying to make up for a haphazard education byteaching hersel f . As she passed on her way to the cupboard , she drew a sheet of paper out o f the mudd le andpresented it to Deni s .

Now you can j ust look through that whi leI ’m makingthe tea , and see i f there are any mi stakes ,

”she enj oined

him in the minute expressi ve voice which wa s one of hercharms to those who found her charming . Den i s foundh imse l f faced by a Latin exerci se . When he had learneda l l hi s cousin could te l l him about the wreaths and the rosesthat adorned the gi rl s and the queens , he turned the page ,and came on something more attractive . In her hours ofea se Lett ice was a poet . Looking up from her task with thebread kni fe

,she saw what he was doing, turned a deep

pink,and si lently but swi ftly removed the sheet f rom the

fingers . Denis laughed .

Haven ’t you anyth ing to show? ”

No, I haven’

t,” said Letti ce , acerb and forbidding .

THE FLY ON THE WALL 39

Sheep on a lonely road,Gray in the gray

Denis quoted mal iciously. The poet covered her ears wi thher hands.

Oh , do-o-on’

t l

Wel l , let me see the rest of i t !Wel l , i t i sn

’t fini shed ; it’s no good looking at a th ing

ti l l it’s fini shed , i s i t ?” retorted Lettice i n a so ft flurry o f

ea peration. Her poetry was dug out of her own soul , andShe suffered the pains of vivi section in hearing i t di scussed .

Deni s knew thi s wel l , and Letti ce knew he knew i t . Looking l ike an affronted kitten , she reti red into a s i lence thatthe bruta l cri ti c might have cal led su lky , and seemed di sposed to stay there . But Deni s knew how to make h i s peace .Just then the kettle boi led over. He was quick to l i ft i toff - and to put i t down agai n i n a hurry, shaking hi s fin

gers . Be fore he could find hi s handkerchie f , down swoopedLett ice ’s arm ; she sei zed the handle , bore i t away , took hert ime over fi l l ing the teapot , ostentat iously stayed to settle thecozy ; then , having di splayed beyond possibi l i ty of oversightthe superior hardness of her palm , she replaced the kettleon the hob, and returned to her toasti ng fork, exuding vainglory .

Thi s i ncident settled , they talked of the aerop lane . Thi swas i nvariably Lett ice ’ s fi rst question , and i t brought downa shower o f i n formation

,al l wate r on a

_

duck’

s back . Considering wha t excel lent brains she had , i t was surpri si ng howdense she cou ld be when she chose . When Deni s ’s fluentIri sh tongue ran dry, she was ready with her next quest ion .

“ And did you have a nice t ime at Grasmere w i th clearHarry ? ”

No,I didn ’t

,

” sa id Deni s with unexpected force . Ihad a per fectly beastly t ime ! ”

Dear,dear ! How was that ?

Oh , things went wrong,” sa 1d Deni s vaguely . He

wanted to tel l the whole story—Lettice seemed to puri fyand sweeten al l she took into

'

her know ledge , and th i s badlyneeded sweetening . He hated i t ; he hated hi s evasions at

40 CONVICT B 1 4;

the i nquest , what Gardiner cal led hi s adroitness ; he hatedsoi l ing hi s finge rs ; he was vague ly di ssat i sfied with hi sfriend . But since , for Gardiner

’s sake , he could not te l lher a ll , he tol d her noth ing . Hal f-t ruths were no good withLettice . By the by, why didn

’t you come ?”he said . I

was expectin’

you a l l the t ime . I cou ldn’ t think where

you ’d got to . You as good as promi sed to turn up ! ”

Were you very di sappointed ?

No. No , I can’t say I was— not a ltogether . I want

you to meet Harry, but I didn’t want you thi s time . Queer

chap he i s you may think you know a man , but you neverdo.

”

Lett ice ’s eyebrows moved upwards ever so l ittle . How .

do you mean queer ?”

Oh,I don ’t know . He has a l l sorts of cranks . Last

t ime he was a t B redon , that co ld spel l when al l the pipe swere burstin ’

, nothing would do but he must sleep out i n thegarden al l the t ime . And i t was j ust the same at Grasmere , though i t rained cats and dogs . You can ’t be evenwith hi s fads

,

” Deni s added wi th a sigh , extending himse l fi n hi s chai r, h is long legs stretched hal f across the hearth .

He’

s off almost at once to that place i n the Ardennes Iwas tel l i n’

you about. I’ve promi sed to run ove r there next

summer. I wi sh you ’d come too, Lettice , as you didn’t

bring i t off thi s t ime .”“ You said you didn

’t want me , murmured Lett i ce re

proachfu lly.

I didn’t want you when things were al l beastly. But Ido want you to meet Harry . I want your opinion of him .

To th i s Lett ice made no reply . She set a few slow , neatsti tches i n the cloth she was embroidering.

Whereabouts i s i t , th i s place i n the Ardennes ?Near Boui l lon . You can get there for next to nothing,

i f that ’s what you ’re thinkin’

of, but I wi sh you’

d let metake you . I did rather wel l over that dea l thi s morning andI ’m rol l in ’

. After al l , you’re as good as my s iste r. You

might j ust as wel l .”

Lettice did not thank him ; that was t aken for granted .

THE FLY ON THE WALL 41

They understood each other So we l l that words were o ftensuperfluous .I f it’

s not very expensive I might manage i t myse l f,

She said . My old man in Harley S treet says I’ve got to

take a hol iday, so I suppo se I must go somewhere , j ust tosati s fy him . And I should rather l ike to See the Ardennes .”

Have you been to the doctor again ? Why didn ’t youtel l me before

,Lett ice ? What does he say ? ”

He says ,” said Letti ce with inimitable unction

,that I

am in a state o f thorough nervous exhaustion,and ought to

take six months’ rest . So .

”

Then I hope you ’re going to do i t ! ”

Lett ice smiled . She di d not look particular ly doci le .Deni s was beguiled i nto lecturing her about he r health

,

though he knew i t was t ime wasted nay,rather

,t ime mi s

spent. For M i s s Smith was l ike a pig, and i f you pu lledher one way she was apt to go the other. In thi s case , however

,it seemed that she had fai rly made up her mind be fore

he came to a holiday abroad , for presently she let s l ip thatshe had been studying a guide to the Ardennes , which shehad bo rrowed from a neighbor below . Deni s sent her downto borrow i t again .

Whi l e she was away he wandered about , looking at herbooks . Under a fat dict ionary he came upon the pape r shehad been reading when he entered , and he pulled i t ou t

t o see i f she stil l took what he cal led the Radical rag . It sname stared him in the face : The Westmorland Gazette.

It wa s doubled back at page fou r : Fatality at Grasm ere .

He wheeled as she came into the room . Lett ice , howon earth d id you get hold of th i s thing ?

”

She stepped dead for a moment , then came on .

I ordered it .”

What for ?

Because I ’d seen something about the accident , and Iwanted to know more . So I went to Finch ’s at the cornerand asked him to get me the local paper, and he did .

”

Le tt i ce had a talent for explaining the obvious .Where did you see anything about the accident ?

42 CONVICT B 1 4;

There was a paragraph in my hal fpenny rag.

Con found ! sa id Deni s, b lack as a thunder-cloud .

Le tti ce smil ed , recovering her equanimity as he lost hi s .Wel l

,you shou ldn ’t go and m ake interesting things l ike

aeroplanes and become a publ ic chara cter,” she murmured

pianissimo.

Why didn ’t you tel l me that you knew ?”

She looked at h im , al low i ng her speakingly d erisive eyesto retal iate that quest ion .

I couldn ’t tel l you about i t, i t wasn’t my a ffai r , said

Deni s hotly and con fusedly. Gardiner doesn ’t want thestory a l l over the place . How cou ld I help i t , Lettice ? But

when I was ta lkin ’ about Easedale, I th ink you might havelet me know you knew ! ”

My dear chi ld , I couldn’

t begin on i t i f you didn’t, cou ld

I ? ” said Letti ce patiently . I was simply longing to askquestions . I t was ni ce , prope r, lady-l i ke fee l ing made meho ld my tongu e , what you always say you l ike . And nowyou ’re cross with me ! We ll , we ll .

”

Deni s was cross ; he stood crumpl ing the paper i n hi shands , vi sibly fuming . Lettice took i t away from him andsmoothed i t out.I shan ’t talk about i t to M r. Gardiner when I come to

Rochehaut , i f that’s what you ’re a f raid of.

”

Are you rea l ly comin’

to Rochehaut ?

Don ’t you want me now you know I know ?She looked at him with those impi sh eyes .You know too much , Lett ice !

” sa id he r cousin , di scom fited , ha l f laughing . She turned away with her smal lforeign shrug .

Dear, dear ! there’

s no pleasing some peop le !

44 CONVICT RI 4

t rave ler should ) , you had to carry i t yourse l f . Letti ce ’sbaggage was what i s known as a pilgrim basket , gone at

the corners , w ith a double strap which had sl ipped i nto a

string round it s middle , leaving the ends bulging. Bending to i t l ike a pat ient donkey, she trai led across the loosegray grave l to the exi t, and at last was out si de in the road .

The Café de la Gare con fronted her, a ye l low house withred facings and a b lue slate roo f . Bureau de la dil igenceappeared on i t s s ign, but the customary shabby , di rty, stufiy,

r ickety rui n of a two-horse shandrydan was nowhere to beseen .

Pour Rochehaut , madame ?”

A smart commiss ionai re had se ized her basket . Roundhi s cap i n gi lt lettering ran the words, HOtel Bel levue .

Lett ice nodded di strust ful ly , and in a trice was whi skedround the corner, sti l l c l i ngi ng to her st rap . Behold thedi l igence of the HOtel Bel levue a brand-new motor char-abanc, gl i stening in tan-colored varni sh ! The commissionai re threw open the door with a flouri sh worthy of the boulevards, and Lett ice subsided in a corne r as i f her patientknees had at last given way.

In the f resh a i r she presently rev ived enough to take noticeof her fe llow-travelers . There were two , both women , thee lder obviously a maid . Lett ice had seen them be fore , atD inant , descending from a voiture-sa lon with a porter inattendance , and had marked them w i th a malevolent eye ,having tried i n vain to secure that porter herse l f . But evenWi thout that memory she wou ld have noticed the youngerof the two .

She was a tal l s l ip of a gi rl , scarce ly out of her teens , butnot dressed l ike an ingénue. Her French hat , her furs , herglove s, the exqui s ite cloth of her suit , al l her travel ing ap

pointments might have belonged to a married woman of

th irty .

’

Yet she was not married , for there was no weddingr ing among the diamonds on her finger , and Lettice , whoseeyes were as good as opera-glasses , could read the label onthe gold-mounted dressi ng-case i n the rack above her headM i ss D . M . O

’

Connor, HOtel Bel levue . She looked fragi l e,

SIC TRANS IT 45

as i f recover ing from an i l lness , and her figure was sti l lslender and undeve loped ; but she had masses o f exqui si telyglossy dark hai r

,and great dark eyes , ful l of fi re and gloom .

Young though she was, she knew how to get hersel f obeyed .

When she scow led ( and she could scowl , with those blackbrows ) , even a Belgian porter came to attent ion . Letticewa s wondering what i t was that had set her at odds withthe world , and written such bitterness on the small , broodingface , when the dark eyes looked up and met hers with asmi le

,sudden and chi ld-l ike , which had j ust the effect of a

sunburst over a gloomy landscape .But be fore she could speak the unsociable Lett ice hurriedly

averted her eyes and blotted herse l f i n her corner . Shemake talk with a stranger for an hour , and begin an ac

quaintance which would have to be continued , with smile sand remarks about th e weather, every time they chanced tomeet i n the hote l ? No , thank you ! The most interesti ngcharacter study was not worth that . Lettice would havewalked a coup le of mi les any day to avoid a chance ac

quaintance .Miss O’

Connor stared, ha l f i ncredulous ; then the cloudscame down again with a vengeance , and she turned her backon the ungrate fu l Lett ice and looked out of the window .

They were passing down a straight road between long st ripsof arable land

,wheat , potatoes , cabbages , beet s , fence less

and flat as a table ; and with the road went an avenue oft rees , each lopped to a m op-head atop of i t s naked stem

,

crawl ing away l ike a green caterpil la r to the l imit of sight .In the di stance a t iny white church rai sed a gray conica l spi rel ike an extinguisher ; a group of whit e and gray do l l s

’-houses

c lustered be low , drows ily basking, blue haze and brown dust,under the hazy sky.

Loui sa ! What time do we get to Rochehaut ?Ha l f-past twe lve the book said , Miss Dot .

”

Which means hal f-past one, I suppose , sai d DorotheaO

’

Connor i n her causti c young voice . They were -speakingi n undertone s , but Letti ce , whose ears were as Sharp as hereyes, could not help hearing every word .

“ Thi s i s the

46 CONVICT RI 4

most ha te fu lly ugly place I ’

ve ~

ever seen . O f Course one

expects adverti sements to l i e, but there i s such a thing asoverdoing it .”

When Dorothea was annoyed , she let i t be known .

Loui sa , fai th fu l sou l , bowed her head be fore the storm ; butshe paid about as much attention as to the rages of a Ch ild .

“Oh , Miss Dot dear, I wi sh you

’d leave thi s dread fu lheathen count ry and come back to England !

“ I ’m coming back to England when I ’ve done what Iwant , and not be fore .” There was a pleasing v igor and !

di rectness i n Dorothea ’s statements . “ I ’m sorry for you ,

Loui sa , but a fte r al l you’ l l be able to get a cup of real Eng

l i sh tea at the Bel levue al l the adverti sements said so !’

Tisn’

t tea I ’m thinking o f,M i s s Dot

,but thi s dread fu l

wicked idea of yours . Deceiving your dear kind uncle andal lIt ’s no business of Uncle Jack ’s what I do , and i f I

don ’t te l l h im it’

s only because I don ’t want h im to bebothered . Loui sa sighed and shook her head . I won ’ tbe moaned at ,

” Dorothea declared , with an inimical flash .

No , and I won’t be prayed at either ! I ’ve told you , you

can go home i f you l ike ; but i f you stay , you’

l l j ust haveto resign yoursel f , because I am going through wi th it— I

shou ld despi se mysel f for ever and ever i f I didn ’t ! The re :i s that plain ?

Oh,Mi ss Dot , you have shook your hat so crooked !

”

was Loui sa ’s ea rnest reply. Dorothea laughed , as she subm itted to have i t set st ra ight .I rather hate you sometimes , Loui sa darl ing , you make

me fee l such a brute,

” she said , but I ’m going on , al l thesame . Dea r me , i s th i s p lace an example of the unsur

passed v iew,I wonder ? I t ’ l l add a f resh j oy to Rochehaut

i f there ’s an outbreak of typhoid !They were passing through the vi llage which i n the di stance had looked so trim . Set wel l back f rom the road onei ther side was a row of white houses ; be fore each house , amidden , foursquare ; before the middens , a gutter , runningauburn ; between the gutters , the main street , down which

SIC TRANSIT 47

the omnibus had to pass . Dorothea , he r face buried in herhandkerchie f , was rummaging her bag impatient ly for a bott le of lavender sal ts , when someth ing made her glance at herfe l low-t rave le r. Lett ice was no longer gray , she was green ,and t rying weakly to un fasten her vei l . Sudden ly her surpri sed and unyie lding wai st was clasped by a peremptoryarm , and the lavender sa lts were thrust under her nose .How many hatpins have you ? —oh , here

’s the last .Move my things off the seat , Loui sa . Now put your headdown on these rugs ; that

’s better . We sha l l be out of thi shate fu l vi l lage di rect ly .

”

The amazed Letti ce found herse l f laid flat on the cushions .Automati cal ly she rose up , reacting l ike a bent twig ; instantly she was pressed back again .

No, you must l i e sti l l . I saw you at Brussel s , looking

as i l l a s i l l , even then . Are you i l l , or i s i t only the trave li ng that ’s upset you ?

I had a bad crossing, said Letti ce , i n a tone that wasalmost surly .

“ A bad crossing ? You came over last night ? Then Idon ’t wonder at anything. My flask, Loui sa—no , that ’sthe eau-de-Cologne , -how stupi d you are ! I

’m going to give

you a l iqueur ; brandy’s hate ful , and no good at al l , but a

curacao does pu l l you together. Open your mouth that’srightLett ice had opened her mouth to say she did not l ike

l iqueurs , but she was given no time ; her zealous nurse immediate ly poured the dose down her throat . Thi s was anoutrage m it was forcibl e feeding—and on Lettice

, of al l

peOple ! Lett ice , who could not bear so much as to betouched against her wi l l ! Coughing i n the most lady-l ikeway, pink with choking and with inj ured digni ty , she presented a patheti c sight for any one w ith eyes to see. Dor

othea had none .You aren ’t one bit fi t to be going about alone and look

ing after yourse l f ,”she said , i n a mixture of severi ty and

solici tude .

“You ought to be i n bed ! Are you cold ?

why , your hands a re l ike lumps of i ce ! My cloak, Loui sa.

48 CONVICT RI 4

When we get to the hotel you shal l have a hot bottle and I ’

l l

see a fter you properly . No , don’t t ry to talk .

Hitherto Letti ce h ad exp ressed no gratitude , but now ,

having been told to keep si lence , she sa id Thank you,

”

i n a tone of aci d obstinacy. It i s t rying to be done goodto agai nst your wi l l . Nobody had ever be fore attemptedsuch a l iberty w i th Lett ice . Deni s might lecture , but henever dreamed of en forcing hi s advice ; Whi le her own si sters would have laughed at the possibil i ty . Make Letticedo what she doesn ’ t choose ? ” cried Rosabe l . You mightj ust as wel l argue wi th the leg of that table !Lettice , of course , did not agree w i th them ; she consid

ered hersel f to be of a yie lding di sposit ion , bordering onflabbiness ; but there are things the meekest cannot

'

stand .

The moment Dorothea’ s back was turned she rose up andput on he r hat again . After that she fel t happier , i f lesscomfortable . Lettice was one of those persons who arenever real ly happy when they are comfortable ; insti nctivedread of slackness ( springing by rebound f rom innate loveof luxury ) drove he r to deny her body in order to ease hersou l . Ce rtai nly her body was not at ease . Violent remedies did not sui t her. I t might have been the curacao , orthe insu lt, or bo th of them together, but he r sensations weregrowing acute .She saw nothing when they p lunged into a r ick dark green

val ley of woods . She was b l ind to the si lvery splendors ofdi stant hi ll s and river . They turned into a wide courtyardand drew up . Lettice saw only that the HOtel Bel levue hadmany piazzas and balconie s

,al l ful l of people , al l watching

the arriva l of the coach . Dorothea descended on one side .Her patient s l ipped out on the other and made towards thedoo r.Why, Lettice !I t was Deni s, who had sprung out of hi s chai r and was

advancing towards her,smil ing, as the phrase goes , al l over

h i s face . Letti ce , Whi le W i sh ing him at Jeri cho , producedan answering smile .Wel l ,

” said she .

S IC TRANSIT 49

Why d idn ’t you tel l me you were coming ? You saidyou meant to spend the night in B russe ls ! You might havesent a wi re !

“ I forgot, said Lett i ce , sti l l edging towards the door .She wi shed he would not stand di rectly in the way . Deni sat las t began to perce ive that something was wrong .

Did you have a bad crossing ? You’

re al l the colors ofthe rainbow , my dear gi r lLetti ce suddenly swerved past him and a lmost ran to

wards the house . As she reached the doo r anothe r denseand so l i d person came out, and got hope lessly in the way . Ade lay at such a moment we l l , i f i t had been anybody i nthe world but Lettice and even as i t wasGood Lord ! said Deni s .The new-comer

, who was Harry Gard iner, turned withcommendable presence of mind and rang for a maid .

Show thi s lady to her roomAnd take her a cup of tea at once , fini shed Dorothea,

coming up breathless to resume command . I ’ l l see to hermysel f in a moment .”

Letti ce ’ s last thought , as she hid her shame withi n thehouse , was that she must on no account forget to lock herdoo r.

CHAPTER VII

AUBADE

Why should a heart have been there,In the way of a fa ir wom an’

s foot ?E. B . BROWNING.

THE house was asleep . The white corridor was fi l led withblue reflect ions of the sky , f rom the French window openat i t s north end ; but the bl i nd of the south window oppositeglowed golden

,and streaks of sunl ight s l ipped in , s lanting

up the wal l . The house was asleep , every one was as leepexcept the sun , who had j ust ri sen to hi s beneficent work ,rej oicing as a giant to run hi s course . Deni s

’

s kitten ( hehad saved her from some boys who wanted to drown her i nthe r iver ) poked her smal l black i nquiring nose round theglass door, and scampered in to play with the vine-lea fshadows dancing on the wal l . She patted them with velvet

paw, crouched with tai l lashing for a Spring, reared up andfel l over sideways and scuffled round and round on he r back,c lawing and bi ting her own tai l .There Gardiner saw he r when he too came i n from thebalcony , walking in hi s socks and carrying hi s wading boots .He scooped her up i n one hand and bore he r down the corridor to Deni s ’s room . No one answeri ng his tap

,he

walked in . A smal l white chamber,facing west ; the cu r

tai n drawn back from the open latti ce,and Deni s lying

asleep beneath . Everything about him was sternly neat .His clothes were folded on a chai r

,hi s boots stood side

by side, hi s Bible and Prayer Book lay on the window-ledgeat the bed

’

s head . The w ind had blown back the cover,and

Gardiner stooped to read the inscription . Denis ArthurMerion-Smith , f rom hi s Affecti onate Father , March 4 ,

50

52 CONVICT RI 4

gray-green crest of the pen insula , and the tiny church of

Frahan, on i t s flank, gleamed l ike an ivory toy ; but the rive r

cle ft was st il l deep i n hyacinthine Shadows , vei l ed i n thegauzes of the mists , drenched with the gray-si lver of thedews .The fi shermen found a w inding path which led them to

the rive r,and turned down-st ream , fi shing and wading. O f

al l the lovely daughte rs of the Meuse the Semoi s i s the lovel iest . The Lesse , i ssuing cold and mysterious from the caverns o f Han

,has been insulted by a rai lway ; the Ambleve i s

gloomy wi th dark bowlders and wild monotonous hi l l s ; theturbulent Ourthe , beauti ful among the mountain s i n theravine of Sy, i s e lsewhere spo il t by quarri es and by touri st s .But the Semoi s i s never gloomy ; she seems to ho ld the sunshine in her golden sands . You may fol low her wriggl ingsfor a whole morning and see no road , no ti lth , no Sign of

human handiwork save the very primitive cart track whi chconducts you impartial ly beside the wate r and through i t .A slab o f rock , embedded i n the turf , se rved as thei rbreak fast- table . A wa l l of l imestone rose behind , gracedwith fe rns and mosses and the de l i cate carmine leaflet s of thewild geranium . Fallen bowlders shelved ha l f across thestream , which surged round them i n a ru ff , or Sl i d past l ikethin crysta l . What richness of co lor everywhere ! Theycould see the r ive r dancing towards them down the greenand smi ling valley , bluer than the Sky, a

-sparkle with di amonds , beset with flowers forget-me-nots , the tender l i laccrocus of the autumn , yel low l i l i e s on a poo l where theSemoi s condescended for a moment to l ie sti l l . The woodswere green as sycamores in May. A kingfi sher swept by

,

t ropica l ly bri l l iant . On the purple mint at the water’s edgea great butterfly sat poi sed , pivoting round the flower-head ,st iffly Opening and closing it s gorgeous , downy wings of

scarlet , black , and white .“Talk to me of your beastly England ! sa id Gardiner

,

flat on hi s back in the grass . A man can breathe here .Look at those trees none of your spindly copses with thesky showing through on the other side

,but good solid cut

AUBADE 3

and-come-agai n forest , for leagues on end ! I could say myprayers to a forest .”

“I t

’

s good fishin sa id Deni s,more intent on hi s catch

than on the scenery . The Ourthe may brag of i t s salmon,but the Semoi s has nob le trout . “ Better than i t was atGrasmere .”

Oh , Grasmere .Gardiner

’

s face was not expressive , but his voice toldDeni s that he was back among scenes which by commonconsent they had not mentioned be fore , and which Deni shad no wi sh ever to mention again . He saw what he hadbrought on himsel f , and b lessed his blundering tongue . Sureenough , a fte r some pause the younger man asked :Did you ever hear any more ofMrs . Trent a fter I le ft ?A l i ttle , f rom Scott ,

” Denis unwi ll ingly admitted.

From Scott ? Did he w ri te to you , then ?”

No, I saw him .

Where ? In town ? ”

At Westby .

”

You saw Scott at Westby?

I spent a week-end with h im there last November, saidDeni s stiffly.

“ He asked me when we were at Easedale .

He ’

s a nice l itt le chap . I l ike him .

”

“ We l l , I’

m hanged ! ” said Gardiner , settl ing back hi shead , which he had l i fted to stare at hi s f riend . You talktoo much about your own a ffai rs , Denis , that

’s what’s thematte r with you . Go on . What did he te l l you about Mrs .Trent ? ”

He said she ’d not made at al l a good recovery ; a fterleavin

’

Easedale She ’d to go to a nursing home in town , andfrom the re she sent him down a cross and candlesticks forthe '

prison chapel . Scott was quite set up about i t, he’

s ari tual i st i c l i t tle chap ; and I suppose they were handsomeenough i f you l ike such things , I don

’tMy good Deni s, what have I to do w i th crosses and

candlesticks ? Did he say she said anything about me ?He did

,

” said Deni s,more unwi l l ingly than ever. He

said She asked for your address .”

54 CONVICT RI 4

Oh,con found Did he gi ve i t ? ”

He had to . He said i t was no -use refu sin’

, as she’d

easi ly have got i t out of any one e lse .”

He sa i d that , did he ? Confound him too ! I seem tohave le ft several loose ends over thi s affai r . Was that al lhe told you ? ”

Yes . Afte r she wrote with the things he heard nomore .

”

“ I wonder why she wanted my address , said Gardine r,f rowning . Well

,I suppose i t must be a ll right a fter al l

thi s time .He pul led at hi s pipe i n si lence . Happening to glanceat Deni s , he surpri sed that look o f di staste and repugnancewh ich he had never seen on hi s friend ’ s face be fore Easedale .

Gardiner was not fond of'

owning himsel f i n the wrong ;few men are

,and he less than most . But he spoke out now

on impul se .

Look here , Deni s , I know very we l l I ought to haveowned up . I knew it at the t ime , but I was too beastlyscared l - and that ’s the p lai n t ruth . It was the idea of

pri son ; for the moment i t knocked al l the stuffi ng out of me— you needn ’t thi nk I admi re myse l f . And to drag youi nto i t a s wel l oh , i t was a rotten business !

“You didn ’t drag me , I d ragged mysel f , said Denis

quickly. I f anybiddy was to blame , i t was I .You ! You ’l l be tell ing me you ki l led him next . No ,

i t ’s my own funeral and I ’ve been such a concentrated assover i t , that

’s what gets me ! I f I ’d told the truth at once,

there would have been pract ical ly no bothe r , I’m certain of

i t . I could have done i t then ; a fterwards , at the inquest ,when I wanted to , i t was too l ate . I couldn ’t tel l the ta lewi thout i ts point ; and I couldn

’t tel l that parti cula r pointwhen that unhappy li tt le th ing had lost both her husband andher kid . No , I don

’t conside r mysel f to shine in thi s a ffai r,

e i the r in moral s or intel l igence .”

It was I began i t ,” sai d Deni s obstinately.

Gardiner shrugged hi s shou lders ; what was the use of

contradict ion ? Deni s wa s mending a fly ; and by the happy

AUBADE 5

cleari ng of his face i t was plain that he was a lso busy mendi ng hi s i dea l and sett ing it back on i t s pedesta l with an addedg lory . There i s no surer way of earning a man ’s esteemthan by

.

begging hi s pardon . Al l Gardiner ’s fault s wereh idden under thi s new coat of gi lding . You ’re an incurable i deal i st , my good Deni s ,

” he said to h imsel f,watching

the process of rehabi litation . You ideal i ze me on the onehand , and that i noffensive but very ordina ry l itt le cousinof yours on the other . Lord send you never find us out

,for

you’

l l break your knee s badly when you do !”The um

deserved good opinion o f a friend makes a thorny bed . Yet,

though Gardine r did not see i t, he was moving towards thefulfil lment of his fri end ’s concept ion o f hi s character . Thatis the worst of i deal i st s— they shame us into act ing up tothei r i deas !Deni s was a devout fi sherman . As soon a s he had fin

ished the fly he started off again , wading round the bendout of sight . Gardiner, who fi shed only because any sportwa s better than none , stayed where he was. M inutes passed .

He was nearly asleep when some one hai led him . At firsthe thought it was Deni s

,and took no noti ce ; but the voice

becoming insi stent,he opened one eye , and immediately

sprang up . I t was Miss O ’

Connor, on the other side of theri ver.She made a t rumpet of he r hands and shouted some

question,but the Semoi s drowned her words . Gardiner

was wearing the orthodox Ardennes waders , which beginas boots and continue as sh iny waterproof breeches rightup to the wai st , so i t was nothing for him to splash across tothe farther shore . ( I t may be mentioned that Deni s stuckobst inately to hi s Engl i sh boots , which came scarcely higherthan hi s knee ; with the result that he got very wet , for theSemoi s came considerably higher than hi s knee . )Dorothea was wearing a short tweed skirt with leather

buttons ; square-toed , sol id brown brogues ; a white shi rt , atan bel t

,and a brown ti e to match . She was hat less , and

he r hai r,smooth

,parted

,and rippl ing over her ears , was

glossy as a Frenchwoman ’s . Her face , which had lost i t s

56 CONVICT B 1 4

fragi l i ty,was so ftly

,even ly brown ; her l ips, a veritable

cupid ’s bow,were cherry-red . They were drawn straight a s

she looked at Gardiner, and he r manner was di stant .“

. I took you for a woodcutter , or I should not have di s

turbed you ,”she sa id . I wi shed to ask i f there i s a way

back along the river.We l l

,there i s

,

” said Gardiner, looking down at the rutsunder thei r feet

,and you ’re on i t . I f you fol low thi s

t rack,i t wi ll bring you straight to Rochehaut .”

But i t goes through the water.I t doe s .”

Must I go through the water, then ?”

Unless you l ike to make a bee-l ine up through the forestto Botassart . I t’s nearly perpendicular, and mi les out of

your way.

”

Very inconvenient,said Dorothea disp leased ly. Why

i sn’t there a ferry ? ”

We l l, you see th i s t rack i sn’t much used , except by the

timber wagons . I t won’t be above your knees , i f you’

l lal low me to show you the way ; th i s i s a regular ford . Butperhaps you ’d rather I ret ired round the bend ? ”

That wil l not be necessary ,” she said , more frigidly than

ever, and without more ado went behind a bush to take offher shoe s and stockings . Gardiner thought her very prettyand rathe r ridiculous

,and wondered i f he were cal led on to

see her home . He decided that he was not . It occurredto him that by all the laws of romance he ought to carry heracross ; but he decided again that nature had not cut him out

for the part . No true hero should be ha l f-an-i nch shorte rthan the heroine ; and ce rtainly none has ever been knownto drop a lady i n the midd le of a rive r.Dorothea appeared bare foot

,and motioned him im

periou sly to lead the way . They stepped into the c lear ,shal low water, scatteri ng a cloud of t iny fi shes . As theyadvanced , Dorothea

’s ski rt s bunched up higher and higher .I f Gardiner had not kept h i s eyes del i cately averted, hemight have had a gl impse , and more than a gl impse , of certain tweed garments that were not a part of he r Ski rt . The

AUBADE

Semoi s , though shal low , i s very sw i ft . Midway across thegolden pebbles were succeeded by s labs of gray-green rock

,

t ressed with weed . Gardiner heard a sma l l exclamation,and

turned j ust i n t ime to save hi s companion from measuringher length i n the river . His arm went round the s l im figure

,

so sof t and p l iant, with no more sentiment than i f i t hadbeen a boy . But she— her co lor flamed as she was thrownagainst him ; she dropped her skirts and c lutched hi s arm topush him away.

Steady ! sa id Gardiner, or you ’

ll have us both over.These stones are as sl ippery as glass .”

I — trod on something sharp,said Dorothea i n a

strangled voice . She stood there with her skirts i n thewater, st i l l holding him off with both hands .Hurt yoursel f ? ”

She shook her head .

Sure ? Wil l you take my arm for a b it ?” said Gardiner

,

puzz led by her unaccountable emotion .

She shook her head again,and stumbled a fte r him to the

shore . There she sat down on the stone which had beenthei r table , to put on her shoes and stockings while he collected hi s possessions . He gave her plenty of t ime , as hethought, yet when he turned she was sti l l sitt ing there , withone foot bare on the grass . Across the i nstep , b lancheda labaster white by the water , ran a crimson gash .

Hu l lo ! you have damaged yoursel f ,” said Gardiner.

You ought to have something between that and the stocking , i f you

’ l l al low me to say so . Got a handkerch ie f ?I ’ve lost i t

,

” she said without looking up .

Have mine,then . He he ld i t out ; she made no move

ment . May I do i t for you ?After a bri e f incomprehensible hesi tation , she murmuredP lease .” More and more puzzled , Gardi ner kne lt downand took her foot i n hi s hand. It was a bad cut, but notve ry bad ; some women wou ld have made nothing of i t ; hewas glad she be longed to the more feminine type . Hewashed away the grave l and fixed a neat bandage , Dorotheasi tt ing pa ss ive . But he cou ld fee l that she was consciou s

58 CONVICT 131 4

of him ; and he became acute ly conscious of her . When itwas done , she murmured something which might have beensupposed to be thanks , slipped hal f her foot i nto her shoeand stood up .

You ’ l l never get home at that rate . Let me help you ,

said Gardiner,watching her attempt to shuffle along.

I I think I can manage . I s i t far ? ”

Twenty minutes ’ walk , and shocking bad going .

I shal l be taking you out of your way.

”

Not a bi t of i t . I t ’s t ime I got back too .

But your friend I saw him fishing up the stream .

Oh,he ’s old enough to play by himsel f , said Gardine r

easi ly,hi s keenness growing i n proportion to her re luct ~

ance . ( I t may be said that Deni s , when he returned , spenthal f-an-hour hunting for his f ri end be fore he decided tofol low him home . Thus does Love elbow Friendship ou t

of the way. ) Don ’t you want me to help you ?” he added

bluntly . Do you obj ect to me personal ly ? Shall I cut onhome and send your maid ?

Oh , no , no ,” said Dorothea hurriedly , and thereupon took

hi s arm . Gardiner had what he wanted , and a l itt le more ;heavens ! what was the matter with the gi rl ? She was shaking al l over, an electri c battery of emotion ; the strong cur

rent o i her trouble and indeci sion thri l led him in everynerve . More than that

,he was le f t i n no doubt that he him

sel f was the cause of her agi tat ion .

There was nothing of the asceti c i n Gardiner ; he waswarm-blooded and inflammable , as he had al ready foundto hi s cost . Since he could not get away from hi s temperament , he got round it , by avoiding women , and by keepingany necessary i ntercourse free f rom the first beginnings ofsentiment . As hi s wil l was stronger than hi s passions

,ex

cept when they got ou t of hand and were running away,thi s

plan had worked we l l . But he cou ld not avoid Dorothea ;and when she sl ipped her hand through hi s arm she undidthe work of years , and sti rred ashes i nto flame . Passion ,unlike love , i s a sudden growth , and i t was passi on he feltthat i nexpl icable force which draws men and women to

60 CONVICT B 1 4

a thing. I t was on ly that—that—people do ta lk , i fsee things— and suppose you asked me to go for a walkwith you againDo you mean that i f I did , you wou ld ?

”

He got no answer . Lett ice had j ust come out to the gatesof the hote l to taste the morning sun , with the kitten squi rming on her shou lder ; and at sight of her Miss O

’

Connor ran

away.

CHAPTER VIII

AMANDUS , -A,-UM

Mine is a long and a sad tale, sa id the Mouse, sighing.

THE Bel levue , when Gardiner first set eyes on i t, was a

cross between a hostel ry and a farm , tumbled round threesides of a quadrangle where black-and-white pigs rootedand grunted , among middens and mangy grass , under thewindows of the dining-room . The Ardennes hote l of thosedays had no drains, no baths , no basins bigger than soupplates and not many towel s , no easy-chai rs , no salons ; i nfact , none of the comforts of a refined home . There wouldbe middens outside and the odor o f the cow-stable within .

On the other hand,the rooms would be clean

,the beds com

fortable, the food abundant , i f peculiar ; and the friendlywe lcome which met the t ravele r made up for many discomforts .In al l his former ventures Gardiner had been a tenant ;

the Bellevue was his own . He had bought the freehold withan opportune legacy

,and was spending on i t hi s savings of

ten years . According to hi s usua l plan , he went to workfi rst to make the outsi de attractive . The quadrangle wherethe pigs had fed was now a lawn , laid ou t with flower-beds .O f the di lapidated out-bui ldings , some had been pulleddown

,others bui lt up and turned into addi tiona l bedrooms .

Round the three s ides of the court ran a piazza with easychai rs

,and tables

,and ever more flowers , sure attraction to

an Engl i sh eye . Inside , hi s alterations had been more costly .

He had put i n baths ; he had laid on e lectri c l ight ; he hadpart ial ly re furni shed the house— not , however , with conventional sui te s ” f rom Liege . They wou ld not havesuited the heterogeneous old mansion , on whose l inte l was

61

62 CONVICT RI 4

Ca rved the date 1 548, and which had been success ive ly con

vent,count ry house

,farm , and inn . For those who had eyes

to see , there was in those days a good deal of fine old furniture

,carved presses

,beds

,and so forth , to be pi cked up i n the

farms and the v i l lages . It had been a labor of love fo rGardiner to go round bargai ning for these th ings , and bringing them home in triumph to hi s picturesque old rooms . Hemade a play of hi s work, and a pet ofh is home ; he grudgedno labor spent i n beaut i fying i t ; he enj oyed dressing i t up ,as a chi ld dresses up a dol l . In the end , what with polished floors

,casement curtai ns

,and Noah ’s Ark plant s i n

pots,the p lace looked l ike a garden-ci ty house , as Letti ce un

kindly remarked . There was nothing l ike i t i n the Ardennes .His next step was to advert i se , a branch of thei r bu siness

on which hotel-keepers i n general do not seem to spendthei r brains . Gardi ner did not want a mixed cl ientele , hewas out to att ract the poorer gentry , parsons , doctors , schoo lmasters , reti red colonel s and commanders , l iterary menthe class which he had found pleasantest to deal with .

There fore he put hi s d i screet l ittle paragraphs into suchpapers as The Guardian ,

The Church Times, The Au thor,The Journal of Education, The Spectator, and various ladies

’

periodical s . Each advert i sement was worded di fferently,to

suit it s audience , but al l wound up with the formula : In

elusive terms , 45 . 6d. per day . Fi fteen-day excursions ,Dover Rochehaut , second Class , £ 1 . 85. 3d . Exact directi ons as to j ourney given .

” And to meet the demand whicharose , he had leaflet s printed , giving alternat ive routes byday or night , plans of stat ions , pri ce s i n detai l , travel h int s ,the minute adv ice of an old t raveler who knows every t ri ckof the j ourney ; leaflets which enabled the greenest novi ce toface the douane, and change at the right places , and catchthe r ight trains . Thi s branch of hi s work a lone kept h imbusy, for he was hi s own secretary. But i t gained him whathe wanted , and fi l led hi s house . Satan had not much chanceof finding Gardiner’s hands at h i s d isposal . Neve rtheless,in those summer days he found time to get into m i schie f .

AMANDUS , —A,-UM 63

Letti ce was enj oying hersel f very much i n her own

fa sh ion , though to more adventurous soul s her dai ly roundmight have seemed dul l: She came down to breakfast atnine , and then crawled out hal f-a-mil e to a ce rtain brushwood pi le in the forest , commanding the view over Frahan .

There she sat down , the faggots provid ing a comfortable s eatwith a back . She took a work-bag and a Lati n grammar

,

and Spent her morni ng alternately in setting slow sti tche si n a green tablecloth and i n learning Latin verbs from thevo lume open on her knee . After lunch she reti red to herroom i n company wi th a sheaf o f foolscap . I f she wrungou t one who le l i ne i n a day , she considered hersel f to havedone bri l l iant ly . After tea came a solemn constitut ionalwi th Deni s , which , as he r chroni c t i redness wore off, extended from two mi les to six , or even ten . Then followeddinner ; and afte r dinne r , bed at nine o

’clock .

One morning about three weeks a fter her arrival she wasstarting on her customary craw l to the wood pi le, whenDorothea j umped up from her seat on the terrasse .

Are you going for a walk ? May I come too ?”

I ’m not going far ,” Lettice warned her in a di scouraging

hurryI know ; you go into the woods and sit down , don

’

t you ?

I ’ l l bring my book .

”

That wi l l be very nice,dec lared Lettice . Any one

who knew the A B C of her expressions must have seenthat she was, to put i t pretti ly , as cross a s two sti cks .Dorothea was not bl ind ; neve rtheless, she persi sted . Theywalked i n si lence

,Dorothea now a l ittl e ahead , now checking

herse l f back to her companion ’s unalterable crawl . Arrivedat the wood pil e

,Lett ice sat down on the identical bundle

of st icks which she had picked out for herse l f seventeendays be fore . She was conse rvative as a cat i n a ll her ways .The morning was hazy . Round them the woods had been

cleared Of forest trees there was a ca rpet o f reddi sh leathe ryleaves , across which the great s i lver bo les lay forlorn , amidthe whi te chips of thei r slaughter. Low bushes were green ,and there were leaves overhead , a thin trace ry ; but else

64 CONVICT RI 4

where on ly rus set tones and gray , gray-stemmed sapl ings andgrayi sh mi st s . Gray too was Frahan i n the va l ley, softlymolded in haze

,white the river ci rcl ing it s utterly improbable

peninsula,gray the fa r mountains , pearl-gray and si lver ,

l osing themselves in si lvery sky. Between her participlesand her st itches Lettice wou ld often l i ft up her eyes to thehil l s ; She dearly loved a d i stant view . But to day she waswatching her companion .

Dorothea had plumped down among the withered leavesand sat there , hugging her knee s and star ing gloomily intothe forest . To the feminine eye i t was plain that she woreno stays ; she bent about l ike a wil low wand , and her att itude s were unstudied as a chi ld ’s . Youth i s o ften tragic ;but there was rea l bi tter expe rience written on those so ftch i ldi sh contours , and i t was the contradiction which i nterested Lettice . Turning her head suddenly

,Dorothea caught

her with her needle suspended, staring, and broke into hercharming smi le .I want to te l l you something about myse l f ; may I ?

”

Lettice instant ly became a l l attention . Nature had designed her as a ca sket for confidences, and they were o ftenpoured into her patient ear. Dorothea uncurled herse l f andlay prone , snuggl ing c lose , propping her chin in her hands ,and looking now on the ground , now up at Letti ce with herbig soft eyes .It ’s a long tale , but it

’

s real ly quite funny, she said .

It al l began about money . There was a family place,and

my father , when he died , le ft i t to me , with hi s brother a smy guardian ; but the brother, my unc le , thought i t oughtto have been le ft to him di rect

,do you see ? not to a scrap

of a gi rl . So he was very angry and always bore me agrudge , and I do think he had a sort of grievance , Only heneedn

’

t have been so horrid about i t. He wou ldn ’t have beenso bad but for hi s wi fe . She was a clever woman

,and he

was a big Sof t handsome booby who a lways bel ieved whatshe told him ; so when she said I was sly and wicked

, ofcourse he was sure I was . Wel l

,I l ived with them

,and

they, had the use of my money. But they'

were always most

AMANDUS , -A,-UM 65

desperate ly a fraid I shou ld get married and take i t away.

So they wouldn’

t let me go anywhere . I never went to adance , I never p layed tenni s , I wasn

’t even let : go out to teaor have any g i rl f riends , not a fter I was fourteen .

Clara

( that’

s what I had to cal l her ) used to go up to town , andshop

'

in Bond Street , and do the round of the theaters, on

my money , whi le I was le ft at home to dust the drawingroom and wash the stockings . It was funny ! Just l ikeCinderel la !Why didn ’t you run away ?

”

I hadn’

t any money except threepence a week,or any

one to run to. Besides She hesi tated .

“ You don ’tknow how helpless a gi r l can be i n the hands o f a grown-upman ,

”she sa id , wi th resurgent bitte rness . He used to tel l

me I was the sort of gi rl who makes a man want to thrashher. He did hi t me once or twice . Oh ! I cou ld have ki l ledhim ! ”

She . stabbed the dead leaves vicious ly with Lettice ’ssci s sors .But , but—but didn ’t people talk ? ” Lett ice asked .

Yes , they did , and some of them even quarreled withmy uncle about me ; but you see he told every one what abad gi r l I was

,and in a way i t wasn

’t a l ie , and he couldmake people be l ieve i t

,because he believed i t himsel f . He

did really be l ieve that I ’d made father leave the money to me ,though I was on ly five when he died . Why , sometimes Ieven got muddled myse l f

,and used to feel I must be al l the

dread fu l things he said . Oh ! I was mi serable . You canbe very

,very miserable when you ’re seventeen , and i t doesn

’

tseem a bit funny then . I remember once I saved up mypennies and retrimmed my summer hat I always hated thethings she got for me— and made i t look quite pretty . Iwas so pleased with it ; and then when -I came down she saidi t was unsu itable

,and she made me take i t off, and go to

church in the horri d old brown fel t I’d worn al l the winter ,

though i t was a broi l ing June day ! I cried—I cried al lthe se rv ice . So to puni sh me , when we came out, she askedthe vicar

, me standing by, to Change our pew, because she

6 CONVICT B 1 4

said she couldn’t trust me so near the choi r ! (That was one

of the things they always said , that I ran a fter men . ) Howeve r

, she was done that t ime , for the vicar played up l ike atrump . He said he

’d speak to the choi r , and see they didn’t

annoy me again ; and then he turned to me and paid thedearest old-fash ioned compl iment about my sweet face beingenough to turn any young man’s head—and me in thatfright fu l old hat and my nose swe lled pu rp le with crying !She burst out laughing .

But you did get away at last ?

Yes, I did . I found a f riend to help me but Ican ’t ta lk about that .” Vi sibly , under Letti ce

’s eye s , herface clouded over and Changed . I t was a significant changenot a mere shadow fal l ing from without , but a revo lutionwithin . The under side of her nature , black with prema

ture grie f and premature passion s , slowly turned i ts ugl ine ssi nto view .

Did you ever hate any one ?”she asked , her voice sink

ing,and her eyes glowing as she rel ived the feel ings She

described .

“ Did you ever know what i t was to turn si ckand cold with loathing , to have the world go black, black,when a certain person comes near ? Did you ? No , I know

you never did , you’re far too good a Chri st ian . But I ’m not

a Chri sti an . I don’

t be lieve i n any re l igion o f love . There ’sl i ttle enough love here , and what there i s goes to the wal l .And there ’s no love over us ; j u st a cruel , cruel , grindingpower , which de l ights i n breaking to bits whatever i t seesthat

’

s beauti fu l and happy. Oh , it’

s an ugly , cruel , hate fu lworld ! ”

I think i t’

s a very nice world,said Lett ice

,her words

fal l ing l ike drops of so ft water on white-hot stee l . Theydid not very accurate ly reflect her thoughts

,but Letti ce ’s

words seldom did that . Dorothea laughed them to scorn .

“You wouldn

’

t i f you were in my shoes,

”she said de

risively. She sat up . Li sten,and I ’l l te l l you i f you l ike .

You’

ve j ust heard what sort of l i fe I had when I was a gi rl ;I can laugh ove r i t now , but i t wasn

’t very gay at the time .We ll , I got away , as I sa id ; and for a l i ttle I was happy

63 CONVICT B 1 4

Never,said Letti ce , her eyes straying to her Latin

grammar.Not even to save a f riend ? He ’d do anything e l se , take

any ri sk h imse l f,but j ust not that ? So that i f he was pushed

into a corner he ’d have to te l l the truth ? That’

s j ust whatI should have expected . O f course there are a few thingsI have against him

,

” Dorothea ran on , seemingly at random ,

though her downcast eyes w ere glowing .

“ He shouldn’

tl ike cats

,nasty treacherous things , they

’re not a man ’s animal . And he shouldn

’t s ing the hymns on Sunday out of

that big book with tunes . Going to Church i s al l right , andsui ts him

,but I can’t bear that book . I t ’ s l ike the W.S .P.

A .

” Presumably Mi ss O ’

Connor meant theMr Gardiner ’s hi s ve ry greatest fr iend , i sn

’t he ? Wou ldhe te l l l ies , do you think ?

”

I don’t know ,

” said Lettice , far down the passive voiceof am o.

What do you think of h im ?I think he ’s very nice .

Out shot Dorothea ’s arm , and Le tt i ce , amazed , aggrieved ,found hersel f being vigorously shaken .

Do not talk l ike that ! I never in my l i fe knew any one

so— so per fectly systemati cal ly untruth ful as you are ! Idon ’t be l ieve you ’ve once thi s morning sai d one si ngle thing

you real ly mean !”

(But she was wrong , for Lettice haddone so— once . ) Tel l me what you think of M r. Gardiner. Tell me . I want to know .

”

Lettice , chafing her arm , mute ly reproach fu l , i ndicated thecreases which Dorothea ’s grip had left on her pale bluel inen sleeve . “ You , you , you— you are so violent,

”she

comp lained i n her pianissim o drawl , which held a lways ahint o f make-believe . I don ’t know What you mean . I dothink Mr . Gardiner i s very nice . Then for the second timeshe let out a l i tt le piece of t ruth . I shouldn ’t think he ’dtake fai lure wel l .”

( C

Obj,

Abrupt si lence . Dorothea sprang up and wandered off

i nto the forest, s lashing at the brambles with her stick,

AMANDUS , -A,-UM 69

j umping over logs that came i n her way,j ust as a boy might

have done . Indeed she looked l ike a boy i n her roughtweeds and Norfolk coat , with her brown face and wellscratched hands . She had worn neither hat nor gloves S inceshe came .Letti ce looked at her w ith shrewd and wideawake cu

riosity. She and Deni s , pool ing thei r observations , had beenfo llowing the h idden course of Gardiner ’s love affai r . So

ci rcumspect ly had the pa i r behaved that not a soul i n thehotel , except the two all ie s , had any inkl ing o f the romancei n progress . Yet i t was serious enough

,at any rate for

Gardiner . He was in i t up to the neck ; no doubt abouth im . And Dorothea ? Deni s was of opinion that she meantbusiness. Hadn’t Lettice seen the expression ( love-l ightwas the word i n hi s mind

,but he didn ’t l ike to u se i t ) i n her

eyes ?Lett i ce had always had her doubts as to that love-l ight ,

though she kept them to hersel f . Thi s morning they hadbecome ce rtainty . Dorothea did not love Harry Gardinerit was not love which had looked out of those too-clear eyesof hers when she asked that imperious quest ion . No ! Lett ice had been i l luminated by the ce rtainty that he was theman whom

, on her own showing, she had singled out to

hate . Dorothea cou ld hate , no doubt of that . The plainblack and white of her emotions , love and hate , rapture andagony

,they were somewhat startl ing i n a world of neutra l

grays .But at thi s point Lett i ce found herse l f up against a blank

wal l . What was Gardiner’s offense , and how did i t happenthat he did not know i t h imse l f ? For he did not know ;and Dorothea was planning her attack against a man who

had thrown away hi s armor for love of her . Thi s was notsporting. Lett ice a lways i nsti nctively took side s with theweak against the strong, with the victim against the avenger .

Besides, she l iked Gardiner. She l iked Dorothea too with

re servations ; but her character was simpler, more homo

geneous, easi er to fol low . She , i n fact , was interesting h1s

torically, but not ana lytically . Now -the uncertain ba lance

70 CONVI CT 8 1 4

of strength and weakness i n Gardiner made h im an engrossi ng study. He was transparent to Lettice , whi le she wa sopaque to h im . That inoffensive but very ordinary l ittleperson —so he had ca lled her : w hat a pi ty he cou ld not

look into her mind !Thus Lett ice abandoned the study of the passive of amo

for i ts active voice . In the midst of her cogi tations she wassurpri sed to see Deni s come in view , striding through thebracken . He sometimes cal led for her on hi s way back f romthe r iver

,but now he was approaching f rom the di rection of

the hote l . Moreover, gloom sat upon hi s brow .

I say, Lettice ,” he ca l led ou t, the Iri sh accent unusual ly

strong,“ i sn ’ t i t a nawfu l nui sance ? Wandesforde

’

s had asmash-up i n hi s car, and he wants me back at once !Lettice gazed at him , slow ly and thought fu l ly rubbing

her nose .

I got the wi re j ust a s I was start i n ’

for the ri ve r . No,he

’

s not bad , only a broken arm . But the nui sance of i t i stha t he ’

s entered for a race on Friday week , and he want sme to take i t on i nstead . I hate racing on a Friday I hateracing at a l l , for that matte r, m ixin

’ onese l f up with newspaper men and that so rt of raflie ; but I

’

l l have to do i t . ”

A race ? What fun ! What for ? ” asked Dorothea,

coming up in t ime to hear the last words . She droppeddown on a bundle of faggots , and extended under Lettice

’snose a brown and purple palm fu l l of blackberries . Letticeshook her head , slowly, twice . Dorothea , w ith a gl i nt offun , reached out to offer them to Deni s. He screwed hi seyeglass into place , gazed at them absently, and sa id : No

,

thank you .

” Dorothea conti nued to wave them unde r hi snose , i n the manner of the importunate sidesman offeringthe plate to the st ingy pari shioner . Deni s , yielding , sti l l absently, chose a berry and swa l lowed i t whole l ike a pi l l .Dorothea with a broad smi le emptied the rest of her handful i nto her mouth , and hugged her knees again with herc rimson hands . The whole had taken but a moment . Ididn

’

t know you went i n for raci ng. What d id you say i twas for ?

”she repea ted .

AMANDUS , -A,-UM 71

Si lver trophy offered by the B irmingham Courier .

Cross-country , with compulsory halts at Redditch , Coventry,Po lesworth , and Wall sal l . He

’d scratch,i f i t weren ’t that

we ’re both rather keen on testi n ’

ou r new little bus . She ’sdone one hundred and twenty and over on her tria l fl ightsFlights ? It

’

s an aeroplane race ? You fly ? You toldme he was an engineer ! ” cried Dorothea

,rounding on Let

t ice i n hot reproach . Why , I’ve been longi ng to meet a

flying man for years ! Go on , go on , te ll me al l about i t .Do you fly much ? How idiotic of me not to recognize yourname ! ”

Here was the enthus ia st ic young lady , Deni s’s pet aver

sion ; but , st range to say , he did not seem to mind her .

“ We l l , I bu ild aeroplanes , he said , smi li ng.

“ It ’s mypa rtner does the ornamenta l work . You may know hi sname Wandesforde .

Wandesforde ? SydneyWandesforde ? Why , I shouldj ust think I do ! He was the man who came 1n first in theLondon-Berl i n race

,and was di squal ified for passing inside

one of the control s i n a fog . And then he had that marvelous e scape

,when hi s machine turned ove r in the ai r, and spi lt

h im i n a heap on the top plane , and he managed to regaincontro l

,and brought her down sa fely a fter al l ! Why , he

’ smagnificent ! I ’d give— I

’

d give a thousand pounds to goup with him ! ”

You can do i t for less than that , said Deni s , amused .

Ah,but I mean in a race . A big flying race it

’

s aboutthe one thri l l worth having le ft i n the world !

“You shou ld fly your own machine . That

’

s bette r funthan bein ’ a passenge r . Any one of the big schools wouldtake you on ,

fo r a matter o f seventy pounds or so . I t’

s

qui te simple .”

Would they ? Wil l you bu ild me an aeroplane , i f they

With pleasure,i f you give me the commission .

I sha l l come and see you about i t directly I get backto England .

”

6‘DO .

”

72 CONVICT B 1 4

Lett ice gazed from one to the other . Dorothea was l ikea rose , he r eyes were sparkl ing ; Deni s was amused andi nterested . True that at present he saw on ly the enthusiast ,not the woman , but i t was not to be supposed that he lackedthe common i nst inct s of human nature . Was thi s suddenfriendship to be encouraged ? Lett ice answered that quest ion by uprooting herse l f f rom her seat .It i s one o ’clock ,

”she announced . I am going home .

Deni s , as her escort, rose too . Dorothea sat sti l l, lookingdecidedly su lky.

Aren ’t you coming , Miss O’

Connor ?”

N0 . She doesn ’t want me to .

”

Lettice, who had already started on her homeward j ourney ,obviously was not given to hear. Deni s glanced , i rreso lute ,f rom that expressive back to Dorothea , but ended by raisinghi s cap and hastening after hi s cousin .

I ’m sorry we bored you ,

” he said , taking posses sion of

her coat and bag and hook .

Don’t mention i t, returned Lettice w i th pol ite em

pressement.

CHAPTER I !

MELODRAMATIC

Do one th ing at least I canLove a m an or hate a m an

S uprem ely.

Pippa Passes.

LOU I SA !Yes, Miss Dot ?

”

Has ei ther of those two recognized you ? ”

We l l , miss , Mr. Smith haven’t,that ’s sure . I might

be a sack of potatoe s for al l the noti ce he takes . Men he ’ l llook at , and I

’d be sorry to be the one as tried to do him ;but women - no . He ’s a real gentleman , he i s . He

’vetaken hi s t icket for up above, and he ain

’t goin’ to waste i t.”

And the other one ?”

Mr. Gardiner ? I see h im stare at me pretty hard timesand again

,but i t ’s a lways

, Now,have I seen you be fore

or haven ’t I ? ’

so I j ust stares back as bold as a cucumberand puts him off. He can ’t be sure

, see, about a old thingas i s j ust l ike any other old thing. He ’ve seen a manymaids

,miss .”

I never real i zed you were a danger t i l l I’d got you here ,

and then i t was too late . Never mind , you’ l l come i n use ful .

Very use ful . I didn ’t see how to begin , but I do now. I’

mgoing to get i t ou t of Gardiner h imsel f i f I possibly can ,

that ’s only fai r ; but i f I can’t,I can always fall back on

Merion-Smith . You see, i f I can only get e ither of them tomake any sort of admi ssion , it

’

s al l I,need , and that murder

er’

s under my thumb . Because Merion-Smith won’

t swearto a l ie . Not even to save a friend Lettice owned i t thi smorning. At the inquest he escaped because nobody thoughtof asking him any quest ions , but once I get him into the

73

74 CONVICT RI 4

witness-box again—oh ! I m ust make Gardiner speak—I

will !”

M i ss,i f you

’

op about so I can’t do your hai r , and I

shall pul l you crool .”

Do I care ? ”

Wi th a j erk and a tug, Dorothea dragged her long t ressesout of Loui sa

’s hands,and buried her face on the dressing

table . Gaunt and pat ient , Loui sa wai ted behind her chai r .Her sympathie s were div ided ; she found i t hard to bel ieveharm of a man , a mere bachelor man , who kept hi s house soscrupu lously clean .

“ I t ’s a wicked thing you ’re a fter , miss , though I supposeit ’s no use me saying so ,

”she remarked di spassionately .

I t i s not wi cked ! I t ’s j ust i ce . That’s al l I want : to

make him answer to the law for what he ’s done . I wouldn’t

touch him with a pi tch fork mysel f !But look at the nasty underhanded way of i t , miss !

Mascarooning as i f you wasn’t married , and you the way

you been last year and al l— it ain ’ t hardly decent,to my

mind . I t makes me sick to see him hangin ’

on your footsteps , so to speak , and you leadi n

’ him on . And i t ’s mybeli e f i t

’

s a wi ld mare ’ s nest you got i n your head , and him ababe unborn al l the time ; and then where

’l l you be ? ”

Where I was be fore o f course . I f i t ’s so I shal l findit ou t, and no harm done .

No harm , with him trustin’ the very ground you tread

on , and then coming al l of a j olt on the truthOh , I can

’t go into al l that,

” said Dorothea impatient ly .

I didn ’ t ask him to admi re me,did I ? It was he began

i t. I never dreamed of such a thing. Besides,I ’m right

,

I know I am , and so would you i f you ’d been there . Hedid it . He

’

s accountable for two l ives , and one of them so

i nnocent , so i nnocent You know what Guy did for me ,what he saved me from ; how do you th ink I could ever facehim or my baby again i f I let them go unavenged ?

It’

s not i n heaven you ’

l l be meeting that clear l it tle i nnocent , nor never seeing her no more

Oh , be quiet, Loui sa !”Dorothea stamped. Put

76 CONVICT B 1 4

her entrance was greeted w i th a comically sudden hush , suchas fel l on the dinner-table when a new course made it s ap

pearance.Lettice rel ieved her feel ings with one of her

favorite words ; not nice thi s t ime , but Wel l !There

, you see you’ve lost me a commi ss ion , Letti ce !

sa id Deni s , laughing .

Me ? I didn ’t do anyth ing !What ’s up ? ” asked Gardiner. He had come out of hi s

den,with a pot of flowers i n hi s arms , j u st i n t ime to wit

nes s the transi t of Venus , and had been favored , i n contradi stinct ion to the others

,with a gracious smile ; hi s face had

changed,ever so l i tt le

,i n response . Deni s opened hi s l ip s

to reply, but Lettice was too quick for him .

“ Why,M i s s O ’

Connor and I were hav ing such a nicecozy talk together , and Deni s would come bothering withhi s old aeroplanes

”

( the tone of Spite was del icious ) andof course she didn ’t l ike i t , and now he

’s cross w1th mebecause she doesn ’t want to buy one ! Robs me of my onlyfriend , and they says i t

’s my fault , and abuses me l ike , l ikel ike a pickpocket ! Well , well !Nobody cou ld p lay the inj ured innocent bette r than Lett ice

,

above al l when she was i n the wrong. She p layed withDeni s a s de l icately as a ki tten plays with a lea f . Yes

,

you ’re an i l l-used person , aren’t you ? he sai d . He put hi s

arm round her shoulders and gent ly pressed her down into achai r ; he would never let her stand i f he could help i t Atany rate , you

’re not i n i t, Harry ,” he said

,speaking over her

head to Gardiner. She ’s not carried over our sin s to you ,that ’s one good thing ! ”

“ Yes , didn’

t I get a beamer ? ” said Gardiner,with hi s

easy laugh . He fel l back to observe the flowers he had beenarranging . Not that I should affl ict mysel f i f She did . Solong a s she pays her bi l l

,i t ’s al l one to me !

He fancied , as he spoke , that a gleam passed over M i ssSmith

’

s countenance ; but at that moment the omnibus arrived , and amid good-bys and good wi shes Dorothea wasforgotten . When the traveler had departed

,and when

Gardiner had stood on the step waving hi s hand ti l l the last

MELODRAMATIC 77

minute , he tu rned , and came face to face w ith Lettice .They looked at each other as the two intimate friends of acommon friend do look , when the l ink (or should i t becal led a barrier ? ) i s removed from between them . It mightbe said that thi s was the first t ime Gardiner had ever seenLetti ce , for, rememberi ng that gleam ,

he looked with curiosity. He found himse l f gazing into a pai r of perfect lyinte l l igent and faintly deri sive haze l eyes .When you have summed up a person as ord inary andi no ffensive , i t i s a shock to di scover that the said person hasturned the tables by reading the inmost secret s of your heart .Gardiner felt a s though he had suddenly become transparent .Fai rly di sconcerted

,he whee led round , and almost fel l over

the chambermaid, who was at hi s elbow o ffering him a note .

“Tiens ! said Rosalie . The note dropped ; the draughtf rom the open door whi sked i t down the hal l to Lett ice ’s feet .Lett ice , l ike her cousin , was a dandy i n affai rs of honor, andwould not will ing ly have glanced even at the envelope o fanother person ’s letter ; but in thi s case , as she stooped, shecou ld not avoid seeing that the handwri ting was Dorothea

’

s .She gave it back

,and had the unique sati s fact ion of seeing

Gardiner color as he thanked her. Then she sl ipped away,and le ft him to enj oy hi s letter alone .

Could you possibly give me j ust five m inu tes thi s evening

,I have something very important I want to ask you .

I wil l be up at the crucifix at hal f-past nine on the chance .

D. M . O’

C.

”

Above the gardens of the Bellevue , which had a slopeof one i n six , there was an orchard of white-stockingedf rui t t ree s , which had a Slope of one i n four. Above thatagain rose the grassy hi l l-side , steeper and steeper, t i l l a ftera veritable scramble you reached the top , which was markedby a cai rn of stones and a crucifix . Beyond the cruc1fix

were leve l uplands dry si lvery grass , dark knots of furzeor bramble

,clayey ruts winding away to a wood of stunted

fi rs which leaned,l ike the grasses, al l along the wind . But

78 CONVICT B 1 4

on the other s ide of the cross , what a vi ew ! Thi s h i l l wasscarcely a mi le as the crow fl ie s f rom the cl iffs of Rochehaut,yet i t faced a wholly different reach of the river, some tenmi les di stant

,by wate r, f rom the ford where Dorothea had

cut her foot ; the rive r per formed a figure of eight i n between . Thi s was no scene of theatrica l beauty, no famous

pointe de vue, l ike that above Frahan ; yet Gardiner lovedit more . It gave him the f ree w i nd and the open sky, andi t gave them to him a lone ; no one ever came up here , exceptperhaps a laborer trudging inland to Rochehaut , the vi l lageof the middens. Odi profanum vulgus . For Gard ine r,beauti fu l Frahan was forever tai nted by the thousands ofadmiring eyes which had rested upon i t .The hi l l s here sank down i n wide-spreadi ng s lopes , greatshoulders and flanks al l s i lvery and sl ippery with grass .At thei r feet the rive r r ippled , shal low and broad ; and on

the green floor of the valley were c lustered the houses ofPoupehan , a t iny gray hamlet with a t iny gray br idge which

gathered the stream withi n i t s span , though above and below it spread out i ts rounded pool s . On the farthe r bank,the hi l l s rose l ike a wa l l , a sweep of dark woods . Thatwhite st reak, could i t be a road ? Yes , i t was the bridle trackgoing up to Corbion on the height ; i t hung against the sideh il l l ike a scar f . At the top you might see the gray extingu isher cap of Corbion church , among trees . But theeye came back to rest on those gloriou s woods ; how ri ch theywere , deep-plumaged , somber , steep as a curtain !By dint of neglect ing hi s letters , and scamping hi s flowers

,

Gardiner managed to keep t ryst some minutes be fore thet ime appointed . He sat down on the stones and leanedagainst the crucifix , which shot up over hi s head , lank andblack and forlornly crooked

,a ten-foot spar support ing a

ten- inch figure . The moon was coining l iquid si lve r i n aslate-blue sky ; the fai nt gold lamps of Poupehan showedvague in the gray depth of the val ley . There by the r iverthe mi st s were ri sing, the meadows drenched and cold andsi lvery with dew ; here on the hi l l-top the ai r was ve lvet-warmand dry , and sweet with honeysuckle . Big grasshoppers

MELODRAMATIC 9

whirred al l round in the grass , and a corncrake in the firwood behind let off at i nterval s his long mechanica l rattle

.

There were ow l s , too , hoo-booing , and one whose note wasl ike a si lvery be l l , cal l ing from the woods across the valley.

It was a night o f romance— a night for love .Gardiner

’

s p lanet s were Mercury and Venus ; he incongruously combined the money-getting insti nct with a sensuous temperament . He had intended to spend those minutescalmly i n reviewing the pros and cons of marriage withDorothea—for there were a good many cons ;

~ m arriage ,even with a ri ch woman , did not come into hi s scheme ofl i fe . But the white enchantment of the moonlight was toomuch for him ; he became a lover and nothing more .Meanwhi l e Dorothea , c l imbing the hi l l , was beginning to

wi sh she had not put on that si lver brocade . I f she was

not care fu l , he would get out of hand ; and i f he got out ofhand She had come to Rochehaut, i n the first instance ,bent on hunting down her enemy , but without any definitep lan . True

,the Lady Ermyntrude used her attractions for

the undoing of the wicked Lord Henry ; but i t had neverentered Dorothea ’s head to do the l ike , probably becausethe i dea wa s insti nctively repugnant . It was very repug

nant ; and when chance , and the accident at the ford , showedher her power

,though she used it , i t was only a fter a

struggle . Not that she had any scruples of morality : Dorothea was as unmora l a creature as one could find i n a Chri st ian land

,she was guided solely by her feel ings . But , i n

spite of eight months of marriage , she was sti l l fierce lyvi rgina l ; she could not with equanimity su ffer hersel f -to bedesi red

,above a l l by Gardiner . Sti l l , be ing per fect ly per

suaded that she owed thi s duty to her dead , she was notgoing to turn back . Dorothea had the merits of her defects ;she was not a coward.

She arri ved breathless,with her ski rt s tucked over her

a rm,and one glance to ld her that her naive plan for dazzl ing

him had succeeded a l i ttle too wel l . His eyes caught suddenfi re ; he was on hi s f ee t i n a moment , bowm g to her Wi th adash of foreign extravagance .

80 CONVICT B 1 4

Barbarous behavior ! he said . Rank cruel ty , no less.Do you know you

’re three and a ha l f minutes behind time ?Decided ly he was gett ing out of hand . Dorothea retreated

a pace or two , and wound her arm round the stem of thecross as i f for suppo rt .I I wanted to speak to you for a momentSo you said ; on business , wasn

’t it ? I ’m al l attention .

You don ’t look much l ike business to-night , do you know ?”

I can’t say anyth ing i f you look at me l ike that !” cried

Dorothea i n a rush . Gardiner laughed and cast down hi seyes . No , p lease, i f you

’d turn right away—I shal lnever get i t out to your face

Sefiorita, i f the moon doesn’t desi re to be looked at , she

shouldn ’t appear in si lver,” said Gardiner

,comp lying .

That suit ? Now, What’s the t rouble ? ”

I t’s a l i tt le difficu lt to exp lain .

” I t was ; her breath cameflutte ring and he r voice shook. You must be patient wi thme i f I say i t w rong .

” Patient ! I ’l l be something beside s pat ient ,

” Gard iner murmured . ) It’

s well , i t’s j ust

th is . Have yOu—do you remember ever seeing my maidbe fore ? ”

There was an i nstant change i n the atmosphere .Your maid ? That gaunt female who looks l ike the

Noncon formi st conscience ? I might have . WhyShe says she ’s seen you .

Where ? ”

At your hote l at Grasmere .At Grasmere ? At the Easedale ?Dorothea nodded .

Go on ,

” he prompted steadi ly.

It was last August , said Dorothea . She was in the

serv ice of a Mrs. TrentShe stopped . She could fee l the sudden increase of ten

sion . Ah , I thought from your tone I’d been doing some

thing reprehensible ,” said Gardiner , with a dry laugh . Go

on . I suppose she ’

s tol d you a pretty yarn . I ’m a murderer i s that i t ? ”

Oh , no , no ! i t’s only that she says the whole truth di dn’

t

MELODRAMATIC 81

come out at the inquest . She says you—you threw something at him—a Chi se l—Mrs . Trent picked i t Up afterwards—no , p lease wai t a moment till I

’ve done ! Loui sasays too - I made her tel l— that he , the man who died ,had a temper, that he very l ike ly said the most horrid things .I don ’t th ink even she th inks you were much to blame, whi leof course I But she did think I ought to know ; and Ithink so too . So I want you to tel l me the very truth . Did

you do i t ?”

Gardiner met her p leading glance,and a confession rose

to h i s l ips . Then— whether he caught some shade of expression which was not who l ly i nnocent : whether the truthwas that at heart he really trusted no one save Deni s andhi s father he tempori zed .

Why do you want to know ?I think so much of you !How much do you think of me ? Enough to warrant

my te ll ing you a thing l ike thatP—always supposing I ’ddone i t

, of course , which I don’

t admit .”

Yes.

”

It wou ld be next door to murder, you know . A manwouldn ’t be sa fe to con fess a murder except to his wi fe .

”

Oh ! wel l , te l l me, then .

”

You mean that ?”

She nodded .

Sure ? ”

Yes , yes . Te l l me .Ah ! said Gardiner, with an exu ltant laugh , when

you ’re my wi fe , I wi l l IHe stepped forward and took her in hi s arms . Dorotheastruggled

,and he thought l itt le of i t ; but she got her arm

free,doubled her fist, and hi t ou t with such fury that he

let her go,and fel l back , hi s i l lusions tumbl ing about h i s

ears . What a face she turned on him—al l coarsened anddi storted wi th passion !I hate you , she said .

You loved me j ust now !Neve r

,never. I never did . I w ish you were in hel l.

82 CONVICT B 1 4

Oh ! shal l I ever fee l clean again ? ”She was scrubbing

away at her face as i f she would have scraped off theGardiner stared , stupefied . Suddenly he gripped her a rm .

Who are you ? ”

Dorothea shook him off f rantica lly ; all her p lans wentoverboard in one surge of fury .

The wi f e of the man you murdered !

84 CONVICT RI 4

i nside with stenci led text s chopped up l ike pieces of a j igsawpuzzle

.The east window had paper transparencies , leaded

and colored to imitate glass . The ho ly table was a table ,with obvious legs

,having the Ten Commandments above and

a B ible upon it none of your papi st i ca l a ltars . The vicar

was a robust Evangeli cal with a mustache . Deni s did not

l ike him very much,but be approved of hi s doctri ne , and

attended hi s church .

Picture him,then

, on hi s first Sunday at home , comingout i nto the churchyard among that humble congregation

( vicar’s wi fe

,vicar ’s man , school chi ldren , candidate for

coal s,vi llage pol i ceman in uni form , one gi rl

And what took her there, do you guess ?Her sweet l ittle duck of a bonnet,

And her new second-hand silk dress

and setting forth on h i s three-mi le t ramp across the marshes .Deni s woul d neithe r cycle

,motor, nor fly Upon a Sunday.

Thi s was the more i nconvenient because , i f Bredon was outof the world , Dande l ion Farm , the present home of theSmith aerop lane , might be said to be how l ing in the wi lderness .I t was st i l l early in September, and a fter a rainy nightthe sky was blue again , the ai r crystal-pure over the flatgreen land . The road had neither fence nor hedgerow , buton either side a dark blue ribbon of wate r lay brimmingand crumpl ing i n the sea wind . O ther such dikes , i nte rsecting , ruled out the square fields of Thanet , where redcatt le , l ike wooden beast s out of a Noah

’s Ark , grazed onpastures coarsely green . There was no sign of autumn butin the sedge , withered putty-color , and rust l ing a dry , pl easant song . In spring the yellow i ri s f ringed the waterways ;later , forget-me-not, loosestri fe , meadow-sweet ; now on lythe tal l mud-clotted stems of the wil low-herb , and i t s pinkstars seeding in si lvery down . Deni s walked on ,

content .He did not consciously think about h i s surroundings

,but

unconsciously he was happier here than among the hi l l sand woods of Arden . Thanet was Engl i sh , and he was

A LODGE IN THE WILDERNESS

Engl i sh—wel l , he was Iri sh ; but he had a ll the Engl i shman

’

s conservati sm and love for the ways of home,what

foreigners ca ll his i nsularity.

Straight ahead at the end of the track rose a del icatelypenci led group of t rees , with a gray roo f showing beside ,and white dots of sheep on the gray-green of thei r pasture .Th is was Dande l i on , videlicet Dent-de-l ion . Ti l l a fewmonths si nce , the partners had rented a bunga low on thesands near Bredon ; but there Deni s had been so pesteredwith i nte rviewers , autograph hunters , and less estimablegent ry who came to pick h i s brains , that a fter some debatethey had t rans ferred themselves to th i s lodge in the wi lderne ss . Part of the ground that went with the house was tobe flooded , for the u se of seaplanes while there was amp lespace i n addi t ion for an aerodrome and for workshops

,

hangars , etc . , which could be shut off behind a pa li sading,and de fy cu riosity .

These new erect ions were f rankly ugly, but there was ace rtai n dign i ty about the square gray Georgian farm-houseand its outbui ldings . Deni s passed a barn , it s thatchedroo f cushioned with mosses , then a haystack, exhal ing i tswarm sweet scent , then the stone gate-posts of the entrance.The gate was open , and he paused to latch i t ; gates le ftto swing shake off thei r hinges . He walked round the curveof the dr i ve , hi s mind agreeably occupied with thoughts o fcold bee f , Came i n

.

sight of the pi l lared portico—thricehorrid sight ! there was a car standing at the door !I t was not hi s partner

’s , for the letter was P , not LD ;nor was the car i t se l f much l ike the‘ battered and belovedold racer which Wandesforde l iked to use . Thi s was aRol l s-Royce touring car of the present year

’s mode l . Nochau ffeur was i n charge . After prowling round to sati s fythe curiosi ty which any piece o f machinery roused in hi sengineer ’s bra in

,Deni s went into the house to make inqui ries .

The porch opened into a passage wi th rooms on ei ther side .Deni s was tiptoeing towards the kitchen , where he hoped tofind h i s man

,when the door on the le ft opened suddenly,

reveal i ng the vi si tor - Dorothea O’

Connor.

86 CONVICT B 1 4

So here you are at last !”

she said . I am so glad !I ’ve been stuck here ever since e leven !Deni s d id not echo her j oy .

“ I thought you were atRochehautMe ? No ,

wasn ’t i t funny ? I had to leave , i n a hurry ,the very day a fter you did . I came off down here first th ingthi s morning. I t

’

s a glorious run through Kent—the ca rdid trave l !Your chauffeur, I suppose , is i n w i th my man ?

”

Isn ’t . I didn ’t bri ng one,”

she ai ri ly exp lained . Ididn ’t bring anybody. I hate being d riven , I l ike to dothings for mysel f . I ’ve come to see the aerop lanes , youknow. I told you I shou ld !She stuck her hands in her pocket s and propped her

“

sl im Shou lders against the wal l , looking up with a naughtyand audacious t i lt of the chin . Here I am and you can

’

tget rid of me ! ”

she seemed to say.

Deni s did not want her i n the least . I t was two o ’clock ,and humani ty constrained him to ask her to lunch ; there wasnot an inn for miles where she cou ld get a meal , i f he didn

’t ,and she must actual ly have seen hi s co ld bee f on the table .But Deni s was an Iri shman , w ith st ri ct ideas of propri ety .

Dorothea , not for the first time , had forgotten her part ; whileposing as a young gi rl , she claimed the f reedom of a marr iedwoman . Reading her mi stake in hi s face , she was quick tose ize the bu l l by the horns .I suppose I ’ve no business here

,and I know you don ’t

want me , but I’m not going back now t i l l I ’ve seen every

thing ! she announced ; and then , melting into the wheed l ing ,i nsinuating smi le of a ch ild You can look on me as a manand a brother, or you can count me a s business I amI don

’

t care what you do , on ly do forgi ve me , and do, do , doask me to lunch , for I

’m so hungry !Deni s smi led too, though stiffly , making the best of i t .I shal l be very pleased to show you the p lace M i ss O’

Con

nor, but i t’s a pi ty you ’ve come to-day , for you 11 not see any

flyin’

. The men are al l home, you know .

”

A LODGE IN THE WILDERNESS 87

Why, I came on purpose because I thought Sunday wasthe day !I t i sn ’t w ith us .

Dorothea was subdued . She did not ask why,but meekly

reentered the room . The partners had divided the housebetween them , and thi s was Deni s

’s den,corresponding to

Wandes rde’

s across the passage . Wandesforde , thoughhe l ived i n town and was only a casual vi sitor at Dent-del ion , had made himse l f extremely comfortable ; Deni s hadbrought hi s old furniture from Bredon and dumped i t i nthe room , j ust as i t was. There were two sash windows

,

fi l led w i th smal l panes . Under one stood a table as big as afour-poster , covered wi th papers . Deni s could lay hi s handon any packet i n the dark ; but when papers are in order ,un fortunately it doe s not fo l low that they are tidy . In themiddle of the floor stood a second tabl e

,j ust large enough to

take Deni s ’s p late and the co ld bee f . Beside the fireplace ,which had a marbled wooden mantelpiece , stood a pai r ofleathern arm-chai rs

,once p lum-colored , now seamed with

white cracks,and with every spring broken . The wa lls were

covered with drab paper, fading to yel low , there was asquare of drab drugget on the floor, and the cei ling was drabalso , f rom ancient lamp smoke . Dorothea thought in passingthat i t was the ugl ie st room she had ever been in , but she, l ikeDeni s

,was highly indi fferent to her surroundings .

But she wa s by no means i ndifferent to her host ; shethought h im the handsomest man she had ever seen , an

opini on held by other young ladie s be fore her, thoughDeni s’s looks were not at al l i n the style of the barber

’

sblock. He was j ust under six feet i n height , l ightly bui ltand l ight i n movement

,al l bone and sinew . His face was

thin too ,a l i tt le pinched at the temples , a l ittle hol low in

the cheeks,with dark brows, dark hai r, and a white ski n

which burnt b iscui t-brown,not red . Iri sh coloring and

deep- set,dark blue Iri sh eyes

,put i n with a dirty finger

under thei r long so ft lashes . The lower part of the face ,nose and l ip s and chin

, was most de l icately modeled , fine ,

88 CONVICT B14

high-bred,rather ascet ic i n type. In short , he was as hand

some as a paladin , d fendre te crew , and so pure ly indifferentto the fact

, one way or the other, that Letti ce when she pokedher so ft fun at him got no more than an absent-minded smile .No r i ses were to be had i n that quarter . But Dorothea wasnot given to poking fun at people ; she p lanted her e lbow son the table and her chi n in her hands , adoring hi s looks ,hang ing breathless on hi s words , divided i n admi ration between hi s person and hi s pro fession—and how those greateyes of her s could l ighten and glow ! They were not thesame eyes

, she was not the same gi r l who had poured outher l ightnings On Harry Gardine r.In tel l ing her tal e to Lett ice , Dorothea had said less

than the truth . For one thing, she was ashamed to own

that she had been physi cal ly a fraid of her uncle . Theanger of a stupid and wrong-headed man may be a verybrutal thing. When be threatened to knock her down ,Dorothea gave i n ,

’

i n help less rage and humi l iat ion,bad

companions for a high-spi ri ted gi rl . A l so she su ffered morethan she herse l f real i zed f rom her i solation . Dorothea wasthe horn devotee ; she wou ld never have learned to hate i fshe had had any one to adore . But she was quite a lone .The neighborhood was up i n arms , no doubt , but nobodywas anxious to stand forth as her champion : partly becausepeople are a lways loath to i nter fere in a neighbor’s business ,partly because the un lucky l i tt le heires s had been painted byher loving re latives in such very luri d colors that some ofthe paint had stuck.

Then came Major Trent to stay at the Anglers ’ Rest .He met Dorothea one morning when she had been sentout to exerci se her aunt ’s Chow . The amiable Xit t riedto bite the stranger, and did bite Dorothea when she hauledh im off . Naturally Trent expressed hi s concern . Natural lyDorothea did not mention the incident at home . They metagain next day , of course by chance , i n the same placein fine, Dorothea had found her champion . The affai r wasru shed through in a month . Mrs. O

’

Connor woke up one

morning to mi ss her early cup of tea . She descended in a

A LODGE IN THE WILDERNESS 89

dressing-gown to sco ld Dorothea, but no Dorothea was tobe found . She had gone , w i thout leaving so much as thetradi t iona l note on her pin-cushion . Next day came theannouncement of her marriage , by special l i cense , to Maj orTrent , D .S .O.

Dorothea when she married was innocent and ignorantas a chi ld . She came to Trent w i th eager fresh gratitudeand a ffect ion . She spent e ight months with him ; eightfeve rish , hothouse-forcing months of premature emot ion .

Towards the end of the time , when hi s passion had cooled ,and when she herse l f wa s calmed and steadied by the hOpeof motherhood , she began to look at her battered knightw i th wondering eyes , which would soon have grown criti cal .His tragic death , however, made crit ici sm di sloyal , and invested Trent w i th al l hi s former glories . I t swept away

,

too, the hope to which the gi rl had been looking forward

w i th grave , ennobl i ng j oy. On ly Loui sa knew how f rantica l ly Dorothea grieved for her baby . Her long i l lness wasreal ly an obsti nate re fusa l to be comforted . Loui sa , i t maybe noted , had not been Dorothea

’s devoted nurse . She hadbeen Mr. O’

Connor’

s incomparable cook ; and the unkindestb low hi s niece dealt wa s that she carried off, when she went ,the only per fect make r of soufilés he had ever known .

Here wa s Dorothea,then , at twenty-one, hal f a chi ld

and hal f a woman,frantic with gri e f , and convinced that

the murdere r of her husband and chi ld was going free unpuni shed . She vowed herse l f to vengeance as a sacred duty.

She was unpersuadably sure that a l l she had done to Gardiner wa s j ustifiable . But Deni s was d i fferent . True, hehad screened the murdere r , but Dorothea cou ldn

’t but ownthat i n h i s shoes she would have done the same . She wasnot qui te happy in her mind ; but she crushed the scruple,tel l ing herse l f that when j ustice i s done the innocent mustsuffer w i th the gui lty . She crushed i t , and presently she

forgot i t, yes , and her vengeance into the bargain , when they

went out to see the works . Aeroplanes are so exciting !After a l l

,Dorothea was not much more than a baby, and she

had long arrears of p lay to make up .

90 CONVICT B 1 4

In old days, Deni s and h i s man Simpson had bu i lt the machines with thei r own hands ; late r, at Bredon , they employedhal f-a-dozen men ; now there were twenty, and the numberwas growing . Behind the tal l pa l i sade a nest of sheds wasspringing up wood and meta l working shops, riggi ngrooms , offices , stores , Simpson

’s cabin where he slept a s nightwatchman

,and final ly the hangars . Great ugly erection s o f

brickwork and corrugated iron,with gable ends and sl id ing

doors,they caught the eye at once . The first he ld an un

fini shed seap lane,marked for rebui lding afte r undergoing

her t ri als ; a bip lane bui l t i n 1 9 1 1 , now hopelessly out of

date ; and a Bleriot monoplane belonging to Wandesforde

which Deni s hated , and which , he gravely assured hi s companion , would kil l him i f he gave i t the chance . But hehurried Dorothea past these to the smal ler shed , which con

tained only one machine : hi s favorite , hi s beloved , the 80 h .p.

monoplane scout which had been entered for the .Birm ingham

race .She was very sma l l , scarce ly larger than Santos-Dumont

’sfamous Demoise l l e .

” There was a slende r bi rd-l ike body,the fuse lage , i n which the pi lot sat , deep-sunk , with passengerbehind , engine and propel ler i n f ront , the two l ong bladesstanding out l ike antennae . Pale wings arched and t i ltedupwards on either side , curving l ike the wings of a gul l i nfl ight. The whole stood on a l ight framework , the chassi sor under-carr iage , corresponding to the feet of a bi rd .

Dorothea li stened , whi le Deni s explained the per fections ofhi s handiwork . Tangent ia l , l i ft coeffici ent , angl e of incidence , such terms went i n at one ea r and out at the other ;she was not interested i n scientific aeronauti cs . Deni s wasexpounding the principle s of st ream-l i ne design , as Shown inthe curves of hi s fuselage

,when she i nterrupted .

Mr. Merion ~ Sm ith , wi l l you teach me to fly ?

Wil l I teach you to fly ? ”

Yes . You said I could learn . I want to learn .

He shook hi s head , smi l ing. You should go to Hendonor Brooklands . We don ’t run a flying school

,you know.

”

I don’

t want to go to Hendon or Brooklands,I want to

92 CONVI CT RI 4

and then come back to me , and I’

l l bui ld you a mach inewith pleasure .”

I won ’t . I ’l l learn of you , or not at al l .Then I ’m afraid i t wi l l have to be not at a l l .Oh

, you are hate ful , sa id Dorothea succi nct ly. Sheturned her back on him and marched towards the door.Hal f-way there she thought better o f i t , and came back tolay her clasped hands on hi s arm , f rankly imploring. Oh .do teach me ! she besought . “ Do . Do. You don ’t knowhow much I want i t ! Why won’t you ? I s i t because I ’mnot a man ? ”

Deni s was driven a step neare r the t ruth . I ’ve real lynot the t ime . I ’m a designer , not an instructor ; i t wou ldnot be fai r to my partner to undertake outside work .

Ah , but I shouldn’t take long to learn . I ’m good with

machinery. Besides,i f you won ’t teach me I won ’t buy

one o f your machines , and that’l l be worse for your partner

than j ust the few hours you ’d have to give up two , wasn’t

i t, that man learned i n the othe r day ? Won’t you at least

ask Mr. Wandesforde i f he ’d mind ? P lease , please sayyes ! ”

Deni s was wi sh ing her at Jericho . He de lighted i n abattle , but he had no armor against coaxing . He d id not

i n the least want to teach Mi ss O ’

Connor , or any one e l se ,to fly. He had a ful l winter’s work be fore him on the seaplane , and he hated ( l ike Lettice ) to be dragged out of hi srut. Finally, Dorothea was a woman ; and women are anend less bother. Seeing a chance of evading her

,he j umped

at it .Wel l , I

’l l ask Wandesforde i f you l ike , he conceded .

Dorothea took her hands off hi s arm with a nod of sati sfaction .

“I thought I

’

d get you to do i t,She said . I

always know what I want and I general ly get it . It ’s onlya question of wanting i t hard enough . I ’l l go now

,and

leave you i n peace . You ’ l l write to him at once,won ’t

you ? ”

Oh yes , Deni s would write at once . He was alreadyconcocting the letter a s he locked Up the sheds .

“ I ’ve had

A LODGE IN THE WILDERNESS 93

a nui sance of a woman here pretending she wants to ordera mach ine on condit ion that one of us teaches her to fly.

Qu ite young, and I should say quite i rresponsible . I toldher, of course , that we didn

’t run a school,but I wou ldn ’t

abso lutely re fuse without consulting you .

”

He had got as far as thi s when Dorothea broke in . Shewas looking rather solemn .

“ I forgot to say one thing. Do you mind , i f you’re

writ ing to Mr . Gardiner, not tell ing him anything about me ?O r Lett ice ei ther,

” she added .

Ce rtainly,i f you wish it,

” sa i d Deni s a fter a moment.I do wish i t .”

They walked on i n si lence . At the steps Dorothea pausedfor a last word .

I ’ve had a quarrel with him . A bad quarrel . I don’

twant h im to know I ’m here , because i f he does he

’

l l thinki t hi s duty to write and warn you against me .

”

Thi s was the truth , and , as truth often does , i t conveyeda fal se impression .

Gardine r ? ” said Denis,i ncredulous . He would never

do that .”

He wou ld,he would

,you don ’t know. He might not to

any one e lse , but he would to you .

Thi s was true again , and agai n mi sleading. Deni s waspuzzled

.I thought you and he were friends,

”he said .

Not now . He hates me .”

Gardiner hates you ?”

Yes.Thinks me wicked . Wouldn

’

t wi ll ingly be underthe same roo f

.He does

,he does . And we can never make

i t up . I ’m angry with Lettice too , at present, but.

I shall

make i t up w ith her,because I love her. But not W1th Mr.

Gardiner neve r, never.”

We l l,i f you say so ,

” said Deni s, but I thoughtDorothea looked up with a flash of understanding. N0

need to put into words what he had thought about her and

That ? ” she said . Oh no—never, never, never !Thi s t ime Deni s believed he r.

CHAPTER XI

COSAS DE BRUJAS

I have been here be fore ,But when or how I cannot tell.

S udden Light.

MY dearest dear,wi l l you come for a l itt le walk

?

Muy sefiora mia , with al l the pleasure i n l i fe .

”

Lettice , who was stooping over a new kitten which shehad adopted since the departure of Geraldine , straightenedherse l f and looked at Gardiner with a di scouragi ng expression . They were at the back of the house ; she had beenabout to cl imb the steep hi l l orchard to watch the sunsetwhen her minute f ri end charged out of the kitchen door,on her weak l i ttle legs no thicker than matches , with hertiny t ri angular ta i l flouri shing in the ai r . Lett i ce had not ,however, expected her host to fol low directly on the ki tten

'sheel s .He stood there laughing. It ’s time for you r eveningconst i tut iona l . You haven

’t been out once since Deni s wentoff. He le ft you in my charge ; I shan

’t fee l I ’m doing myduty i f I don ’t accept your ve ry pressing inv itation .

“ I was not speaking to you , sa id Lett ice de l iberate ly.

He only laughed again .

“ I know that ; you never do speak to a Chri st ian i f youcan po ssibly get out of i t , do you ? Give me that atom .

No , I won’t hurt her ; I

’ve some mi lk for her here—shewas j ust going to drink i t when she heard your welcomefoot step and affect ion was too much for he r. Come on ,

vidita mia .

”

Dexterously , even tenderly, he detached the cl inging c lawsf rom Lettice

’

s shoulder , and set down the mite at the saucer .The l i tt le head nodded over i t

,sni ffi ng tentat ively

,and then

94

96 CONVICT B 1 4

tites and stalagmites and an underground river . I went i nonce with my torch

,but I had to come back— too unsa fe .

Some day I ’ l l have that p lace shored up and made accessible ,and charge five f rancs for admi ssi on , l ike the cave s of Han.

Leg-up for the Bel levue , what ? I l ike thi s so rt of mixedgri l l

,you know

,w i ld and tame together—I l ike a l l this

count ry . No,not that way—there ’ s some view from the

crucifix you see against the sky-l ine , but we haven’t t ime for

i t to-night . Along here , through the wood .

”

Lettice looked round,be fore fol lowing him into the copse

of starvel ing fi rs,and gorse

,and ragged heather . From

where they stood , a l i tt le be low the crucifix , they cou ld not

see the val ley ; only the s il very undu lating h il l- side , and theevening sky, and the grasse s leaning sidelong in the wind .

I t was lonely and bare enough to pl ease her . Are yougoing to stop here ? she asked .

“ I am . D .V. What ? Oh yes,I ’m pious i n my way,

e special ly when I get off a lone among the se hi l l s . I bel ieveI be long here sort of ancestra l feel ing ; talking of which ,I ’ll Show you someth ing rather queer at the farm when weget there . Yes , I

’m going to stay , i f I’m let .” He walked

on ,twi rl ing hi s st i ck i n the a i r . Last t ime I was up here

i t was with M i s s O ’

Connor,” he added i rrelevantly .

Lettice was a good deal surpri sed ; she thought she understood now why he had not wi shed to come alone . She hadnot been told , but she knew , as wel l f rom hi s looks as fromDorothea’s headlong fl ight , that the exp losion had come .Gardiner might keep up hi s laugh , that eternal laugh whichgrated on a sensi t ive ear l ike the squeaking o f a pen

,but he

could not hide the Change in hi s features,pinched and sharp

ened by suffer ing. Su ffe ring— yes—pai n : physica l pain ,that was what hi s face betrayed : not gri e f . His dark eyesthey were , the poet deci ded , l ike the depth s o f a pine-wooddark blacki sh-brown , with undertones of dark green—werel ike tho se of a dog that has been run over . No one el seseemed to noti ce anything wrong ; at the pensi on one womanhad remarked casual ly tha t Mr . Gardiner was looking seedy

,

that was all ; but then no one but Lett ice held the key.

COSAS DE BRUJAS 97

I f hi s f rankness su rpri sed her,i t surpri sed himsel f more

,

for he had by no means intended to mention Dorothea.

Hesheered off the subj ect i n a hurry .

“ I ’ve been Uphere

most evenings lately ,”he sai d .

“ Madame Hasqu in has abureau on which I

’

ve set my heart ; she means me to have i ti n the end , but I can

’

t get her to terms . No it’

s not themoney , i t

’

s the fun— sheer del ight in bargaim ng .I don ’t

mind . It’

s rather j ol ly up here i n the evenings,you get the

sunset ; and i t’s soul-re freshingly lonely . Thi s wood

you’

d never guess there was a house W ith in five minutes,

would you ? Stand sti l l a moment .”

He laid hi s hand on her arm to detain her,and the silence

fel l on them l ike a pa l l . Not a lea f st i rred ; the firs rai sedthe i r black spikes rigid against the sky, some erect , somedoubled and contorted l ike ogres . Brambles , crouching low,

thru st out long stealthy clutching claws across the track.

The sky was golden , and gold were the strips o f water lyingi n the ruts , winding away to the open hi l l and sa fety ; but thewood was dark , dark , and al ready in i ts depth s , here andthere , a glow-worm had l i t i t s t iny keen speck o f unearthlyfi re , glass-green , steady , burning but unconsumed . That ’sthe way to the cave , murmured Gardiner , his voice dropping , hi s grip t ightening ou her a rm . Cosas de brujaswitches , I mean . Never te l l me a wood i sn

’t al ive !He meant i t . Lettice , who pro fessed to be stol id , found

hersel f responding to hi s fancy with an involuntary thril l .There was somethi ng wrong about the place ; i t had its fingeron i t s l ip ; i t seemed to hold a secret of i ts own, to threatenthem with it

,to j eer at thei r un foreseeing ignorance .

The si lence was broken by a sudden outburst of merrych i ldi sh laughter and the sharp barks o f a dog . Gardinerlaughed too

,releasing he r. And now come on . Round

thi s corner—mind the gate,i t ’ l l pinch your fingers, better

let me . There : what do you think of that ?”

They were clear of the wood and out on the open hi l lside , looking down into a valley, a green crease among velvetgreen hi ll s so ft ly molded

,fal l ing away to a line of t rees,

among which ti nkled the crysta l cascades of a brook. On

98 CONVICT RI 4

the upward Slope beyond rose a group of bui ld ings . Around squat tower

,a l ine of Ioopholed wa l l ; the low white

f ront of a dwel l ing-house , r i s ing among golden ri cks ; thefl i ckering brightness of a bonfire , a tal l , slender ribbon of

golden incandescence,burni ng in a golden fume , gi lding the

dark branches of the orchard , loosing flakes of flame anddri fts of lavender-gray smoke i nto the lavender-blue of the

sky.Two chi ldren and a dog were dancing round it , feeding

it with masses of go lden bracken ; i t was thei r laughte r whichhad broken into the enchanted wood .

When the Bel levue started l i fe as a convent , that wasthe convent farm

,said Gardiner Fortified— Lord , yes ,

they needed fo rt s i n those days ; i t dates f rom Spani shtimes . Didn ’ t you know that ? There ’s not much of theold stuff le ft i n my Bel levue , bar the gateway and thesalle, which i s substantial ly the o ld re fectory . BUt thatold tower down there i s pretty much as i t was i n the beginning. Ferme de la Croix , they cal l i t ; Convent of theHoly Cross , you

’d say,but I don’ t mysel f bel i eve that’s the

origin of the name . Come on down and I ’ l l show you .

”

Lett i ce had not contributed much i n words to the con

versat ion , but she had done her part for al l that , i n fol lowingthe quick turns of hi s mind . They went down , crossed abridge bui lt of slabs of uncut stone , and were greeted at thedoor by a woman o f fi fty who looked seventy . She had not

a tooth in her head ; i t was hard to bel ieve She was the motherand not the grandmothe r of the two tow-headed chi ldren .

Eh , monsieur , quel les nouvel les ? But the sweetness of

her smile redeemed the pla inness of her face .

Gardiner fol lowed her down a white passage , not one l i neof which was t rue , i nto a low-pitched , p leasant l iv ing-room,

with scarlet geraniums i n the window. There beside theopen hearth stood the bureau

,black as bog oak and rich ly

carved , with shining brass handle s on drawers that s l ippedin and out at the touch of a finger . Madame chattered inher abominable Wal loon French , Gardiner laughed andargued back ; i t was sadly plain to Letti ce , who could di stingu ish such niceties , that he had picked up the accent of

00 CONVICT RI 4

Casti l ian l i sp . Now I do not in the least be l ieve the convent

,and consequently th i s farm , was dedicated to the Holy

Cross . I bel ieve i t was named for it s founder . But the oddpart of the story i s that it

’

s my name as we ll . My mothe rwas hal f Spani sh— born Florenti na de la Cruz ; and I

’

mcal led a fter her : Henry de la Cruz Gardiner .Wel l

,that is queer,

” sai d Lettice , for once wi th con

viction .

I sn ’t i t ? There aren ’t so many trace s le ft of theSpani sh occupation ; I cal l i t someth ing o f a coincidence thatthat shou ld have surv ived , and that I should come on itshould actual ly take over a nd settle down i n the house bui l tby my namesake . O f course it ’s a not uncommon name i nSpain

,but i t does set one thinking. And see here , too .

”

He dragged he r across to the tower . The gateway was hal fruinous ; one of the j ambs had fal len , bringing some of thestones a long with it , and others seemed ready to fol low .

No , thi s i sn’t war ’s a larms , though as a matter o f fact I

have found a cannon bal l embedded i n the barn . Jule sbacked the engine i nto i t the other day . Thi s l inte l ’s a l lcock-eye , but you can sti l l see the cross and ini ti als— canyou ? — carved on th e end here . He was tracing out themark .

Take care ! said Lett ice suddenly .

She was too late . The stone above— perhaps he hadbrushed against i t ; at any rate , i t settled down , quietly andinexorably , gri nding hi s hand between i tsel f and the blockbelow . Letti ce

’

s arm sprang ou t ; she could be quick on -oc

casion , but he was quicker sti l l . No ! keep off he cri edout, instant ly fending her off, shoulderi ng he r out of theway ; and i n the same breath he inserted the point of hi s sti ckinto the crevice . A very sl ight leverage

,and the uppe r stone

tipped and fel l to the ground,i n a shower of dust and rubble .

He drew away hi s hand and stepped back . They ought tohave that seen to , I

’ l l warn madame ,” he said . It

’

s j o l lydangerous , with those kid s about .

”

You’

ve hu rt yoursel f ,” said Lett ice .

Yes , I’

ve done myse l f proud thi s time,he said

,and

COSAS DE BRUJAS 1 01

coo l ly put hi s hand behind hi s back . Don ’t look at it,i t

i sn ’t pretty . I’

l l cut i n and get some warm water out ofmadame , and do i t up .

”

He turned and walked off to the house . Unfortunately,i n

turning he forgot that hi s hand was behind him,and Letti ce

saw i t . I t was dripping blood ; he le ft hi s t rai l across thegolden straw to the door . Lettice stayed where she was .She was not going where she was not wanted . She felt al itt le sick ; not for the sight of blood , but i n sympathy withhim . She had seen him change color . Yet he was coo lenough she cou ld hear hi s voice inside , answering madame

’sexclamation as l ightly as ever . Presently he came out again ,with a white-bandaged paw,

and a face not much less pal l i dthan the l inen .

Thanks so much for not fussing, he said . I had agay ten mi nutes with madame ; I thought she was going toembrace me . Let ’ s get on home now, do you mind ? Al lthi s bobbery has taken the dickens of a t ime , and I

’ve massesof things st i l l to do be fore dinner .

”

Letti ce fel l i n beside him without a word . For once inher l i fe

, she'

walked fa st . Gardiner was si lent too , twi rl inghi s sti ck i n h i s le ft hand i nstead of the right . They hadreached the h i l l o f the crucifix , and were descending theorchard

,be fore Lettice opened her l ips .

You won ’t be able to write your letters . How wil l youmanage ? ”

He shrugged his shou lders . Make shi ft with my ~ left

hand , I suppose .

You ’d better let m e do them for you .

It ’s nearly eight o ’clock . Time for you to have yoursupper and go to by-by .

”

I don ’t always go to bed at nine , said Lettice .

..V}pu ld you real ly be so good as to do i t , for once ?

C I

Servidor dedmstéd, sefiorita , said Gardiner, que sus

p1es besa—yoartdyirvant, madam ,

who ki sses your feet : Idon ’t know wl that uant to talk Spani sh to you , but

.

I un

doubtedly do away of\\

be i nexpressibly grate ful .”

CHAPTER XII

ALL IN THE AIR

Hark ! I am called ; m y l ittle sp irit, see,S its in a foggy c loud, and stays for m e.

Macbeth.

SYDNEY WANDESFORDE ,Deni s ’s partne r

,was a big, heavy

featured,heav i ly bui l t man

,whose appearance nobody could

have cal led a ri stocrat i c . Plutocrat ic was more like i t .There had been patent pi l l s on the di staff side of hi s ancestry, and un fortunately he had taken a fte r them , i nsteadof a fter the be lted ear l s o f the paternal l ine . He had , however, the easy manners , the clean movements , the so ft voiceof hi s class

,and i f he was plain he looked able .

He had never got beyond surnames with Deni s ; whichmeant that he had neve r met the so ft side of that pugnaci ou sI ri sh tongue . Deni s was Haus-engel , S trassteu fel , a lambto h i s f ri ends , a l ion abroad . There were moment s whenWandesforde thought h im the most i rritating man on theface of the globe ; but he bore with it , never coming to aquarrel , because he l iked and valued hi s partner too muchto let him go . At the t ime of thei r fi rst meeti ng, Deni s hadspent every penny he possessed , and had nothing to put i ntothe partnership except h i s brains , and an aeroplane which atthat date ( 190 7 ) cou ldn

’t be induced to qui t the ground .

Yet the agreement was drawn as between equal s , andWandesforde claimed not more but less contro l than i n anordinary pa rtnersh ip . Why ? Because he was shr ewdenough to see that Deni s would never work as a

’

subordinate

and because,as a foresaid , he valued hi s pa. tner too much to

give him any excuse for throwing up ‘work and going

off in a huff of outraged independeu! he would havedone on the lea st provoca t ion—so!me , he: i s an Ulster

102

1 04 CONVICT B 1 4

fol lowed a wi ldly funny scene , the monoplane charging aboutthe field with devi l i sh energy , whi le Deni s and hi s six penitent assi stants pelted a fte r i t . In the end it butted i t s nosei nto the bank

,broke the propel ler, and put i tse l f out of the

race .I told you what would come of flyin

’

on a Friday , saidDeni s i n se l f-righteous gloom to hi s partner, over one of

those strange meal s whi ch pi lots learn to eat i n v i l lagepubs . No one should fly who i sn ’t physi ca l ly fi t , so presum ably thei r digest ion s are equal to the strai n . Thi s mea lhad begun with beer and bacon , and gone on to buns threedays-old currant buns .

Wandesforde , with hi s wi fe , had been fol lowing the racei n a car . His arm was st i l l i n a sl ing , and hi s looks had notbeen improved by a blow whi ch had knocked hi s f ront teethcrooked . He was patient ly mincing up hi s bun with kni feand fork ; bi te i nto i t he could not.We l l , dash i t a l l , i f a race i s run on a Friday you have

to fly i t on a Friday , don’t you ? ” he said , annoyed . I

wou ldn ’t have let you i n i f I cou ld possibly have he ld thej oy-sti ck . I ’m not superst i tious about the days of the weekmyse l f . ”

No , you’ve had smashes on every one of the seven,

haven ’t youBearing thi s with an effort

, Wandesforde gave up hi s bunas a bad job and consoled himse l f wi th a cigar. I supposenow you ’

l l go back to Dent-de-l ion and take on Mi ss O ’

Con

nor? ” he asked , by way of changing the subj ect .Teach her to commi t suicide expensive ly , said the

morose Deni s . She ’l l never make a pi lot ; anybiddy can

see that . Women haven ’t i t i n them . Any old th ing that’ s

idiotic they’l l do sta rt without fi llin’

Up the tank , as soona s not ! ”

The sting of thi s speech was that Wandesforde , not beinga lways as care fu l a s his partner deemed desi rable , hadrecent ly made thi s very omi ssion himsel f , and paid for i t bycrash ing a friend ’s favorite bus . The si lence was broken bya smal l subdued sound of amusement from Mrs . Wandes

ALL IN THE AIR 1 05

forde , which consoled her husband in proportion as i t annoyed Deni s . He scowled at he r through hi s eyeglass

,and

then , mutte ring something about the monop lane, stalked outof the room .

Lord !”said Wandesforde, getting up and squari ng hi s

broad shoulders against the mantelpiece with an audible sighof rel ie f , he ’s i n a pretty rank temper , what ? I hoped hehadn

’

t hea rd about Wyatt ’s Avro . Never knew him so cutup about a smash be fore !His wi fe , a piece of si lvery transparent lovel iness , shook

he r fai r head . Not the smash,

” she pronounced,oracu lar.

Miss O ’

connor !

Meanwhi le Dorothea had establ i shed hersel f i n a furni shedcottage at Bredon , with an old governess as compam on

chaperon . Miss Byrd had been l iving in an a lms-house onten shi l l ings a week, when he r hal f- forgotten pupi l soughther out. I t should be noted in passing that i f Dorothea pursued her enemies with vengeance

, she al so pursued herfri ends with gratitude . More than thi s ; she could be generous even to her “ enemies . Against her lawyer

’s advice , shehad insi sted on making her uncle an al lowance . I

’

m notgoing to be a pig

,because he was ! ”

she said . Vengeanceand revenge are

,i n fact

,very different , as di fferent as the

l ion and the hyena . But thi s i s by the Way ; and indeed atth i s time Dorothea ’s vengeance had dropped out of sight .Just as She flung herse l f on Gardiner , so she had now at

tacked Denis,without defini te plan , on the opportunist theory

that something wou ld turn up and something had , but notwhat she expected ; Her own youth l i fted i ts head . Shehad come to exploi t the aeroplanes for her vengeance ; andlo and behold ! she forgot her vengeance i n the aeroplanes .Deni s had adapted the 19 1 1 mode l for use as a schoolmachine

,and Dorothea began i n the usual way by rol l ing

tax i- i ng on the ground . Most pupil s break woodduring th i s process

, for an aeroplane wi l l run any way butstraight

,pre ferri ng to curl round l ike a puppy a fter i ts own

tai l . But Dorothea had by nature that automat ic S ixth sense

1 06 CONVICT RI 4

of machinery which most peop le acqui re on ly by practi ce .

She wou ld have learned to fly in a week , repre senting somethree or four hou rs actual ly in the a i r, i f Deni s had givenher ful l t ime ; but he would not . Three days out of the six

he kept sacred to hi s work . On the remaining three Dorothea and her car appeared at Dent-de-l ion wheneve r theweather was favorable , and o ften when i t wasn

’

t. Therewere many rough days that Septembe r.At first Deni s found her an unmit igated nui sance . It

was bad enough to put up w ith her when i t wa s ca lm ; buton a day of sto rm and tempest , w i th a fifty

-mi le gale thento be interrupted by rosy-hope fu l youth clamoring for alesson— it was i ntolerable ! Nature had never design edDeni s for a teacher . He would have crushed a stupid pupi l . He was hard even on Dorothea , when she fai led toknow what he hadn ’t told her . But she was so eager ,pl iant

,uncrushable , so ardently i n ea rnest, so reverent i n

attent ion, so i nsinuating in meekness i n a word , she flattered

him so sweet ly that he began , unconsciously at first , yetsure ly , he began to enj oy teaching her.Even i f there had been no quest ion of Trent , Dorothea

and Harry Gardiner would never have made friends . Theyhad nothing in common . She , a l i ttle mate rial i st , l iv i ng inher feel ings , ca ring not a rap for the pleasures of the mindor fancy ; he , a re stles s thinker , imaginat ive , uneven i n grai n ,too c lose i n sympathy with nature to be whol ly civi l ized .

That strain of wi ldne ss would keep him always sol itary ; butDorothea , though she had never yet had a chance to find he rse l f , was essential ly a home woman . She wanted to adore

,

to be ruled by , to mother her man in the good o ld-fashionedway . Al l that would simply have bored Gardine r. To

Denis , on the othe r hand , i t was the idea l of marri ed li fe.

They sat side by side , hi s hands over hers , gu iding theaeroplane , and he forgot she was a woman . Not t i l l thendid her womanhood begin to make i ts impression . Shehad attracted Ga rdine r

,the man o f reason

,through his

senses , she attracted Deni s , the man o f insti nct , through hi sreason . He l iked the quick answer o f her mind to hi s own .

1 08 CONVICT B 1 4

t i re some,charm ing pupi l . In the brie f luci d interval s when

he came to the sur face , he was consciou s of a vague di scomfort which nei ther bee f nor bed avai led to soothe . Heraccident and the delay were giving time for hi s fee lings tomature . Gardiner, who was i ntere sted in h i s own mentalprocesses

,would soon have found himsel f out ; Deni s , a

stranger to sel f—consciousness , was bl ind as any we l l-broughtup young lady of the fi fties .Dorothea came back at last unexpectedly . After l eav ingh i s lunch to get cold , and then bol ting i t i n five minutes ,Deni s had rushed back to hi s desk to fini sh a calculation .

He was writing the last figu res when a car turned in at thegates

,and he l i fted hi s head wi th a f rown , which changed

suddenly into a smile of pleasure . Well he knew that gayl itt le tune on the horn , the sound of that fresh young voicein the porch ! Down went hi s pen , and out he hurried togreet her, w i th an eagerness which surpri sed himse l f .Here ’ s your bad penny again , you see ! she cri ed , com

i ng i n with the scent of the wind on he r sui t and the roseof i t i n her cheeks . “ Aren ’ t you si ck to see me ? OldTurner sa id thi s morning I might use my hand

,so I came

straight off. But what have you been doing to yoursel f ?You look hal f starved doe sn ’t h e

,Bi rdie ? Have you had

any lunch ? I f you haven’t i t ’s ve ry wrong of you , and I

shal l j ust stand over you ti l l i t ’s gone do you hear ? ”

Deni s , laughing, l ingered to Shake hands with Miss Byrd ,who a lways sati sfied the proprieties by escort ing her youngfriend , be fore fol lowing hi s impetuous pupi l i nto the parlor . Dorothea was scornfu l ly i nspect ing the remains of themeal .

“ H’

m ! One sausage— I know it can ’t be more , forRogers neve r gives you more than seven , at the outside , tothe pound— i t ’s not hal f enough for you . This room ’

s

hate fully uncomfortable , too,”

she added , f rowning roundwi th eyes which saw it al l anew . Dorothea was blind tobeauty , but wide awake to comfort , e special ly somebodyel se

’

s comfort . “ I should l ike to talk to that S impsonwoman . I

’

d soon make her sit up ! I th ink she neglect s

ALL IN THE AIR 1 09

you shamefu l ly . You ’re looking quite pale—i sn ’t he,

Bi rdie ? —and I know it ’s al l her fault . I ’ve no use at a l lfor a woman who can ’t keep her own peop le comfy!It was a nove l experience for Deni s to be scolded forneglecting himsel f . I assure you Miss Simpson ’s gui ltless ,

”he sai d, smi l ing .

“ I ’ve had a bi t of a rush latelythat ’s al l . I ’ve not been abl e to get out these last few days .We l l , you

’re coming out with m e th i s a fternoon, or I

’ llknow the reason why. I can ’t have you looking l ike thi s

,

retorted Dorothea , nodding her deci sion ; and then , with asudden begui ling change , clasping both hands over hi s arm :

You’

re going to let me do straight s on my own to-day,

aren’

t you ? You a lmost promi sed you wou ld,last time !

Deni s looked down on her hands , as though he foundthem a very pleasing adornment to hi s s leeve . We ’ l lsee ,

” he sa id , and from that he would not budge , for al l hercoaxing. He was i nordinately cautious i n hi s tuition . Theyle ft Mi ss Byrd tucked up by the fire with a book, and Deni swent down to the hangars

,whi le Dorothea got into her flying

kit . He was never ti red of“

dinn ing into hi s pupi l ’s earsthe duty of prudence , and ce rta inly he set the example himse l f . When Dorothea appeared

'

at the sheds , i n her tanleather coat and leggings and safety helmet , she found herinst ructor tuning up the machine

,and had to wait as pa

tiently as she might ti l l he had done .

The morning unt i l ten o ’clock had been white and chi l lw ith one of those luminous , snowy September fogs , whichclea r off into noons o f sapphi re . The sky was astoundinglyblue

,the meadow insolently green , the Sheds al l hard-edged ,

viv id,with keen black shadows . In the fu l l blaze of sun

shine'

stood the monop lane, tal l i n f ront where the long brownblades o f the prope lle r Cleared the ground , sloping down towards the fin-l ike ta i l planes , and spreading it s pal e wingsi n curves not unl ike those of the gull s which sai led by , cal ling and fishing over the marshes .Dorothea cl imbed into her seat , Deni s took hi s place beside her

,the men behind let go, and off they went , skimming

fast and faste r over the grass,gaining Speed and power for

1 1 0 CONVICT B 1 4

soaring. The e levator ti lted , and they parted f rom the earth ,the moment impe rceptible ; only the country , which had lainahead

,spread out suddenly below them l ike a carpet . There

were the green marshes , ruled out l ike a chess-board withgl i stening waterways , and bordered with the dark b lue sea :the farm

,and the sheds , and the outbui ldings , al l l ike toys

made of cardboard and gl itter ing tin .

After ci rcl ing ove r the aerodrome to get h i s height , Deni sturned his back on the coast and flew inland . As theypassed

,the great farm horse s p lunged and fidgeted , the la

borers stood sti l l i n the fields , pee ri ng Up f rom under thei rhands , the cottagers ran ou t into the road to watch themoverhead . Some said “ Wel l , I wouldn

’t be up i n one

of them things for a thousand pounds ! ” and othersSi lly fool s ! serve ’em right i f they break the i r necks ! ”

The Engl i shman , i n fact , received the novelty a s he receivesany strange thing or person , i n the Spi ri t summed once andfor al l by Punch. Not that Deni s had any right to grumble .Except with regard to hi s work

,he was j u st a s conservative ,

j ust a s ready to heave hi s hal f-brick as any Bil l among them .

They flew to Canterbu ry , and turned , banking i n a steepcu rve , to shoot back over the way they had come . Theywere five thousand feet up , and the wind was ferocious ;i t seemed to press the breath back down thei r throats

,

to wrench at the flesh on the i r faces . Much Dorotheacared ! On that homeward fl ight she was al lowed , forthe fi rst time , to guide the aeroplane herse l f . Deni s kepthi s hands ready to resume control , i n case of a sl ip , buthe was not needed ; she he ld the pil lar t i l l the t ime cameto switch off the engine and gl ide in a long” long slanttowards the landing ground . B-rr, the motor purred again ,a s the monoplane cocked up he r tai l , l ike a bi rd , to flattenout be fore al ighting . The landing whee l s took off theshock, and they ran smooth ly over the grass ti l l the momentum was exhausted .

Deni s stayed at the hanga rs to see the machine housed .

When he came back to the house he found hi s pupi l waitingfor him on the steps of the porch . She had taken off her

1 1 2 CONVICT RI 4

There might be some point i n you r strictu res , saidDeni s

,teasing her , i f I happened to be workin ’ at the

seaplane to-morrow .

What are you going to do , then , i f not that ?”

“ I ’m dinin ’ Wandesforde' i n town .

”

O-oh ,

” said Dorothea , undecided between storm andsunsh ine . Then I hate Mr . Wandesforde ! she con

cluded viciously .

You hate so many things , don’t you ? ”

Again she was almost ready to sulk l ike an offendedbaby ; but no— out shone the sun ,

and the c louds fledaway .

“Well,I do ,

” she owned , laughing back at him ,

o f course I do ! So would anybody who wasn ’t a perfectfrog. I t

’

s only cold-blooded people l ike you and Letticewho are tolerant . Besides , I love heaps of th ings to makeup . I hate the seaplane and I hate Mr. Wandesforde , butI love the monoplane and I love youI t would have been nothing , nothing, i f she had not pointedhe r words by stOppmg dead and turn ing scarlet . Deni s ,puzzled . gazed at her wi th hi s honest eyes ; and then , l ikethe fal ling o f a curtain , saw what her con fusion meant ,both to her and to himse l f . He stepped forward impulsively,

putting out his hands . Dorothea pressed back againstthe pi lla r, glancing desperate ly from side to side ; then ,st riking them away , she turned and darted i n at the opendoor, l ike a rabbit i nto its burrow .

CHAPTER XII I

ONE NAIL DRIVES OUT ANOTHER

I looked and saw your heartIn the shadow of your eyes,

As the seeker sees the goldIn the shadow of the stream .

Three Shadows .

THERE i s a legend which says that September i s the monthof the fading lea f . Townsmen may fancy so

,looking at

thei r own starved avenues , which begin to shrive l and stripthemselves as early as July ; but in the country the massivewoods ( except that an elm here and there hangs out a s inglecrocus-ye l low spray ) keep the somber green o f late summerto the very end of the month . Then , as the days pass , fi rstthe l ime strips to the cold and standeth naked above heryel low atti re . ” The horse-chestnut s on some night of frostlet drop a l l thei r fans in a rust l ing heap . The wood landpaths are cri sp with fawn-colored oak leaves . Last of all ,i n mid-November , the e lms loosen to the wind and the rainthose fa int clouds of green and greeni sh -gold which haverounded the shape of thei r l imbs , ti l l a ll the wet meadowsa re st rewn wi th them ; and i t i s winter .At Rochehaut i t was September sti l l , late September .Gardiner, at lei sure a fter the summer rush , had been to h isbank at Boui llon

,and

,i nstead o f returning by the vicinal,

had . chosen to walk back over the hi l l s th rough Botassart .Thi s route brought him past the crucifix . He had not beenthere since the grand explosion

,and i t cost him an effort to

go,

back ; but he re fused to be sentimental , or a l low abeauti ful thing to be spo i led for him by fancies . There helay then on the grass

,smoking and dreaming.

I t seemed long,long since that summer night ; so long

1 13

1 1 4 CONVICT B 1 4

that he cou ld look back now , on i t and on Dorothea , aspart of the past . Heavens ! how she had hurt h im ! Therewas that time as a boy, when he tumbled wai st-deep into avat of sca lding l iquid at some chemi ca l works ; he cou ldcompare hi s feel ings only to that violent a ssault of pain .

Yes, she had hurt him abominab ly ; the pai n of hi s crushedhand had been by contrast a rel i e f and a di straction . But thewound was on the surface ; and , though he scarce ly knewi t himse l f a lready i t was beginning to hea l . There was nopoi son in i t . His passion for Dorothea had been effectuallycauterized ; he thought of her now without either resentment or desi re . He was pro foundly sorry ; sorrie r for Dorothea O

’

Connor than even for Mrs . Trent . Thi s pi ty , oddlyenough , confirmed him in impenitence . I did he r a goodturn when I cleared that fe l low out of her road , he said tohimsel f with inverted sati s fact ion .

“ I f he ’d lived longenough for her to find him out, there

’d have been la de Dioses Cristo !

Three days of pale sti l l sunsh ine had closed in threateninggloom . The grassy hi ll of the crucifix was bu rnt puttycolor ; the hi l l of forests opposi te was o l ive-somber ; theval ley fumed with tawny vapors , breathing down from thegloom of the sky, and up from the dark current of the rive r.A l l was sti ll , grave , overcast , t i l l the sun fou nd hi s sunsetcrevice i n the clouds and spl i t them , overflowing i n long l inesof l iquid gold between i ron-heavy ba rs . Splendi d transparent fan-rays o f light and dark al ternate streamed up thesky ; they rimmed vague form s of mist with bu rning wi re ,they fi l led the empty blue with bronze and golden vapors ;the whole vault of heaven was on fi re

,the wet brown hi l l s

flamed back responsive glory .

Gardiner , susceptible to every earth i nfluence , found hi ssenses flooded with that golden exhi laration . Vague mistsof thought took shape in its l ight ; he knew now that thatname on the l inte l of the farm was not a mere coincidence .When he fi rst saw the Bel levue

,Why

,I ’ve been here be

fore ,”he had said to h imsel f , with a thri l l of sta rt led rec

ognition . And now, I belong here,

” he added,hal f a loud

,

1 16 CONVICT RI 4

drawn ; bu t he knew she knew he was suffering, and oddlyenough he did not resen t it. Oddly , be i t understood , because Gard iner was by no means fond of sympathy . Hi sinstinct when hard hit w as to cover up the wound and keepit h idden from the world , and especi al ly f rom hi s f riends .Yet i t seemed he did not mind Lett ice . And now , thoughhe saw she was making for the crucifix , to di stu rb hi s regalsoli tude , he did not sti r.She had not seen him . She plodded on without lookingup

,and presently was hidden i n a fold of the hi l l . \Vhen

she emerged agai n , i t was withi n ten yards of the crucifixand that lazy , smi l ing figu re . She stopped sho rt ; one couldalmost hea r her spi ri t say Oh ! ” though her l ips weresi lent . Her first impulse obviously was to beat a retrea t

(Gardiner chuckled , he had known i t would but shethought better of i t , and came on. After su rveyi ng theheap of stones , s he chose the one comfortab le place , set

tled he rse l f , and got out the inevi table green tablecloth . Let

ti ce made great play w i th that tablecloth .

S ince she would not speak , Ga rdiner did .

I di dn ’t kn ow you ’d found you r way up here .Why , you tol d me about i t yoursel f .Do you l ike i t better than you r wood pi le in the forest ?

”

Lettice paused i n the act of threading he r need le to lookround on the brown and gold of hi l ls and wood s and sky .

“Yes , sai d she ; and i f she had raved for an hour she

cou l d have expre ssed no more . Comfo rtable si lence fel lbetween them . Lett ice st itched , and Gardiner smoked , andi n the wes t the sunset fla red i n Citron , amber , safi ron , bronze ,and a thousand sha des of glory . In the eas t a scrol l o f cloudreared dazzl i ng sunny heights of snow again st dazz ling b lue .Lett i ce

’

s nee dle slackened ; i t came to a standsti ll .Penny for your thoughts

,

” said Gardiner.I haven ’ t any .

”

I thought you were composing a poem .

Insul ts of i nsul ts ! Letti ce looked volumes of rep roa ch.

I was not, sa id she .

But you do write poet ry .

ONE NAIL DRIVES OUT ANOTHER 1 1 7

Who to ld you so ?Who do you suppose ? Den i s has to ld me quite a lot

about you . Hasn ’t he told you a lot about me ? ”

Yes ; but i t wasn’t al l of i t t rue .

Gardiner burst out laughi ng . We ll , that i s good ! Howdo you know ?

Oh , it’

s , i t’

s— i t ’s obvious , said Lett ice , with an exaspe rated wave of the hand to help out her meaning.

Shebegan to sew very fast . Gardiner contemplated her with abroa d smi le ; but pre sently i t faded , and he turned ove r andlay plucking at the grass .

Did Miss O’

Connor l eave her address w ith you ?

Lett ice shook her head .

She went off i n such a hurry !Gardi ner opened hi s mouth to speak, and checked himse l f for a garrulous fool . He did not kn ow why he hadmentione d Dorothea at al l . A moment later the impul secame agai n

,and he found himsel f , to hi s surpri se , tel l ing

Le tti ce the very thing he had decided not to mention .

Rathe r a queer thing about that young lady , he remarkedl ightly . I found out—to be exact , she hur led the factin my teeth i—that she wasn’ t a Mi ss , and that O

’

Connor

wasn ’t he r nam e . She was a widow - a Mrs . Trent .”

M rs . Trent ? What , the , theOh

,you know about he r, do you ? Yes , the Mrs . Trent

of Easedale. She’s fi rmly persuaded that I ki l led her hus

band . I be l ieve she came over here simply and solely inorder to worm some sort o f con fession ou t o f me .

”

He stopped ,amazed at himse l f . Then he looked at Let

t ice . I f deep unaffected interest can pul l confidences out ofa man

,here was hi s excu se . Why, she was a ll eyes and

ears !So that was it ! she sa id . That was who she was !

You don’t mean to tel l m e you knew about thi s be fore ?

No,no

,not her name . But I knew she didn

’

t muchl ike you .

”

The dickens you did ! Did'

she say so ?

No ,I,I—I sort of gathered i t .

”

1 1 8 CONVICT RI 4

I begi n to think what Deni s sai d about you was t rue ,Gardiner remarked a fter a pause .What did Deni s say about me ?That you cou ld see th rough a fl ight of sta irs and a dea l

doorfi’

“ I don ’t know what you mean .

You wou ldn ’t , it’

s out of Dickens , said Gardiner , witha laugh which hid considerable pe rturbation . So she hadguessed that

,had she , be fore he knew i t h imse l f ? What

was there she d id not guess ? He began to feel help lesslytransparent . Yet agai n he was surpri sed to find he d id not

hate her for intruding. Lett ice could pick her way amongsensibi l i t ie s l ike a cat among china , and she neithe r mi sunderstood nor mi sj udged . There were epi sodes i n h i s li fewhich he would have been ashamed to Show to Deni s . Hecould have shown them every one to Letti ce, unmarriedgi rl though she was , and with no experience of the roughand tumble of li fe . Somehow one never thought of Letticeas a gi rl . He looked Up at her. She had dropped her workand sat motion less

,her eyes fixed on the sunset . In nature

as i n h uman nature , Lett ice looked to the l imi t of sight , andbeyond , to the ci ty of God. It was that d istant view whi chgave her the perspective for th ings near. Whi le Gardinerwas making these reflect ions , she turned her head suddenlyand surpri sed him with a questionDoes Deni s know about Mrs . Trent ?I should say not. I haven ’t told him .

I think you ’d better .It was so unlike Letti ce to offer advice that he stared i n

surpri se .‘6Why ?

He ought to know .

I don’

t want to go i nto that business agai n,sai d

Gardiner . He did hate i t a l l so desperately—no , I don ’twant to rake i t up aga i n . Nor do I see any necessi ty.

What doe s i t matte r ? ”

Wou ld you mind i f I told him ? ”

Why the dickens are you so keen ?

1 20 CONVICT B 14

Yes, I do .

P leasant,

” said Gardiner , tUgging at hi s mustache , witha sort of hard restraint . I f she exploit s Deni s a s she di dme

,he ’ ll enj oy himse l f . Yes , I shal l be very much obl iged

i f you ’

l l wr i te to him . He ’

l l take it bette r f rom you thanfrom me .

”

I wi sh I ’d known be fore , said Lett ice , fo lding up herwork.

Oh, it

’

s a l l r ight so fa r , she hasn’t turned up at Bredon

yet . I heard from Deni s thi s morning .

’

Yes,but don ’t you see i f she did go she

’d be sure totel l him not to te l l you ?He did see , and fe lt s i ck. I t cost him an effort to l iesti l l. But he pul led himse l f together ; that last secret, atleast , she should not read . What to say, then ? He wou ldnot con fess, but equally he would not l i e to her . He foundsomething which was neithe r l i e , con fession , nor equivocat ion , but a piece o f plain fact .I f she ever doe s get hold of the truth about Trent, she

’

l lbe uncommonly sorry she tri ed to find out.”

Then he di scovered that Letti ce was neither looking atnor thinking of him .

I hope she won ’t get i t out of Denis , she said . I hopeyou

’

l l be i n t ime to prevent tha t.”

The words were mi ld ; the spi ri t, not so . Gard i ner wasshamed out of hi s se l f-absorption . He saw Lettice

’

s lovefor her cousin , roused in hi s de fense ; and he saw, too ,

withher, Deni s tri cked i nto betraying hi s friend. Why, he wou ldnever forgive h imsel f !My Lord , yes ! he said with unexpected gravi ty .

That would be a worse business than anything she’ s done

or could do to me .”

CHAPTER ! IV

A TWO-EDGED SWORD

He looked at her, as a lover can ;She looked at him

, as one who awakes.

The S ta tue a nd the Bust.

Th ere 15 a way that seem eth right unto a man, but the end thereo fare the ways of death . PROVERBS.

IN hi s salad days , a long time ago ,Deni s had fal len i n love

w i th the daughte r of a respectable suburban fishmonger,afte r tumbling out o f the sky on the roof of her house . The

young lady ’s parents were rich but honest ; the young ladyhersel f we l l

,she had an extremely pretty face

,which oc

cupied Deni s to the exclusion of a blue and yel low sportscoat and a large string o f pearls. His love dream lastedsix weeks ; then he fe l l out o f his aerop lane again and brokehi s handsome nose , or was supposed to have done so, andMi ss Tyrrel l broke the engagement . I c-couldn ’t bearyou with a broken nose ! she wept . Whatever Deni s broke ,i t was not h i s hea rt . When he looked back on the epi sode ,it was with devout and wondering thankfulness ; but he preferred not to look back on i t at al l .Thi s was h i s sole experience of the tender passion. Inhi s single-minded and laborious l i fe there had been no roomfor more ; even Nina Tyrre l l had been sandwiched betweentwo flying accident s . Deni s was at bottom a simple soul .He had three main interests hi s re l igion , his aeroplanes , hi sf riends ; and they were al l bound up togethe r by a chi ld-l ikefaith . He bel ieved i n others because hi s own heart waspure . I t was thi s bloom of innocence which Gardiner lovedi n hi s f riend

,and which both he and Lettice were tender to

protect ; and i t was thi s which made his feel ing for Dorotheaat once So beauti fu l , and so vulnerable .

12 1

1 2 2 CONVICT B 14

He took the revelation very simply, very serious ly, withreverence and awe ; among other primitive v i rtues, Deni shad a fine stock o f awe . Love was to him a sacrament , agi f t di rect f rom heaven ; he carr ied i t in h i s heart l ike aj ewe l almost too precious for human hands to touch , andgave humble thanks to God . A good old- fashioned churchman

,Deni s had been accustomed to say hi s prayers night

and morning,wa lking in a decent Engl i sh sou l-si lence the

rest of the day ; but thi s new grat i tude t ranscended a l l rule sand overflowed i n ceaseless prai se . Nobody, he was ce rtain ,had ever fe lt l ike thi s be fore . He was happy happier thani t had ever entered hi s head to imagine , in sunshine whichturned al l the gray of l i fe to gold .

Al l that day he could settle to nothing, but mooned aboutthe house

,getting in the way of M i s s S impson

,who had

planned to turn out hi s room . Next day, i n town , he lookedat Wandesforde the married man with new curio sity . Hedid not i n the least want to unbosom himse l f ; but he wouldhave l iked to extract confidences f rom somebody who hadbeen through i t al l be fore . Wandesforde , however , Was notgiven to making confidences

,and i f ever he had been driven

into speech hi s partner was the last man he wou ld havechosen to receive hi s outpourings . He put down Deni s ’sunusual si lence to his l iver, and genial ly advi sed h im to takemore exerci se - that venerable j oke

,which a lways seems so

good to the maker and so poor to the recipient !That night Deni s lay awake

,bui lding cast les i n the ai r .

Dorothea had told him al l her sad l i tt le sto ry as fa r as hermarriage , one squal ly day when they were shelte ri ng i n thehangar ; he set up in hi s heart a sh rine of protect ive love andreverence and worshiped her there

,hi s l itt le lady of the

sorrows—Dorothea , with a heart ful l of black hate ! Ye tDeni s was not bl ind . He saw one side of her clearly enough ,and was ready to own wi th tender indulgence that she hadplenty of endearing imper fect ions

, of smal l gray fault s ; buto f the other side , the dark hal f o f the moon , she had shownhim nothing , and how was he to divine i t ? With him , in

deed , she was what he bel ieved her : t rue to her true sel f,

1 24 CONVICT B 1 4

of nervous anger, for which she was not too proud to apologi ze

,even to a pupi l ; i t was an incident of thi s sort whi ch

had stamped her i nde l ibly in Dorothea’

s affect ions . A lwaysa l i tt le shy of Deni s , to-day she seemed i n a state of nervoustremor ; her hands were shaking as she arranged and rearranged the cozy

,and wondered for the tenth t ime what could

be keeping Dot. Deni s , who had one manner for the mightyand another for the humble and meek, se t himse l f to sootheher alarms . He was j ust succeeding when the door un

closed and the t ruant swept in .

Am I ve ry f right fu l ly late ? she inqui red unconcernedly.

So sorry ; having only one hand makes you awkward, youknow. Do you mind doing this for me , Bi rdie ?

She stood bending her grace fu l head whi le Mi ss Byrdsettled the rose point of her col lar. She was weari ng ave lvet dress , very ri ch , very sumptuous , cut Open at the throatand bordered with sable fu r . Round her neck went a goldchain , rough l i nks nearly an inch across , hanging to herknee s and looking barbarously heavy . She sank into achai r, and there was the gleam of a golden shoe , a Cindere l lasl ipper with j ewe led straps crossing on the arch of a si lkeni nstep . What a

"

trans formation ! But the greater changewas i n he r manner .Have you been to church ? she asked . How pious of

you ! I haven ’t ; but then I’m not pious , you know . I went

for a joy-r ide instead . My hand ? Oh yes,thanks

,I man

aged al l right . I general ly do manage to do what I wantto ,

"

she added , spreading out a slender hand with the diamonds upon i t which Lettice had admi red long ago . Shelooked up at Deni s through her lashes . No, I didn

’t wantto come yesterday ; not parti cular ly ; wasn

’t that sad ? ButI did want you to come here thi s afternoon

“That ’s al l right , s ince here I am,

”Deni s i nterrupted ,

laughing at her. He put her off for an instant , but on ly foran instant she recovered herse l f

,and swept on

And I ’l l tel l you why : because I wanted a real heart-toheart talk , without any aeroplanes or things to interrupt .I

’

ve a bone to pick with you .

”

A TWO-EDGED SWORD 1 25

A bone to pick,have you ?

A big, big bone . Another lump o f sugar,please

,Birdie

—yes , that l i tt le fe l l a wi l l do ; I shan ’t let you make tea i f

you don’

t gi ve me enough sugar. Why didn’t you ever tel l

u s that exci t ing story about Mr . Gardiner ? ”

She leaned back among her cushions,sti rring her cup

,

watch ing Deni s with those dark eyes ful l of overt i nsolenceand cove rt eagerness . But Deni s was not notic ing subtletie s o i express ion ; th i s time She had got home .

What excitin ’ story about Mr. Gardiner ? ”

It was her turn to laugh . Oh,you know ! About that

man he ki lled , or didn’t ki l l , up in the Lakes somewhere . I

real ly think i t was your duty to have to ld— anybodymightn ’t have cared to stop at hi s hote l a fter a thing l ikethat !Who told you anything about i t ?

”

Loui sa , of course . Loui sa ’ s always my newsmonge r.She had i t f rom the maid of the man ’s wi fe— Mrs. Tyne ,wasn

’

t her name ? No ,Trent . I knew i t was some river

or other. Maids te l l each othe r everything. It only cameou t yeste rday

,e l se I ’d have been at you about i t be fore .

Loui sa swears Mr . Gardiner real ly did i t , and you screenedhim . Did he ? and did you ? Do tel l ! It i sn ’t every dayone comes across a th ri ll i ng tale l ike thi s !

“There was an inquest ,

” said Deni s stiffly. You canread al l about i t i n the papers

,i f you choose . It was brought

i n accidenta l death .

“ Wel l,I know that

, or Mr. Gardiner would have goneto pri son

,wou ldn ’t he ? But what Loui sa says i s that the

whole truth didn ’t come out at the inquest . He knockedthe man down

, or something , i nstead of hi s tumbl ing of

himse l f . I can qui te be l ieve he would knock a man down ,i f he lost h i s temper . Did he real ly do it, and make youhush it up ? I do so want to know !My dear

,sa id Mi ss Byrd gently, don ’t you see you

’

reworrying Mr. Me ri on-Smith !

sai d Dorothea . She Shot a . cool , le i surely ,searching glance at Deni s

’s t roubled face . Well , I’

m sure

1 26 CONVICT B 1 4

I don ’t see what there i s to worry anybody in what I ’ve beensayi ng—unless , of course , i t ’s t rue !Deni s had to say something. He felt for and found hi svoice

,hoping i t sounded more natural to her than i t did to

himse l f . “ I t was—rather a bad busi ness , he got out.

I—don’t much care for talkin ’ about i t . I don ’t thi nkMiss O ’

Connor qui te real i ze s what i t meant for u s we sawi t

,you know ; and Mrs . Trent too He stuck fast . Was

that the be st he coul d do for h i s f riend ? The old excuse rose to hi s l ips . “ But I can assure you i t was anaccident !

Oh,wel l

, of course I’m sorry i f I said what I oughtn

’

t.

I only meant it for a j oke ! ” sai d Dorothea convent ional ly .

Deni s turned away to the window . What evi l fiend hadprompted he r to dig up that story ? It was none the sweete rfor i ts long burial . On Dorothea ’s l ips i t made him fee lsick . He had a pa ssing pain and wonder at her tone , sodi scordant , so un l ike hersel f . But that was due to shyness ,he told himse l f , the struggles of a wi ld thing to escape capture , and putting the thought by he went on steadi ly to h i spurpose . I t was not easy to turn Deni s when hi s mind wasmade up . He spoke the sentence he had prepared be foreentering the house .Have you seen your back t i re ?

”

My ti re ? No ! I s i t down ? ”

Out she ran—as he had guessed she would ; but i t wasat any cost to get away f rom him

, not for the car’s sake

and that he did not gu ess . He followed her. Dorothea ,pretending to examine her t i re s

,looked up and knew herse l f

caughtWhy, they

’

re al l right , she sai d , ri sing f rom the lastof the whee l s . Did you th ink I had a puncture ?

No , and I never said I did . I wanted to speak to you ,

sai d Deni s coolly.

She faced him across the car, as coo l as he . Bette rnot.

I want to ask you something. I want to know i f youwi l l do me the very great honor of becoming my wi fe .

”

1 28 CONVICT B 1 4

Why,i t’s not a year yet since he died , and do you

think I ’d let myse l f love a man who who alm osth elped toki l l him ? ”

she cried wi th angui sh . Oh , I hate , hate , hate

you , and I a lways wi l l . Oh,Guy, Guy , do they think I

’dforget so soon , and be f riends w i th you r murderers ? I

’dki l l mysel f sooner !Sobbing vehement ly , she fled into the house .When Deni s got home

,he found a belated lette r from

Lettice , which shou ld have been del ivered that morning , buthad been carr ied on by mi stake to the next farm . It hadcome , said Mi ss S impson , j u st a fter he sta rted ; the boymust actual ly have passed him i n the dri ve .

CHAPTER ! V.

WANTED

We‘took no tearfu l leaving,

’Twas tim e and tim e to go ;Beh ind lay dock and Dartm oor,Ahead lay Callao !

The Broken Men.

THE hamlet of Wood lands i s near Wrotham,i n the county

o f Kent . To reach it you must take the old'

Chatham andDover at Vi ctoria and get

'

out at Ot ford , a sweet-scentedvi l lage sitting

'

at ease i n the wide vale o f the Darenth . Leaving that behind , you will turn eastwards by the Pi lgrims

’

Way, which winds along the lower spurs of the Downs , aboveKemsing, Ightham , St . Clere , on i ts way to Canterbury .

That too you leave i n hal f-a-mile , and str ike into the hi ll son your left , up a perpendicular lane where the contour l ineson the ordnance map jostle each other, four , five

,six , seven

hundred feet i n the width of a s many yards , the woods cl imbing with you , arching your road i n a green tunnel . Theythin , they di spart , and you are on the summit of the Downs ;great rol li ng fluted hi ll s covered with thymy tur f

,knot s of

gorse , noble trees standm g smgly with a scattering of brackenin thei r shade

,i nnumerable rabbit s tossing up thei r l i ttle

whi te scuts as they bol t into thei r burrows . Very steep andgrace fu l in thei r l ines

,these Kenti sh h i l l s ; very beauti fu l the

green floor of the va l ley outspread be low , the wooded heightofRi ve r H i l l

,the hare-bel l blue of distant chains , ri s ing hal f

t ransparent against the sky.

On you go,turning your back on a ll thi s , over the ridge ,

into the heart o f the Downs. Your lane twi sts, d roppingi nto nameless green del ls

,risi ng over nameless green knoll s ,

between woods that S lope a dozen ways at once , and hedge129

1 30 CONVICT RI 4

rows which the primroses run down to , carrying gol deven i n Octobe r . Next you pass a farm , with its warmscented ye l low ricks

,i t s black barns , mossy-thatched , i t s gar

den ful l of milk-white ph lox , magenta chrysanthemums ,black and ye l low sun-flowers , tan and purple snapdragons .You wheel round a corner , you descend another break-necklane al l grass and flints, and here i n a green nest among thehi l l s

,which ri se steep al l round , here you w i l l find your

j ourney ’ s end—the hamlet o f Woodlands . Hal f-a-dozenold cottages, a minute schoo l-house , a minute church , and thev i carage .Gardiner ’s bi rthp lace was a square wh i te house with ared roo f

,green j a lousies , and bay windows on ei ther s ide

of a pi llared porch . In front , a square of lawn was guardedf rom the road by a laure l hedge , and bi sected by a grave lwalk leading to the door . Picture the p lace in October.Those white walls are hidden

,partly by G loire de Di j on

roses,sti l l thick with yel low buds and creamy blossoms ,

for i t i s warm i n thi s nest among the hi l l s ; and part ly bycreepers , cardinal , carmine , red-rose , f ringing out i n t rai l sof da ffodi l green . The bo rders are fu ll of flowers , rose sand Chrysanthemums blooming together , yel low and brownnasturt iums among thei r th in round emerald leaves , Michaelmas dai sies , a bank o f l il ac against the laurel s . Thewoods are ful l-leaved sti l l and autumn-glorious ; there isrusset of oaks , orange of hawthorns , lemon-yel low of maples , and here and there , l ike black-cow led monks at apageant , the scattered yews which a lways haunt the l ine ofthe Pilgrim s’ Way. Woods , woods , and woods al l round ,r i sing like a golden cup, save on ly to the north . Here avalley opens , and the unfenced , unmetalled road winds away ,between hi l l s o f th in grayi sh-green tur f

,white-scarred wi th

chalk and dotted with sheep,towards Maplescombe , Fa rn

ingham , and civi l i zation , represented by the unpleasant townof Dart ford .

Two young men were pacing the vicarage lawn . One wassl ight , short , dark, un-Engl i sh : Harry Gardiner. The otherwas tal l , broad-shou ldered, serious , u ltra-correct : hi s brother

1 32 CONVICT B 1 4

Don ’t,then . I

’m laying up treasure on earth , which

the Prayer Book says I mustn’t . There ’s a coup le of hun

dred lying idle at my bank which you ’re enti rely we lcome to ,and which would j ust ti de you over the next two yea rs . You

ought to be a fami ly man , Thomas , you were cut out for i t .Beside s , Miss Woodward wi l l get S ick o f wait ingTom conti nued to shake his obsti nate head . It

’

s verygood o f you

,but I ’d rather not do that ,

” he said with someconstrai nt . You ’ l l want to marry yoursel f some day .

”

Gardiner looked at h im again,with a faint , faint l ight of

amusement . He could never bri ng h imsel f to take Tomquite seriously . How annoying that was, to Tom ! and howl i ttl e Gardiner meant to annoy !When I find myse l f i n dange r of matrimony , maybe I

’l l

start saving, he sai d l ight ly. I suppose i t ’s no use pressi ng you ? No ? We ll , of course I

’d take i t mysel f , i f I werein your shoes , but then I haven

’t your fine sturdy independence , Thomas— a lso I

’m olde r than you are , and a l i ttlele ss posi tive about the l ines o f right and wrong . There aret imes when you remind me o f Deni s Merion-Smith , do youknow ? By the by

,I must run down and see him be fore I

go back. Yes , and i f I pass through town I can al so seeHi s voice trai led off i nto a medi tat ive whi stle , and a sparkl ighted i n hi s eye .

Who ? ” asked Tom with curiosi ty .

A young lady friend of mine , who’s i nvited me to ca l l

on her . There’

s a p lum for you,Thomas ; make the most

of i t . Hullo,here ’s daddy .

”

Mr . Gardiner appeared i n the porch,a smal l wi ry figu re

w i th a spud in hi s hand and a Scotch plaid trai l ing f romone shoulder . The top of hi s head was ba ld as ivory, buthe care ful ly trained across i t certai n gray locks which

,when

he went ou t without a h at ( as he did more o ften than not) ,ruffled up on end l ike a crest . He was making towards theflower-bed when hi s son came and took the tool away .

No , daddy , that I real ly can’t al low

,he declared

,fold

ing the p laid round the li tt le figure . I t was rather l ike trying to wrap up a flea , for Mr . Gardiner made a d ive in the

WANTED 1 33

midd le to uproot a dai sy .

“You must remember you ’re ani nvalid . You S i t on the seat and Superintend

.Vamos

,

hombre—that ’s better . Now , what do you want done ?”

The who le place i s i n a di sgrace fu l state,

” said the inva l i

‘

d rebe l l iously .

“Disgrace ful . I t wants digging over

from end to end . Look at the lawn ! That ’s a dandel ion,I

declare !

He made another dart , agai n f rustrated by hi s laughingson . Here , you come and sit on him , Tom ,

while I m ow

the lawn !”Tom rathe r reluctant ly sat down and kept hi s

father anchored by the arm , whi le Gardiner pl ied the spudwith more energy than ski ll , earning nothing but abuse fromthe ungrate fu l i nval id .

You young fo lk think you can do everything ! he saidi rate ly . I know you ! You ’l l be getting Up i nto my pulpi tnext . I

’

l l preach next Sunday , no matter what you say, onthe dangers of concei t . Nice i ncapable pai r

.o f sons Ihave ! ”

The sun shone , the doves purred i n the l ime-t rees , andMr. Gardiner scolded his sons wi th all hi s energeti c soulbecause they wouldn ’t let him dig over the asparagus beds

.

He had pro longed his l i fe to th i s hi s sixty-ninth year on

cod-l i ver oil, and was now recovering from an attack o fhemorrhage . He had had three i n the past four years

,but

he could never be persuaded to take any precaut ions . Hekept his sons i n perpetual anxiety , tempered , a t least forGardiner , by faith i n h is luck . He had deserved to die adozen t imes , but he never had ; and Gardiner found i t hardto be l ieve he eve r wou ld .

You cannot know a man thorough ly ti l l you have seen h imin hi s home . He may be more truly himsel f away f rom i t ;but hi s re lations with hi s family always contribute something to the sum of hi s character. Woodlands was HarryGard iner ’s home ; those w oods had been the backgroundand the v icarage the foreground of hi s childhood . The in

come of the l iving was one hundred and seventy pounds , andMrs . Gardiner had besides sixty pounds a year o f her own .

After deducting l i fe assurance,expense o f collection and

1 34 CONVICT RI 4

rates (which the unhappy parson whose stipend comes fromti the pays on the who le of h i s i ncome , as wel l as on theratable value of his house ) , there was left about one hundred and forty pounds to l ive on . That , fo r four persons ,i s poverty : not want , but wholesome , bracing poverty . Manya time had Gardiner blessed hi s early training to endurehardness . He blessed a l so the memory of hi s big

,breezy ,

so ft-hea rted , hot-tempe red , quick-witted mother. Two pictures rose in hi s mind whenever Gardiner thought of her .In one she was chopping suet with La Hermana S an S u lpicio

propped on the kitchen scales be fore her nose ; i n the othershe was boxing the ears of a choi r-boy who sang flat . Shewas ha l f Spani sh , and had been brought up a s a RomanCatho l i c ; but she

’verted so completely that she was ab leto remain a High Churchwoman , and to enj oy hearing Massf rom time to t ime . She died during Harry ’ s fi rst voyage

,

of meas les , caught i n Sunday schoo l .Gardiner lounged on the seat , hi s labors ended , withan affectionate arm thrown round his father ’s shou lders .Presently the postman came in sight

,and Tom went to take

the letters , which were de l ivered at Wood l ands on ly once aday. There was a moneylender ’s ci rcu la r for the vi car

,a

love lette r for himse l f and a whole shea f for Harry,sent

on f rom Rochehaut , which he had le ft a t a moment’s notice

,

i n answer to Tom ’s te legram . Tom ,absorbed in hi s charm

ing May, Mr. Gardiner, i nveighing against the slackness o fthe Government , fai led to notice , ei ther of them , the sta rtling change ih Harry ’ s face as he examined his share of thepost .Daddy , I

’m sorry to say I ’ve got to go .

He was already on hi s feet, crushing the letter i n hi s hand .

Mr. Gardiner looked up.

Go ? You can’

t go , i t’s j ust dinner-time . I never knew

anybody so restless as you two boys ; you can’t be st i ll a mo

ment ! Thi s was indeed Satan rebuking sin. Wheredo you want to go to ?Can

’

t say. Cal lao , for choice .

1 36 CONVICT RI 4

let father have his money as usual . I may want some myse l flater on ,

when I can let you have an address . By the way ,have you any ready money on you

? ”

Only loose si lver . ”

Oh,dash I ’m run short too , and I know daddy hasn

’tany in the house . Well ,

“

I must rai se the wind in townsomehow. It ’s an in fernal nui sance about the delay of thatletter. Nearly ten days si nce Deni s wrote ! ”

But look here ,” sa id Tom , getting out the question that

was burning hi s tongue , what ’s i t ‘al l about ? What are

you accused ofMurder ; so now you know .

Good God ! ”

Gardiner on ly laughed,and went on w i th hi s packing .

Tom , afte r a moment’s appal led si l ence , found words .

Then i n heaven ’s name , Harry , i f you’re innocent , why

do you bolt ? You ’re giving your case away . You ’ l l neverbe able to show your face in England again—why, goodheavens ! i t means that father wi l l never see you again ! It

’

l lbreak hi s heart . Why on earth don

’t you stay and face i tout ?

”

Because I did it,my good chap . Gardiner faced hi s

brother for the first t ime,si tt i ng back on hi s hee l s . Mind

you , what I said to father was stri ctly true . I’ve done

nothi ng to be ashamed of nothing I wouldn’t do agai n to

morrow— or you ei ther, you pi l lar of respectabi l i ty ! I f I

were at l ibe rty to explai n al l the ci rcumstances I certai nlywouldn

’

t bolt . But I ’m not ; and there’s the rub . Why ?

oh , i t’s a comp l i cated busines s ; there are other people in

volved . That ’s why I’m departing in such a hurry . Chee r

up , Thomas ; it’

s less scan dalous to have a brother in Cal laothan one dangl ing at the end of a string i n Westby Jai l .Better for father too . I can at least write to him .

”

Tom did not answer. Homicide i s homicide , no matterwhat specious excuses Harry might manu facture ; and afterhearing hi s gloss on hi s downright denial to h i s father, Tomwas not di sposed to trust hi s asserti ons of innocence .The room was in the front of the house , giving on the

WANTED 1 37

garden and the road . Tom ’s eyes became riveted to someobj ect out side .

There ’s the Wrotham bobby at the gate,with another

man .

”

What ?Gardiner Sprang to the window

,and then fel l back out of

sight behind the curtain . Yes ; they’re a fter me . Wired

out to Rochehaut , I suppose , and wi red back . Keep themoff daddy , and stick out to him that I ’m innocent . Keepthem off me too , i f you can , and give me a start . SayI ’ve gone to town . I ’ ll write when I can .

”

Tom c lattered down the stai rs behind hi s l ighter-footedbrother . At the bottom the passage ran right and lef t , tofront and back . Gardiner turned to the le ft , but was stoppedby a grip on hi s shoulder . The t ie s of brotherhood he ld inthe face of danger . Tom was holding out hi s hand .

Good-by, Harry God bless you .

Good-by, old Tom .

They parted : Tom to the front , to tackle the pol ice ; Gardi ner to the back, en rou te for South America .

CHAPTER XVI

COUNSEL OF PERFECTION

Lead such tem ptations by the head and hair,Reluctant dragons, up to who dares fight,That so he m ay do battle and have praise.

The Ring and the Book.

GARDINER was j ust one second too late . As he reached theback door the pol ice ar ri ved at the f ront ; and they saw him .

The Wrotham man,who had known him as a w icked smal l

boy,rai sed a sort of view-hal lo and dashed i nto the hal l i n

pursuit . But Tom ’s broad figure was in the way (not obstructing the pol ice , oh dear, no , nothing further f rom hi smind , j ust sol idly , immovably stUpid ! ) and whi le Cotte ri l ldodged round him , Gardiner had time to s l ip through theback door , slam i t and turn the key in hi s pursuer

’s face .He was not one of those unready mortal s who are flus

tered by a sudden strain . On the contra ry , i t braced him .

He dragged Tom ’s bi cycle out of the shed , and ran i t upthe kitchen garden to the gate which led i nto the glebe ; thenacross the meadow , the mil d cows shying and backing withlowered heads as he rushed by to a Second gate , giv ing on

the road . Nobody in sight yet,the coa st sti l l clear . He

heaved hi s machine over the bars,vau lted them himsel f and

rode for hi s l i fe .Woodlands stands at the end o f a trident of lanes , whosele ft arm points towards Ot ford

,i t s right towards Kings

down , while the shank leads northwards through Earningham to Dart ford. Any one would natural ly conclude thata fugitive would choo se thi s la st road

,which for it s fi rst

four mile s i s utterly lonely. Gardiner turned to the right ,by the lane which cl imbs through woods

,with many a twi st

,

to j oin the London road at Kingsdown . How he pedal led Up138

1 40 CONVICT B 1 4

now,what wou ld i t be to be boxed up wi th twelve or fif

teen hundred of them ,day and night , for years ?

” Heturned hi s back on that thought . He had to keep a steadyhand to ward off pani c , which lurked at hi s hee l s l ike a wo l f .He carried himse l f and hi s a l ien fee l ings across town , and

present ly arrived at 2 2 Canning Street . Miss Smith wasout. That he had expected , and he came in to wai t . Thel i ttl e maid preceded him up seventy-five steps to Lett ice

’

satti c . Oh

,them sighed

,with a hand at her

wai st . Gardiner wondered how Lett ice l iked the c l imb .

She was not so very fond of bills. But when he was le ftalone

,and had looked out of he r window fa r across the

roo fs,and seen her gl impse of the rive r and '

of the Surreyhi l l s

,he understood . It was worth it. . Here , above the

world , Letti ce found the breath ing-space‘

which she loved aswe ll as he . There was a pot of violet s on the table ; he putthe blossoms a side with one finger, and buried hi s nose i nthe moss su rrounding them . That was good ! That wasthe breath o f the woods ; Gardiner wou ld have given a l l theflower scents i n the world for that wet woody fragrance .Sitti ng down

,he di scovered that he was t i red , very t i red .

I t i s dead ly demora l i z ing to be hunted . Here for the moment he was sa fe ; and i n the b lessed re l ie f f rom strain hefel l asleep .

Lettice came in from the Museum at S ix ; she had her ownkey, and as i t chanced did not meet the l itt l e mai d Beatrice .Up the stai rs she to iled

,with her neat case of pape rs , came

into her room , meticulous ly noi sel ess as her pleasure was ,and paused by her table

,pul li ng off her gloves , ever so

slow ly, be fore she found energy to look round . Then she

saw Gardiner asleep in her chai r.It was one of Lettice ’s principles never to inter fe re wi th

anybody i f she could possibly help it . She saw no reasonfor waking him ; she did not wake him . She set about making tea i nstead . A spiri t stove burns noi seless ; crockeryde ft ly handled need not Chi nk . The so ft sounds of Lett ice

’

s business would not have startled a mouse . She cutbread and butter . She carried a bunch of water-cross to

COUNSEL OF PERFECTION 1 41

the tap on the landing and washed i t there . She fetchedf rom her cupboard a shape o f tongue , a glass o f shrimp paste ,f resh butte r , strawberry j am , bananas—the usual menu ofthe dweller i n rooms . I t was not i n the bond that she shouldlay her own mea ls , but she often di d i t to save Beatri ce

’st i red legs . Lastly , she made the tea . As she replaced thekett le on the stove , the l id fe l l off and Gardiner awoke .He sat up and stared .

Tea ’s ready , Lettice announced, with a benignant smi le .I never heard you come in lI know , said hi s hostess , you were fast asleep . Come

along,be fore the toast gets cold .

”

She asked no quest ions , she seemed to want no explanat ions . Blessed are the people who take things for granted !Gardiner drew up h i s chai r , discovering suddenly that hewas hungry . Lettice poured out : so ft-toned , placid , soothing Lettice

,Supplying the needs of hi s body with materna l

care,and sitt ing there opposite , del icately fresh and neat ,

w i th those mi sleadingly soft , deri sive hazel eyes ! He l ikedto watch the slow

,accurate movements of her hands , and

thei r funny l ittle flutter of make-bel ieve agi tation , when shehastened to supply hi s request for a piece of sugar .

“ I don ’t bel ieve you ’ve had any lunch ,”

she admoni shedhim

,pouring out hi s thi rd cup .

Haven ’t . I came off i n a hurry . I don ’t know that Iever tasted anything quite so good as thi s tongue o f yours .You are a Good Samaritan , you know .

Lett ice did not te l l h im he was eating up her Sundaydinner. She di smi ssed the subj ect with her l ittle Frenchshrug .

And how ’s Mr . Gardiner ?”

Going strong . I say, would you very much mind i f Ihad a pipe ? Lett ice

,who loathed tobacco, shook her head .

Sure ? You real ly have al l the vi rtues . By the way, can

you lend me some money ?I f that did not start le her, nothing would ! It did not

start le her . She looked pensive for a moment , then askedHow much do you want ?

”

1 42 CONVICT B 1 4

How much have you ? ”

Nine sovereigns,and the change out o f another .

Could you possibly l et me have the nine sovereigns ?”

Lett i ce nodded . Gett ing up without more ado , she un

locked her desk , strung out the sovereign s in a row upon thewhite cloth beside h im , and retu rned to he r seat .

“We l l,I ’m hanged ! ” sa id Gardiner . Don ’t you even

want to know what I want i t for ?

She shook he r head a s usual , then added a pol ite but pe rfunctory Yes , of course I

’m very much interested .

”

“ I want i t because the po l ice are a fter me.”

At that She looked up .

Yes,the old affai r at Grasmere . You weren ’t i n t ime

with that letter to Deni s . Mrs . Trent ’ s been at Dent-del ion for the last six weeks ever si nce she le ft Rochehaut ;and She ’s managed to worm the t ruth out o f Deni s . What ?Oh yes

,the t ruth ; I forgot you didn

’t know . I did knockTrent down . O f course he was simply asking for i t ; butthe fact remains that technical ly I ’m gui lty of mans laughte r—murder , Mrs . Trent ca l l s i t . Does that gi ve you thehorrors ? ”

No , said Lettice .Gardiner ’s eye li t up . Ah ! i t d id to Tom . It does toDeni s , though he

’d rathe r die than own i t . But I had a

sort of feel ing that you wouldn ’t take it l ike that . You

know, i t gave me the deuce of a twinge when Tom turnedchi lly ! ”

Lettice nodded , accept ing that unl ike ly confidence a s amatter o f course. She reverted to hi s former speech .

Did you say she got i t out o f Deni s ?”

She did . How, I don’t know . He doesn ’t say : doesn ’t

say much , i n fact . But she knows that i f he’

s put into thewitness-box he can ’ t deny i t . You know

, she played we l l ,you might fai rly cal l i t a shabby tri ck on me ; and I neverblamed her. I ’m fai r game . But Deni s i s quite anotherpai r of shoes . I don ’t know how I ’m going to forgive herfor meddling with h im . You see hi s letter .”

Lettice read the few stiff phrases i n which Deni s owned

1 44 CONVICT B 1 4

for a pedestrian . I ’l l stay here ti l l i t’ s dark i f you ’l l put upwith me , bike on to Southampton to-night and work my wayout to South America . I ’m -

no amateur, you see I ’vedone i t be fore .Letti ce ’s face did not usua l ly express her feel ings , but as

Gardiner proceeded with his tale , i t woke up . She said :Then do you mean to say you

’

re running away ? ”

Clara . What e lse wou ld you have me do ?”

You might stay and face it .”

He shook hi s head . Not good enough . I d id knockhim down

,and he did die . I shou ld pretty certainly be con

victed o f manslaughter , and might get qu ite a stiff sentence .

”

Not i f you exp la ined the provocation .

”

I think so , even then . Gardiner cou ld not tel l her , a she had told Tom , that on the vi ta l point h i s tongue wassealed . She knew too much .

'

He tempori zed . You see .i t was the wrong sort of provocation . A l l I could say wou ldbe that he was tel l ing storie s that weren ’t very pretty

,and

you ’d never get a B ri ti sh j ury to sympathize with a fancyscrup le of that so rt . Besides, I

’ve damaged my own case bynot owning up

’

at once . That would tel l against me veryheavi ly very heavi ly indeed . No , I

’m afrai d there ’s nothing for i t but to clear out .”

Lettice said nothing,but her face continued to express

complete and so l id di sagreement . She rose to cl ear the table .Gardiner, who had hi s chai r t i lted back and hi s fork balanci ng on one finger , a fte r one glance at her, proceeded to develop hi s argument .

“ I t would , as I say, mean pri son ; and pri son i s preci se lythe one thing I ’m not prepared to stand . I t

’

s not the hardships—they ’re luxu ry compared to what I ’ve put Up withi n my time— i t ’ s the confinement

,the restraint , the— the

utter beastl iness of never being able to get away from“

somebody

’

s eyes ! I assure you i t gives me the blue divvles evento think of. I am convinced it would drive me off my head .

I should go m ust, and bra in a warder no,I th ink i t would

be the doctor for choice : I met him once , he was a sympa

COUNSEL OF PERFECTION 1 45

thetic l ittle brute as ever stepped . I ’d far rather be hangedout o f hand .

”

Lettice , sti l l mute , took away hi s fork. Gardiner perseveringly glanced up into her smal l pale face for a changeof Opinion . The more she di sapproved

,the more he wanted

to win her over to hi s own way of thinking. He was growing qui te absurdly anxious to propitiate thi s exacting cri tic .Don

’

t you think , i n view o f al l the ci rcumstances—thefeelings of my fami ly , the unpleasant scandal , and my ownstate of blue funk don ’t you think the best thing I can doi s to c lea r out ?

Letti ce had to speak now,and she spoke .

I f you ’re a f raid of a th ing, I Should think you’d want

to face i t and prove to yoursel f that you aren ’t .”

Prove to myse l f that I ’m not a fraid o f pri son ? But I

Then that ’s al l the more reason for not running away .

Uncomprom ising h Letti ce , who could bend her supplemind to look through the eyes of t inker , tai lor , soldier , sai loror any one el se even down to the thie f , and could sympathizewith a l l , could not sympathi ze with Gardiner : could not bel ieve , or even pretend to bel ieve , that cowardice might everbe more expedient for him than courage . It was not somuch the immorali ty of running away, i t was the stupidity ofi t : the fact that he was destroying hi s own future happiness ,making i t impossible fo r himse l f ever again to l ive at peacewith hi s own sou l . All very wel l for weaklings to be weakbut Gardiner she couldn

’ t understand how he could thinktwice about i t ! Her di ssent was so acute that i t made itsel ffel t through all her ret icence s and evasions . Gardinerstared , hi s own eyes Opening to see hi s future as she saw

it ; but he shut them again at'

onc-e, and wil l fully turnedaway .

Oh, that’s ideal i sm

,he said

,with a short laugh , and

thi s i s a world of compromise . I can ’t get so high as you .

I f I ’m a fraid o f a thing,I want quite simply to run away .

Talking of which , I’d better be off ; i t

’s dark enough now .

”

1 46 CONVICT B 1 4

He went to the window , and came back. Lettice wassweeping up the crumbs ; she moved the nine sovereign s outof her way. Gardine r picked them up and let them slipone by one i nto hi s pocket .

You aren ’t going to reclaim your loan,then , and force

me to face my bogy ?

She shook her head , twice , s lowly . Gardine r had singedhimse l f once al ready at the fire , yet he returned again , flut

tering round the dangerous subj ect . He would have gi venanything to drag some sort of approval , or even condonation , out of Lett ice . I t seemed to him that she must be persuaded , i f he could only put h i s case convincingly enough .

O f course it’

s j u st on the cards that I might be hangedfor murder, you know ,

” he pointed out—not bel ieving i t ,but for the sake of argument . Come now ; won

’t you atleast admit for my father ’s sake it’

s bette r not to take thatri sk ? ”

Letti ce l i f ted herse l f , stra ightening her shou lders . Tray inhand , brush i n the other , a domesti cated sibyl , she faced himand de l ivered her final j udgment .I shou ld think Mr . Gardiner wou ld rathe r have you

hanged than running away !

1 48 CONVICT RI 4

through Esher,sedate and pleasant old town ; and w ith the

end of Esher came the beginning of the real country .

My soulSm oothed itsel f out, a long-cram ped scrollFreshening and fluttering in the w ind.

Beyond the pal i ngs of Claremont Park , at the entranceof the Oxshott woods , he was brought up by a punctu re . Hemended it , crouching under a lamp beside the road . Un

fenced,al luring, dangerous, the woods pre ssed Up behind .

They sent forward thei r scouts,s i lver bi rches up to thei r

knees i n bracken wh ich crept out to the ve ry edge o f theroad , black pines stalking forward , steal thy as red-Skins , topeer down at the stranger . Scent s and sounds of the forestfloated out, fi laments of enti cement . Gard iner glanced i rreso lutely down the road , while unde r the solemn-burning ,state ly procession of lamps , which marched away th roughthe night over val ley and hi l l . A car rushed by, steaminggolden vapors : i t glared at h im for an i nstant w i th biggolden eyes , and was gone , with dying roar . He lookeddown the road of mankind ; and then over hi s shoulde r atthe s i lent tempting ranks of the pines and the so ft savagedarkness that pressed close on every s ide . I f he restedhere for ten minute s or so ? He was t i red ; and there was nohurry . He dragged hi s bicycle out of the ditch and whee ledi t into the woods .Moss under foot ; on ei ther s ide the

‘

pines, scattered atfirst among fine-l eaved undergrowth , then closi ng up i n or

dered ranks . His lamp tiger- st riped thei r dark even col

umu s t i l l he le ft the machine propped against one o f them .

Even by day the heart of these woods i s lone ly . The t rippers who sit by companie s along every green ride , with the i rbuns and oranges , never wander far f rom the path . Presum ably they are a frai d of bears . Now ,

by nigh t , the who leforest was triumphantly savage

,sol ita ry

,and dark

, so darkthat Gardiner , though he had cat

’s eyes,sometimes greeted

hi s friends the trees by running into them . He Soon strayedf rom the track. Under foot the ground became swampy .

A GREEN THOUGHT IN A GREEN SHADE "

1 49

Pool s of red-brown rain-water splashed him to the kneelong bramble s t rai led thei r thorns across hi s face

.

The ground rose beneath hi s feet,and he found himsel f

stumbl ing up a hi ll , hi s feet sinking deep in soft masses o fp ine-needles . Here was the summit o f a ridge

, so steepand narrow that on either S ide he could see the pal lor ofthe sky between the dark columns of the trees . As he followed the l i ne of the ridge downwards the woods closedagai n , but there grew before him , low among the stems , asort of pool of whiteness : not the sky thi s time , but thel ight of some clearing. The ridge came to - i ts end in anabrupt round knoll , the ground fel l away at hi s feet , andthere O miracle of sudden loveliness be fore him shonea lake . Ebony and si lver , po l i shed l ike a mirror, mistedwith faint gauze , i t lay in a cup of soft black woods . Arustl ing throng of rushes , pale and ghostly, stepped forwardinto the wate r among thei r sl im reflections . Si lver-grayand even-tinted , the sky arched above , cut by the smal l incisive crescent o f the moon .

Gardiner threw himsel f down among the pine-needles .He gave himsel f to the woods , and le t them work on himwith thei r me lancho ly and voluptuous charm . The nighttook ’ hi s spi r i t i n her cool hands and smoothed i t out, asthe sun smoothes and strengthens the crumpled wings of anew-hatched butterfly . It was not enough that he shou ldsteep himself i n love l iness ; a thousand light touches werest i l l i ng and charming every nerve of sensation , smel l andtouch and hearing as wel l as sight . There was the surgingmurmur of the w ind among the pines ; night per fumes o fwater and forest ; warm elasti c softness of the fir—needlesunder his t i red body . The old pagan earth was Whi spe ringher seductions i nto h i s ear.

Love and joy be thine, O sp irit, for ever ;‘

S erve thy sweet desire ; desp ise endeavor.

Ifyou’

re afraid of a thing, I should think you’

d want to

face it and prove to yourself that you aren’

t.”

The words floated into hi s head out of nowhere . He

1 50 CONVICT B 1 4

cou ld hear the very i ntonation o f Letti ce ’s voice . Whatfo l ly ! ” he said to himsel f , and laughed the memory away .

Neverthele ss , a sha rp l i ttl e dart o f di scomfort stuck fast i nh i s se l f-complacency , and , smart i ng, forced him to think .

How much bette r i t was to l i e here f ree in the woods thanin oa po l ice court ce ll ! to l i sten to the wind in the pines ratherthan to a casua l dru nk and di s ” banging on hi s door !Yes, sai d a voice , ri sing unexpectedly with in him to takesides w ith Lett ice , but does one l i ve on ly for what i s comfortable ? That

’

s al l the m ore reason for staying .

” Therewas Lett ice ’s answe r, net and uncomprom i sing. She wouldnot have run away . Deni s , then : how wou ld he have takeni t ? Deni s , more single-minded , wou ld not even have fe l tthe temptation—it wou ld never have occu rred to h im thatto run away was possible . No , the fact was not to bebl i nked ; what he was doing wou ld surp ri se and di sappointboth the se fr iends of hi s . Be i t so , then , he told himse l f ,defiant ; he would st i l l do i t, even i n the face of these disapproving w i tnesses .In the face of anothe r Witness , moreover. Men who l iveclose to nature cannot e scape f rom the presence of God .

Only for a very few years of hi s very early youth hadGardiner been able to be a material i st . As soon as the soulwas born in him ( about the age of eighteen ; for boyshaven ’t sou ls , only the rudiments ) he h ad begun to be consci ous of the augu st and graci ous Power which held himas in the hol low of a hand . The fee l ing was intermittent ,the grip at t imes re laxed

, but i t neve r let him free . Now , to

hi s anger and terror , he fel t again the pressure o f that cont rol . The Hand that held h im forced on him no action ;but gently, steadi ly , i nexorably , i t turned him to face thetruth , bidding him see what he was doing. He struggledag ainst i t wi th passion , t rying to avert hi s eyes , trying toget back to the spi ri t of the woods , but in va in . And thensuddenly hi s re si stance co llapsed

,and he looked . Yes ! he

was running away. He was letting h is weakness ru le . Hewas destroying the love of hi s f ri ends, fa i l ing them , fai l ingtoo the Power which had created him to be a fighter

, not a

1 52 CONVICT RI 4

Gardine r ' l i fted hi s head . The moon was gone now,

behind the t rees , which threw black shadows across thea rgent of the lake .

‘He was cold and st iff and despe rate lyti red

,but he stood up and began to retrace hi s steps towards

the road . Soon the topaz-gleaming lamps shone through thetrees

,and he came out not a hundred yards from the po int

where he had le f t hi s bi cycle . There was Mars , the sta rof battl es , shining over the glow of London . In the opposite di recti on lay Southampton and the sea . He turned hi sback on these , and rode towards that sta r.

CHAPTER ! VIII

WHEN THE HEART SUFFERS A BLOW

What says the body when they springSom e m onster torture-engine’

s wholeS trength on it ? No m ore says the soul .

Count Gism ond.

FLYING i s no sport for the sluggard . The calmest hoursof the twenty-four are o ften those be fore the dawn

,and

the earnest aviator must be ready to turn out of hi s warmbed at six , five , four , even three o

’clock in the morn ing,

whether i n the pleasant summer , or in the correspondinglyunpleasant winter . He may then have to spend long hoursat the ’drome waiting for the fog to Mt, or the rain to clear,or the wind to drop ; and in the end , as l ike as not , he m ayhave to go home

,wet

,chi l ly , and sleepy , without having flown

a yard . Decidedly not the sport for a sluggard .

Six A .M . i n mid-October , and bitterly cold . There wasa gray sky, ripple on ripple o f quil ted cloud with never agleam , and a smal l i cy w ind that blew pe rsi stently from thenorth . The coarse bice ~

green of the marshes was al l d i scolored ; the sedge , bi scuit-pale , was clotted with mud fromthe September floods ; the brimming dikes were ruled by thewind into long ripples , hard and black against the dawn .

The dawn it sel f,how wan and threatening ! Deni s , survey

ing the sign s o f the Sky as he unlocked the hangar, exertedhimse l f to remark to Simpson that i t looked l ike rain . Simpson , expert mechanic and latter-day Grimaud , assented withhi s civi l grunt . His uncivi l grunt he did not use on Deni s ,who had once been hi s officer .Like eve ry worker who spins hi s stu ff out of hi s own

brain,Deni s at times went stale . For the past ten days

the flying boat had been laid a side , and he had been tinkering153

1 54 CONVICT RI 4

at the monoplane by way of re laxat ion . Never losing sightof the function for which she had been built , that of a smal lfast scout in the war which he expected , he was a lways adding smal l improvements . Thus , a fter hi s experience i n theBi rmingham race

,he had fitted her with sel f-starti ng gear ,

which enabled the pilot to get away at wi ll , i ndependent ofoutside he lp . Now he was worki ng at a brake . Landingi s sti l l one of the chie f dangers i n cross-count ry flying, especially i n England , where fields are smal l , and there i s o ftena web o f overhead wire s . At that t ime ( 19 13) there werenot a dozen aerodromes i n the kingdom , and not one aéroplane i n ten had a brake of any sort .Theoreti ca lly

,Deni s’ s new design was al l i t should be

pract i ca l ly , of course , i t might upset the machine and kil lthe pi lot . Not that Deni s ever be l ieved he would be ki l led .

The ai rman hath said i n hi s heart,Tush , I sha l l neve r be

ca st down,there Shal l no harm happen unto me . He be

lieved other people might be ki l led , however , and for th i sreason had severe ly snubbed Simpson when he offe red totake on the t rial s . Simpson , faith fu l dog , bore no resentment . He had been watching the event s of the past fewweeks, and had come to the conclusion that

’

e ( i n S impson’s

mind Deni s was always ’

e ) wasn’t to say accountable j ust

now.

“ You ’d ’

a’ thought ’

e might ’

a’ took warning by

Muste r Wandesforde ,” he reflected .

’

E’

s a nice gentspoi led by the women , i f ever there was one. But no.

Jane ! JANE ! ’Ave you got that stooed steak on yet ?

You ain ’t ? Then i t ’ l l be .as tough as your shoe again .

’

E

ai n ’t complained ? ’

E le f ’ the lot at the side of’ i s plate last

t ime , and i f that ain’t complainin ’ I dono what i s . Now

you get i t on at once and let’s hear no more chat . Seems to

me you ain’t good for anyth ing ,

’

cep that bei n’

so dea f youcan

’

t gossip . Women ,” added Simpson , knocking out hi s

pipe against hi s boot,“ they ’re the devi l !

After some pre l iminary taxi-i ng ”on the ground , Deni s

rose , c ircl ing over the marshes . The country was asleep ;pi l lar s of smoke rose f rom cottage chimneys

,but not a soul

was abroad except the mi lkman,with hi s rattl i ng si lve r cans ,

1 56 CONVICT B 1 4:

certainly thi nk you ’re wi se to . Mustard ? Oh , I forgot , youdon ’t take it , do you ?

”

He poured ou t a cup of M i s s S impson ’s ri ch , muddyco ffee for Gard iner and another for himsel f , but he did notdrink ; he went to the window and stood looking down theroad . Gardiner , who was fami shed , drew up hi s chai r ; buthi s eyes kept straying to that si lent figure . There was something in the wind that he did not l ike . Deni s wa s utterlyunlike himse l f , un l ike any sel f hi s f riend had ever had agl impse o f . He wa s so unapproachable that Gardiner knewnot how to broach th e errand that had brought h im there .

Presently , however , he turned to attend to Geraldine , whowas winding round hi s boots and opening her l i ttle pinkmouth in soundless mews of ecstasy . As he rose f rom putt ing down the saucer

,he caught Gardiner ’s eye , and smi led

faintly.

Sorry,Harry .

’Fraid I ’ve rather let you down over thi sbusiness . Anybiddy el se would have made a bette r hand ati t . But I ’m not much good at di ssembl ing , and tel l a l ieI cann

’

t— any babe cou ld see through it . Else I ’d havedone my best .”

My dear chap , I don’ t want you to tel l l i es for me !

said Gardiner hasti ly . He w as more than surpri sed ; he wasappalled . In point o f fact

,I ’m not sorry it has come ou t.

I ’ve had no peace ofmy l i fe these l ast two months , with Mrs .

Trent going about l ike an unexploded bomb I knew she ’dnever rest t i l l she harried me i nto the dock . He perceived ,as he spoke

,a certai n change i n the atmosphere . Deni s had

been suffi ciently far away be fore ; now he seemed to recedeto the North Pole . There was a snapshot o f Dorothea i nher flying ki t on the mantelpiece . wa s this the exp lanat ion ?Surely not ! Surely she was the last woman in the world toatt ract a man l ike Deni s ! Gardiner

,be i t remembered had

never met that eager chi l d who had learned to fly . It ’sabout her I want to speak to you ,

” he broke the i ce determ inedly. Here ’s the point . Do you , or do you not, re

member what Trent said i n that la st speech o f hi s , j ust be foreI let fly at him ? ”

WHEN THE HEART SUFFERS A BLOW 157

“ I’

m hardly l ikely to forget i t .No , no, not the sense , the words ; the actual phrasing he

used . Do you remember that ?”

He took a moment to think. Perhaps not. No , not toswear to .

"

Good ! Then i t’

s a ll plain sai l ing. Tel l everything thathappened up t i l l then ; be as di scursive as you please aboutmy share i n the business ; but say , and swear , and stick to itthat you can

’

t remember that last speech,and at any pri ce

don’

t let i t be d ragged out of you .

”

Very we l l . ”

At any price, you understand ?

”

At any price ? ”

Yes ; absolute ly without reserve , at any price .I understand .

”

That’

s off my mind , then , said Gardiner with a breathof re l ie f . I had to see you , to make sure we should . bothbe in the same tale . Now I

’ l l be off to Margate while thei ron ’s hot .”

Wait a mom ent , said Denis , detaining him . Beforeyou go into thi s quixotic business I think you ought to seewhat i t means . O f course I know you ’ve been making l ightof i t to spare my fee l ings

,but I don ’t be l ieve you yoursel f

rea li ze what i t i s you ’re up against . I t’s serious . I’m a fraid

they’re going to make it a perj ury charge . I had the pol i ceup here for hours yesterday—they wanted to run me intoo

You ? Oh,my God, Deni s ! They ’re not going to do

that ? ”

No,I don ’t think 50 . What

’s the matter with you ?

I never dreamed of that ,” said Gardiner , holding his head

i n h i s hands .

“ I swear I never dreamed there was theremotest possibi l i ty of that ! To drag you , of a ll men , i ntothi s fi lthy mess He dropped hi s hands and looked up ,speaking fast and f ree : O f course you

’

re right. I havebeen humbugging. I know I

’m in for a stiff sentence . I’

dever thought of perj ury as a possible charge . But I give

you my word , Deni s , i f I’

d ever had the faintest idea there

1 58 CONVICT B 1 4;

was the fa intest ri sk of i nvolving you , I’d have I ’d have

blown my brains out fi rst . Oh , Letti ce was r ight ; i t i s afatal thing to be a coward .

”

Lettice ?

I went to her on my way. Yes , I d id mean to bo l t i nthe first i nstance ; I

’ve got my rig-out strapped on my bikeat th i s i nstant . It was she stopped me . She does knowhow to sting up your conscience ! But they can ’t real ly dragyou i n , Deni s , can they ? You never d id actually say one

syllable beyond the t ruth . Did you make them see that ? ”

I th ink so,said Deni s . “ I don ’t th ink they ’l l take i t

any further . And i f they did , they couldn’t convict . It

’sal l r ight . I don’t know what you ’re putti ng yourse l f aboutfor.

”

Perj ury,Deni s ? I t ’s not a pretty charge .

No ,” sa i d Deni s . Sti l l , I don

’t know that it muchmatters .How quietly he spoke ! At Grasmere he had shrunkfrom the sl ightest innocent contact with the story ; but herewas the stain black on hi s own honor , and i t moved him nomore than did hi s f r iend ’s remorse . Gardiner had once saidi t would go hard with Deni s i f hi s i dol s tumbled off the irpedestal s . Thi s i ndifference was worse than hi s worst fears.Wou ld he ever find hi s way back ? O r was there some hidden mi schie f

,some deadly i nterna l i nj u ry at which Gardine r

could only guess ? What had Dorothea done—what hadshe ki l led when she struck her blow ? There grew on theyoung man , watching, a sense of disa ster.Deni s had dri fted back to the window and stood there ,absently whist l ing hi s one tune

C’

est difiicile de voir voler Orvil le ;C

’

est bien p lus dur de vo ir voler Wilbur

Suddenly he broke off and bent forward in quick attention .

Anyth ing up ? ” sa id Gardiner.Deni s whee led and swi ftly pushed him back f rom the

W indow .

The po l i ce .

1 60 CONVICT B 1 4

went more than hal f-way towards making i t seem right . I tshowed , too , that he dreaded the ordeal o f the witness-box ,and lent a specious color of unselfishness to the plan : And

i n those last moments o f l ibe rty Gardiner , l ike the pri sone rof the Inqui sit ion , seemed to feel the flaming wa l l s s l idingtogethe r

,contracting , closing i n upon hi s l i fe to drive him

into the pi t . “If you

’

re afra id of a thing Thatvoice again ! There was the touchstone .

No,” sai d Gardiner . No , I

’m dam ned i f I wi l l !He wa lked out and threw open the doo r to the pol ice .

CHAPTER XIX

DU PARTI DU GRAND AIR

The th ing wh ich I greatly feared is com e upon m e, and that wh ichI was a fra id of is Com e unto m e . BOOK OF JOB .

TEN days late r , a fter hi s examination be fore the BoroughBench at Westby, Gardiner was committed to the FebruaryAssi zes on a charge o f manslaughter. Bai l not being al

lowed , he spent the inte rvening months in Westby Jai l .Lettice , i n common with the rest o f the world who haven

’tbeen to pri son

,knew nothing o f the rules and regulations

applying to a pri soner on remand . She did know , however,that i n Engl i sh law a man i s hel d to be innocent unti l he hasbeen found gui lty ; and she took for granted that any oneso detained would be treated in a l iberal way, and allowedevery possible priv ilege o f the f ree man except f reedom .

Accordingly , she wrote to Gardine r at Westby , and , gettingno reply, wrote again . Thi s time an answer came through

MY DEAR M I SS SM ITH , Your letters to me and mine toyou are a l l read by the governor o f thi s home of j oy . In thecircumstances I Would rather do without . Yours very truly,

H . C . GARDI N ER .

Lettice did not love inj usti ce . It made her blood boi l .She was angrier than Gardiner h imsel f . She understoodthe feel ing which made him re fuse her letters . It was nota mere cutting off hi s nose to spite his face ; i t was a reali diosyncrasy o f taste

,akin to that which spoi led for him the

set piece lovel iness o f Frahan . What he di sl iked therewas not the bodily presence of the touri sts he would havefe lt j ust the same under the midwinter moon but the taint

1 61

1 62 CONVICT B 1 4

le ft by their eyes,which spread a fi lm of defilement over the

whole lovely scene . Even so the Governor ’s eyes defloweredand defiled her letters . Absurd and fanci fu l , no doubt ; buti t was j ust those streaks of the fantasti c that made him at

tract ive to Lettice .She could not get him out of her head . What must i t befor him

,with h i s anchorite ways , to be under supe rvi si on ,

day and night , through the accursed l itt le spy-hole i n the

doo r of hi s cel l ? Letti ce knew al l about that spy-ho le now .

Since receiving hi s lette r she had read every book aboutpri sons that the Museum could Supply. Turning over , s i fting

,arrangi ng her deduct ions , she had reached a fai rly cor

rect estimate of hi s state o f mind .

Deni s she had not seen since they parted at Rochehaut .Using a sort o f de fensive f rankness , he had told her byletter about Dorothea ’s soj ourn at B redon , which he coulddo quite natural ly without touching on thei r persona l re lations . Letti ce tried to read between the l ines , but Deni s i nthose months had t raveled too far for her to fol low , at lea ston paper . He had of course attended to give evidencebe fore the Borough Bench ; he had seen Gardiner then , andonce since . I wi sh the con founded p lace weren ’t at theother end of the earth ,

” he wrote .

“ I can ’t possibly get upthere again at present , i t

’s not fai r on Wandesforde ; hewants the seaplane fini shed for the Olympia show , and i t

’ l ltake me every minute of my time . Mr. Gardiner was up inNovember , but now I hear he

’s sick ; and Tom , the brothe r,i s stat ioned at Queenstown , so he

’s no good . Which meansthat Harry ’s seen no one for a month . I don ’t l ike i t . I t ’stoo long . I ’m rathe r bad ly worried about h im .

” And , asan a fterthought , w ri tten across the top : Why don ’

t you

run down there yourse l f ? I wi sh you wou ld .

”

That letter came to Lettice on a day of December fog ,

which had found its way into the Museum . Overhead i n asme l ly haze the are lamps waxed and dwindled , mi lkymoons , each with i ts pin-point core of white incandescence ;and on a l l s ides tremendous sneeze s went resounding l ikeminute guns round the dome. Any regu lar attendant of the

1 64 CONVICT B 1 4

pe rm i t , and then led on through many corridors . She caughtgl impses of cel ls as she passed , and saw pri soners , i n thei rugly drab un i forms , sweeping and scrubbing the floors .They stared at her with avid , furt ive curiosi ty which madeher feel hal f a shamed o f her freedom . She saw Gardineri n those debased figures , cringing out of the way at theofficer ’s curt word of command . Here you are , miss !

”

said he at last , bri skly unlocki ng one o f those innumerabledoors : and Lett ice passed i n .

She saw a cel l l ike any of th e others and a figure sittingunder the window reading. The book went down on thefloor , anyhow and anywhere , as he started to hi s feet .

Lettice !

Ti l l that moment Letti ce had been doubt ful of her mi ssion ; a fte r i t she doubted no more . She stood , lett ing himhold her hands ; she d id not speak ; she cou ld not have foundwords , i f she had tri ed , for the contract ion of her throat .Gardiner was c lutching her l ike a drowning man . Dimshades of fee l ing passed across hi s face , l ike wind ove r acorn-field . He was yel low as a lemon and bony a s a castaway, but the worst was to see him so near to losi ng control .For a moment Lettice was a f rai d he would break down altogether. But wi th a mighty efl

'

ort he pulled round , releasedher hands and began to talk almost i n a natura l way.

Wel l , th i s i s most fear ful ly noble o f you ! How i n theworld did you find your way here ? You surely didn ’ t comeup on purpose ?

“I thought I would l ike to see what a pri son i s l ike ,

explained Letti ce i n he r del i cate , del ibe rate way . She sat

down on the chai r he o ffered and looked round hi s domain .

Gardiner rented a private room about eight feet square ,l ighted by a strip of ground glass, which was

‘set immediatelyunder the cei l ing, wel l out o f reach . An i ron spring bedsteadwas reared agai nst the wal l . The mattress and stripedb lanket , neatly buttoned i nto a ro ll , were stowed under abracket in the corner . Thi s bracket he ld books ; a second ,i n the corresponding corner opposite , had a ti n mug andplate . The j ug and basin , al so o f t in, stood on the floor.

DU PARTI DU GRAND AIR 1 65

Letti ce had the only chai r , and Gardiner might sit on hi sthumbs . There was no other furni ture

.

I haven’

t seen a sou l for months,

” he said,contemplating

he r with admi ring gratitude . Deni s has been inseparablywedded to that darned aeroplane of hi s , and my daddy’si n bed , ble ss hi s heart . You don-

’

t know how one gets topine a fte r somebody from outside . It ’s a piece o f luck

,too

,

having i t to ourselves l ike thi s . . I had to intervi ew Deni si n the v i si tors

’

room , under the eye o f a warder . But whenm y daddy came to see me he raked up such an appal l ingamount o f dust that ever since , as a special concession , I

'vebeen allowed to see vi si tors here . My daddy i s rathertalented at raking up a dust . I can do i t , too , but not sotact fully as he does . The Governor simply loves daddy

,but

with me he ’

s at daggers drawn . Are you looking at mychoice of l i terature ? Tom keeps me suppl ied , but it

’s nogood sending anything but sixpennies , because I have tol eave ’em al l behind when I go , for the benefit of the pri sonl ibrary . Vingt Ans Aprés

— j ol ly tale , i sn’t i t ? I always

have agreed with Roche fort— je ne sui s que d’

un parti ,c ’est du part i du grand ai r !

”

Letti ce put down the book— quite quickly . And whatdo you do a l l day ? she asked .

What do I do ? Would you l ike a time-table ? I getup about five

,have breakfast , then tidy my room . Chapel

’

sat seven ; vi si tors between ten and twe lve ; exerci se betweeneleven and twelve

,i f it

’

s fine— if i t’

s wet I don’

t get any.

That ’s about the worst part o f thi s place . I told the Governor one day i t would do me less harm to get soaked ou

t

side than to dry-rot i n here,but he wouldn

’

t see i t . A rulei s a rul e . S il ly business, what ?

”

But what do you do ? Don’

t you go out to work ?”

He shook hi s head,laughing .

“I

’

m sti l l innocent . Idon ’t mix with the convicted pri soners . I should be allowedto work at my own t rade in my cell , i f they had the mecessary tool s ; but I

’m afraid they ’re not l ikely import ahotel to be run

.I ’ve sewn ma i l-bags from t ime to t ime ,

when I got very bored .

”

1 66 CONVICT B 1 4

Then do you mean to say you’re i n thi s , thi s , th i s

thi s horrid l i ttle hole of a place the whole day long whenit ’s raining , and a l l except one hour when i t i sn

’t ? ”

He laughed again . Lettice , what a first-cl ass rebe l you ’dmake ! I never knew any one sit down more uncomfortablyunder what you th ink inj ustice than you doTo that Lettice said nothing ; she never would talk about

hersel f . And doe s nobody come to see you ? she asked .

To be sure they do . The chaplain ’s perseveringlychatty ; he

’s another who fe l l a v ictim to my daddy . The

doctor’s been once—and that was real ly rathe r funny .

You know , by a most odd coincidence , he was actual ly atthe Easedale at the time of the row—was called to viewthe body and gave evidence at the inquest . O f course it

’

s notetiquette for him to remember that now , and you may bethe doesn ’t ! On ly we look at each other with what youmight ca l l an eye . I ’m not hi s regular patient yet , but Ishal l be when I ’m convi cted .

You think you wi l l be convi cted ? ”

Sure of i t . So i s my lawyer ; I made him practicallyown i t last t ime he was here . He wouldn ’t say how longI shal l get , though—I suppose i t ’ s impossible to forecast.Three days , or th ree months , or th ree years , ci the r

’s on

the cards. I t ’s_

a thoroughly sentimenta l case , and I’ve no

doubt Mrs. Trent w i l l appea l st rongly to the sensibi l i t ie s ofthe j ury . But the law i sn ’t sent imental , prai se the pigs !

”

“ I wi sh you wou ld te l l me exact ly what happened atGrasmere .Why , I did, didn

’t I ? Trent came down spoi l ing for afight , and I set out to tame hi s savage breast . I soon hadh im drinking out of my hand , and then he began to be confidential . I stood i t as long as I cou ld , Deni s simmeringl ike a kettle i n the background , and then I up and shied thefirst thing that came to . hand at h i s head . You read therepo rt of the inquest , didn

’ t you ? It was al l there,bar that

last exchange of cou rtesies . I be l ieve I cal led him a fi lthyswine .”

Why ? ”

1 68 CONVI CT B 1 4

to stand much more of th i s Letti ce ! I can ’t humbug you .

I ’ve to ld Deni s a stack of l i es a s high as a house , o f whi chhe may or may not be lieve one-thi rd . I can ’

t let him see thetruth

,because it’

s hi s ev idence that’s going to convict me .

He has enough on hi s shoulders without that , poor old chap .

But you I don ’t ca re how much you know . And I wantyour he lp . I

’m afraid .

”

She looked at him , quest ioning .

I ’m afraid,

” he repeated under hi s breath , lower than awhi sper . The perspi ration started on hi s forehead .

“ I ’mnot l ike Deni s

,you know . He

’

s A I qual ity , sound al lthrough—if he wanted to go wrong I bel ieve he wou ldn

’

tknow the way ! But I

’m di fferent . I’

m second -rate . Iought not to be , being the son of my daddy , but I haven

’tkept up to hi s standard . He doesn ’t see i t , bless hi s hea rt ;but you do, and Deni s does , though he t ri e s to blind hi s eyes ,and even Tom —in hi s heart of hearts he can

’t he lp feel ingthat h i s brother i s a bi t of a bounder . Oh yes , I alwaysknow when I grate on people . I see my own shortcomingsp lainer than any of you . I ’m second-rate i n manners , andi n moral s

,and in essential stu ff.

” He looked st raight ather , and though L ettice cou ld have contradicted him , she didnot ; for she saw what he meant , and was not a f raid to admitto h erse l f that there was a measure of t ruth i n h i s sel f-condem nation . Thanks ,

” sai d Gard iner,with a fleeti ng smi le

,

bending hi s head i n acknowledgment of her honesty .

That’

s me , and I never forget i t . I wanted to put you wisebe fore I went on to what I have to say . I can j ust standthi s now because i t ’s not final . I st i l l hope to get out i nFebruary , though I may swear I don

’ t . I daren ’t leave offhoping i t . I ’m holding on to that . But if— ii i t isn ’tI f I get a long sentence—years

,perhaps— I

’

m a fraid,

Lettice . I I I ’m afraid of myself. So may I holdon to you ? May I te l l myse l f that I can come to you wheni t

’

s over ?

Yes ,” said Letti ce .

Against the drag of hi s u rgent need she stood l ike a rockin flood-time . I t Was -not mere ly love that drew them to

DU PART I DU GRAND AIR 1 69

gether ; for lovers , even devoted lovers , may part withoutinj u ry to thei r characters ; sometimes , i ndeed , to thei r ownu ltimate gain . But these two could not have parted withoutgrave loss and damage , especially to Gardiner . Yes , and toLetti ce a lso ; for he cal led out facu lt ies which but for h imwould have slept for ever i n comfortable laziness . Instinctdrove them together

,a s two drops of water are driven to

coa lesce . He had her hands again in a desperate clutch ; fora moment he rested hi s forehead on them .

“ Time ’s up , mi ss ,” said the warder at the door .

Lettice freed hersel f without haste or embarrassment.Ti l l February

,then ,

” said she .

You ’re su re ly not coming up to the trial ?”

O f course I am ,

” sai d Lett ice .

CHAPTER ! !

ROUGH JUSTICE

A true witness delivereth sou ls. Paom as.

LATE i n February a bl izzard swept ove r the north ; i t wasfo llowed by sti ll

,intense

,st ri ngent cold . By night th e

fogs were dense ; by day the white world gl i ttered i n sunshine . Tree s of snow-blossom and i ron fi l igree rai sed thei rheads

,a s white a s plumes , against a ch ina-blue sky . Posts ,

hedges,bui ldings , snow-hooded and sparkl ing , r i sing out of

pearly f rost-haze , threw azure shadows on the so ft ly rippledvelvet of the dri f t . Country lanes were buri ed many feetdeep , but a passage had been carved down the Westby road ;the slow cart s , lumbering i n to market , crunched thei r waybetween tal l

,st range

,si lvery and chalky-white c l i ffs , l ike the

sugar i cing on a bridecake , along tracks made golden withthe scattered sand . The sun found rainbows in the ic icle sand diamonds i n the snow

,but i t did not me lt them ; and at

night , unde r the sweet influences of the Pleiades and thejeweled bands of O ri on

,the frost struck deepe r and deeper

i nto the earth , the i ce grew thicker and thicker on the steelylakes .In spite of the weather, Westby was ful l . Not only was

i t market-day,but the Assi zes were on , with a sensa t iona l

case . .Everybody knew that the late owner o f the Easeda leHote l was to be tried for ki l l ing one of hi s own guest s . Thecelebrated Hancock, K .C. , had been retained for the Crownand Bul lard , for the de fen se , was only les s popular. Moreover , the case was to be tried be fore Mr . Just i ce Beckwith ,who was said to be dead nut s on crimes of violence . Bluelook-out for the pri soner

,every one agreed . The court was

crowded, stuffy , and bitterly cold . Mr. Gardiner, a valorous1 70

1 72 CONVICT B 1 4

widow ’s weeds together with her married name ; and veryyoung she l ooked , and fa i r , and pathet ic , under the flowingvei l . From Hancock

’s poi nt .o f view , th i s was as i t shouldbe . It wou ld take a deal of sentiment to make her past pro ~

ceedings go down with the j ury . Perhaps Dorothea knewthi s. Perhaps she was playing to the gal lery . Perhaps , onthe other hand, she was only p laying to hersel f—act ingwhat she knew she ought to feel , i n order to persuade hersel f that she did fee l it. Dorothea was a great hand at bel ieving what she wanted to . However that might be

,she

was undoubtedly pathet ic ; and with her romanti c story f reshi n thei r minds from Hancock ’s opening speech , the j ury wereduly impressed .

She struck the right note at once . My husband was noti ntoxicated ! ”

she sa id i ndignantly .

“ He was only very ,very anx iou s for my comfort ! Hal f-a-dozen credible witnesses had sworn that Trent was i ntoxi cated , but no matter ;the point was that

,a fter nearly a year of marriage , he

appeared as st i l l a hero to h i s wi fe . Next came Dorothea ’sown part i n the drama . She described the scene : the lampon the floor , the con fusion of both men , Deni s

’s attempt tokeep her out, Gardiner

’s unconcea led terror . “ I told himhe had murdered my husband , and he didn

’ t deny i t . Hecowered back against the wal l with hi s arm across h i s eyes ,so, but he neve r attempted to deny it !

” She told how,

knee l ing on the floor beside her dead husband , she had comeupon the chi sel . I sl ipped it under my cloak . No , I didn

’tmean to h ide i t . It was only that I I I couldn’

t speakj u st then . I was thinking of my husband . Was it art thatmade her voice fa i l

, or nature ? I don ’t know what happened next . I don ’t remember speaking to my maid . Idon ’t remember anything . I think I fainted . I was i l l afterwards . No, I didn

’t accuse the pri soner later on b ecau se Iknew it wou ldn ’t be any good . I was sure in my own mindthat he had ki lled my husband , but I had no proo f . I knewpeople would say i t was j ust my fancy. So then I set mysel f to get proo f sBecause he knew i t was bound to come out, Hancock took

ROUGH JUSTICE 1 73

her through the story of her attempt on Gardiner. That gunmust be surrendered to the enemy , but he would see that i twas spiked fi rst . Dorothea’s behavior must be pal l iated byshowing her fanati cal devotion to her husband . N0 need todwe l l on the scene at the crucifix , what Gardiner himsel fcal l ed the shil l i ng-shocker part of the affai r . Both sideswere equal ly anxious to leave that in a decent obscuri ty .

Yes , I di d pretend to be f riends with him ,and I did ask

him , as a f ri end , to tel l me the truth , Dorothea defiantlyavowed . Yes , I di d know I was being hate ful , and mean ,and contemptible . But what did that matter ? I had to seej usti ce done ! Jae l

,and Judith , and Charlotte Corday

and Dorothea Trent ? Her story ended in a storm of tears ,which broke

,strange to say, after she had done with Gardine r

and was tel l i ng of her soj ourn at Dent-de-l ion . But no onein court dreamed of connecting her emotion with that partof her ta le .I ’d be sorry to be a Broad Churchman and not bel ieve in

he l l,Mr . Gardiner commented with gusto . Who

’

s thi snow, Tom ?

”

That ? Oh,that ’s Merion-Smith—poor beggar !

Another general sti r . Thi s was due part ly to Deni s’

spro fession ( for ai rmen weren

’t so common in the Lakes thena s they have s ince become ) , and partly to hi s dramati c sharei n the story . A whi sper went round , which was the wel li n formed tel l i ng

.the ignorant about the inquest . Deni s’

schi n went up a shade higher . He had set hi s back againsthi s fami ly tree

,and looked down arrogantly through hi s eye

glass on the cou rt and all therein . I t was plain he meant to

give troub le .0

The begi nn ing ran smoothly . He told of Trent’s i ntrusion

,bending aside the quest ions to show how Gardiner had

gone out of hi s way to avoid a quarrel . Thi s was fam i l iarground ; not so the conversation that had followed .

.Counselwould fain have passed over the detai l s of Trent

’

s d iscourse ,but Deni s i ntended the court to hear as much as he couldpossibly get in

.Out came the story of the l itt le

.

gi rl.

atChatham

,sounding twice as bad by contrast on Deni s

’

s l ips .

1 74 CONVICT B 1 4

The pri soner gri nned . While osten sibly giving hi s evidencewith di staste and reluctance ( and indeed both sentimentswere genui ne enough ) , Deni s was supplying the be st , theonly excuse for h i s f riend . Vain ly did h i s questioner t ryto show him as the straight-laced Puritan , to whom the milde st of j oke s i s an offense . Deni s wou ld not fi t into thepart .

At last, when we had stood a s much a s we cou ld , thepri soner suggested i t was getti n ’

late . Trent made a j okinganswer. What he sa id was grossly offensive , worse thananything be fore . The pri soner caught up a chi se l and flungi t at hi s head . No, i t was not premeditated . No

, there hadbeen no quarrel . Simply , the man was saying i ndecencie sthat had to be stopped , and the pri soner t ook the first wayof stoppin

’ them and i f he hadn’ t , I’d ’vc done i t myse l f ,

Deni s put in,una sked . No, I cann

’

t remember what itwas he sa id s

Instant ly Hancock pr icked up hi s ears . You don ’ t remember what Maj or Trent sa i d ?I do not . Not the exact words .Not any of them ?Not to swear to .

”

Indeed ! Yet you cou ld te l l us in detai l al l about h i sothe r speeches ?

”

Not so,

” Deni s correc ted , rather stiff. I d id not tel l

you i n detai l, I told you i n substance . That i s quite anotherthi ng .

”

With cons iderable fu l lness and fluency, however , saidh i s questioner dryly. Well , then : you remember a l l the seother stori e s

, so far a s you do remember them , but you haveforgotten every single word of th i s—which you say wasthe worst of all ? Can ’t you give u s the substance of thattoo ?

”

It was not a story, said Deni s, now very sti ff i ndeed ,it was a few broken sentences . 1 cann

’

t remembe r themaccurate ly , and I won

’t make guesses . I di smi ssed themf rom memory as soon a s I cou ld . I don ’t burden my mindwi th po rnographic deta i ls .

176 CONVICT B 1 4

being taken through the rest o f hi s evidence . Hancock wastrying to show hi s bias : that he would twi st the truth i nGardiner ’s favor , and tel l only the minimum against him .

In thi s topsy-turvy business Deni s was vi rtual ly on the sideof the de fense . He had to suffer for h i s sympathies . Hissel f-respect was str ipped bare . Yet i t was only by guesswork that Gardine r could divine hi s fee l ings ; the harderFate hi t h im , the sti ffe r grew h i s back . How Gardine renvied that e ffortle ss and natura l contro l !Hancock fini shed , and counse l for the de fense rose to

cross-examine . Bu l lard , K .C. ,was a long , lank , untidy

figure , and had a hesi tat ing , negl igent way o f speech . Hebegan with some unimportant m ino r points slurred over inthe examination-in-chie f . Then came a pause , during whichhe gazed at h i s brie f

,the people whi spered

,and the pri soner

yawned . Then a bombshel l .“ I have only one more question to trouble you with , Mr .

Merion-Smith , he said , looking up . Did the deceased,i n

that last speech whi ch you cannot remembe r , make any mention of Mrs . Trent ?

Deni s ’s head went up with a j erk . A thri l l went roundthe court

,but was i nstantly st i l led . Bu l lard was repeating

hi s quest ion in anothe r form .

Did not the pri soner suggest that Mrs . Trent would beti red ; and did not the deceased an swer by a coarse al lu sionto her state o f hea lth ?

The witness was seen to struggle for words in vain .

Thank you,that wi l l do .

”

Upon thi s fol lowed the luncheon interval . Through theexcited crowd Tom carr ied off hi s father to a quiet i nn nearby , where he had ordered lunch . The old man sat over thefi re with hi s basin o f soup (he would take nothing e lse , anddid not d rink that ) , shrunken , and si lent , and aged . Oncehe looked up piteously . What does i t mean , Tom ? Whatdoes i t al l mean ? Tom could only answer : I ’ve noi dea , sir . Shal l I go and see i f I can get hold of Kel lett ?But Mr . Gardine r shook hi s head and crouched close r to thefi re , muttering : No

,no . Time enough , time enough .

ROUGH JUSTICE 177

We shal l hear i t al l presently . Tom,though he was long

ing to find the lawyer , durst not leave him .

The court was crowded to its last seat when they reassembled , and Bul lard opened for the defense . He was acleve r advocate ; perhaps a l i tt le too clever. He was apt tohint hi s points instead of making them

,to cut and refine hi s

phrases l ike some fastid ious l iterary arti st . Thi s is not theway to get a verdi ct f rom pla in men accustomed to pla inlanguage , clea r outl ines , the black and white of fact . Theydo not understand hal f-tones and intel lectual subtleties . Onthe other hand , Bullard had a reputat ion for incorruptiblehonesty ; and he rose at times to e loquence .

He began , i n hi s negl igent way, to recapi tulate the facts ,a touch here and there serving to rearrange them to thepri soner ’s advantage . He did not, he said , propose to denythat hi s cl ient had thrown the tool ; but he submitted thatthe evidence proved

,first , that the death of the deceased was

due to the fa l l and not to the blow ; second , that i f he hadbeen per fect ly sober he would not have fallen . Very lucidwas he

,very persuasive . But hi s audience was waiting

for what was to come .Fina lly

,gentlemen

,I hope to show that in throwmg that

chise l the pri soner was gui lty of no crime ; rather that hewas the necessary unofficial policeman of the moral law .

There are sti l l,

” he went on , dwell ing on the words l ike anepicure

,

“ the re are st i ll offenses which are not amenableto ordinary j ust ice , which can be dealt with only bypunching the offender ’s head

,cramming hi s words back

down his own throat . Thi s was such a case . Look firstat the dead man .

” He broke off to give a summary ofTrent ’s glorious- inglorious career : the ribbon on the onehand

,di sgrace on th e other. Bri ll iant promi se , you see ,

marred by a single faul t . ‘ I t was never wine with me’

we have that on hi s own authority ; it was a fouler vice . The

man was rotten : st i l l showing a fai r outside , sti l l preservingsome trai t s of kindl iness , but black-rotten W ith in . When adecent man g et s a gl impse of that sort o f thing, he doesn

’

tstay to argue ; he hits out .

1 78 CONVICT B 1 4

Now in de fend i ng the pri soner I was met at fi rst by asi ngular difficu lty . Neither he nor the only known witnessof the scene cou ld remember the words which provoked theoutbreak. Strange , you wi l l say ; most strange ; suspi ci ous ,even . Sure ly they could make some sort of rough guess ?But no

,both pe rsi sted ; they cou ld not . What pointed the

mora l was the fact that these two were con ferring togetherat the moment of the pri soner

’

s arrest . It l ooked l ike a conspiracy of si lence . Now why shou ld they conspire to keeps i lence ? In order to hide some fact damaging to thepri soner . That i s the obviou s deduction , which of course

you have al ready drawn . And , gent lemen , the pri sonerwou ld have le ft i t at that : he would have let your j udgment

go by de fau lt against him, and taken the consequence s : youwould never have heard the facts , never , but for a total lyunexpected ci rcumstance , which came to my knowledge notforty-eight hours ago.

“ There was another w i tness to that scene in the hote l.Unknown to my c l ient or to hi s f riend , another o f the guestssaw and overheard everything that happened . I sha l l notattempt to summarize th i s te stimony. I sha l l leave i t i n thew i tness ’s own words , and I sha l l leave you to draw yourown conclusions ; asking you to bear i n mind , as you do so ,

the story of her deal ings w i th the pri soner which you haveheard from M rs . Trent .Thi s only I wi l l say : We men of the law , seeing nothing

but meanness and crime , day a fte r day , yea r a fter year, growsometimes to despai r of the world , to see nothing be fore i tbut a ce rtain fearfu l looking for of j udgment and fie ryi ndignation . Acts such as the pri soner ’s redress the ba lance .They show us once agai n the sense of tears in mortal things ,the indestructible

’

nobility of the human hea rt , the God inhuman nature . ‘Through such sou l s a lone God stoopingshows sufficient of hi s l ight for us i ’ the dark to ri se by .

’

Gentlemen , I should l ike to thank the pri soner.Ca l l Lmtitia Jane Smith .

Letti ce stepped into the witne ss-box . She did not look at

1 80 CONVICT B 1 4

sentence . Yes , she had heard every word . Yes , she te

membered every word . Would she tel l the court exactlywhat i t was ?

Lettice looked back at her questioner and answered himalone , i solating him and hersel f , as though j udge , j ury ,pri soner , and spectators did not exi st . She spoke withcolorless preci sion :He said , Ever hear of what they cal l an interesting

si tuat ion ? Damn uninteresting I find it— especia l ly tolook at !The t ruth was out . Useless for Hancock to crossexamine ; not a sou l i n court but knew they had the factsat last . The j ury made up thei r minds upon thei r verdict .As j urie s o ften do

,they had set up among themse lves a

standard of rough j ust ice , and neither the pri soner’s own

statement nor the j udge ’s summing up could avai l to changethem . I f Lettice had not spoken , they would have foundthe pri soner gu i lty ; i f he himse l f had not t ried to evadej ust ice , they would have found him innocent . As it was ,thei r verdi ct was a compromise . Gui lty o f manslaughter,but ve ry strongly recommended to mercy .

Mr . Justi ce Beckwith may have thought he was carryingout the i r recommendati on in sentencing Gardiner to ninemonths ’ impr i sonment i n the second divi sion .

CHAPTER XXI

HEU QUAM MUTATUS

When the righteous m an turneth away from his righteousness anddoeth accord ing to all the abom inations that the wicked man doeth,shal l he live ? EZEK IEL.

THE pri son gates shut . Si lence ‘fel l . The troubled waterssettled into calm . Tom went b ack to Queenstown ; Mr.Gardi ne r to Woodlands—and to bed

,with a couple o f

nurses i n attendance . Deni s was presumably at Dent-del ion , working for the Aero Show. Mrs . Trent had goneno one knew whither. And Lettice

,her duty done

,had

escaped unmolested to her attic i n Pimlico,where she settled

back into her groove , with that sort of capi llary attractiontowards the inconspicuous and the ordinary

,which marked

her conduct a lways except when she was making one o f hergravely calculated excursions into the extraordinary.

Why had she held her tongue ? Her friends did notneed to be told .

“I t

’

s Lett ice al l over ! said Gardinerhimsel f , ha l f fond , ha l f laughing . She had had two mainmotives ( or rather springs of action ; for motive impl iesconscious volit ion

,whereas Lettice did simply without think

ing what came natural ) — the one a principle , the other aprej udice . Fi rst , she would never, i f she could posS lblyavoid i t

,i nter fere i n other people ’s a ffai rs—that was the

principle ; and second , with every taste and instinct she hatedto be made conspicuous— that was the prejud ice, and atough one .With these reasons against speaking, moreover, she saw

none for . I t never entered her head that some people mightsay she had treated Gardiner un fai rly , in letting h im tell h istale whi le keeping her own knowledge in reserve . What

181

1 82 CONVICT B 1 41

difference cou ld i t possibly make ? Why shou ld she havespoken ? It wou ld only have made him very uncomfo rtable ,and Deni s would simply have hated i t. All th i s , of course ,rested on the assumption of her own detachment . i nsulation ,negl igibi l i ty

'

: i n which Lett i ce was so rooted and groundedthat she was qui te surpri sed to find other people su rpri sedby what to her came natura l as breathing.

Her explanation, given i n court , ran someth ing a s follows z—“

I didn ’t speak be fore the inquest because I knowthere were two other w i tnesses , and I d idn

’t see I waswanted ; and a fter i t , by the t ime I heard what had happened , i t was too late . There would have been no sense i ndi sturbing things again . It wou ld have been bad for everybody al l round

,and worst for Mrs . Trent . But now now

th ings were di fferent. I had to speak now. I t was timefor the truth to come out.Fu l l t ime . Best for Dorothea , as wel l as for her vict im .

She had been screened, and in the darkness evi l th ingshad grown up . Down wi th al l screens now. In the l ightof truth , the whole j umble reso lved i tse l f into order. Honorto whom honor was due ; j udgment to whom judgment .Even Gardiner ’s sentence fe l l i nto p lace . I t might be tooheavy for the particu lar offense ; but no one knew better thanhimse l f that i t was the j ust pena lty for hi s months of

cowardi ce .February passed i nto March

,a sweet , mi ld March : blue

skie s , brown buds , thrushe s singi ng, dai sie s on every lawn ,violets round every bush , white and golden daffodi l s ruFflingunder the trees , flood-water gl i stening l ike f rosted si lveramong tender blades of grass . Towards the end of themonth the pri soner saw hi s first v i si tor. Mr. Gardiner

,being

sti l l too weak to go himsel f , sent Tom . Tom ’s impressionswere recorded i n a duty letter to Miss Smith : “ I saw mybrother for a few minutes yesterday i n the presence of awarder. He seems very fai rly cheerfu l and fi t . His worki s i n the pri nt ing room . He asked me to let you know he i sgoing strong.

” Dry crumbs ! Lett ice ’s consolation was thatM r. Gardiner wou ld be no better sati sfied than herse l f , and

1 84 CONVICT B 1 4

Lett i ce faced the conclusion that there was somethingwrong .

By thi s and by that , by what she had seen herse l f andby what Gardine r had said at Westby

,she had gathered

how th ings stood between Deni s and Dorothea . Whatwould be the effect of such a shock ? Lettice found he rse l funable to guess . Up to a certain point

,Deni s was t rans

parent ; for years she had read him l ike a book , and had beenable to predict not merely what he wou ld do or say, but thevery gesture and accent with whi ch he wou ld do or say i t .Dear Deni s, tr ied f riend , good as good bread , i n Gardiner

’ sexpressive idiom

,pig-headed Ulste rman with those dark blue

Southern I rish eyes,t ruculent fighter answering to the l ight

est touch of her s i lken rei n ! Lettice was a good lover, andshe had gi ven him of her best. But now—now ,

l ikeGardine r, she found hersel f up against a door that had nokey. What was going on i ns ide ? What was Deni s doingthere

,to hea l him of hi s deadly wound ? She did not know

she cou ld not guess . But one thing was certain : he wou ldaccept no help . Gard iner in h i s weakness had cried out to

her and rested on her strength ; but Deni s was nei the r weaknor dependent. Whatever went on behind the closed doorwas between him and hi s God.

Letti ce picked up the ti ckets again . He ’s sent me the seth ings becau se he felt he must , but he doesn

’t mean me touse them

,

”r an her s low thoughts .

“ I expect that meanshe ’s going to be there himse l f . Up for the week-end ; thenhe ’

l l probab ly go on the SaturdayLetti ce rarely f ramed a defini te resolution , but a fte r longbrooding her thoughts wou ld settle i nto a sediment o fpurpose . The outcome of that h iatus was that on Saturdayshe put on her best th ings and went to O lympia to see forhersel f .The whole floor space of the exhibit ion ha l l was cut up

into a chess-board of stands, each one carpeted w i th redfel t and i nclosed in a white ra il ing. Within these crimsonp lots might be seen every va riety of aeroplane . Pusher,tractor, hydroplane , bat-boat , super-mari ne , the names

HEU QUAM MUTATUS 85

sounded very imposing, but to the uninstructed (videlicetto

.Lett ice ) they a l l looked as much al ike as a crowd ofCh inamen . Vi sitors might wander about at wil l

,stooping

under huge pa le archi ng wings, or mounting steps to inspect

the fi ttings of the pi lot’

s cockpit . Lettice had expected to bebored , but she was not. At that time

,be fore it became

mechanical ly per fect and vi rtual ly fool-proof, while i ts im

pe rfect ions had sti l l to be pieced out wi th human ski l l anddaring, the aerop lane was no machine but an individual .Deni s and hi s fel lows talked o f particular p lanes as a mantalks o f particular hunters i n hi s stable .After wandering round the stands , and du ly gazing at

the Smith monoplane , Lettice reti red to the tea-roomwhere she establi shed herse l f in a corner behind a group o fpa lms . Be i t understood that she had come strictly to see,

not to speak to her cousi n ; she knew she could dodge hi sshort-sighted eyes . Thi s being the last day of the show

,the

hal l was ful l . All the flying world seemed to be there .Ce lebrit ies were thick as blackberries in the woods aboveFrahan ; here a young mechanic who had become famous ina day , the re a hereditary legi slator who had ended hi s lastrace ( lucki ly the i ncident hadn

’t got into the papers ) headdownwards in a ditch . Many of the men belonged to a certain we l l-defined physical type , lean , wiry, and smal l-made .O the r thi ngs being equal , the light-weight pi lot has an ad

vantage . The women , on the other hand , farce names in

gurgite vas to, were most ly hothouse flowers. Lettice , of

course , knew no one ; she would have been quite at a lossbut for her neighbor at the next table , a big man rather l ikea mastiff, with an incongruous soft voice, who was obliginglygiving the carte da pays to hi s companion .

“ See that old cock with the i ron-gray hai r ? That’

sArthur Sturt

,the i ronmaster ; he

’s running the Derby FlyingSchool

,and making pots of money. Able chap ; there aren

’

tma ny men o f sixty who have receptivi ty enough to believei n the aerop lane . What ? Oh , certainly, sir, the complimentappl i e s to you

.He laughed

,pausing to l ight a cigar .

The youngster eat ing strawberri es with the flapper in a pig

1 86 CONVICT B 1 4

ta i l—got him ? That’s Tommy Wyatt . Riviera cup, you

know . A perfect young devi l . You ought to have been atHendon last Saturday ; he was putting up some wonder fu lstunts simply p laying cup-and-ba l l with hi s bus . Oh , I

’mquite a back numbe r these days. Soon be sixty myse l f ,what ?

“ I dare say you ’

l l find you’

re good for a yea r or so yet ,said his companion dryly . He was a lean

,e lderly clergyman

with an adventurous eye . “ By the by, i s your partne rhere ?The younger man shook hi s head . Not he ! Hasn ’tbeen nea r the place . I don ’t know what ’ s taken himthat ’s to say I do , and wish I didn

’t . He ’s not done a strokeof work thi s year. Let me down rather badly over the seaplane ; I part icularly wanted to show i t . I to ld you aboutthat nasty affai r he was mixed up i n , didn

’t I ? For astraight-laced , fa stidious fe l low l ike him it must have beenthe deuce of a j ol t, and of course one makes eve ry al lowance ; but i t

’s a nui sance, al l the same . I’m personal ly sorry ,

too,” he added . It

’

s a bad job when a chap of that typeruns off the rai l s. What ?

‘

Oh , no , no mi stake about i t ,I ’m a fra id ; she

’s making a per fect fool of her sel f . Byrnew i ll get hi s divorce thi s t ime , as sure as eggs . Hullo l byGeorgeThat ’s not he ? ”

Yes , i t i s, though , sai d Wandesforde , craning fo rward .

Good Lord ! fancy Evey Byrne lett i ng hersel f be draggedto the Aero Show 1 She must have got i t bad ly !M rs . Byrne was a very pretty woman , and even more

charming than she was pretty . She had a husband whowas imposs ibl e to l ive w i th and whom she cou ld not divorcebecause she was a Catho l i c. He had no such scruples , howeve r ; he had dragged her through the court on trumped-upevidence , and she had emerged , l ike Susannah , without asta in on her cha racte r. I t was fel t that she had been hardlyu sed . In the ci rcumstance s , and a s she knew how to gi vea good dinne r and was popular with women as we l l a s men ,she was al lowed a good dea l of l icense . She needed i t al l .

CHAPTER XXI I

BREAD AND SALT

Were you th ink ing how we, s itting s ide by side,Might be dream ing m iles and m iles apart ?

Two ou t of the Crowd.

LETTICE had had no tea , but she did not stay for it ; sheuprooted herse l f

,sett ing ba ck her chai r without a sound, and

flitted i nconspicuously out of the exhibit ion . On her slowway home , i n Tube and omnibus , she did some coneentrated thinking. She was not su rpri sed when Beatri cerushe d up from the basem ent to i n form her that a lady waswaiti ng i n he r room , a dazz l ing lady who had arrived in ataxi-cab ; she needed not Beat rice ’s ecstati c description tote l l he r who that lady was . She had caught Dorothea ’ s eyeacross the hal l . Well , what must be , must ; screwing herse l fup t o face a scene , she cl imbed the stai rs .Her vi sitor had not sat down ; a sl ight sumptuous figure

,

she stood posed against the mantelpiece , looking down intothe fi re . She started at the opening door, and rai sed herbeauti fu l gazel le-brown eyes fi l led with tears .

“ Oh , Lettice !Lettice made no rep ly. A wave of obst inacy rose tomeet that appea l ; she came to the tab le and stood slowlytaking off and smoothing out her gloves . Lettice was somet imes po ssessed of a dumb devi l . Dorothea ’s eyes openedpiteously ; he r l ip quivered, the tears tumbled down hercheeks , but in a flash she was across the room , had seizedLett ice and turned her round by force .I don ’t care , you can be as angry w i th me a s you l ike ,

but you shall l i sten , you shall answer, i f I stay here al l night .That woman -“ what was she doing with Deni s ? ” Lett icewas dumb . Oh

,don ’t you begin about being j ustly angry

188

BREAD AND SALT 1 89

and taking r ighteous vengeance see what that sort o f rubbi sh has done for me ! ” Dorothea cried with passion

.I

m ust know about Deni s . What has she done to him ?“I should think you could see that for yoursel f

,said

Lettice , openi ng her l ips with extreme and ungracious re

luctance .

Yes ; but i s she—has she

Ask some of your friends ; they’l l know al l the London

gossip .

”

“I did ask Maurice , but he either couldn

’t or wouldn ’ttel l ; he said he

’d been out o f town . Lettice,oh

,Lettice

,you

can’

t surely think— he hasn ’t really“I f you mean , do I think he

’s liv ing with her,I don’t

know ; I should think i t very l ikely . But what does i tmat ter to

’

you? You ’ve done al l you wanted— you ’ve had

your revenge , and sent Mr. Gardiner to pri son .

She freed her hands resolutely and turned away. Dor

othea flung hersel f into the nearest chai r . Beauti ful gracefu l figure

,w i th the long l ines of velvet sweeping to her feet

,

the plumed hat,the rich hai r

,the ivory whi teness o f cheek

and throat above he r dark l uxurious furs ! Lettice hardenedher hea rt . Let her go back to her Maurices and her otherf riends—she wou ld soon get over i t . She turned away,turned her back on he r vi si tor, and began to prepare herso l i tary meal as though Dorothea did not exist . There wasi l l wi ll i n the very curve of her shoulders .Dorothea looked up .

But I do love him so , Lettice !You love him ? exc laimed Lettice, pausing with her egg

on its way to the saucepan .

Why,o f course - how cou ld any one help i t ?

.

You seem to have consoled yoursel f pretty eas i ly, sa idLett ice

,w i th a doubt ful glance at the violet velvet . Dor

othea’

s eyes followed hers .0

Consoled'

myself? Do you mean th i s ? Th

is? She

crushed up the velvet in her hand with scorn . Oh , you

are stupid.I didn ’t expect you to be stup id , Lettice , I

thought you would understand .What would you have had

1 90 CONVICT B 1 4

me do , a fter that—that f right fu l day at Westby ? Onecan ’t die to order. One has to ki l l t ime somehow . I lovedDeni s oh , I did , I did love him right f rom the very fi rst .You may say I led him on , but I didn

’t,I didn’t

,I never

thought of such a th ing, I never so much as dreamed of i t sbeing possible , t i l l one day I woke up and j ust found i t hadhappened

,to us both . So then what cou ld I do but tear it

out, and deny i t , and m ake mysel f be loya l to my husband ?

I—knew —yes, I suppo se I did know that Guy wasn'tI

’

d seen things— but never anything real ly bad ; and he wasalways good to me , t ruth he was , a lways . Because of mymoney, I suppose . But I didn

’t know that then . I had tobel i eve in him , because he was al l I had in the wor ld . Oh !I can ’t ta lk of i t ; i t sears me to think of those months .Le tt i ce , Lett ice , you haven

’t been married . you don’t know

how c lo se that brings you . To find you have been mingled,

made one with a nature l ike that—th inking, too ,those hide

ous thoughts my husband had about me Yes, look at thatidea , take i t home to you , i f you can ; and then tel l yourse l fthat, however you may try , you have not been mar ri ed , and

you don’t and can

’

t know what that aw fu l i ntimacy means .Oh ! I ’ve been thankful , s ince , that my baby died . I was gl adto know the truth ; but i t tore me i n two , Letti ce , i ndeed , indeed it did . Console mysel f ? Why , I

’

ve been at Hendon ,learn ing to fly . That m an you saw me with , I met h imthere . I bel ieve he fancie s I ’m going to marry him . I don ’tca re . I don ’t know what I ’ve said to him . I t ’s al l a blank.

I never woke t i l l I saw Deni s . Why , that alone might havetol d you ; shou ld I have gone to him as I d id , a s though Iwere sure of my we lcome , there in the face of everybody ,i f I ’d known what I was doing ? I didn ’t know . I didn ’tknow anyth ing, except that to see him again was l ike cominghome ; and I went to him without another thought .

”

Lett i ce , who a l l thi s whi le had been standing stock-st i ll ,w i th her egg i n he r spoon , began s lowly to get under way .

She sl id the egg i nto the wate r, noted the t ime , st raightenedher shoulders , and then sa id , i n a defini te ly mi lder tone :Well , I don

’t see wha t you expect me to do .

”

1 92 CONVICT B 1 4

t roubl e ! Do lend me a hanky, Lettice , m ine’s al l soppy .

It ’s hardly worth whi le to think of Mr . Gard iner , i s i t ?

suggested Letti ce with faint i rony . Dorothea rai sed her weteyes .Why

, of course I thi nk o f him , only I think of Deni smore . It ’s everything with Deni s , i t was j ust because hewasn ’t l ike other men you couldn

’t help lovi ng him . Andnow now

,even i f he gets over i t , as you say , i t wi l l never ,

never be the same . She stopped to swallow a sob. ButMr . Gardiner I know pri son i s horrid , and I

’m sorry , oh !dread fu lly sorry and ashamed whenever I think of him , buthe ’ l l come out at the end none the worse . Why , i t i sn

’ t evenas i f i t were a di sgrace ! You feel the same , Letti ce , youknow you do .

”

Lett ice said nothing ; her face might have betrayed her ,had Dorothea been on the a lert ; but she was already backwith Deni s . She did not l ike Gardiner , and she wou ld neverunderstand him . But Letti ce by that naive assumption ofher prime concern for her cousin Dorothea had shown her ,rather more p lainly than

‘

she l iked , where she stood . Hercenter of interest had sh i fted . She was scarcely sorry forDeni s ; she was a lmost angry with him .

“ He shou ldn’

thave done i t ,

” she said with a touch of ste rnness . I amdi sappointed i n h im .

” Lettice expected a good dea l f romher f ri ends . Her fee l ings had changed , adj ust ing themselves unconsciou sly to the change i n Deni s . The protec

t ive i nstinct was dead . When I was a ch i ld , I spake as achi ld . Deni s had put away chi ldi sh things

,and as a

man she judged him .

Gardiner had di sappointed her too , yet with him she wasnot angry . His fai lure had been invo luntary ; and he hadredeemed i t , coming back of h i s own f ree wi l l to put hi smanhood to the test . He was under the question now,

th i sminute , every minute of the day . For the fi rst time she lethersel f think o f Deni s ’s postscript : tacitly acknowledging thati f she had not done so be fore

,i t was because she dared not.

She could reason about Deni s , she could not reason aboutthi s , though i t lay in her heart l ike a stone a l l the t ime .

BREAD AND SALT 193

For Deni s the i ssue was decided ; whether he went to Mrs.

Byrne or not, hi s eye s had been opened,he had tasted the

frui t of the tree , he could never regain that child-l ike qual ityof which Dorothea had robbed him . I f he took the one stepfurthe r—we l l— yes , i t d id matter , i t mattered horribly ,the constri ct ion at her heart was only less than she fel t i nthinking of the other suffere r. Sti l l

,i t was less

,for Denis

would retri eve himsel f ; Gardiner would not . I f he fai lednow, he would be a broken man ; he would go under. In

subordination , assaulting a warder” the words seemed

ominous as thunder on a sultry night .And meanwhi le here was the fount and origin o f al l thi st roubl e , sitt ing on the rug, leaning her smal l head , stu ffedw i th tears , against the wal l , a dolorous l i ttle heap : poorchi ld , she had puni shed hersel f worse than her victims .What to do with her ? Lettice had never responded withenthusiasm to Dorothea’s advances . Dorothea was intense ;Lett i ce pre ferred the humdrum . Nor, as has been said ,cou ld she easi ly forgive . Sti l l , i f Dorothea really neededher , she supposed she would have to produce some sort ofresponse . She moved about , laying the table , cutting thebread ; presently she came to the fire to make toast . Dorothea roused hersel f . Let me do that ,

” she said , her voicesti l l thi ck and languid with tears . You go and sit down .

”

You ’ l l spoi l your frock,said Letti ce , with a last faintly

di sparaging glance at the violet velvet . Dorothea’

s eyesgl inted ; she set her teeth , stooped down , seized the hemof her ski rt between her strong l ittle hands, and tore i t ,r-r-rip , hal f-way up to the wai st .

That for my frock ! ”

What a baby it was,a fter al l ! Now I shall have to

mend that be fore you can go home , Lettice admonished her ,i n a tone which

,for Dorothea , she had never used be fore .

Don ’t care,

” retorted Dorothea,defiant chin in ai r . And

then,with a swi f t l i ttle snuggl ing movement , she nestled

against Lett ice.

Oh,Letti ce

,Lettice , I

’

ve been bad . andhate ful

,and I don ’t deserve to have any one l ike me , but

m ay I come and see you sometimes? I do seem to get into

1 94! CONVICT B 1 4

such muddles when I ’m al l by myse l f—and I haven’t anyone in a l l the world to go to now but you !Letti ce did not answer, because she was engaged in res

cuing the toast ing fork f rom her guest ’ s heed le ss hand ,and blowing out the flaming bread . She sc raped off thecinders , and with a firmness that admitted no question putthat piece on her own p late , and the other , which shemade her se l f , on Dorothea

’s .Now come and have your tea , was her so le rep ly .

Bread and salt they ate i t together.

1 96 CONVICT B 1 4

stayed i n town , with the del iberate intention of see ingl i fe . ”

In pursui t of thi s ambi tion he vi si ted musi c ha lls , whichhe regarded as temp le s o f gay vice , and t ri ed to cu ltivatethe more f rivolous of hi s male acquai ntance , and even wentso far a s to put i n an appearance at a night club and wasmore pro foundly bored than ever . One even ing he laid himsel f ou t consci entiously to get drunk . This was not a success ; i t ended i n a bi l iou s attack and a long di staste forwhi sky . Another t ime he sat down to play chimmy withthe most i nvete rate gamblers he knew . Beginner ’s luckhe lped him at fi rst to win five pounds whi ch di dn ’t excitehim ; then he lost twenty , and was d i sproport ionately an

noyed . Nature had not cut out Deni s for a roue’

. He didnot amuse himsel f or any one e l se . Even Bredon and theseaplane were better than th i s . He would have given up andgone back to them i n despai r

,i f he had not happened to fa l l

i n with Mrs. Byrne .

She wa s si tting i n her car i n a lonely lane at ten o ’c lockat night when he saw her first

,weeping tears of rage because

her chauffeur had sunk down , snoring drunk, and she cou ldnot sti r h im . Such things did happen to Mrs . Byrne . Deni scame to the rescue ; he ej ected the chauffeur by the wayside ,and took the lady home himse l f . She was ve ry grate ful ,and i nvi ted him to dinner . I t wa s a pleasant house , and onemet amusing people— l iterary

,art i st i c , a l i tt le out of the

u sual set which had bored Deni s so desperate ly . He l ikedhi s pretty , feather-witted hostess , too , and she l iked him ; indeed , be fore long it was plai n that she more than l iked him .

I t was not pla in to Deni s , who remained v i rtuously sti ff asa ramrod long a fter the clubs were betting on Byrne ’s chanceo f bringing Off hi s divorce thi s time . Mrs . Byrne had fal lenheadlong in love , and she was i ncapable of di scretion .

When at last the truth dawned on Deni s , hi s fi rst impu l sewas to bol t . But he di d not al low himse l f to do so . Hestayed on , de l iberately exposing himsel f to temptat ion inthe hope that i t would tempt him . He found i t a hardstruggle to be wicked . So far, then , Letti ce was right ; he

DIEU DISPOSE 1 97

had not yet committed himse l f . She was right,too

,i n think

ing that the scene at Olympia would decide things one wayor another . Deni s bel ieved himsel f to be quite indifferent toDorothea ; yet her face (he could not have said how ) hadgiven him the sl ight deciding push

,and he returned to Mrs.

Byrne with hi s mind made up .

The brook by which he stood , patched with si lver by theyoung March moon , found its way between bronze- stemmeda lders , past wil lows cloudy i n pol len-yellow; under bankswhere the kingcups spread thei r nosegays o f burni shed greenand gold . Violets , invi sible but sweet , clustered at the rooto f every rose . The scene was set for lovers , and Deni s hadbeen making love . Did he do i t wel l ? I t might have beenworse . There had been opposition to overcome , unexpected ,st imu lat ing : Evey Byrne with a conscience , forsooth !Deni s had tasted the first-fruit s of pleasure i n crushing downher scrup les and making her own she loved him . He hadwrung ou t the con fession without mercy . She tried to holdhim off with her weak li ttle hands against hi s breast .Ah

,but ye don ’t truly love me , Deni s !

Don ’t I ? ” said Denis,kissing her fawn-soft eyes and

sweet,hal f-re luctant l ips .

Ah,but ’t i s so wicked ! God

’

ll never forgive us !”

There i s no God that counts ,” Deni s answered . He

ki ssed he r again.He had no idea that i n hi s heart he wa s

ki ssing Dorothea .

That was ten minutes ago . Was it time yet ? Hardly , hedecided ; he might allow himsel f to fini sh hi s cigar. Alas

!

out of her presence the blaze had al l too quickly d ied down .

Mrs.Byrne was sweet

,but she bored him l ike everyth ing

el se.Sti l l

,he would go to her ; yes, he would certainly go in

a minute.I t was hi s duty to see the thing through .

(Naiuram expellas fu rca- it seemed that Denis could not

et awa from that word ! )gWhat

y

a foo l he was ! Who would believe that he hadreached hi s pre sent age in hi s present state of innocence

?

He hoped Mrs.Byrne hadn ’t found i t out, but

.

he was rather

a fraid she had.I f Deni s had been honest with h imse l f he

1 98 CONVICT B 1 4

would have had to admit that one reason why he l ingeredhere by the r ive r , i nstead of seeking the we lcome that awaitedhim , was that he was shy. Too ignominious , that ; he shu ffled away from the thought . He was di ssati sfied with himsel f a l l round . Why cou ldn

’

t he behave l ike other men ? Inthe old days at Bredon how gloriously happy he had been

,

with the del icate engine of hi s brain working at ful l pressure , solving problems faster than hi s penci l cou ld wri te themdown ! Now , i t seemed , he cou ld ne ither play nor work .

\Vhat was i t he had been sticking over,that last evening be

fore he went to Westby ? The everlasting difficu lty , speedversus sa fety. There had been one or two rather c leverthings in the show to-day . The Stu rt bus, that used I-struts ,as he had meant to do ; but the chord o f the wings was toolarge , the stresses wou ld be impossibly high . Why on ea rthcou ldn’t Stu rt seeWho can te l l whence ideas come ? Inter-ste l lar dri f t ?

Some beam from the ete rna l veriti es shone suddenly i nDeni s ’s brain . He pul led out an old enve lope and begancovering i t with rapid calcu lation s . Ten minutes later, whenbe next looked up

,there was scarce ly room for another fig

ure . He had come to a hal t ; he cou ld go no fu rther wi thout re ferring to hi s old work . What time was i t ? Hepeered at hi s watch i n the moon l ight . Ha l f-past ten : i fhe got up to town to-night , and slept at the Grosvenor , hecould catch the five-forty down and be at B redon i n t ime forbreakfast . He thrust the sheet of calculat ions into hi s

pocket , and , with about one-twentieth o f hi s mind upon thescene , sta rted for the house . Coming in sight of i t s l ightedwindows , however , he slackened and stopped . Mrs . Byrne .

There was not much sense le ft i n h i s head , but i t had oc

curred to him that h i s e rrand might be awkward to exp lai nin person .

Deni s neve r had been , or would be , afl‘iicted w i th se l fconsciousness . He turned back f rom the lawn , sku lked l ikea burgla r through shrubbe rie s and beh ind trees , and cl imbedin at the window of the room where they had dined . Sti l lwithout a thought of fal se shame , he sat down at M rs .

2 00 CONVICT B 1 4

t ime how wrong i t was . It has al l been my fau lt . I amgoing where I can pray for you and pray to be forgiven .

Oh ! don’ t be‘ angry with me , and don’t let her be angry with

me . I have been very wicked, but I d id love you so .

EVEY.

The decorous Morri s,who read th i s note ( for of course

Mrs. Byrne had omitted to seal i t ) , got l i tt le by hi s scru t iny.

The vi si tor did not stamp , nor swear , nor turn red, nor pa le ;he read through hi s dismi ssal with a very singu lar express iono f gravity , turned away , came back absently to sl ip a tipinto the man ’s hand , and finally strode off down the drive ,carrying hi s handsome head

,a s poor Cami ll e said of hi s

enemy, l ike the saint sacram ent,his dark b lue I ri sh eyes

fixed on far distant horizons .

CHAPTER XXIV

THE FIRST ROUND

Better is he that ru leth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

PROVBRBs.

SEVEN years of pri son doctoring had not blunted the firstfine temper of Leonard Scott ’s sympathy. Doctors in general , even i n ordinary practice , have to harden themselvesor .break down ; Scott stuck to hi s work year a fter year, andyet contrived to remain as tender-hearted as a novice at hi sfi rst death-bed . He was steeped in that fount of love andst rength , romance and poetry , known as the Cathol ic faith .

Not the Roman Cathol ic fai th , be i t observed . Nothing annoyed him more than to be cal led a papist—except to becal led a Protestant .

“HeWas a dreamer,a saint

,a mystic , thi s dapper li ttle man

with the snappy manner and the aggressively white l inen ; aci ti zen o f the heavenly Jerusalem , whose ports of pearl andstreets of shining gold were more real to him than the wal l sof Westby Jai l . Saints and martyrs crowded heaven toapp laud h is progress ; warrior angel s fought at hi s r ighthand ; Chri st himsel f stooped to him in the mystery of theEuchari st . In thi s fai th he was able to go on working hopefu lly at hi s hopeless task for what , after all , was the useo f patching up these wretched bodies which in a few weeksmust go back to the di rt and the vices that had bred thei rdi sease ? Leonard Scott thought i t was a great deal o f use ;he loved hi s criminals . The sociologist would have seenWestby Jai l as a garbage heap meet for the furnace ; theChri st ian ideal i st went about j oyful ly picking up pearl s.But a faith which removes mountains may fai l to console

the man who has to appear in knickerbockers at a dinnerpa rty ; and thi s chi ld of heaven was made very uncomfortable

20 1

202 CONVICT B 1 4

by the addit ion of Gardiner to hi s happy fami ly of j a ilbirds . He hated attending as pri son doctor on the manwhom hi s evidence had helped to conv ict , and he did not

l ike Gardiner himse l f . He thought him flippant, a qual itywhich a ri se s punctually to answer expectation . Since he didnot l ike him , he felt he ought to culti vate him ; your man ofconscience a lways feel s hi s duty to be the thing he doesn

’

twant to do . In th i s ca se , however, Scott fe l l short of hi sduty. He care fu lly avoided Gardiner , and was rather an

noyed to find that Gard i ne r seemed equal ly anxious to avoidh im . Neve r did he bother h i s doctor for pi l l s and poti ons .Yet Scott , who kept an uneasy eye upon hi s embarrassingpatient

,cou ld see that pri son l i fe wa s not agreeing with h i s

health .

One day he overhea rd two warders comparing note s aboutB 14 . He had been getti ng into hot water ; he had smashedeverything in hi s ce l l

,and fini shed up by smashing a warder.

My word ! he did gi ve u s ginger. You never see anythingl ike i t ! said Warde r Barnes , w i th a touch of surpri sed adm iration.

“It

’

s what I a lways ’

ave said— them quiet , cddicated ones gives twi ce as much trouble as the others whenthey do give t rouble ,

” assented Warder Mason . B 14 wasnow i n the puni shment cel ls on a chastening diet of breadand wate r. S cott fel t more than eve r that he ought to findsome pretext for seeing him, but he didn

’

t do so.

Going back to pri son a fte r h i s t rial seemed to Gardinerl ike entering the b lack mouth of a tunne l . There werethe unescapable wal ls on ei ther side , and the weight of a

mountai n overhead , the horror of panic pressing up behind ,and the inte rminable stretch of black blank darkness throughwhich he must grope be fore he cou ld hope to see , far off, thefi rst faint whi teness of de l iverance . Yet the first days werenot so bad a s he had expected . Some o f the outer l ightl ingered on for a time ; Letti ce

’

s face she had not lookeda t h im whil e giving her evidence , but at the end , j u sta s she was leaving the box , she had turned de l ibe rately andsmi led at him across the court . That look went with himfar into the darknes s . It was the n ight s that were the wors

204 CONVICT B 1 4

remembered the large cool rooms o f hi s home,the green

l ight fi ltering through the j alousi e s,the white cloth blowing

round the legs of the l i ttle table under the pines where hetook hi s mea ls , the sound and smel l of the co ffee machine ,the summer app les which he gathered i n the orchard

,faint ly

red even beneath the crimson skin . Like many southerne rs

,Gardiner l ived very largely on f ru it ; and one of the

minor trial s of hi s pri son l i fe was the pri son diet,where

f rui t and vegetables are not. Most pri soners suffer fromth i s ; he suffered more than most , and could le ss afford thesteady lowering of hi s health .

It happened one day , owing to some al terat ions , thatGardine r had to change hi s cel l , and was put into the olderpart of the pri son . His new quarters were so dark thatthe occupant was regu larly al lowed a l ight i n the daytime .The warde r i n charge was too busy to see to i t at the moment ; next day he promi sed to do so , but forgot , the pri sonermeanwhile being le ft to twiddle hi s thumbs during the sixteen empty hours he spent each day i n h i s ce ll . When , forthe thi rd time

,he put forward hi s submi ssive request , Warder

Thomson , a surly fel low , happened to be out of tempe r , andtold him curt ly not to bother. To hi s amazement the we llconducted Ri 4 flew at him l ike a fury . He s l ipped out j usti n t ime , and blew hi s whi stle fo r he lp . B 14 meanwhi leamused himsel f by smashing everything smashable i n h i sce l l ; he kicked hi s t ins i nto cocked hats , he rent hi s bedclothes to ri bbons , he tore hi s books out o f thei r bindings andstrewed them about the floor. It was a glorious smash , andit was fol lowed by an even more glorious fight ; for di rectlythe doo r opened he flew again upon the offending WarderThomson with the leg of hi s d i smembe red stoo l , and succeeded i n breaking hi s head and knocking out two of hi steeth , be fore he in hi s turn was coshed by an assi stant ,and final ly brought to earth . For the space of ten exci tingminutes Gardine r enj oyed himsel f .But a fterwards

,when he came to h imsel f in the d isma l

so l i tary ” cel l , and st i l l more when he heard hi s puni shment , and knew that he had cu t himsel f off for two endless

THE FIRST ROUND 205

month s f rom his fri ends then the cold reaction set in,and

he went down into the depths . The first night was terrib le.

Pan ic was aga in at his throat ; i t did not succeed in pul l ingh im down , but when the dawn came

,and at the cheerful

sounds of human l i fe the furies shrank back into thei r shades,

he knew that he had been very near something.What he

feared he did not know , but he did know that i f hi s feargot the maste ry, i f he lost hi s sel f-command

,he would not

be fit to go to Lettice at the end of hi s term.

He lay thinking very earnest ly , open-eyed .I t was pe r

fectly plain what he ought to do : he ought to put down hi sname to see the doctor , who would give him bromide orsomething to settl e hi s nerves . And there was more in i tthan that ; he ought to see Scott about another smal l troublewhich had nothing to do with nerves

,and which

,i f he had

chosen to put i t forward , would have been a mitigating cir

cum stance i n the mind of the Governor when he pronouncedsentence. Oh , he was a fool he really was a fool ! Why

,

if'

he had even chosen to state hi s grievance about the l ight hemight have got off wi th quarter penalty , perhaps with noneat a l l . Captain Harding wasn ’t hal f a bad old chap , he madea llowances for human nature , e ven in a criminal . But wouldGardiner do that ? Not he ! He had stood sul lenly dumb,re fusing to de fend himsel f , re fusing to answer a single question . It went against the grai n with him to explain , to makeexcuses

,even to admi t that he was i l l . Yet could he stand

another night l ike the last ? He would have pre ferred to ;he would have butted hi s obstinate head into death or evenmadness

,sooner than bend hi s pride . But there was Lettice

to be considered,and all her l ittle fads about standing up to

! things and not running away .

When Warder Barnes came in the evening to br ing h i ssupper of bread and water and collect the mai l-bags which

he shou ld have sewn ( pri soners in the puni shment cel lsdonot go out to work ) , he found the pile untouched . Gard inerhad not done one

.Barnes pursed up hi s l ips to a wh i stle .

Hullo, h ul lo ! now thi s ain

'

t sen se , U14 . Why ain’

t youdone

“

your work to—day ? ”

2 06 CONVICT B 1 4

Because I haven’

t ,” said the pri soner. He was sit ti ng

on hi s stool with h i s e lbows on hi s knees and h i s head inh is hands ; he reached out for the wate r Barnes had broughtand drank i t at a draught , but otherwi se he did not sti r .

That ’s si l ly talk ,” said the warder r eprovingly . It was

the same l i ttle Cockney who had admi red what he calledB t4

’

s ginger ; a ki ndly l ittle sou l , as many of the pri son ai

tendants are . “ You ’re only makin ’ trouble for yoursel f .Ain ’t you had enough already

? ” The pri soner made nosign . Come now ! You g ive me your word as you

’l l doyour j ob to-morrow , and I

’l l pass you l igh t thi s t ime . Don ’twant anothe r week of i t i n ’e re , do you ?

” St i l l no answer .Oh , wel l , I can

’t wa it al l night , i f you choose to be re

fractory you must ,” said Barnes , rather short , because h i s

kindness had met wi th no response . He gathered up theuntouched bags. I shal l ’ave to report you , that

’s al l .”

He was j ust going out of the door when the pri sonermoved .

I say .

Well ? ”

I couldn ’t do those bags,sai d Gardiner . My hand ’s

You r hand bad ! What’

s the matter with i t ? ”

Barnes snatched roughly at the hal f-extended fingers .They were torn out of hi s grasp . Damn you ,

” saidGard ine r very quietly . Even i n the darkness Barnes couldsee hi s face , scarlet with sudden pain .

“I didn ’ t mean to ’urt you ,

” he said gruffly. I thoughtyou was ma l ingeri ng. What have you done to your ’and ?

“ I don ’t mal inger,and I haven ’t done anything to my

hand , the pri soner retorted . Hi s tone was short ; he wasst i l l nursi ng hi s wri st and biti ng hi s l ip . But the factremains, I can

’t sew . I f you wouldn ’t mind putting medown to see the doctor, I should be much obliged . There

’

smy ticket .”

Let’

s ’ave a look. Gardine r would rather have put hi sfist , pain and al l , i nto the man

’ s face ; he si lently extendedhi s palm . My word ! that gives you pen and ink , I lay ,

208 CONVICT B 1 4

the hand i n h i s own . His touch was exqui sitely gentle .Gardiner rather w i shed he had grabbed at him l ike WarderBa rnes ; but he stood submi ssive , and submi ss ive ly answeredquestions . Yes , si r, I got i t rather badly c ru shed lastsummer . Ye s

,i t did take a time to hea l . No , I don

’t knowthat I fe lt anything part icu lar unti l th i s began— that wasabout ten days ago .

Hurt , eh ?” asked S cott, w i th a sw i f t glance up from

h i s dressing.

A l i tt le ,” Gardiner adm itted .

Suppurati on of the palm i s the very said S cott .Don ’t you try to humbug me . I know . Damaged thebone , that

’s what you ’ve done,and you aren

’t by any meansout of the wood yet . That ’ l l do for to-night . Now let ’shave a look at you . Your genera l health can ’t be up to much ,or you wou ldn

’t have a mess-up l ike thi s . Any special symptoms to comp lain of?I ’ve been rather off my sleep late ly .

You ’d need cast-i ron nerves to be on i t , w i th your handin that state . How long has i t been going on— the insomnia , I mean ?

Oh , three weeks or so. S ince the warm weather set i n .

Be fore your hand was bad , eh ?I suppose so .

”

And the hand i tse l f went wrong be fore you indulgedin the pretty l i ttl e scrap that ’ s landed you in thi s pesti lentialhole ? ” said Scott . It was not a speech he ought to havemade to a pri soner ; but Scott was far f rom always sayingwhat he ought . Besides , he had had a long batt le with theauthorit ies about the condition of the old part of the pri soni n general and of the puni shment cel l s i n particu lar, a batt lein which he had been worsted , and which had le ft a rankl ing

grudge . The Governor had cal led him a meddlesome sentimenta l i st , which was true ; and he had cal led the Governora pig-headed martinet , which was about equal ly true .Gardiner assented with a nod . It was a l l against the grain ,

every word that he said , and every drop of the suppressedsym pathy whi ch he detected lurking under the l ittl e doctor

'

s

THE F IRST ROUND 20 9

extra aggressive manne r. Nevertheless with another heroiceffo rt , backed by another thought of Lettice , he constrainedhimse l f to add : I think perhaps it ’s the indoor l i fe

,si r

.

I’

ve been used to be out al l day and al l night . Here I ’m inthe printing shop ; i t

’

s an interesting job,and I l ike it

,but

I th ink perhaps I might get on better on the farm .

”

You do, do you ? What do you suppose you know about

Nothing, said Gardiner , On ly you asked me .H’

m ! sa id the l ittle doctor . Well,I can ’t do anything

more now . I ’

l l see to you properly to-morrow . He pickedh imsel f up with hi s usual fierce alacrity . Going out of thedoor , he turned to add

' I ’ l l send you round a dose in hal fan-hour . Warder , you see he takes it . Young fool , goingon for a month t i l l he gets into thi s state—he ’l l throw iti nto the s lops , i f you give him hal f ,

a chance !With that , exit Dr . Scott , sti l l grumbling.

Gardiner threw himsel f down on hi s bare plank bed .

O Lord ! ” he said with hal f a chuckle and hal f a groan .

Oh,Lett ice

, it’

s a pity you weren’t the fly on the wall , I

think you ’d have enj oyed the scene . Lord , how I do hatethat l it t l e chap ! and yet I don ’t , you know , I rather like him.

I Wi sh he ’d prescribe me a cigarette,I bet that would put me

to by—by better than al l hi s boluses . I’m glad I said what I

did about the farm . I f he can only work that , I think , withluck

,I may pu l l through . He ’s gone away breathing out

mercies and indulgences . What an ass I am to disl ike sayingthese thi ngs

, but I certain ly do . Oh Lettice , m i prenda , alma

de m i oida , luz de m is ojos won t I make love to you inSpani sh when my time comes

,and won

’

t you be not ducti le !

i f I do stick it out you ought to feel uncommonly proudof yoursel f , but you won

’t . Never , never in my li fe shall Isucceed i n persuading you that it

’

s al l your doing, but i t i s .”

CHAPTER XXV

I SENT A LETTER TO MY LOVE

Savage 1 was sitting in m y house , late, loneDreary, weary w ith the long day

’

s work :Head of m e , heart of m e , stup id as a stoneTongue-tied now , now blasphem ing l ike a Turk ;When , in a m om ent, ju st a knock , ca ll, cry ,

Hal f a pang and a l l a rapture, there aga in were we !What, and is it really you again ? quoth I .“ I again , what else did you expec t ? quoth She.

The Householder.

THE gas was not carried up to the att ics o f No. 2 2 CanningStreet . Late-comers had to stumble in the dark up thelast fl ight Of sta i rs

,and bark thei r shins over the brooms

and pai l s which Beatri ce i nva riably le ft standing about on thelanding . One evening i n Apri l Lett ice was sitt ing at work ,brow buri ed in her hands , tense ly cou rt ing the Muse , whenshe was startled by a sudden tremendous clatter . The doorburst open and Deni s fe l l i nto the room, i n company with amop and a bani ster brush .

Dear,dear ! said Le tti ce with her usual inadequacy.

I wi sh you ’d not keep an i ronmonger ’s shOp on you rlanding,

” said Deni s,annoyed , and rubbing hi s knee .

You , you —you are so violent !

” Lettice protested inher piani ssimo drawl . She went outside for a moment .There , I

’ve put them al l away i n the cupboard , so youwon ’t have to break your poor nose when you go home ,

”she

consoled him . Now , how nice i t i s to see you again ! Andwhat have you been doing with yoursel f al l thi s long time ?Sell ing four monoplanes to the War Offi ce , said Deni s ,

w i th the simple sat i s faction o f bygone days. Wha t do youthink o f that ?

No ! have you really ?”

A man I used to know in the Sappers came over to2 10

2 1 2 CONVI CT B 1 4:

mind,he wou ld never see . Now i f i t had been a certain

other person Letti ce made a grace ful figure , so ft brownhai r and haze l eyes , long throat and l it tle head , sl ight drooping shoulders and sl im wai st , set off by the so ft gray-bluesi lk of her dress . She was fond of that pecul i arly so ft andfeminine fabri c known to dressmakers as crepe de Chine .

She could not spend much on her clothes , but she chose andwore them with that French fineness and per fect ion o f deta i lwhich she

,i n common wi th her si sters , had learned f rom

thei r foreign upbringing .

“ We l l,I didn ’t come here to talk about German inva

sions ,” said Deni s

,rousing himse l f . The fact i s , I

’mrather badly worri ed about Gardiner , Letti ce . I didn

’t l ikethat last piece of news at al l . Did you ? ”

You ’ve not heard anything fresh ? ” asked Lett i ce quickly,

her work dropping i n her lap .

Not a syl lable ; and can’t t i l l June . That ’s the worst

of i t ; i t’s such a deadly long t ime . I ’d hal f thought of

running down there and lookin ’ up l ittle Scott— he ’s qui te adecent l itt le chap

,and he ’d know . But I suppose i t wouldn ’t

do .

”

I suppose not, agreed Lettice , who was , as has beensaid , a dandy i n a ffai rs of honor. She made her funnyl i t tle pause to co llect words be fore she got ri d of her nextspeech .

“ I suppose i f i t had gone any further we shou ldhave heard by now.

”

Heard ?The pri son people wou ld have let us know .

Let us know what ? ”

Why , i f he’d been i ll , or gone Off hi s head , or anything

of that sort .You th ink there ’s a danger of hi s going off hi s head ? ”

Well , that’s what you ’re talking about

,i sn ’t i t ? ”

No, said Deni s ,“ I ’d not got so far as that .

" He t egarded he r thought fu l ly .

“ I wi sh you ’d tel l me how itst rikes you , Letti ce . I can

’t see my way at al l .“There ’s nothing to tel l ,

” said Lettice,a trifle rest less

at being asked to explain the obvious . He must have

I SENT A LETTER TO MY LOVE 2 13

been off h is balance to hit a warder,mustn ’t he ? And

when that begi ns , with anybody l ike him,you never know

where i t wi l l stop . He i sn ’t any too steady.

”

(Certain ly there was no one l ike Lettice for pul ling thingsoff pedestal s . Hitting a warder— it didn’t sound nearlyso bad as assaulting an Officer ! )Well , I

’

ve known Gardiner five and twenty years , andI

’

d never have cal led him unsteady. Hard as nai ls,more

l ike .”

SO he is that too .

Now what on earth do you mean ? ”

We l l , of course he’d be hard so long as he hadn’t any

thing to face he real ly minded , wouldn’t he ? And ti l l thi s

he didn’

t, did he ? It’s what you said yoursel f he ’s always

been lucky. But i f you get him Off hi s guard he ’

s ratherunusua l ly sensi ti ve . Look at the way he feels pain !I never saw him feel pain . In my company he’

s alwaysbeen brutally robust .

“We l l, but can

’

t you tell he would , by the set of hisl ips ? ”

No , said Deni s , I can ’t. I ’ve not your imagination .

To th i s Lett ice made no reply, unless one might countthe sl ight deri sive l i f t o f her chin . She never would takeup the personal question . She would never, i f she couldhe lp i t , say : I thought . She was sometimes driven tosay, I did

,but even then she kept to the bald facts nu

colored by her personal ity. Deni s , shi ft ing in hi s chair toa more convenient angle , continued to regard her with at

tention , i n which now mingled some amusement .“Oh ah

,

” he sa id,

“ you were there when he damagedhi s hand

,weren ’t you ? I

’d forgotten . How long was i t

you stayed on at Rochehaut a fter I le ft ?”

About six weeks .”

And you were acti n’ as hi s secretary al l that t ime ? ”

Part of i t .”

O f course that accounts .0 0

Accounts what for ? asked Lettice unwisely, W ith herl i tt le a i r of di st raction .

2 1 4 CONVICT B1 4

For the sympatheti c insight you di splay , said Deni s,now openly smil ing . Lett i ce had chaffed him a l l her l i fei t was a new thing for him to tu rn the tables . He swearsi t was you sent him back , and I beli eve h im now . You ’veeased my mind quite a lot. He won ’t go under . He mayknock out a warde r or so , but he

’

l l come through a l l r ight i nthe end—with such backin ’

Rubbi sh ,” said Lettice with acerb deci sion . She fo lded

her work , got up , l ighted a smal l paraffin lamp and carriedi t outside . Deni s watched her hang i t on the wa l l above thestai rs .

“ I s that a gent le hint to me to be off ?” he asked , sti l l

smi l ing , a s she reentered .

“ Because i f so I ’m not takin'

any . I ’l l go when my time comes , but there’s ten minutes

yet .I t

’

s not for you at al l , it’

s for Dot O ’

Connor .

For Dot O’

Connor !

She a lways tumbles over the brooms worse than youdi d , Lett ice explained , so I give her a l ight on the stai rswhen I ’m expecting her to supper . I ’d have given you one ,too, i f I

’d known you were coming .

She had bani shed Deni s ’s smi le . He shi fted i n his cha ironce more , but thi s time away from her . Dot O ’

Connor !

he repeated for the thi rd t ime , i n that altered voice . Doyou mean Mrs. Trent ? ”

She doesn ’t like being ca l led that now .

DO you see much of her ? ”

SO so ,

” said Lett ice . She had mentioned Dorothea , notto get away from Deni s ’s chaff that would have been toocrue l but of set purpose , because there was something shehad to say be fore he went . Wil l you stay and have supper with us ? I think there ’

l l be enough to go round,i f you

aren ’t too hungryNo , Lettice .I don ’t see why you shou ldn

’t .”

Don’t you ? ”

His tone was not encouraging , bu t i t made not a p in 3 d i fference to Letti ce ; her difficulties came a lways f rom within ,

2 16 CONVICT B 1 4

I must go , he said con fusedly . 1 I ’

d no idea i t wasso late .

”

He took hi s hat and stick, and Lettice thought he wasreal ly going then and there , without anothe r word ; but hethought bette r of i t , and from the landing came back andstood in the doorway, vi sibly struggl ing with himse l f . You—you mustn ’t thi nk I mind what you said , Letti ce , he gotou t. I ’d a lways l i sten to you . But I can ’t do thi s— I

can ’tLettice looked him in the face . She wou ld have some

thing to forgive you now , she said del iberately .

NO , she wou ld not ,” said Deni s with equa l de l iberation ;

and he met her eye s,fa i r and square .

“ But that ’s notanyth ing to do wi th i t . It ’s not a quest ion of forgiveness .I t ’s I oh, I can

’

t do i t , Lett ice I can ’t exp lainWe l l sai d Letti ce

,summing up w i th that sad , vague

word which looks back , unsati sfied , over the past , and forward , unhope ful , towards the future . And that was a l l shelearned , then or for many months to come , of Deni s

’s feel ingsfor Dorothea , of hi s wanderings in the wi lderness , of themanner of h i s de l iverance . Not ti l l many month s late r, i nal i en scenes , i n unimaginab le ci rcumstances, in a differentworld , did he reopen that subj ect .He st raightened himse l f , glancing again at hi s watch . Ireally must go . I ’m dinin’ with the Wandesfordes, to ce lebrate , and I

’ l l never hear the last of i t i f I ’m late . Wandes

forde a lways thinks he can do the funny dog about Iri shpeople s i lly ass. Wish you were coming too.

”

Me ?” asked Lettice , Opening he r eyes .

You . It’

s not much fun sitt in’ here alone and thinkin ’

about things— i s i t ? sai d Deni s ; and to her wide amazement he put a brotherly arm round her and ki ssed her cheek.

Lett i ce turned slow ly and deeply pink ; not on account ofthe ki ss , however . She took he r lamp and stood torchbearer to l ight him d0wn the stai rs . When the quick mil ita ry t read had reached the lower landing she was tu rn i ngback to her room , but a quick scufll e i n the cupboard and abreathle ss voice stopped her.

I SENT A LETTER TO MY LOVE 2 17

Lett i ce waitAnd Dorothea scramb led out f rom among the broomsand brushes , bri ngi ng a shower O f them with her. Oh

,

bother ! said she , tu rning to stuff them back unceremon

iou sly, and prec ipitat ing a f resh ava lanche . Lettice foundher voice again .

You you’

ve got a black on your nose, she remarked

original ly.

So would any one have , i n thi s horrid l i ttle hole ! I’d

j ust reached the landing when your door Opened,and I

bundled straight in here , and al l the things fel l every whichway , and I had to clutch them up in both hands al l the time.I made sure you ’d hear .I did ,

” said Lettice,but I thought i t was Black Maria .

We l l,I ’d be Black Maria i f I could , I know you

’d l ikeme better

,retorted Dorothea

,expending the last o f he

tempe r in a spite fu l kick at a pai l , and slamming the doorbe fore more di sasters could ' happen . But oh, Lett ice,oh Le tt ice , i sn

’t i t glorious news ?”

You heard what we were saying ?”

We l l, of course . How could I help it ? You can

’

t putyour fingers i n your ears when you ’re holding up six broomsand a mop . I heard every word . And I don

’

t care ! Idon ’t care a scrap ! Oh

,I am so glad !

“ Glad ? ” Lettice repeated . She had'

not known quitewhat to expect ; certai nly not thi s. How the child

’

s eyeswere sparkling !Wel l

, of course ! ”she cried . Didn

’

t you hear ?

Didn’t you see what he was l ike ? Oh ! now 1 know that’

s al lright I don ’t care about anything else—I don

’

t care what

happens , so long as that doesn’

t !”

She flung hersel f down on the rug with a tempestuou ss igh

,and tried to dry her eyes on a wisp of lace . That

proving inadequate, she rummaged through hal f a dozen

pocket s and dragged out a dingy red square wh ich had eVi

dently been used as an oil rag. She held it out by the cor

ners . Oh dear,I must have stolen Tum er

’

s—oh dear,I wi sh I cou ld manage to hit something between a doily

2 1 8 CONVICT B 1 4

and a duster—never mind , a hanky ’

s a hanky , said she ,and blewher nose and d ri ed her tears forthwith . Then ,l ooking up sharply , Lettice ! why don ’t you say something

?

Aren ’t you p leased too ?O-Oh

, Oh yes , said Letti ce hasti ly , only you see I ’dhad t ime to get over i t be fore you came .I shan ’t get over it— I shan ’t ever get over i t , mur

mured Dorothea , nestl ing round to gaze into the fire . Youdon ’t know how awfu l it ’

s been to fee l tha t on me . I ’d rathe rI ki l led him than see that woman Do you know , Letti ce , Ido think there must be a God a fter al l . I didn

’

t ever u se to ,but eve r s ince that O lympia day I ’ve been praying, Oh ! sohard , that He

’d save Deni s —I didn ’t see how even Godcould stop him then

,but there wasn ’t anything el se I cou ld

do,and I j ust had to do something. And now you see he

has . He didn’t te l l you anything about how i t happened

? ”

Lettice shook her head . Oh,wel l , that doe sn

’t real ly matter

,i t ’s hi s being saved that counts , sai d Dorothea , relapsing

again i nto one of her bone les s att itudes , and smi li ng rosi lyover clasped hands into the fire .

Did you hear began Lettice .

What he said about me ? Oh yes . We l l , of course I’

dlove to have him forgive me , but I know he cou ldn

’t possibly,and anyway I don’ t matter about , said Dorothea , her voicesoftened into dreams . It ’s him—i t ’s him . It does meansuch a lot , Le tt i ce ! I t i sn

’t only that he i s what he usedto be , what I thought he never could be again ; i t

’s eve r somuch more than that . Deni s wasn ’t made to think ofwomenas he thought of—Of me and Mrs . Byrne . He was madeto marry , Letti ce . Can

’t you see how perfectly sweet he ’dbe to h i s wi fe yes , and to hi s boys and girl s too ; how he

’

dlove them ( I expect he

’d have a pet l i ttle g i rl , and cal l herLetty ) , and how they

’d al l adore h im ? He ’s one of thosemen who who on ly t ru ly m ellow i n thei r own homes . I fhe could only find some nice gi rl who ’l l love him—no

,not

better than me , nobody ever could do that , but we l l enoughto make up to him for the horri d l i tt le wretch I ’ve been

2 20 CONVICT B 1 4

any one know ! Oh , she mustn’t , she mustn

’t be al lowed toguess ! Al l thi s passed through Dorothea’s mind i n thespace of hal f-a-second , and under the stimulus o f that lastthought she pul led hersel f round , w i th a mighty effo rt , toask a s innocently as she could : Did—did De ni s knowabout thi s the day of the show ? ”

He ’d j ust heard .

Oh , said Dorothea , oh, I wonder he didn’t st rike me

to the ground ! Oh , how wicked , how wicked I’ve been !

There was nothing v i sible but the red handkerchie f . Let

t i ce looked at her sharply ; but the pose was so natura l , andany pose seemed so foreign to Dorothea , and Lettice so muchwanted to be taken in , that she was. Not whol ly ; but shestuck her head in the sand and re fused to see her own doubt s .And behi nd the red handkerch ie f Dorothea , too much overwhelmed to cry, sat among the ruins which she had pu l leddown on her own head and wondered helpl essly when she

would see the end of al l the harm she had done . I wasso happy about Deni s

,and now there ’s th i s ! Her love for

Deni s had been a sort Of subl imated selfi shness , but now shewas thinking about other people— about Lett i ce , yes , andabout Gardiner, though there she was a l l at sea . 1 don ’

t

know what I ’ve done to him , but i t must be something ve rybad for Lettice to be l ike thi s ! ” she reflected . But , oh

dear ! a fter al l , what should I fee l l ike i f i t were Deni s i npri son ? And what wou ld he feel l ike himsel f ? And Mr.Gardiner ’s led such a free sort o f ou t-of-doors l i feI n the depths below a bel l rang ; Beatrice

’s feet poundedup f rom the basement . They came on f rom fl ight to fl ight,up the bare boards to the attics, and ended with a s ingle bangon the door. Miss Lettus,

’

s a lette r for you ! ” Letticewent with he r so ft , unhurried step to take i t i n . She carried i t to the lamp , and stood arrested, staring at the envelope .

Dorothea was si tt ing up,her dark hai r tumbl ing about her

eyes . Oh , Letti ce , what i s i t ?”

From the pri son ,” said Letti ce

,Opening the envelope and

drawing out the enclosure with a steady hand . From across

I SENT A LETTER TO MY LOVE 22 1

the room Dorothea could see that i t was not in Gardiner ’shandwriting ; and then she saw Lettice ’s face change

,and

her hea rt turned over in her breast.

Lettice

What ? ” said Lettice,absorbed

. O-Oh no,i t ’s al l

right ; i t’

s only that he he’

s hurt hi s handDorothea turned her face to the wall and said her prayers

.

Thi s was the lette r which Lettice received :

DEAR M I SS SM ITH ,—I have permission to write you a

short note on business .I am anxious about my hote l . It has been in the hands

of a caretake r al l winter ; but for the summer season I hadarranged for my housekeeper to come back

,and most of the

servants . The housekeeper is a trustworthy pe rson,and

qui te competent to run the place herse l f ; but I can’t very

wel l give her carte blanche with my banking account,and

I’

m sure she wou ldn ’t accept i t i f I did . What I want i ssomebody to sign checks, manage the correspondence, and actas figurehead. Pract ica lly what you did last year. Wi l l

you take i t on again ? I shou ld have every confidence in you ,and of course it i s you r proper place . As far as I know atpresent, I propose , i f i t sui ts you , to be married as soon as Ileave here i n Octobe r, and go out to Rochehaut for the winte r. P lease let me know i f thi s fi ts i n with your views .I must apologize for my wri ting, but I have been laid

up in hospi ta l with a touch Of the old trouble in my hand.

When I come out, I be l ieve I am to go on the farm . The

governor has most kindly remitted the rest of my pum shment

,and I shal l be allowed to see a vi sitor next month

.

asusua l . Wi l l you let Merion

-Smith know, i f you are wri tingto him ? Sincerely,

H . C. GARDINER.

Dorothea at first had turned her eyes scrupu lously away ;but they were back now

,and searching Lett ice

’

s face fornews . That face wore a decidedly queer and pensive look.

She re fo lded the letter with care ful exactness .

222 CONVICT B 1 4,

We l l ? What does he say ?O-oh , he wants me to go out to Rochehaut and look after

hi s O ld hotel .”

Then he ’s al l r ight ? He i sn’t i l l or anything ? Deniswon ’t have .to be anxiou s any more ?

He ’s i n hospital , but it’

s nothing much . Lettice readout what Gardiner sai d about h i s hand , and the descript ionof her dutie s a s wel l . But she di d not read those sentencesof bare faced impudence which trans formed an apparentlydecorous business communicati on into a proposal of marriage . Dorothea drew a long breath .

And you ’ l l do i t,Lett ice ? You ’

l l go ? Oh ! m ay I cometoo ? I won ’t be intense

,truly I won ’t

,and perhaps I might

even help you a l i tt le— I would love to do something forMr. Gardiner, to t ry and make up for al l the harm I

’ve donehim ! You a re going yourse l f

,anyhow

,aren ’t you ?

”

“Oh , I suppo se so, said Lettice , with a long-sufferi ng

ai r.This was i n the month of Apri l , 1 9 14 .

224i CONVICT B 1 4

And yet was i t so peacefu l ? Look to the le ft . As el sewhere it fe l l away

,so here the harvest field swel led up i n a

l i nt-white l ine,

firm and pure , the edge of the vi s ibl e world .

In the pale turquoise above that l i ne hung a cloud , a disco loration

,spreading like an i nk-drop in c lear wate r. Where

that cloud now hung, yesterday the vi l lage of Rochehaut hadstood . Contented , squal id l ittle place w i th i t s steaming middens

,i t s perambu lating pigs

,i t s church squatting l ike a l ittle

whi te-and-gray cat bes ide it s mi ry place ! O r look across atthe oppo si te hi l l . Above the fi rs another dri ft of smoke wasdiffusing in the radiant ai r . That was the di rection of theBe l levue , the big new hote l which Madame Hasqu in O f thefarm supplied w i th mi lk and eggs . O r look at the farm itsel f . The fow ls were clucking and scratching i n the yard ,the cows were lowing at the gate

,but Monsieur Hasqu in did

not come to drive them in to the mi lking, nor did l ittle Deni sebring her sieve fu l l O f go lden peas for her pet fanta il s . Theplace was sti l l and peace fu l ; but i t was the st i llness and thepeace of death .

There are no dai ly papers i n a pri son , and no news f romthe out side world i s supposed to reach the inmates . I t fil

ters in , neverthele ss . Gardiner fi rst heard o f the fal l ing o fthe great shadow f rom a laborer who had got six weeks atthe Summer Assi zes for beating hi s wi fe to a j el ly. Out o fhi s cups he was an amiable soul , ready to make f riends withanybody ; and Gardiner , who put on no ai rs, was ready torespond .

On leavi ng hospi ta l , B 14 had been put to work in the garden . His hand had st i l l to be dressed every day , but by thedoctor’s orders he was sent into the open ai r to do such j obsa s he cou ld . One summer a fte rnoon he was weeding thepaths, and West, the wi fe-beate r, was digging potatoes i nthe adj oining p lot . Gardine r div ined by h i s important looksthat he had something to say

,and contrived to l inge r long

enough for West to catch h im up .

I say , matey,” the w i fe-beater began , i n that l ip-whi sper

225

by which pri soners communicate under the very noses o fthe i r guards ,

’

ave you heard there’s a war on ?

No you don’

t say so ! Who with ? Mrs . Pankhurst ?It

’

s Gawd’

s truth I ’m tel l ingGammon ! Somebody ’s been kiddin ’ you .

Swe lp me , they ai n’t then . I ’eard Old Ikey talkin ’ about

it to Bi l ly Blood .

”

Bi l ly B lood was Warder Thomson, so named since Gard

iner had knocked out hi s teeth Old Ikey wasWarder Barnes.His name happened to be Ian , but the ini ti al was enough forthe wit Of the pri son .

Wel l , who are we fighting, anyway ? Did you hearthat ? ”

At thi s moment West di scovered that Warder Thomson’seye was upon him

,and he sheered Off to the end of his row.

It was some t ime be fore , caiitiously regulating thei r progress , they managed to come together again . West di scharged his whisper without preface .

“ It ’s Rooshia ,

” he announced . Rooshia and France .Not so bad for a beginning. Who e lse ? ”

We l l , they di d say som ethin’ about Inj er

Grea t upri sing of the native races . End of the B riti shRaj

,sa id Gardiner wi th levi ty . Let ’em al l come !

We ’re in for a giddy time , I don’t think. What price the

Briti sh a rmy now ? ”

Oh, of course i f you ain

’t goin’

to bel ieve meWest had incautiously rai sed hi s voice , and authority wasdown on him in a moment— or rather on hi s companion .

Now then , B 14 , none 0’ that ! Idlin

’ and mutterin’

! Isuppose you th ink thi s i s a rest cure . You get on with yourj ob

,and put some bee f into i t or I ’l l report you .

”And for

the next ten minutes,ti l l the cease work bell , while West

dug potatoes di l igently under the apple-trees , Billy Bloodstood over B 14 and counted every weed that dropped intohi s basket

.Gardiner could have laughed in hi s face . For

such petty pin-pricks as Warder Thomson’

s he cared—nota pin-prick

.As Lettice had said , where he was not ab

normal ly sensit ive he was wholesomely cal lous .

226 CONVICT B 1 4

He got no further chance of speaking to the am iable wi febeater

,but that did not trouble him . Some cock-and-bul l

story the fe llow had got hold of —he was crassly ignorant ,and stupid as a hog . That evening. however , he had a vi si tf rom the chapla in . The elderly gent leman who had fa llena vi ctim to Mr . Gardiner , and whom Mr . Gardiner

’s soncommon ly a lluded to as the old foozle , had resigned , andbeen succeeded by a new man of very d ifferent ki dney. TheRev . and Hon . Noe l Dal rymple-Roche was not more thanthi rty

,very big, very massive , with ashen-fai r hai r, a regu lar

profil e , and a cold b lue eye . He had been a Cambridge rowing Blue and sixth Wrangler ; and to these mixed accompl i shment s he added a thi rd he possessed enough driv ing forceto c ommand an army corp s . A misfi t i n hi s pro fession ,thought Gardiner , summing him up with an amused eye thefi rst t ime he read the service ; and a double misfit as pri sonchaplain .

I t was hi s fi rs t v i si t to Gardiner. He came in a lonethe chapla in has that privi lege . The pri soner wa s standingunder the window

,s lant ing hi s book to catch the feeble l ight .

Reading ? ” asked Roche,stretching out hi s hand for the

volume .

“ Yes , si r. I’m ve ry fond of a good book . Gardine r

,

ever imitative , had adapted hi s language to hi s surroundings . He could not, however, thus adapt hi s book , a smallblue volume of the ColecciOn ESpafiola Ne lson . Rocherai sed hi s eyebrows .Can you read thi s ? ”

Pretty wel l . One get s to pick up something Of a goodmany languages , knocking about the world .

”

You come from Chatham,don ’t you ? A sai lor, I

suppo se ?“ Ship ’s cook .

What a pity i t i s you sai lors can ’

t keep Off the drink ,said the chap lain , closi ng the book and laying i t down .

“ Why don ’t you sign the pledge ? An intel l igent youngfe llow l ike you you ought not to

‘

be here .”

Gardiner sta red ; then he laughed . I think you ’ve got

228 CONVICT B 1 4!

My hat ! said Gardi ne r. He straightened up ; h is facel ighted , hi s eye spark led . Oh

,my hat ! What wou ldn ’t

I give to be i n the a rm y !You won ’t be the fi rst to Say that to-day , said Roche ;but i f you were in the army you might not be a l ive tocongratu late you rse l f on the fact to-morrow . The Germanshave occupied Luxemburg , they a re sweepi ng across Belgium ; soon , I expect , they wil l be i n Pari s , and then i t wi l lbe our tu rn . And God knows S teady , man ! What are

you doing ?”

Gardiner was clutch ing hi s arm . Belgium ? he gasped.

But they ’re neutra l ! ”

Germany announces that she is not to be bound by scrapsof paper.”

Gardiner sat down on hi s stool and took his head i n hi shands . Roche had heard a part of hi s story ; not enoughto exp lain hi s emotion . He laid hi s hand on the p ri soner’sshou lder. You wi sh you were f ree to go and help ?

” hesaid

,hi s deep musica l voice v ibrating .

“ Poor fel low ,so

do I so do

One queer by-product of the war was the general eagerness to bear one another ’s burdens , the Chri stmas Caro latmosphere of good temper and good-will . In pri son thi sfeel ing worked a mi racle ; i t drew together pri soners andwarders . The day ’s news was whi spered without rebukeunder the very noses of the guardians of si lence ; sometimes they even whi spered i t themse lves . RocheWent boldlyto the governor (he did not lack courage , that young man ;he had al ready ha l f-a-dozen quarrel s on hi s hands , including one with Leonard Scott about vestments ) , and byspecia l pe rmi ssion started hi s Sunday serv i ce each week witha summary of news .

.

There was not much to tel l i n thatfi rst month . On the 6th The Tim es grave ly stated thatmobil i zat ion cou ld not be completed ti l l the l 6th ; on the 18thcame the announcement that the whol e Exped it ionary Forcewas already across the water. Liege was making its gal

a E as,

229

lant de fense ; the Russians were pouring into East Pruss iathere was a batt le near Dinant i n which the French werevictorious .

“

Next , the evening papers of the 2 4th baldlyannounced the fa l l of Namur . Heart-shaking news

.It

shook.

England ; i t was then that the recruits began to pourin , th i rty thou sand a day, SO that the height l imit had to berai sed to check the flow. Al l these things Roche reportedto a congregation which hung upon hi s l ips

.

He did not at first report, because he did not bel ieve , therumors of at roci tie s at Vi sé and e lsewhere which were current in those early days . Few responsible men did take account Oi such fantasti c nightmares . They were whisperedi n the pri son neve rtheless . But there came a Sunday inSeptember when Roche , making a l ittle pause a fter hi s summary, began again, gravely : It is stated , and I believei t to be t rue , that the German army in Belgium i s committ i ng , by order and i n cold blood , the foulest abominations .The old universi ty town of Louvain and its Splendid libraryhave been burned to the .ground and the inhabitants m as

sacred . The same sort o f thing is reported from other townsand vi l lages . The men— peaceable working men— aredriven out -in batches and shot . The women are given tothe so ldiery and then bayoneted . Children have been shot ,stabbed

,mutilated

,crucified . In the l ittle town of

DinantThere was a sl ight disturbance . A pri soner i n one of

the back rows struggled to hi s feet and cal led out something ; a couple o f warders popped instantly out of thei rsentry-boxes and hustled him away. The chapel door closed

upon.them ; Mr . Roche continued hi s address . The only per

son Who recogn i zed the brawler, and saw the S ign ificance o fthe i ncident , was Dr . Scott ; and even he , though he had heard

of the Bel levue , had never heard of Lettice Smith .

I S the doctor within , mistress ?

What d ’ye want him for ?”

I wou ld l ike a word with him .

230 CONVICT B 14

We ll , you’ l l have to go without i t , then . Think ‘ I

’

m

goin ’ to rout him out f rom hi s breakfast for the l ikes of

you ? No fear !”

I ’m thinkin’

, mistress , he’

l l maybe no ’ be p leased i f yere fuse . The thing i s pressing

“ And so’

s hi s break fast press ing, ain’

t i t ? I ’ve no patience w ith the lot of you—comin’

trapesin’

round here ata l l hours , neve r lett ing him get a bit e i n peace

“ What ’s the matte r, Katie ?” asked Dr . Scott h imse l f .

coming out i nto the passage with hi s napkin i n h i s hand .

Who wants me ? Oh , it’

s you , Mackenzi e, i s i t ? What’s

brought you round here at thi s t ime of day ? ”

Chie f Warder Mackenzi e , a large and fatherly Scot , smi ledhi s acknow ledgments ; he was one of those who l iked thel i ttle doctor . Wel l , sir, I

’

d no’ have disturrbed ye at yrrbreakfast , but I thought ye shou ld know . There i s one of

the men took si ck. Warder Barnes tel l t me when I cameon duty thi s m ornin

’

,and I ’m no ’ sure what to think 0

’

the matte r m aself. He’

ll make no rep ly to any words 0 ’

mine ; I doubt he didna hear what I sa id . I thought maybei f ye ’d take a look at h imTake a. look at h im ? O f course I ’ l l take a look at him !

Who i s i t ? ”

B 14 , sir.

B I 4 !”

Casting down hi s napkin on the nearest chai r, Scott cameas he was , bare-headed , across the pri son grounds i n theearly sunshi ne . Gardiner was sti l l i n the Old wing of theprison ; as his vi si tors came i nto the gloomy corridor , afte r

the brightness outsi de , they had to look to thei r feet to avoidtumbl ing over the orderly ’ s broom . When the cel l wasOpened , Scott at fi rst cou ld see nothing. He made a stepforward at random .

“ Take care , sir, Barnes tel lt me hewas violent the morn ! said Mackenzi e , brushing hasti lypast ; and then, i n gruff but not unkindly tones : Now

then , B 14 , wake up ! Here’s the doctor for ye !

There was no answer ; but Scott could see now. B 14lay on the ground, pressed , flattened, wedged into the angle

232 CONVICT B 1 4i

Scott ’ s heart sank down , down ; how cou ld he te l l thi sf ranti c creatu re that what he asked was impossible ? Geth im out l—he had a lready Strained hi s i nfluence to theuttermost for B 14 ; he cou ld hea r Captain Harding

’s sarcastic l i ttle laugh Your pet patient again , doctor ?

Laws are not to be bent because pr isoners su ffer . Hecou ld not qui te make out what it was a l l about , or whyGardiner should

’

be so desperate ly anxious to get over toBe lgium ; something to do with hi s property , he supposed ;yet thi s did not seem l ike a question of property . Meanwhi le the pri soner was off again on a f resh stream of

supp l i cations,thi s time i n a murmur so low, so wi ld and

incoherent , that.

S cott had to bend right down to hi s l ips .What i n heaven ’s name was he raving about now ?I f it had been anything but this, anything el se on earth

but this ; you can’t keep a man here looking on at thi s ; eye s

weren ’t g iven you for thi s . Because it’

s not nightmare , youknow , it

’

s fact ; they do do i t ; there were those stori e s Deni sUsed to tel l of 1 870 and you heard Roche yourse l fa l l n ight long

,a l l night long given to the soldiery and

bayoneted perhaps it's happening now,thi s i n stant , and

I here , Oh , my God , my God, my God , my God ! - and i fyou ’d only let me f ree , I know I cou ld have saved her !He broke down suddenly into the most fright ful sobbing.

Gardiner ! Stop i t ! ” the doctor ’s voice rang out. Thepri soner quivered and cowered unde r the word of command ;hi s voi ce went up i n a sort of hysterica l crow , and stopped ,dead . He lay l ike a log . Scott tried to speak again , andfound hi s throat dry . So that was i t ! There were thingsin thi s war which had t ried even hi s fai th . Neither wounds ,nor death— secure of eternity , he cou ld afford to di sregardthe suffe rings of thi s span- long l i fe - but the fate of thewomen . I t did not seem right , he could not reconci le i t withh is i dea of the divine j ust ice, that evi l men should be al lowedto stai n the sou l . What was he to say now to Gardiner ?

Plat itudes ? He had nothing e lse to offer . He was helpless—and at that word faith sprang up to claim the aid of omnipotence . He had known the love of God a l l those years ;

E 233

cou ld he not t rus t Him to do what He wou ld w i th Hi s own ?He turned to the pri soner.“I can

’

t let you out , Gardiner, he said sadly, givingh im the t ruth because he had no choice . “ I ’l l do what Ican

, but I know i t won’t be any good . Here you are and

here you’

l l have to stay for the next four months,and i f what

you are a fra id of happens it wil l have to happen,and you

wi ll have to .bear it . God i s the j udge. Only i t ’s up to youto choose how you ’l l bear it : whether you ’l l give in

,as you ’re

doing now, or whether you’l l stand up l ike a man and fight

i t ou t. I f you can’ t save your f riends

,you may be able to

avenge themAs he spoke hi s eye fel l on Gardiner ’s hand

,and the words

died on hi s l ips . Those contra cted fingers wou ld never holda rifle . Scott fe lt si ck . He got up from hi s knees .Wi l l I l ight the gas , si r ?

” asked Mackenzie’s businessl ike tones .Scott a ssented mechani ca l ly, feel ing for hi s cl inical ; but

when the l ight sprang out he had to take himsel f in hand andfai rly force h imsel f to work

,against the most intense re

luctance he had ever felt i n hi s li fe . Gardiner sti rred not ;he had to pri ze open hi s teeth before he cou ld insert thethe rmometer . A gleam of white showed under the eyel ids .When Scott fel t hi s pu lse

,the hand fell back inert .

Pui r fe l low,he looks bad ,

” said Mackenzie dispassionate l

“)Yes

,i t ’s a case for the hospital . You did quite right

to fetch me,

-Mackenzie . I ’l l send a couple o f orderl ies witha st retcher. When’s your best time ? I shou ld l ike you tobe here to supe rintend .

”

I ’l l no’ be on duty the mom ,but I ’l l be back again after

dinne r, sir.

Ve ry wel l,I ’l l have them here at one O

’

clock . Leavethe bed as i t i s

,and tel l Barnes to keep an eye on h im in

the meanwhi le .”

Verra good , si r;Scott was going out

,wi thout another glance at the

pri soner,when Mackenzie touched hi s arm . He

’

s lookin

234i CONVICT B 1 4

at you ,si r, he wh ispe red . Scott tu rned. The l ine of whi te

under the eyel id s had widened s l ightly ; the gleam of thepupi l wa s vi sible . Whi le he watched , the l ips unclosed, andthe dead ( indeed i t had that effect) spokeI won ’t go to hospi ta l .

”

You ’l l be better Off the re,Gardi ner, said S cott very

gently. I ’

ll give you someth ing to send you to sl eep .

”

The eye s Opened a l i tt le fu rthe r. After a moment theprone figu re heaved it sel f up and struggled into a s itt ingposit ion against the wa ll .I won ’t go to hospi tal , and I won

’ t take your b loody stuff,youImpossible to convey the low feroc ity, the be st ia l drawl inginsol ence of voice and manner. Scott flushed l ike a schoolgi rl and involuntari ly recoi led a step . Hold your mouth ,ye fou l-tongu ed , ungratefu

’ devi l ; the doctor’s the best f riend

ye have,and better than ye dese rve ! ” cried Mackenzie

angri ly .

Hold your own mouth , Sandy Mackenzie , Or I’ l l knock

eve ry bloody one of those gold-stopped teeth you ’re so proudof down your bloody throat— by God , I wi ll !Mackenzi e turned purp le ; but be fore he cou ld get i nto

act ion Scott i nte rvened .

Let be , o ffi cer,” he commanded wi th authority . Thi s

has gone beyond you and me . The man ’s not responsible ;he doesn ’t know what he i s saying .

”

I won ’t go to your bloody hospital I won ’t I won ’t,

”

cried Gardiner, hi s voi ce ri sing to a shri ek . Scott turnedi n the doorway : Mackenzie , staunch U.P.

,was less shocked

than he wou ld have be l ieved possible to watch him make theS ign of the cross and to catch the muttered Lat in of hi scommendation . I f eve r he had seen a man possessed with adev i l and i n need Of exorci sm, he saw him then.

When they had gone out , Gardiner lay for some momentspass ive ; then w i th infinite toi l , stea dying himse l f with hisshaki ng hand against the wal l, he got to h i s feet. What washe go ing to do next ? He knew that per fectly . He was not

236 CONVICT B 1 4

wire-netting tha t gu ards the s tai rcase , and be dashed to

piec es on the flags be low . You may even , i f you are veryreso lute

,hack your th roat open wi th the blunt piece O f corru

ga ted tin whi ch serves as a dinner kni fe . Gardiner had hi sown p lan . Some time since hi s gas globe had got broken ,

and he had managed to secrete a spl inter of glas s . Diffi cul tto hide i t, since every pri soner i s sea rched twice a day ; bu t,aga in , they have thei r own ways of hiding things . It i s onrecord tha t a sovereign has been found on a man who hadbeen in j ail for a yea r. Gardiner hi d hi s bi t of glass unde rhi s tongue . I t was sm a ll enough for that , but i t was largeenough to sever the artery i n h i s thigh .

He tu rned hi s back to the doo r and drew the bed-clothesround him to hide the flow of blood . Then he leant outto find the sp li nter i n the crack where i t lay hid . At thatmoment he hea rd the tread of a warder outside . Theywea r l i st s li ppers , and to a f ree m an wou ld be inaudible ; butp ri soners have cat ’s ea rs . Gardiner drew i n h i s hand to letthe man go by . Lucky he did so . With the usual trem endou s ratt le and crash his doo r was u n locked and flungwide .

Ye’

re to d ress yoursel ’, B I 4, and come along wi th me .”

CHAPTER XXVII

SHE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKETH

The dead ab ide w ith us ! Though stark and coldEarth seem s to grip them , they are w ith us still.They have forged our chains of being for good or il l

And their invisible hands these hands yet hold.

The. Dead .

YES, Mackenzie ? What now ?

”

I ’ve brought ye B 14 ,si r. ”

Why don ’t you show him in,then ? ”

Wel l , sir, I’

m thinking he’

s no ’

al together to be trustit.

I thought maybe i f ye ’d permi t me to be in the roomTrusted ? Nonsense , man ! I

’m not made of glass .Bring him i n at once .

” And as Mackenzie turned reluctantly to obey, the Governor added : You can stand in acorner and see fai r play

,i f you like . But I don’t think a

l itt le whippe rsnapper l ike ou r f ri end would m ake much ofi t i f he t ri ed to tackle me

,eh

,Mackenzie ? ”

“ We l l , sir, maybe no ,” said Mackenz ie

,with hi s s low

smi le .Captai n Harding

,a lean Anglo-Indian

,al l bone and sinew,

got u p and posted himsel f with hi s hands under hi s coattai l s, back to the fire . He felt the cold , and there was ablaze in h i s grate on many a chi lly summer evening. Hisroom was comfortably furni shed with a Turkey carpet anddeep leathern arm -chai rs . To many a pri soner it had seemeda gl impse of paradi se . RI 4 , however , took no notice ; hi sapathetic face did not change , on ly he edged surreptit iouslytowards the hearth . You can come near the fire i f youli ke

,

” said Harding,eyeing him Sharply ; and as Gardiner

stumbled forward he put a hand on hi s shoulder. What’

sthe matter with you ? Are you sick ?

”

2 37

2 38 CONVICT B 1 4:

Gardi ner rai sed hi s eyes ; in thei r darkness shone a metal licfera l glare . “

I’

m per fect ly well , he said , on the sul lenverge of i nsolence .

He ’

s for the hospital , s i r,” sai d Mackenz ie from the

background , w i th an apo logeti c cough .

Si t down ,” said the Governor shortly . He sat down

himse l f , at hi s table , and tu rned over some papers . Yourname i s Henry de la Cruz Gardiner ? ”

De la Cruz ,”Gardine r inte rrupted , correcting h im as he

had corrected Lett ice how long ago on ly i n those dayshe had not spoken in that tone . Agai n he edged nearer tothe fi re . He was cold to the marrow O f hi s bones, colderthan he had ever been in his l i fe .Ah ! We ll , Gardine r, I

’m sorry to say I have some badnews for you . I ’ve received a letter f rom your father . Iti s agai nst the rules for me to give i t to you ; but I can ei therread i t or g ive you a summary. Shal l I read it ? ” Gardinerm ade no sign ; he was stari ng sul lenly i nto the flames . Captai n Harding, a fter another sharp glance at him over thetop O f the sheet , cleared hi s throat and began .

My own darling boyThe p ri soner stirred ; that address touched some chord

in hi s mind .

My own darl ing boy, I have two piece s of very badnews for you . I have been making inqui ri e s at Headquartersi n Town from a l l re fugees , but for a long t ime cou ld hearnothing of your pa rt of the country . La st Fri day, however,they wrote me that a man had come in f rom Boui llon . Iwent up at once , and heard the whole sto ry f rom hi s l ips .A las ! my dea r boy, I am gr i eved to tell you that your fri endshave suffered most crue lly f rom Those B rutes . The vi l lageof Rochehaut was burned on a8th August , and a large number of the men were massacred . You r friend the Curé wascut down with the Sacred Vessels in hi s hands . I could learnnothing O f the fate of the Women of the vi l lage , but i t seemsthat in the outlying farms and cottages every kind of abom ination was commi tted by Those Dev i l s. I asked part icu larlyabout you r hote l , and oh my dear dea r boy, he te l ls me tha t

240 CONVICT B 1 4

flying Officers are pa rt i cu larly we ll treated by the Germanswhen they fal l i nto thei r hands . NO use going to meettrouble hal f-way and be l i eving the worst be fore you knowi t ’s happened .

”

I ki l l ed he r, muttered the pri soner again .

You what ? ”

I ki l led her. I sent her out there to her death . I ki lledher

Harding laid hands on the chai r and whee led i t round tothe light . What ’s that ? What are you talking about ? ”

Nothing,

” said Gardiner . His eyes bl inked stupid ly i nthe sunshine . May I may I have my letter ? ” he asked ,hal f stretching out hi s hand .

“ I ’m afraid that ’s against the ru les , but I can read i t toyou again

,i f you l ike .

”

The hand dropped .

I s there any quest ion you want to ask ?NO,

said Gardiner ; adding , as an a fterthought No ,thank you

,S i r . I t was the first time he had used the t it le

of respect . Certain ly a hard case , and the Governor wasvery sorry for him, and not qui te sati sfied ; but there wasnothing to be done . He looked at Mackenzi e , and Mackenzi etouched B I 4

’

S arm . Stumbling to hi s feet , he got out O f theroom and down the passages somehow to hi s cel l , where hedropped face downwards on the bed .

“ I ’l l be round i n twa-three minute s to take you to hospi tal ,

” said Mackenzie,preparing to withdraw .

Mackenzie .”

Wel l ? What ai l s ye now ? ”

The pri soner had struggled up on hi s e lbow . Te l l Dr.Scott I want to see him .

Ye ’ ll be seein ’ him in ha l f-ah -hour.I want to see him i n ha l f-a-minute .He ’s awa’ at hi s lunch

,

” said the warder. “ I ’ve di sturrbed him at hi s breakfast for ye already the mom can ’t

you let him get a bi te i n peace ? I wou ldna be hard on ye,but ye must be reasonable .Mackenzie !

SHE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKETH

Again the pri soner called him back . He had swung hi sfeet to the ground ; he looked wild and dangerous enoughfor anything .

“You bring Scott along. You ’ l l be sorry

for i t i f you don ’t .”

I te l l you he’

s awa at hisMan , man ! What

’s that to do with it ? You fetch h imhere double-quick time , or I tel l you you

’l l be sorry for i tyou ’

l l be sorry al l the days of your l i fe ! Will you go?”

Mackenzie caught that green gli tter , and he did not l ikei t ; he did not l ike i t at al l . It sent him off

,shaking hi s

head , hot foot to the doctor’s quarters , to face again the re

doubtab le Katie . Meanwhi le the pri soner sprang Up andpaced hi s ce ll , up and down , with the strength of fever.When the doctor came in , he was standing in the middle ofthe floor

,hi s stool held by the leg in one hand , i n the other

a small obj ect whi ch he thrust violently forward .

Here,Scott

,catch ho ld o f thi s ! You ’ve been long

enough coming you ’re on ly just i n t ime !Scott looked down at the spl inter of glass . So that was

“

how you meant to do i t , hey ?

Yes, that was how I meant to do it . And don’t you let

me get hol d of i t again , and don’t you send me to that damned

hospi tal o f yours,unless you want murder done . I

’

ve hadabout as much as I can stick . I won

’t be herded with a mobof fi lthy j ai l-bi rds . Keep off— if you lay a finger on meI ’l l bash your brains out against that wal l !Scott with abso lute fearlessness stepped forward and

caught hi s wri st .Drop that stoo l drop i t ! That ’s better. Now, l i sten

to me . I ’m not going to leave you here—wait ! I’

ve notdone—and I ’m not going to send you to hospital either.

You ’ l l go to the padded cel l .”

The padded cel l ? ” echoed Gardiner, the padded cell ?

1 never thought o f that . You have some sense in yourhead

,Scott . See here — hi s face had changed , relaxed into

something l ike humanity ; he sei zed the doctor’

s hand andspoke rapidly

,earnestly I ’m sane for the moment ; for

heaven ’s sake l i sten to what I say ! Five minutes ago I was

2 42 CONVICT B 1 4

crazy to ki l l myse l f . Five minutes hence I shal l want toagain

, and,if by any hook or crook I can , I shal l . So youput me in that padded cel l , and you keep me there ! Don

’tyou let me out don ’t you l et me out on any pretext whatever ! I sha l l beg and pray you , I shal l how l l ike al l thedevi ls i n he l l , I sha l l i nvent excuses I haven

’t the ingenuityto imagine now ,

but whatever I say or do , don’t you l i sten !

It’ s these next twe lve hours I ’m afraid of. I f you ’ l l keepme in there

,he rmeti cal ly sealed , t i ll to-morrow morning, I

shal l be a l l right . Wil l you do it ? Scott di d not answer ;he had drawn him towards the window , and was looking andlooking into hi s eyes a s i f he would have probed hi s inmostsou l . It ’s a ri sk ? Yes , but i t

’ s that e i ther way. Let mego down fighting , Scott I Sti l l no reply . You a Christ ian and a fraid ! ” Gardiner sco ffed .

No , I’m not a fraid ,

” said the l i ttle man cu rt ly. He released h im . I ’l l do i t .

You w i l l ? You swear you won’t let me go ?

My word’

s my bond .

”

He went out. The prisoner fe l l back on hi s pallet andthrew hi s arm across his ’

eyes. Now I ’ve done i t ! hemu rmured with a long breath . Now I ’ve burned my boats !Are you sati sfied , Letti ce ? My li fe for yours : i s i t a fairexchange ? You always wanted thi s wel l , fai r or not, i t

’sthe best I can do .

The padded ce l l , for weak-minded criminal s , resembles ona large scal e one of those l ined work-boxes which youngladies u sed in the seventies , except that stout yel low canvastakes the place of quilted sat i n . Padding a yard thi ck coverswal l s and floo r. There i s a smal l window under the cei l ing ;a squint, as usual , i n the door ; and another, high up , cornmanding every corner of the cel l . No furniture , not somuch as a bed .

Pri soners have been known to get thei r nai ls under thecanvas and rip i t f rom the wal ls

,at a cost to the Bri ti sh tax

payer of some sixty pounds . RI4 did not do that ; but with inha l f-an-hour he was raving, as he had foretold . Warderspassing outside cou ld hear the thump of hi s body fl inging

CHAPTER XXVIII

DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES

Oh ! la fou le joyeuse,Le soir,Autou r des tables, sur les trottoirs,Et la b iere m ou sseu se

Débordant des verres ,Et les longu es p ipes de terreDont on su it des yeux la fum e

'

e,

Le coeu r réjou i, l’

am e apa isée !

Comb ien de tem ps, comb ien de tem ps,0 m a Patrie ,Tendras-tu patiemmentDans la nu itTes ma ins m eurtries ?

EM ILE CAMMAERTS.

LETTICE and Dorothea arrived at the Be llevue i n May. Bythe end of Ju ly thei r guests were scattering l ike autumnleaves , and on the day of the u lt imatum Letti ce took mattersi nto her own hands, sent off the se rvants and Shut the hote l .She did not i n the least want to fol low them Lett ice wasnot fond of running away ; but for Dorothea

’s sake she wasmaking up her mind to that sacrifice , when she di scoveredthat Dorothea hersel f had other v iews . She go and hide ?

Rather not ! She was going to stay and see the fun . (Atthat time it was sti l l possible for the Dorotheas of thi s worldto talk of seeing the fun . )I can nurse, you know , she said , si tt ing on the dresser

i n the big dese rted kitchen , her hands i n her tweed pockets ,her brown legs swinging

,her eyes sparkl ing with agreeable

excitement . I ’ve got every old certifi ca te and medal theRed Cross people give . I t was the one th ing I was let do asa kid—go to nursing lectures ; uncle was always fancyinghimse l f i l l

, you see , and I had to look a fter him . Oh yes , I244

DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES 2 45

can nurse l ike bi l ly-O I GO back to England and knit socks ?Not for thi s chi ld ! ”

But , but— but it’

s not sa fe , obj ected Lettice , pensivelyrubbing her nose .Safe ? Nonsense ! What do you suppose is going to

happen to us ? The Germans wil l never get within miles O fthi s , and even suppose they did we

’re non-combatants—we

should be all right . Thi s i sn ’t -the Dark Ages . Besides , i fwe run away , who

’s to look after the hotel ? ”

Lett ice said nothing.

Suppose they quartered soldiers here ? It ’s j ust thep lace they might . The poi lu ’

s a darling, and I love himmadly

,but what do you think Mr . Gardiner ’s furniture would

be l ike a fter a week of him ? There simply must be somebody to c lear the rooms and see to things . You sent overSpecia lly to be in charge

,and then want to go and run away !

I ’m surpri sed at you ,Lettice. But whoever el se shows pu

pusilianinim ity”

( there were some words Dorothea rea llycould not I shal l always be found ready to die at

my post .”

But said Lettice . Dorothea j umped down in a whirlwind and shook her by the shoulders .

Oh,pooh ! I won

’t go home— I won’

t—I won’

t—so

now ! Do you understand that ? And you know perfect lywel l you don

’t want to either. As i f I couldn’

t see ! You’

resaying thi s simply for my sake ; and now you know I

’

mnot going i n any case you may as well give in W ithout anymore fuss

.I ’m tired of arguing with four buts and a

grunt ! ”

Wel l,

sa i d Lettice,varying her formula W i th an

eighth of an inch of smile , and al lowing hersel f to pretend

to be over-persuaded .

So they stayed .

In common with many other people, Dorothea was nothappy i n her predict ions . On Friday , zxst August , a French

army passed through Boui llon.On Saturday a battle was

fought near Mai ssi n , i n which twelve thousand Germans

were put out of action .On Sunday began the retreat o f the

246 CONVICT BM

French towards Sedan . And on Monday , a4th August , theFrench commander warned M . Hunin , burgom aste r and pro

prietor of the HOtel de la Poste , that i t would be pru dent toevacuate the town . A l l the be l ls i n Boui l lon rang the tocsin ,and many people fled

,abandoning thei r house s a s they stood .

A few hours later the Germans entered the ci ty .

The abandoned house s were at once broken open andsystematical ly plundered . Wine , beer, bedding were com

m andeered ; pictures and valuables o f a l l so rt s were packedup and sent to Ge rmany . More care fu l than thei r comradesat Louvain , the victors here secured and stole the famousl ibrary of the Trappi st monks of Cordem ois. Next morni ng a noti ce defining the duti es of the inhabitant s was postedup i n the market-place

,on the wal ls of the hote l where the

last French Emperor had s lept on the night be fore Sedan.

PROCLAMATION

1 . The tOWn of Boui llon wi l l pay a WAR LEVY of

f rancs .

2 . Belgian or French soldie rs must be handed Ove r asPRI SONERS OF WAR be fore 4 P.M . Cit izens fai l i ng to obeythi s order wi l l be sentenced to PENAL SERVITUDE FOR LIFEi n Germany. Every soldier found afte r that hour wi l l beSHOT.

3. Arms , powder, dynam i te must be handed over be fore

4 R M . Pena lty , to be SHOT .

4 . INTERDICTION to be out i n the st reet s DUR ING THEHOURS OF DARKNESS . Al l houses must be comp letely OPENand L IGHTED. Groups of more than F IVE persons a reSTRICTLY FORB IDDEN .

5. Ci ti zen s must salute every German oflicer with respect.Fai l ing thi s , the office r i s enti tled to extort it BY ANY MEANSIN H I S POWER.

6 . I f any HOSTILE ACTION i s attempted the town w i l l beBURNT DOWN and a TH IRD or THE MALE POPULATION WILLBE SHOT ; w ithout d i stinction of persons , the innocent wi l lsuffe r with the gui lty . The people of Boui l lon must under

CONVICT B 1 4

to Ge rmany, where they might be made use of for gathe ringin the harvest o f the Fatherland ; the remaining twenty foundan end to thei r t rouble s i n a t rench under the churchyardwal l . The women and chi ldren , who had been confined i nthe church during the fusi l lade

,were let ou t to dig the gen

era l grave,and then suffered to go—not to thei r homes ,

howeve r, for these were condemned. They wandered in

desert s and in mountains , and in dens and caves of the rocks ,being dest itute , affl i cted , tormented .

” Poo r Old MadameMercie r

,whose leg had got broken i n her struggles with

the colonel ’s horse,had been overlooked in the general con

fusion and left behind i n her cottage . She could not getdownstai rs , but she dragged herse l f to the window andshrieked for help to the soldiers who were setting fi re toher ki tchen . The colone l , riding down the street , was annoyed by he r cries ; he looked up , and recogn i zed the f rightened Old face . One of you stop that old woman

’s noi se !he shouted . After al l , why not ? It was her own fau lt ;why had she not obeyed orders , and gone to the church w i ththe rest ? Es ist unsere Pflicht,

” said the Uh lans .I t was Lett ice ’s turn that a fte rnoon to fetch the dai ly loa ff rom the Bou langerie Lapouse , Opposite the church . Herpath led over the hi l l past the crucifix

,across the fie lds and

through a corner of Gardiner ’s enchanted wood,which here

ran down qui te close to the vi l lage . She toi led along,a s

u sual with her head i n the clouds , but her dreams werebroken and her steps stayed by a sudden burst of firing. Shepaused i n the fringes O f the wood .

Al l down the street men i n gray were systematical ly spraying the houses with petrol ; others were taking thei r choiceof the furn i ture . The Shops and ‘ca fés O f the square wereal ready i n flames . The colonel sat hi s horse looking on .

Sudden ly a boy of fi fteen bolted l ike a rabbi t ou t of one o fthe blazing doorways and down the blazing street . He toohad di sobeyed orders . A laugh , a leveled rifle , and the poo rl ittle rabbit bounced i nto the ai r with a squeak l ike a mechan ica l dol l, legs and arms j erking, and then went flat onthe ground, i ts de featured face in the midden . The flaxen

DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES 249

po l l became a crimson blob . Lettice saw that . Her firstimpu l se was to rush forward and attack the murderers withher bare hands ; the next sent her running blindly backthrough the woods by the way she had come . She was notfrightened—it was fa r too vast a thing for personal fear ;but she was sick with loathing, as at the sight of some monstrosity which ought never to have been allowed to see thesun .

The world never looked quite the same to Lettice a fterthat day. B li nd and deaf , her mind blasted bare of thought ,she crossed the fields and scrambled down the orchard

,and

came round the corner of the house into the courtyard .

There she was brought up with a cold hand at her heart .Severa l wagons were drawn up at the door ; men in gray ,that accursed field-gray which has been hated as no uni formbefore

,were loading them under the direction o f an officer .

And Dorothea ? Faint with foreboding, seeing crimsonblobs i n patches on the flags , Lettice groped towards the sidedoor— and was met by Dorothea herse l f coming out, herface al l pink and white with tears .

Oh, Letti ce , Lettice she said , they

’re going to burnthe house—they give us a quarter of an hour to tumout !

Letti ce put a hand on her arm , partly for support , partlyto make sure of her real ity ; and by common consent theytu rned

,as they stood i n the doorway, to watch the lading of

the carts . A l l went by clockwork. To one, the sold ierswere bringing ou t the contents of Lettice

’

s l inen chest , herblankets

,sheets

,etc . ; to another the furniture and plate.

They packed l ike professional movers . There were tarpan

l i ns ready to cover the cart s when ful l .There ’s my chest of drawers, said Dorothea under her

breath.

Oh,Lettice

, oh ,Lettice ! what is that man domg

w i th my be st crepe de Chine nighties ? Oh, look, he’

s packing them al l up he can

’

t be going to wear them h imsel f , hemust be taking them for hi s best gi rl i n Germany , andthey ’re every single one embroidered with my

.

name in fulloh, good gracious, how can he ?

” She broke into a hyster ica l

250 CONVICT B 1 4;

giggle . Oh,rea lly

,I do think Germans have funny sort

of minds ! Oh,look, look , there

’s your bureau out of th edenLett ice ’s bureau—it was Gardiner ’s bu reau , the one hea lways used , the very one he had bought f rom M adameHasquin i n Le tti ce

’s presence ; he loved it too much tolet i t out of his own room . The office r, s taying hi s men w itha word

,began to look through the drawers , presumably for

valuables . The fi le of Lett ice ’s household bi ll s h e tossedaside ; lette rs and other papers he skimmed , be fore rej ectingthem .

Lettice ’s hand fe l l f rom Dorothea’s arm . She walkedstraight across the courtyard to hi s s ide . “What are youdoing with that bureau ? she asked .

Requ i s it ioned for the army ,” was the curt reply.

You mean , you want i t yoursel f ,”sa id Lettice . It ’s

steal ing ; and you and your men are j ust thieves and murderers.

He turned,then

,and looked at her , whi le Dorothea p lucked

at her sleeve,whispering frant ic entreaties . But only a firing

party could have S i lenced Lettice at that moment .NO,madam , i t i s not steal ing, i t i s wa r,

” said the Germani n an altered voice . “ You are conquered ; you have nolonge r any property or any rights but what we choose toal low you . You would do well to remember that . And letme advi se you i n future to be more care fu l o f what you say.

Not a l l my compatriots have an Engli sh education to lookback upon .

Then Dorothea pulled her away, sti l l re luctant ; and i twas Dorothea , i n the nightmare minutes that followed , whosorted and packed i n wi ld haste al l she thought they cou ldcarry . There was not much le ft to take . She stuffed somec lothes i nto a couple o f pi l low-cases

,and dragged the si lent

Lett i ce out at the back, past some sold iers who with the samedeadly method were smashing the windows i n turn and spraying the interior. These men wore broad bel ts to which wereattached a hatchet

,a syringe

,a sma l l shovel

,and a revolve r .

On the belt s were the words,Company of Incendiarie s ,

”

CHAPTER X! IX

THE GOOD HOURS

All villages, chateaux , and houses are burn t down duringthis n igh t. It was a beauti fu l s ight to see the fires a ll round u s in

the d istance. In every village one finds only heaps of ru ins and

m any dead. Now com e the good hours.—D iary of Germ an

private, 4th Com p . Jager Etln . , No . I L , Aug . 2 3—2 7, 19 14.What’s death ? You

’l l love m e yet !

Pippa Passes.

WHEN the dawn came , crystal-bright and pure , the two gi rl sl e f t the ruins o f the Bellevue and wandered off among thehi l l s . They had no food . They did not know where theywere going. They did not know where they wanted to go .

Soon rai n came on ,and fe ll i n floods a l l day . They lost

themse lve s i n dim green val leys ; they pushed through dripping copses O f hazel ; they sank ankle-deep i n spongy mosses ,and waded through unnamed torrents . Once they crouchedamong the bracken While a gray patro l rode by

,shouting

and singing, uproari ously drunk . A litt le later they cameon a lonely cottage with a dead gi rl lying across the threshold . She had been bayoneted , and worse . A baby of twoyears was strung up by the neck to the door hand le ; another, of on ly a few weeks , wailed feebly i n a poo l O f bloodand wate r be side the mother. Dorothea darted upon i t witha cry ; cradling it in he r so f t arms , against her breast , Shestepped ove r the gi rl ’s body into the hut , forget fu l of thehorror of death i n the claims of thi s minute piece of l i fe .The man of the house was inside . He had been surpri sedat hi s dinner, and had de fended himsel f with the ca

’

rvingkni fe . He had taken a good dea l of ki l l i ng, a s the floorand wal l s bore W i tness ; neverthele ss , the murderers hadkicked hi s body into a corner, sat down at hi s table , andfinished hi s meal .Dorothea was search ing the shelves for mi lk or any other

252

THE GOOD HOURS 253

food , when she heard a shout outside,fol lowed by a cry

the oddest l i ttle cry she had ever heard . She caught up thekn i fe with which the man had de fended himse l f , and ranout. I t was Lettice who had made that odd little sound

;she was struggl ing w i th an Uhlan

,very drunk i n the legs

but very strong in the arms, who was t rying to force herdown . Dorothea stuck the kni fe i nto his neck from behind

,

dragged i t out and stuck it in again . The man droppedLetti ce and wheeled round, firing hi s revolver ; but hi s handwavered away, and the Shot went i nto the ground.

He sankdown w i th a grunt and lay there between them

,the bright

blood pumping out scarlet . Dorothea looked at Lettice ; hereyes flamed ; she held the baby sti l l clasped to her breast .I ’ve ki l led him

, she Said . I ’m glad .

”

Lettice did not speak ; her hands were at her throat , mechanically settl ing her t ie ; she turned and reentered theforest without a word .

“Wait hal f-a-minute ! ” Dorotheacal led afte r her ; and Lettice waited , in the brake , back turnedto the house . She had to wai t a good many minutes ;whether one or sixty , i t was al l the same to her. ThenDorothea came running up

,breathless . “ I ’ve found just

a drop of milk, and thi s , see ,”she said, displaying one of the

long Be lgian loaves . Lettice was to suppose she had spenther t ime i n ransacking the larder . In point of fact , she hadbeen rol l ing

,haul ing

,push ing the dead German into the wel l ;

she did not wi sh hi s body to be the excuse and the signal for afresh campaign of vengeance .They spent that night in one of the l imestone caves O f

the Semoi s . In spite of the mi lk, in spite o f Dorothea’

sshe lteri ng arms

,the baby died of exhaustion in the cold hour

before the dawn.Dorothea wept bitter tears , and le ft i t

lying covered with ferns, on a bed of moss she could not

bear to pi le stones on the tender li ttle l imbs and ivory face.

A turnip-field gave them a breakfast more susta in ing thanhaze l nut s and blackberries , but for the most part they keptto the woods ; they were a fraid of the open country. Bythi s t ime they had lost al l sense of di rection . The ra in sti ll

fel l hopelessly.There was no sun to guide them ; the hi lls

254 CONVICT B 1 4:

were all h idden in m i st ; and the S emoi s , when they came oni t i n its wild and twi sting val ley, seemed never to flow tw icein the same di rect ion . Yet they wandered on

,because they

had begu n wandering and had not spi ri t to stop .

Towards sunset they came suddenly to the edge O f a hi ll,and saw below them , deep buried i n a cup-l ike hollow

,a farm .

From where they stood an orchard l ped steep ly to thegroup O f white bui ldings , beyond them the green meadow fe l laway to a brook ; the opposite slope was a stubble field

,

crowned with a l i ne O f firs .Why,

” sa id Dorothea,why

They had wandered in a ci rcle and come back to thei rstart ing-poi nt . It was the Ferme de la Croix .

Lettice , who had not spoken for hours , found her tongue .

Don ’ t go down ,”she said , we shal l only find Somebody

e lse dead .

”

We might find something to eat , said Dorothea , morehope fu l . “ The house does look al l right , and I

’m sureMadame Hasquin would give u s the supper Off her own plate ,i f she hadn ’t anyth ing e lse . But Oh , my good gracious !how we must haveWandered ! I ’d hoped we were hal f-wayto Meziere s by now . And yet , you know , I di d think thecount ry seemed to be looking fami l i ar somehow th i s l ast hal fhour. Don

’t you come down, .Lett ice ; you stay here with

the things whi le I go and explore .”

Lett ice , who was possessed Of a dumb dev i l that day ,shi fted her bundle f rom her le f t hand to her right and saidnothing . Sl ipping f rom tree to t ree down the orchard,Dorothea peeped at the house f rom under cover. A l l wassti l l

,except the j oy-song of a hen which had j ust laid an egg.

Live fowl s and l ive Germans being i ncompatible , Dorotheacame out of hiding and walked boldly up the pebbled pathto the door. On ei ther s ide bloomed roses , dah l ias, lavenderwhere the bees were humming . The evening sun came out,and shone peace fu lly on the White wal l s . Dorothea rapped.

No answer ; only .a sandy cat ran out of the bushes and

tw i ned round her skirt s . She knocked again , then pu shedopen the door and entered .

256 CONVICT B 1 4

them coming, and had j ust time to escape w i th Lett ice to thewoods’ . There being nobody to ki l l , the v i si tors had to content themse lves with sacking the house , which they did withzest . I t was odd to see chai rs and mi rrors come hurt l i ng outof the bedroom windows , odder st i l l to see a drunken Uhlanparading about i n Madame ’

s vo luminous be st chemi se .

They wrung the necks of the fow l s they drove off the twomi ld cows ; they set fire t o the ricks

,and t ried to burn the

house as wel l,but lucki ly they had no pet rol , thi s be ing a

private venture not a mi l itary ope rati on , and i t s massy wal l sdefied them . It was not the fi rst t ime they had stood fire .Final ly

,they ki lled the sandy cat , who was mi sguided enough

to greet them as she greeted Dorothea . She had been a lean ,hard-flanked , and indiscriminatingly amiable creature , witha vulgar loud purr ; sti l l , i t was di stress ing to see her t i ed toa tree and shot to death with table-knives .After thi s they rode Off

,singi ng the i nevi table D eu tschland

uber Alles w i th more noi se than me lody , and the gi r l s cameou t of hiding to take stock of the damage . I t was extensive .The German soldie r had by that time learned to loot effectual ly, and what they had not sto len they had smashed . Thepoor pretty garden was t rampled i nto mi re . The kitchen wasankle-deep in broken crockery . A hal f-ki l led pig was squea li ng i ts l i fe out: i n the passage. The mattresses had been s l i tOpen and spread with fi lth from the stable . They had wipedthei r boots on the tablecloth ; they had used the co ffee-potas a spittoon ; they had covered the white-washed wal l s wi thwhat the expressi ve French id iom cal l s des salete

’

s ; they haddone other things which need not be desc ribed . In fine

,they

had contrived , within the space of a summer a fternoon , to beso ingeniously fi lthy and destruct ive that not a com er ofthe house was habitab le .

Lett i ce and Dorothea camped that n ight i n the ba rn .

Next day , while t ryi ng to cleanse the i r pigsty , they weresurpr i sed by a f resh party of vi si tors ; but these were sobe r,and the officer in command was the same comparativelyhumane person who had burned the Be llevue . His missionnow was not to strike terror , but to make an i nventory of

THE GOOD HOURS gm

al l domesti c animals ; and he did not look pleased when hefe ll over the dead porker in the passage . Hasti ly suppressing Lettice , who remained impracticably hostile , Dorotheam ade her appea l to the honor of the German army.

She usedher tongue and her beauti ful eyes so wel l that

,after l istening

to her ta le , the officer gave her what she wanted a sort o f

perm is de séjour, exempting the farm from further,requ i

sitions. Indeed there was l ittle le ft to take .Afte r thi s they had peace , and settled down to a strange ,

precarious, i solated l i fe . For some weeks they hardly set

foot outside the farm. Thi s extreme seclusion was not reallynecessary ; for times had changed and the pol icy o f the con

querors now was not to scare the country folk away,but to

coax them back to thei r homes and thei r ordinary work.

The German reign of terror in Belgium seems to have beenbased on the theory that one German soldier i s worth x

Belgi an civi l ians . There fore when sniping took place (orwhen they fancied i t had taken place , or feared i t might takeplace

, or thought a local ity needed a lesson to teach themwhat to expect i f i t did take place ) the order went out to kil l .Without di st inction of persons , the innocent wil l su ffer withthe gui lty. Much of the ravaging was done deliberately,by order : as at the sack of Rochehaut . Much was done byan equal ly del iberate relaxation of orders : as at the cottagei n the woods . In part the German plan succeeded, for itcertai nly stamped out sniping . In part i t recoi led upon itsel f .

To strike terror i s a very fine thing, but the results may beembarrassing to an army of occupation . Besides, i t real lylooked so very bad to neutrals !Letti ce and Dorothea

,however, dld not concern them

se lves w i th thi s change of pol i cy. The cottage i n the woodshad cured them of any wish to wander. Even Dorotheahad had her fi l l of adventures . It was long be fore she ven

tured as far as Poupehan , to ask for news ; and when she

did, she wished she had stayed at home . The fall o f Namur,

the fa l l of Brussel s , the coming fall o f Pari s—how long

be fore they heard of the capitulation of London ?

CHAPTER ! ! !

CONFES S IO AMANTIS

Pluck from the m em ory a rooted sorrowCleanse the stuffed bosom of the perilou s stuffThat weighs upon the hea rt.

NOT so very many mi les from Rochehaut , i n an empty loft ,Deni s was studying a map spread ou t on a packing-case .On the other s ide o f thei r tab le Wandesforde sat writ ing alette r on his knee . Partly by good luck, and part ly becauseWandesforde was an expe rt i n the a rt later known as wangl ing things

,they had cont ri ved to keep together almost f rom

the first ; at present they we re in the same squadron , andshari ng the same bi l l et

,much to Deni s’s advantage . For

Wandesforde, wherever he was , on the principle of the conse rvat ion of energy, drove at making himse l f comfortable .He used to say that Deni s wou ld have put up i n a pigsty without troub l i ng to tu rn ou t the pig . Two

'

m onths of war hadmade them more i nt imate than five years at B redon .

And that’s that ,” said Wandesforde , l icking the flap o f

hi s envelope . He got up and stretched himse l f HO !I ’m ti red . I thi nk I shal l turn in . Four-thi rty to-morrow ,

i sn ’t i t ? Ungod ly hour to rout you out on a chi l ly morning !Been writin ’ home ? ” asked Deni s w i thout looking up .

Yes . Haven ’t you ?Haven ’t any one to wri te to .

We l l,I rathe r wi sh I hadn ’t e i ther , sai d Wandesforde .

He looked Over Deni s’s shou lder. What are you study ingthat for ?

Reasons .Want to make sure whereabouts

'

Aix i s ? ”

258

260 CONVICT BM

ran into Tommy Wyatt yesterday ? He was very ful l of anew French dodge for fi ri ng a machi ne gun through thepropel le r . Si l ly business to get ki l led when there ’s so muchfun on hand

,what ? Think better of i t , Old thing .

”

I never said I was goi n’ to get kil led . I sai d my buswou ld come to grie f

,which i s qui te a different thing . I t’ s

not l ike ly we shal l both of us get back, i s i t ? BombingZ eppel i n sheds isn ’t a healthy j ob . We’re sa fe to getArchied ‘ and from Aix it’

s an uncommonly long run home .”

You re i n a cheer ful mood to-night .”

Sorry . What I ’m tryin’ to d rive i nto you r th ick head

i s that i f I do have to come down , I shal l make for Rochehaut .”

O f course i f you ’ve made up your m ind to comedownI ’ve not made up my mind to come down . But I fee l

l ike i t ,” said Deni s obstinately .

A l l right , al l right . But I can’t see how you th ink you

’ l lever get the chance of making for Rochehaut or whateveryou cal l the p lace . An i nternment camp i n the Fatherlandi s the common fate . Deni s again preserved si lence . Oh ,you and the bus are going to al ight i n some conveniently uni nhabi ted spot ? That the idea ? ”

It’

s possible , i sn’ t i t ? ”

You fee l l ike i t ? ” suggestedWandesforde, w i th a broad

Yes,I do fee l l ike i t . And i t ’ l l probab ly happen . I may

be wrong but I never am ,

” retorted Deni s.Oh

,quite . Wel l , I shouldn

’t dream Of Offering advice ,because I know you neve r take i t , but I wi sh to point outthat in the hypothet ical ci rcumstances I should make forthe Dutch frontier myse l f . You ’l l never get through thel i nes .”

I don ’t propose to get through the l ines . I f i nstead of

scintillatin’ with wi t you ’d ever by any chance al low me to

fini sh what I ’m saying, I should have told you be fore thatI want to go to Rochehaut because I know the place , andbecause my cousin Letti ce i s there i f she ’s sti l l al ive .”

CONFESSIO AMANTI S 261

Oh ah . Yes . I remember.

Wandesforde had heard as much as that. He did notdare Ofi

'

er sympathy , because Deni s ’s glacial eye wa s uponhim , forbidding i t . Deni s went on with hi s most intransigent ai r : And I may add that i f I get the ghost of achance to go I

’

m goin’

, and i f I get into a row for it afterwards I do not ( are. I want you to know this now because

,

i f things fal l out as I expect,I shall be very much obl iged

i f you’

l l see my pal Gardiner next t ime you ’re home on leave,

and te l l him .

”

The chap that ’s in pri son ? ”

Yes . Sorry to put you to so much inconvenience,but

I can’

t wri te i t , because hi s letters are read .

”

Quite . What do you want me to say ?

Tel l him I’

m goin’ to Rochehaut to look up Lettice . It ’smore h i s afi

'

air than mine .” Wandesforde scribbled downthe message in his pocket-book. And tell him Deni s’svoice unexpectedly fai led .

Wandesforde he ld hi s penci l ready.

Say I ’ve changed my mind , and I’m goin’ to settle up

my own affair t oo,i f I ’m let . He ’l l understand .

”

Wandesforde did not,never having heard of Dorothea

in thi s connection . He had never known Denis make aconfidence be fore . There was a pause ; but he sti l l waited .

I f he knew anything O f the signs of the times, more wascoming. He was right . The never-ceasing thunder of theguns accompanied and i llustrated Deni s ’s next speech .

Wandesforde, do you bel ieve i n a future l i fe ?Three months earl i er

,Wandesforde would have answered

w i th a shrug. His point O f v iew had changed . More orles s got to out here , haven

’ t you ? he said soberly.

I didn ’t for the best part O f thi s year.”

What, that t ime you were playing about with the fair

Evey ?Deni s l i f ted his head . You knew ? Well , I supposeyou wou ld. I t never struck meEverybody knew

, old thing,” saidWandesforde, w ith an

i rrepressible gr in . He was more touched than he would have

262 CONVICT B 1 4,

cared to admit by Den i s 5 rather trucu lent confidences, buthe cou ld not for his l i fe he lp finding him deuced funny !And nobody cou ld' th ink what on earth you were a fte r !I t was so very much out o f your l ine, and , i f you

’ l l forgivemy sayi ng so , you made such a shocking poor hand at i t !I don ’t lay c laim to your experi ence , sai d Deni s forbid

dingly . He attacked hi s con fessions once more. I hadrather a rough time of i t last autumn , one way and another.I it— I

You lost your fa ith , suggested Wandesforde, sti l l grinning . Lord b les s you , my dear chap , I know ! You le ftOff going to Bredon and l i stening to the l i ttl e bl ighte r w iththe mustachios . He came to me about it funked you

,I

suppose and I had to send him off with a flea i n hi s ear .Oh , Deni s , when you go Off the rai l s a l l the world stands toadmi re . Nobody would make a song about i t i f I stoppedgoing to church . And then Evey Byrne appea red on thescenes , and there was a hect ic i nterlude which ended in yourboth vani shing . You went back to Bredon, I know that ;but what On earth did you do with her ? ”

She went i nto a convent . ”

NO ! did she rea lly ? Rum ending to an affai r of thatki nd .

”

I t was not an affai r O f that kind .

What an expressive face hi s was,when he was not on

guard ! and how it changed at ment ion of Mrs . Byrne !Wandesforde could not imagine h imsel f taking Evey Byrneve ry se riously , but he fel t l ike a bull i n a china shop amongthe reserves and scruples and del icaci es of hi s partner’smind . He was , quite simply , very fond of Deni s. Hedi sl iked se ri ous scenes ; i n candid t ruth , he dreaded them ;they did not do , when to-morrow you were flying to Aixand to-night you had been writing cheer fu l non-committalletters l ike that now lying on the table . But i t was evidentthat Deni s was quite beyond ragging and bei ng ragged . The

moment had come , hi s tongue was loosed , and he must speak.

Wandesforde touched him gently on the shou lder.GO ahead , Old Deni s . I

’m off rotting.

”

2 64 CONVICT B 1 4

wou ld he have succeeded by word O f mouth . Gard iner knewtoo much , saw too much . Wandesforde was a neutra lmed ium. I t is o ften easier to confes s to a stranger than tothe fr iend of your bosom .

SO Wandesforde , fee l i ng shy, and a good dea l morecomfortable than Deni s himse l f , put up hi s penci l and prepared to take counse l with hi s pi l low .

You’

re a rum chap, Deni s,”was hi s conclusion.

CHAPTER XXXI

THE LUCKIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD

What’s death ? —You’ll love m e yet !

Pippa Passes.

LETTI CE , I’ve been down to Poupehan

Letti ce was darning her stockings in the shade Of thetower . Lettice would have darned her stockings on theJudgment Day . She suspended her work to look up

,slowly

,

at Dorothea . Rose-brown , panting from the steep hi l l , l ipslaughing, eyes sparkl ing w ith excitement, she flung hersel fdown among the stubble and the pink convolvuluses andfanned her face w i th her handkerchie f .

Oh , I’m so hot ! I ran nearly the whole way. I went

to try for a paper , and I fe l l over M . Lapouse , and Oh , Lett ice

,what do you think he told me ? There ’s been a French

p lane brought down near Florenvi lle , and the pilot’s es

caped, and they’re hunting him al l over the place ! Oh !

don ’t you hope he ’

l l get away ? ”

Lettice remained looking at her for a minute , then loweredher eyes and s lowly resumed her work. Dorothea flouncecl

away with an energy that upset Madame Hasquin’

s workbasket.We l l

,you are a fish ! I did think you

’

d be interested i nthi s . Don ’t you want to hear about i t ? Don

’

t you care?

Was was the man hurt ? asked Lettice .

NO, they don’t think so, or not much—he managed to

burn hi s machine , anyway . Oh ! don’t I wi sh I'

d beenthere ! We might have patched her up between us, andflown her to the French l ines . Oh ! i t would have beensport !

“ It ’s,i t ’s— it

’

s twenty mi les to Florenvi l le, i sn’

t it ?"

265

266 CONVICT B 1 4

Le tt ice pursued her train Of thought in her own undeviat

ing way.

Yes, about . Why ?”

And when did i t happen ?When did she come down , do you mean ? Yesterday

morn ing . Oh , were you thinking he might have come uphere ? He never would , Letti ce . NO such luck ! He wouldmake for the Dutch f rontie r, they always do , M . Lapouse

was saying so . They ’re hardly even searching west of

Bou i l lon .

”

O-Oh .

Lett i ce went on darning . Letti ce i n those days was hardlya personal i ty . Withdrawn into hersel f , ensim ismada , a sGardiner wou ld have said , for hours on end she did notspeak, she scarce ly thought ; she brooded . Her mind hadbeen brui sed and i t was numb . She was l i ke an automaton ;the one defini te fee l i ng that emerged was an unwaveringhosti l i ty to the destroyers of the Bel levue . Dorothea wascompassionate to a fai r young hussa r who l imped to the doo rone day a fter a fal l f rom hi s horse ; she gave him breakfas t, put h i s sprained arm in a sl i ng , and sent h im on hi sway with good wi she s i n va l i ant German. Letti ce madehi s coffee and broi led hi s ham—if th ine enemy hunger,feed him ; but he remained he r enemy st i l l . There were nogood wishes f rom her.Dorothea with an enormous sigh pu lled ove r a bunch of

stockings for a pi llow , and lay back, st i l l panting, handsc lasped beh ind her head . She did not find Letti ce a verysati s factory companion i n those days . She was not an automaton , fa r f rom i t ! They had been at the fa rm for severa lweeks now, and she was wondering how much longer shecou ld stand i t . The same view , day a fte r day— the steepdown-mpe of the meadow , the green ve lvet crease wherethe brook ran , the steep up

-slope of the harve st field , si lvery , with its s low ly di scoloring sheaves , the spi re s of thewood aga i n st the unevent ful azu re of the sky—Oh dear !She wanted to fight , to de fend her country , to sti ck bayonet sinto Germans , as they had stuck them into that dead gi rl

268 CONVICT B 1 4

gaze probing the shadows of the di stant trees . Dorotheawith an impat ient s igh ro l led over and sat up too .

Where ?There , under that fir-t ree—don't you see ‘

him ? Nowhe , he , he

’ s stooping down behind the bush .

”

What eyes you have , Lettice ! said Dorothea, screwingup her own . I can ’t see any Old thing !

“ I ’ve been watching him for some time . I think he’ s

hiding.

”

Hiding ? ”

He was there be fo re you came back , and then he gotdown ou t of sight . I don ’t thi nk he can get away . I thinkhe ’s hurt .”

Hurt ? Dorothea repeated wonderingly .

There ’s been a lot O f fi ri ng this , m orning down by ther iver .”

But , Letti ce , you don’t think

Lett ice did not say she thought anything . She stuckher needle i n her stocking and prepared to get up . Shestood a moment shading her eyes , piercing the depths of thepine wood with he r far-searching look

,and then got under

way to descend the hil l . Dorothea se ized her hand .

Oh , don’t , Letti ce—i t

’

s sure to be some dese rter , youknow there are heaps , and you haven

’t even got your bigsci ssors ! ”

I am going to see i f there are any mushrooms on the

hi l l by the crucifix ,” said Lett i ce i n the so ftly di st inct tones

which admitted no di scussion .

We ll,wait ha l f—a-minute for me , then !

Lettice did not wait ; when Dorothea came running ou t

O f the house with the carv ing-kni fe tucked inside her blouse ,she was a l ready at the white bridge over the brook . Dorothea overtook he r hal f-way across the stubble field . Shewa s making bette r time up the hi l l than ever she had be fore .

Oh,darl ing Lett i ce

,don ’t , don

’t go ! Let me it doesn ’tmatter about me

,I can take care of mysel f , and I don

’t mindthings , but you know what i t was to you last time ! Lett icedarl ing please !

THE LUCKIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD 269

Lettice shook Off her hand . I saw him again just now ,

she said . He was wearing those leather overal l things .”

Lettice !

Next moment Dorothea loosed her hold on Lettice and ranOn a lone . She had seen him too.

He came out O f the woods towards them , lurching l ikea d runkard . And Dorothea knew him , spite o f di sfiguringdust and blood

,and hi s face— that face ! His cheek had

been sl i ced Open ; a flap of raw red flesh hung down over hi sj aw ; his teeth showed white in the gap , l ike a skeleton

’

s .He tried to wave back the g i rl s , he tried to speak, a thickj umble of words ; hi s feet dragged heavily together, anddown he went

,ful l length in the grass .

Dorothea was beside h im . She nursed him against herbreast

,mourning over him with dove-l ike sounds , ki ssing

away the blood,murmuring exquisite love , warding Off

f ri ends and foes a l ike with j ealous protecting arms .

Lettice kne lt at a l i ttle distance , sobbing helplessly.

Lettice !What radiant eager purpose ! Here was the true Dor

othea ,come to her own at last , ri sen to her ful l stature .

He lp me to l i ft. They

’ l l be up here directly , sure to ,

and we must hide him .

The wood ? ”

No,they ’ l l search that first . Into the house . Take h i s

feet ; I can manage the head .

”

They cou ld not have carried Deni s—a six- foot.

man ,.

in

hi s heavy accouterments—they could not have rassecl him

f rom the ground, i n ordinary circumstances .But extraordi

nary need cal l s Out extraordinary powers . One-hal f a man’

s

s trength i s hi s conviction Of strength .Dorothea l i fted the

man she loved with her love in addition to her muscles, and

Lettice had the strength of endurance , i f not that o f pas

sion. So they carried him across the bridge and la id

him

i n the round tower among the hay.Dorothea spoke aga in .

Get my first-aid things out of the dresser drawer, Let

t ice,while I see what

’

s wrong. Qu ick as you can ;we

haven ’t a second to lose .

”

270 CONVICT B 14

Lett ice obeyed orders . When she came back Dorothea’ supl i fted face was sunshine unclouded .

He ’s not going to die ! ” she cried , and her voice sang .

He i sn ’t even dangerous ly hurt , i t’s only pai n and loss of

blood . And , Letti ce , he’s been tel l ing me— darl ing, no ;

don ’t,don ’t t ry to talk

,i t doe s hurt you so he ’s been tel l ing

me he ’s been bombing the Z eppel in s at Aix ! They got them,

too ,they set one on fire , and the other man got off sa fe ;

but Deni s had a bul let through h i s tank . So he made forRochehaut

,but he cou ldn’ t get farther than Florenvi lle , so

he burnt hi s machine and came on on foot . And thi s moming he saw the Bel levue

,and whi le he was asking about i t

he was seen , and they hunted him ,al l among the woods by

the river, and he was hit , th i s she touched the cheek shewas bandagi ng with thi stle-down finger I wi sh I were adoctor

,then I ’d put some stitches i n ; i t

’ l l spoi l your looks ,my darl ing . Just think , Letti ce , he was h iding i n the wood ,he could actually see us , but he never meant to come ou t forfear of getting us i nto a scrape . He meant to l i e there t i l ldusk and then get away— if they hadn ’t caught him fi rst ,which they would have . Watch how thi s bandage goes ,you ’

l l h ave to do i t when I ’m gone .” She was working asshe talked , with per fect swi ftness and dexteri ty . I wi sh ,Oh ! I wi sh I could stay and see t o you mysel f . Never mind ,i t can ’t be he lped . Cover him up with the hay, Letticecareful ! don’ t crush it , or i t

’l l give the show away. Theymay possibly look i n here , for form

’s sake .”

She stood up , st ruggling into the bloodstained coat she

had taken f rom Deni s . Letti ce stared , bewi ldered.

What what are you going to do ?”

Lead them off on a fal se scent, of course , sa id Dorothea the Huns

,I mean . Goodness , I sha l l never get

my hai r unde r thi s cap where are your sci ssorsButDorothea stamped

,sawing at he r th ick plai ts .

They’ l l t ake me for him , don’t you see ? I ’ l l lead them

a lovely goose chase— I bet I know th i s country betterthan they do ! There ’s the Grotte de s Fées, i f the worst

CHAPTER XXXII

PER ARDUA AD ASTRA

Then shal l they begin to say to the m ountains, Fa ll on us ; and to

the h ills, Cover u s. Sr. LUKE.

IN the days of her not far di stant chi ldhood Dorothea hadnever loved any game l ike hide-and—seek ; she flung hersel fi nto her present escapade with much the same zest and l ittlemore di scretion . Her plan , so fa r as she had one , was tol ie up i n the fir wood ti l l a search -party appeared , then showherse l f and give them a lead away f rom the farm . The restshe le ft to chance , naive ly confident that the luck which hadsent Deni s to her wou ld let he r save h im . . She had hadenough hard knocks

,one might have thought , to convince her

that Fate doe s not necessari ly favor the young and hope ful ;but that was a lesson Dorothea never had learned, and neve rwou ld .

Ten minutes a fter she had settled hersel f among thebracken a mounted patro l rode over the brow of the Oppositeh il l and began slowly to descend towards the farm . DorOthea scrambled to her feet and came to the edge of thewood ; she began to craw l along under the hedge , stooping,furt ive , a fugi ti ve i n every l ine . She expected every minute to hear the shout O f di scovery . None came , and presently she erected herse l f and peeped over the bracken to see

i f they were stea l ing upon her unawares . The Offi cer in command was j ust r iding through the orchard gate , on hi s way tothe farm .

Thi s was a cont ingency she had not foreseen that theywouldn’t noti ce her . Dorothea stamped . Oh

, you

i diot s ! ” she apostrophized the soldiers o f the Fatherland .

She ventured herse l f c lear Of the wood . Sti l l her pursuers272

PER ARDUA AD ASTRA 273

went t ranqui l ly the wrong way ; they were hal f down theorchard in another minute they would be knocking at theback door of the farm . Dorothea

,i n a fright now

,ran

right ou t into the middle of the fie ld . Ah,at last ! Some

one shouted ; the t roop gathered i tsel f together , swept pastthe farm , gal loped down the hill .Dorothea turned and ran l ike a hare . She felt l ike one,

too . They were firing at her . They wanted to bring herdown before she could take cover. It wasn ’t beli evable .She cou ldn

’

t be hit ! But she was ; i t fell l ike a lash on hershoulder , roll ing her over with the sudden shock. She wasUp i n a minute and ran on again , crying as she went , poorl i tt le Dorothea , with the unexpected sharp pain , mortallyter rified O f the bu llets flying past her and O f the thunderinghoo f s behind

,beginning to feel she had undertaken more

than she could carry through . Thi s wasn ’t a bi t what shehad expected i t wasn ’t any fun at al l !But the wood received her, and she knew its alleys bet

ter than they did ; and presently she was tumbl ing head firsti nto a tiny del l

,under a low cliff vei led in ivy and drooping

ferns . You might search the wood from end to end without finding the way into the del l ; and i f you found the del l ,you would never guess that under the creepers there was ahole

,the entrance O f the Grotte des Fées . Dorothea had

once t ried to explore i t ; she got as far as a first chamber ofexqui si te white vei ls and icicles of stalactite , and thendropped her candle . She never tried again , because MadameHa squ in assured her the roof was unsafe . She was ratherglad of the excuse ; underground adventures were not to hertaste

.She crept i nside now

,but not far, not beyond the

green l ight o f the entrance .

For some time she lay panting l ike a dog , thought foundered in pani c ; but she gradually calmed down . She had adrink f rom the stream trickling down the cave , and by andby

,fee l ing a good deal ashamed of hersel f , she made an

effort , opened her coat and examined her wound . It was

nei the r wide nor deep ; the bul let had gone clean through herarm without touching the bone . But it had bled a good deal ,

2 74 CONVICT B 1 4

and i t hurt,i t hurt dread ful ly . She made shi ft to t i e i t up ,

feel ing more ashamed than ever because she couldn ’t he lpwhimpering with the pai n . Oh, she was a horrid l i ttl ecoward ! She had come down with a bump from her vainglory . But when i t was done she took heart . She lookeddown on her stained sleeve ; how sp lendid to see her bloodmingl ing with Deni s ’s ! After all , she was a rea l casualtynow ; she had been really properly wounded , l ike a rea lproper soldier . That was a su staining thought .I t was whi le she lay there , l i stening to the cool drip O f

the wate r, breathing in the cool mossy scent , that her activel itt le brain got to work on the posi tion . She had goneinto i t headlong, without thinking she now saw many thingsshe had ignored . Fi rst and foremost and at any cost

, she

must not a llow hersel f to be caught . She was tal l for awoman , and Deni s sl ight for a man , and she had put on hi sleather coat and leggings over al l he r own th ings

,but even

so there was a good dea l more O f them,both lengthways and

breadthways , than she cou ld fil l out . Gracious ! why,my

w ig alone would give the show away ! reflected Dorothea ,with a di smaying vi sion O f hidden dangers passed . Be

sides , they wou ld recogni ze me Major von Marwitz wou ld,

I think , and Lieutenant Mul le r would , I know . And then,

O f course , they’

d go straight and search the farm,and Deni s

wi thout hi s ki t , they’d shoot him as a spy , and Lettice too

for hiding him Oh ! She had a moment Of panic . ButI ’m not going to be caught , she wound up firmly .

A plan suggested i tse l f . She wou ld stay here ti l l dusk,then get away through the woods towards Vresse , say, showhersel f there

,double back to the cave , leave Deni s

’s thingsunder the rocks , and emerge as her proper sel f once more .

She had everything but her skirt , and i t wouldn’t be the fi rst

time Dot O ’

Connor had run about in knickerbockers . Thi swas a beauti ful scheme , and i t would let her go back to thefarm she did want to go back to the farm . A dimple camein her brown check ; her color rose ; at that moment Dorothea did not look much l ike an escaped ai rman .

Dreaming such nonsense ! She l i fted the creepers reso

276 CONVICT BM

by the shaking o f her couch . She Opened drowsy eyes,to

see the top O f a ladder pushing i tse l f up against the sky ; amoment later she was gazing into the round astoni shed eye sand open mouth of the Landsturm sentry, who had come tofetch a truss of hay .

Dorothea had meant to show herse l f , but not at such c losequarters . She hurled hersel f upon him and tipped hi s lad :der over . He fel l Off, she sl ipped down the other side o f

the stack and made for the woods . Lucki ly she had only afew yard s to cover . She was p lunging through the hedgea s her adversary turned the corner O f the stack . He fired

,

and mi ssed ; out of the station ru shed his comrades at theshot ; down the hi l l through the woods fled Dorothea ,laughing—yes— laughing ; hi s expression had been so

funny !It was a close shave , nevertheless . She was up an oak

t ree , flattened against the trunk, when the pursuit went past,and there she stayed unti l the alarm died away in anotherdi rection . She wou ld have stayed longer ; but when theworld turned to black m ist '

and began to spin round her shesl i d down as fast a s she could , and ended by rol l ing out of

the lower branches . When she came to hersel f she was lyingat the foot o f the tree i n a pool Of blood , ten feet from apath

,at the mercy of any chance wayfarer . Her arm had

broken out bleeding again ; she was parched with thi rst andfelt l ike death . I t was thi rst whi ch at last spurred her toher feet

,i n the hope of finding wate r . And in that land of

brooks and spri ngs she did find it— a tiny runnel , tastingof the brown leaves through which i t oozed , but water O f l i feto Dorothea with the wound-th ir st on her . She drank anddrank

,and laved her head and face and arms , and drank

again,t i l l the sky stood sti l l , and the t rees le ft off dancing

j igs be fore her eyes .But she had lost a good deal Of blood ; she was weak, andfeveri sh , and muddle-headed and in consequence she madea b lunder . She ought now to have str ipped Off Deni s ’sthings , which had served thei r turn , and le ft them hidden .

But she had got into her head that she was to take them

PER ARDUA AD ASTRA 277

back to the cave , and she had not wits enough to mend herplan ; she could only carry out what was fixed be fore

.

All that day , then , she toi led along, sti l l in the characterO f the escaped avian . But the forests o f the Semoi s arelonely ; she met no one but a couple o f chi ldren pickingwhortleberries , who dropped thei r cans and thei r dinner andfled , taking her for a German . Dorothea shuddered at thebread ; she t ried a few berries , but they made her sick .

Shecould not eat that day , but she drank Of every brook she cameacross . It was very hot, and Deni s

’s coat and cap and leggings were made of leather and l ined with fleece

,and their

dark color attracted an Egyptian plague of fl ies . Dorotheawas far spent by the t ime she struck the fami l iar trackthrough the pi ne wood .

She was so far spent that for some time she walked alongthe track it sel f , forgetting i t was no place for her . Itseemed too much trouble , too much , to stoop and crawl andhide among

.

the bracken . When a bramble caught hersleeve she burst out crying . She missed her way and stumbled into the h idden del l f rom the wrong side

,brushing wai st

high through flowering wi llow-herb which streamed down thehil l- side

,rose-pink, almost l i lac i n intensity of color.

Oh ! the coolness,the green twi l ight of the cave ! Dor

othea with a great sigh buried her face in icy crystal water .Oh ! i t was good ! She lay for some time be fore she discovered that one reason why she had been feel ing so queerwas that her arm was bleeding again . She gave a twist toher bandage

,but she was too ti red to see to i t properly

too ti red even to get rid o f her flying kit ; a deadly lassi tudeweighed on every limb . By and by, when it was cooler,and darker

,and the fl ies were less t roublesome , she would

sl ip off down to the farm .

Thi s i s where he went , said an eager voice . See howhe has broken these pink weeds ! And here i s the bloodagain .

”

Himme l ! I have passed thi s tree ten times , and neverhave I seen thi s path ! But what i s become of h im ? Hecannot have flown out of the place !

”

278 CONVICT B 1 4

Dorothea sat up ; she was cold enough now . Oh ! whyhad she not thought o f the wood being sti l l patrol led ?

Steps came swi shing through the long grass . Suddenlythe cave grew l ighter , and there wa s a start led exclamat ion . They had l i fted the cu rtain O f ivy . Both began tochatte r at once , rapidly , excitedly I te l l you ,

i t i s notsa fe

,these caves are dangerous ! ” Aber

,i f we fetch the

Herr Lieutenant he wil l not give u s the reward,we sha ll have

to share with the rest ! Private B lum had a young lady i nGermany , and he wanted al l he cou ld get . Dorothea couldnot fo l low al l thei r talk , but she gathered to her j oy that onewas going off to fetch help while the other stayed on guard .

Yes , he was certainly al one ; she could hear him walking upand down and singing to himsel f Ich wei ss ni cht was 50 11e s bedeuten Now , with any luckThe song ceased . The ivy was l i fted again .

Engli shman ! ” Pause . “ Engl i shman,are you there ?

DO you hear me ? I f you wi l l come out you shal l have you rl i fe I wi l l not harm you !Private B lum had a mind to steal a march on hi s comrade .

Gett ing no reply,he went head first i nto the ho le on hands

and knees , hi s rifle tucked under hi s arm . I t was very darkand very wet , and di sagreeable storie s about undergroundrivers and bottomless abysse s were running i n hi s head . Hepaused . Engli shman ! ” he cal led agai n less confident ly .

Thi s t ime there was a reply ; a shot came ou t Of the dark .

He seized hi s rifle and returned the compl iment ; then ,fee l i ng what seemed l ike the ent ire grotto tumbl ing abouth i s ears

,he backed out hurri edly . Du l ieber Gott ! ” he

muttered,standing up i n the sunshine and feel ing himse l f

al l over to make sure he was not hurt , but that is a dan

gerous one ! I wi l l leave him to the Herr Lieutenant—he

wi l l know how to settle him !The luck was al l with the enemy . Dorothea lay weeping

tear s O f rage over Deni s ’s usel ess revolver . She had droppedi t i nto the stream ; she had never let one Off be fore , she hadno idea they kicked l ike that ! And now what was she todo ? I f she cou ld have disposed O f Private B lum, a s she had

2 80 CONVICT B 1 4

never have been the same,he wou ld never have g iven her

what he once gave ; she had . spoiled that . I t would havebeen pity

,amends

,the second be st . He would never , neve r

love her l iv ing ; no , but he would love her dead . For hersake he would go so ftly al l h i s days ; she was sure , now , of

an unfading shrine in hi s‘memory . Yes , and even apart

f rom Deni s , l i tt le Dorothea was shyly proud . She was not

giving her l i fe for him alone ; she was dying as a soldie r forher country

,and could claim the soldier ’s due O f amnesty

and an honored grave .

How far away the wor ld had gone ! and how dim andqueer she fe l t ! Was it her arm agai n ? Those moments ofwaiti ng might have been very crue l

,but

,more lucky i n her

death than in her l i fe , Dorothea was spared them . She didnot hear Lieutenant Mi

’

i ller outsi de , nor hi s orders to themen . She had dri f ted far away

,to happy hours at B redon

and her beloved aerop lane . It was evening ; the so lemnsplendors of the sunset were al l about her i n the sky. Shewas flying through a sea of go ld— Of pure gold

,l ike unto

c lear glas s— or was i t the glory of God ?

CHAPTER XXXIII

THE ONE SHALL BE TAKEN

I f only the dead cou ld find out whenTo com e back and be forgiven !

OWEN MEREDITH.

ARE your minds set upon righteousness,O ye congrega

t ion ? i nqui red Mr. Roche in skeptical tones.

It was Sunday morning, and al l pri soners having the whiteChurch Of England ticket on their doors had been roundedup for the chapel . Not that that was any hardship

,for they

l iked the serv ice ; i t was commendably short , there wereplenty of hymns , and even the lessons , as read by Dr . Scotti n his voice Of gold , were really quite amusing, especial ly thechroniqu es‘ scandaleuses O f the Old Testament . By contrast with the bareness o f their cell s they liked

,too

,the

sat ins and the embroiderie s,the l ights and the flowers and

the incense on which the l ittle doctor squandered most o f hi spocket-money . He was a believer in the beauty of hol iness ;he had trans formed the bare l i ttle barn Of a place into agem . Only the j eweled cross and candlestick s , source o fcovetous desi res i n such members o f the congregation asdid not happen to be set upon righteousness, had been athank-Offering from another donor .

“ Psalm 1 2 6,the first verse . ‘When .the Lord turned

aga in the captiv ity Of Z ionBy way o f prelude to thi s boldly hope ful text , Mr. Roche

had j ust announced the fall O f Antwerp . Scott did not lovethe new chap lain

,but he could not deny that he preached

well, or that he got hold of the men . The atmosphere o f

the chapel was not as a rule what one might call devotional ,but thi s morning there was a fullness in the responses and a

281

2 82 CONVICT B 1 4:

c lean-cu t hush during the sermon which rathe r touch inglyreflected the genera l state of feel ing. I t was hard i n 1 9 14

to be a prisoner, si nce even criminal s may love thei r count ry .

Several o f Scott ’s patients had proclaimed thei r intent ion Of

enl i sting the moment they were f ree . As months , or evenyears

,had to elapse be fore that happy time , these protesta

t ions were cheap and safe . Others , who sai d less , perhapsfelt more . Scott had been sorry for many, leashed i n bythei r puni shment ; for none more than B 14 .

Con found the ir pol itics,Prus trate their knav ish tricks

The National Anthem having been roared out f rom throat skept artificial ly si lent during the week , chape l was di smi ssed

,and i t was the immediate duty Of the medi cal Office r

to take the casual sick . Scott made a rush to hi s house fora glance at The Observer, which did not reach Westby t i llmidday , and was back in the casual ty room by a quarterto twelve . He stood at a desk , with Mackenzie , as chie fwarder , beside him , and a table covered with pil l s , potions ,and Oi ntments ready to hand . One by one , as the i r nameswere ca l led

, the patient s came up for t reatment .Mason A2 9 , sir.

”

Mason advanced , a dole fu l wisp of a man . Wel l,Mason

,

what ’s the matter with you ? ”

Oh , i f you please , sir, I’ve got such a dread ful co ld i n

my head ! A frui ty and exhaustive sniff lent point to thecomp laint .

“ A co ld i n the head , have you ? Give me your hand .

Now let ’s see your tongue . H’

m ! Dose O f NO.

No . 7 was poured out, Mason choked over i t , and waspassed out by the opposite door. Next

,

” said Scott .Gardiner B 1 4 , sir.

”

Thi s was unexpected . Gardi ne r B 14 stood cheerful lysubmi ssive , nurs ing hi s hand , which was wrapped i n hi sc lean Sunday handkerchie f .Hu l lo , you i n the wars again ? What

’s the matte r now,

hey ? ”

2 84~ CONVICT B 1 4

ing up hi s patience to endure the interminable night , whenhis door Opened to admit that very welcome sight , a v i si torMr . Roche the chaplain .

I meant to get round be fore , but I haven’t had a mo

ment ; I’ve been up to my eyes in business the whole day .

But I thought I might j ust catch you before bed-time .How are you , eh ?

”

“ Very wel l,thank you , sir. Very glad to see you .

Gardiner’s manne r was an Odd blend of orthodox respect andunorthodox f riendl iness . It had its counterpart i n Roche ’sown : he cou ld not qui te shake Off the condescension O f thechaplain

,yet he did not take possession of the pri soner ’s

stoo l and leave him to stand . The consequence was thatboth kept thei r feet .

To tel l the truth , Gardiner , I’ve come to say good-by.

I shan ’t have anothe r chance ; I’m Off fi rst th ing to-morrow .

Off on l eave , sir ?Off for good . I ’m leaving the pri son . I t

’

s been in thea i r fo r some t ime, but i t was only finally arranged last night .I ’ve said nothing about i t

,because I didn ’t want a fuss ; but

I could not leave without seeing you .

“ Thanks ,” sa id Gardiner, smi l i ng. You ’l l be mi ssed .

I ’m g lad my time ’s nearly up . Are you going to anotherpri son

, or i s i t an ordinary pari sh j ob ?Neither . I am j oining up .

”

Chap lai n to the forces ? ”

Bette r than that . I enl i st . Gard ine r’s face,i n the first

moment O f surpri se , was more expressive than he cou ldhave wi shed . Roche , with his odd touch o f the theatrical ,laid a hand on his shou lder. You envy me ? ” he asked,hi s voice thri l l i ng and deepening . Never mind

,my poor

fel low, your turn wi l l come . Another month and you toowil l be f ree to do your bi t wi th the best of us . In the serv iceof your country there i s no re spect Of personsThe hand was vigorously shaken off, and Gardiner steppedback .

“ I ’ l l be shot i f I ’m going to let you patronize me !I f you th ink that because you happen to be the Honorableand Reverend Dal rymp le-Roche

,and I ’m B 14 Why, I

THE ONE SHALL BE TAKEN 285

was round the world and back again be fore you were out ofyour schoolroom ! He burst out laughing.

GardinerNo , no , wai t a bi t ; let me finish what I ’ve got to say

,

now I’

ve begun . I ’ve had it on my mind for some time ; Imeant to save i t up for when I got out

,but as i t seems I

shan’

t have the chance then I ’

l l do i t now . You ’ve been verydecent t o me , and you

’ve kept me going through a ratherbeastly time , and I don

’t forget that,and I don ’t want to let

i t a l l lapse , and I rather think you don’t either ; but I won

’t bepatronized . I may be in pri son , but I

’ve done nothing I ’mashamed of

,and I do not consider myse l f disgraced . Got

that ? ” The words were not bluff, they were plain truth ;very te l l ing was hi s vigorous independence . Wel l

,then

,i f

I pay you de ference here it’

s because discipl ine has to bemaintained , and incidenta lly because I should get it hot i fI d idn ’t . For that reason, and for no other ; certainly notbecause I fee l de ferential . Deferential ! You wait ti l lyou ’ve cut your wisdom teeth , my son , be fore you startpreaching to me . There ; I

’ve done . You can report me i fyou l ike sir.

”

Roche had colored up ; he looked very haughty and veryangry . I think you forget yoursel f ,

” he began , and thenhi s mobi le face changed . I beg your pardon , Gardiner ;you are per fectly right . I have no business to patronize

you . I don’t mean to do l t ‘ but i t ’s the more or less Official

manner,and one sl ip s into it—to tel l the truth , that

’

s onereason why I want to get away .

“ Oh,that ’s al l right

,lots o f parsons have a turn for

magni loquence,

” said Gardiner,with a laugh ,

“and i f you

do i t again I shal l tel l you again , that’

s al l . You inev itablywil l . And so you mean to enl ist

? Ho ho !”H i s smi le

broadened as he ran hi s eye over Roche’

s handsome figure .

He did not say, You won’t l ike that, my friend.

"

but he

thought i t .0

The French priests take thei r places in the ranks, sa idRoche

,why not we ? I put that to my bishop . He re

fused to release me . One must act on one’

s own consmence

2 86 CONVICT BM

i n these matters . I am a priest, i t i s my duty to lead men ;when peace comes , how can I expect them to fo l low me

,i f

during the wa r I have been skulking behind my cloth herei n England ? I wou ld not fol low such a man . I f the clergyshi rk now , they wi l l be digging the Church

’ s grave .“ Very sound sent iments. I have an old daddy, and i f

he were thi rty year s younger—thank goodness he i sn ’t,for

he ’d certain ly get shot . We l l , I congratu late you . Mindmy finger

,I ’m sti l l rathe r f rai l . Roche had wrung hi s

hand with more fervor than di scretion . Funny beggar

you are !” Gardiner added

,with the laugh i n hi s eyes that

was Often there when he talked to Roche . Yon won ’t getshot . Bet you what you l ike you come ou t with the V.C.

Priest s don ’t bet .Privates do , though . Not that you ’

l l stay a private .You ’ l l be Offered a commissionI shan ’t accept it ,

” Roche declared .

More foo l you , then, for you’re j ust the sort they want .

You lucky beggar— oh , you lucky begga r !The hunger of envy peeped out. Roche , at times sel f-absorbed and bli nd, had at other t imes an I ri sh quickness O fperception .

Gardine r I ’m sorry ! Perhaps a fte r a ll,i f a competent

surgeon sees your hand , i nstead O f‘ that wretched li ttle sawbones

Oh , that’s a l l right , I shal l get my whack by and by, even

i f I can ’t go into the t renches . Which reminds me : youwon ’t forget to put through that l i tt le bi t Of busi ness I askedyou about

,wil l you ? (There

’s old Busy Bee locking up forthe night

,you ’l l have to c lear out i n two twos . ) Just a word

o f introduction to Lord Ronayne , that’s a l l I want . You

see a criminal j ust out o f j ai l does need some sort of sponsor.

” Gardiner ’ s grin was quite f ree f rom bitterness .“ I won’t forget

,

” said Roche hurriedly,“ I hadn ’t for

gotten . I can answer for my father . Good-by, Gardi nerGod bless you ! ”

Again he wrung the prisoner’ s hand, and agai n le ft him

288 CONVICT B 1 4

si nking back and effacing themse lves in the past ; absorbed i na greater trouble

,Gardiner di d not real i ze that he had at

last fought and won the batt le , long impending, which madehim maste r of himse l f .He did bel ieve , f rom the fi rst he had never doubted , that

Lett ice was dead . Wandesforde’

s message , whi ch he faithfully de l ivered in person , had not shaken that conviction . Ithad only made him feel that Deni s was dead too . Yes

, theywere both gone ; but Gardine r no longer held himsel f responsible . That dreadfu l crazy feel ing of gui l t , which hi s sanity ,hal f i nsane

,had used to save him from himse l f , had passed

w ith the cri si s i t provoked . He had not ki l led her ; yet shewas dead , and he missed her more instead of le ss every day ;eve ry day he came upon fresh tracts o f hi s mind markedbroad with her mark

,and saw with dismay the wideni ng

scope of hi s loss . But no one knew O f i t , and no one was goi ng to know

,through him . Not that anybody would be par

ticul arly i nterested , he reflected . My dear daddy— he

would,bless hi s heart

,but he ’ l l never see , and I shal l neve r

tel l him ; he’d get the shock of hi s l i fe to th ink I was O ld

enough to want to get married . Married ! Oh , my Lord , Iw i sh I had marri ed her ; I cou ld have stood i t bette r now i fI ’d ever had one ounce o f sat i s faction . And besidesdaddy, who el se ? Tom ? Roche ? I don ’t think ! Helaughed . Little Scott , then— he

’d be al l agog,but he

i sn ’t going to have the chance,con found him ! I wi sh Old

Deni s were here . I cou ld have talked to h im . He wouldhave understood . He knew me pretty we ll

,did Deni s

,a fter

al l these years. I wonder how I ’m going to get on withouthim . Thei r soul was much di scouraged because o f theway .

’ Hard going : that ’s what I ’m to expect,I suppose

,for

the rest O f my wanderings i n thi s w ilderness There wasa lot of l ikeness between them at bottom . I expect that ’swhy I feel a s though I

’d known her al l my l i fe and be fore Iwas bo rn— I did know her

,i n him . But he wou ld always

t ry to hide hi s dear Old head in a bag whenever I did anything to upset hi s l ittle feel ings , and she never did . Not she !She’d go picking her way with her l ittle lamp round al l your

THE ONE SHALL BE TAKEN 289

dark corners , i nexorably showing you every cobweb andevery speck of dust that her highness didn ’t approve

,and

al l W i thout a word spoken , j ust by the poise Of that darl ingl i tt le head of hers and those inimitable hazel eyes— hazel ?NO, b

’

Jove ! What was i t she used to say ? Weak Bovril,

with l i ttle bits of carrot floating about oh,Lett ice

,Let

t ice ! Oh , why the devi l did I let mysel f begin on thi s ?”

He flung hi s arm across his eyes , as i f he would have hidden hi s trouble even from himsel f . B l ind instinct had firstdragged him to Lettice , a straw in the current ; he felt heneeded her long before he knew he loved her. But love

,and

even passion , had come since , flooding in by back ways, fill

i ng him to the brim . He was tormented by hi s lost Opportunities. When I had her to mysel f there in Rochehaut ,why didn

’t I make her marry me ? She ’d have done it i f I ’dput the screw on ; you can get pretty wel l anything out o fLettice if

'

she ’s only sorry enough for you . Or here inpri son

, why couldn’t I have put my arm round that l ittle

wai st of hers and taken a ki ss ? What would she have donei f I had ? Would she have had the impertinence to ruffleup al l her pretty feathers and make believe to be affronted ?O r could I have got right down through al l her defenses tothe very hea rt o f her

,and made her drop her lashes , and

color,and— acknowledge me ? I ’d give my eyes to know ,

and I never shall,never . She had more reticences and re

serves and evasions than any human being I have ever met .

She was as deli cate as the bloom on a butterfly . Angel i tade mi corazon , I would have respected your l ittle fads ; youshould have kept your fenced garden and your fountainseal ed .

I could have held your li fe in my hand and neverclosed my fingers on it—yes, I could ; even that I wasyou r very true lover . I wonder, was it a bayonet

To thi s precipice Gardiner always came , sooner or later .

We talk of unimaginable horrors ; there were none he hadnot imagined

.How do men l ive , with thoughts l ike these ?

God knows .B 14 ,

are ye waukin ? Ye’re to dress and come w1

’

me .

Hul lo ! is that Mr. Mackenzie ? What’s up ?

290 CONVICT B 1 4!

I t’

s a veesitor for ye .

A visi tor at thi s t ime of night ? Here’s an exci ting go !Who i s i t an Offi cer ? Big man i n theMackenzie shook hi s head . I canna tel l ye

, for I havenaseen him .

”

“ Now I wonder what good you think you are ? ” “sa idGardiner

,si tti ng up , laughing, bl inking at the l ight . Rous

ing me out of my beauty sleep ! Yes , I beg your pardon ,sir, and a l l that, but I

’m coming ou t quite soon , you know .

Hold the l ight,do you mind , and let me find my socks ?

He laughed in sel f-defense , and he asked questions forform ’s sake ; but he knew al l the t ime that thi s was hi s doom .

Only an urgent messenger would have been admitted at thi shour . It was Wandesforde , come to tel l h im how she haddied . That thought went with him down the twi l i t passage s

,

i t stood senti nel be fore the yel low-gl immering door of thevi si tors ’ room .

“ Ye ’ve hal f-an-hou r,” said Mackenzie i n

business- l ike tones as he turned the handle . Gardiner drewa long breath and walked through the specter into theroom .

A long-legged Officer stood up . Wandesforde ? No.

Oh , good God !“ She ’s sa fe ,

” sai d Deni s instant ly. Here,hold on , old

man ; it’

s all right !Gardine r was not al l right ; he was nearly faint ing . Byand by he found himse l f s itt ing i n a chai r

,sti l l gripping

Deni s with both hands , whi le Deni s patted him gently on

the back .

She ’ s al l right , he kept repeating wise Deni s,to harp

on the one thing that mattered . Quite al l right ; quite sa fe .

Gent ly does i t . Better now , a re you ?”

Yes , Gardiner was better and he said so with deci s ion .

Deni s withdrew to the other s ide o f the tab le and sat smi li ng at him .

We got back last night . We ’ve been together al l thet ime . Didn ’ t Wandesforde te l l you ? I went fi rst to theW.O . to report myse l f , and then straight on to get leaveto see you. Even a Government departm ent has bowe ls

292 CONVICT B 14:

they l iked with me . They got me over and hid me in thetower. Remember the tower ?

Did Gardiner remember the tower ? He remembered i tso we ll , and saw Lettice be side i t so vividly, that he fel lsi lent, and let Denis te l l the rest of hi s tale a lmost w

i

thoutquest ion . They had stayed at the farm ti l l Deni s was fitto trave l . Then , one wet evening, they set out to trampacross Be lgi um , he i n Monsieur Hasqu in

’

s blouse and looset rousers, she i n Madam e

’s Sunday ski rt . She didn ’t l ikei t one bit ,

” sa id Deni s, wit

-h a remini scent smile . Wantedto take her hai r curlers i n the bundle . Very annoyed withme because I wouldn ’t let her . It rankled for days .” Deni sin addition had hi s scarred face tied up to represent toothache . We did look rather sca lawags ,

” he admitted . Theylay up by day and walked by night

,keeping mostly to the

fie lds , and gu iding themselves by Deni s’s pocket compass .

Once the café where they were at supper was invaded bysold iers , who luckily took no noti ce of thei r ragged com

panions . Another time when they were sheltering in a barnsome B randenburgers came i n to search for fodder. Theydid not search behind the patent reaper i n the corner. Yetagain they went to sleep i n a copse , and woke to find theyhad chosen the exerci sing ground of a squadron of cavalry.

That wa s near the Dutch f rontier . Next night they crossedunder cover of darkness, and were sa fe .

We l l,I consider i t al l most compromisi ng for Lett ice ,

and i f you ’d a spark of proper fee l ing you ’d Offe r to marryher

,

” said Gardiner,yawning wi th hi s arms above hi s head ,

but of course you never think O f that , selfish brute . Lord !I shal l s leep l ike a pig to-night . Spoi led your beauty , Deni s ,

”

he added,looking at the scar, red and puckered . Deni s put

up hi s hand to the place .That was our friend Fritz . He does sometimes score a

bul l ’s-eye .

”

Wel l , i t seriously detracts f rom your market va lue as ahusband . On second thought , I

’m not su re but Lettice hadbetter put up with me a fte r al l .” He hesi tated . A pointthat had not escaped him was Deni s ’s significant change o f

THE ONE SHALL BE TAKEN 293

pronoun in the latter part of his narrative from they toshe .

” What in the world had they done with Dorothea ?Left her behind at the farm ? Anything was possible withthat dear lunati c ! He had no thought o f tragedy

. Thereseemed no room for i t in Denis ’s straightforward tale

,and

no hint o f i t i n his quiet, smi l ing manner. “ I say, Deni s,I

’

ve no wish to be indiscreet , and I’m not asking i f I ought

to ho ld my tongue—but Wandesforde saidYes ,

”said Deni s, I was comin ’ to that . She died .

Died ! ”

Instead ofme . I ’d never have got Off but for her. Sheput on my flying ki t and led them away from the farm .

Shewas a lways keen on dressin

’ up as a boy. Of course I ’dhave stopped i t i f I ’d known , but I didn

’t ; I was offmy head .

I can ’t te l l you exactly what happened,but they shot her

,

and they hunted her, and final ly they rounded her up in thefi r wood . The officer in command was quite a decent boy ,Lettice said ; she

’d have been al l right i f she ’d given hersel fup . But that would have meant givin ’ me up , do

'

you see,

so she wouldn ’t do i t . She crawled into one Of those cavesup there and re fused to come out.”

Wel l ? ”

They bombed her,said Denis simply. Like clearin ’ a

dug-out. SO the who le place fel l i n . She must have countedon that . She knew i t wasn ’t safe .

That was pretty fine ,” sa i d Gardiner under his breath .

He could find nothing more . The contrast was too po ignant .

The one shal l be taken but Lettice was le ft .Yes

,

” sa id Deni s . I ’ve wondered , Harry : do you thinkthere ’s anything i n that Carth

’

lic idea of prayers for thedead ? ”

Gardiner,with those expectant dark blue eyes fixed on

him in thei r i nveterate simpl ici ty, found himsel f answering :

Oh , I expectBecause

,you see, we didn

’t have much t ime to saythings

,

” Deni s explained.I ’m sorry, I didn

’

t mean to bore

you with thi s , but it’

s been rather a facer for me . Youknow

,i f she ’d l ived

,she ’d have been my wife .

”

Oh,my dear Old Deni s said Gardiner.

CHAPTER XXXIV

SHE ALONE CHARMETH MY SADNESS

Oh, bel ieve m e, Nell, it is an aw ful th ing to be a w i fe. CHARLOTTEBRONTE.

LETTI CE , draggi ng up the steps O f NO. 33 Canning Street ,paused to unfasten her waterproof and shake her wet umbre lla . I t was rain ing, i t seemed to have been raining evers ince she got back to town , chi l l November rain , a yel lowhaze down every street ; and the weather matched he r mood .

Ever since Apri l she had been t rying to shut her eyes to thefuture , but as time drew on i t re fused to be ignored . I t layi n wai t outsi de the Museum

,i t came home with her i n the

Tube , i t took possession Of her atti c,i t was translat ing it

se l f w ith appal li ng rapidi ty into the present,and she was no

more ready for i t than she had been months ago .

We l l ! she had sti l l a week ’s grace,and anything might

happen i n a week . Letti ce detached her mind with an effo rt ,picked up a letter f rom the hal l table , and came upstai rsat a snai l ’s pace

,reading i t . Her own room she expected to

be dark , so with her u sua l dea f and bl ind absorption i nanything to read she l ingered outside on the landing. Shebecame aware

,as she stood , O f another scent mingling wi th

that of the lamp , o f another clearer l igh t than its browni shObscu ri ty, but her eyes remained glued to her letter ; nott i l l she had reached the end did she slow ly rai se them fromthe sheet

,and then she saw he r door open , her room ful l of

firelight, a white c loth gleaming, a dark figure standing inthe entrance watching he r with a smi le .Buenas noches

,senori ta, said Gardi ner, po l ite ly remov

ing hi s cigarette .

2 96 CONVICT B 1 4:

His speech ended i n a yawn . Letti ce stole a glance at himout o f the tai l of her eye . Were you s leeping badly rightup to the end ? she asked .

Yes ; it’

s been rather rotten . Never mind , al l over now .

It ’s good to be out. Brrr ! You leave that toast ing forkalone . Drop i t ! My j ob . You ’re t i red ; you

’ve been fagging al l day i n the B .M . S ientese t

'

i sted , senorita .

”

“ You ’l l burn it , cried Lettice , de fensively ho lding on .

He looked up lazi ly ; hi s black eyes were melting so ft , hi svoice a seduct ive murmur .Ah ! prendita mia , don

’t you know I ’m going to makeyour toast for you every evening of your li fe ?

”

Letti ce was extingui shed . She sat down , unwil l ing butunresi sting. He could make toast , and he cou ld do what wasfar more difficul t and unusua l—make her obey him . Hespoke l ight ly , but he was watch ing her al l the time ; he be sether with hi s eyes . They sa i d bold things , but he did notpress them ; he made her color , and he laughed , yet he didnot touch her. Why he did it ? That was quite pla in ; hewas hoarding up hi s happiness

,playing cat and mouse , hold

ing her l i fe in hi s hand , as he had sworn he could , withoutclos ing hi s fingers on i t . Lett ice knew not whether to beglad or sorry at the respi te .Have you seen Mr . Gardiner yet ? she asked . She pre

ferred ta lking to be ing watched .

“ Not yet . I ’m booked for Wood lands to-night , but Ithought I ’d see you first and present him with our plan sready made

’

; he flurries himse l f over anything l ike a di scu ssion , dear Ol d boy. Bet you sixpence you don ’t guesswhat I mean to do ? ” Letti ce looked inqui ring . No ; notenl i st . Thi s hand does me out of that . But I ’ve a j ob i nmy mind ’s eye that w il l do me qui te a s wel l or even better .What do you say to the Secret Service ? Don

’t you darescrew your nose up at me ! He was laughing at her again .

Seriously , you know ,I ’m cut out for i t . I pass anywhere

as a Spaniard , and though I say i t , I have quite a pretty turnfor finesse . The padre at the pri son

,Roche hi s name was ,

has a father who ’s a big brass hat in that l i ne , and he’s giv

SHE ALONE CHARMETH MY SADNESS 297

i ng me a leg up . I shal l go directly I ’m fit.I ’m sti ll pretty

f rai l ; I wouldn’

t trust mysel f not to leg it out of a tightplace , which at best would be ignominious

,and might lead to

a handy wall and a firing squad Oh,wouldn’t suit my book

at a ll . No . I give mysel f a fat month . I ’ve certain plansfor that month which I propose presently to lay before you .

You go raspberry-pink when you blush,La titia Jane ; did

you know it ?

Wi ll you have some more tea ? ” asked Lettice reptessively .

NO, I wi l l not have some more tea . NO,and I won ’t

have a cigarette e ither. You are a l i ttle l iar, you hate smoke .

I got that out of that pretty si ster Of yours—by the way ,I

think I can get round your people without much troubleI ’m rather a dog , you know,

when I give my mind to i t .Always wel l to be on good terms with your in-laws—butthat ’s not the point at present . I

’ve certain plans for thi snext month

,as I said ; but before we discuss them this house

wi ll go into committee on ways and means . The sad facti s that

,bar a few pounds in the bank , I

’

m a blooming paupe r.Every cent I possess went with the Bellevue . I suppose agrate fu l country wil l support me while I

’

m lying in thebosom of the Hun What are you looking at me like thatfor ? ”

Don ’t you know ? ”

Know what ?

About your,your your what do you cal l it .

MI tywas i n Den i s s letter . I

’ve just heard from him.

About Dot O’

Connor.

”

“ Lucid,very

,

” said Gardiner. Get a move on , darl ing.

S teady over the stones. What about Dot O’

Connor ?

We l l,I ’m telling you as fast as I can . You , you , you

do hurry me so,” Lettice complained . She took breath and

t ri ed again.

“ She,she—it was her wil l . You heard she

le ft him a lot of money for hi s old aeroplanes ?Gardiner nodded

. Yes, that was in The Ma il. Be

quest to an Airman.

’ Roche told me . I was very glad

298 CONVICT B 1 4

about i t ; poor dear old chap, i t’

l l be something to take hi smind off . But I don ’t see

“We l l , she’s le ft you some too. TO show her gratitude

for your consideration .

”

How much ? Five thousand? Good Lord ! I say,Let

t ice , I can’t possibly take it ! Letti ce was si lent . Don ’t

you agree with me ?No . I think you shou ld .

After al l that ’s happened ? ”

We l l , you never did hate her, did you ?” sa i d Lett ice .

And she didn ’t hate you , at any rate not at the last . She’d

be sorry i f you re fused .

”

No , I never hated her , said Gardiner . He lay back,th inking . I say, Letti ce .

”

We l l ?I say, I was cut up over that business . Weren

’t you ?Letti ce nodded . He leaned forward , fingering the fri ngeof her tea-cloth . Not for Deni s ’s sake

,I don ’t mean

,but

for her own . I — I l iked her , you know . You cou ldn ’the lp feel ing she ought to have been such a j ol ly kid !I owe her a good dea l ,

” said Lettice on a rare impu lse .You do ? ”

She stuck a kni fe i nto a German for me .Gardiner looked up quickly .

“ In time ? ”

I f it hadn ’t been I shouldn ’t be here ,” said Lett ice very

conci se ly.

H’

m, said Gardiner. His face was expressionle ss .

Letti ce wondered what he was thinking. She was apt togo astray i n other people ’s thoughts where they concernedhersel f , because she habitual ly underrated her own sign ifi

cance . She wi shed she had not told him . She had nevertold Deni s . She scourged herse l f for giving confidences

unasked .

There came a pause . Gardine r seemed deep i n thought .Lett ice with a darkened face was noi sele ssly putti ng cupsand saucers together . She hoped to get out of the roomwithout attracting hi s attent ion , but he shot out of hi s chai ri n t ime to open the doo r.

300 CONVICT B 1 4

not sure . He was not crue l , but he was passionate , and passion i s crue l . He made her consciou s, always , that he wasa man . Entangled i n the pe rsona l re lation

,her j udgm ent

wa s al l astray.

Wel l ! she supposed she mu st set her teeth and do the bestshe could . After a ll

,the fault was hers , not hi s , the unnat

ural lack was i n her. Remembering l ittle Dorothea ’s freehearted gi ving

,Letti ce despi sed her own ster i l ity.

But there was a deepe r affini ty between them than she

knew ; and he showed i t now by answeri ng the cal l of herpresence and waking under her eyes . He woke i n terror,with her name on hi s l ips , a cry of agony , which changed ,when he saw her , to rel ie f i nstantaneous . He turned andhid hi s face against her

,i n the gesture o f a f rightened chi ld .

Lett ice never forgot that moment . It was a sword throughhe r heart . She drew a deep breath ; without impulse , deliberately rather, she put her arm round hi s shoulders andheld him there

,strong to comfort . Her face was stern .

Moments passed ; l i ttle by l i ttle the tremors and thequick uneven breathi ng subsided . He sat up .

“ Apo logies,

” he said w i th a hal f-laugh , unconcealablyshaken , bu t unashamed .

DO you O ften wake l ike that ? ” a sked Lett ice unsmi l ing.

Do I ? Occasiona lly . When I get the j im-j ams . Yes ,I have pretty O ften late ly. I t’s a l l your fault , you know .

My faul t ? ”

That story of yours , that part i cu lar danger—we l l , i thappened to be my part icular nightmare . I don ’t th ink therewere many minutes when i t was out of my head . I kepti t under mostly during the day

,but at night it u sed to wear

through and wake me up . I used to vi sual i ze i t i n al l sortsof variat ions . You , Lett i ce , who hate to have a hand la idon you

Who told you I di s l iked that ?You have yourse l f , a dozen t imes .She let that pass . “ I am thankfu l you are out of that

p lace ,”she said i n a low voice , hal f to herse l f . He smi led .

I ’m all right , darl ing . O r I soon shal l be , when

SHE ALONE CHARMETH MY SADNESS 30 1

When what ? ”

Nothing, said Gardiner. I shall be al l right soon.

He captured the hand which hung by her side and ki ssed itso ftly, i nside and out . It

’

s been rather sport pull ing yourta i l when you

’

ve always tried to pul l mine,but I can ’t keep

i t up any longer . Are you going to give me what I want,

Lettice o f my heart ? ”

What do you want ? ”

You . Al l o f you ; M ind as wel l as body. Mind pri ncipally . I told you before, I tel l you again, i t was youbrought me through . You have me— all of me . And i fI

’

m bette r worth having than I was a year ago,it

’

s yourdoing . I claim no credit . I put mysel f into your handsto do what you l ike with . Will you take on the job ?

”

Lettice did not answer— could not answer ; she was i nt ravail , and hers was no easy delivery. Gardiner looked up .

My God, you don’t want to !

She put out her hand quickly. I wi ll marry you .

N0 , you won’t . I decline .

You you don ’t understand . I wi l l marry you .

Oh,damn

,said Gardiner. Oh

,I can ’t stand this .

It ’s quite al l right . I can get on without you . He stoodby the table

,st riking match after match in vain efforts to

l ight hi s cigarette ; when he had it burning, he threw i taway

. Then he began on the matches again ; the floor was

strewn with broken ' ends.i

“ My darling, i t real ly i s al lright

.I should have seen it be fore i f I hadn

’

t been an ass.

What you can’t give i s the least part of what I want . Put

me on the same ration as Deni s, and I shal l do famously.

You don’

t understand ,” said Lettice , and I am such a

Lettice , I will not take what you don’

t want to give .

I saw what you were feel ing. Think you could take me i n

a fter we were marri ed ? Think I should enjoy the posmon ?

I te l l you one reason why your instincts are rebelling now,

and that ’s the— the what that poor chi ld killed . Isn’

t itso ? ” Lettice was mute

.Well

,do you think I want to

even mysel f wi th that?

302 CONVICT B 1 4

I don ’t care what you think , said Lettice with staccatodi st inctness , and I am going to marry you .

”

He turned and sei zed her shoulders . Letti ce,you don ’t

love me ? ” She was dumb agai n . Do you ? Do you ?Letti ce alma de mi v ida , n ii

‘

ia de mi corazon saladisima ,

preciosisim a , herm osisim a

I f he had never known i t be fore,he saw now that he had

power over her ; she cou ld not resi st that tone . Wel l,I

can ’t have you waking up l ike that,can I

How wou ld you have me wake ? ” asked Gardinerunder his breath . He did not know what he expected , certainly not what he got : a swi f t turn , Lett ice

’s face grimwith feel ing , her hands strongly drawing him down againsther heart . She sai d not a syl lable , but she held him there ;and by and by she bent her grace ful l i ttle neck and kissedhim , the oddest l i ttle salute , i t might have been cal led a peck ,quite defini te and not at a l l shy. Gardiner sprang up ,flushed

,impassioned

,f reeing himsel f f rom her arms to sei ze

her i n hi s own ; then hold ing her Off, with one l ingeringscruple Sure it’

s al l right , Lett ice ? Sure you don ’ tmind ? I swear I ’l l take nothing you don

’ t f ree ly givenow or as your husband , nothi ng !

You are not a l l there i s of most i ntel ligent , are you ?”

sai d Lett ice .But i f her tongue wa s perverse

,her eyes were very so ft

so ft a s only Lett ice ’ s eyes could be,always with a sparkle

i n thei r sweetnes s ; and Gardiner was not cri ti cal . He wasfar too much occupied in making love , which he did veryprettily, with a wealth of so ft Spani sh superlative s . Hewas drunk with happines s ; hi s most ente rpri si ng dreamshad never pictured such a surrender .And Le tt i ce was happy too . She knew now , she had

learned i n the moment when he woke with her name on

h i s l ip s, that she was not a fraid o f passion ; and i f she hadsurp ri sed him , he had surpri sed her too. She had thoughtshe understood him pretty wel l ; but she knew the worstbetter than the be st, and the unselfishness, the deli cacy ,the almost fantasti c chivalry o f hi s love le ft her wonderi ng

304! CONVICT B 1 4

Soon,very soon , the scars wou ld heal , and al l would be as i t

had been .

And 0 , how deep the corn

Along the battlefield !

One change there was , not due to the t ide O f war . Thefor lorn wooden cross on the hi l l-top had gone : had givenp lace to another

,a lovely thing in marble , the inspi ration

of a French art i st , standing forty feet high on i t s pedestalof steps . It had been put up by an Engl i sh avion , presum ably to commemorate hi s mi raculous escape from deathon that very spot , though the inscription on the pl inth did notquite ta l ly with that theory . Strange that a heret i c and anEngl i shman should choose to erect a crucifix , st ranger st il lto those who had known thi s Engl i shman before ; but t imeschange , and men with them . At any rate there stood thecross ; and Rochehaut , i f i t cou ld not understand , was inordinately proud of i t . Eh , madame , vous al lez au Chri st ,n ’est-ce pas ? said Madame Hasquin of the farm to the wi feOf her temporary lodger Ah ! c ’est beau ca , savex-vous !Mettez une petite priere pour m oi, je vous prie !So Lett ice , s i tt ing on the steps with a pai r o f mascul ine

socks , as she had once sat on the stones wi th the greentablecloth , added a prayer for l ittle murdered Deni se (whichwa s what Madame meant by her m oi) to the petit ion re

quested by the cross

E . w. 6 .

PER ARDUA AD ASTRAPRIEZ POUR ELLE

THE END