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i was expecting to make didn t come quite as rapidly at it should and when she gave me the i lost my heart and job at the same time for a few months i wasn t good for anything knew the shape i was in and one day he sent for me how would you like to be a says he td as be that as anything else i answered my life is shattered it makes no difference how low in the social scale i fall he wanted a man to go to and hunt up a missing party thing to send me on an errand of that kind wasn t it but he was short handed and i the benefit i ve only been in the country a few days and the place is so interesting i haven t been able to attend to business at all the listener was obliged to smile in spite of himself it did look a rather queer selection have you given up becoming a great writer of romance he inquired not at all only postponed it if you d helped me out with that plot i started on i have a literary friend and we ve talked it over often he s a pole one with a capital p i mean and he says if i could only bring it to the right finish it would beat all the stories o a sugar princess written in this century i have already used up half a about mr s disappearance the on saving the lady from drowning i that to make it look original and finally going off to the in her party as mr told me you did i m sure you re going to distinguish yourself before you get through and the manuscript may come handy while the newspapers are full of your exploits exploits repeated puzzled certainly i can t have my work ruined merely because you won t attend to your part of the business it you don t attract public attention in some striking way pretty soon i shall invent something and tack it on to you i hoped you would come back and take possession of big estate cutting a that would attract attention i know what i d do if i had half of it mr rolled his eyes and his lips in anticipation as you didn t i pushed the fiction for all it was worth according to my plot you ve got to have a big fortune if you won t take it from st louis you must get it somewhere else it is also necessary to the romance that you marry the beauty a strong hand was on his arm and a warning look was shot into his eyes the ht way in which he spoke cut his to the quick oh don t get mad with me for trying to earn an honest living exclaimed away if i want to give you a pot of money on paper i m going to do it my latest idea is to have you fall heir a sugar princess to some relation abroad you ve got relations abroad haven t you there was no use in getting angry with the fellow who had once rendered him a service him by saying that he supposed he had kin beyond seas though he knew nothing definite about them i was sure of it was the joyful answer what is more natural than that one of your relations should die and leave his vast estates to you and in the interests of entertaining fiction why t he be a nobleman just as well as not it can t do any harm if i should even make you a count it will be all the more reason in the story why the girl you love in the story again should accept your hand to make it more aristocratic i think i will call you von i should like to know if there is any solid to that they had walked some distance down the street and stood on the banks of a moat which enclosed grounds sacred to it was but a short space in width but the were high and firm thought with a sigh that just such a moat and wall must separate him forever from the desire of his soul love him as she might there was nothing more impossible on earth than that he should become van s husband our family was originally called von he said thoughtfully of course it was and they had estates big ones somewhere in it wasn t was it it was who told you was the astonished a sugar princess why it might as well be as anywhere and your great uncle might die there worth more than six million and if there are no nearer relations his lawyers might send to america to hunt you up putting their case in the hands of let us say it s easy to suppose things when one gets to writing imaginative fiction with a fortune of your own almost as big as that of your beloved s papa you could ask for her hand in a novel reasonable certainty of having the proposal fairly considered oh pursued picking up a stone and it into the water of the moat i ll fix you all right in my romance if you ll let me there was something mysterious in the way the young fellow said these things and felt a strange sensation going through his brain after a moment of silence he shivered and caught his breath as he realized the folly of such a of he turned back toward the imperial and returned with him i suppose the mission on which mr sent you here is a secret he remarked presently not to you though i d rather you wouldn t mention it to your friends for the present indeed i

0Arthur Conan Doyle

hope you will be able to give me a little help in the matter the fact is has never given up the belief that peter is living and he thinks he s here in somewhere a look of the most intense pain came into the listener s face mr is dead he said hoarsely there is a sugar princess ao doubt about it if you had seen as i did the awful river of burning in which he was you would not for a second doubt that well won t believe it replied and he s risked a thousand dollars of his money to back up his opinion he s got reason to suspect that the old gentleman took passage in a sailing vessel from two days after lost sight of him and was a passenger on a steamer for a few weeks later if he s wrong it s the first time anyway i ve got to satisfy myself about a few points that he wants me to look up and i ll be much obliged if you ll give me a lift there was something awful to in the manner with which discussed the question it was almost like open a tomb i tell you solemnly i know he is dead he replied i have seen his spirit plainly and distinctly uttered a long whistle if you ll take me to the place where you saw that and give me the date of the apparition i won t trouble you much further he cried excitedly i can do the rest myself a sugar princess chapter xxx a shock for mrs van mrs van was not in an entirely happy frame of mind she had been so thoroughly convinced upon hearing of his arrest that lord was a that she had treated him in a most disgraceful manner later information caused her to think he was merely victim of a mistake on the part of the she was now divided between those two if he was an innocent man and actually heir to an would he ever forgive her for having twice assailed him in language far from polite if on the other hand he was an artful rogue and she had heard of pretended imposing on people what could be worse than giving him another chance to his arts mr to whom she appealed in her distress great caution he thought after what had happened it would be best to wait for positive before opening further mrs young on the other hand was convinced that the englishman was all he represented himself but she took the ground that he was hardly up to the high standard the van family should set she had a copy of s in her trunk and as she read the a sugar princess names of british aloud it seemed to mrs van that there was a large to select from the one thing on which both members of her kitchen cabinet agreed was that nothing ought to be done for the present but maintain the they did not use this term exactly for would have a prolonged explanation but the idea is contained in that familiar expression of there was little doubt in the mind of mrs van that mr had followed her daughter the sent with the horse belonging to the landlord of the hotel had been directed to pursue his way to it was possible that with two or three days of interrupted association he had again offered his hand to and had this time been accepted mrs van knew her daughter well enough to realize that in that case it might require much effort to break off the match she had been so anxious to bring about it would certainly be embarrassing to meet mr until she understood the situation she therefore sent another wire to telling her that she would go on her arrival at to the hotel where she wished her to visit her coming with no escort except her maid or mr on receiving this wire naturally the best one to select they set off in as if merely going for and reached the met earlier than mrs van as it is quite apt to be m the train was late and they went to one of the to await the expected arrival as there was no one else in the room saw no a sugar princess reason why she might not enjoy a very pleasant half hour with the man she loved she took a chair next to his and said with that she was glad were at last where no listening ears could interfere with their conversation how long have you loved me she began bending on him a look of beaming happiness though i knew what was in your heart i feared till the last moment something would separate us wasn t it awful that i had to be the one to speak out but i m not sorry i did it dear and i ll make you glad to the last day i live his reply was delivered with slow and measured tones i have loved you from the moment i had you in my arms in the water at san loved you with my whole soul loved you as i always shall though i fear nothing short of a miracle can bring that love to its let us look this matter in the face it would not be honorable for me to win you in our widely different circumstances your father me and i will not be false to him it is sweet to know you are not indifferent to me to feel that had i possessed a suitable fortune you would have joined your life to mine whatever happens i shall guard that memory as my dearest possession the girl s eyes opened wide and her mouth then you won t be my husband you will wreck my future as well

0Arthur Conan Doyle

as your own and all because my father has more money than you a sugar princess but think he answered much distressed your father is i know i know a sugar king a the richest man in all that sort of thing but i m nothing but a foolish little girl very much in love whom nobody seems to consider i m not going to you to marry me sir you needn t think i shall get down on my knees to the boon if a man really cared for me he would at least ask my father before he gave up hope it is evident you don t love me and never did i have lowered myself in your eyes and must suffer the penalty she bent her head and forgetting everything lifted the face and touched the lips with his own at first she made a of avoiding the embrace and finally not only accepted but returned it he sank on one knee and she placed an arm around his neck i can get to me she whispered just in a friendly way you know if you prefer i ll come to you with nothing but the clothes i wear and a little containing and we will have nearly as much then as he had when he married mamma but we don t need to do that she hastened to add he s very fond of you already could not muster courage enough to take that arm from his neck or to fly from the voice that whispered of an earthly heaven he knelt there still like one listening to words sweeter than and replying in from time to time he felt himself wavering when to the a sugar princess sentences laid her soft cheek against his but he still protested feebly that it would be disgraceful for a man to to the height toward which she beckoned him if you love me as much as you say she said at last i suppose you could claim your estate in st louis that would make you what mother calls in our class i have it in writing he replied nothing would tempt me to touch it not even your love for me not even that and there is nothing so strong of which i can conceive then he murmured i could not love thee dear so much loved i not honor more she had both arms around his neck now and all the affection in her heart shone in her luminous dark eyes they had quite forgotten that they were in the public parlor of a hotel into which anyone might enter it was one of those moments of which even the in could not rob the human race a glimpse of paradise like that which elizabeth to when she sang unless you can gaze in a crowd all day on the absent face that fixed you unless you can love as the angels may with the breadth of heaven you j a sugar princess unless you can feel when by his breath that your beauty itself wants proving unless you can swear for life for death oh never call it loving i the door opened mrs van entered followed by rev mr and mrs young there was a scream and the lady had to be helped to a sofa by her attendant don t speak to me don t come near me cried mrs van as sprang up and hastened to her side how can you look me in the face you girl thank you mrs young so miss this is the way you carry on with a common servant in the public parlor of a hotel what do you think your father would say if he knew that will do mother replied in a set tone though her face colored deeply you know very well your daughter could not lower herself and that your charges are nonsense the man you delight to insult is dearer to me than life my father knows how much i love him and my choice i admit it was to give way to my affection in a public room but i have kept it pent up so long it had to somewhere mrs van rocked herself to and fro on the sofa as if in agony continually applying to her nostrils the smelling which mrs young promptly gave her you will return to with me on the very next steamer she exclaimed i hope she added a sugar princess in an i shall get there alive but it will be no fault of yours if i do i am not going to on the next steamer said quietly then i shall go without you i have tried to bring you up as a girl should be in your sphere of life and i have failed do not let william hear of this she continued in a half whisper to mr he is rash i fear if he knew what advantage this has taken of the trust in him he would do something terrible excited as she was could not repress a smile at the idea of her brother in the of an as she glanced at mr s face he indicated that she had best leave the parlor and drawing her arm through she went out into the you see said the young man how perfectly hopeless our case is you haven t the courage of a mouse you great strong giant she exclaimed his arm mamma will get over it i don t believe you really love me there was no one in sight and only said this to induce the form of denial most natural to expect it came a moustache swept her red lips mr is our chief reliance she said when this pleasant diversion was ended and she had a chance to use her voice he has written to father that he must come at once as

0Arthur Conan Doyle

you are going to resign your position he will come not considered and within a month or so you can have his a sugar princess blessing if you want it if it pleases independent spirit any better we can begin housekeeping in one room as he did perhaps you ll be a sugar king yourself one of these days she i ve not had a definite answer yet to the proposal i made you at they were getting into their when appeared on the scene who had been so recently represented as a possible of blood he was dressed as usual and carried a light walking stick with which he struck his trousers as he came along at sight of the pair he ran toward them joyfully and extended both hands oh i have got the greatest news cried his sister with suppressed eagerness you ll stand by me won t you as you always have ever since we were to the last ditch well i m going to surprise you this time how would you like mr for a brother in law splendidly you thought i was blind all the time but i wasn t i saw the way the wind blew is it settled looked sideways at who violently i hardly know she replied is it cleared his throat mr van he said in a low tone i love your sister dearly and i believe she cares almost as much for me but in my present condition with no prospects for the future how can i ask her to be my wife a sugar princess seems to me i could find some way if i were in your place answered with a laugh mamma is awfully angry about it said can i rely on you whatever happens bet your boots was the answer a sugar princess chapter the of when and reached the imperial they learned that mr had suddenly departed having received a which compelled him to leave at once he had only had time to leave that message with but promised to write from england when he reached home they talked it over together agreeing that he was a pleasant fellow and that they were sorry to have him go just now however was in too great a for the matter to interest him much to remain at the same hotel in their altered relationship practically in charge of her was assuming a deep responsibility it was hardly more practicable to leave her alone with the alternative of her to return to with her mother was not agreeable but he adopted it at last he might have saved himself the trouble as the proposal was declined forthwith papa is on the way here she said i can t run away from him when he has undertaken a disagreeable journey solely on my account i don t believe mamma will go when she gets over her anger she ll make the best of it at last she consented to return to the a sugar princess and ascertain definitely mrs van s intentions te and one of the hotel accompanied her hardly had the young lady gone when mr appeared on the scene he had been making some he said which convinced him more than ever that peter was alive and in though shook his head he answered all the questions asked him describing the scene near when he saw the shadowy outlines of the familiar form urged to accompany to the spot he said he would gladly do so when relieved from a more pressing duty he was obliged to reveal the fact that mrs van and her daughter might part company i thought you would take more interest in the thing said with a face your has suffered a great since i first met you as long as mr was alive was s impatient response i would have followed him to end of the earth i even risked my life in the hope of recovering his body the errand you have engaged in is absolute folly while i would be glad to help you if you insist upon wasting your time i cannot leave real and immediate duties to do so he had not finished before a drew up in front of the hotel and mr love joy stepped out he looked particularly grave as he approached and paying no attention to the fact that he had a companion requested him to come to his room for a private conversation excused himself hastily from and accompanied the minister upstairs a sugar princess mrs van has decided to take a steamer for tomorrow said mr when they were alone even if miss cannot be persuaded to go her i have promised to in until mr van arrives should the daughter decline to leave after i saw in the parlor i need hardly ask if you also expect to await mr van s coming felt the need of saying something in of himself and of i see you are angry with me and i deserve a little of your indignation it was certainly thoughtless to select a public room for a scene as you interrupted i have loved miss van ben blindly s the first day i saw her now that i know she also cares for me i am like a man in a dream i have no disposition to judge you i merely wish to say that if miss van desired it i will assume charge of her until her father comes i am somewhat older than you and in the circumstances thanked the speaker warmly saying he had removed a great weight from his mind he then asked with some uneasiness what mrs young would do after mrs van sailed but the minister said they were going together then told him of mr s departure to which he listened with interest and mr s strange mission to was also alluded to the conversation closed by

0Arthur Conan Doyle

that should be sent for and this was done without delay as the result of a long talk it was decided in case x a sugar princess mrs van did not change tier mind and if miss consented that the entire remaining members of the party would accompany mr to the interior when returned from the she told that her interview had been very painful and that there was no prospect of healing the she had been given no choice between the maternal displeasure prolonged and of returning at once to with a promise never to see or communicate with mr again in that emergency how could i hesitate she asked you ll take me in charge till comes at least mr will assume that position please don t frown he will be an indulgent guardian then went on to speak of mr and to say he wished to join their excursion into the country she no objections and that matter was settled came over a little later and announced that his mother himself and the young would go to on the evening train and sail on the following morning he had come to say good by loved her brother and the parting had many elements of sadness i wish mother wouldn t carry her so far she said i m afraid when she gets home she ll spread some awful stories papa will be here in three or four weeks and everything would be lovely if we could persuade her to wait till then he replied that he had already used bis best efforts a sugar princess he did not believe however that his mother would say anything to make trouble at home she was too proud of the family position for that but why need you go with her ah i see it s that old love affair of yours with king for heaven s sake don t marry that half white girl you ll be sorry the rest of your life she s nice enough and pretty i won t deny but this mixing of races is awful he inquired what she thought of mixing dutch and which had produced her own sweet self and if she thought the addition of a strain of pure german would help things any she but replied that all these were white which made a difference if i were to marry prince daniel would be something similar you know you wouldn t like that give her up that s a good boy he said she knew perhaps from her own experience how easy such things were arguments were plainly lost on him that evening at the hour her mother and brother were to take their train she threw herself into olive thorn s arms on the next day when the newspapers showed that the had sailed with mrs van and among the passengers preparations for the return to were pushed in spite of his incredulity could not help being affected by mr s earnestness something happened that evening however to change his views on coming down to dinner he saw a sugar princess at one of the tables the three gentlemen who had been fellow passengers with him on the later in the smoking room the one who had been pointed out to him as the eldest son of the of greeted him cordially inquiries as to his stay in his impression s of the country and so on were made by the oriental that politeness has caused the to be known as the frenchman of the east after a pleasant half hour had been spent in this way the young into another subject i have just returned from lie said one of the most delightful of our mountain there i saw a gentleman who is i imagine a fellow of yours about whom i promised to speak to your minister here he is very old and seems slightly when he arrived he had plenty of money but for some time now has made excuses whenever his bill is presented he seems to have had a good education and has apparently seen much of the world the suspicion is that he has strayed from his friends and cannot find his way back to them have you happened to hear of anyone of that description who is missing it was nearly a minute before could find his tongue do you remember the gentleman s name he asked the did not remember he was then asked the most route to and gave careful directions after left him with many thanks the possibilities of the new question were a sugar princess mental if was living and beyond repair what then what if his faculties be restored to him if if if might he regain his friend wrecked in body and mind and still lose the dearest girl on earth oo a sugar princess chapter across and arose in the morning feeling that he could not start for too soon had the new information imparted to him before breakfast and received it with enthusiasm the suggestion of changing the trip to met with no objection from anybody it being than and equally interesting the first train was consequently taken to whidi point was reached before noon after a lunch and rest at the principal hotel the requisite number of horses and were engaged and started into the country s partiality for was no longer a secret and they were permitted by common consent to ride in advance of the others olive spoke to once or twice about the matter and occasionally dropped a hint to mr she found herself wondering if the rich van would really give his consent when he had to face the actual proposition theories in matters she knew were not always carried out in actual experience although when she thought of her brother s disappointment she could not help rejoicing at s happiness if thorn was not to win this girl

0Arthur Conan Doyle

she had no reason to envy mr his remarkable conquest a sugar princess oi it was quite dark before they arrived at a purely village where foreigners are seldom seen the entire town was en a great fire festival being in progress and the for miles around were engaged to entertain the people in all the streets and squares were numerous tall piles of wood blazing merrily the place till it was almost as light as day this festival occurs but once a year and is of very ancient origin they found the hotel a primitive affair but were too tired to mind twenty minutes after lying down on the spread on the mat covered floor all were fast asleep anxious to on as fast as possible it was arranged before retiring that the horses should be ready at seven o clock the road was little more than a path through the hills and the trees required constant care to keep them from sweeping the off their when the lake of was at last in sight a beautiful sheet of water among the mountains and the white walls of the hotel could be discerned in the distance told his companion w hy he had come to this place she was flattered that he confided his secret to her alone and spoke soothing words of encouragement now that his goal was so near mr could not bear to remain behind but with an apology forced his horse past the young couple and entered the grounds of the hotel in advance of them did not feel like hastening a peculiar sensation oppressed him he dreaded almost as much as he hoped that he would find peter there a princess at the of the hotel mr the proprietor an had been adopted into a family and married one of its daughters welcomed the party said to that the guest he sought had gone for a walk but would probably return directly as full a description as he could give was added but he said the gentleman had in the name of s excitement had now grown to fever heat he asked to let him meet the man first alone and pressing s hand with a grip strode down the path in the direction indicated he had not gone far when he saw the form of peter older more bent but unmistakable approaching paused and stood stock still folded arms as peter approached he glanced sideways at him and seemed about to pass without a word then he looked again and stopped you ve been gone a long time he said if you were not coming home you might have sent some word good heaven the period since they had met was a blank to his mind go over and tell i want to see him continued the old man he said you would never come now i can prove him a false prophet mr is in st we are in don t you remember going to and the s face brightened a little the ah yes that was where i got away a sugar princess from him from i had my plan well laid i took a vessel and sailed somewhere then i had a long long sleep with strange dreams he seemed struggling with his clouded recollection there were many nights at sea and many days on horseback with deaf and dumb men for and i kept thinking you would come and you did not and because i had run from him never came either i can t find the book i kept my accounts in he continued and the landlord says i owe him money do you think he will let me starve it was sad to find this strong mind with only flashes in the darkness guided the old gentleman to his own room where he ordered a meal to be served while the was arranging the table he sought and gave her a brief outline of what had occurred asking her to tell the others and beg them not to disturb him for the present as the meal mr brightened from time to time but he seemed to think they were in his old home and inquired why did not appear he missed various articles of furniture and some pictures and had to be reminded over and over that he was in far from st louis when conversation the old gentleman had one never failing resource he always triumphantly to the of suspicions i knew you would find me he said brightening up like a candle nearly burned out i told him you a sugar princess would follow me across and won t i prove him a and in what steamer he had reached how he had managed to get to this remote spot in what way he had provided himself with funds none of these was he able to make clear probably he had carried originally a large sum in ready cash w hich had only recently become exhausted it is not unlikely that he had been imposed upon by people who realized his weak mind unhappily human nature is much the same in such things in all parts of the world when the lunch was finished ushered mr into his sitting room where his friends were gathered he took a seat in a corner and no effort was made to induce him to talk the only time he showed signs of interest was when he heard the minister address as miss van van of he said said was wrong he said wasn t rascal he wanted me to believe and he was right van was right immediately after this mr closed his eyes and into slumber a messenger was to for a chair with to carry him as far as the railway during the next two days the visitors away the time by visiting the ice and other points of interest in the vicinity everywhere picturesque and

0Arthur Conan Doyle

attractive on the third day the having arrived all set out on their return to stopping at over night as before a sugar princess made no trouble his appetite was good and he liked going about among the strange streets of the metropolis with a special attendant who was provided for him the others managed to fill up the time agreeably until news came that mr van s steamer had been sighted then when the meeting with this all important person was imminent grew again i know what the world will say that i have an for her money he told repeatedly i am as proud my love as i am poor if mr had his proper senses he might undo his work in me i should at least feel then that i had expectations but when i am merely a beggar she saw how deep his feelings were and hesitated to say more she would leave it to her father to dispose of these ridiculous notions mr van s welcome was very warm he was rejoiced to see peter who recognized him at once but was surprised to hear that his wife had returned home he looked extremely well and was in excellent spirits the voyage had been so calm that he had not had a bad quarter of an hour during the whole of it a few days later all sailed for having the extraordinary good fortune to catch the on her return trip mr the arranged that the party should occupy his entire table and during the voyage contributed largely to their comfort and pleasure on arriving mr van ben and a sugar princess went of course to the family residence while the others at various hotels mrs van received her daughter with great and gave absolute orders to the servants that if mr called he was not to be admitted meetings between the couple were therefore held for the present at mr van s office and it may be added that they were of daily occurrence and of prolonged duration within a few weeks olive received a letter from her brother asking her to come at once to new york he said he had settled all his business troubles satisfactorily and was prepared to offer her a home again with him though sorry to leave she was very happy at the news and took the first steamer for a sugar princess chapter writes to olive my darling sister so wrote to olive some weeks after the events in the preceding chapter i have so much to say to you i hardly know to begin but before i record news some of which i think will surprise you let me say again how glad i am your brother has been relieved of the troubles h hung over him papa tells me it was never anything more than a between partners and that thorn did right in trying to protect his interests i suppose it was owing to his suspicion of the men with whom he had to deal that made him assume the name of stone to them give him my regards and say we shall be glad to welcome him whenever he finds it convenient to visit our island now for my story a short time ago mr was informed through the agency of that he had fallen heir to the title and estates of a german nobleman who was i think his great uncle there being no reason why he should refuse the fortune he wrote promptly to germany sending the necessary papers and later went over himself he is now fully entitled to be called a count and a sugar princess mamma has modified her objections to our marriage since she will after all have a in the family to humor her i must call him by his first name will consent to use his new title for a time though he with papa that handles of that sort are not becoming in a full republican living under the folds of the star banner mr is so well contented in that he has decided to remain here his mind is completely restored and one of the first things he did when he was able to execute papers was to destroy the will by which he and the previous one by which he devised his property to him in these altered circumstances has managed to muster courage enough to ask papa for my hand as if that hadn t been arranged for all practical purposes before and as soon as he returns we are to be wedded at my home in the most approved fashion i know you will congratulate me dear i never really gave up expecting it would happen but i confess s remarkable run of luck did not seem very probable when we were in last autumn and now for the strangest part of my history i don t think it was meant that i should ever know it at all but it has come out little by little papa was so fearful that mamma would marry me to some foreigner that he arranged with to have a man follow us and keep him informed of our every movement mr the head of the firm undertook the important commission you may think you didn t see anything of him but you did he merely assumed a x sugar princess new name and with us as w hat do you think the rev i understand that in his early days mr was an actor and that his most successful were those of he certainly filled the part this time with some success as i think you will agree nor is this all feeling that mamma needed to influence her at the right moment he had his wife who was already at on another case go along also that lady as you may now be able to guess passed under the name of mrs

0Arthur Conan Doyle

young her two children who for their age showed remarkable in the profession of their parents came also as i think you will not forget when not engaged in his professional duties mr is a most man and mrs m is almost as hard to extract information from as he i tried to get a full explanation of plan they adopted but all mr would say when pressed was that everything worked exactly as he intended if you will cast your mind back over certain incidents i think you will conceive as i have done a high regard for his cunning neither of these people were disguised and yet when they took the steamer for the states i hardly knew them they had resumed their natural dress and manners mr is under fifty of age and mrs m considerably his junior the children bore themselves like respectable young things instead of the i am not likely to forget in a hurry they would have passed for prize scholars in a sunday school io a sugar princess this notwithstanding that less than a before they had driven to the verge of distraction and nearly broken the heart of pretty king the quarter girl you will remember i once pointed out to you it appears that mamma after recovering from her shock at finding out mrs young s true profession seized the opportunity to make use of the children to cause a between and the couple were enjoying an evening at having had a moonlight swim in the when angel and concealed somewhere about the buildings on the beach at intervals the most to people of color one of guests at s villa told me about it afterwards it was awfully mean and i gave mrs my opinion of the affair but the poor woman was only acting under instructions from mamma i think would rather see in his grave than have him marry the night was still and the moon at its full was sitting on the beach whispering sweet to his idol when a shrill voice was heard these lines black as a bull dog sprang up and looked for the of the outrage but while he was trying to the sound a came from another direction if you die it is no matter x sugar princess it was awful as you can conceive s head was hanging down for felt that the were directed to her a moment later a voice rang out had a little an he wouldn t grow no bigger an i put him in de for a show he tumbled out de an broke his little finger an he couldn t play de old asked to leave the but while she was still the began again there was an old they called hint uncle ned he s dead long ago long ago he had no hair on de top of his head de place where de wool grow then rose to her feet and her anger burst forth like a flame this is either your work or that of some of your family she cried fiercely i want you to understand that i am not a my mother s grandfather was king in and not a sugar king either my father s people stand as high as anybody in new york state no family from nobody knows where shall accuse me of having african blood don t speak to me don t follow me i will never recognize you again she went to the dressed for the street and had the hotel keeper ring for a carriage take her home although i am sorry such a mean way was taken to break up that match i must admit i m glad it s broken if had married her he would a sugar princess suffered terribly some day at the cast on his children for a month he was very but he is recovering and s engagement is announced to a who has been trying to win her for a long time enough of this unhappy affair i have heard from mr who was it appears the only son of a live lord and whose sudden return to england was caused by the fatal illness of his father he is now lord an earl and entitled to call his wife a just the same as he wrote that he was coming here again but when i send the announcement of my engagement i think he may alter his plan why did you not bag that bird yourself what awful you might have had him just as well as not and then we would have had two in our family that young fellow who went us to is getting out a book which he says is based on some of s adventures he has been for years i learn an associate of mr s and is considered a pretty shrewd fellow i know i am writing in a gay and frivolous vein but what can i do every cloud that hung over my pathway has been blown aside i am to have the dearest best and noblest man on earth for my husband and as he will go into business with papa i shall henceforth in the sunshine of those i love best every hour of my life there is no wish of my heart that will then be that is if you will come and act as my which it is the main object of this wandering letter to ask s sugar princess i cannot fix die exact date yet but will give you ample notice if you don t want to furnish the only spot on the moon the you will respond at once in the affirmative i hope you will bring captain with you i can t tell you how happy i am my bosom s lord sits lightly on his throne as mr shakespeare makes some one say lam a sugar i shall

0Arthur Conan Doyle

be a of the german empire but these are nothing compared to being the pet of the most indulgent of and the wife of a man who has been through fire and come out like the hebrew children with not even the smell of burning on his garments your own p s don t wait for the mail telegraph your acceptance to our san house and they will forward you must come a v s a sugar princess chapter all s well that ends well called vanity fair a novel without a hero i have been reading over manuscript and find that i have written a novel without a villain unless indeed mr may be elected to that position and poor has been well punished for and deeply repented of the obstinate that caused him to furnish the for this tale when mr van started for he returned to st louis and though in response to several letters of regret at his fault peter wrote that he forgave him he added that it was best should not meet again by a strange combination of circumstances all had ended happily but it was as well on the whole that a large of the pacific ocean should continue to separate them as to thorn i do not pretend that he was in his business relations the highest type of man he belonged to a growing class of professional who their schemes without too much regard for the interest of such men are found occupying positions in good society even prominent seats in the churches and seldom do anything that could be twisted into an actual of law thorn was no better nor worse than the average man of his he happened to get involved partners more un a sugar princess scrupulous than himself who to a projected robbery of his property and rights brought against him a charge of fraud even when he joined forces with these men he suspected their good faith and assumed the name of stone as a in case of trouble while his suit for van s hand was not at the start wholly by her father s wealth he had grown extremely fond of the girl for her own sake long before he made his proposal in set terms it was as olive had remarked the one matrimonial project of his life in time as is the case with most men except in very romantic fiction he grew reconciled to his loss and recovered his old spirits but when olive went to to act as s he accompanied her only as far as san not feeling that he would enjoy sight of his rival s crowning victory the date of the wedding was fixed for the first week in march and lest the selection should excite surprise of some of my feminine readers in america let me remind them that that month is not in the kind one expects in the central or new england states the weather is always mild flowers are in full bloom and everything in nature the heart of a bride happiness is bound up in her husband in fact there is no month in that land for brother was as glad to see olive as was and from the time she arrived constituted himself her general escort and she thought he had improved much since she last saw him and he began to a sugar princess why he had never noticed what a remarkably lovely girl she was one day when had ridden out beyond the that precipice over which the great is said i think to have driven his enemies talked to her in plain earnest he said will you do something for me anything in my power she responded without hesitation well i want you to marry me s all i m more or less of a worry to father and mother me to death every time i look at a girl i want to get the thing settled and off their minds i know you re a few months older than i am and i know i m not good for much anyway but i like you awfully well and i ll make just the best husband i can if you ll have me will you it was that he was making the proposal in full earnestness miss thorn did not know what to say he had always seemed to her little more a boy a boy she had always liked but a boy for all that it was a serious problem she was confused at its and for some seconds could not utter a word she said at last you are a good fellow and i like you but i never thought of a like this you must give me time it is too sudden i want to consider are you sure you love me so much and how would your mother feel i am not a person of rank you know like von and who loves me dearly now would she receive thi s idea i must write to my brother too let me a sugar princess have a month to think of it i will try to give you a definite answer by that time all right he replied while you re about it you might write to president too and richard and paul and if any of them should object i suppose that would settle it i don t mean to be cross he proceeded as he saw that she looked troubled but i really thought you d just say why certainly i was all ready to put my arms around you and seal the bargain with a kiss he was so straightforward that she had to smile which saved the situation for them both i ll give you the kiss at any rate if you re sure there s nobody looking she said bringing her horse closer to his i like you well enough

0Arthur Conan Doyle

his sister or father charles preferred walking when the distance was not too great and detested everything that of fashion or style giddy he was a very peculiar fellow was charles and people had begun to speak of him as a miss may seated herself upon her comfortable cushions and was about to give the order to her driver to set off when a couple of children that happened to come along the attracted and her attention both were very plainly dressed one was a year or two older than herself a straight brown faced lad with a set look that might almost be called surly the other was a girl of about thirteen undoubtedly his sister and yet with an air as different from his as daylight and darkness upon seeing the handsome and its occupants the boy acted as if determined not to appear interested after one glance his gaze sought the pavement and he seemed to be counting the bricks at his feet the girl on the contrary opened her eyes wider at the sight before her drinking in the scene with she realized here was the of her own life this aristocratic child with her horses and servants and she was to the full in her contemplation the girl looked at miss and miss looked at the girl the coachman too well bred to turn his head knew what was going on behind him madame the thought what an effective painting the scene would make but she did not change a muscle of her french face nor utter a word though twice the age of her pupil she was as careful in expressing her opinions as if the opposite had been the case only the lap dog impatient to be off showed his sentiments by barking in a dissatisfied key thi poor the rich it all lasted but a moment the children who were walking passed by and the child in the carriage spoke to her driver telling him to proceed toward the park which was the destination she had chosen wasn t that beautiful exclaimed the girl on the to her brother when they were out of hearing the boy did not reply he walked on with his eyes still on the pavement his face as stolid as before she must be rich continued the sister that was her carriage it takes lots of money to own such things and of course she lives in that handsome house don t you think so she added after a moment as there were no signs that any answer was intended it s nothing to do with us that s all think about it said the brother thus driven into replying why strange cried the girl how cross you always are when you see any one who has better things than we i don t blame people for living just as nice as they can afford i would have a carriage like that if i could and a driver and servants and a lap dog too and i often think she added that the day is going to come when i shall the boy looked up from the one quick glance there was a full measure of contemptuous in that look he did not however deem the worthy of words and he walked on as silent as before the probable pecuniary of these children is miss giddy was shown not only in their garments but in that air which poverty when it comes in contact with wealth you might talk to me a little said the girl when they had turned the corner of fourth avenue and were the neighborhood in which they resided how is it some folks get so much money while others get almost nothing look at father he is a carpenter he always was a carpenter he never will be anything else three dollars a day is the highest he ever got many days together he is out of work because business is dull or the weather is bad i have heard him say he doesn t average over six hundred dollars a year it is the same with most of the people that live in the block with us now when you cross the avenue everything seems different over there they have elegant homes servants all the money they want there must be a reason for it and i think some one ought to be able to find it out found his voice then to utter one brief sentence you talk like a fool the girl tossed her head it is better to talk like a fool than not to talk at all she retorted if i was a boy i would be ashamed not to know any more than you do you are going to be just like father a with only enough to keep you from starving and but i will never consent to live like that no i am going to be a lady the brother looked up again with the same contemptuous sneer on his lips you a lady he repeated taking in the whole the poor and the one f her from the cheap hat on her head to the stout shoes on her feet how f at his manner i don t know exactly she said but i shall do it i have as good a right to wear fine clothes and ride in a carriage as those girls on the other side of fourth avenue and i will find a way you will never help me that is certain and neither will father and his new wife who wants me to call her mother but i never shall she would rather see me wearing rags i know that many of the people who are now rich were once as poor as we are they found out the way to fortune and so shall i strange was not a lad who talked a great deal at home

0Arthur Conan Doyle

he never spoke unless some one addressed him first and then he replied in the terms he could find he and were not any too fond of each other and they were seldom found walking the streets together the statement that he had just heard seemed to him exceedingly but he did not show his resentment in harsh expressions he only turned abruptly from her as they reached a corner and walked off rapidly in a direction opposite to that in which lay their home isn t he hateful said the girl aloud angry at finding herself deserted and a pleasant voice at her elbow murmured well he isn t very agreeable that s a fact turned and saw a well dressed young gentleman contemplating her with an amused smile he was to judge from appearances of nineteen miss giddy years or and of a very different order of society from the one in which her family moved he s your brother i presume added the young gentleman in return for her stare though one wouldn t think it to listen to his excessive had no idea what interested this stranger in her but there was something about him that charmed her at first sight ordinarily she would have given him a sharp retort and told him to go about his business i don t exactly know you mean by she ventured your brother does said the young gentleman he understands it very well and now will you tell me why you wish to be a lady and why you think you are destined to rise above the station in life into which you were born there was such a laughing quality in the voice of the young gentleman that could not tell whether he had any serious purpose in his inquiry but the subject had taken a deep hold of her and she was only too glad of a chance to converse with any one upon it i cannot give a reason she said her brow she had begun to walk along accompanied by her new companion i cannot tell why i expect to be a lady except that i want to b one very much as to being born the child of a carpenter many people have told me it must be a mistake i am not like the rest of my people my father is satisfied to saw boards and plane timber all day long my brother is going to follow the same trade the only times they complain poor ant the rich is when building is dull and they cannot get enough to do my often tells me that in a year or two more i must go to work all the girls i was brought up with go into shops or or stores as soon as they are old enough but i have told her i never will do it she may talk as much as she pleases but i never will there are ways to get rich and i will find out how i have heard that many of the richest people were once as poor as any one young admitted the truth of this statement he was pleased with the brightness of the queer child whose head was full of such odd ideas and he walked along with her willingly listening to her aims and plans yes some of them were as poor as well let us say job s turkey he said the pretty young girl you saw starting on her ride belongs tc that kind of a family her father was born in a i have heard say and to day there are not ten men in new york as rich as he looked at him with increased excitement oh did you see me as far back as that she asked what a pretty girl she was and what an elegant team she had you do not no you do not know her do you i know her a little he answered i have been to her house a number of times if she had not been going out at the moment i might have called this morning the girl asked the next question with great eagerness then you have heard perhaps how her father got so much money that is the thing to find out miss giddy where it comes from this wealth they all seem to have on the other side of fourth avenue and nobody has on this side if i could find that out i should know how to make a start she was too much in earnest for him to laugh at her now her dark eyes with their quivering lashes were turned full upon his gray ones i do not know upon my word how the made his dollars he said but i can find out for you i think it was in mines and and ways like those and i am afraid that in any event it was in things which a little girl like you could not carry on for a moment the dark eyes fell at the prospect i want to know for all that said the girl when she lifted them again i want to know all i can about rich people who were once poor couldn t you inquire and tell me the young gentleman said he would do so with the greatest of pleasure but he added that he did not yet know where to address his young friend i live at no avenue a responded the girl promptly and my name is strange but you must not write to me there for my would open the letter before she gave it to me and me for letting you send it i shall have to meet you somewhere when do you think you will have learned i am impatient to know could you make it to morrow evening though was but nineteen years of age this was not the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

first time he had made an appointment with a girl but was so young and so innocent as he could see by the things she said and the way she said them that he thk girl the o h it even to do the apparently harmless thing she asked a child of that age it occurred to him would better obey even the orders of a severe than meet a stranger secretly any purpose whatever beginning in this way who could tell to what the act might lead as she grew older it is said that the lion will not attack prey except when he is in want of food and certainly had no improper thought in connection with this little confiding creature however it was easier to tell her he would come than to refuse her and run the risk of seeing her pretty face cloud again and perhaps her bright eyes with tears there is a man who knows all about the he said and he belongs to a club with me if i can find him and draw him out i will bring you the information you wish where shall i see you and at what hour delighted at his compliance the girl mentioned a small bit of public ground called by the in its vicinity a park at which she would await him when the clock was striking eight that s a bad hour my little girl said i dine at half past seven usually and not till half past seven exclaimed the listener why we have dinner at noon the young gentleman s face was in smiles her was certainly most charming you are very lucky to be served so early said he at my club they are too busy to get around at that hour is there any reason why you cannot see me at nine yes there was a reason at nine o clock mrs young miss giddy strange the second insisted on her being in bed still would rather have the indignation of her than have missed the appointment altogether if you could say a quarter past eight or even half past she began why not earlier then asked why not half past six the girl shook her head that is the time we eat our supper began to remember hearing that these strange hours were kept by members of the lower classes and he tried to fix on a time when the girl s family would be neither eating nor sleeping it seemed according to this child that they were occupied in one or the other of these things most of the evening i can come at seven he said w and dine a little later than usual accepted this now will you tell name and where you live she asked because you see if anything should happen that you were kept from coming or if i could not get out to meet you i should want to know where to find you the next time she had a long head on her this child of thirteen took out a case and handed her a card bearing his name and the address of his chambers thank you she said simply and be sure you don t forget to inquire all about the father of that handsome girl i saw on fifty second street how he got so much money and everything one cannot be a lady r a gentleman without plenty of money can they if you find it all out and from van and tell me all about it i will thank you as long as i live strange was a pretty girl in spite of the extreme of her attire wondered as he walked back toward his rooms how she would look in good clothes in those garments of a lady which she had begun to she had a well developed figure for her age and her rosy cheeks and bright eyes gave promise of a and vigorous womanhood fortune is in the distribution of her he muttered or doesn t she them at all does she only keep them for the most selfish the ones who are willing to and push and tread their fellows under their feet chapter ii from van what mr learned at his club that evening combined with what he already knew and also with several things that the author has ascertained on his own account may as well be given to the reader in a single chapter and at this time many times over of the united states from van railroad president mine owner etc etc was born to a poverty so abject that it would be difficult to its depth at an early age left the paternal roof because it so badly that it no young mi longer afforded him shelter he deserted the family board because it seldom had anything upon it worth eating with no blessing but a scotch one he went forth to look for his own food and his father and mother had freely expressed the opinion that he never would amount to anything they were sure he would reflect no credit on the name of this branch of which had little to boast of except that none of its members had ever served terms in the it was seriously feared that would break even this record because he detested work on a farm and exhibited a fondness for soap and water the owned a and interest a few acres of land from which much of their support was supposed to come in his earliest youth unwillingly assisted at the burial of sundry potatoes and the of various garden seeds in the hope that they would achieve a glorious as the season advanced but when it became necessary to the again the boy was found wanting in a very literal sense he had a way of stealing out of the front door and making for the cool of

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the adjacent wood where he remained even at the cost ef losing his dinner until the night came on and picking worms from vines had more terrors for him than hunger and he had a consolation in his wooded retreat that made him forget the of a young friend in the village who possessed a library gave him free access to it beneath his poor jacket a book was usually concealed absorbed in romance poetry of from history the young lad knew nothing of physical appetite the falling of the curtains of night was the one thing that compelled him to cease his beloved reading in a household where a stray obtained free from the on account of its medical was the only piece of literature it is hardly to be wondered at that this kind of ugly was looked upon as a veritable of the wrath of god he was not at all like the other that was certain they gave him a that they thought very cutting and severe that of the gentleman here comes the gentleman his father would say when crept back to his cabin at nightfall give him some soap and some for his shoes and a bottle of he wants to wear paper and a pair of he will be brushing his hair next and cleaning his nails where have you been all day you young although the elder was in the habit of using a good deal of objectionable language he was not to other means of his opinions not one of his seven children could remember that he had lifted his hand to strike them had he done so to his most son the of the tie between the boy and his family might have come earlier than it did discouraged as both father and mother were with such a lad the remains of the simple meal they had last indulged in were always set out for him so that he did not go to bed i don t see where you get your tastes the elder would often assert as the supper proceeded all you think of is reading and fixing yourself up you don t see your mother or me doing it we never waste our time i don t know what our children would do if we did where did you learn such things did you ever see me my hair do ever wash my hands or black my boots no father no would answer his thoughts were elsewhere he knew that were being addressed to him but he did not listen to their purport i wonder how you expect to your living there won t nobody support you that i knows on it s time you was out to work like jim and jim is getting eight dollars a month and board and makes four dollars and a half a week in the factory but you ve got to change some of your ways before anybody hire you i asked darling last week if he hadn t a place for you in the and he said he didn t want no high toned city chap there he d have to stop every ten minutes and wash up he said i tell you you ll have to turn over a new leaf pretty soon yes father the son would reply in as great abstraction as before and after picking at the set before him he would go up stairs to bed with his younger brother the only one of the family who seemed to care for him or for whom he entertained the least spark of affection had been named after the king while had been in honor of the roman emperor a sister of mrs who had read a book on history at some period of her life forwarded names to fit as fast as the children were born taken in every instance from the ranks of even jim the elder boy was so called after the most high and mighty prince james king of great britain france and ireland of the faith etc to whom most english speaking christians have seen an allusion on the front page of their family the oldest girl was named for that queen whose style of architecture has been of late so copied in the united states and the other three bore equally distinguished the of these had never troubled any of the interested parties though it caused a smile sometimes among the better educated of the town where they lived at last went forth into the world without even one cent to his name and with a very small bundle of extra clothing in his hand nobody caring except little who wept all the night before and furiously when the actual took place and twenty five years afterward this same with the of hon was living in a mansion of his own on fifty second street and paying several of his servants a larger salary than was ever earned by any except himself that he had known whence the great change ah that would be a long story the lives of our rich men given in the illustrated papers the the are always on the important point of how they obtained their fortunes to be sure there is a of telling mr smith was born in such ii y miss a town of very poor parents and had to go out early to seek his own living that is the ordinary beginning and then the to some expression like this when he was only years old he purchased the extensive mills at x how the deuce the reader did he get the funds to purchase the mills and the remains silent the young man who wants to get rich himself and what young man does not would be much obliged if the writer of mr smith s life would submit that gentleman s cash account during the years that between his

0Arthur Conan Doyle

excessive poverty and his purchase of the extensive mills at x but it is never given and i do not see why the writer of a mere work of fiction should be more explicit than his of the news columns this much was however well known mr had been the of a railroad that one of the greatest trunk lines in the country he had obtained a from a which public opinion had driven in spite of itself into his project as a blow to a gigantic that was through him to find a rival owners of land along his line had treated him generously thankful that they were soon to have reasonable of fare for themselves and of freight for their produce courts had rendered opinions in his favor in documents that the popular ear and were supposed to cause a cold sensation to pass down the backs of the and who were from van the people by their hitherto the road had been built being received everywhere with those who rode over it were compelled to admit that it was not such a smooth running track as the old one that it had too many sharp curves and lacked in construction knew it had issued an amount of bonds and stock at which shrewd looked but the public did not care it had cut that was the main thing for which it was designed and it gave out passes with a generous hand rode free of course as all should after being compelled to descend to the level of common people and pay their over the lines of the road ministers with a just regard to proportions were taken at half price were given special when they wanted to take an oh it was a great success that new road and then president was elected almost without his consent to the state it made no difference what party he belonged to and in those days he hardly knew himself everybody except a few mean spirited of the rival road s stock for him he swept the leaving his opponent nothing but a handful of scattering the committee of this district wish your permission to you for the said the gentlemen who called at mr s office there is no question of your election if you allow your name used our only doubt is in reference to your politics as you have taken no part in k bs giddy such matters nobody seems able to state to which side you belong of course you are a f however a man of your public spirit could hardly be otherwise the paused smiling sweetly and for a minute mr hardly knew how to answer his pointed question he had never especially with any party like he had been a in some and a republican in others as his personal interest seemed to dictate he did not know whether it was wise to accept honors at the hand of either of the great political lest it should men whose influence he needed on the other side he wanted to consult with his lawyers and above all with his i am a very busy man gentlemen he said after a long pause i cannot say whether it will be possible for me to accept any office at present the interests of the road i am managing can hardly be of less moment to the community than matters at the state however i will consider and let you know within a short time he then rose with that air which expresses regret at being unable to the conversation shaking hands personally with every member of the he bade them a good afternoon before the day was ended a committee of came on precisely the same errand they were also a little in doubt as to his politics but had no question that the sympathies of such an eminent man must be on their side of the fence the answer he gave them was identical with that he had given the other committee he would think it over he from van t was very busy he thanked them for coming each man had his hand shaken warmly as he withdrew that night the of the party papers in town wrote expressing the hope that mr would accept the that would be to him the next day the place was in a the audacity of the other side was alluded to by both parties in the most terms they need not hope to get into power in any such contemptible way mr s popularity would be very handy indeed to settle such a close district not only of the local press but from the great sought with the popular gentleman in vain it was an occasion for the use of his private secretary who met all comers in the outside office with the statement that mr could not be seen by any person whatever and that he would make public his position over his own signature when he could find the time to do so the and the lawyers decided the matter for their employer after a conference the answer to the that had been made him was contained in a statement sent simultaneously to both and to the press in general mr was already giving every moment of his valuable time to the service of the people so the document said it was not clear to him that he could do more if he was sent to the he feared indeed that he would be unable to perform all his duties there in his over worked condition still it was true that there were matters young miss giddy connected with the new road on which he might have a more direct and favorable influence if he occupied a seat in the body it was however a higher matter than that of mere party and he was obliged to treat it as such there were friends

0Arthur Conan Doyle

of anti on both sides he would work with them wherever they were found in short while mr did not ask nor desire nor had any personal ambition to go to the state he would consent to be a candidate of the people regardless of party and would accept no other if elected he would be bound to no interest but that of the public he would be by no and influenced by no if defeated it would give him not the least concern that was the whole thing in a nut shell there was consternation in the party for each had felt that with him as their exclusive candidate victory was assured in advance both saw however that there was only one thing to do their regular must be allowed to pass for that year they must do their best to convince the people that they were the real party on election day everybody for the man who did not care to run who had as be defeated as not everybody but the of the rival bonds who were the objects of general hate these got together and another candidate one of themselves who received showing their entire strength mr s vote was the new railroad manager then only years of age was returned to the on his g en a tor from second year without a of opposition the third year he refused to run though his appealed to him with tears in their eyes his road was now completed that is it was built from end to end so that cars could run over it taking special care at the bridges stations not beautiful like those of the other road but places at which one could certainly alight from or enter the trains were scattered here and there president needed and deserved a rest the prayers of the people followed him with his young wife and babies when it was reported in the papers that he had sailed for a year s voyage abroad perhaps the prayers would have been given with less had they been delayed for another month for at that time it came out that the new railroad had passed into the hands of the and who had made a deal by which they had absorbed a majority of the stock at a very high figure the public could hardly believe its eyes and ears to get the requisite amount of stock to control the the had had to pay per share for a large quantity and who had sold them his stock at this rate why the hon mr was placed at once among the railroad of his day in the opinion of wall street and its newspaper organs he was a very great man his name would henceforth count as a power on change there was no doubt of that one authority placed his present wealth at another declared on information that it exceeded at any rate he mi had a good fortune for a young man of thirty who had started with nothing the people along the line of his late road were too stunned to say much those who could not get half price for their stock now that the v s and a s had got all they wanted and no was likely to be paid for a long time cursed quietly to themselves most of the others said a man could not be blamed for making his fortune when he got the chance and that he was no worse than other people he was a pleasant fellow anyway and had been generous to the poor the found he had not forgotten them altogether he had made it a condition of his sale that all passes should be renewed for at least ten years the first minister who asked for a half rate got it as before really was not as bad as some people would make him out probably he could have come back a month after he went away and secured a re election to the state a sure test of popular approval but in that respect he differed with the cat of he did not come back he remained for a year in europe as he had intended and when he returned to the united states he established two one was in the city of new york for the purposes of trade in for which he believed he had an the other was in the state of van west of the river where he purchased a large of land five years later he was a cattle king silver king and a railroad in many directions he was a member also of the lower house of the national he was a successful man in from material direction he had a handsome wife a boy of seven and a daughter of four years he no longer worked hard at his duties it was easier and better in every way to hire able men to do that for him he grew to be a veritable at the time of his introduction to the reader he was so very wealthy that the figures are quite superfluous no one would have suspected had he the matter to himself that he had not been reared in that delightful locality known as the lap of luxury but with all his money he had found it necessary to throw this fact into the scale on running for the united states there was a prejudice in the minds of some of the against extreme wealth and to carry the majority he had to have printed a picture of the cabin where he was born which he sent a to find a brilliant worked up a touching story of a poor lad who had been forced to leave his childhood s home at a tender age and had risen by the sheer force of industry to his present proud position mr was successful by a majority

0Arthur Conan Doyle

of three in a hot contest that first time the second time he had no such trouble his saw to it that members likely to oppose him were left at home by their the hon did not care anything for the life of the in itself he went there because it was and still is the proper thing for a man worth over ten millions to do he spent very little time in the state which he had the honor to represent but neither did most of his fellow from that region one of the great interests of the state it giddy and a silver mine owner could be depended upon not to vote in opposition to that industry nobody cared how else he or whether he at all and he might have remained undisturbed forever in his place were it not for the fact that several men who had also become worth more than ten millions wanted the position and stood ready to make him fight for it at each election once he was spoken of for vice president of the country but this was only what is known as a bluff and was designed to make him appear a national figure for local effect chapter iii what s had inherited a famous name and a fortune not at all with it in his opinion his father had been a judge and his grandfather a governor but the wealth of the family with the former whose tastes were extravagant and whose business qualities were not of the highest order at the age of nineteen however had given little thought to the future his expenses had been met with liberality by mr the well known lawyer in whose charge his affairs were placed by his father s will he had been allowed to do about as he pleased since his twelfth year when he was left an orphan and had divided his time between study and plea what s with hardly attempt being made to guide him he knew in a general way that he would not be a rich man but he could not have told within fifty per cent the amount of money at any time remaining in the hands of his father s and mr was a gentleman who disliked going into particulars and was a after his own heart all he had ever said to young was that he should by and by make a wealthy marriage and that his small fortune would probably suffice till this was accomplished repeated this to a member of his club with whom he was on terms of intimacy mr david an who had already attracted attention among the upper circles for the quality of the work he was doing there was eight or nine years difference in their ages but mr was a man who could himself to all kinds of people and he found the boy as he then mentally him rather interesting what an old ass is to say a thing like that to me was the way his information marry marry i would as soon cut my throat he didn t mean that you were to hurry about it i don t imagine rejoined the it s a thing most men do you know at some time in their lives and it s very good form now a days to think of money and matrimony in the same connection the old fashioned ideas of love and love alone do not obtain any more in american society puts it very well in his northern farmer what s thou can thy an too em as they ve good right to do young showed plainly on his face the disgust that he felt it s too commercial he said to think of it in that way it s like putting one s self up to the highest like a prize donkey but you must get money somewhere urged the you wouldn t like to go into trade would you and you ve never begun to fit yourself for a profession how have you planned to fill that purse of yours when you find it becoming empty the young man lifted his eyebrows as ff this was a new thought to him i might buy a of s tools he replied and go to it seems to me on the more respectable than to sell my body and to some rich man s daughter speaking of rich men you know pretty well could you give me a resume of his history without dreaming that there would come a time in the future when he might regret the freedom mr detailed to his friend all he knew of he had heard of the low origin of the his out of the railroad he built his practical purchase of his seat in the and most of the rest of the story in the preceding chapter and he told it all without reserve with the air of a man who likes to show that he knows what is going on in the world but his first actual start on the highway to financial success came in just the way we were recently what s talking about said bay he got into a railroad office and gained some promotion by his industry and brightness but that wouldn t have amounted to much if he hadn t married a daughter of one of the high officials of the road there is a that the marriage was a case of and subsequent forgiveness but i m not able to swear to that he certainly married a small fortune a hundred thousand or so and used it as a to raise himself to his present position mr looked thoughtful and the wife he asked she died poor girl when the daughter was very young oh yes i suppose he regretted her and it is unlikely he will ever marry again but here the lowered his voice is

0Arthur Conan Doyle

not a saint in the matter of women he has a mistress they say at each of his principal stopping places one here one in van and one in washington that doesn t prove that he didn t love his wife though the most devoted husband i ever knew a man who fairly worshipped his lost his life in a house of ill fame at boston the lace curtains caught from the gas jet and set a bed on fire the girl and the brave fellow died from injuries received in putting out the flames the listener shrugged his shoulders things have got to be pretty bad haven t they he replied were they always so or has this age gone to the devil all by itself the several cases in history to how that in fidelity were not wholly original to this century then he looked at his watch and remarked that he had an engagement b the next day may bury came near forgetting the appointment that he had with the pretty child he had first seen in front of the residence on fifty second street hastening out of doors at seven o clock he sprang into a cab and gave the driver a direction that nearly made the man fall off his box avenue a exclaimed the did you say avenue a f coolly repeated the direction anew the little park that was just beyond the avenue near the corner of th street and the driver took up his whip and gave his astonished horse a as if the animal was to blame for the sarcastic manner of his passenger the carpenter s little daughter was somewhat abashed when she saw the carriage stop and the young gentleman alight he looked to her a much more important and formidable individual than he did when she found him a mere foot passenger like herself on the pavement instead of rushing up to him as she had intended and him with questions she waited for him to speak walked over to and held out his hand frankly well i am here you see he exclaimed and i have learned all i could about our friend the with the daughter who drives her own with that he the child to a seat on a bench near by and placed himself by her side for fifteen minutes she listened to him with all th interest in the world and when he ended his what s she wore the expression of one who is much disappointed then mr did not make all his money himself she said up what he had told her he began by marrying a lady who had property exactly replied and that is not so bad a point for you to know he added half in earnest half in joke if you are ever to be rich you will more than likely become so by marriage whatever of humor there might be in this subject for him there was none whatever for his little companion rich young men do not marry the daughters of she said they never come down to avenue a for their wives but they may some day he said who knows she shook her head very decidedly as if she did not believe it you are a rich young man yourself are you not you rode here to night in a carriage and you look like those i have seen walking on fifth avenue sunday after church now if you wanted to marry do you think you would come over to this neighborhood he didn t think so in the least but politeness sometimes demands that answers be given an quality i might he replied but really i am not rich nor anything like it what money i have is going rapidly and will soon be gone do you work at anything she asked well not just yet i have been going to school young and but i shall have to do something by and by she looked him over from head to foot what could you do there was a certain in the question and in the manner of asking it that did not escape him but he was rather amused than otherwise you must not be too hard on me he protested i shall come out all right only give me time she colored because he read her thoughts so accurately but she was not the girl to pretend anything she did not feel tf you are not rich there is on y one way you ever will be she persisted you will have to marry money as mr did his face grew darker at that must even this child of the east side his fate like all the others mr david had told him the same thing and mr and of people during the last year had intimated it and he was not yet twenty well he said i have kept my promise i have told you all i know about money getting and now let me advise you to be a wise and sensible little girl and put such matters out of your mind for the next five years all you ought to do now is to go to school study hard and read all the good books you can find what is your age thirteen she told him with a gesture of defiance when you are seventeen it will be time enough to begin to plan your future you can do nothing before then and you are only wasting your time he was talking as she feared he would when she saw that he came in a cab if she had known he was this kind of a man she would never have opened her heart to him in the first place her disappointment was keen for she had hoped for much from this interview she looked at the small of grass that had escaped the feet of the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

visitors to the park and did not speak come what do you say i say i will do nothing of the kind i she snapped in two years my will want to put me into a shop to work and i never will go never do you hear and then there will be trouble my father does whatever she tells him he has no mind of his own and what could he do if he had ever so good a will he is a carpenter that is all he can talk about pine and and he can saw and drive nails and hammer a yes and he can go to meetings of the too and come home saying that the rich men are those who toil and that it is time the workmen made different laws and arranged things to suit themselves he can do all that but he has no more idea how to get above his station than a and i live with him and with her and with that brother of mine that you saw and listen to them all day and all the evening until i am ready to burst with vexation i do not belong in that family says so there was certainly a mistake in my ever being born there i ought to have come to the other side of fourth avenue i know it as well as i know i breathe and i am mi b giddy going to get there somehow wait till i am seventeen indeed by that time i should be a factory girl tied down for life to a dollar a day looking like those things that come home at six o clock with their faces drawn and wrinkled and their backs stooping over no i won t do it i couldn t and the astonished young gentleman saw the child who had thrown these expressions at him as rapidly as her little tongue could utter them set off at a rapid pace in the direction of her home paying no attention whatever to his calls for her to return and talk it over with him could not believe meant to leave him altogether when he saw she did not turn her head he followed her into the street and went quite a distance after her with rapid steps but though she did not look around she knew that he was coming and presently broke into a run and him he did not propose to enter into a race with her and in a short time he his way and left the neighborhood when one has no definite plans or purposes in life it takes very little to influence his acts several days later learned that a friend of his a young physician named was about to start on a trip abroad had spent a portion of his boyhood in europe and had thought for some time of taking another journey to that part of the world was a fellow he had learned to like and it struck him as a good idea when the doctor suggested that they go together it would be extremely agreeable said with a languid air that was common to him i w what s would even wait a week or two for you to get ready if necessary laughed at this saying he had nothing to do but pack a trunk and that twenty four hours would be more than ample for all his preparations it was therefore agreed that they should go on the next steamer and state rooms were engaged accordingly mr on being informed of these things merely said he hoped mr would enjoy himself the requisite letter of credit would be sent to his hotel that afternoon he was turning to his books again when asked a question that cash of mine it won t run out when i am on the other side i hope and leave me the disagreeable necessity of walking back no if you are at all reasonable it will last you some time yet but it is gradually growing smaller by degrees and beautifully less i understand said to use the expression of the poet mr nodded and when it gets near its end you perhaps expect me to take your advice and marry some girl with money mr nodded again much as if he had been asked if it was past eleven well i shall never do it cried the young man strange unconsciously then as it occurred to him whose words he was he laughed tell me to a minute how long it will last that i may be prepared the lawyer did not take the trouble even to look in the in his safe containing an accurate mi account of the property as well as of a hundred others of which he was the he merely consulted his memory fully as apt to be correct in such matters you have been drawing at the rate of a year he said you will probably wish to increase that by fifty per cent while you are abroad if you do not exceed that amount that is to say you may rely on my supplying your wants for something like five years more if you spend less or indulge in greater on your money you can easily figure out the difference in dates the devil exclaimed disgusted is it as bad as that what a thoughtless set of people my ancestors must have been i ought to have had a fortune something like s mr lifted his gaze directly at the speaker that is easy enough for you to accomplish he said quietly easy enough repeated the younger man undoubtedly you are nineteen the has a daughter who is fifteen or you know the family they like you keep on good terms with them wait a proper time not too long say till you are twenty three and she is nineteen then he did

0Arthur Conan Doyle

not finish the sentence with words as they seemed superfluous and mr was not given to superfluous language looked at the lawyer with rising indignation must this man not only join the ranks of those who assumed to advise him to marry for what s money but go farther yet and name the identical party of the second part a member of the bar for fifty years who had handled the funds of three generations of in a large measure a man with white hair and a beard and spectacles what an old wretch he was it would be useless to enter into an argument with him however and with a word of farewell the left the office there were only a few calls to make before his steamer left her dock and something drew the young fellow in spite of himself to fifty second street he wanted to take another look at that handsome little daughter of s th girl that silly old lawyer had advised him to marry he knew the well his father had taken him there in the first place and he had seen miss frequently from the days when she wore he had never thought of her as a woman or as one who would ever be anything but a sweet child her father s pet and the idol of the servants came into the parlor to say good bye to him when the sent out for her and saw she was certainly going to be a woman and a very beautiful one before long you may see may and me in europe if you stay six months said mr we have been there a good deal already you know may has spent at least half her life abroad and there are things she will have to go back to complete a letter sent in care of the will reach you i presume the always called his daughter may young miss almost every one else spoke of her by her other name on the next saturday young sailed and for two years he did not set foot on american shores during the latter part of his stay he met the and saw a great deal of them and all this time strange never her determination to be a lady cost what it might she went frequently to the little park where she had met the stranger hoping that he would seek her there notwithstanding the rude way in which she had left him then she sought the address on the card he had given her and experienced a severe when a servant told her that he had left the country and would not return for many months but she was not discouraged i will be a rich lady some day she kept to herself there are ways by which one can get money and i will find out what they are chapter iv s strike for freedom those who knew charles the s son never expected that his father would make a very great of him he seemed to have inherited little of the nature of this parent the keen shrewd man of business who while grasping the skirts of happy chance and the s strike freedom blows of circumstance had still found time for the pleasant leisure of life and all the reasonable that money can bring those who had known his mother said he reminded them of her as did also his sister both gave many evidences of their descent from that sweet tempered exceedingly gentle but ill fated lady charles had never been delicate as the phrase is used though not to sports he had had no serious illness he was thoughtful and and his chief trait was generosity in those earlier years when it first dawned on his mind that there were many in the world with less than he he would have been willing like the young louis napoleon to give away the shoes on his feet before he was ten years old his favorite way of enjoying himself was to take a carriage and one of the servants and seek the poorer quarters with a load of necessaries to be distributed and he seldom returned without traces of the tears he had shed because there were so many that he could not supply mr believed in letting children follow their own inclinations as far as possible he was generous in his own way putting down his name for large sums on papers but he would have submitted to almost any fine rather than go as his son did charles showed no inclination to adopt any of the professions and an infant knew nearly as much about what is termed business it was evident that he was meant for a scholar and a had charles been able to reconcile the of the various he might have turned out a miss giddy missionary for he had the spirit of which such me are made bat he could not get interested in though he studied it for some time he had a mind broader than any of the he carved out for himself a natural religion that suited him better than any of the ready made articles so freely offered for sale the heathen he most wanted to reach were close to his own door they needed bread and clothes and soap more than they did doctrine his field was wider than he could ever hope to cover it seemed to him that he could do more good right there in new york than on the banks of the or the ho with these views it was natural that he mixed little in what is called society his associates were mostly of the poorer classes and of men and woman of his own belief oppressed with the of the work that opened before him he found no time for the merely ornamental things of life he loved his father with an almost

0Arthur Conan Doyle

devotion and felt for his sister the tenderest sentiments but these were not the ones who needed his care among the more intelligent of the laboring class that charles was thrown in contact with was a carpenter named strange he had spent many evenings in the company of this man impressed with the with which he was willing to discuss questions that so often arouse bitterness of feeling one evening shortly before returned from europe charles accompanied mr strange to a meeting of dissatisfied where some rather severe things were said against the classes things s strike that struck home to mr in a way that nothing up to that time had done the principal speaker of the evening was a man named michael who was not in the habit of measuring his words nor of his expressions to the language he declared in as plain english as he knew how to use that all large of labor were robbers that the mine owners and railroad were bands of whose ought to be taken from them and distributed among the poor from whom they had been stolen young mr felt his cheeks burn that man was talking about his father he was on the part of that gentleman whom everybody he supposed up to that time respected and whom a great state had chosen to represent it in the highest council in the nation he wanted to rise in his place and demand that the speaker his charges but he felt too agitated to make the attempt when the meeting he left the hall with mr strange the applause that had greeted the still ringing in his ears i shall quit going to these meetings if men are permitted to utter such he exclaimed as soon as he was out of reach of the crowd i wonder some one did not reply to those at the solid men of the country there must be fellows who don t agree with that stuff and robbers indeed i d like to know what the poor would do if there were no to give them work they couldn t build a railroad or open a with him their hands alone in these times when there are so many people idle for want of something to do it is very to attack men who are making places for them to earn wages in mr strange had no intention of becoming involved in a personal with this young man he with the filial feeling that had been aroused as much as he most of the remarks which provoked it have you ever read a book called looking backward he asked quietly it seemed a queer way to meet the point and charles looked the surprise he felt i have not even heard of it he answered it hasn t been out long said mr strange i think you d like it it has a good many new ideas or at least ideas put into new form i ve got a copy i ll lend you if you like as it isn t sold yet at many of the stores charles listened with contracted brows if the ideas are like s i don t want to read it he said with an that was foreign to his nature well they re not ex act ly like them replied the carpenter they present a view of the capital and labor question different from anything i ve seen before you see mr there s been a feeling of between the classes for a good many years the think the wants too much and the workmen think the rich men pile up their wealth too fast now this book i m speaking of has a remedy for all this it to both the employer and the the s son looked incredulous s strike for freedom the author to the earth not at all he only to destroy private capital putting all the gains of labor at the disposal of those who earn them charles threw up his head with ill concealed contempt that s the idea over again i hope you haven t given your to such as that the carpenter saw that his friend was unusually irritable but he maintained the attitude that was habitual with him just read the book and then we can discuss it afterwards he said mildly i m sure you ll like it if it s a of i won t touch it was the retort i ve read all of that i m going to there is just one object in all of them that of dragging humanity down to a common level but this book shows how to lift all humanity up to a common level replied mr strange the effect was the entire nature of charles with joy at the prospect held forth in the words of the if that could be done he paused overcome with the thought if that could be done mr strange the great problem would indeed be solved i will go with you to your house and take the book home with me i am only too anxious to read it what is the name of its author but the carpenter was obliged to admit that he had forgotten it was some one of whom he had never heard before the book had not made any miss giddy great sensation yet but it was sure to do so in time it was the simplest most convincing work he had ever read when his friend had finished it he would like to talk it over with him you must know mr he added that ill feeling is growing between the rich and the poor at a frightful rate i don t say which is the most at fault probably the blame is nearly equally divided but there ll be trouble of no small magnitude if something isn t done hardly a day passes without the papers

0Arthur Conan Doyle

giving accounts of strikes and accompanied by calling out of swearing in of extra and things of that kind we ve got a country where freedom is supposed to exist and where we ought to expect but a warfare is being constantly no adequate remedy had been proposed until the appearance of this book at least nothing that was presented in an apparently light we have to take folks as we find them if all the were sensible and if all the rich were as honorable and fair as you would be the speaker was stopped by a motion on the part of the other you know i dislike compliments he said but speaking of labor is it not a fact that most of the discontent is by foreigners who have a natural taste for breeding discord mr strange shook his head slowly they may be the he replied but their sentiments are by the others nearly all feel that there isn t a fair division the representative of wealth lifted his quiet eyes to those of the in wood s strike for freedom division he echoed why should there be a division that is the basis of the whole trouble a mistaken idea from first to last no one will accuse me of lack of sympathy with those who labor but they have their minds with a false conception capital and labor are each entitled to what belongs to them if i raise a crop on my land and another man his what business has he to ask that i divide unless he has been ill or met with an accident he has no claim to what i have accumulated put the thing in a form if you like say that you earned twenty five dollars last week sixteen corrected the matter of fact listener sixteen then said mr with a slight flush whatever you earned it is the same you take your wages and start toward home when another man who has not earned anything stops you and demands that you divide with him how would you take the proposition put in that form the carpenter shook his head with a smile it used to be hard to meet such arguments said he but it will be easier when everybody has read looking backward the author has such a wise plan that the old seem a waste of time read it mr and then we can discuss these things on an entirely new basis his curiosity now being to the utmost charles was glad when they reached the carpenter s abode though in what was undoubtedly a poor neighborhood for where else can the afford to live in new york not a quarter of a mile separated it from the gorgeous palaces of million young miss giddy the rich man s son climbed the three flights of stairs that led to the box like apartment occupied by the family consisting of mr strange his second wife his daughter and his son now in his nineteenth year here s the book said the carpenter taking it from a case where were fifteen or twenty other volumes mr took it in his hand with something like reverence what if it really should contain a genuine revelation of the way rich and poor might become reconciled to each other i ll read it with care said he and when i have finished it i ll come and see you his anxiety to get home where he could begin the reading that very night induced mr to take an early farewell as he passed down the he found strange in the lower hall waiting for him mr she said in a quick breathing way can i talk with you a few minutes he answered in the affirmative at the same time asking why she had not made known her desire before her family i don t want them to know it she stammered i want to talk with you all alone there is a little bit of a park not far up the street you know the one i want you to go there and let me follow he looked at her narrowly she was well developed for her age rather pretty very neat and wholesome he wondered what she could want but he said without delay that he would go to the place indicated as he passed along the street he heard her following arriving at the bare spot of ground which she had as a park he took a seat on a bench and waited for her no i don t care to sit down she said as he made a place for her by his side lean talk better standing it is this mr charles i want you to find me a way to do something to be something to get a chance in the world my father is a carpenter he always was a carpenter he always will be one my brother works with the same kind of tools my used to be in a shop before she was married and she thinks that is the place for me but i hate shops i see girls no more intelligent than i am getting a a place you can help me out of this this low life i was born in you can do it and i don t know any one else that can she had spoken with the utmost rapidity but he had comprehended it all as far as the words went i don t understand exactly what you expect me to do he answered gravely don t you she seemed considerably pointed i don t see how i can make it you know how poor we are father is a never amount to anything we live in four rooms crowded in with twenty other families it is expected that the children of such people will do something to earn money as soon as they get big

0Arthur Conan Doyle

enough what can do go into a shop or a store or or or learn to cook i hate all of those things i wont do any of them no matter if i starve to death there are people who don t feel as i do about such matters as for me i simply won t now there are girls who are highly educated who have pleasant who wear good clothes young mt giddy who go to the theatres and ride in carriages why cannot i be one of those girls the pleading voice affected him for he was not inclined to smile at her excessive innocence have you ever spoken of this to your parents he inquired of course not the girl s dark eyes snapped father talks a great deal about the dignity of labor and drinks in everything he says as if it was inspired i am the only one of them who wants a change what kind of a life have i got to live unless i get out of their circle girls in my class are when they are older they marry they become the mothers of and so it goes on mr charles she continued i won t endure this i shall be somebody or i shall throw myself into the east river the affair was growing serious enough in all conscience what a very wicked girl she was he must think this over by himself before he could decide what to say to her you surprise me so that i cannot answer you tonight was his reply after a moment of hesitation you have a father and mother who love you very dearly and i am sure you will hesitate before doing anything to cause them pain i will try to think of to aid you if you will give me a few days and in the meantime he had put his hand in his pocket and half drawn out his purse when she stopped him you know i did not mean that i don t want charity i want a chance the same as others have you can get it for me if you will the girl turned abruptly away and walked off n marriage is a the direction of her habitation leaving mr still more shocked and astonished she was a most remarkable child he would think her case over to morrow to night he was too anxious to read the book her father had put into his hand though ordinarily one of the most regular of the young of wealth did not close his eyes that night he read every line of the wonderful story that since that day has the thoughts and quickened the of millions the carpenter was right when he said it would alter all for argument afterward charles was not certain how much of the author s position he accepted as he sought his couch when the sun was rising but he knew that something had touched his mind and heart in a way they never had been touched before chapter v marriage is a nuisance though saw a great deal of the father and daughter during the latter part of his stay in europe they did not interest him half as much as some other things with which he came in contact there he was now twenty one in the full flush of youthful health with enough money to spend rather good looking and with no one to put the least on his actions it is no wonder that he found acquaintances more agreeable young miss giddy than the whose talk was largely of politics and stocks or the young miss of seventeen still under the of her music and language masters and with as little knowledge of life as one of the that adorned her chamber mr happened to spend considerable time at paris when was there and also at various points in the south of france and in italy during the winter when the young man was doing the usual places he invited him to his table at the various hotels and the invitations were accepted not at dinner miss had her seat by her father and listened to the conversations that took place with the well bred silence of her age she was undoubtedly a sweet girl trained by her careful madame educated in the best manner and growing fairer if possible every day but in his own words had no use for her she was still a child and he was of the company he could find after eleven at night the and ready to indulge in wine or games of cards he made the acquaintance of the set of women wherever he went as naturally as a duck goes into the water and long before he returned to the united states he was as a man of fifty his appetite by the sweet things that had been presented to his taste he had indeed come to regard existence as a bore and had at times serious thoughts of of it as a disagreeable and monotonous from that long past day when a at his father s had surrendered to his boyish arts as he then believed or deliberately lai i for him as be is a t afterwards decided to be the case he had been a favorite of the god a more serious matter was the fondness he had conceived for who frequently now him into such things cannot be concealed and it was said in new york soon after his return young is drinking too much however of social rules are in a young gentleman of blood and fashion and the knowledge that he was a trifle fast did not prevent scores of managing from making a dead set at him in the interest of their daughters he soon discovered that he was considered a great catch by many families who having made money wished to ally themselves

0Arthur Conan Doyle

with one of the oldest and most distinguished families of the state the fact that he had very little wealth was no in the estimation of these people it rather his value he could furnish the family and they the cash surely it was a bargain that is daily and with great pleasure and profit to both sides mr in spite of his faults of which the reader already knows the chief was not a bad fellow he had generous streaks in him for one thing and had he been as rich as many of those with whom he associated would have spent his money as freely as water another thing marked him he was in the habit of paying all bills he contracted and would never make a or a landlord come to him the second time for what was due he stuck to this rule even at the risk of appearing a little out of style miss giddy and still another though his had been numerous he was incapable of any of those cold blooded acts of toward women which every man of the world knows are altogether too common he was simply a product of his by whatever of high tone he had inherited from the governor and the judge he ate and drank with and merely because the brightest laughter the best food and the were to be found in that company mr david the had lately lit upon a commission that was to make his fortune the pleased with something of mr s which he had seen had given him to draw the plans and the of a colossal mansion for him at the corner of fifth avenue and th street this meant not only a large on the cost of a building that was to be expensive beyond anything yet known on that royal road but a sure position afterward for the successful mr and mr soon found themselves well the plans which came from the s office delighted the so much that he began to consider mr an extraordinary mortal in an short time these men so wide apart in wealth and social standing were extremely intimate the came to enjoy the confidence of his employer in a much greater degree than any other person strange as this may seem the case is not without its parallel which the reader will readily recall it was the rich widow of a railroad king who married the whose plans for her various a homes pleased her so well and at her death left the lucky fellow all her fortune mr was a man of great he learned the of the and to them in every possible way a month after he became personally acquainted with him he would as soon have cut out his tongue as to discuss that gentleman s affairs in the and reckless way he had used with even at that early date he foresaw the position that he was ultimately to occupy it was no light thing to be in the full confidence of a man of such wealth as it meant advancement everything desirable to david hitherto only a young man of fair position exactly how the and his came to bring the name of miss into their conversation it would perhaps be difficult to say at this late date mr may have mentioned meeting mr abroad and may have said that he was well acquainted with the young gentleman and belonged to a club with him certain it is that the told his now close friend that he had a very high opinion of the family and that if his daughter ever married he hoped it might be with some gentleman of that description the heads of these two men were soon together on this proposition mr wholly agreed with his employer that mr was a most desirable marriage possibility and that a union of the young couple some day in the future would be a most happy and desirable one for all concerned indeed it is not the case to say that was in effect a part of the finish that mr contracted mt giddy to put into the new mansion on fifth avenue when it was complete it was not the wish of mr that anything should be done to hasten his daughter s marriage she was now barely eighteen and had never given the slightest indication that her thoughts ran in that direction he only wished to see a friendship growing up between the young people that would find its at the proper time he learned from mr that paid little attention to ladies of his own social rank and he believed that whatever he might make with those on another scale were likely to be temporary he knew in a general way that the young man drank rather more than was good for him but in this he did not differ remarkably from the average of his set the invited to dinner much oftener than the invitations were accepted but a reason that seemed quite sufficient was always and on the days when he accepted got along very well with miss though the noticed that he was given to blushing when his eyes met hers with anything like the girl s mind was so exceedingly innocent that she neither noticed this fact nor gave any answering color that flushed was certainly not a bad sign under such circumstances mr thought he could a satisfactory of the matter and he was contented so was this siege begun that it was some time before the object of it had his suspicions aroused mr used to allude as if at random to the colossal fortune which would one day fall to the s daughter which he estimated was not marriage is a nuisance likely to be short of ten millions he dilated at various times on her beauty and grace declaring that he would be a very happy

0Arthur Conan Doyle

man who should some day lead her to the altar mr listened with only a languid interest to a number of these until it dawned upon him that there was something peculiar in their astonishing i beg your pardon old fellow he said one day while dining at the club when the made an allusion to the in his usual vein i don t want to seem but what interest do you think i can possibly have in that confounded family why i thought you were on very good terms was the response you and the seem extremely friendly yawned but you re rubbing it in you know you of them every time we get together it s all right occasionally to get on to the subject but it loses its attractions after awhile i ve no objections to once or twice a week but you insist on my having him every meal and it s not only but miss say what are you up to thus mr was driven into making a show of his hand well the fact is my dear i have been wondering why the charms of miss have no apparent effect on a young man in your situation if she hadn t a penny she would be a prize worth winning but with her setting of gold and precious stones she is beyond anything in new york you are going to marry by and by you ve told me so yourself what better can you hope for miss giddy than such a fortune and such a beauty in one mr took out a box of that a friend had sent him from after offering one to mr he lit another and for some moments puffed lazily i half suspected that was your game he said finally is the old gentleman in it too it s not fair to speak of it in that way was the reply delivered in an injured tone i d do anything i could for you but in this case my would be of no account all i can say is mr likes you better than any other young man he knows and in my opinion would not stand in your way if miss smiled upon your advances mr looked as if there was an element of humor in the whole affair and drew a few draughts from a glass that stood on the table at his side i ve got lots of time yet said he wiping his lips a man out on doesn t like to surrender till the court day arrives the took what advantage he could of the reply he remarked that there was of course no need for haste on either side miss was no more likely to think of an immediate marriage than mr it s worth while putting in a foundation though he added laughed again still with the bored look on his handsome face oh now you re talking shop he said well it s not so unlike replied the look at that house i m putting up for the from start to finish it will take three years to build a it ought to require just about that for you to get to the point of wedding miss in three years she will be twenty one allow the first year for an understanding to grow up the second for an announcement of the engagement and the third for the actual preparations of course a year cut from the total would not spoil things any if you should conclude that it was advisable the younger man lit a and again from the you said he get to allowing altogether too much time for i begin to believe has this very thing in his head i can t go there without hearing something dropped that shows it so your first year the one to be devoted to getting up an understanding is disposed of to begin with even allowing that i looked on miss as a possible end to my there would be twelve good months left to me by your own calculation it is said that an hour s sleep before midnight is worth two afterward on the same basis a year of single life ought to be more interesting than five of mr paid the customary tribute to the wit of his companion much you know about sleep before midnight he added and as little very naturally about the married state i know marriage is a nuisance even if i haven t tried it was the answer the contemporary evidence is enough to show that a frenchman once told me it was more agreeable to kiss the wives of other men than to keep a wife for other men to kiss it must be a trial for a born young miss to find himself in possession of a game preserve which he must watch between i know men whose time is equally divided between looking after their own daughters and attempting liberties with other people s no wonder their hair is growing gray under the strain then children are such an curse and one lays himself open to such when he enters the married state more than when he keeps a mistress asked mr oh that s ridiculous was the impatient the gazed at his companion in silence for a little while he wanted to utter his wisest thoughts now this matter was fairly opened there is no need of haste he said finally i am quite intimate at the and i shall know if there is a chance of another s getting a so that i can keep you posted thanks awfully with mock politeness there was the duke of proceeded the the irony and there was the prince of both of them made formal for miss s hand not to mention a score of others of less exalted rank in fact the proposals have about one a month now as

0Arthur Conan Doyle

your particular friend i admit having kept my eyes open for some weeks back and with the exception of yourself no one has had the least encouragement threw down the remains of his u don t except me he said i haven t had any either a nuisance ft an incredulous look spread over the face of the what did you just say about the s the i mean the young lady mr wondered how much his friend was in earnest do you expect a girl like her is going to throw herself at your head he demanded would you respect her the more if she did miss is a girl in a million she is the most self contained person of her age i ever met she looks to her father to advise her in such a matter it is a principle with him never to issue an order to either of his children and he would not utter a word of i am sure no not even if she selected for her husband that young carpenter in whom she has appeared so interested of late mr had found something at last to entertain him he sat upright in his chair and asked for further particulars about the carpenter said mr i was only using him as an extreme illustration but i want to know about him was the quick answer you say she has appeared interested ic him in what way the hemmed softly he has been at work on the new house md whenever miss has been there she has spent most of her time at his bench watching him at his carving the reason she watches him instead of the others i think is because he seldom looks up or speaks and the name of this happily distinguished miss youth asked in a slightly disturbed tone i believe they call him strange the younger man turned his face away under the of believing that some one was entering the door is there anything noticeable about the boy he asked presently no said he s merely a good workman who to his business and only speaks when addressed his father is also a carpenter but the lad already does the finer work again turned toward the door but there was no one entering or about to enter i think i ve heard of that carpenter he said quietly is his name martin no this time the young man rose and walked to the end of the room where he could see into the hall i thought i heard come in he said in explanation i ve had a headache mornings lately and he has something that stops it i could for that replied the yes but your are too they would include going to bed sober which would ruin my constitution he took out his watch i must leave you now my dear fellow as i have an important engagement at five mr inquired pleasantly if it was one of the usual kind oh dear no it is a matter of pure business luck and about that affair i ll re would be a lady think of it but not for a long time a very long time will i give up my freedom there s nobody else on your list said the you may rest easy on that score perhaps if she waits long enough in fact till it s either marriage or starvation i may come to it the up his mouth you can t deny she s a very nice girl he said no indeed said she is the only girl i ever saw that i would marry in any event with this parting assertion mr was forced to be content for the time he thought on the whole he had made some progress and he reported as much of the conversation as he thought wise to mr that evening but was thinking of pretty strange and wondering if two years had heightened her beauty or brought her new ideas in connection with the problems of life chapter vi she would be a lady charles was considerably upset by the way in which the daughter of his friend the carpenter had appealed to him could he have satisfied her by taking out a few hundred dollars and providing for her improved education he would have done so and relieved himself of a continual annoyance young miss giddy for she met him at all sorts of corners and asked him daily what he was going to do to make a lady of her and when he was going to begin charles had a natural fear of women and young as she was seemed to be included in that the girl insisted that he must on no account inform her father and above all her of the ideas which she held it was plain that she looked down on all of her family as upon people who were not of her rank and whose opinion was not of the least consequence study the case in whatever light he could it became no clearer she used to dog his steps when from very terror of meeting her he ceased to call at her father s and demand his reasons for so long in the simple request she had made him she had no scheme of her own she left that to him with a contemptuous wave of her little hand he knew more of the world than she it was for him to arrange particulars she was willing to take the station of a young lady whenever he was ready to have her and she would do nothing but insist on that point every time she could get a conversation with him as her father and brother both worked on the new mansion of the s she made that a favorite place of lying in wait for the unhappy young gentleman one day happened to come along

0Arthur Conan Doyle

just as was leaving charles at the corner of the avenue the girl would inevitably have seen him had she turned her head but she was in a fit of temper because mr was still unreasonable and she was sailing toward her home looking neither to the right nor the left recognized her instantly but he did not would be a lady f think of following her seeing that she was known to charles he preferred to see what he had to say about her that girl acts rather queer he remarked gazing after the retreating figure she looks as if you had done her some kind of an injury she s the girl i ever saw replied charles drawing a long breath then he told all about her how she had proposed to him to remedy the ills of fate and had followed him up about it until existence had almost ceased to be a pleasure but that s the sort of thing i have always understood you delighted in smiled the other you couldn t find a better chance for a good deed than to take this child and do what she asks looked at his companion helplessly but how he exclaimed she s got a father that carpenter there at the bench and she won t have him consulted she s got a with whom she doesn t get along any too well and a brother as little like her as oil is like water the young fellow you see in the next room carving that which makes it all the easier insisted they would probably give her up to you without a word of reluctance you really should try your hand on her my dear fellow this did not make mr any better satisfied in relation to his duty and the only thing he did about miss strange for the next month was to be very careful not to let her see him hiding in the shadows of an adjacent doorway s eyes met one day a sight that pleased her quite as well fo miss she saw the face of mr entering the building and presently emerging but bad luck was in it she could not go up and speak to him for he was in the company of another gentleman mr the whose figure she knew by sight however it was something to know that this friend was again in the city for she would be sure to get news of him at his former home before the next evening she had visited those lodgings and ascertained to her joy that mr had resumed the of his old chambers a little note written in a childish hand which showed a total absence of cultivation came on the following morning to inform mr that like the indians of america he had been discovered it announced that he had been seen in mr s company which prevented her from speaking to him at the time as she very much wanted to do the note was signed e s and bore a setting as the time when she would call five o clock that very afternoon preposterous the young man exclaimed for the twentieth time as he laid down the letter after reading and re reading it there is but one way that a poor girl can get ease and luxury and it is evident that thought never entered her pretty head what a ridiculous life this is anyway all day he was and his friends asked him what was the matter he could think of nothing but the little visitor who was coming in the early evening to a question that nobody in the world could answer when at last he came into the parlor h here his would be a told him she was waiting he found the old business like look on her face she gave him her hand rising to do so and then resumed her seat had she come merely to ask him to write his name in her she could not have acted much differently she was older though yes a good deal older less than three years had passed but she looked a good deal taller and and she was prettier too she was much better worth his attention from a physical than on that morning when he her on the near fourth avenue well young miss giddy he said devouring her with his handsome eyes what is it this time s face took on a look of disappointment you haven t forgotten all i said before and you must have read my letter every word well then you know all about it he bowed pleasantly in brief said he you are still tired of being the daughter of a carpenter and want to be a lady relaxed her features a little as she indicated that he had correctly the situation and the question still open for debate added slowly is how again nodded her agreement with his statement which continued is as much as ever a rather difficult problem to solve the girl uttered an impatient sound which she evidently would have preferred to restrain now said mr the great requisite in being a lady is to have plenty of money with young miss giddy that you will readily agree how are we to find a supply of cash to fit a case like this if we can get over that difficulty we shall make a substantial start on our road the girl choked down her indignation which this suggestion called forth i have talked a good deal to young mr she said his father is so rich that people say he can t even count his money i don t need as much as he s got only a very little part of it but mr charles won t say a word to him for me and the only answer i get is a long breath and a

0Arthur Conan Doyle

casting down of the eyes mr looked thoughtful at this statement did you ever think he asked that there might be something disagreeable in connection with this matter that some of the money might have been got in a way mr charles did not like to talk about seemed unable to fully appreciate this point i never thought there could be anything disagreeable in the getting of money she replied with this brought a very broad smile to the face of her companion that s not bad he cried you re nearly right too but the fact is my little girl there are ways of getting rich which the people who make use of do not discuss much before others and really the very thing the more one thinks of it is to inherit your money then you are not compelled to go too deep into the merits of your ancestors transactions would a lady these expressions puzzled the girl a little but she gained a general idea of mr s meaning here is something i have thought of she said there must be people who have a great deal of money and no children of their own if some of them knew of me perhaps if they could hear how much i would like to be rich they would leave me their property when they die the young man for some seconds over this proposition i wish had enough to make it an object he answered presently i would write a will leaving it all to you with the greatest pleasure in the world and i wouldn t keep you waiting long for it either he added in a lower tone to tell the truth i am about as sick of this life as a man can be and endure it the girl observed him you tired of life she repeated with a rising tired of life with such a house as this to live in with plenty of good clothes servants everything it was his mood to confide in this child and he his confession tired of it as i can be he said i eat to be i drink without doubt i sleep of a certainty and when i have eaten and drunk and slept of what use is it all tell me that wise little woman she clasped her hands behind her head and leaned back in the chair she occupied it would be enough for me said she to at as you do and to sleep where you can and to ride in a carriage like you and to have always never missing money in my pocket oh i have thought of it a very great deal it would be so different from living in a up flat with such dresses as this and with never a penny that had not been spoken for by the baker or th landlord it would make me very happy and the time will come when i shall have it yes the time must come i will find a way to bring it about the young face was so lighted up with the of her thoughts that it was for the moment absolutely beautiful and gazed on it with a feeling akin to awe how much better other s circumstances appear always than our own he replied i was watching your brother yesterday at his work with feelings of positive envy there i said is a young man content with his labor getting all of life that he expects and desires he has a place of usefulness he is doing something to help along the work of the world while i am doing nothing the girl interrupted him with a warm expression oil that must be very pleasant doing nothing it is exactly what i long for a life in which there is nothing to do nothing whatever and you think that would content you i am sure of it for the first time it struck that he might do something for this child her ideas of the grandeur of wealth were not very exalted probably he could assist her to remove from the condition into which she had been born without very greatly on the income which he had planned to in the next three or four years it would be a great thing to make one human being perfectly happy there did not wool a to him at first any plan to accomplish his idea but the outline of the possibility came into his mind you spoke of some one who had no children and who might leave you property he said in a guarded way if i should hear of such a man how much do you think you would need with the of absolute trust began a mental in the midst of it she stopped for a question do you mean right out or by the year well let us say by the year after a few moments of study she was compelled to give up an exact figure you can tell as well as i she said i should want enough for a nice set of rooms like these and plenty of good clothes and two or three servants yes and a carriage and and money to fill my pocket book whenever it got empty a very good list he smiled but haven t you forgotten a most important circumstance you are rather young to set up an establishment yet wouldn t you think it wise to go for a year or two to some college where you could finish your education a lady without a good education is rather out of place in these days assented without enthusiasm if it was necessary i would go to school she said and get my house afterward but i could have a carriage to ride in couldn t i while i was getting educated i should think during that period he replied gravely that public might

0Arthur Conan Doyle

be made to answer m s the girl thought this over recalling the appearance of the she had seen and then responded that an open cab for summer use and a closed one for winter would be acceptable supposing i am able to arrange these things said slowly how are you going to fix it with your father i should just tell him i was was the calm reply do you think he would raise no objection r if he did i should go without his consent he can do nothing for me if i got a chance to help myself i should be very silly to let him stand in my way what a very odd girl she was well said i will look about and see if anything can be done for you if i succeed and you get sent to a nice school for young ladies you will have to study hard and when you are fully established and get a little older perhaps i can find a husband for you he thought this amusing and supposed she would respond to the smile with which he made it but she took it with complete seriousness you are very kind she said you would be willing to be married oh yes i should want to this reply came very near taking his breath away i wish i liked marriage as well as that said he with a i suppose i shall have to go though in a few years and it gives me a pain every time i think about it you see i am not so rich as you take me to be and i must marry some girl who has a great deal of money would be a lady then grateful for the interest he had shown in her came to his rescue would marry you if i got money enough she said he started to his feet would you i m afraid i shall need more than you will have to offer after a few minutes more looked at the clock and said she must go home or her absence would attract notice promised to see what he could do and to let her know as early as possible then with the simplest of good by s she took her departure how she was what a pity she should be doomed to seclusion in the box like flat where the carpenter s family lived could it do anything for her these were the thoughts that ran through s mind during the next two hours he could do something if he liked the girl s idea of wealth was so simple it would take but little to satisfy her wants a boarding school in the country what clothes she would need at a and her pin money would hardly exceed his cigar and liquor bill it could all be arranged through a third party pretending to represent some benevolent lady or gentleman who had heard of the family and wished to do something for wished he had the right party to consult with but he bad only one friend in whom he confided and that was david he could not tell this to the with whom he had talked of that more serious matter a possible marriage with miss miss then there was dr liked par ton and would have told him of many things but not this one it was a peculiar idea that might not take in the right spirit no if he did it at all it must be through the of a lawyer and that is just what he did do he went to see mr who did not make half as much fuss about it as imagined he would and before a fortnight elapsed strange was taken into the little room that her people called a parlor and set face to face with a gray haired man in spectacles who had come with a generous and noble offer from a generous and noble personage whose name was not to be disclosed at present there was little hesitation on the part of strange in accepting this proposition he had long wondered what would become of his peculiar daughter who hated the commonest labor about the house and who said with something not resembling temper that she never never never would go out to work in any shop or factory when he heard of it tossed his head in a way that might mean almost anything except that he cared one way or the other it was mrs strange the accustomed to the ordinary things of life and fearful of all that was out of the range of her limited experience who cried when said she would be ready at the end of week to go with the gentleman and when the time came went with the gold bowed glasses and with the man who wore them charles had been consulted and had looked up the lawyer and found that he belonged fifteen million dollar to a great firm in the city whose reputation was very high indeed your fortune has come to you sooner than you expected said charles pleasantly to and you did not think it would ever come at all she responded half she went to see mr and told him of her good luck but he didn t act much interested she said she would write to him every day but he responded with an expression of comic fear that she must do nothing of the kind unless something extraordinary furnished a reason she must only write once a quarter the best thing is to have as little as possible to do with her he said to himself as from a place behind the shutters he watched her leave the house chapter vii fifteen million dollars the building was at last said by mr to be approaching completion according to the same authority it had been approaching completion for

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the past year and a half so there was no undue on the part of the owner and of the edifice such a residence could not be built in a day any more than the city of rome it was no common affair to young miss be run up in a single season on the finest avenue in the first city of the land it was destined to all of its neighbors and leave a liberal distance between itself and any likely to come after that meant a of half the world for materials a securing of the best workmen in every and above all no sign of haste anywhere it required ten months to bring the building to the height of the first floor to the amazement of the neighborhood which was not prepared for the extended to those parts of the work that were soon to be hidden from sight then the rose slowly that the fine cut stone might have an opportunity to settle the of an inch that it needed instead of taking that liberty when it could drag with it the wood and plaster of the interior and when the edifice was to the inexperienced eye of the nearly done there were eighteen months still to wait before the could be allowed to enter and garb this naked creature it was not finished yet by any means it was only approaching completion charles came to see it often the very grandeur of this building which had pleased the s son greatly as he looked over the plans with his father distressed him as it came into collision with the new ideas that filled his mind had any single family a right to to themselves all that treasure of stone and wood and metal i should not such an edifice be devoted to the general welfare instead of the selfish interests of three matter upon him and one day he was in the new house with his father and million sister he courage to say what he had kept to himself so long well charles have you any suggestions or to make asked the as he took his son by the arm and walked to the street end of the unfinished drawing room not about the beauty of the design or the excellence of the work father responded charles with a great effort but it seems to me sometimes that all this magnificence should be devoted to a wider use than that of one little group of people the laughed there is no reason why it should not serve for three groups he answered you and may will get married one of these days and then with your wife and may s husband and the babies that will follow and their nurses the place will come nearer i trust to your conception of what it is fit for the son did not join in the humor nor did his face its earnest expression it isn t that he answered respectfully it would be even then a monument to our individual selfishness oh father he burst out in a despairing tone there is so much that i want to say to you and the subject is so deep that i feel unequal to it there is a book which if you would only read the name is looking backward interrupted the quietly charles stared at his father with the utmost astonishment you have not read it he gasped yes i have smiled the i read everything that the attention of i miss will admit also that i consider it one of the of the theory and add that i differ from the author in but one important particular charles looked the inquiry he did not put into words and the father continued after a slight pause that of for a few seconds the waited in the apparent expectation that his son would have a reply ready but charles did not speak he thought that perhaps this very wise man might after all be able to overthrow the doctrines which had impressed him so deeply this wave that and flows like those of the tide continued the other has given great apprehension to many people of comfortable fortunes but it gives none to me whenever the people spoken of in the wish a decided change in the conditions of government they have the means within their grasp to bring it about up to date they have shown only movements in this direction and even these have been confined to a very small of the persons most deeply interested this man is the least objectionable to me of the whole let he at least to give us a shelter after taking the ground from under our feet and the roof from over our heads charles felt more than ever how little fitted he was to cope with the experience and wisdom of his father but he did not expect to do much more than get an opening at this time for a future discussion and he was pleased to find that the kindness of manner and which ht had never dollars known to vary continued in the presence of a subject he had feared would be distasteful i am glad to hear you speak so kindly father he replied you have always given me such full liberty that i dread doing anything to offend you i want you to know however that i am much impressed by mr s theories and by the gentleman himself for i have been to boston on purpose to meet him and have returned more convinced than before that he is in the right the laughed again this time with more than before it is rather late my boy said he for you and me to discuss the question you seem determined in your supreme to raise i have but one rule for you and your sister that rule is into the brief sentence

0Arthur Conan Doyle

do as you please it is short and comprehensive is it not if you come to me for advice i shall try and give it to the best of my ability otherwise you must be your own guide in all things the sober face of the young man grew yet more earnest as he listened i am sure i want but one thing to do what is right he said pardon me for suggesting a better guide replied the you should do what is most expedient charles looked into his father s face and asked do you think so in a hushed tone i am sure of it to come to the matter that is in your mind it might be right for me to use the whole of my fortune to establish homes and m miss giddy for the poor that it would be expedient i very much question still you have allowed me to spend as much as i pleased in that direction not exactly i have made you an allowance of a week to that extent you are at liberty to do what you like but it is a very small part of my income charles looked at his sister who was watching young strange at the other end of the room engaged in work upon a piece of seemed intent on his occupation and did not look up at the girl in replying to the questions which she occasionally put to him had known the carpenter s son for some months having been introduced to him by her brother and charles was much pleased to see the total absence of any line of social distinction in his sister s manner there was never anything aristocratic in the bearing of this girl though she had a quiet dignity that never left her and that made her appear older than she was the servants in her father s employ fairly her every workman on the big building where she expected some day to reside grew brighter of face as she came within the range of his vision was now twenty he was of build straight and well made with arms on which the sleeves were rolled up as he worked the presence of this girl so far above him as it must seem even to a of modern made him more silent than usual this was all very natural miss had fluttered the nerves of her equals before now and made them fifteen million dollars forget the sentences they had meant to utter what wonder that the son of a carpenter cast down his eyes and silenced his tongue in her presence you were very poor once were you not asked charles of his father poorer than you can imagine was the straightforward answer and how did you become so rich by taking advantage of my opportunities it is easy enough in this country there is just so much wealth floating about the man who himself to its acquisition can get it many who spend their time grumbling over their lot could do as well if they tried charles was astonished at this statement which seemed incredible or would have had it come from any other source how much money do you think you have father he asked fifteen or twenty millions counting everything at its market value whatever there is to day it will be larger to morrow and still larger the next day nobody can stop its growth two years ago some people thought i was a heavy by the labor troubles that spread over the country for four months trains ran with difficulty on my roads for a longer period hardly a ton of ore was taken from my mines the labor leaders combined to crush me and with what result they crushed themselves true the stock on the x q road sunk thirty dollars a share but i bought a hundred thousand shares of it at the reduced figure the stock went begging at thirty and thirty two miss giddy and when the storm blew over i had nine of it in my safe at those prices the young man gazed at his father like one fascinated and had you no sympathy for the thousands of who were all that time out of work he asked dragging the sentence as one a chain absolutely none that autumn they elected a which chose me for the second time an must win my respect before he can claim much of my sympathy why look at these almost every one of them has a if they knew how to use it we and not they would be for mercy what can i think of an army millions who will let a few hundred of their ride over them we wonder at the facility with which conquered the nation the american the same thing with a smaller array of the son opened his eyes wider surely you have pity for their condition said he in a way yes i have pity for the the the fish that will grace my table but not enough to prevent my dining the world seems to me a battle ground those with the most come off to day it is men like our who defeat the many to morrow the tables may be turned but i don t believe it charles glanced again at his sister still watching the young it gave him time to collect hia thoughts the conditions in looking backward cannot be brought about he said presently except by what you would probably call of private property in land mines and i feel very strongly that i ought to help in that day and yet in all i may do i shall be placed in a position of to your business interests the laugh with which the greeted this sober declaration was louder than those which preceded it do what you like my dear boy he said laying his

0Arthur Conan Doyle

hand on his son s shoulder you are as free as if was not the slightest relation to you but let me remind you that one result will be to lessen provided you are successful the size of the fortune i hope to divide between you and may charles studied the young carpenter over whose work his sister seemed still to bend with interest was there such an advantage after all in possessing so much money was not strange as happy with his meagre salary as the son of a then he thought of s sister that peculiar girl who had demanded that he make her a lady do you think father he asked that any one person has a real right to control fifteen million dollars undoubtedly the fact that he can get possession of that sum is his these things take care of themselves the proof that a man ought not to have a certain amount of wealth is found when he cannot maintain his hold upon it for instance were i to die to morrow and leave you half my property you would probably that it was a great deal too much for you you would scatter it fl miss in which might and might not be of use in the long run many men have such a strong desire to see their fortunes after their that they make the most elaborate wills preventing their from spending the principal as long as the laws will permit an i have done nothing of the kind i have found my money a source of comfort a barrier against the that my parents came near compelling me to endure for life if my children choose to scatter the whole of it that will be their affair i have shown them what it will buy they have themselves seen how uncomfortable its absence can make people and the course they take must be governed accordingly charles searched in vain both in the tone and manner of his father indication that more was hidden in these words than appeared on the surface the had spoken in his usual clear and open style the young man almost sighed for a parent who would issue commands that he must obey it was painful sometimes to be permitted to follow his own bent come may called mr scarlet it is time we drove home to lunch the girl hesitated a second or two before leaving the young whose work she had been watching so long good by she said to him the carpenter s lips moved in reply but if there was any sound it was a very faint one i would like to see that when it is finished added miss and the young man nodded to show that he understood two or three hours later strange went fifteen million dollars mr with the piece of wood he had been carving miss wishes to have some one bring this to her house he said he spoke with a timid air that did not agree well with his robust figure and healthy complexion she wants to see it before it is put in place the the wood and then gave an almost equally close inspection to the young fellow your name is strange i believe he said it is the custom of the world over to use that tone to those who draw wages from them yes sir strange is your father yes sir mr looked again at the piece of wood which seemed to please him for he smiled how long have you worked at the business four years did you do this alone yes sir you did it very well the looked the young man full in the face as he said this expecting to see something there to show the pleasure of being praised but there was nothing the countenance was certainly intelligent but it maintained a perfect under a compliment that would have delighted most young what is your age was the next question twenty years you began young there was no answer to this remark miss giddy strange to the wood in his hand will you see that this is sent to miss you know where she lives asked mr yes sir then you had best take it yourself the carpenter eyed the for the first time i sir he repeated yes she may want to say something that you will understand better than any one else very well said the young man turning away chapter viii am a devil during the year which followed pursued the sort of life that is usually described as raising the devil his career was one of in the various forms affected by men of fashion who have nothing of importance to do and feel it necessary to kill time the habit of drinking to excess grew upon him until he seldom if ever went to bed sober he to a mild extent with women he was the same as ever seeking after becoming disgusted with the whole business at least once a week to the extent of solemnly swearing off and then losing his head if not his heart with the next opportunity to disgrace a foolish girl or a giddy wife such was his natural good health however that he stood all of these date i am a with very little impression upon his handsome countenance and appeared in the best society as great a favorite with and with as before one of the things he tried hardest to do was to keep out of the way of and his daughter a feeling had been growing in his breast in relation to this girl which made him intensely uneasy in her presence she was a standing rebuke to his manner of living this dainty bit of marble and he felt the hot mantle his cheek every time he was compelled to hold ever so brief a conversation with her it seemed the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

thing for his friends on every side to couple their names and he did not mean to have them do so from any fault of his he knew himself very well and he could not think with patience of connecting such a model of innocence with the nature that had grown up in him until he was no longer his own master if it was the custom to mate such men with such angels he would prevent society from having its way in this instance knew that there was a action all along the line to secure him willing or no no matter how long a time it took to accomplish the object miss was the obedient child one reads of in fiction ready to carry out her father s wishes believing him the wiser judge as to what was good for her being taught as no doubt she had been that she would probably be some day the wife of mr she had accustomed herself to like him as a matter of duty but what did she know about it after all to girls like her in the upper classes marriage was a complete revelation not a miss single page of which could be even guessed until the wedding day had declared to himself a thousand times that there was one outrage which he would never that was the of an entirely innocent girl with one like the crime would be almost equally great even though the deception was inside the marriage bond do what he might he could not wholly escape he went to a great many houses that were also o the s list and it would never do to show to observant that he was trying to avoid miss whenever he found himself in the same parlor he always went to the young girl s side and spoke to her like an ordinary acquaintance cutting the conversation as short as he could without attention and generally pleading that other engagements compelled him to leave early at places like the theatre and opera when he saw that he was noticed from her box he went around to say a word about the play declining the offered seat on account of a party of gentlemen friends below who would expect him to them to the daughter he was to her father courteous on all occasions but it was next to impossible now to get him to dine at their residence so full of previous did he prove mr david had all he could do to persuade the to have patience declaring that he would almost stake his life on the ultimate success of the plans he was miss accompanied her father often to the mansion on earth which his hired men were preparing i am a devil for her she took a great pleasure in watching the workmen and especially young strange who seemed as of quite of her presence and continued industrious one day as she was about to leave the premises she encountered on the steps mr who was going in to meet mr with whom he had an appointment to lunch in a newly discovered in the french quarter glowing accounts of which the had brought him on the previous evening the young gentleman met the gaze of the girl with heightened color i m going to take a look at your house mr he said it is quite a long time since i was inside you ll notice a slight change then smiled the it seems to go rather slowly considering that there are seventy five men working on it all the time looked for a of a second at the daughter but bis glance fell before the remarkable clearness of her large blue eyes oh it takes time he answered s house was two years and a half in building you know and this will cost half a million more replied mr this may sound in cold type like a boast but it did not seem so when it fell from the s lips his manner was that of a man who counts millions as other men count simple hundreds of dollars i hope you are well said to the young lady miss giddy i am about as usual thank you she said you should come to see us oftener and then you would not have to ask that question blushed again just enough to tint his exceedingly fair complexion may is right smiled her father the best thing you can do is to jump into the carriage here and go home to lunch with us miss sweetly this suggestion but mr explained the appointment he had come to keep with mr there was an evident in his tone which did not escape the quick ear of his would be host then make it dinner at seven said mr there are some things i want to talk over with you go in and see the house and come and tell me what you think about it the last time you it you had some excellent ideas that i put to service you will come added the young lady before he could and utter the words that would have made another there was no easy avenue of escape for mr he put the best face he could on the matter saying he would come to dinner with the greatest of pleasure er excuse me is there to be any one else he asked not a soul only we three just a nice little family party it will be as as a in the woods this was not the answer mr hoped for had there been going to be a dozen others he would bare liked it better but he only replied that he iu i am a would be punctual and as he turned toward the house he lifted his hat once more to the young lady and blushed as he again encountered her

0Arthur Conan Doyle

calm expression as soon as he entered the unfinished drawing room the came from the front window to greet him mr knew that his friend had probably watched the that had just taken place in front of the house and that he could be depended upon to say something not acceptable in reference to it he was consequently prepared with his answers miss looked very pretty to day said mr now mr don t me please i want to see the house and i don t want to talk about women what have you been doing in the last three months if i was the i d discharge you for not making a better showing mr laughed showing some very good teeth want to see the house eh want to inspect your future home made a gesture of intense why the deuce he demanded must you be disagreeable you know there will never be anything between me and the family do i mr smiled again i know nothing of the kind i know it would be the best match in the world you are young good looking well educated of an old and respected family she is beautiful good tempered as and her father s favorite a special com young miss giddy mission appointed out of all the wise men in the nation would declare that you were made for each other was very under the speech of his friend but he seemed to try not to show undue this isn t the first time you have talked that way he replied and you know what i have told you there s no use in my repeating it no there isn t smiled mr for it never contained anything worthy to be called an argument i can sum it up in forty words you think you are not good enough for her you have been playing the a little you occasionally indulge in cards and once in a while get overtaken with wine so does every other man of sense in this age you take your too seriously for some seconds leaned on the sill of the window by which he had seated himself and looked up and down the avenue it was a pleasing prospect the view that spread out before him so far as new york could be said to be worth living in at all no better locality could have been selected on which to rear a palace for a member of the american house of lords the future son in law of the would be a man to be envied his habitation why don t you put the thing as it is if you are bound to discuss this wearisome question he asked when he roused himself why don t you admit that i could be true to no woman who was not built of the commonest kind of clay what a mate i would make for that delicate bit of three days after marriage she would be at the sight of me in a month she would demand either a i am a devil h separation or a divorce i am a devil and you know it while she he paused in vain for a the of the was silenced by the manner in which this was said had taken the matter to heart deeper than he supposed to that young girl pursued after another moment of silence marriage would be a solemn she ought to have a husband to whom she could look as to a god then the smile returned to the face ol the she ll be likely to get one of that kind won t she he you know the list there is to choose from how many gods are there in the lot how many fellows in that set are better fitted for the of an amateur deity than yourself was compelled to make a mental admission that this had a substantial basis but there is always the he replied those fellows may not have any very great standing but they won t break a girl s heart with nor get brought home at six a m too full to get into the house alone the dismissed this notion with a wave of his hand she will marry a clergyman he said she will do whatever her father wishes and he has quite different ideas he wants some one who will build up the social end of the family there must be blood in the match at all events he likes or the semblance of t by the old man tt wise hasn t a very great record for living too close to the virtuous mark if it comes to that shrugged his shoulders we re not talking of my marrying him he retorted and besides always knows how to carry himself he doesn t go off at like me if he takes a glass he stops when has had enough if he sets his eye on a pre y woman he don t get into a frenzy and throw all there is of him into the scale as i do why when a woman gets hold of me i ve no more sense than that bench over there i d put my head in that and let her turn it if she wanted now that s bad enough for a single man but it would play the deuce with one married to to a girl like that mr whistled an air from the opera of and there came before the mind s eye of his companion the scene where the girl the young soldier who hears the of his regiment i only wish the chance lay in my way said the presently and with a more serious manner looked up at him you he ejaculated you d be worse than i m of course i would said with a trace o his old smile i m more cold blooded

0Arthur Conan Doyle

to with i m not trying to raise to myself nor in fact to do anything except ta indicate what in my opinion you ought to do and could do if you liked a marriage with the daughter of a man worth fifteen or twenty millions is not a thing to dismiss without consideration you could oath i am a devil be s son in law if you chose now why shouldn t you is it because the daughter is hideous dull old any of those objectionable things that so often go with this sort of live stock not a bit of it she is pretty as a picture intelligent amiable young as shakespeare would say a morsel for a monarch her family has as yet nothing but wealth to recommend them at least on the father s side but in the present day nobody at she is a great catch all new york admits that how old is she nineteen and she has refused through the hon twenty eligible offers why has the the van the and the de because he has set his mind on a the young man half rose from his seat speak lower he fearing that some of the in the next room might catch the drift of the conversation you don t know that but you know it you know it as well as you know you live to night you are invited to dinner at the if you should throw aside your beg your pardon doubts of your fitness and say to the over your cigar that you would like to enter his family it would please him better than a ten per cent advance in the price of silver yes knew it he had observed too many things to leave much doubt on this score it was because he knew it that he hated to go to the dinner at all he had a half fear that the might propose the thing to him out of hand instead of waiting for him to take the young miss as i started to say resumed the what would be your sensible position why to put the question to the old man i use the ordinary term and have it over with he would tell you to ask miss and that if you could win her consent you should both have his blessing in or four days you would run in again and he would take pains to leave you together you would say the right thing in the right words and she would drop those big eyes of hers and accept you with speechless content nothing could be more simple a little common sense an of courage and it would be all over the laid his hand affectionately on the arm of his friend and noticed that he was trembling you are mistaken came the hardly audible reply it would not be all over then it would be just begun mr drew a discouraged breath i could get you up a set of plans and to meet every emergency he said as easily as i could do them for a house or a block of stores straightened himself up a little and eyed the speaker with new interest do you think you could make that woman satisfied to have her husband brought home drunk my dear helpless fellow couldn t you keep sober a month or two with a stake like this in view after you were married six or eight weeks you could make a thousand excuses to get a few days away and to your heart s content you re not such a common as you re trying to make out i never saw you actually stiff but once i am a p shivered that makes a nice picture to recall doesn t it t he said bitterly i must have looked sweet in the wine room at that french ball with ten and mrs all of us so full we couldn t tell when you put us into the carriage you know how you and had to lie your heads off to keep from and s marriage was postponed three months on account of the talk that couldn t be we might as well have done it all in the middle of union square imagine that thing after i had married the took a few steps up and down the room but it wouldn t occur he said on returning you would engage a long headed who wouldn t let you go to such i know one of those fellows a who would treat you like a spoiled child if you got into any such mess you would have to take him with you everywhere and instruct him never to let you pass a certain limit a laugh came to chase the dull look for a moment from the young man s face you don t seem to know me as well as you think he said when i am half full nobody can reason with me if this chap undertook to say or do too much i d be more than half likely to knock him down oh no you wouldn t was the ready reply he is six feet high and about one ninety he has been taken for the russian when in europe but he is much taller and heavier for five years he was to the duke of y he would miss have been there now had not the taken too violent a fancy to him this is a secret of course but everybody knows it in england and on the continent i could get him for you and he would stop all your monkey business just on the right side of the danger line but still shook his head i don t think your description any too charming he said a with whom wives fall in love is not specially attractive mr leaned very close to

0Arthur Conan Doyle

his companion in these days he said with a wealth of meaning it is something to have a wife to whom such a thing would be morally impossible there was a great deal in this admitted to himself a very great deal it was the only thing that had been said which had a distinctly favorable effect upon him he knew the the that pervaded his circle in relation to married women everybody knew all about some of them except the husbands they were and there were not a few cases where this giddy young man had seen fashionable with and stately and organ music with a column in the society prints and a grand tour of europe to them where the bride had only left the arms of a lover perhaps several of them to go to those of her bridegroom the husbands didn t know they had never suspected up to this day but some time there was liable to an explosion possibly the snap of a revolver yes if a man must marry it was a great thing to i am a have a wife of whom such things either before or after the ceremony were impossible to conceive the had a good deal of in his composition and he saw the effect of this suggestion but he wisely decided to say nothing more at the time hoping that the seed he had sown would gain some root of itself and fearful to disturb it by any more present cultivation he suggested a walk over the premises and as this was one of the objects of mr s visit he did not hesitate to follow his leader everything was certainly in the very of luxury and taste this entire is to be miss s said mr as they reached the second floor m you see it is on the side and commands a view of the river and the park just look at this for a in the centre of a large room paved with the finest an enormous bath was sunk nearly to the floor level as the went on with his explanations s mind fastened itself upon the girl who was to use that magnificent apartment so pure and sweet that its offices must be largely superfluous so modest he was sure no maid would be permitted to remain within those doors while her mistress herself of her final garments to be the husband of such a creature would be a glory for one as pure as free from the of earth as she but never for a man of thought of low from ten and to was too far a cry he could not estimate the distance had always considered himself miss a pretty lucky fellow but he went out of that house thoroughly if he could have been reared in a different school why had he been allowed to follow every inclination since he was in skirts it would have been so much better to have kept a heart in which there was one white spot than to have neck deep in all that sea of passion he thought as he rode with mr toward the where they were to lunch of a possible young man entirely new to the knowledge of sex in its and distorted shapes wedded to a girl like living with her an life in such a palace as that the reflection was so that had it not been for his promise to dine with the he would have gone directly home from his lunch and drunk h into forthwith the did not again allude to the matter that most deeply upon his mind he saw that his friend was in a new mood and he hoped that good would come of it the match he was try ing to further seemed to him a most desirable one in itself to say nothing of his wish to please his employer family and wealth would make the proper combination he thought that as he grew older would acquire wisdom ultimately fitting into the convenient arranged for him and grateful to those who had assisted in placing him there while getting ready for dinner letters were brought to mr one of them being the one to which he had limited his miss strange now at her boarding school he threw it into a drawer without reading it in a fit of that had been growing upon him ever since noon i believe upon my soul that women will be the death of me he exclaimed to the astonishment of his if i knew of a country where they never had such things i would go there on the next train so help me moses chapter ix a dinner at s went to the mansion that evening to dinner but he did not propose for the hand of miss he sat at table with her and her father raising his eyes occasionally to meet her s as the conversation proceeded a little afraid of her a purity so much higher than he could ever claim and when she withdrew according to custom to allow the gentlemen to light their cigars he discussed politics theatrical matters and a dozen other things with the hon he was well aware that mr was no saint before mr david alluded to the fact he knew him for a successful and that in the matter of women he was a he had no doubt the would have laughed to scorn the scruples which made him feel that union with a girl like was an impossibility appearances were the only things that mr about he giddy did not claim that a man should be as good as the woman he intended to wed but only that his should make no public scandal the did not pass the evening without allusions intended to assist in making up his mind the success that he was having in business matters was

0Arthur Conan Doyle

brought up in various ways the amount to be on the new residence came in as a matter of course people call me extravagant but they don t know my resources said mr my fortune has come to me very fast in fact there is getting to be almost too much of it after a man has a certain sum the rest is merely bother as soon as may is twenty one or sooner should she get married i am going to give her an even million for pocket money mr had to remark that this would be very convenient well some people would so consider it laughed the still it is not likely she will ever need to touch it my children have tastes the opposite of extravagant now there s charles i don t suppose he five thousand dollars a year on himself he gives away a lot but his personal habits are positively he s immensely like his mother she would have given her last penny if anybody had asked her and she was content with the living what do you suppose charles has done last why he s been into the knights of labor this was sufficiently astonishing to draw an exclamation from the who inquired as soon as he could command himself how that came about a u k b at f i don t exactly know said the with another laugh i have made it a rule ever since my children were born to let them do pretty much as they please it is the habit of most parents to surround their young people with a set of rules that make their existence a burden but i have had none of that my theory is that a boy or girl will show what is in them in one way or another and that all the and severity in the world won t guide them in a way they don t wish to go you look surprised and i don t wonder as the idea is certainly not the one commonly accepted but the more i have watched the plan adopted by my neighbors and compared it with my own the more i am convinced that my way is the best the guest had at last found something to interest him and the attention he showed impelled his host to proceed take the case of charles he said supposing i had spent the past twenty years in trying to into his mind the fact that he was the son of a man of wealth and that certain social duties were required of him supposing i had given him to understand that his position raised a bar between him and the or class that he ought to maintain a dignity and reserve in his relations with them he might have followed my instructions but he would have lived a thoroughly unhappy and uncomfortable life he has all the notions of a coupled with a feeling that men ought to be equal in the matter of brotherhood i have let him act out what was in him and to day instead of me as half the sons of rich men do to their fathers he thinks me a dear mistaken fellow whom he you n miss sometime to convert to his own doctrines you cannot mould a human being as you can the material which a fashions with his wheel they have and inclinations that all the labor in the world only serves to and make into something let a child alone say i or rather help him along in whatever direction his tastes lead him i know of a father who is trying to make a out of a son who ought to be a the family influence has got the boy into the assembly but he politics from a to a committee the last time there was an important division he refused to go because an experiment in might be spoiled if he left it for an hour the greatest trouble in this world is that men are in the wrong places everywhere there are who ought to be farmers who ought to be doctors who would make much better i came within an inch of having my entire life ruined because i was born in the country where there was no outlet for what talent i had when my children came i determined that they should do as they pleased in everything and i would have said the same if my income had been a hundred dollars a month mr knocked from his a long ash that had been a sort of of ash for he had not had the cigar in his mouth for the past five minutes in everything he repeated slowly in everything was the earnest reply you see what i do with charles i can hardly be supposed to fancy having him with those common helping them against the peace of the a at s business community and yet i haven t said a word he s got just as good a right to be there as i have to stay away that s my whole theory in a word the point is here my dear mr we can t do the thinking for other people it is morally impossible to put ourselves in their places a thing that seems just to us may seem unjust to them we should leave every one entirely and let things themselves out in their own way the young man bowed politely as the speaker reached a pausing point and then with some asked whether the same sort of treatment would work equally well with girls exactly as well was the answer as if mr had anticipated that the point would be raised a girl is going to do about as she has a mind no matter how much pains is taken to her take the simple matter of for instance how often do

0Arthur Conan Doyle

we find the greatest virtue in the poorest quarters while the upper ten is growing notorious for you can t doubt that goodness it into tha minds of every wealthy girl by her mother her and her teachers as she grows up besides this she is surrounded with what are meant for on every side almost in from dangers to which the poorer girl is entirely nevertheless the kitchen maid will fight for her purity between the and the range while the other deliberately plans to her and what can you say to that present the trees of good and evil to girls as well as to boys explain to them the nature of the fruit on both and your duty is done beyond that time is thrown away lit young miss giddy the young guest poured out a half glass of and remarked wondering if what he said would be thought to have a personal tinge that example must have a considerable effect i m not pretending to set myself up as a professor of this science said he u for i know very little about it but i should think that the young mind would be influenced a good deal by the conduct of the people whose duty it is to advise it if a mother upon her daughter and the child that she is to her teaching the effect of her must be largely if she charity and never gives away a cent if she neatness and acts the you see my point i have often thought that girls are better than boys because women are better than men the young lad that is not reckoned a vital virtue among the masculine part of the race and he acts accordingly the seemed to take great pleasure in this conversation it was not easy for him to get so deeply interested in anything and he was glad to keep him to the mark let me ask you candidly he said whether your experience has shown you that girls really are so much better than boys isn t that idea largely in the imagination for a moment was unable to reply have you ever read dr s book pursued the if you have you may recall the instances to which i allude it is a habit for lovers to invest their feminine with attributes i suppose that is a part of the plan of but like many other things it sometimes a at t a ill becomes it is the custom in these days to place too great stress on mere people talk too much about it think of it too much make too big a fuss over it if some girl of good family goes astray as it is and the get at it all the newspapers will devote as much space to the event as they would to the of a train or the failure of a bank a thousand women who haven t been discovered read the particulars with it helps the talk at the clubs and the four o but what other good it does i don t know wouldn t a man of common sense say it was a thing that concerned only the girl and her family her great is that she has the social code by permitting her secret to get abroad there is a three days sensation and the girl is by women no better than she mr remarked that the making of newspapers was a business matter and that it was the custom of business men to offer their the goods that sold best that s true was the ready reply but these fellows who run the papers profess respectability as the world is made up they know these stories will ruin the peace of some of the best people in the community they know they would do all in their power to suppress them if they were in anything but the newspaper trade and still they to scandal and serve it up with all the detail their best writers can give it mr suggested that it was the community after all that controlled the contents of the daily press the printed what was wanted hi young miss giddy they were quick to scent the public taste as shown by the in the counting room you wouldn t stand in front of a and it for the of the atmosphere he said to me the daily journal is a valuable of the condition of the public mind a little while ago one of the greatest american poets died on the evening of a prize fight the papers had immense over both events on the first page side by side but the prize fight were the longer a little before that fifty people were killed by a train falling through a bridge on the same day that a prominent american in france discovered another man in his wife s bedroom the had to cut the accident down to a column to get in ten columns that described the sensation of the hour one of the men on the daily planet told me they could hardly print papers enough on their lightning presses so anxious were the readers to get an exact description of the lace on mrs blank s i have to plead guilty with the rest for i bought the paper for that reason alone when i am in the habit of reading another one whose account of the affair was much the smiled at the admission and said he had done the same thing but i would like it stopped for all that he added there is no knowing when one of our friends may be the victim and in that case i doubt if it would be so pleasant if the hon believed he was making it easier for mr to the hand of his daughter by the conversation that has been partially given here he was much

0Arthur Conan Doyle

mistaken posted a dinner at s to some extent by mr the had been given a part of the reason why the young man delayed coming to the point miss too far above him he felt unworthy of such a pure being mr had tried to show his guest that too much stress might be put on sins of a character hoping that this would remove the mountain in his way in trying to accomplish this he had however as is apt to be the case gone too far his last suggestion that public exposure of one s would be very disagreeable had made more impression on mr than all the rest if i should marry he was saying to himself and anything about me got into the newspapers it would simply break her heart i am such a fellow it would be as likely to happen as not no pleasant as it appears it cannot be i must give her up there had never been a word on th subject of love or marriage between mr and miss but determined that she should know his mind everybody seemed to have picked them out for each other it was evident that the liked him immensely while he had been as cold as the north wind to all the other young men who had sought to get within the charmed circle of his daughter s acquaintance he was the only one of them who was ever invited to dine at the house miss expected him to ask for her hand when the right time came he had tried his best to think he ever could ask it and he could not this he must let her know young miss or he must let her which amounted to the same thing he would have to marry before many years of throw himself into the bay a man of his descent and appearance could have his pick when the inevitable hour came from half a hundred of the ordinary mould to whom a man might be if it came to that without wanting to take what though they had not miss s beauty or a of her expectations enough is enough the world over in the morning he went to see mr that gentleman looked as as ever with his white hair and gold glasses and as on all other occasions confined himself mainly to answering the questions put to him i am going off on another journey said i suppose my cash has not yet run out entirely no i want a letter of credit for a couple of thousand and when necessary i shall write to you for more i will send it to your rooms in an hour had reached the door of the lawyer s office when he himself of another matter what do you hear of the little girl is she doing well at her school the accounts have been very favorable you have never seen her i suppose since she went there yes she has been here two or three times in her inquiring for you knowing you did not wish to be troubled i gave her answers at to your addresses when you were out of town a at how did you know i did not wish to see her she told me she had written you several times since you had sent a reply the old fox who but a lawyer would have been so wise you are sending the same amount to her as before i suppose said half afraid that mr might have stopped these out of some demonstration of his acute brain certainly you have never the order did she say anything special only that she had been to call on her relations and made her stay as brief as possible one of her teachers has taken her to the principal when the school was not in it was all right he was very glad she had not discovered him when he reached his room he found an envelope in s handwriting that had just been left by the it contained something hard like a piece of board undoubtedly a photograph of herself he took it with several others he found in his when clearing it out preparatory to packing up and put it in the grate he had decided to travel but the point of destination was not yet thought of the main thing was to get away from new york and the and let them know that he had gone probably for a long time he wrote a few notes one of them composed with great care to the in it he he was going for a thorough change he j young mi giddy hardly knew himself where he should land he might be gone a year or two no one hated the formality of good so much and he was going to treat all his friends alike in that respect convey my regards to miss he said at the end and tell not to expect letters i never can bring myself to the work of correspondence when i am on the wing mr s baggage was checked for the first stage to washington d c and mr david knew it before the trunks had been gone five hours from the city chapter x if a girl could find a as would not until later mr thought himself quite safe in washington from the hon for a month at least he went to the because it was the thing to do though there are three or four hotels in which the can find certainly as good for his money had visited the capital before and had a number of acquaintances there he frequented one of the swell clubs in a quiet way asking those who knew him to avoid as far as possible in spite of this that mr david was kept of almost his every move mr naturally received

0Arthur Conan Doyle

all the information that came to if a girl find a man p the and the only reason that neither of these gentlemen walked in upon the fugitive was because they did not deem it advisable to hasten things in the state of mind in which they believed him to be miss was soon told by her father that may bury had left new york and that he might not return for a long time the eyed his daughter to discover whether this information had any pronounced effect upon her but she was as placid as the on a s day she was getting ready at the time to take a ride over to the new mansion and her only response was a simple indeed uttered without stress of tone so very did she appear that the was moved to sound her a little in reference to the matter i m sorry he s gone off just now he said i shall be a trifle lonely until meets and i hoped to see a great deal of him is good company at any time bowed in acquiescence as she arranged her cap before a mirror don t you think he is a very pleasant young man continued the father as she seemed to have nothing further to say on the subject she looked up to study his face for one brief moment and then threw her gaze into space yes she said at the conclusion of her but there was nothing in it had he told her that one of the servants was going to leave she would he felt sure have shown equal interest young miss giddy would you like to go with me when opens pursued mr at this the girl shook her head with more decision you know papa she said i never liked washington mr is there he replied i do not see why that should make any the who had taken it for granted that his daughter entertained a feeling toward the absent one something stronger than this was betrayed into himself do you ever think he asked slowly that some day you will have to marry miss turned from the mirror where she was arranging a stray lock of hair and surveyed the speaker why papa are you tired of me she exclaimed certainly not he answered i only speak of the natural course of events it is not expected that a girl will allow herself to become an old maid if she has a fair share of good looks and especially if she has a decent fortune the girl turned back to the mirror and took a complete survey of her physical charms as far as they were revealed in its surface have i a fair share of good looks she asked with a trace of you are handsome and you know it very well you also know that more than one young gentleman of good family has applied for your hand miss eyed the hand for which the young gentlemen of good family had applied as if to discover what they found so very attractive in it k if a girl could find a and you have told me papa she said that most of them in your private opinion cared more for the money i am to inherit than for the face you are so kind as to call pretty quite true he admitted it is one of the misfortunes of wealth that it the daughter looked into the mirror and then at the richly furnished apartment if a girl could find a man who did not care for her money who would love her as the novels say for herself alone marriage would seem pleasanter to contemplate the was disconcerted by the of this assertion he wondered if she had been influenced by the story books she had read and had developed a romantic vein that had never been exposed to his view however it was not the first time that he had felt the force of her innocent nature an innocence to this man of the world there is a great deal to be said on that score he replied after a moment s consideration an absolutely man is seldom fitted to mate happily with a girl who has been brought up in their habits and tastes are unlikely to agree while wealth does not make one better in a certain sense it and the social capacity and makes its possessor to manage property that may fall to his care the girl nodded as if the matter was not of very great importance in her mind and resumed her position at the mirror her mr resumed the when he had observed her in silence for a short time has been accustomed to the highest society his family young miss is one of the best in the country i think his acquaintance a valuable one to cultivate this was much more than he had been in the habit of saying and his daughter could not the meaning of a single syllable i don t see how we can cultivate it at present she smiled now that he has taken the pains to leave us he will not be likely to remain away forever no resumed the look then suddenly she put the question to him has mr asked if he may marry me the and it was not often that he blushed my dear he answered i have no doubt that he how very young you are and does not wish to press us and he is such a thorough gentleman he may also have about proposing to a girl whose fortune is so much greater than his own again there was a heavy silence in the room interrupted at last by miss s maid who came to see if she was ready for her ride when the servant had been dismissed with the information that there would be yet

0Arthur Conan Doyle

a few minutes to wait miss spoke to her father if mr ever should propose to me you want me to accept him is that it if she had asked what they were to have for dinner or whether her cap was on straight she would have put the inquiry in the same tone i never mean to influence my children began the but if a find a ml it would please you would it not she asked again it would meet your ideas of what is best to do i think he said anxiously that it would be a splendid match looked into the glass for the tenth time she was pretty there was no denying it but he hasn t asked yet she mused never may and if he ever does the marriage need not be for a long time the agreed with these statements and began to recover his of disposition the unexpected way in which she had driven him to declaring his opinions had thrown him out of as one might say for a little while as this seemed to bring the conversation to a period the young lady remarked that she was ready to proceed on her way to the new house and inquired if her father would accompany her as he pleaded another engagement she entered the carriage at the door with her maid and was driven to her destination mr came forward to welcome her as was his wont he said he was glad she had come as he wanted her to see the designed for her special use before he completed the finish she followed him to that section of the house and listened while he explained the design seeming to take only a languid interest it will be very nice was all she said in answer to his discourse i have not decided on the in the said the disappointed even though b t b miss giddy he knew she had said as much as usual if yoa have any choice it will aid me very much miss quietly entered the room in question she stood for some moments surveying it on every side apparently in a brown study there are so many things you could have ventured mr that it is hard to tell what to do i have seen rooms of this kind on which large sums of money were spent the best painters putting their finest work on the walls and of course harmony is the first requisite now if we were to give miss interrupted him i think a perfectly plain surface will suit me best she said at least you may leave it that way for the present after we have moved in i can send for the if i change my mind it was the custom of this shrewd to in the opinions of his whenever they differed from his own and he made no exception of this case though his and artistic soul was grieved to the utmost he had conceived of a beautiful sketch in which and angels were scattered over a warm ground conveying that idea of languor which the thought of a comfortable bath when future guests were shown over the building they would wonder he was sure why such a magnificent room was left in a state that must appear unfinished the explanation that miss desired it would hardly satisfy the spectators mr believed that the excessive modesty of his employer s daughter prevented her from wishing too much display in a room used for such an ex if a o el a private purpose this modesty was not of the kind that itself in downcast eyes and cheeks giving out more of self consciousness than of a retiring nature had stated her preference for plain walls and without changing her usual manner and her will had been law to those about her ever since she was able to walk from the the girl strolled to another floor where the young carpenter strange was at his work he glanced up at her entrance but cast his eyes down again immediately she went near him and said good afternoon to which he responded in similar phrase his work never suffered in the least because it was her fancy to spend a good deal of time watching him what do you hear of your sister she inquired after she had been engaged in silently observing his work for at least five minutes she had heard charles speak of and had inquired about her at other times nothing was his short reply is she still at that school where she was sent i don t know you answer as if you didn t care said the girl there was no reply to this statement it took more than a remark of that kind to induce this fellow to take part in a conversation you are hardly fair with her continued when she saw that he did not intend to speak she has a natural liking for comfort and education and the things that make life to a woman if some kind person has volunteered to aid her in that miss matter you ought to be glad of it and not act when you are spoken to on the subject she may never come back but she will do better than your father could have done for her it is wrong to feel jealousy because she has had the good luck to reach the higher of life in a quicker and easier manner than some others can do the carpenter was a piece of valuable wood requiring the greatest he went on with what he was doing as if there was no other person in the neighborhood father wants me to go to washington with him to spend the winter said the girl presently she knew this would make him look up and it instantly had that effect it did more it loosened his

0Arthur Conan Doyle

tongue and you told him you did not care to go she smiled pleasantly asking how he could state this with such absolute certainty but he did not reply he was at his work again having resumed his old attitude of course i told him that you of she said with a tone that came near approaching familiarity but that does not imply that he accepted my view of the case he says he will have to go next month when meets besides mr is in washington and he wants me to see him the carpenter s plane cut too deep that time the wood he had labored on for hours was ruined and he bad to get another piece and begin again in winter chapter xi in winter did not regain long in washington as he wanted to be sure of avoiding who was expected early in december he went next to and stayed a few days examining the city where he had never before alighted from the train the relics of war times entertained him he liked the situation and general lay out of the streets feeling that it must be a pleasant home for those who had friends and there a good deal of his time was consumed in going from his chamber in the exchange and to the office and dining room across the bridge which the public street and those formerly divided on departing from the capital he ran over to old point comfort and for a day or two and then proceeded to interested the very much and he took in the sights thoroughly including the historic islands in the harbor the southern architecture gratified a mind delighted with everything which bore a foreign aspect south was as new to him as england was the first time he visited the british the immense number of in the streets struck him oddly truly the united states was a great country when it could present a varying selection of people and all under one flag at he was no less pleased the park young miss ways of the old city struck him as prettier than anything else he could recall this side the sea the big de hotel had not then been built but he stopped at the house where he was treated well he bore a letter of introduction to the editor of the most prominent newspaper and found him a thoroughly gentleman the chief engineer of the county works took him to see his that were the into fertile fields and the shell roads built through hitherto inaccessible before he left the city was a convert to the plan of using labor on such works instead of the law in where their with those of honest men outside he visited also the beautiful in the outskirts where the moss laden trees shade a peculiarly beautiful spot in which to deposit the remains of loved friends it was january when he reached going to the st james without hesitation so is the reputation of that house as one of the best in the entire south here he stayed three weeks meeting many pleasant people among them a lady from boston and two from one of the latter having with her the prettiest child he had ever seen with none of these ladies did get up a for he was not in the mood but he walked the long in the company of the youngest and went to several theatrical performances that came to town finally the stories of the wonderful indian river country began to impress him and he undertook the disagreeable journey had christian in order to reach the celestial city been compelled to undergo the trials of a trip to lake worth at the period of which i write it is doubtful if he would ever have persisted in his a train brought the young new to late in the evening the few apologies for hotels were crowded with guests there must have been as many as fifteen strangers in the town thinking he could get a bed on the steamer that was to leave at an early hour the next morning walked along a suspicious looking way to the wharf where he found that the boat had not yet made her appearance from down the river when was she likely to come no one knew was there any place to sleep in within a mile the company s agent did not know of any it was now half past eleven o clock and the felt a chill in the air that he had not expected in that latitude in the office several women with their babies and husbands were huddled around a dirty looking stove the hardship of spending the night in a similar manner was not a serious one to a man who had slept out of doors in africa on the way from to in the midst of pouring rains but there was a about it in a land civilized which did not amuse him the stove got so warm after awhile that he preferred the outer air and he went to stroll along a plank way that led back to what he supposed called itself a town the air grew a railroad seeing the well dressed man out at that hour informed him that a private house about a hundred rods away sometimes put folks up this house when it was found proved to be also full as far as the b d young miss giddy rooms were concerned but the proprietor who was wandering ghost like around the premises offered the use of a sofa in the parlor which was now too tired and cold to decline in the morning when the came several hours late it was discovered that she had eight state rooms for about sixty passengers these had all been engaged in advance by telegraph not the idea of going two nights more without a

0Arthur Conan Doyle

place of normal rest the left the boat at and was afterwards glad he did so he found one of the prettiest spots he had ever seen and a vegetation thoroughly tropical combined with a modern hotel whose were satisfactory in all respects by the time the next steamer arrived he had done the telegraph act himself and had the pleasure of sharing a room eight feet by five with a physician from who proved to be equal to several ordinary individuals in capacity for entertaining his companion the descent or possibly it is the ascent of the indian river is a journey not to be despised i learn that the means of travel have been improved since the date of which i am writing and are to be still more improved in the near future but was sure that had the steamer been even worse than it was a not easily conceivable and had he been obliged to share the easy chairs and sections of cabin floor on which most of the passengers had to sleep he would have found the trip worth taking the river often into a the strange trees on the waters preparing the way for land at some future date the ix winter t and the groves and orange the tropical birds the odd sometimes half a mile from shore made of to which passengers and freight are in with the hundred and one other sights to which the american of the north is wholly delighted him he felt as if sailing on some mystic stream at the end of which paradise must surely be found and he was nearly right in this conception of the indian river when one reaches and has the pleasure of seeing nay or passing through and within ten hours why should it astonish him when he finds just beyond them a truly land compared to which the of the jews was a very poor affair the groves of lake worth are in a prettier piece of tropical landscape than can be found anywhere else in all the southern states truly the wind blew good to thousands which cast that of upon this coast and his proved themselves wise men when they planted these nuts for miles along a shore till then shaded and no one should grudge that benefactor of his race whatever fortune has come to him from his named the grove house wanted to see a little of st early in the season there and was obliged to quit lake worth much sooner than he would have wished he was something of a hunter and and it him to desert such a s paradise where was to be had for five miles of tramp not to mention deer and innumerable miss giddy where bit on the other side the as ha had never known them to bite in any other waters the however was inexorable and he had to depart with a mental oath to return at no distant day prepared for a longer stay the river was no less impressive on the northern trip and even the twelve hours of daylight that the boat stuck on an bar was not without its enjoyment with a night s rest at our proceeded to winter park and several other places making brief stops and then he went to that marvel silver spring writers of of famous are apt to the language in their attractions it would require more than an ordinary pen to do justice to silver spring and the river those who make the journey to without boarding the little steamer that runs from the spring to have left the finest dish on the the moment the boat from its the finds himself apparently suspended in with a atmosphere of light blue above and below him so clear is the spring that the sensation of floating in water gives way to that of hanging in the as if the steamer were a then as the of the points toward the river a new astonishment begins and never ceases till the end of the journey is reached on the following morning ten minutes after the boat starts the world as we have known it the stream hardly wide enough at points to allow the up boat to pass the down one with a thousand curves is through the of groves whose tall tops almost shut the sky from view and whose exposed roots take on innumerable fantastic shapes this as impressive if not as dense as those of the snake shares with the both of them may be seen themselves on the broken trunks of trees and slipping off for more secure hiding as the wheel their seclusion strange birds fill the air overhead and every fish below is as clearly as through the glass walls of an the captain as jolly a fellow as ever managed a craft tells you how he once shot two deer contrary to the orders of his company and against the of which made that time of year a close season because his instinct would not let the animals cross his he says he paid the fine without a murmur and thought the adventure worth the money lovely as is the daylight trip the full of the come out only at night when the last rays of the setting sun have disappeared a fire it lighted in an iron on top of the pilot house the blaze the surrounding forest throws a red glare across the sky and colors in exquisite hues the on every side the of the wheel in the water the cries of disturbed birds and animals the calls of the pilot and the deck hands break the impressive stillness of the wild woods turning sometimes almost at a right angle in her course as the boat follows the current new scenes are constantly coming into view he must be a dull who before midnight and those who remain

0Arthur Conan Doyle

on the till miss morning brings them out of the narrow stream po the broad bosom of the st john and to the town of are richly repaid it was now february and the de at st was open when reached the town he was obliged to admit that nothing so unique had escaped the tooth of time in the new world the old quarters are no less spanish than parts of or the overhanging the strange the ancient fort the city gate and the narrow streets he thought he must have been transported in a dream to the land of the besides these the modern palaces which mr s millions have erected anything in where the richest families of have of late erected a little paris after spanish models it was the purpose of mr to stay in st until near the end of the month at which time he to go to new and see but a paragraph in the times union put an end to this plan a few lines in the society gossip informed him that among the guests soon expected at the were hon miss may mr david and servants the never cared much for and his absence from washington when that body was in did not surprise mr still he wondered whether his own presence in had anything to do with the proposed visit of this party at all events he did not wish to see them and the next morning he was ready to start toward to the mail clerk of the was a young man whom had long time he being connected during the summer with one of the houses to him he confided his new address him by all that was holy not to it to any person under any condition whatever on his way he visited and and three days later he was in the city chapter xii going to why were the coming to st they were coming because mr david believed it the most suitable place for them under the circumstances not being able to learn anything of the intentions of mr except that he had gone to the land of flowers mr thought it wise to look more particularly into the reasons that had taken him thither and to as certain as far as he could what his intentions were for the immediate the letter that the had received was certainly not assuring if left the country at this time it might never be possible to him back having started out to marry his friend to the daughter of his employer it was not like the to before his work was done or until he had proved that there was no way under heaven to accomplish it mt it seemed to mr that the best thing was a trip to st an accidental meeting of all parties in the romantic recesses of the de a chorus of why are you here this is the last place in the world i expected to meet you and things of that kind dr who was called in gave a hint to miss that a more congenial climate than that of new york would be greatly to her benefit in the months of february and march was not looking as well as usual and the physician could give this advice with a clear conscience but the girl a little when the journey was proposed to her i know i am not quite as well as i ought to be she said to her father that evening at table but i have a strong suspicion that your real reason for taking me to is the expectation that we shall see mr there the couple were alone in the dining room charles being absent on one of his excursions and the servants having a general order to present themselves only at the sound of the bell i will not deny replied the that i should like to have you meet again nothing is more natural than for people to be in at this season miss with the sugar in a meditative attitude i think i have told you papa she said that if ever should become engaged to mr i should want the wedding postponed a long time you cannot desire that any more than i my dear he answered i am sure it is also mr may going to ra bury s wish that is that he while contemplating matrimony as a final goal prefers to preserve his liberty for the present i can leave it to you to maintain your dignity so that whatever happens we shall not appear to be seeking him but if you could a trifle of your and if he should gain the courage to ask for a promise the girl bowed as if she understood the rest of the sentence thus left unfinished do you think mr courage she asked thoughtfully most men suffer a little in that respect when it comes to a proposal of marriage replied the uneasily he has not been in the habit of much time to ladies has he it was well that the girl was occupied in stirring the of sugar into her black coffee otherwise she must have read something strange in the expression that came into mr s face he felt the need of falsehood while discussing such a man of the world as with so a child as this i have never heard of his paying much attention to any one in society he said he has lived a purely bachelor life going out less than most of his set for several minutes the girl seemed lost in dreams i do not think he would make a very ardent lover she said finally in a voice that showed the effect of the reverie mr thought of mrs and ten and doubted if this description of the young would fit their idea of him he would have a

0Arthur Conan Doyle

proper sense of his duties j w am sure he replied mr is above all a gentleman the girl looked into as if up some image i should want a great deal of liberty if i were married she said i could not bear a husband like mrs s for instance who acts before every one as if she might escape into the air if he took his eyes from her one moment i cannot see why marriage should destroy the individuality the right to be herself that ought to be sacred to every woman if i had a husband who tried to be my master i could not live with him long it must be an equal otherwise the wife is little better than a slave the father looked at the speaker with eyes she had surprised him several times of late with her but he was more than astounded to hear such elaborate views on the marriage relation from those lips she must have been reading a lecture by b or attending a woman s rights if she had been more intimate with her brother he might have supposed that charles had imparted these thoughts to her mr is not a man who would demand anything unreasonable of you he said after a pause i shall tell him frankly what i think about it if it ever becomes necessary said miss with there are promises he must make me before i will agree to take him for life she hesitated before uttering the final words as if there was something in them you will not make your demand sound disagreeable i trust the father gently to ra is no indeed replied looking up with a laugh i won t scare him away but it looks very doubtful papa at this moment whether i shall ever have the chance there is no certainty that we shall see him in and if he crosses the ocean it may be years before we meet again the had run home from washington for the express purpose of having this talk with he was relieved to find her so st lost its charms for the new york when they found that mr had already gone away the clerk at the torn with doubts as to which was his best course between the opposing interests professed for a number of days to have no idea of the whereabouts of the much wanted man the however was soon in possession of the facts mr would have certainly a good deal of mail to be forwarded watching quietly one day till the colored boy took the letters to the post office made a sufficient excuse to him he pretended that he had sent a note which he wished to see again to make sure the address was correct and a moment later had found several with this esq no charles street new la the word de st had been and the new address was in the writing of the clerk all was perfectly clear now it was getting young mi toward the season of and had concluded to witness the putting a dollar in the hand of the black boy mr returned to mr i have found him he said in reply to the anxious look on the s face he is here no but he is within a short ride and where he will probably remain several weeks then he told what he had learned throwing a veil of mystery over the manner of discovery and mr looked upon the as a veritable a fellow to whom all secrets were open one whom it would be quite useless to attempt to deceive no matter how deeply the plot was laid when was told that mr had gone to the city she looked thoughtful it looks as if he had found out we were coming she said to her father it that were true we could not with a due sense of pride enter on anything like a pursuit of him could we you take it too seriously replied mr it is unlikely that any such information could have reached him new offers great attractions during week it would not strike him as remarkable that we should go to a that visitors from all over the united states i will have telegraph at once for and as soon as he receives an answer we will start the girl could find no fault with this reasoning but she did not look happy instead of feeling better in the southern climate she was not as well as when she left home she had acquired a sort of not natural to her and her appetite had sunk to a low point she looked at the sights of the town with little interest and occupied most of her time in reading letters or writing them these she always took to the post office herself accompanied by her maid or madame the about the hotel and the visitors to st in general knew that the handsome girl was the daughter of a united states and to many millions several ambitious young gentlemen did their best to secure but without avail it seemed outrageous to them that so much beauty and wealth should be going begging as it was said to be but between this slight creature and their hopes there was a wall as strong as if made of steel a barrier as inaccessible as though with and one bright evening a carriage took her to the station and the fortune hunters were left to console themselves as best they could mr david was a shrewd dog he feared if learned that this family was in new it might hasten his departure or make it more difficult to get into communication with him he knew it was the custom of almost everybody who is anybody to go to the st charles hotel this they do not because the st charles is

0Arthur Conan Doyle

a remarkably good hotel but because it is the best there is if you should go to new and hear that one of your friends was in the city you would naturally inspect the register of the st charles when you found that his name was not recorded there you would feel pretty certain that he had not arrived with this fact in view mr had not m s giddy to the st charles for but to the royal the royal has the distinction of being a poorer house than the st charles but in times people have been known to get rooms there it is a thoroughly respectable hotel big enough for a state which indeed it was at one time and are usually told in advance that there are several very good in other streets the rooms which mr engaged by telegraph were large and comfortable when he took possession with his fellow he did not sign their names on the register the entry was made by mr s in this form r a and party which was unlikely to mean much to anyone who might read it in the papers the next morning within an hour after the arrived he had ascertained that mr was still at the address on charles street a house where private lodgings were let to the better class of people more than this he learned that had engaged his rooms until after the close of the the young man had brought letters of introduction to several of the most prominent citizens including the of the leading newspapers he was enjoying himself apparently and evidently of the fact that interested persons were laying a trap in which to his feet i can get tickets to every event of special note announced the to his daughter on the following day and you shall see all there is to be seen one of my has come home for the and has extended every courtesy i have told you ll see nothing but him that we are so he will act accordingly when the chief events occur we will have mr here you his escort to them this was said with the hope of the ing spirits of the young lady but she only replied by a faint smile if she had not hesitated to wound her father she would have told him then that she doubted if she was destined to be a wife that it grew upon her strongly that fate did not intend her for a married woman chapter xiii you ll see nothing but had a very good time in new if there is any place in america where a man can have a better time provided he is armed with letters of introduction to the right people i like to know where it is there is no other city where the masculine population to whom you are presented takes more pains to make your stay agreeable none in which the feminine part goes farther toward making you believe they are your long lost sisters and cousins people who have been to new and come away without growing fond of the place are to be pitied for the opportunities they have missed the first gentleman to whom presented his card of introduction said in the most matter of act way that he must of course send his trunk to miss giddy his the gentleman s house and remain there during the entire time he was in the city this invitation declined with difficulty was by at least a dozen others of a similar purport from subsequent acquaintances and the wives of each of these gentlemen were if possible even more hospitable than their husbands at the few dinners out which he accepted these ladies enlarged on the of the hotels in time and proffered their best apartments to the stranger mr held to his purpose of retaining his hired room though it was something of a struggle but he passed a good deal of his time with these new friends whom he seemed after a few hours to have known for at least a year the city is full of club houses to nearly all of these a twenty days card was sent the young as soon as it was known he had arrived a desire to assist him to an intimate knowledge of all the drinks that are fashionable in that locality seemed universal among the club members men who kept carriages took him for drives those who had none went on long walks with him that the french quarter would interest him specially he was taken there about once a day and the historic spots were pointed out he was escorted up the river and down the river he went out to lake and through the old and new so different from anything he had ever seen in this country he was introduced to everybody by a title which made him less ill at ease because it so well with those of most of his but sometimes when he was tou ix see but addressed suddenly as colonel he gave a slight start and was for an instant disconcerted if the men of new were agreeable what should he say of the women with something in their manners that made him think of the best french society and yet with the true american instinct all they possessed a wonderful charm there were lovely faces about the tables at which he dined and the conversation proved the owners as intelligent as beautiful had mr been susceptible to the tender passion in the ordinary sense he might have yielded his heart on that brief visit to some sweet maiden of the race however the young man had no idea of marriage at present and these were not the kind to listen to empty still less to questionable small talk with all his faults altogether too numerous he knew a real lady from

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the giddy creature who her manners while possessing none of her attributes in the drawing rooms which he visited he passed for the most thorough type of gentleman people spoke of him to each other as the kind of man one likes to meet could these favored women have followed him after midnight on his other perhaps their sentiments might have been altered but of even that what man can be sure who knows but the long rows of houses the almost entire sections on the other side of canal street where their more unhappy sisters begin the night about the time these others end it are taken into account by those bright beings and the of their male friends in advance if not forgiven if there is any place on earth and of course there kiss is not where the sons of adam might plead an for setting aside that which number seven it is within a stone s throw of the great centre in that same city of the here are collected soiled with so nearly white that only the surroundings make it possible to believe the truth whence come they these faces that might serve as models of innocence these forms of which no even wrought the equal from the marble of surely it has required a education to furnish minds that can follow one into any field of conversation surely it has taken masters in music to train those hands and voices to give forth such melody they are not from the lower ranks these even when the champagne fills their heads no uncouth or word escapes their mouths they are dressed with taste and propriety few could produce their equals in beauty and grace and yet they are here let no sight of this kind escape him in the travels he made he told a friend afterwards that nowhere on either side of the ocean had he found so much to wonder at as in those houses divided from the rest of that city by a line as distinct though invisible as if it were a veritable chinese wall he was not a man who a great deal he did not care to trace the lives of these girls back to their once pure childhood and ascertain how they made this descent he could have guessed perhaps that the first steps were as slow as the later ones were rapid the way through which such nothing but w women passed was tolerably familiar to him he had read the lines of and no man knew better of what he wrote in her first passion woman her but after that all that she loves is love but to return to the outer air went with happy parties to the great balls given by the city s and he watched also from convenient the glittering in which the their rivals of the coast it is always an sight to witness thousands of people in commotion the the the brightly actors of the parts the showers of the the music all combined to make an exhibition not easily forgotten so far had heard nothing of his but at the grand ball that closed these for the more of the our traveller was startled by seeing across the french opera house the familiar face of for a few moments he sat quite still watching to discover whether she appeared to notice him there was nothing to indicate that she did and the suspicion that he was being followed left him with a kind of shame that he should have such a thought miss was not accompanied by her father nor by any person whom recognized she was surrounded by a group of people whom he had never seen as far as he could remember they were pointing out the to her as were the others at their mis identity and she was smiling back with an air that was polite if not thoroughly engrossed in what they were saying she was paler than usual and to the eyes of the on was not as well as she had been curiosity as to how she happened to be in new and as to whether her father had come with her began to prey on the the girl certainly presented a very attractive picture in the full evening dress which she wore her gown was entirely of white and her fair round shoulders had nothing whatever to protect them but a of white fur pushed back on account of the heat of the theatre there was not even a diamond or a pearl visible and the beauty of the shone without anything to add to its natural charms do you see that handsome girl over there mr asked a voice at his elbow my friend says she is the daughter of a western who is worth millions it was a northern girl who made the remark miss of who was visiting relations in the city i am acquainted with her said quietly i was just thinking whether i ought to go and present myself are you miss made this exclamation with the envy that so many people show for those on terms of intimacy with the great of this world she wondered how well mr knew miss and if he would offer to present her to that young lady see nothing but r oh am yes said presently as if thinking aloud i ought to go over and speak to her the spectators between the young man and the aisle moved to give him room while the whisper passed around that he knew the daughter of a silver and railroad king that handsome girl on the other side of the circle quite of the commotion his actions were exciting made his way slowly through the crowd for even standing room was filled to where miss sat the chair she occupied was an end one so that it was not hard to

0Arthur Conan Doyle

reach her and in a few moments he had leaned over her shoulder and spoken her name why mr the fact that she was the s daughter was now known to most of the people in the house and nearly every eye was turned as she rose to greet the new comer although she had recognized long before he did her and had realized that he was coming in her direction she surprise very well without the matter the gentleman who sat next to miss rose and proffered mr his seat take it for the present he urged when the invitation was declined with politeness i wish to go to another part of the house for a short time miss joined her voice in this request and as she made room by changing to the other seat could do no less than take the chair thus in a moment the young were like old friends the girl did everything to put his at his ease and there was nothing to indicate to th young miss giddy that she had ever given him an instant of uneasiness how long have you been in new she asked nearly a fortnight i have long wanted to see the in order to compare it with the similar sports of italy and other parts of europe when did you arrive the is with you i presume yes she told him her father was with her then she incidentally mentioned that she was not quite well and that the doctor had recommended the trip i hope it is nothing serious he said no i think not she replied with a little laugh i don t seem to have any strength and i cannot bear the least cold however i think home is the best place for me and i am trying to persuade them to take me back he felt easier when he heard this and his face grew probably your illness is only temporary at least we must hope so said he a great point in such cases i believe is faith and courage she laughed that strange little laugh again let s not talk about it she said tell me of your travels instead you have been gone from home a long time and must have seen much both had forgotten the spectacle on the stage and the hundreds of people who were looking in their direction began to whether there could be anything understood between them told her of some of the things he had seen dwelling especially on the loveliness of lake tou ll see nothing but worth and the indian river country when he alluded to st his companion stopped him by an interruption why we have just come from there the town is pretty but i found it rather dull things are not very gay when one is trying to play the invalid of course you have an escort here said a little later when there occurred a pause in the conversation not exactly replied the girl with a slight flush i wanted to be free so i only brought papa s and my maid i think if you will be kind enough to assist me to the door i will let get the carriage it is early to be sure but i shall be better off at the hotel i am afraid a glance at the young lady s face showed that she had grown paler even since he had been sitting with her he made no excuse for delay but took her on his arm and escorted her to the neighborhood of a dressing room into which she went to find during the little the slight figure of the s daughter was very near to that of mr her bare arm pressed heavily upon his her head drooped toward his shoulder she evidently needed the assistance he was giving her what little things affect our entire future lives could never feel in reference to as he had felt before after that brief walk from her seat to the door of that dressing room the young man waited patiently for at least ten minutes till the girl re appeared in company with her maid then for a minute longer while found and another minute while took bis check and got his hat and coat when these miss things were accomplished he escorted miss to the door of her carriage and saw her enter it tell your father he said that i should like to see him to morrow i am at no charles street in private lodgings she roused herself from the half position she had assumed i am very thoughtless she replied we are at the royal you must certainly come to see us to see papa there and a friend of yours is there also mr they will never forgive you if you do not call when she was driven away found that he was in a perspiration he walked slowly toward canal street the of several to take him there he exclaimed aloud when he had gone three hundred yards what feeling is this that has come over me going into one of the clubs he sat down to wait the coming of major who had agreed to go with him later in the night to an annual dance given by some known gentlemen whose identity no one was supposed to suspect this ball was understood to be in the most striking contrast to the one he had just left no woman laying any claim to virtue major had said would be allowed in the hall it was to be an imitation so far as the climate and peculiarities permitted of the affairs in the de paris and the the major was not due for some time as the ball to be attended would not reach its most stage until after one o clock a m a of himself into the depths of an easy chair

0Arthur Conan Doyle

and into a reverie that was undisturbed till the advent of his friend hope i haven t kept you waiting said the jolly major the ball s only ten minutes walk from here let s have a drink before we go just for a you ll see nothing but m when you get among the girls chapter xiv glimpse of the man who drinks has one questionable advantage over his neighbor he can throw off temporarily those sad and thoughtful moods that come to most men for an hour before major arrived had been in a decided fit of the his brief conversation with followed by that walk to the carriage with her leaning on his arm had unsettled the very comfortable frame of mind in which he had been ever since his advent to the city he did not know exactly what him but he was far from happy and to be in any other state but that of positive joy on the night of and in new is of all things in the world the most he had not been five minutes in the ball room of the well known gentlemen however before he had relieved the pressure on his mind and regained miss giddy his accustomed spirits introduced him to several of the people there and a prompt to the wine room was immediately in order if the floor of the hall was a scene of what words shall describe the room where the wine was served the fairest flowers from the region beyond canal street were there in full force from those handsome faces were in most cases absent the full dress which society and even at more select revealed white and shoulders that might have tempted good st to say nothing of the ordinary modern sinner eyes radiant before grew brighter from the effects of costly which flowed as freely as at a german banquet of men in dress suits sat at tables with these buying whatever they chose to drink repaid by their companionship and conversation and the prospect of a whirl in the or above the noise of the loud talking in which everybody indulged could be heard the constant of it s only once a year you know said his new friend to may bury the thing to do is to make the most of it yes it was evident that was the thing to do a moment later the girl in the party recognized and called him to her side the fact that another gentleman had just opened his third bottle of wine for her had no effect on the beauty she deliberately turned her back on him while she gave her sweetest smile to the inquiring why he had not been to see her a glimpse of a week in spite of his positive promise the last time he called such was the good nature that prevailed in this assemblage that the discarded rose and with a pleasant good evening took his leave of the couple going to another part of the room and ordering another bottle for the first girl who would allow him that privilege while notwithstanding the fact that he had just drank and that had a full glass in front of her made frantic appeals to a waiter who was passing to bring him another bottle with the very least delay in the midst of the young man s explanations of the cause of his neglect the music for a was heard and a moment later he was on the floor of the ball room whirling his fair companion to the strains as she held up her long trail with one hand and rested the other on her partner s shoulder miss presented a picture to any eye that could forget for the the moral side of it her large were dilated with the champagne she had taken and her cheeks were flushed was obliged to clasp her very close in order to keep her to the exact time and her breath touching him on the neck like a from the islands came and went with rather more than the usual rapidity it would not be fair to say that was she spoke with perfect she knew what was said to her her manners never left her for a second and when the dance was ended she walked with no staggering step indeed with extraordinary back to the wine room with her escort and began without delay to miss the of france as if she had not tasted a drop during the evening some of the of the young men present came over to speak to miss from time to time and soon she had agreed to give the next figure a to col a cotton from up the river almost as as she had cut his turned from to the new favorite and our traveller found himself locked arm in arm with major the ball room there were now a great number of dancers present perhaps two hundred of them being women of these fully half had over their eyes or wore complete making it impossible to distinguish even familiar countenances as he was passing up the hall heard his name spoken in a low key ah he exclaimed here is some one who seems to know me the girl who had him was in the ordinary street dress with nothing to distinguish her from the others and her mask completely puzzled the young new the major promptly took himself out of the way i can t recognize you i am forced to admit confessed after a few words of conversation the girl laughed as if she did not wish her voice to betray her and then at his request she took his arm and they began a you don t deny that you are may bury said the a of bo certainly not as i have no mask it would be useless tell me

0Arthur Conan Doyle

before i die of curiosity where we have met before she answered that he ought to guess that s not easy he retorted i hav been to so many places since i came to new and met so many people was it on c street f she shook her head decidedly i am afraid that guess is not complimentary she replied he felt a little shiver running down his suppose she was not one of the class he had assumed he had put his foot in it nicely had he not but on the other hand there was not much danger it was incredible that a real lady should be at a ball of that description so you do not admire c street he said and yet i hear that some of the most charming girls in the city are to be found in that locality you have not seen me there at least she answered puzzle his brain as he might he could not connect her appearance with anything in his memory when the music began again he danced with her and noted that she lacked something of the grace of his late partner the fair miss she moved like one not used to the steps or at least not long familiar with them when the next attracted all the spectators to the exhibition of this girl gave him a new view of her character i do not care to see that she said as he began to push toward the centre upon the visible mouth there was a perceptible sneer and he fancied that the invisible eyes flashed mi s with scorn he was disappointed for a true lover of paris he was fond of the and disliked to miss a single kick even of the feeble imitation that was presented here his companion and himself were almost the only persons that had not pressed toward the place where several of the more daring dancers were already skirts and displaying the loud shouts of approval from men and women alike made him utter an audible sigh before he was aware that it was upon his lips don t let me keep you from going said the in a voice that seemed frank enough i will wait here for you the delighted screams of the crowd were too much for the gallantry of and saying that he would be gone but a minute he hastened to the scene the performance that met his eyes need not be described to any one who has attended an or de ball in new york it was the kind of dance which when executed with full spirit has upon the passions of men the same effect that has upon the brain setting the on fire and driving the almost to madness the both male and female shouted their approval urging the dancers to increased license but they had already gone as far as even the liberty accorded once a year at this place would permit the music of the ended in a burst of applause as the last vision of and point lace disappeared from view how does that please you mr asked a woman s voice at his elbow and by something stronger than wine turned to a glimpse of behold another whose identity was as well concealed as the first one looking toward the point where he had left mask no i he saw that she was still there for an instant he had thought it a trick in costume and that he was being deceived by the same person in another dress i am very well thank you was his response now will you tell me your name or where i have met you as i must confess my entire ignorance of both the half hidden eyes seemed to pierce him it does not matter said their owner in a voice that was evidently disguised the fact that i know you is proved by my knowledge of your name mine is of little consequence will you answer the question which i first addressed to you how did you like that dance he was ill at ease in the presence of this double mystery both of these girls might be merely the ordinary people met at such places in spite of the professed modesty of the first one on the other hand they might be of an entirely different grade of society and have come here secure in their hidden to spy upon the doings of the world the dance speaks for itself he replied but pardon me for saying that i am obliged to return to a lady whom i promised to desert for only a moment i trust you will remain in the hall till i can have another opportunity to solve the mystery that you are you here alone no indeed was the slightly indignant reply but there is no need of your leaving me so abruptly s ng miss giddy i shall be very glad to be presented to your lady friend stood for some seconds in doubt i do not know her any better than i do you he replied at last if she is not afraid of your discovering her secret i shall be only too glad to introduce you if you will excuse me a moment i will ascertain bowing politely the young man went toward the first i want the privilege of introducing you to another acquaintance of mine he said with a laugh that lady you were speaking with the same who is she the young man laughed again she has puzzled me as much as you have said he she came and called me by name and for the life of me i can t find a single thing to recognize in her figure or tones when i told her i had another engagement she said she would like to meet you mask no i reflected a little and finally said

0Arthur Conan Doyle

she saw no objection if what mr had said was strictly true he assured her that all was as represented and a minute later he presented the women to each other under the titles which i have given them mask no permit me to present you to mask no i the natural thing was a procession to the where mask no proved herself an at champagne drinking mask no i on the contrary did no more than the contents of her glass mask no did most of the talking on the feminine side a or the other one hardly more than with a yes or no that s a pretty girl was the exclamation of mask no as swept by on her way back to the dancing floor i heard a gentleman say a few minutes ago that she was one of the best known women of the half world do you know her mr the was too pointed to and mr responded that he knew miss slightly and had danced with her in the earlier part of the night how well do you know her asked mask no like a rose the coming in such a way and from such a source disconcerted him i have only called at her residence with men and drank wine in the parlor he said in con i suppose you have often been to places like that said mask no without pausing it is the right of an accused person to refuse to himself mask no shook her head impatiently don t be foolish she said i am not a you need not answer if you don t wish of course you have been to plenty of them do you think the women who them lead happy lives though surprised beyond measure mr found voice to reply that he did not believe on the whole the of such women were happy j do said mask no a they are loved a of women swept by at the moment young miss giddy laughing merrily each had an escort some of them two what do you about it asked turning to the nearly silent figure at his right i think she said they must be miserable when the dance is over and the lover gone the voice had a tremble in it quite distinct to the listening ear of the young man you forget replied the second mask there will be another dance and another lover the second was looking wistfully after the dancers whose lot she so highly presently the music was heard again that strain which sent the crowd to the centre of the hall every it was played come we must not miss that cried mask no rising but the other mask held back again in this hardly knew what to do if either of the interested him most it was the on who would not see the can can and yet he wanted very much to see it himself you can find me again exclaimed mask no f breaking from them she pushed to the front of the peering crowd as if she could not bear to miss the display in progress two who had come to the hall with her pressed close to her side himself again from his partner sought as close a place to them as the of the crowd permitted this is n t half a can can cried one of the spectators contemptuously in paris they wouldn t think anything of such a poor exhibition a glimpse of the girl who has been called mask no turned and whispered something to the woman at her side no no you should not think of it was the woman s reply the girl put her hand heavily on the shoulder of her other companion it ll be all right won t it she said in tones that were almost pleading why not he answered you ve got a mask on no one knows you those who stood nearest gathered from these remarks which though uttered in low voices were heard by many that the contemplated giving a dance on her own account shouts rent the air that now there would be something worth seeing and handkerchiefs were waved to the in the gallery to send out its very music into the of the ring formed for her sprang mask no and began her pas the most of the spectators had no reason to find fault the man who had been in paris declared afterwards that it left nothing to be desired used as was to scenes of this sort his face was the color of a when the music s end closed the exhibit did that suit you asked the coming up to him and speaking with her lips almost touching his own it was perfect he replied gazing with into the in the mask where her eyes were nearly hidden some day she said as if with a depth of meaning i may dance that for you again young hiss giddy chapter xv hot on the morning after mr would have detained the speaker for further explanations but she had taken the arm of her escort and was moving toward the exit that led to the street for a moment he stood where she left him confused with the events of the last ten minutes he had drunk a good deal of champagne and his head might have been clearer he was not in the ordinary sense of the word but his senses were slightly he felt sure as he saw the retreating form of mask no that he had heard her voice before somewhere outside of that hall in a time past which he could not distinctly recall the girl had neglected in those closing words to assume the artificial tones she used during the first part of the night her more natural key had awakened memories of something he could not it is seldom easy

0Arthur Conan Doyle

to discover an identity hidden behind a ball room mask the tones of an intimate friend lose their familiarity when the well known face is concealed had heard this voice before and that was all he could say positively as he watched the doorway from which she had vanished it seemed to him that were it not for the in his brain he would be able to remember recovering himself the young man was about to go to the part of the hall where mask no i awaited kin according co agreement when on thb after came up and him on the shoulder what a dance your friend gave us he exclaimed i never saw anything to equal it not even that winter i spent in france five years ago and here s something i picked up when she had left the floor that i think she would like to recover he held up to the gaze of his astonished companion a combination of silk elastic of a blue shade gold and a handsome setting give it to me said with vivid interest it would be a shame to keep a thing like that which might get a lady into trouble he reached out his hand for it but the major hesitated you know her then he asked as if in doubt certainly replied his friend with i am to meet her to morrow that s a good fellow he added as handed him the article she will owe you her warmest thanks the major had no sooner given up his than he experienced an inward regret at having done so i say he suggested she must be a terror is she a society girl with a dance like that recollect replied with an attempt to be very serious that she had her mask on that lady is as virtuous as in spite of her insane she doesn t think i penetrated her disguise and i don t know as i shall tell her however she shall have this thing back and that will ease her fears took these statements for gospel truth and having the article in his possession young miss giddy did not see why he should waste more words on him beside he must find mask no i he could not remember exactly where he had left her as the our sides of the room were so alike and he nearly made the complete circuit before he found her j are you ready to go he asked looking down at the girl who seemed more than ever i have been ready for some time she replied if you will get your things we will leave at once confused by the recent might have forgotten his hat which he had left in the checking room unless thus reminded in his absence his companion a thick veil which as completely hid her features as the mask she removed when he returned she took his arm and accompanied him to the street door here it was found impossible to get a carriage for love or money unless previously engaged after her escort had exhausted his temper in fruitless efforts to find one that would take them the girl remarked quietly that she would prefer to walk rather than endure further delay it is a beautiful morning she said looking at the bright sky and indeed it was where else in all america are there more beautiful mornings in the early days of march the breeze blew from the sun s rays were tempered by the clouds which hung like celestial across the horizon the very that inspired and uplifted the it is a peculiarity of the climate of new that even the not over clean streets lose their effect by that wonderful of nature which turns the of the gardener into and roses on the morning what would breed a in new york or boston loses its in this lying below the level of the giant river which sweeps by its show that there are few cities in the world where the death rate is so low as in new it is a pity to walk said convinced nevertheless that this was the best way out of the provided she had not too far to go at what hotel are you staying when the girl answered the royal he started as violently as if she had him with a knife the royal he echoed stopping short on the yes it is not more than ten minutes walk from here drew her arm again within his own and set out at a rapid pace in the direction of the hotel named the liquor that had affected his brain was cleared away by those two words of hers and he felt a shame and distress such as he had never known before the royal there is something about excessive drinking that one to be in his regrets and to those words brought a vision of the fair daughter of as her rounded arm rested on his sleeve in the french opera house only a few short hours before the contrast between the innocence of that creature and the scenes to which he had gone immediately on leaving her was as the distances between the poles liked him he knew that by as well as by the confidences of david a mi marriage between them had been considered as among the possibilities just before going to the ball given by the well known gentlemen he had given himself up to a reverie in which the figure of miss had taken the most prominent part he must marry some day it had seemed to him after leaving that pure girl at the opera house door that perhaps he might bring himself to a partial to share her life and now the name of the where she slept the sleep of innocence had been spoken by the companion of his a woman who had passed

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the later hours of the night like himself amid scenes of and they walked on in silence until they had passed into what may be called the quarter few people were yet to be seen in the streets except late of balls early of the or the market people themselves a clock sounded the hour i did not know it was so late said the girl when she had counted the strokes i hope the hotel servants will not think it remarkable to see me coming in not on the morning after he said all rules are suspended on such occasions night has been turned into day many men and women have been betrayed into of which they will feel a little ashamed later but it is only once a year and that will quiet their it is necessary i believe for humanity to have its fling once in a while to relieve a pressure that might otherwise burst the ot on the there was a moment of silence and then the veiled girl asked are you sure it is only an annual affair with most of the people we have just left think it was at least an exaggerated form of for most of them that is of the line part and the women the question came straight and clear wished again for a full view of the face of his companion that he might have some guide what answer to make most of the women he said finally thinking it best to be truthful in the absence of the desired information are not such as an affair of this kind could harm the next question was as direct as the one that preceded it you would judge would you not by the mere presence of a woman in that hall that her character was not what it should be he uneasily before the rigid examination it would raise that suspicion he said unless she showed more modesty than the average of them as for instance you did then she said as if pleased to hear it you da not think me as wicked as the others i shall think you whatever you desire me to think he replied gallantly i have not the least disposition as they say in politics to go behind the returns they were the hotel and both instinctively walked slower not wishing to stand too long in sight of its doors young miss giddy before you go tell me we shall meet again said gallantly it would be a pity to think this the end of an acquaintance that has given me so much pleasure spare your compliments she answered how can i ever see you the circumstances under which we have met form a bar to future meetings and am i never to look upon that face you have so carefully concealed he asked sadly you have the advantage of me in that my features even my name are known to you the girl hesitated before replying in the and most delicate phrases he could command the young man urged his case until she half cannot promise anything she said and i really must not stand here a moment longer give me your address and if it is possible i will send you some message i would like to meet you i am willing to own it but i fear you would connect me with the scenes of this night and that i should never stand as high in your esteem to this the young new found a suitable and taking his card from its case he wrote upon it the number and street where he wa at present how long are you to remain in new she inquired taking the card i was going in a day or two he said but i shall wait a word from you now yes i am serious my time is entirely at my disposal and i want to see you very much indeed well good bye now pressing the hand he held out to her the drunk as a fool went toward the ladies entrance to the hotel royal while her companion slowly walked toward charles street chapter xvi drunk as a fool n had come and gone the had been in the city over a week and upon the surface they had accomplished very little toward the conquest of the son of judge if the had not had a confidence in mr david that amounted to blind faith he might have complained of the with which things were moving he knew that his daughter had met at the french opera house the night before and that the young man had promised to call upon him before leaving new he knew for he had seen on her return from the spectacle that her conversation with had been agreeable and that she had no doubt he would keep his word with these assurances he was compelled to be content and await the slow issue of events miss rose late on the morning after she told her father when she met him at lunch that she had not slept well and a glance at her tired eyes convinced him that she spoke the truth it was not the first night she had slept badly the mysterious illness still kept its sway over her dr had prescribed for it before she left new york and had predicted that it would soon give way to his treatment and the restoring influences of miss the southern climate when this was the sent for the doctor saying nothing to of his action and telling the physician to pretend that he had come to the city like the rest on a journey of pleasure only dr had arrived seen his fair patient had a long talk with her and made a slight change in the she was to take he said to the hon that it would take a time before the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

effect of the new medicine would be perceptible but that he saw no ultimate danger in the symptoms when miss made her appearance on wednesday therefore her father studied her face closer than was his wont she only addressed him a pleasant good morning and herself to the lunch how do you find yourself to day may was the question which greeted her i didn t know i had been lost was the half humorous reply really papa i wish you wouldn t ask that question with such a serious air i m not quite well as you know but neither am i very ill it will pass off in time if we only have patience dr has sent to new york for something which he thinks will improve my spirits until it comes you must expect to see me a little downcast but the less you allude to it the better it will be for me mr drew a long breath but replied immediately that he would say nothing more on the subject and then turned the conversation abruptly did mr name any special hour at which he would call no he said to morrow the father gazed at her thoughtfully he appeared glad to see you as a fool ye he was very kind indeed but still mr waited a second to find the exact language he wanted he said nothing particular miss looked up from the food she was pretending to eat and assumed a expression my dear papa she answered was it a time and place for anything definite people could hear every word he spoke the wished that his were present to advise him in this important emergency he ought to say something particular something definite said he before we leave new the girl bowed my child said the bending toward her you are still willing to marry him are you not the girl slowly put down the glass of from which she was drinking mr is the only man who is not distasteful to me she replied u as i have told you already i hope to have my wedding postponed to as late a date as possible but i am willing to have it understood and arranged she rose from the table without looking at him put in place some hair that hung over her forehead and then left the room passing a caressing hand over her father s shoulder as she went by him let us now look in upon mr in his lodgings on charles street tired with his night of he slept late and it was two o clock before he opened his eyes his first thought miss was that a slight refreshment in the shape of a certain mixture of which was one would be and he called a servant by means of a bell which was easily reached from where he lay said the colored boy what does yo wish dis i am afraid responded rising on one elbow that you are trifling with the truth thomas in referring to the present time of day as one in which the sun has not yet passed the the negro rolled his eyes until they seemed to be made entirely of white then he said yes five or six times bowing profoundly at each word it was evident that the expressions used were quite unintelligible to him quit that you jumping jack cried fearful that this performance was destined to go on and inform me whether you can procure a composed of one part de and three parts of some liquid yes yo re quite right was all that this request drew from the threw off the and sat upright on the edge of the couch you heathen run out and bring me a and a bottle of brandy i must have a before i put on my clothes having now arrived at a plane where the could comprehend his wants the young man was not long in having them gratified mixing the drink himself he swallowed a liberal quantity of it and then stretched himself in a large chair while thomas which was the name of the colored a a pool who was his temporary his face and proceeded to it i believe i saw you when i came in this morning said with his face all yes i had de of de do for yo well tell the truth was i or was i not a sight at this the negro grinned until the whiteness of his teeth that of his no he answered you wa n t so bad i se seen yo much you lie said i was drunk as a fool it is one of the pleasures of possessing money that one can address his in this manner confident that so long as his tips are liberal no objection will be made to the form of amusement you see continued the judge s son when he could speak again i had been to the ball of the well known gentlemen i had drunk something like eight or ten of champagne there not to mention a few other things at the bar but before i started to the hall i had something rather stiff and after i left the hall and had taken the lady to her hotel he paused wondering if he had not said more than was judicious de lady questioned mr t waiting for him to proceed lady who said anything about any lady i was remarking that on my way home i stopped in aad took several and when i got into this room as you know very well i had a drink or giddy two more while you were me if you were a real honest you d admit that i looked like a patient the colored man had only understood one word of this which he thought his character honesty do you doubt my honesty mr he demanded in a

0Arthur Conan Doyle

grieved tone lay back in the chair from which he had partly risen to observe his face better in the glass that hung opposite guess you d better finish the he said with a sort of resignation are lost on your development his silence was not broken again until he was nearly dressed and had his dressing gown to await the production of his breakfast what a night it was he reflected when he had begun the and was by request alone for the it shows what varying moods a fellow is capable of in a few short hours let me see at ii o clock i was sitting with miss in the french opera house at i was waiting with her in the for her carriage her soft arm pressed close to mine and her pure face so near me that i could but for the have kissed it in those moments what resolutions of a changed life thronged my brain what visions of a sweet fireside a wife who should be the only woman on earth for me a calm serene existence such as the poets write of an end to all the contemptible career i have so long followed had there been a time and place sufficient i should have told that girl then and there that i loved her that i wanted as a fool its her promise to wed me that i would be true to her as long as i had breath this was at perhaps was driven away and i walked to the club wishing i had not made an agreement with to go to that ball of which he had talked so much yes it was at i walked into the i remember that was what the clock said over the mantel from that hour till half past one i might have made an interesting study for the angels i was the one sinner that more favorable comment in celestial circles that the ninety and nine just men who need no repentance and then came why the devil should come men have been known before now to forget their engagements if it had been anything but a confounded dance of the swell mob he would have been just as likely to forget it as not came and he said what did say oh yes he said will you have a drink and i said as anybody might have known i would say why mr yawned over his coffee at the and then returned to his reminiscences we went to the ball didn t we we had some drinks at the bar and then i saw and the rest of them and then that girl called me by my name that girl who would not look at the and the next thing the other girl came up the one who danced a can can herself later in the morning and i took both of them into the wine room where one of them drank like a fish that is like a fish that liked champagne and the other hardly touched the wine both of young miss them knew me and i couldn t recognize either i wasn t confused and took one girl for both the difference in their actions proves that but what a magnificent abandon the can can showed by the way i ve got one of her somewhere yes here it is blue like that of a princess large enough to satisfy a looking for a model the young man touched the article with a sort of reverence as he spoke and examined it with care to see if he could discover anything like a there was nothing whatever it was simply a handsome combination of silk elastic metal and gems after all the other girl interested me most he went on to say laying down the she is the one i should like best to meet now that the excitement of the night is over and i can think with a perfectly clear head what a delicious little thing she was even with her features obscured by that miserable mask there was every symptom of a real lady about her in spite of the fact that she was at the ball she evinced a modesty of for which i shall praise her when i see her face to face when i see her shall i ever see her will she redeem the half promise she made me on the and send me word where i can have the pleasure of finding her as there was no one present to answer the he had young mr was obliged to dismiss the subject though with regret there were several letters on the mantel which he had not yet thought to open and he began to tear the apart in an abstracted manner the only one in the lot that he paid much attention to was in as a fool the handwriting of mr david he knew that was with the and was surprised that he had not sooner received a call from him the letter announced that the was at the royal and that the address of mr had only just been communicated to him the was dated on the previous evening i am full of said the letter as no doubt you are and haven t a minute to spare to night supposing we make an engagement to meet each other wednesday evening at five o clock at this house my room is no if no is received i shall wait for you here was glad was so near he remembered with regret that he had promised to go to meet the on that very evening what had recently occurred changed his entire train of thought in reference to that family if he could have had the entire time with alone how much pleasanter it would be he looked at his watch which had run down and then at the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

clock the hands of which indicated a quarter to four well there would be time to see for half an hour or so and still keep the other engagement perhaps he would get some cue from the as to whether there was any change in the lay of the land i wish i wasn t such an ass exclaimed with a disgusted look at his in the mirror i m about as fit to marry that innocent daughter of s as i am to go to heaven and i m as likely to ask her to have me the next time we meet as anything else what s the matter with me either of those last night could have led me t young miss any had they had the mind the one i saw home made a decided impression on my heart too and gracious goodness she lives somewhere io that same hotel royal where the and miss and reside for all i know i may run across her in the public hall i wonder if i could tell anything by her gait or form she would know me at any rate and unless she has an iron nerve she couldn t look me in the eye without giving some indication but would she like to have me visiting other young ladies may she not have a streak of jealousy in her disposition she didn t seem like a girl who would shoot but one never can tell upon my word added the young man who was now laughing i had best get out of this town about as soon as the lord will let me chapter xvii a devil of a mess it was a little earlier than five when knocked at david s door and was admitted with delight by that gentleman he had met no lady in the hall who was in the least likely to be his fair of the preceding night but the fear or hope it was about divided that he might do so gave his face a sober look that at once attracted the attention of the what s the matter he exclaimed you look as if you had just come from a funeral a of a mess t oh i m in a devil of a mess was the reply yes women of course why didn t you show up twenty four hours ago and me through the most dangerous part of a new year it was now the s turn to look troubled tell me all about it he said without much mr complied as he finished a broad smile crossed the lips of the you are taking it for granted that she is what she appeared said he yes i shall give her the benefit of every doubt as long as the question is open perhaps she will write to me and reveal herself perhaps she will in the meantime what shall we do for the evening there are a hundred things i want to say to you in making this last observation mr will not in the least deceive the reader though he did mr he knew perfectly well that his friend had made a promise to visit the when mentioned this fact the elevated his eyebrows and listened to as much concerning the events at the french opera house as the other chose to tell him miss is not looking well he commented it was hoped this journey would do wonders for her but such is not the case dr who is here don t know what her here echoed yes replied in a significant tone m the sent for him they don t want her to know it the is that his coming was a miss giddy personal matter that he wanted to see the mr looked deeply interested and what does he say he inquired oh he thinks she needs something to excite and arouse her she does nothing to stir her blood which is what can she do he asked she cares nothing for society she has no companions her father doesn t understand her any more than any one else was the picture of sympathy wealth doesn t always bring happiness does it he remarked i wish these who think money such a wonderful thing could change places for an hour with some of those they envy just to see how quick they would want to change back mr bowed as if to say there was much truth in this observation then mr looked at his watch and said he would soon have to be going when am i to see you inquired the i suppose i shall have to return to new york in a day or two i will call to morrow how is the palace getting on finely it will be ready to occupy in six weeks really i had come to think it would never get beyond the stage known as hearing completion mr said there was no doubt that the furniture would be put into the new house by the middle of april he alluded at some length to the elegance of the the curtains and the other a op a mess things that had been ordered mostly abroad but showed only a languid interest he stood with his hat in his hand ready to go whenever his came to something that looked like a period when he knocked at mr s door and had it opened by the he wore that bright hue which excitement always gave to his com the was in a connecting room and lost little time in his guest by his the he avoided but acted the ordinary part of one glad to meet an acquaintance in an unexpected place was soon entirely at his ease the talk began on the which mr admitted he had seen little of this year but which he had done thoroughly in days the the the balls of

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the fashionable societies were discussed at length but no allusion was made to the kind of entertainment given by such clubs as the well known gentlemen had no doubt the had seen that identical thing in his time but it was not the subject for discussion between a man and the father of one who might some day be his wife for the young new still considered miss as among the possibilities that the future had in store for him and miss i hope she is as well as usual he inquired when a chance came to make the allusion not quite responded the the exhibition at the opera house was a little too much for her i fear she has not been used of late to being out much at night it is nothing serious i si miss giddy he added perceiving the blank look of his companion nothing to cause any alarm simply a little weariness a mere warning to us to see that such an occurrence does not happen too frequently after a talk on this matter which lasted five or ten minutes came to inquire what time his employer would dine the said to that he took his meals at a in another part of the city and while it was undoubtedly inconvenient he would be obliged to ask him to accompany him there learning that the hour was of no consequence to his guest the told his to send word to miss may when returned he said miss would be ready for the carriage at half past seven it was in fact rather earlier when the s daughter made her appearance equipped for her ride she bowed sweetly to mr and took the hand which he held out to her but she addressed most of her conversation to her father as became a modest maiden and only spoke to the other gentleman after her first greeting when he made a remark which rendered a reply necessary the dinner was a very good one a fact which noticed even with all the other things that he had on his mind he had been dining mostly at another and experienced a tinge of regret that he had not been to this place instead when the meal was finished the said he was sorry to announce that he had an engagement which would his going away for an hour or so would mr kindly escort miss may to the hotel and await his return in the carriage there were temptations but the a of a fi young man them all he could have reached across to the other seat and taken a little hand in his that lay so in her lap he could have said some very things about her appearance for in spite of her was wonderfully beautiful that evening instead he spoke of the weather and of the city and of the new house that she was so soon to occupy in new york and she answered him as if they were the merest acquaintances and as if mr david had not said to both of them that they would make the greatest mistake in their lives if either married any one else once in the private parlor the occupied at the royal they were again alone the young man found as has many another before him that it was exceedingly difficult to talk for an hour with a pretty girl and not say anything he fell into compliments that he would fain have avoided expressed a greater solicitude for her health than any one but a brother or a lover would have been justified in showing evinced an interest in her likes and in her plans so far as she had any and in herself generally which would have another woman into supposing that he intended to ask her to name the day before he left the room nevertheless he did not quite commit himself had an almost irrepressible desire to say a number of things that he knew it would be sheer folly to utter what would be the use for instance in confiding to this creature in thought as she was in act that he feared himself morally unfit to mate with one so pure and good and that was exactly what he wanted her to know miss giddy he wanted her to realize that he was far from ideal of what a man ought to be and see whether with this information to influence her she would still act as she had done toward him was in a he wanted to know these things and yet he did not want her to know them he wished to ascertain what she would do if she suspected the guilty things he had done to see what she would say in case she ever found them out as he had told the he believed marriage would not cure him of his bad habits he had no confidence that he had enough to conceal everything from a wife what would this girl do if he into her room at six in the morning fresh from a gay party including perhaps people of both sexes when returned the attitude in which the young people were found to him that nothing special had passed between ascertained that mr intended to remain two or three days more in the city and promised to call again before he left town well my dear asked the father anxiously when he was alone with his child she shook her head in a way that was quite as eloquent as words he seemed very agreeable though sighed the she bowed in acknowledgment that she with him he will come home in the summer continued mr and during the watering place season all will be arranged the girl s fair brow contracted with wrinkles a devil of a mess if we had never begun this she said in a low tone i would

0Arthur Conan Doyle

not begin now i could have learned to endure one of the others perhaps as easily as him the father hemmed several times as if to clear his throat of something that stuck in it it is the only time i have ever tried to influence you he said and even in this my child you must not let me your own judgment oh the reasons are all on one side of course she replied he has family and we have money it is a common arrangement enough i am not finding any fault feeling as i do this spring marriage has not many charms for me but i shall probably be better before a great while he reminded her of what dr had said that she needed something to rouse her upon which she interrupted him with a light laugh do you think she asked that marriage would have that effect all the women i have noticed grew and after the wedding day if i had a purpose in life now like charles she stopped laughing again for it was evident that her brother s purpose in life had never made him particularly lively then she ceased the whole conversation abruptly and kissed her father mi chapter xviii marriage is sometimes a cure the intention of to proceed toward was not carried out exactly as he anticipated the week that followed his last described evening with the proved one of the most important of his life and its events changed the entire course of his future the first shock awaited him in a large envelope that was handed him the next morning bearing upon it the printed request that if not delivered within five days it should be returned to esq new york had written to mr for more money thinking it best to have enough with him at the outset of a journey whose end he could not foresee he took up the envelope languidly and opened it with a knife that lay on the stand at the head of his bed for he had not yet risen but instead of the letter of credit he found a check for a much smaller sum and a personal note to the following effect esq dear sir i find on examining your account that the you have drawn do not leave the balance which you request me to forward to you at new therefore send a check for what remains two hundred and eleven dollars which i think you will find no trouble in use this letter if necessary at the union bank i i sometimes a shall be glad to show you the entire account whenever you are in the city very fully b for some minutes the young man sat upright in bed staring at the he had read and without the least he had supposed he had enough to last two or three years yet and at all events he had felt sure mr would give him ample notice when his funds began to draw to a close dead broke in the to which he was accustomed his purse was about empty the amount of this check would no more than pay what he owed in the city he was a i what a horrible sensation it was he took up the check again and re read the figures he could have crammed that bit of paper down the throat of with a good will it was lucky for the legal light that new york was a very long way from new what had become of the seventy thousand dollars his father had left him had stolen it of course a old fox of a lawyer he had done as he pleased because there was no one to watch him and to cap the climax of his by sending this check too small to buy a decent coffin in which to be buried swore to himself until the walls of the room should have been obscured with the of but after he had called his servant and bis clothing he had to admit disagreeable a it was miss giddy that might have been a thoroughly honest man he had been old long before that some of the which made up the sum his father ap to have left were of stocks which would be worth much less if sold at their true value the had never refused to honor all calls and during some years they had been undoubtedly large the only thing that still the young man when he became calmer was the fact that he had not been told when the sum due him reached a much larger figure when it got down for instance to a couple of thousand dollars he might for all knew have started on a trip to to or to egypt a nice fix he would have been in would he not if left in some foreign country without a sou and yet was he much better off in the united states if it came to that was this a place more than any other where a man could get along without the coin of the realm then it dawned on him what this poverty meant he could no longer with his destiny he had but two to marry or starve upright in his money dealings as it was possible for any man to be he would not have borrowed enough to buy a mutton chop without knowing where was provided yesterday he had discussed the family in an airy thinking that first he would and then that he would not propose for the hand of miss to day no choice was left there were to be sure other girls ready to accept it he chose to ask he thought over the list troubled as he saw how the circle to this one at the hotel royal he would have preferred marriage is sometimes a miss de cook to death

0Arthur Conan Doyle

but the choice was hardly perceptible the eldest robinson was coarse and bony there was something the matter with the entire list miss was young and pretty her fortune was the largest of them all he would have to shut his eyes to every other consideration and take the plunge it was mean though he was no for her than he ever had been there was no probability that he ever would be the only for his conscience was the open way in which the had encouraged him and this should not be charged to the poor child so sweetly innocent of all the of a wicked world he tried to quiet his inward by the reflection that what he was going to do some one did every month in the year marriage had ceased to be a sacred thing in fashionable circles it was a matter de and he was no worse than the rest was he going to begin at this late day to preach virtue certainly nothing could be more ridiculous he had a preference for straightforward ways when they would serve just as well and the first thing he did after his coffee was to seek out mr this individual was in his room expecting this very visitor for the best of reasons he also had received an envelope that morning bearing the card of mr mr did a great deal more business for than he ever done for mr it had been an easy task to learn from him the exact state of the affairs of the judge s son the had been informed of the precise size of the check that kiss y had received and of the fact that it was the very last penny he had in the world this was the play of the card that he was awaiting that had made him persuade mr and his daughter to linger in new after the was over it was quite clear to him what course events would take when had exhausted the last of his resources glad to see you cried the pretend ing not to notice the looks of his was just going to send over a messenger to tell you i should call before noon it s more than likely i shall have to say good bye to you and start for new york this evening picked up a cigar that lay in a case on the table and lit it mechanically is that so he said to gain time then while the rattled on he smoked himself into a greater calmness yes the are wild about things and vow i must come on at once there is a small war raging among them the fellow who has done the parlor and chairs declares that their effect will be ruined by the another chap is putting in the paper writes me that his work is all spoiled in the music room by the color of the which are when they should be mahogany the marble work in miss s is dragging and the largest has not been yet when i once get on the ground i will break a few of their heads for the is set on getting into the house he has seen three years go by and he wants to get some pleasure out of his money the young man took cigar oat of bu mouth marriage is sometimes a well i sha n t get much out of mine he remarked quietly this morning old the lawyer sent me the last of it the deuce said surprise the v cry last of it do you mean the end of everything he had of yours le sou i m the poorest man you know the main reason i m smoking this cigar of yours is because i haven t enough to buy one mr put his hands in his pockets and spread his legs apart as many men do when they are thinking deeply oh well he said presently it really doesn t make any difference to you there are plenty of fortunes to be had for the asking with a bride thrown in mr all i object to is the rider he said the went to the window and looked down on st louis street my dear he said on returning i ve said all i can long before to day if i were to talk a year i could add nothing but she miss is not well stammered it would be a very time to propose marriage to a girl who is made ill by an evening at the opera house eyed him with an air of pity ignorant youth he replied do you not know that marriage is sometimes the most effective cure in the entire i knew a girl engaged for seven years to an man who never seemed to get quite ready to ask her to name the wedding day at last she became ill and for months miss lay in bed unable to rise more than a few moments at a time the unhappy lover feeling that her days were numbered begged his mother to allow her to be taken to her house where she could receive better nursing than at the place where she the mother with instinct shrank from this proposition saying that marriage should such a close relation driven to desperation the man called a clergyman and the words were said at the bedside that made the couple one the bride was then carried to her husband s home on pillows every one fearing that the short journey of two miles or less would prove fatal six weeks later i saw that woman in her husband s carriage waiting for him in front of a store looking as well and feeling as well she herself admitted as any one in the city she had proved the of the treatment which i am sure dr when consulted will heartily

0Arthur Conan Doyle

recommend for miss shivered it was this marrying without love with no object but to an empty purse but it would have to be done there was no other way remember one thing even if it does sound a trifle cold blooded pursued mr a husband has an interest in the estate of his wife should he survive her in any case therefore your marriage would settle your financial affairs for the rest of your life was not as ashamed to listen to this as he felt he ought to be he thought it time now to put a bold front on the whole matter he was going i also knew of this case a r marriage is a o marry for money but that was not the worst of it there were women whose cash he could have acquired in this way with hardly a tinge of conscience warm blooded corn fed who could give and take with whom he could quarrel and make up and whose angry eyes he could face if they had occasion to complain of his it was the fact that the bride chosen for him he could hardly be said to have chosen her for himself was so pure and innocent that drove him almost out of his head when he thought of the injustice he was going to commit if such a girl discovered great mistake after wedding him she never would utter a word of reproach but her blue eyes filled with silent tears would strike him to the heart and hurt a thousand times worse than a dagger it would not do to think of it he must marry her and the questions now were only of you re my friend he said if i ve got one and i want you to tell me just what to do i i ll ask her father this very day and have that over with then i ll speak to her say to morrow i don t want the thing hanging for a month or two if it s got to be done and what do you say about the time shall i leave it to her to put it off as long as she likes or had i better urge a nearer date this sort of thing is entirely new to me you know the a tune that meant to imply i m as much a bachelor as yourself he said and quite as little used to making proposals of marriage but if i were going into this matter as i understand you are i d get up a prettier smile than the one which at this present moment if miss your countenance you don t want to walk in on the old man with an expression which seems to say i suppose i ve got to do this but by the lord i hate it you must brace up if it takes a of and act as if you matrimony above all things then when he s given his consent that you should speak to the young lady you will buy enough to disguise your breath and talk to her in the style we read of in books and about the time well if i were you i d bear in mind that a bird in the hand is worth a dozen in the i d get a promise that the ceremony should take place before the end of next june and a month earlier would be better yet it required two days for to get up his courage however during which mr waited and stayed for no apparent reason in the city of the and even at the end of this time the young man did not present his cause by word of mouth he did it with pen and ink a happy thought of the as a means out of the difficulty and also to make a more certain should the think afterward of changing his mind the letter which was sent was a very nice piece of literary composition as indeed it should be when two fairly educated men devoted themselves to it for a whole evening it would have made about a page of this novel if reduced to print and it in phrase neither too delicate nor too bold the story it was meant to tell mr whose hopes of this had sometimes wavered in spite of his trust in the eminent abilities of mr read this letter with ib sometimes a a light heart and went without delay to show it to his daughter at last he cried as he entered the room mr may bury has sent in writing a request that he may ask you for your hand miss took the document which he handed her and after it for a few moments suddenly burst into tears my dear child exclaimed her father overcome at the sight if this is not agreeable to you let me answer him to that effect i have no wish so great as to see you happy the girl wiped the tears away and recovered herself quickly it is not that she answered for i am very glad this has turned out as you wish but she hesitated for some time there is to be no haste is there i shall be permitted to wait just as long as i think wise he assured her that there was no doubt on this score all he asked was that the engagement should be published as soon as made the wedding might be postponed until the middle of the summer even till autumn if she insisted upon it perhaps i shall want to make it much later she smiled to take away the effect of her weeping it will certainly be left entirely to you he answered confident that this mood would not be lasting as the matter had been to him in writing the replied in the same manner

0Arthur Conan Doyle

courteously giving his permission for mr to address his daughter and even adding that he had his best wishes for success this letter miss found in his room when he came home from one of the clubs about midnight and he read it with a grave face the night was rather warm and after the young man partially opened the shutters that covered the windows of his room a solitary figure was passing along the pavement on the opposite side of the way and something about it attracted his attention surely he had seen that form before that but rather uncouth body that gait which would be described as were it not so powerful strange exclaimed below his breath tt could be none other what was he doing in new why was s brother at midnight opposite that house a thousand miles from the city where he belonged chapter xix strange good god these were the questions that assailed driving from his eyes whatever sleep might have come to them but for the solitary figure that had passed on the opposite side of the way had never seemed like a brother to mr was authority for the statement that when she left for school he had shown not the least interest the father had closed his mouth firmly like strange good one who goes through a disagreeable experience with the least possible display the had been affected to tears after the manner of women had given evidence of the greatest self command though she was evidently affected by the prospect of such an entire change in her existence but he did nothing but stare when she said farewell to him he on the opposite side of the room from which he did not move he responded as one might say good afternoon to a casual visitor that expressed his attitude according to mr the idea that might be with him did not seem they had nothing in common beside the girl was of course at her school hundreds of miles to the north what then could be the errand of the carpenter though not ordinarily given to curiosity wished heartily that he knew had he come to see the of that was perfectly absurd it was doubtful if he had ever heard before of such a thing as the perhaps some one had hired him to shadow the man who had aspirations to the hand of the s daughter nonsense how could that know enough to shadow anybody it was a wonder he had been able to get there with the requisite number of car changes a bright thought perhaps david would be able to offer a solution to the riddle went to sleep with this idea in mind he would tell about it but the next day when he saw the the greater matter made him forget the less miss giddy well it s done he said as the looked at him at least the has answered my letter and told me i have his blessing a pleasant smile arranged for the occasion mr s face a thousand congratulations he murmured and to day i suppose you will learn your fate from the fair girl herself shrugged his shoulders he had not much doubt of what the fair girl would say though it did not seem gracious to tell that to bay it s something like joining a lodge isn t it he replied first i apply for admission through you then a committee reports on my that s then i m for by the lodge in council that s miss what if i should get black shook his head with a wise expression she loves you too well for that he said an expression of deep pain crossed the handsome features of the other i wish she didn t he muttered i never can come up to her expectations there will be the devil to pay sooner or later for the next hour the this notion he enlarged on the freedom of modern marriage especially in high life where the husband and wife are at liberty to live their own if you were a he said where you had to share three rooms with her you would constantly run the risk of and trouble in a house like that i am furnishing you need only meet when you are good god t both good natured it is a great thing to hare separate apartments i pity the man who cannot get out of bed without falling over a pile f and or come in a little late without seeing a night figure sitting upright at his pillow inquiring where he has been in planning the new mansion i took it into account that miss would ultimately marry and that she would probably live with her husband in that house big enough for a hotel and grand enough for a queen once when you were there i took you into the she was to occupy had you been in a better frame of mind i would have shown you yours mine gasped yes as it has turned out the that her husband should have is on the same floor as hers separated only by a that can be used or discarded at will it has four rooms which may be parlor study bedroom and bath if comes in late at night he can enter without his wife s having the least idea when he returns between his and hers there are two doors at some distance apart which can be locked on both sides if he wishes to visit madame he must pass through the corridor in short he is as independent of for visitors as the grand grew paler as he heard this extended description every was to be held out to him it seemed to do as he ought not but would never let those opportunities influence him no he would be true to that lovely girl

0Arthur Conan Doyle

in act and thought if he ever had the happiness to call her his wife this he did not care to say to fearing that he would not look well in the of a sen ng miss giddy he received what his friend said in the most discreet silence convinced that he ought not to delay too long in seeking an interview with his future bride he wrote her a brief note early in the afternoon saying that he hoped to find her at home that evening when he added significantly he wished the pleasure of seeing her alone it was nine o clock when he called giving time for the dinner to be over and for the to take a run out to the residence of the mayor for whom he had conceived a warm liking miss met him with her old sweetness and cordiality and for an hour they talked of after the way of people who as long as possible the thing that is nearest their hearts but at last he came to it i do not intend to give in detail the words he used nor make a verbal report of her replies it is enough to say that he proposed for her hand and was accepted with the that the time for the marriage must not be fixed at present must in fact be left entirely to her she gave as a partial reason her ill health and also pleaded her youth and her comparatively slight acquaintance with the more important affairs of life she would be his wife yes she was bound to him by a solemn compact which she would consider sacred but he must not hasten the day and to this he agreed no more in haste than she and they sat there till a late hour talking of the things that come naturally with matrimonial projects their voices hushed and he had been gone for some time and was again in the quiet of his own room when it occurred to him that he had not kissed strange her once that he had not even taken her hand a single moment in his own there had certainly been no time when either of those acts seemed the proper thing to do he had not thought of them in any part of the momentous interview miss had been so calmly reserved had met his so frankly with no or dropping of the eyelids or or breast he had never offered marriage to a girl before but he had formed ideas from novels and theatres that she might exclaim o and do a number of other things quite opposite to s when he was saying the words she looked him as steadily in the eyes as if he were asking her to go up the river on a pleasure trip he knew she would have looked and acted precisely the same had she felt it best to tell him no instead of yes there was never a girl more direct and truthful in every thought and deed he could not doubt that she cared a great deal for him she had chosen him with her father s advice out of all the men on earth and she might have had almost any one it was not romantic and the marriage would probably be but under all the circumstances would it not be better so the object of the mission to new being now accomplished there was no reason why the should longer remain away from washington where his presence was wanted by his party on a vote that might be a close one he therefore said to his daughter and to mr that the sooner they set out for the north the better to which they both agreed a consultation with the was productive of another decision of some importance to the future son in law mr may bury received one morning the following letter mr dear there is no need of between us i wish lo make you comfortable in a pecuniary way your marriage if you will permit me to do so i will place a sum with your attorney mr sufficient to enable you to live as your condition and no one but ourselves need be the wiser henceforth i shall look upon you as my son and trust you will honor me with equal regard another matter we intend to start for washington to morrow evening and trust you will make one of the party then if it meets your views an announcement of engagement can be put into the newspapers there truly your friend saw no objection at all to accepting the indeed he was much relieved that it was to ome in this way for he had b gun to wonder just he should raise a loan for temporary use but he did not like to have anything more to do with if he could help it and in his reply he suggested to mr that he would prefer the money placed with esq of no if it was all the same to him this being satisfactory the arrangement was made and mr was nearly thrown into a fit a few days later by receiving in express containing in cash and in with an order to j them to the account of and to keep the transaction secret even from his office clerks his copy of the home journal with an elaborate and highly announcement of the w engagement explained things however and the next time he met he showed no indication of knowing anything whatever about him that was new or peculiar was obliged to make one more visit to mr s office and he did so the very day after arriving at new york two weeks from the time he left new it occurred to him that the closing of his account must finish the to strange and he wondered if she had been in

0Arthur Conan Doyle

any way mr told him his usual dignity that he had honored the last bill received from the of the institution where miss strange was and that under ordinary circumstances another would arrive in a few days what did you intend to do with such a bill inquired growing hot under the collar i presume the natural course would be to send it to you knowing that i probably would not have a cent to meet it with that is hardly my business said mr besides excuse me are you not soon to be married it was difficult to keep from taking that old man by the hair that certainly is not your business said with spirit if you receive any bills for me hereafter you will oblige by them to mr who now has charge of my affairs it would have been less painful to the old lawyer had him was a former jo miss clerk who had of late taken quite a number of his best customers from him between the men there were the most bitter feelings turned several colors as he heard the news and his enemy was well fearing however that the bills for s might get lost between the rival offices mr was told to send word to the principal of the change in and he had also to be informed of the entire scheme by which was made to believe herself the of some unknown with the wisdom of a true lawyer mr did not look in the least surprised nor give one wink of either during the somewhat novel explanation let me see said please tell me my exact balance he had drawn very little so far and mr was able to inform him a second later that he had in the second national bank to his credit and then of course he added there are the you know all of them easily at any time nodded and said he had forgotten the exact amount of the latter when he heard that it was he came very near fainting in his surprise he had never dreamed of such a sum and wondered as he walked out whether he could really be worth so much to anybody as the seemed to think he went into an adjacent wine room and drank something to steady his nerves the liquor gave him confidence it went directly to his of self esteem in half an hour he had come to think good i that the value mr had set on him was on the whole rather low strolling across square he met who stopped him with an but by no means familiar smile i forgot to ask you said the lawyer how much i am to pay out on account of the lady who is attending the boarding school the lady exclaimed oh you mean the child that is a matter which i leave entirely to her teachers there is to be no limit whatever the disgusted mr could not bear to have the office triumph over his without striking back in some way thus far he had kept the secret of s real friend from every one not entitled to know his only questionable conduct toward had been letting mr into the exact condition of the young man s and him when his property reached its last gasp now he began to fear that the influence which his late had in the household would result in taking the whole of the s legal business out of his hands and conveying it into those of his hated rival with this alarm upon him he called on mr and revealed and after some urging all that he knew of the matter of the young girl the was unquestionably interested he heard the story with the utmost attention how did you happen to come to me with this he asked when he had the whole of it in his possession why you brought me to the notice of the miss and i knew you were high in his good will and confidence this is a matter that you ought to know now that the engagement of his daughter to mr is announced mr looked very thoughtful you know of nothing else between them he said come do not hesitate to tell me if you do i do not know of anything answered the lawyer but is it likely you understand the world yes yes i understand was the quick reply leave this matter entirely to me mr if you mention it to another soul it will spoil everything the lawyer promised and hoped mr would continue to be his friend with mr he said mr had withdrawn his business from him on account of his action in not him when his funds were getting low according to mr s request the promised to do all he could and the lawyer departed half convinced that he would have done about as well to remain away strange exclaimed aloud when he was alone again strange good god chapter xx miss a wedding tour is supposed to be a necessity in circles that expect to be dignified by he name of fashionable it may be to europe and t may be to a nearer point but it must be to some place at a distance from the homes of the happy couple to settle down in the house where they tire to live immediately after the ceremony that them is to the last degree and yet the son of judge and the daughter of did exactly this thing the time for the wedding was set with surprising suddenness to begin with the engagement it will be remembered was entered into with the on the part of the lady that she was to be allowed to name the day after he found himself in possession of a comfortable fortune paid in advance was not in the least haste to deliver the goods

0Arthur Conan Doyle

contracted for he called upon miss two or three times a week went to ride with her in the park accompanied her with her father and madame to the theatre and acted generally as an engaged young man should act except that his personal relations with her never passed beyond the cordiality to be found among very good friends he reached his wedding day without ever having offered to kiss her but there seemed nothing remarkable to him in that she was not the sort of woman one and miss giddy the spring entirely passed away and the watering place season was at its height was a favorite resort of the and for several years he had retained the same of rooms at the grand union this year was with him there part of the time though the new mansion on fifth avenue was visited by her nearly every week for one reason and another her days were in fact about equally divided between the two places as of she did exactly as she pleased when she her maid and were always with her and she also had to some extent the services of a new of the family a young man who bought the tickets and saw that the carriage was ready and did the sort of things for her that the did for her father the name of this young man was strange was not yet by any means well her doctor said so and her appearance confirmed his opinion she was apt to grow faint in unexpected places and then it was convenient to have a strong youth at hand who could support her with his arm more than once carried her bodily up the front steps of her house when the arrival was at night for by daylight she would rather have endured the slow support of the than been seen in this she was a girl of tender heart unwilling that any one should suffer on her account time and again she said to or is stronger than you i think you had best let him help me and the young man was so gentle so careful so willing that they all agreed with her that it was best to let him bear the heavy loads it was a rather peculiar from the hiss marriage bench of a wood to this situation but in america these things happen frequently had noticed the youth at his work during the years when her father s house was being built and had grown to fancy him after the last nail was driven she spoke to mr about him they were talking in relation to her illness and the need of some person of the other sex to accompany and whenever she had offered to try to find a suitable young man and had said he would in the newspapers the announcement in such a way that would not know for whose service they were required it was then that seemed possessed with a sudden thought and mentioned the name of the carpenter mr said at first that he knew the young man very well but doubted his capacity for the position but when she brought to his mind th had displayed his politeness and above all his supreme quality of the ceased to object and said he would take pleasure in speaking to him the fact that miss had set her mind upon the youth was quite enough for him and his pretended hesitation was only to make her feel that she had convinced him unwillingly most people if you ever thought of it like to believe they have shown the best of an argument appeared as stolid as ever when the went to him with his offer how much was he to receive that was the first question he asked and it gave evidence of being the only one he cared to this being settled on a liberal basis there was no more to be said he had as assist in the care of a lady as anything else so long as he was well paid for it it would be a change and he could return to his trade at any time the only person who did not like the new of the carpenter was charles he had been rather intimate with the strange family father and son and had passed a good many evenings at their residence still in the flat where we first found them there is always something different in the position of a personal servant from that of a or clerk with all his liberal ideas charles could not help wishing his friend had not accepted a place which in his opinion lowered him he was as as ever after entered upon his new occupation but all intimacy ceased between them try as he might he could not feel toward the as he had toward the independent as for he did not mind this did he mind anything he attended to his new duties which were light enough took his wages and closed his mouth when miss had need of him he was always at her service when she had none he went his way or remained in his own room working on a piece of wood that he kept for practice his taste in carving was undoubtedly good and his liking for tools was the only pronounced trait he evinced it was not the idea of that his daughter s marriage should be postponed while he wanted to make the time agreeable to her he knew very well that there were many slips between the cup and the lip he learned through that mr s was due to a request of s and that while in no haste himself ob he was willing to leave the matter entirely to her as he had agreed seeing that the pressure must therefore be brought entirely upon his daughter he began as gently as

0Arthur Conan Doyle

possible to urge the setting of a definite date this was during the month of august when she was with him at the grand union but this the girl could not be persuaded to do her health she said and dr her statement was very irregular on monday she might be as red as a rose and on the following thursday as pale as a water lily her father she reminded him had secured her consent to the engagement by the express that he would ask no haste to this the protested that he had no intention to push matters if a date was only agreed upon and announced even if it was as late as november or december he would be quite content once when he had argued with her on this point longer than usual and perhaps with more warmth she burst into tears and he was in a state of distress he went to mr and revealed what had taken place and the agreed with him very unwillingly that nothing more could be done at present then when no one expected it there came a sudden change within two weeks from the day had declared that the next december would be a too early date for her wedding she came to her father of her own accord and told him she was ready to obey his wishes he began to protest that he had entirely altered his mind and to admit that her health was not good enough but she stopped him she had thought it all over and he was right lit young miss she wanted to be married and without unnecessary delay in october no in september as early in the month as possible and she did not want a formal wedding either she wished the kind of a ceremony indulgent as had always been with his daughter it was some time before he could himself to consent to this arrangement he had imagined the finest wedding that new york had ever seen such as might the of millions followed by a reception to which all of the upper ten thousand would be obliged to come the of the bridegroom if not the wealth of the bride would have filled his palace with representatives of the first families of the country the wedding day would have been the he had ever known since he walked out of his father s with all his worldly goods in a small under his arm but was accustomed to having her way and he could do nothing with her she would be married quietly and she would not be married any other way have you consulted mr asked the in desperation are you certain he is willing to dispense with all on such a momentous occasion mr said turning slightly paler regards this matter too much in the light of a business venture to hold any opinions contrary to mine mr s cheek also lost its color as he heard these words you wrong him he began he loves you he will do as i wish she interrupted as if weary of the conversation i have written to him he will arrive to night do not put any obstacles in our way quiet are not that s a good papa say no more about it the natural place for the to go with such a matter was to the office of mr david and he repaired thither with miss had however anticipated this move and prepared the for it after hearing as if for the first time the news which the brought mr affected an attitude of deep interest and into silent meditation for several minutes emerging at last he gave it as his opinion that the young lady was the one most interested and that it would be unwise to attempt to control her actions the ill health of the bride would answer all questions as to the reason for leaving the beaten paths when mr left his adviser he went straight to and told her he would do as she wished mr had become quite used to being engaged the more he had seen of his the better he had learned to like her he had come to an early conclusion that she would not be the most disagreeable woman in the world he believed he could endure a good deal of that pretty face that sweet voice those delicate ways he had had his time at wild living why not settle down into a model home loving husband he would have wealth enough in all conscience not a bad thing to consider she would not be likely to hold him by a severe chain like a woman who was all passion he could still belong to his clubs and get an occasional evening with the boys so as not to break off everything too suddenly young miss he used to think of these things as he came and went that spring and summer to pay her irregular visits but when he received word that his time had come he had a brief fright like a prisoner who is aroused from sleep and told that the is prepared miss s letter was not in the least it seemed the height of frankness a quality that he admired above all others in her you have left the date of our marriage to me she said in effect and i have postponed it in the hope that i should fully recover my health before giving myself to you that hope grows no more likely to be realized as the time passes away i have therefore concluded that we had best wait no longer as soon as you are ready i will be your wife under the circumstances however a public wedding and reception seem to me from this she went on to explain the situation as as if he were already her husband and when he had finished her

0Arthur Conan Doyle

letter he felt that there was no reply possible except that he would be in new york without delay new york was rather injured in its feelings when it learned that this marriage had taken place as quietly as if the were only common people in whom society had not the greatest interest several days before the ceremony was shown his furnished apartments by david in person and its connections with those of his future were explained with the delight that no one but an feels you can be as closely allied in matrimony as in a s laughed the or es you can be as separate as is the state of royal personages throw these doors in the corridor open and your apartments become one shut them and lock them and these little bells will have to be touched to announce your wish to see each other it all lies with you two while the is in progress i presume these locks will be superfluous when it has ended you will probably thank me a thousand times for my put his hand thoughtfully on the shoulder of his companion i shall be true to her he said to be sure replied the other with a of being shocked at the but it might happen once in a year or two that you came home a little mellow and did not care to have your wife see you until you had rested in that case it would be agreeable to have this separate entrance to your chamber and be able to swear the next day that you slept so soundly that you heard nothing in case she happened to ring those things will arrange themselves all right you can be depended upon to use judgment a man doesn t change all of his habits in an hour but i ll risk you as i hare always said they walked through the little corridor which called the bridge of sighs into miss s apartments which had been prepared for her coming husband s inspection everything was as dainty as if meant for the residence of a fairy there was a scent of some unknown perfume in the air that almost took s breath away you told me once he said when he had looked young miss giddy all he cared to and was again on the other side of the bridge of a a that you could recommend is he available now mr laughed good i m sorry to say he is at present in the employ of one of the younger he replied he could be away i suppose but will that be necessary what is it you need some one to accompany you to the club and back and give you a quiet tip if you are getting there are plenty of fellows who could do that for you it s no laughing matter said i have resolved to behave well after i am married a fellow who would steer me for a few months would be of the greatest value after a while i ought to be able to go it alone but at first well you know what a fool i am as well as i can tell you the did not take the pains to dispute his friend he thought him over cautious but he did not intend to tell him so if he wanted a male escort there was no reason why he should not have one he began to rack his memory wasn t there some one he could think of and an idea came to him suddenly i know of a young man he said in response to s inquiring looks you know him too he s got some of the best qualities for this sort of thing i speak of what the deuce is his name young strange turned away a moment fearful lest he should betray the special interest that this name had for him miss the carpenter he asked a carving on a window well he was one once said he carved that very piece of wood you are looking at straightened himself up and looked elsewhere as he heard this announcement but for a long time you know he has been doing a sort of s duty for miss we took him to new with us and he proved an invaluable assistant the has raised his wages three times since he first engaged him ah it was explained now the presence of on st charles street on that march evening breathed a sigh of relief when you are married miss i should say your wife won t need him any longer continued and he s just the sort of man you want was he indeed did not believe it but he thought better to say nothing definite at the time he remarked that he should not need any one at first and that there was time enough to think of such things later there was not even to be a wedding tour at present did not feel able to travel and the heat of early september was too great to make a journey comfortable the marriage service was read in the of the mansion in the early evening with no one present but the charles and strange the latter was called in as a witness at the last moment on a suggestion that one other person not a relation to the parties was wanted was evidently unused to anything of this sort for be was without color and trembled visibly it required the kind and smile of the bride thoughtful of her even at this moment to enable him to avoid attention stood the ordeal of the marriage very well indeed but after the clergyman and the others had left the parlor and she was alone with she gave signs of a the kiss which her husband would have given her and yet in such a way that he

0Arthur Conan Doyle

could take no she remarked that her head was dizzy and she wanted to be alone go to your room and let take care of you he whispered tenderly by and by i will come not to night do not come to night she replied faintly i am indeed quite ill tomorrow not to night at her request he then rang for and saw her disappear with the maid chapter xxi do you think my dear probably it is seldom agreeable for a newly wedded groom to be separated from his bride on the night following the ceremony which has in the language f the law made them one in the case of however the disappearance of his wife in the manner just related was a positive relief his do you think my sentiments towards her were of most peculiar order in the first place he could not help feeling a little like a thief who had crept in at a window and was about to rob the house he had married this girl simply because his other means of living had come to an end secondly he was frightened at the transparent purity of her nature so unlike anything with which he had before come into close relations it was ridiculous when he thought of it that he had been the only one of that couple to blush since they had been together was not well her pale cheeks had showed that for months for some reason she had sent for him in spite of this and herself fixed this early date for their was very glad of his twenty four hours at breakfast she came to meet him looking much as usual except that the lack of sleep to which she confessed showed upon her swollen eyelids an account of the marriage had appeared in the papers the had managed to out the slender story by a long history of the parents of the parties read several of these descriptions before leaving his room and called his wife s attention to them in the breakfast they smiled at them together talking as quietly as if this was their day of wedded life instead of the second who had left them to breakfast alone came to call on them in the course the morning he looked anxiously into the face of his daughter hoping to read there a story which was not on that page everything went agreeably as usual during the day which included a long car young mt giddy drive at the fashionable hour on the most fashionable hundreds of acquaintances bowed to the newly wedded couple who returned the it was remarked on every side that this was an ideal marriage beauty and wealth were hers family was his they were the most envied that day of all the million and a half of new york even the is not permitted to withdraw the curtains that hide some things from the gaze of the curious world it can only be stated that for the week that succeeded mr and mrs lived the life they had contracted to live and this was for a week only on the eighth day mrs complained again of illness and dr was called in it was the opinion of that wise that the new wife required a total absence of all excitement above all she should have undisturbed repose this he communicated as delicately as possible to the husband the wound by saying that the trouble was only a temporary one that would soon pass away not knowing anything better to do the occasion by going to his club and getting very drunk that evening being escorted to his rooms by mr in person at a very late or rather early hour it was the first test of his ability to keep his good resolutions and was disgusted when he awoke in the middle of the day and found how little he had shown his first act was to send word inquiring how his wife had slept and he told the messenger to add that he was himself suffering from a slight when called a do you think my dear few hours later the young man heard the full story of his conduct he had persisted in drinking it appeared in spite of the advice of several of his friends and had at one time become furiously enraged at a harmless steward who took the liberty to make a drink weaker than he thought it should be so disgusted was at this recital that he began to fill up with poison as soon as the went his way and it was a week before he left his rooms in the meantime recovered enough to ride out but not enough to see her husband except at table dr was very grave when but would not say much the also had a solemn look the whole affair wore on until it seemed sometimes as if he would go frantic you ll have me on your hands too if this goes on much longer he said to at the end of a month mr viewed the changed aspect of things with an interested face he told at last that if he were in his place he would take a little run out of town and pull himself together you could go to the hills with your rod and gun he said and no one would find any fault i d speak to your wife about it before the day is over as long as she is under a physician s care she can t object at first protested with vigor that he would do nothing of the kind when his wife was ill he wasn t going to be accused of running into the woods to enjoy himself it would look hard hearted and i there was any fault he was guilty of it was not that one but the suggestion kept ringing in

0Arthur Conan Doyle

young miss giddy his ears and three days from the time it was he the idea to at dinner do you think my dear he said that you could spare me for a few days this is the time i go to the and i need the change very much if there was anything i could do for you of course i would not think of going for the world but to his gratification she warmly his project she added to it however that she thought there would be no better place for herself as well as him than in those same hills it was a wonder she had never thought of it she could go to some hotel that kept open late with two or three servants and madame and be quite comfortable then he could start from that point with his dogs and guides and return there occasionally as the season advanced it would be better than such a complete separation as it would make were she to remain in new york nothing could have suited him better than this plan which had all the advantages and none of the disagreeable features of his own dr was immediately sent for and upon finding that mrs desired it very much gave his consent you can go with me and stay a day or two can you not said to the physician then if i grow no worse you can come back this was agreed to by the doctor and the cloud that had lowered over the house lifted a little as soon as they could get ready the trip to the mountains was undertaken was accompanied by a he had lately engaged and who was known by the of do you mt wife had madame another maid and strange mr was glad his destination was out into the midst of the wilderness instead of at the hotel with this young man he had an indistinct dislike for him from the original meeting he also r that it would not be pleasant should this surly fellow learn that his sister was being supported though ever so innocently by the husband of the who employed him was as as ever and as being always ready when wanted and not at all en evidence at other times he was one of those admirable servants who only hear what is addressed directly to them one in whose composition there was no curiosity no interest in anything not intended for him to see what he had to do he did well mrs told her husband on the train that she should never know how to get along again without him mr had gone to the west on business of importance another big strike was this time in some coal mines in which he had a very large his last interview with his daughter before departing was affectionate in the extreme tears were on both their faces as they parted there was nothing he could do for her and dr had assured him that her ill health was liable to pass away before the winter was over he that she had no disease nothing but what any woman might have and yet recover completely charles was also in the west he arrived there before his father and the strange spectacle young miss giddy was presented of the heir of millions with the dissatisfied workmen assisting them and giving them every moral encouragement in his power it was a direct opposition to his father that he was engaged in this time not a merely one he could not help that he felt that these men were right in resisting a power that strove to reduce them to the level of foreign in a land flowing with milk and honey it was that they had been induced to the east and come to these mines in van under the expectation that a certain rate per ton would be paid them and that after a short time they were informed that the payment would be reduced forty per cent the agent who had picked them up in and disputed their statements as to any bargain of special duration he said he had only told them what the rate was at the time they were engaged how could he help it if the state of the market had compelled the company to cut prices for the winter but the had come a thousand miles or more with their families spending most if not all of their means in railroad and in getting settled they were in a state of rage at the trick they believed had been played on them with the announcement of the cut down they left the mines and proceeded to destroy all of the company s property they could lay their hands on in the midst of this work charles arrived under his influence the men were persuaded to cease their temporarily he declared that his father who was daily expected would grant the reasonable demands of the men but the do you think my tor had no idea of going alone to treat with that kind of people when he came it was with the accompaniment of a regiment of soldiers without difficulty in his behalf a conflict immediately took place and a number were killed on both sides finding that the military had not even taken the pains to ascertain the real condition of things but had fired upon the and their families much as if they were a pack of wolves charles lost his head completely an order had been issued to clear out the entire village he went into the house where he lodged and loaded a gun that he found there going to his doorway he stood waiting for a chance to assert the familiar that a man s house is his castle a of soldiers sweeping down the street came upon the young man with that weapon in his

0Arthur Conan Doyle

hand and an officer demanded in no gentle voice that he surrender it and move on with the rest for answer charles instead of giving up the gun cocked it he would undoubtedly have discharged its contents in the face of the officer if a lieutenant behind had not drawn a pistol and put a ball into the shoulder of the opponent of the law s majesty an hour later found his son in an hospital with a surgeon by his side examining a bullet he had just drawn from his wound well i guess you ve got enough of it smiled the father though he still wore a look of anxiety if you haven t the others have for there s not one of them to be found within two miles of here the boy took the hand held out to him sm young giddy they are right though he replied faintly they won t work at that starving rate and you ll find it out they won t get a chance laughed the father the mine will be shut up till next spring now i didn t care anything about their working but when they began to things i had to interfere charles put on a pleading look you could give them the old wages if you wished he said it would make so little difference to you they can t do any more than exist under the reduced and in a free land like ours a man has a right to live f the shook his head positively business can t be done that way my boy he answered it never was and never will be based on anything but supply and demand if coal can be had at a certain price no employer is going to pay a cent more but it s just as well for you and me not to discuss the matter now the doctor says you want rest for a day or two the next day when the called on his son he found him doing well he would be around in a fortnight the physician told him i ve been rather busy this morning said mr with his almost habitual smile in the first place i have about secured a promise that you will not be but will be permitted to go free as soon as your wound free echoed charles with astonishment am i under arrest certainly you were here by the military charged with a riot the young man drew a long breath of surprise do tou think my he had done all he could to stop the riot until the poor were so i shall be able to get you free i think continued the which will save you a couple of years or so in jail and the other thing which i have been myself to is a long letter to the war department the promotion of the lieutenant who shot you charles wondered if his hearing had not played him false i am much obliged he replied with a new vein of irony you ought to be had he ben a second later according to all accounts you would have been guilty of murder and then it might have taken more influence even than possess to get you released the wounded shoulder gave its possessor a severe at that moment doing more to cause the which spread over his face than the announcement he had just heard and the soldiers who shot down those men women and children in the street like dogs he muttered will there be any punishment for them oh no said the father that is very different they were the laws which the others were breaking charles would not proceed with the argument he recollected distinctly that the first shot was fired by the soldiers at a time when the striking were with their families in the public street doing nothing whatever to justify the outrage the love that he bore his father received a severe strain under this treatment of the people who had young miss been persuaded to the mines by the of his agent but further discussion was useless mr had told him often that he claimed he same right to decide questions that he gave to is son and daughter when charles was allowed to go from the hospital he remained with the and did what he could for them during the long winter that followed almost every cent of his handsome income was expended in food clothing and for the suffering ones and he saw at the end what the assured him in advance he would see he saw the hungry go to their work in the early spring at the reduced just as soon as the mine was opened to them they caught eagerly at the chance to labor as the beaten dog at a bone flung into his jaws if curses and tears could affect the product of toil the coal from the van mines for the next year would have been in the market it would have refused to in the and on the to which it was taken but would have filled the atmosphere with a dull and smoke repulsive to the sight and dangerous to the nostrils of men not a happy smile the faces in that settlement the free american citizens clothed with a manhood supposed to be superior to anything else on earth were bowed under a slavery as great as that which ever the sons of a fiction of the constitution told them they were born equal but the stern logic of facts raised one above their heads whom fate had made their master and an old j chapter xxii seeing an old up in the woods the stayed till late in november mrs before that time returned to her fifth avenue home parting from her husband with her usual sweetness but with no special of affection partly from

0Arthur Conan Doyle

what she said to him and a great deal from what dr communicated mr had resigned himself to a practical separation if one s wife is not well he must be reasonable no matter how he desires her of course the doctor him over and over mrs would not be so ill all her life it needed only care and patience to restore her she had been sick long before her marriage and had not recovered as rapidly as had been hoped that was all her trouble was largely nervous if her husband wished to aid her he must see that nothing disturbed her mind he could do her no greater service than this the shrewd mr the advice of the physician you always wanted a pile of money and you hated marriage from your birth he said i don t see but you are properly disposed of you have the of your position without its cares one of the most delightful situations conceivable the world is open to you jo south by and by and let her go with you leave her with her at miss for instance and carry your and rod down to that lake worth paradise you discovered last year or to take the good the gods provide and thank your stars they stood in a golden quarter the hour you were born but you don t take one thing into consideration replied gravely i love my wife yes it is true the more i see of her the dearer she grows and i miss the confidences i hoped for the of mind that one expects in the marriage relation well well said the that will be all right in time if i am any judge of women she loves you quite as much as you do her she hasn t the ways of most of them that s all and her illness why do you keep forgetting that important matter upon my word you are the most unreasonable young man in the entire circle of my acquaintance began to think his friend was right the idea of going back to lake worth fascinated him he talked with his wife about it and found her willing to accompany him as far as at least and perhaps farther as the season advanced there was nothing to show that she had lost any of the regard which made her accept him as her husband her voice was as low and sweet as ever her blue eyes had the expression he had noticed in them in that far away childhood when he had first made her acquaintance but the of her cheek had not departed and sometimes when he sent for her suddenly she had a of breath that he did not like to hear the journey was undertaken in good time old ing mrs madame strange and another servant at the de hotel in the pushed rapidly to the extreme south of for the rest of november december and until the end of january he in the fish and game that is to be found from to bay his wife s party in the meantime did the more civilized of one after the other sometimes accompanied by her father who came and went from washington and new york with february again began to sigh for the pleasures of new he went to where his wife was at the house and remained with her a day or two she saw no reason why he should not go to the city but in response to his invitation to join him she said she believed the hot springs of would benefit her and had about decided to go there for a month or two she urged him earnestly to go and enjoy himself to the utmost she said it was no reason why he should not do so merely because she was suffering from a temporary disorder she had madame and if any thing happened they would telegraph the last words frightened him for a moment if anything should happen he echoed you do not mean anything dangerous he had taken a step nearer to her side but she drew away as if in fear that he was about to grasp her in his arms which indeed he was almost on the point of doing no no i am not going to die or anything of s youth miss giddy that kind she said with a light laugh i shall certainly be better in the spring this cannot last much longer if you wish to please me best have just as good a time in new as you can just as good a time she added slowly as if you were not married a guilty flush rose to his cheeks as he thought of a meaning to this expression which she would be incapable of he turned away fearful that she might read what was in his face his mind shrank from such perfect purity as in the old tales the devil shrank from the presence of the cross in new he renewed his acquaintance with the agreeable people he had met the previous year and for a time forgot the troubles that had begun to him he avoided however the society of men like major and refused to visit the ball given by the well known gentlemen neither did he though good by many of his friends show himself at any of the gay in the district of that city he became in fact so eminently respectable as to astonish himself his were sensible ones and he actually went to bed sober most of the nights during the proceedings letters exchanged with showing her to be happily situated at hot springs determined him to continue his travels for at least a month or two was the point at which he began to aim he could not very well go back to new york without exciting comment and he had no

0Arthur Conan Doyle

fancy for a resort when the ended how seeing an old a letter came to him that had much to do with making him change his mind an old friend of yours though a young one so the latter ran is in the city and wishes very much to see you if you will call at no street and inquire for miss the mystery will be explained an old friend he examined the writing for some time but there was nothing familiar about it who could have addressed him in this peculiar style he knew no miss and the name must therefore be assumed he had a good notion to pay no attention to it whatever but curiosity prevailed and an hour later he had rung the bell and was shown into the parlor of the house mentioned the delay was very slight between the sending up of his card and the appearance of mr s old friend but when the young lady walked into the parlor and closed the door carefully behind her did not recollect ever seeing her before she was rather tall with a very interesting face and the appearance of possessing an unusually lovely form her dark hair arranged with a sort of boy s parting on the left side hung low on the neck and was tied with a blue bow the dress that she wore was of the same color a lighter shade than the ribbon and her collar and were so wide as to give her something of the appearance of wearing the uniform of an order her attitude as she stood waiting to see if he would be the first to speak was graceful in the extreme a suggestion of a smile which she seemed trying to suppress played about her ripe lips and a mm young miss giddy tint of warm blood showed through the healthy brown of her complexion you don t know me she said with a rising not at all he replied though even as he uttered the words the sound of her voice had a that awakened a memory long past will you kindly tell me where we have met before step by step with the creeping motion of an animal that is used to caresses the girl came toward him are you sure you do not know me she murmured as though the words were only breathed not spoken through her teeth mr she was within two feet of him now and he could scent the sweet breath that issued from her tempting mouth i do think i have met you he answered by her action and not quite pleased with it if the truth must be told i have met you long ago but i can t tell then he looked at her closely and cried heavens it s little laughing for the first time she put both her hands on his shoulders and told him he had guessed right what are you doing here he exclaimed disconcerted w e she said her words i ll tell you only it s a very long story and i don t exactly know how to begin it an anxious look founded on something he knew not what came into his features he her to a chair and took another seeing as old friend in the first place he asked is anything the matter are you in any way in trouble she his sober look for a moment and then burst into a laugh n o she answered not e x a c t y you appear in health he said abruptly your father is it anything about him the red lips with a sense of my father the girl repeated why i know nothing of him whatever it is years since we have met i was sent to that school you know and things didn t seem to get along between him and me the first time i went home i could see they regarded me as a different bird from the rest of the flock i shall never have anything to do with that family again this was said with a slightly elevated tone as if the girl considered herself a good long remove above those from whom she had sprung all that said still her with a tinge of apprehension and does not explain why you are in new the tears flew to the eyes of the girl she replied in a voice that was hardly audible she had not supposed his first act would be to her he could go at once if he had nothing kinder to say than that quite shocked at the effect of his words any intention of causing her grief and said she had completely misunderstood his purpose i only have a natural desire he continued to understand everything if you do not wish to explain of course you need not do so ov i mean to explain it s just what i was going to do said the young lady trying to sup d miss press the that rose to her throat there was a fire i thought you must have read of it in the newspapers mr was as much puzzled as ever a fire he repeated vaguely yes at the school it burned up everything we only got out with our lives the companies made a lot of fuss and the principal said he would not resume for the present one of the teachers lived in and asked me to go home with her she said it was nice in the south at this season and so i came and i just happened to see in a that you were here and it s not far and drew himself up with what dignity he could summon and you came here alone she opened her eyes at the expression she read in his do you think that is anything she asked it s only a little way

0Arthur Conan Doyle

i m not an infant i have been on the railroad before it doesn t take much experience to ride a hundred miles or so and get into a carriage and engage a room and board if it comes to that i presume you are here alone yourself she had the he put upon the word alone and he began rather to like her independence it was all right to be self but he could not instantly realize that this tall girl was not the little he had last seen four years previous but really he said you have not told me half the things i want to know what about your mysterious benefactor and the lawyer that sees to your everything all right with them i trust seeing an old friend rousing herself from a reverie into which she had fallen miss strange told him with considerable detail the history of her dealings with her unknown friend his had been more than liberal after providing for her wardrobe all the expenses of the school and her she had managed to lay by considerable for a very rainy day should one ever come i have always thought you knew who that man was she added as she finished her recital now don t you honor bright he smiled at her way i have a suspicion he admitted but it would be unfair for me to reveal what he evidently wishes to keep secret the girl s interest caused her face to glow with eagerness tell me just this she said is the one you think it is an old man or a young man he hesitated before replying decidedly old miss giddy she looked disappointed don t call me that she said old repeated and ugly to a degree i might almost say hideous but that is of little account if his money comes regularly strange wore a hurt look across the brows i had hoped he was young and handsome she aid in a constrained voice what does old say he asked you must have tried to fish information out of him before now responded that mr would tell her nothing and she also told him that mr was i s young miss g now the agent who sent her allowance she having written the latter gentleman several letters in which she had inquired about various things but his answers ignored her questions entirely does he say whether the are likely to be permanent asked no and if they should cease have you ever thought what you would do the girl spread a lace handkerchief out in her lap down the edges yes she said it was a peculiar answer and its tone indicated that it was the only reply she meant to make along that line if you were coming to new he suggested taking a different tack you should have come a week earlier the city has been full of people witnessing the of i know it replied but i had no friends here to escort me about and by the way you act i do not think you would have liked to have me on your hands as long as the danger was ended and his words could mean nothing but good nature he answered that he should have liked it intensely then it occurred to him that she would have been an awkward in many ways w e said in that she seemed fond of affecting i ll tell you what s the best thing you can do now the is over i want to see new as long as i am here and the places near it and have some one go with me who knows everything and can explain them all before you old friend start for you must give me two or three days all to myself didn t know about that i am full of engagements he said after what seemed to her a very long wait but i will gladly do anything i can for you i mean to leave the city soon and time is growing precious the girl s forehead grew darker you needn t trouble yourself if it is to come so she said and there were symptoms ot tears i can hire a guide now don t be he exclaimed besides there are no guides to hire though there ought to be plenty of them i shall be glad to show you about and we will begin to morrow if you wish after a little further conversation that was agreed upon select your own hour she said as he went away i shall be here up close enough so you will be certain to find me at home as walked along the street toward the commercial club he thought of the strange he had known five years before the capricious little child who had resolved in her infancy not to endure the of the life into which she had been born he recalled all that happened at his first meeting with her even the expression of her face and the haughty stamp of her little foot it was a queer that had made him take on himself the of her benefactor when he had hardly enough of wealth for his own necessities and here she was a tall handsome young woman with the same determined mien how old was she nineteen probably and he was to be her miss giddy how funny that sounded only for two or three days though and then she would return to her teacher at and he would write to mr to see that she was put under the care of more chapter if you leave it to me mrs wrote occasionally to her husband of course the burden of her letters was that he must have as good a time as he could and not think too much about her she was no worse than formerly perhaps a little better

0Arthur Conan Doyle

but her nerves still demanded quiet dr who was occasionally summoned from new york confirmed her story he also wrote to that if he wanted to do the best thing for everybody he would find some pleasant way to enjoy himself until his wife had made a little more progress the young husband read these with mixed feelings seemed to be growing farther and farther away from him he was in effect a bachelor again a very different one from what he was before his marriage this t entirely agreeable either this improvement in morals for it left him wondering what to do with himself when evening came a man should have either a wife or a mistress he used to remark mentally if you it to mb ml strange came into his life at just the time in one sense and just the right time in another she helped to fill that terrible she had a way that charmed him though he did not get used to it in a moment he walked and rode with her and they passed evenings together at the theatre and every day it grew harder to contemplate the approaching time when he must set his face in the direction of the golden gate and her pack up for the north how much longer do you expect to remain in the city he asked her one day as they stood in front of the monument where the body of president of the was then awaiting transfer to it was in one of the prettiest of the south and this was the second time they had visited it together m how long do you wish me to stay she replied if you leave it to me he began and did not finish the sentence that s exactly what i intend to do said the girl not meaning to let him off in that manner i have written to mr that you have taken entire charge of me the young man uttered brief and forcible exclamation you have done nothing f the kind w e m t h e n i m going to she told him b cause you see i have concluded to go td the tame as you and some one must keep ma from getting lost on the road they were talking in such low voices that a party young miss giddy of from who were close to them could not distinguish a word walking down the slope they took seats in their carriage you ve not got money enough to go to said does it cost so awfully much she exclaimed i ve got a good deal they were being driven out in the direction of and had drawn the curtains of the carriage to keep out the sun and other eyes i have concluded said the young man after deliberation that i shall go to instead of now it is evident that you ought not to travel the pacific coast alone and it follows that you will proceed north as soon as i leave here both wore entirely sober faces though neither failed to realize the vein of comedy that ran through what they were saying a pair of young people will get into this mood sometimes before they are aware of it i had not cared to mention it answered in the same collected tone but i also intend to go to myself felt a wave of passion sweeping over him one of those powerful which he had no moral strength to combat it is the misfortune of those who have yielded often to temptation that they have no resolution left when the time of trial comes and would you really and truly go to met he asked leaning toward the young girl why not she replied why not indeed did she not know why not x you leave it to mb this woman of nineteen if she did not know was it his business to tell her your guardian might not like it he suggested what mr what has he to do with me except to forward my allowance perhaps you mean the mysterious one for whom he acts if that gentleman has chosen to hide himself all of this time never coming to see me or writing me a line is it probable he will care whether i am in the land of the or following the path of as for other considerations the opinion of society and that sort of thing i care very little for them i am an advanced young woman with ideas of my own she said these things as if she meant them and yet in a voice that left him somewhat in doubt where the humor ceased and the seriousness began however the main question was whether she would go with him and after a little further conversation he satisfied himself on that point she would go she was willing to go it might almost be said she was determined to go this settled the whole matter and that country mentioned at first in jest was the place of places in he would be certain to run across acquaintances at every corner eastern there for their former friends who had gone in search of fortune and missed it and all sorts of people whom he would wish to avoid but who ever heard of any one going to it was a tropical land it had the charm of romance it would be as interesting as spain as wild as the states as secluded as the miss giddy son s bay territory by all means and the sooner the journey was undertaken the better i when shall we leave new he asked feeling as if in a dream i can be ready at an hour s notice she was evidently a very peculiar young woman whatever he had to say to her could be better communicated some days later when they were

0Arthur Conan Doyle

from the civilization to which they were accustomed and some hundreds of miles nearer the of suppose we call it to morrow he suggested there is a train at eight or nine o clock for can you get up early enough to take that she laughed at the question if you will join me she said i would like to get up much earlier i have not seen the market yet remember and if we go so soon that will be our only chance immediately assented to her plan and said he would call at her house at five o clock on the following morning then they would go to the french market see the sights eat breakfast in a and get taken to their station a very good scheme with a little alteration smiled you must not forget that j have a reputation to sustain he asked meekly in what way he had suggested that precious article the landlady where i live would be outraged she replied to have my baggage taken from the house at such an hour if a woman is to to do anything the first thing she needs to cultivate is a genteel capacity for lying i shall have to ti ro give p y quarters this evening the time a train is to the will t with me for the station but he will not take me there do you understand a wild notion that she proposed to present herself at his lodgings sprang into s head and then vanished he had not the slightest idea what she intended to do for a man of the world you seem exceedingly said the girl after taking a survey of his blank countenance instead of going to the and i shall ask my to take me to the st charles one can go in and out of a big hotel at any hour in the morning i will be in the ladies room when you call for me we will see the market get our separately and at the proper hour i will board the train for it was a shrewd idea certainly in case any link in the chain should be uncovered it was surely better if he was seen leaving for on the natural train and apparently alone to go to he could continue on the southern pacific to san i am afraid i shall have to tend a messenger to call you in the morning he said brightly as he her lodgings on the homeward way more likely i shall have to wait for you she answered i shall be in the ladies parlor of the st charles at five o clock sharp then you will see me there soon after he said now is there anything i can do v yes you can order my place in the and get your tickets with my own she hesitated j young miss if you i can pay you after we get way i shall write to mr she added to forward money from time to time where is it best to have it sent to the city of he answered get it in that i can easily cash anywhere in the ladies parlor of the st charles he found miss the next morning as calm and collected as if she was not upon the most peculiar journey of her life i am on time you see in spite of your she said rising to greet him and i notwithstanding your doubt he answered did you rest well last night shall we go now to the market f whenever you are ready there were very few people about only one in fact that they noticed beside the of the hotel as they descended the stone steps from the balcony and turned their faces toward canal street the atmosphere was as as can be imagined and the day promised to be one of those so common there at this season cloudy but devoid of rain they entered the french quarter walking slowly along the streets amid the odd architecture of a day until they emerged into the public square with the mate to the washington statue of gen at the market they watched the and for had never witnessed a similar sight to who had been in those of a dozen foreign cities this one seemed the most m visiting of them all excepting the african and miss strange was quite delighted the women with their baskets selecting the day s provisions and examining each article with the care their northern sisters use only on goods for personal wear or for the dwelling the of all shades from the plantation to the dainty clad in her finery the interminable with everything from fish to fruit the peculiar and unknown tongues that made a pleasant all around her the hungry sitting at little shelves and various that did not look half as as they seemed this and much more held the young girl s attention and made her to leave the place when her escort suggested that the time had come for doing so if i were to live in new a month i should come to this market every morning she said i never should tire of watching those people how odd it seems to hear speaking that french instead of being in america one could easily conceive himself thousands of miles away then he told her something of the foreign he had visited of the large ones in london of the at paris and the flower market of the of the dutch the of russia the in the central square of the at the fish under the and she replied in the most fact way that some day she would go to all of them with him never raising her eyes as she spoke giddy or indicating that there was a double meaning to her expressions he walked on with her not directly to the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

hotel but toward the water front it was still early to return when they reached the they saw many along the shore some were laden with cotton some with wheat and others bound up stream with n is a great port and a growing one the father of waters is pouring its treasures into her in greater volume year by year a new line of running direct to liverpool is soon to be added to her fleet making her no rival to the in the atlantic carrying trade there is every probability that she will be among tho six largest cities in the union before ten more years have elapsed early as was the hour there was a bustle in progress that an active day of men most of them dark in hue were engaged in or the various craft while scores of drawn by were taking to and from the vessels consulting his watch found that it was at last time to go the train at nine he said as he handed her into a vehicle which was found a short distance away that is the leaves this side of the river at that hour you must start from the st charles at in order to be certain not to miss and it is now seven said everything is ready j have only to take a light breakfast the coachman was waiting who a if you leave it to mb evident impatience to set off on his journey but delayed him a moment longer you don t think do you he asked that that one is watching us who does any one know you ar in new t any one but only my teacher who is at and mr if he has got my letter which has hardly had time to reach him who would have any business to know or to care i am responsible to no one now unless it be to the unknown guardian whom i have never seen and to me he suggested smiling for he was very glad to hear her speak so confidently to you she echoed smiling not at all don t flatter yourself the sensation of being pursued had haunted all the morning stopping for the twentieth time to look behind him he detected a familiar face into an and obeying his impulse he ran to the spot and caught the owner by the what do you want of me he demanded roughly for he was by this time somewhat excited it was the negro whom he had paid off the previous evening having no further use for his services was of hue but he came near turning white with alarm at the manner of his i don t want he stammered you have been following me t said severely only a block i was jest up de street it was useless to waste a display of contempt on this creature he wore such a meek appearance that nobody could have suspected him of anything more than going up the street eh said him sharply you re going in a pretty direct line to the parish prison the negro protested with rolling that he was only looking for a chance to earn an honest living he swore he had not followed the young man reflected a minute perhaps he had made a mistake you know mr in the hotel at lake he said presently i will give you two dollars to carry him a note taking a card from his pocket he wrote a few words on it the bill that he gave the negro with this was not for two dollars but for ten the quick eye of the fellow discovered what he thought was an error and he the money in his fist lest it should attract attention all right he said receiving the envelope and s ten cents mo for car fare admiring the cheek of the added a quarter to what he had already given him two tickets to san he told the station agent an hour later do you sell the tickets here also you will have no trouble getting them on the train was the reply again there was that sensation of being watched in the in every direction could not see any person that appeared to take the least interest in him but he would have been willing to a goodly sum that his destination was now known to some one who had taken extraordinary pains to learn it he had asked for two tickets also and probably the knew that well what harm was there in it so far he had done nothing of which any one could very deeply complain it would only make him more guarded in his conduct until he was much further from pursuit perhaps it was the very best thing that could happen to him he found and got the baggage checked which she pointed out to him as well as his own then he entered the with her and when the train started he drew a faint sigh of relief almost before it was ended however he looked upon a disagreeable sight from the car window that negro was grinning at him from the platform which was being left behind and waving a farewell with the letter he had paid him to deliver at that hour at a point four miles away t chapter xxiv in the that there was something peculiar in this conduct of t it was useless for mr to deny but he turned from the sight of the negro to that of the pretty girl by his side who had voluntarily miss started on a long journey as his companion with him as she put it herself to act as her whatever object the black man had in following him about the streets of new whatever prevented him from going to deliver that letter as he had been ordered he was now far

0Arthur Conan Doyle

behind and the train was bearing the farther from him each moment there was every probability that he knew their destination that he had overheard the direction given to the station agent for the two tickets it was more than likely that he would convey this information to whoever was him nobody ex miss strange and mr knew that their route was not to be toward but toward he would throw his if any there were off the scent at san and after that to follow them would be like chasing wild birds on the wing i their conversation which presently began referred mainly to the country through which they were passing that low lying land that borders the railway for miles after leaving the city for the west when they came to higher country they talked of the of that section and upon entering the gigantic area of that empire served as a topic meal time varied the monotony and so did two novels that were purchased of the train boy read why i m single and mr thy neighbor s wife a second time as he was bound to a spanish speaking country he wanted to go over again s tour in spain toward evening he left and passed an hour or two in the smoking where he met in tub come gentlemen from with whom he enjoyed a smoke and a general conversation when it was bed time he said good night to early admitting that he was in want of rest the next day when they arrived at san they were driven immediately to the hotel where selected rooms as far apart from each other as possible and the first names which came into his mind to throw any observant off the scent he engaged a carriage as soon as lunch was over and was taken to the principal places of interest with his companion the the soldier s the quarter the old ruins of churches and in the interested them both very much but the most thing after all was the handsome city itself there was a substantial appearance of about the place the business blocks would have done credit to any of the older cities the were set for the most part in grounds having the real air that is so often wanting the of the atmosphere made it evident that san had not earned its fame as a health resort was especially struck by the beauty of the little river that through the town crossed by street and bridges at frequent intervals he told that it reminded him in ways of the at if the people would only possess themselves as a of both its banks and lay them out in drives and walks they would have he said the finest available to any inland city after consulting with the local agents of both or young m rather all of the that led to the land he decided to enter by the way of on the following morning he took the train for that point with his companion most of the day they sped through a country in which the and great herds of cattle they found that the first place of special interest beyond the border was the city of as this point is reached at about three in the morning one sleeping car is detached here and the passengers are permitted to slumber on a side track until seven o clock night fell shortly after leaving and another early hour for retiring was chosen by both our before they parted for the night talked a long time with to discover if she had the least regret at the extraordinary step she had taken but there was nothing visible in they found a quiet house on one of the principal and were soon made comfortable it was like many other houses in this part of the world of two stories though a goodly proportion of them have only one there was something in the air of the city and both of the partook of a hearty breakfast in the dining room up his stock of spanish though one of the spoke a certain grade of english and laughed to hear the shortly after they had eaten they took a stroll about the place and on returning to the hotel declared the to have been most pleasantly spent the valley in which is situated is very beautiful a river shallow at most seasons as is the down from the mountains and leisurely through the town the houses are built mainly of the best of them wearing handsome of plaster painted brightly often in imitation of marble and other stones it is said that there is not a chimney in the place and this if not literally true is nearly so the cooking is done with which does not a certainly there is no fire department and no need of any it is difficult to conceive how a fire should one start could pass the thick walls of the building in which it originated the roofs are flat covered with cane or similar material with mud a house thus built ought to last forever and it is said that a very comfortable cottage without ornament can be erected at the cost of however said a young lady at the hotel wh told these things to and her escort it would be no great hardship were one compelled to sleep out of doors except during the rainy season the evenings have about the same temperature in summer and winter there being no great variations as in the united states for several hours in the vicinity of noon the sun is apt to shine with a heat not comfortable to or indeed to the themselves after lunch it is the custom of nearly every one to seek a cool and secluded place indoors and indulge in a genuine spanish at half past three or four the

0Arthur Conan Doyle

air is again sufficiently cool to make a walk in the open air a thing of pleasure in the evening the are filled with a of happy faced people walking in an interminable circle young miss in a subdued key with each other and bowing graciously to friends whom they meet most of the women are if such a term can be used where such magnificent black hair sometimes adorned with roses is seen the men wear hats of immense si e many of which cost a good deal of money some as high as a thousand dollars they look like pictures of bull said as she sat with watching the all but the hats he replied but glance at the ladies are they handsome do you think the girl began to study of her sex who were passing have looking at the men she said do you always look at the men he asked mis she turned to him and their eyes met she had to laugh the women are not handsome as a general rule she said presently a few of them are rather pretty some of the poorest dressed are the most interesting i think but the men they look very well indeed a band belonging to the military stationed in the centre of the by the fountain began to play a beautiful tune it was a most poetic moment do you know how it seems to me he asked her it seems as if we were at a theatre and that all this was a mere spectacle invented for our delight she nodded it was a little like that to her too the moon was rising and could be seen in the distant tree tops the strain of music grew wonder hi the fully lovely the people continued their procession the upper classes on the outer ring and the nearer the centre the waters of the fountain incessantly the breezes from the mountain sides their faces there was a a in the atmosphere that made it like an enchanted land they sat so long that the crowd out gradually and they were left nearly alone it must be late said looking at her watch why it is nearly eleven it is quite the same he said as he saw she intended to rise if we retire late we can rise later in the morning and time is of no account let us stay here a little longer and enjoy the perfection of this night air she hesitated and he urged his case he said listen a minute to me there is no one near who can understand a word i say those fellows speak only their native tongue i think i must go in she rose to her feet that she should be so easily the victor in the first round of their contest he rose with her and putting on the best face he could walked slowly to the hotel and to her door when she had disappeared into her room he half wished he were back in new york where he could run in at the club and talk with some of his old friends was at that moment the place in all what am i to think of her he mused going slowly back to the but after all he reflected how could he ca ou her to act much differently it was one ot the fancies of women to it would not do to take this seriously when they were through with they would go still farther into the interior and as they grew more and more to know each other time would set things right strange could see every movement he made from the half closed of her window which overlooked the she sank in a heap on the floor and watched him intently i could love that man very much if i only dared she whispered to herself i could love him very very much the night was still beautiful she could hear the of the water in the fountain in the centre of the a night bird perched in one of the trees in the park began to sing the moon was just beyond the building to the left but its rays fell on and his face so that she could see every plainly how i could love him she repeated as she rose and began to yes if i chapter xxv shall i put out the light thus far in spite of the suspicious appearance of his conduct had no really definite intentions in reference to the fair girl who had undertaken with him this most peculiar journey hall i out thb light he had suffered a good many sad hours on account of the barrier which mrs s illness had raised between them but he had never once in his thoughts blamed and never since their wedding day had he dreamed of his vows all his fears that he might be tempted to be to her had proved she was his wife he believed nothing could make him forget that even if she should remain an invalid as long as she lived what then was he doing with strange in a foreign land under circumstances which must appear to any one of his acquaintances should it ever be discovered all his youth he had been used to feminine companionship he it as a thirsty man water with he was simply drifting her company was most attractive to him under the circumstances he had no reason to doubt that her character was good he believed that he had strength enough for both if there came a dangerous moment but up to the present time there was nothing to indicate that the girl was likely to commit the least they had been in each other s almost exclusive society for a week and she was not yet even playing the part of a sister prepared to anything like advances

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the young man was disappointed by this excessive coldness he wanted her to behave without but he also wanted a closer companionship than she gave signs of intending to allow she was as distant to him as his own wife had been the moment he relaxed the least she took fright could she be afraid of him after taking this journey into an unknown land under his escort he wished heartily g miss that there was some way in which he learn the exact state of her mind the next morning met him with her sweetest smile he thought it odd how much sweeter her smiles were at daybreak than nightfall the day was passed agreeably they took a ride to the hot of where both of them tested the virtues of the waters and in the early evening they had a on horseback a very handsome pair they made as they returned to their at about seven o clock the group that gathered about the hotel entrance were unanimous in agreeing that the lady rode extremely well two days later there was a ball given by the american and mr and miss strange were invited to it the number of americans in is limited but the characters in our story found them very bright and interesting people had been under a name that of miss savage as she did not wish her movements traced alluded to her as his cousin and if any doubt arose as to this relationship there was nothing in the conduct of either to justify suspicion at the end of the first he resigned her to a young spanish american who had been presented to them and who spoke a fair quality of english your cousin is very young said a fair creature as escorted her to a seat after one of the dances very he replied a school girl but she your country exceedingly is she an orphan a poor child yes said shall i put out the light and i have the fortune to be in a sense her guardian the young lady looked at her companion she wondered if there was anything like a love affair in this peculiar journey there was no way in which she could ascertain however and she contented herself with the information she had gained which she imparted freely to her friends you are an orphan and my cousin remember in case you are asked said the next time he took miss strange upon the ball room floor i had these interesting facts drawn out of me by the young woman i have just escorted to her seat laughed is that the best a man can do she asked why didn t you give her an answer i have given a dozen to i have kept saying indeed is it possible perhaps you are right and things of that kind to him for the last fifteen minutes and when none of those would do i have affected not to hear or have interrupted by calling his attention to something in the room however it is a good thing to know one s and i am glad to be informed that i am an orphan now you might as well tell me the rest am i poor as a mouse in a meeting house or a great are you my cousin on my father s or my mother s side how long are we going to stay in are you married or single i have been asked all those things and plenty more since i came here this evening had to smile with her at the of the situation clearly they ought to hav these things before coming the girl s had saved them for this time however keep up your for the rest of the evening he said and to morrow we will open a school of mutual instruction are you having a good time he added she said she was having a delightful time and showed him her card full for every number he had a vivid wish that the ball was over and that he could take her in a carriage for a ride the rest of the night away out into the country where he could talk to her alone but when he looked again into her fair face and saw the bright light in her clear eyes he was glad to have her with him at any price he fancied there was something new in her expression something more earnest than before but if she had anything to say to him this was neither the time nor place and after all it might have been merely imagination born of the intensity of his hope when the ball was over he escorted the girl to the hotel and left her at her door without a word or a look that could be given a double meaning he had made up his mind that was not secluded enough for the close companionship he there were too many americans there and the town was too near the border he must go farther away the next day he learned of a natural wonder in the town of near in the shape of a cave containing and those of nothing could be better as a beginning when told of the project entered into it with enthusiasm she would talk of nothing else each evening as they shall i pet out the light f rode toward the gigantic la the saddle that the or to that other hill over which the bishop s hangs so plainly in the sky visible for miles around a looked for came at last telling that everything was all right and a new letter of credit mr expressed his belief that miss strange s family were entirely unaware of her presence in and that her late teachers gave themselves no concern on her account more than this the worthy lawyer did not feel called

0Arthur Conan Doyle

upon to say and smiled grimly as he folded up the note and put it with its in his pocket several of the young ladies at the hotel who had become much attached to tried to frighten her from her proposed trip she would meet no one but they said the would be terrible as there was decent in it was a long and ride to th cave and a climb to one when the foot of the mountain was reached in order to do it well it would be necessary to spend at least two nights away laughed at all of these saying she was fond of adventure and was not in the least afraid of fatigue long rides and hard were among the things she liked best she would trust herself anywhere her cousin was willing to go when the day came however hers was the only smiling female face on that side of the her persisted to the last that the only proper way to see the cave was in a large party with provisions and guides mr had a letter of introduction to a small young miss merchant at who was asked to assist in seeming food and shelter and in engaging guides and horses he cared very little to tell the truth about the cave if he had left the country without seeing it he would have been just as contented but by his side in the train that crept toward was the young daughter of the carpenter she was going on this quest with him it was quite enough there was nothing interesting in the railway ride nothing in the carriage journey from the station to the village of but her he found the merchant in his store a to the province born who looked like one of the figures in the doctor of and who was very obliging the merchant read the letter inquired after the health of the writer a silver who had formerly resided in that place and begged his visitors to wait a few minutes until he could send for a man who entertained and furnished guides in considerably longer time than would be accounted a brief one by of the united states the sought for person was found and after such explanations as the merchant could give him the new comer bade his guests follow him to his house at the other end of the village which they did in the carriage that had brought them from the station and which it turned out was also his property it was now evening the landlord if such he should be called told that dinner would be ready in a short time and upon request conducted the to a room where a very primitive toilet could be made as his footsteps were retreating turned to her companion and she would require a short time for preparation and i out the light that when she was ready she would meet him in the general room thus dismissed went back to his host and secured a basin of water and a which he placed on a chair in the yard and made his much to the surprise of the landlord they have probably been said the to his wife in explanation the dinner was not to the the meat was of goat s flesh done very rare and neither of them would touch it the bread was fair and there was plenty of milk and a dish of eggs but not much else however ate in silence knowing that he could do nothing to make it better and thinking it to utter that might be understood even if the exact language was not comprehended when the rose from the table they took a short stroll out toward the san delighted with the air and gorgeous sunset the houses of the village were mostly of an air of the deepest poverty hung over all but it was a poverty that carries with it far less of sting than that which strikes the cold and hungry poor of more highly civilized lands it is doubtful if there was an stomach in that cluster of and there is little of winter weather to penetrate those walls of earth thinking to make himself agreeable threw a handful of to a group of small children that came out to see the strangers but instead of picking up the the fled was unusually pensive that evening she had begun to feel the of her position and to wish that she had considered a little longer before coming to this out of the way place the of her dinner had begun to do its work she had become used to good fare and she shuddered as she thought of the half cooked goat s meat that had been set before her besides this there were five or six in the house whose looks were not to her eyes she thought that in the event of trouble it would add to the terrors of the situation not to be able to understand a word they spoke or speak one that had any meaning for them in the midst of all there was only one bright figure mr i wish you would go with me for a minute to see where i am to sleep she stammered when they had reached the house again i want to be sure the are sufficient that all the windows and doors are secure willingly he answered and stopping the landlord who happened to enter at that moment he told him in as good spanish as he could muster that he would like to see madame s room at once bowing as one who an that anything in his house can possibly be less elegant than it ought to be the landlord brought a lamp from the next room and led the to a chamber setting the on the table he waited to learn if there

0Arthur Conan Doyle

was anything else required why this is on the ground floor exclaimed in a low tone as went to examine the shutters to the windows naturally he replied when there is but on story to the building tt all i the the girl turned a shade paler and set her together to keep from uttering a scream threw open the window shutters and disclosed the fact that there were no to them whatever how do you secure these he asked the landlord who stood like a statue in the inner doorway we do not secure them was the surprising reply but supposing some one should enter they would hardly take the trouble to come in at the windows when the door is more convenient the young man walked to the outer door and discovered somewhat to his consternation that it was as with as the shutters he did not know what to do certainly of all things he must not anger his host whose temper he could already see was how was he to satisfy or even himself the girl had come forward and in her excitement had caught him by the sleeve it did not require a knowledge of any foreign tongue for her to see that she was expected to pass the night in a room without the least protection against whoever chose to enter if a guest should lose his purse or his watch what then asked in a polite tone as if it was a small matter that had happened to occur to him the brow of the landlord darkened he answered in a louder voice that he was responsible for the property of his guests and that no one had ever lost anything under his roof saying which he turned on his heel as if tired of talking with such a foolish young person and closed the door that led into the part of the house behind him what shall we do asked do you think they mean us any harm not the least replied though he was not by any means as certain of it as he would have liked to be u calm yourself and let us talk it over sensibly the girl with an effort tried to follow his advice and both of them seated themselves this landlord said took charge of us on request of an old and resident here had a letter from an acquaintance at asking him to put us into good hands plenty of people know where we are and a cry would be raised about us in the event that we should be reported missing our personal safety is consequently assured as to our property have the name that is the lower class of them of being natural born thieves perhaps the charge is ill founded or exaggerated i have frequently found this the case with people of foreign parts now the windows if you will examine them are exactly like all the others in the house it is evident that there have never been any on them for it would be impossible to remove the traces and this wood is many years old the same thing is true of the door if i were here alone i should fall asleep within five minutes and be ready to a thousand silver dollars that i should awake safe and sound to morrow morning listened with gradually brightening countenance hall i the light out if you were alone she repeated yes but y m are not a woman he thought it best to admit this charge without and did it in a way that brought the smiles to her cheek you are quite right my child he said if i were a woman i should be rather more inclined to caution and perhaps to fear now what are you to do undoubtedly you will have to remain in this house over night there being no bars or you will not be able to lock these windows what then what but engage a guard who would lay down his life before he would permit any person to enter your chamber miss strange let her gaze rest on the bare floor at her feet she expected the opportunity would be for a declaration of love and she did not know exactly how it should be met under these peculiar circumstances the only guard i could trust he continued seeing that she was not going to speak is myself she looked up then and studied his face intently there is a bed he added pointing to it that is for you here is a mat on the floor which can be moved to the vicinity of the doorway that will do for me your couch may be the softer but i will warrant my sleep will not be disturbed turned her face slowly toward all sides of the room as if searching for a better plan she was apprehensive of some danger but she knew not in what direction it lay her rose above all else and made her wish this man so much more self contained and stronger than she would take her in his arms and tell her these things with her head mm resting on his breast that would not be conventional but she wanted something that would soothe her as a child wants its mother when it and cannot see anything in the dark very well she assented at last she rose and walked to the bed to examine it then she took off her hat and laid it on the table and made a few other preparations to assume a position found two instead of one and announced the discovery with an appearance of glee he removed his shoes and rolling them in one rug made a very good pillow over which he spread his oat he could not help laughing at the ridiculous situation but the girl did not join him in this shall i put

0Arthur Conan Doyle

out the light miss giddy or will you he asked as there seemed nothing more to do we will let it burn he wondered he had not thought of that idea good night he said ten minutes later from his place on the floor but she made no answer could it be she had fallen asleep so soon after all her fright a ax chapter xxvi a night at no was not so soon asleep she did not want to answer her companion lest one beginning of conversation should bring on still more she had recovered to a great degree from her fear of believing that the theories had advanced were probably correct ones if the had intended to assault or rob her they would be more likely to have her fears than to do all they could to arouse them but this figure lying on the this of her own this thorough gentleman educated and refined how sure could she be of him time settled these things used to adventure experienced in travel in many lands was not long in finding oblivion twenty minutes after he laid his head on his pillow he was thoroughly unconscious it was an hour later when the young girl on the bed followed his example and slumber came to her at the very moment when she least expected it she had made up her mind not to go to sleep she was studying the problem of how to conduct herself in case on disagreeable phases of which she could conceive and in the midst of that she was gone tired with the events of the day neither of the awoke for many hours it was who first opened his eyes for a moment he could not remember where he was then his gaze wan miss to his bed on which the sleeping figure wai seen in an attitude of ease and rest the face was turned toward him in her sleep looked three or four years younger than she really was he was charmed by the repose of the by the scattered hair that hung over her forehead by the flush of health that filled the cheek the girl had lain down in her street clothes and the skirts enveloped her limbs all but a suspicion of that showed above her stout boots worn for mountain climbing ah but she was pretty t if only he might have gone to her and awakened her with the faintest touch of a kiss but no it must not be his first kiss from her if it ever came should have her consent as its basis and that consent this was not the time to ask or obtain rising noiselessly opened the outer door that had given him such doubt on the preceding evening and close to which he had passed the night it led into a large yard used for the of horses a yard surrounded by a low wall over which a man could easily have climbed such lack of precaution against argued well for this half heathen land in comparison with the christian of his own country it was likely that the money he and carried exceeded the yearly income of any family of that village and yet no one had been tempted to them he recalled the dark of the landlord as he announced his personal responsibility for the safety of his guests and their property it was apparent that this was injured in his feelings by the a j s that he kept a house in which danger might lie going to the kitchen which he could see on the other side of the yard found the wife and daughters of his host and laying down a piece of silver money he asked that one of them go to awaken the lady who came with him and to render her all the assistance possible in making her toilet the young woman to whom the money was given exchanged a few words with the others before departing on her errand they were strange people those she said they seemed as afraid of their wives as if women were wild animals from the gulf mountains undoubtedly this and his had been again and yet they were outwardly pleasant to each other the father had told them of the alarm of his guests lest some one should rob them in the night and they had laughed over the idea rob in how far would the robbers get ere the would be down on them and then what it would be bang bang no trouble of a trial no expense for a couple of shots and a shallow grave in the sand a man might sleep in the open air with a bag of money by his side in and even if it were not for the who in the place would disgrace it by stealing from a stranger every one there knew every one the possession of ten dollars more than he could account for would direct suspicion with aim to a guilty party the country north of the must be a very dangerous place they would not like to have to go there miss were so suspicious they slept like in the peaceful nights when awoke and found the young girl bending over her she had a momentary fright she looked at the place where had slept to see if he was still there and then at the doors and windows the true condition of things dawned upon her however as the landlord s daughter stood waiting as if for orders and she summoned the few words in spanish which she had acquired to ask for water and other necessary articles not one of which was to be seen on the premises everything was brought after some delay and then wanted one thing more a mirror which she had not the least idea how to express in the spanish tongue considerable failed to

0Arthur Conan Doyle

convey to the the desired information and finally she departed and brought her mother to whom renewed the signs at last the elder woman said something to her daughter who vanished and returned with a broken looking glass not over clean having her principal wants now supplied miss strange dismissed them both and completed her preparations for breakfast she expected mr would call but after waiting a long time for him she ventured out alone passing rather timidly through a group of all of whom saluted respectfully with the girl went out of doors and saw her companion at some little distance engaged in contemplating the landscape good morning she said to him as she came within range a night at he turned looked at her anxiously and took several steps in her direction you you have slept well he asked devouring her with his eyes perfectly she answered and i am quite ashamed that i allowed you to make such a sacrifice for me as to sleep on the floor i am convinced that i would have been as safe alone as if i had brought a of soldiers she was so bright and bore so little evidence of having passed the night in other than her ordinary way that he resumed his usual as for himself he said the floor was an old friend of his he had much worse often on the bare ground in africa i came to your conclusion early he added and i felt that if any one should attack me i was safe under your protection she laughed at his humor they were drawn nearer to each other than they ever had been by their she wished once more that he would offer to kiss her and she knew she would scream loud enough to be heard a mile if he did i suppose said mr you would prefer to start this morning for or perhaps new york to going horseback with only myself and a couple of guides to the cave of la shook her head with decision so far from having that opinion i would go to the cave even if you returned and left me here she replied i could not be frightened again and i am simply crazy for adventure if there was only some place where we could get an american breakfast i would ask for nothing more i am dying of young hiss giddy hunger and i fear to encounter what may be on that table yonder he answered that she had been brought up too and that the first requisite in such a country as was to forget all notions regarding food at that moment one of the landlord s men came to announce that the morning meal was ready and with a that the messenger could not see started with her escort for the the dining room it may be said was also the kitchen and there is every probability that it served for the sleeping room for part of the family as well the average nineteenth century of the and is not luxurious in these things most of the servants employed by foreigners ask nothing but the privilege of lying on the kitchen or floors when sleep them around the board were already seated the host and five or six being the only woman guest of the establishment and perhaps the only one it had ever known both of the americans were sufficiently hungry to eat heartily of the eggs coffee milk and bread offered them for the landlord knew that the spanish breakfast of coffee and bread alone would not suffice for these people no unpleasant attention was shown by any of the men to the american girl though the women of the house watched her narrowly and discussed her in whispers when the meal was ended asked the landlord to get the horses and guides as soon as possible that they might begin their ride to the car a at before the day grew too warm although the man replied that he would do so and actually gave the preliminary directions the of the country was manifest there were causes for delay one of the the one to be used by the lady required which consumed an hour the principal guide could not be found not having been the previous evening as he should have been a permit to visit the cave must be obtained from the agent of its owner then when the hands of the watch pointed to half past nine the with one of the guides started through the village and were suddenly halted for a good half hour in front of the where the bread they were to take as part of their lunch was being baked fretted a little but did not mind these things in the least they were only sources of amusement to her and she laughed good at his wrinkled forehead as no one could tell how long the bread would be in the rode their horses over to the store kept by whom questioned anew as to the character of his landlord and the safety of guests in a house that was not ornamented with locks the answered positively that nothing could be more secure the landlord was the principal man in the place no one had ever complained of his usage there then he was asked about the guides that had been engaged and of whom one had not yet been found ah if you hare you are all right he said there is no guide like and also he speaks a little of the mi english yes he will be discovered he has not gone far there is time enough the cave will remain there until you reach it returning to the it was learned that a wonderful thing had happened not only had the bread completed its in the oven and been transferred with other food to the horse but

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the sought for had actually arrived and could now be found at his residence a little farther down the street the were soon toward the place indicated followed by quite a collection of half grown children who regarded as a genuine curiosity ten minutes at s door and then the chief guide appeared a handsome bright eyed young man at sight of whom the took renewed courage at the entrance of the house were two women whom he introduced as my and my li l wife the latter was very young hardly more than fifteen if so much and much abashed in the presence of the foreign lady she was dressed in a gown of which seemed to constitute her only garment her bare feet were as brown as her hands but her face was considerably lighter than her husband s or indeed any of the natives about her as soon as the limits of the village were reached all of the horses were into a gentle felt the of the ride and of the delightful air as in that month of march as it would be in the best part of a northern june along the poorly cultivated road occasional were seen hanging full of blossoms fields to the right or the left were or rich in green in b according to the lack or abundance of water so distributed in this territory but all the sky was clear chapter in the virgin s cave proved from the first the most entertaining of guides he had learned his english he said on the coast though he was born in talked with him whenever the horses came to a walk finding him as interesting as the country through which she was passing have you any children she inquired when she was on easy terms with the young fellow the pretty wife she had seen at his cabin door was continually before her mind no got none replied m had none child en there are many in your village nodded assent gravely yes it s so many child en in village but my li l wife had none thinking she detected a trace of regret in his tone was silent for several minutes was riding by her side and she fancied that he wore a look of interest in her how long have you been married she asked the guide been marry ten week ten week marry to my li l wife an had no child en could not help laughing outright to miss giddy save his life but looked at him with the same immovable gravity he had hitherto shown with vexation and for some time left the conversation to the men of the party however the subject of the guide s wife could not quite be dropped and she ventured to enter upon it again after a time your wife is much than any of your people she must have white people s blood in her the guide listened attentively look it he answered restrained his laughter this time and the horses were urged again into a it was said to be ten miles to the cave but it was a long road for that distance very little of it was shaded in the least the only people met on the way were donkey men with loads of wood on the backs of their beasts the poverty of the country it was learned that these loads which consumed a long day in cutting and conveying to the town brought only thirty to fifty cents and part of this had to be paid to the inexorable owner of the mountain side or the authorities the donkey men were and poorly clad but they saluted the with polite expressions and were doubtless contented with their lot all of them seemed to know the guides it was noon when the reached the bottom of the mountain in which the de la was asked if they would like to stop here for lunch before attempting the climb but both and miss strange said they preferred reaching the mouth of the cave before breaking their the virgin s merely to rest their animals for a few minutes they were soon again in the saddle and upon the upward road and now began one of the most tiresome of journeys the cave entrance was at least four thousand feet away by the winding path from the valley the road was paved with rolling stones which not only gathered no moss but made a most footing for the horses sometimes it was doubtful whether the beasts advanced or after taking a forward step responded to all suggestions that they were quite used to it and that they had made the journey many times before all roads have an end and in an hour after starting from the base of the hill the reached their destination and saw the opening of the cave just above them both were under the hot sun of midday and very glad to again the assistant who had come with took off the and the horses near by to a question what they were to eat he answered that it was much better for them not to touch food until they reached home at night looked with pity at the animals but she could do nothing to aid them no had been brought and except for what branches they might break from the of the mountain side they were not likely to get anything to her blank look replied that the guide was right according to the usually accepted theories of the he had known of men riding seventy five miles on the without feeding their horses until they reached their destination it was said they did better work on empty k miss giddy nevertheless he added that rule does not apply to human beings and i am very glad it does not for i am give us what lunch you have

0Arthur Conan Doyle

there and let us begin to eat before we explore the inside of this wonderful of nature here it was lucky that both of the were hungry the lunch turned out to consist only of bread boiled eggs and warm water the latter brought in bottles as they had eaten eggs for supper and breakfast their landlord had naturally concluded that nothing would be more agreeable to them for lunch the ride had so sharpened their that neither the quality of the refreshment and even the warm water was swallowed with they taking turns at the bottle in true comrade fashion it was three o clock when they entered the cave had brought with him a long cord and several candles he lit one of the candles and divided the rest of them with his employer then he took one end of the cord and began to penetrate into the interior of the cave leaving the rest of it in the hands of mr who was to assist along and follow the guide by means of the communication thus established for some time this worked very well within a quarter of an hour a lovely region was found in which the and were most wonderful the climbed up steep and down ways turning to the right and left in a fashion their progress was necessarily slow and the candles gave but a very imperfect light to their pathway lost in admiration of the beauties every moment disclosed they filled the iv the oat air with exclamations one candle being half burned out they left it standing on a shelf of the rock as they had been directed to do and lit another to carry with them once in a while they could hear the voice of calling out and their answers with a thousand echoes all at once a tall chamber loomed before them pressing forward delighted with what they saw they found they could make much faster progress than before on the other side of the room for such it appeared to be a gallery was reached that looked as if carved out of the rock with human hands along this the passed until the second candle was half burned when stopped to leave it like the other as a mark to their returning road why he said turning about you have not got hold of the cord no said i supposed you had it it was true in their neither of them had thought for the previous twenty minutes of that important matter what cried with vexation then he called out in a loud voice the echoes were tremendous but no human voice so far as they could tell answered called again no reply ve shall have to our steps he said it is too bad we were getting along so well backward they crept pausing every hundred feet to cry out again for and for all they could miss giddy hear the world might have come to an end and every other person in it but themselves have died this is useless said at last we must have mistaken our way or we should have reached a candle by this time we might as well sit down here and wait for him to find us he will notice by and by that we are not coming the candle he held gave a very faint and flickering light winds from unknown and mysterious sources blew around them in little that interfered with its flame he could see that his girl companion had summoned courage to meet the emergency instead of preparing to scream or faint as so many of her sex would have done both knew that there were grave dangers in connection with their situation this cave had never been thoroughly it might take a long time to find them however had evidently hit upon the best plan when he decided to remain still for the present they could not be more than an eighth of a mile or at the most a quarter from the entrance they sat down on the hard floor and talked in low tones the better to hear in case their guide s voice should reach them and every few minutes with all his might i say nothing came of it all and finally despairing of getting rescued in this way the began again to search for the outer world they were quite sure that the exit lay in a certain direction and that they should not be at a disadvantage by going that way took his knife and cut marks in the rock that he could recognize so that he might return if it seemed wise but though they walked a good deal farther than it had taken in the s them in the first place they heard nothing of the guide nor did he so far as they could ascertain hear anything of them when all of the candles that carried were burned out but one he looked at his watch and told with a nervous feeling that it was now seven o clock not a of natural light penetrated those depths it might have been bright day or midnight outside for all the difference it would have made there i am afraid said that has gone back or sent his assistant to get help from the village to find us in that case it is more than likely that with spanish they will not enter on their work before to morrow morning we ought to save this remaining candle to use in following their voices when they come for us looked at him steadily and answered yes i shall be obliged i fear to occupy the same room with you again to night he continued with a grim attempt at while the light is burning let me arrange your couch which will not be any too comfortable at the best she stood there silently while he selected the safest

0Arthur Conan Doyle

place he could find and taking off his coat rolled it up for a pillow it is all i have to offer he said gallantly pointing to it with a gesture that suggested immediate possession i will not take it she retorted with dignity you have absolutely nothing left for yourself oh yes he laughed a man is never without miss means to make a pillow he always has his boots she shook her head decidedly you shall not lie down without your coat you would be sure to catch cold there is there is a better way wondered what she would suggest the candle had burned very low and would not last much longer put on your coat again and take off your boots she said in a scarcely audible voice and lie down with them under your head then i will show you he complied like a slave whose duty it is to obey before he did so however he put the remaining candle within easy reach and his also i am here he said when all was ready and now what the girl advanced toward him she knelt by his side and drew his left arm out from his body gazing intently into his eyes by the last glimmer of the candle she drooped her face nearer and nearer to his until their lips met it was the last thing on earth he had imagined the effect upon him for the moment was to turn him into stone then laid her head on the arm she had arranged for her pillow and saying good night went away to u l must s some m w chapter w i must confess some things the condition of the previous night was completely reversed then it was who slept and who lay awake until she could hear the regular breathing that showed he was unconscious now it was the young girl who allowed the arms of as well as those of her companion to her she was very tired for one thing the long ride in the hot sun the hard climb of the mountain side the uncertain footing in the cave during the four hours she had ascended and descended its winding ways had nearly exhausted her slight strength but more than this was the feminine longing for protection from the unseen dangers that might in that gloomy the child hides its head in its mother s lap and the world to injure it the woman in the extremity of fear seeks the arms of the man she loves the man she loves yes was the man that loved she had not meant he should know it for a long time yet but the circumstances proved too much for her her action told him what she might have concealed for months as her lips touched his he knew her secret and when her head pressed his arm a thrill passed through him nearly as tired as the girl soon by her side when he awoke he found her up and for an instant thought she bad wan miss from him she his fears by saying that she had just awakened and asked him to light a match and see what time it was a look at his watch showed that it was five in the morning or at least they both concluded it was morning knowing that it was seven at night when they lay down with the glimmer of the match the darkness seemed more than before as neither of them wanted sleep they began to talk of their situation and of the probability that would be able to reach them with a party it was clear to both that they must have wandered a good long way from the mouth of the cave otherwise some of their calls should have been heard by the guide said he had no fears for he would not have admitted any in the presence of this girl and she answered that no doubt they would be out by noon thankful that he could not see the faltering lip with which she made the statement i would give a thousand for a good breakfast all the same said you must be starved to death poor child i m not very hungry she answered i would rather have a good lamp than all the food in i don t like to have my room so dark at this time in the morning i must admit it s light enough outside he said with an attempt at humor if only our curtains weren t stuck down so they decided that it would be the height of folly to take a single step further when there was no way to tell whether they were going toward the entrance or away from it the best thing was to stay where they were listening for any sound that indicated human life the morning passed however and nothing came to give them the least encouragement at what seemed very long intervals would the cave for a moment while he consulted his watch only to find that less than an hour had usually elapsed since the last inspection of its face at last the womanly nature of gave way under the strain she put her arms around his neck and began to sob softly on his bosom they will never find us she said we shall be left here to die oh why did we ever come intensely distressed he kissed away her tears and tried to her pretending to have heard something that sounded like voices and bidding her hush that he might listen again when it was evident that nothing in the shape of human beings bore any trace of being near the girl resumed her weeping and clung passionately to her companion her entire frame shaken with her emotion we shall die here i am sure of it she said when she could speak you will

0Arthur Conan Doyle

have lost your life for me if i had not been with you you would have held to that cord but you let go of it thinking i had it in my own hand ah is it not terrible that one i love so well should suffer through my fault listen to me it can do no harm to tell you now when we are so near the end of our lives i have loved you ever since that day you met me in the street a poor little girl and stopped to discuss with me the one hope that made my existence there was little to be gained by stopping her it miss comforted her in her deep distress and allowed her to proceed i must confess some things to you proceeded with trembling voice i learned a few months ago who gave all the money to me generously nobly making no claim in return acting out the honorable nature that was in him i knew in spite of what you told me in new that he was neither old nor ugly that he was in fact high born young and handsome i had called at mr s office for some money he went to one of his clerks and asked him in a whisper to bring the account book of one of his my ears are quick and the name came to me with perfect distinctness in a second everything was clear and when the next month the school caught fire and i was free for the rest of the year and i found by a newspaper that my dear benefactor was in the south nothing would do but i must look on his face once more and when i saw him as good as handsome as generous as ever i was impelled to go to with him because i knew such a man would deal with me as honestly as if i were his sister i knew he would not mistake me and time has proved that i was right but i did not dream that in following the footsteps i loved so well i should take them to the grave she clung to him and her voice was choked as she uttered the astonishing sentences almost crushed by what he heard had neither the courage nor the heart to utter the denial that rose to his lips i should not have thought you would have dared go to new entirely alone he ventured i must confess some but it was the second time i had been there she confessed yes the previous i had gone also to to spend a short with my teacher and she had taken me to new to witness the parade of the i knew you were there though i did not suspect in the least your connection with my fortunes i only remembered you as the kind young gentleman of a day whose face had ever been dear to my memory i procured a ticket to a ball that i had accidentally heard you were to attend and she stopped for her companion forgetting the darkness rose to his feet it was you at that ball he said in accents it was you yes she admitted i had been looking for you in vain all over the city and almost of finding you when you came out of a on canal street early that evening another gentleman was with you and i could not very well make myself known i walked behind you for several blocks hoping you would soon be alone but the gentleman went as far as your room on st charles street and you immediately went up the stairs the last thing he said as he parted from you was this what time shall i meet you and where at the you answered about one o clock to night remember if you miss me he said it is the ball of the known gentlemen i returned to my hotel waited till my friend was asleep and went to the hall where the ball was in progress when you arrived hidden behind my mask i spoke to you may bury was staggered he leaned against the miss shelf of rock under which he had passed the flight and wondered if he were sleeping or waking it cannot be you are speaking the truth he stammered finally how should you know where the gentlemen were to hold the ball t i engaged a young man a brother of one of the hotel boys to go with me to the place from his chatter i learned about its character also and on the way we stopped and i bought a mask i am not easily when i start to do a thing and i was determined to see you the young man s head was in a whirl how could he reconcile the past with the present i simply cannot believe you he said but when we are out of this trouble if you will show me the mate to that article you dropped on the ball room floor in the midst of your dance i will say no more for an instant as began to understand this request her eyes gave forth such fire as should have served to the how can you insult me like this she cried how can you compare me to that creature whose dance i would not even cross the room to witness oh it is scandalous and i have put such confidence such faith in you notwithstanding all i saw and heard that terrible night had the roof of the cave fallen broken in fragments at his feet would not have been much more he saw the dreadful error ae had committed and as soon as he could speak he proffered his most humble and sincere apologies he reminded the sobbing girl that both the women who spoke to him that night were equally

0Arthur Conan Doyle

hidden from his eyes with nothing to give the least indication of their identity but he could not console her she felt that the insult was too deep for immediate forgiveness after striving in vain to get her to speak the words of pardon he gave up the attempt in despair it was now past the hour of noon and a faint feeling began to him the lack of dinner breakfast and lunch was doing its work on his organs his courage strong while his companion gave him her sympathy and love to there were only two or three matches left and but the one candle which he had not yet dared to light in his distress he himself of his pistol and telling what he was about to do he began firing it at intervals of two or three minutes hoping that the reports would attract attention from the outside and possibly serve as a clue for the who he was sure must ultimately arrive the shots made a terrific roar in the chamber the echoes re echoed it seemed a hundred times before they into perfect stillness felt a new terror each time the noise was repeated she wished heartily she had again around her those protecting arms or at least that her companion s hand might be clasped in hers during the as was about to empty the last chamber of the revolver the ears of the were startled by the sound of another pistol at a long distance away but seemingly also inside the cave turned his head toward the place where sat and knew that she was also looking in his direction did you hear a sound he asked yes it was not the mere echo of my last shot no it was quite different then they have begun to search for us he exclaimed joyfully we are saved he toward the girl intending to clasp her to his heart in but she had divined his purpose and moved away even the pleasure of a rescue could not blot the fact from her mind that he had thought her capable of an infamous exhibition before a crowd of people it seemed doubly cruel after she had done violence to her maiden modesty by the deep affection she had conceived for him five minutes earlier sh would have joined in his rejoicing but for the moment she could not utter a word it was more than two hours before the reached them the passages in the cave were intricate and numerous they could hear the voices of and of their landlord long before could make his own voice heard in return and after that it was some time before they could talk so as to be understood by each other but the reached them at last and their bright sent a still greater ray into the hearts that had nearly given up to despair had been to the village and brought six men with him besides a quantity of rope and plenty of candles he had been as quick about it as it is possible for any one having a strain of spanish blood in i him to be and he thought he had spent a short time in the work the were with another of eggs bread and water which they did not hesitate this time to accept with the noticed however that the said little to his wife and that when he did she replied briefly they have been again said the landlord to himself what can they have to fight about for the love of god you are too tired to ride as far as tonight are you not asked when th lunch was disposed of she looked about her in wonder i cannot stay here she replied with a shade of no but tells me there is a camp a few miles away where we can get shelter she shook her head doubtfully i had rather endure the ride she said we have plenty of time before dark we can go slowly he sat down by her of the eyes that watched them my dear girl said he forgive me you must see i did an injury to your feelings had the cave been light you would have read the incredulity in my countenance at the idea i gained from your statement i am certain you are all that is good and pure she turned her swimming eyes full upon him how can i make you understand she said all last night i lay in your arms with as little thought of wrong as a bird in its nest i knew you were not all that a man should be but i thought at miss giddy least you had respect for my unhappy situation and that toward me your thoughts would be and in a moment i saw you had conceived me a woman capable of any evil it is horrible i cannot forget it he wisely said no more to her at the time but directed to have the animals made ready the homeward journey was begun and the ten miles consumed four hours at bed time said she had lost her fear of being alone and asked him to get another room to which he made a brief but pointed refusal i will not he replied if any harm should happen to you i should never forgive myself i shall sleep on the floor as i did the other night i am getting quite fond of hard he said trying to smile she shut her lips closely together i positively forbid you to enter my room she said coldly and i refuse to obey there are no or locks and you cannot keep me out you are acting said the girl having recourse again to weeping did not reply in words he took by the arm and walked into the chamber with her as if she were a child go

0Arthur Conan Doyle

to bed and sleep he said you may have an illness from your exposure if you are not careful making a bed again on the floor he curled himself up with his boots for a pillow but try as he might it was a long time before he could slumber last night s arrangement was ever so much better he murmured aloud it s as dark here now ah it is as it was there come and give me one kiss that s a good girl but did not stir her pillow was wet with her fast falling tears this man whom she had learned to love so much had suspected her and how could she tell where it all might end chapter ah it is terrible sleep is a great of the nervous when the following morning dawned strange woke before her protector she saw by the faint light that peeped in through the close shutters that mr was still lying stretched on the hard floor of the room and she experienced a feeling of remorse for the harsh things she had said to him how could he have treated her with more consideration there were few men she who would have been as gentle as thoughtful as he he opened his eyes and saw her gaze fixed upon him what you awake he exclaimed rising immediately it must be later than i supposed no it is only six o clock nothing is the matter i hope nothing said the girl except that i am sorry for what i said last night and want you to forget it as soon as you can her voice proclaimed the earnestness of her desire and he took a step nearer the bed on which mi giddy she lay then himself he walked away from her and opened the outer door don t spend a moment over that matter he replied lightly if we were to discuss it an hour i should only agree with all you might say it was a bad slip i know that as well as you lie as late as you please and when you are ready i will send the girl to assist you again it was neither the time nor place to go into further details and refrained from doing so knowing that she could express herself more fully at a later period but she did say that she was quite ready to rise and would like to see the landlord s daughter at once after breakfast the question arose as to what should next be done the had brought all their baggage with them not having fully decided whether or not to return to tried to ascertain what preferred but in her mood she insisted on leaving the entire matter to him try as he might he could not get her to express a preference for any place or route at last finding that she was determined he should decide he said they would go on south stopping at the first day meek as any feminine moses got into the old vehicle that carried passengers from the hotel to the station two miles or more away and left with her escort two days at were quite enough to inspect its wonders a train on the national railroad bore them on to where they made the steep ascent to the town and enjoyed immensely the novel experience then after a good rest they went to u ah i it is d san which the guide book told them was in the midst of a fertile plain but which the long absence of rain had reduced for the time to a desert instead of earning a living by supplying food as in most cities the inhabitants of san seemed mostly engaged in selling water at the nearly dry public wells and the barely running public fountains the ragged of this prime necessity were struggling with each other to husband the few that could be obtained it was sad to see to what depths of misery the refusal of the elements to perform their functions had reduced a population ordinarily happy and prosperous leaving san the stopped at several other places of minor interest and then reached the capital of the country it was april when they arrived in the city of they found rooms for the present in the hotel that peculiar in what was like many other prominent buildings in that section a in the time the strong hand of by a sweeping act of the power of the church and its that would have made a religious out of what the people preferred should be a republic it will remain for his to make this wonderful old city one of the most attractive towns in the world by their new system of although it was now becoming rather too warm to suit the they would have remained there much longer had it not been for a letter which received this letter was in the handwriting of dr and conveyed the information that had died suddenly miss giddy while in the west as it would have taken a full week for his son in law to reach new york it had been deemed to telegraph him to attend the funeral and the had taken place with only the usual delay it appeared from dr that heart disease was the cause assigned and that no one had suspected the existence of the trouble its fatal termination the in death as in life was found with a smile on his lips mrs already in a most precarious state of health wrote the doctor in closing is naturally much she thinks it best from a business that you should come home for a few weeks but says it will not be possible for her to see you except for the moment mr would also like to talk with you about the will of which he is left sole if

0Arthur Conan Doyle

i were in your place i should not hasten as everybody knows you are very far from home and will form no unpleasant conclusions this was a blow from which it took some time for to recover even enough to explain things to and when he did explain them he very soon got into a worse state of mind than at first the affection which he bore mr had not been a very great one and yet he liked that gentleman he could not forget the consideration the had shown him when he placed the comfortable sum of to his credit it is always a shock when our friends are taken by death dr s allusions to were also disturbing a man may be able to live without his wife and yet not enjoy being told continually that she is much better off when he is at a distance there was nothing to ah it terrible do but to pack up and start for the north and the prospect was that the next month would be a particularly disagreeable one bad news he told her when he had spent an hour in a vain attempt to compose his feelings is dead the poor whose method of acquiring wealth you set me to the first day we met i shall have to go to new york without delay looked sympathetic in answer to the sad face he exhibited i did not know he was any relation to you she said simply you surely knew that he was my wife s father she had never heard it never in her wildest dreamed it for an instant she did not seem to breathe your what why you don t tell me you never heard said i thought the whole world knew did you you didn t think i was single her face was the color of a dead girl s her mind wandered was this a real conversation she was having with this man or was she the victim of some dreadful delusion u my dear child he said the entire truth let me tell you everything i supposed of course you knew and that is why i never alluded to it in any way you see she stopped him with a just perceptible gesture wait she with difficulty wait minute plunged into despair he obeyed but instead of allowing him to proceed with his explanation she young miss him as soon as she speak before the bar of her womanhood married she said in a hoarse whisper and here with me married oh it was a burst of the most intense anguish but the tears did not come the pain was too deep for ordinary means of relief why did not god let us die in that cave at she cried you held me to your heart in what i thought pure honorable love and now what shall i call the relation we hold to each other every look you have given me has been to another every hour i have kept you from her side has been so much of what was her due no he would not sit there without telling her what there was in of his he had had no doubt that she knew of his marriage to that girl she had seen with the everybody knew of it how should he have supposed it had been kept from her if she had found him wandering from his wife she must have known that there were reasons he certainly had with without doing anything that could injure her present or future happiness no one can say he added that i have not a right to be in at the same time as you or to visit the same places but she shook her head you cannot it she said ah it is terrible terrible what shall i do how can i bear it affected beyond measure at her grief drew his chair close to hers and took her hands in his she did not attempt to draw them away but ah f it is allowed him to stroke them tenderly while he tried with all his power to comfort her she must think of herself as his ward he said she should always be very dear to him nothing should separate them it would be necessary for him to go north at the present time and she must go also as soon as he could arrange to be absent again he would take her to some other part of the world where they would be as happy as if she had never heard of his marriage and will she that wife of yours let you go then she asked is she satisfied to have you away from her or are you breaking her heart as you are mine as gently as possible he told her that his wife had advised him to extend his journey and that in him now she had sent a message expressing doubt whether she would be able to see him more than for a few minutes it was evident that these things gave him genuine but could not the matter to the bottom yet she was sorry for him however and his story softened the resentment she had begun to feel even if it did not her grief during the next hour he told her much of the history of his marriage that she might the better understand the reasons for his conduct in the course of his tale he happened to mention that her brother was in mrs s service and the young girl evinced intense surprise she made him tell her all about it and at the end for some time into a brown study hardly hearing anything her companion was saying had no courage left to refuse when young miss asked her to be ready to start for the united states on the following morning the was too great for

0Arthur Conan Doyle

her with him she feared a thousand evils without him all was chaos he was her her only friend the one person on earth that she cared for she would have to go with him there was no escape chapter xxx a surprised husband the journey to new york was of the were in a mood for saying much arriving at the city proceeded to the st hotel instead of going directly to his home was taken to the office of david whom he was successful in finding within well old man cried the rising and coming forward with i never was so glad to see any one in my life you must have had a hard trip to come so far so suddenly when did you arrive we ll talk of that some other time was the constrained reply tell me about everything here the poor how did it happen i cannot understand it he always looked so well nobody understood it the answered he had seemed as well the evening before as a man ever did and was found dead in his bed the next morning oh well that was getting to be the fashion long a ed husband were out of date when a man got ready to go he never gave notice nowadays great shock to his daughter naturally mr had noticed it of course what he hadn t been up to the house yet no had heard yesterday that mrs was unable to see anyone but the doctor terrible to be so delicate but about the will must see it and say if there was anything he didn t like had to take the thing into court you know business must be attended to even if people did die it made more business in fact queer wasn t it that had been made never had an of it upon his soul it would give him enough to do for the next few years and so he rattled on and finally he produced the document in question which for a will that disposed of twenty millions or more was a very brief one to mr david it gave the sum of as full payment for the duties it confided to him to his residence to his daughter outright and the rest to his children equally this will takes the place of an older one explained the and was made only a few weeks before the s death the addition of the house to mrs s part was doubtless influenced by the fact that she is likely to become a mother the late mr s son in law stared at the speaker any woman is likely to be a mother he answered you do not pretend to be in ignorance of mrs young miss giddy s present condition was the s reply said with an air of incredulity again stared at him what do you mean in plain english he asked rather roughly i mean that your wife is expecting a child early the coming summer you are entirely mistaken was the answer whoever has told that story is a leaned back in his office chair and put his hands into his pockets as far as they would go it s queer if is mistaken he said i really thought he ought to know did tell you that demanded flushing hotly as true as you sit there put his hand to his forehead and tried to think was the story probable he could not believe it i am surprised at you said you know of course how ill she has been and what a time has had pulling her through he has certainly written to you for he asked me your address why it is beyond belief perhaps it was true but if so how doubly guilty he had been as a husband to spend his time in travel with an attractive girl enjoying all he could of the pleasant things of life while his poor wife was a physical and mental distress such as a man could only conceive of she had asked him to remain away from her indeed but he was not obliged to go three thousand miles off and give no thought to her dangerous situation not even take a ed husband the pains to know it never hear of it until after everybody else was fully informed how contemptible it was coming to him in that shape i will go to her at once he said to himself and if necessary to obtain her pardon i will beg it on my knees he remained but a short time longer at the s he declared the will satisfactory as far as he was concerned though he did not understand why mr had remembered him so kindly it was an entire surprise and he did not know as he ought to accept it nonsense exclaimed in response to this suggestion you are altogether too sensitive and let me tell you also my dear that a man in your situation ought to wear a brighter face than you carry around with you your time for taking this world seriously is over you have wealth enough to satisfy all your tastes you can travel or stay at home just as it pleases you best if one set of companions doesn t suit it is in your power to select another i don t know as lucky a fellow in the entire country take it altogether why don t you brace up and act like you used to when you hadn t ten thousand dollars for an instant thought of confiding in this man so wise in all the affairs of life he thought of telling him the condition of his mind and throwing himself upon his generous mercy but he could not bring himself to it and remarking that he would see him again in a day or two he left the building and took his

0Arthur Conan Doyle

way on foot to the elegant residence on fifth avenue ac he was about to ascend the marble steps a per young miss giddy son came down them stopped hesitated and then awaited his coming it was strange i have just returned was the brief statement that made find madame and tell her i would like to see her at my rooms silent as ever never speaking when he could do without words the young bowed and walked back into the house making way at the door for the alleged master of the premises to him if had paid the least attention to his face he would have seen that all color had left it and that there was a of the eyelids that unusual excitement but he noticed nothing being too much with his troubles and with a nod or two to the servants he met on his way he sought his own chambers things move slowly in the of and of the rich it was more than an hour before madame was ready to see him in his parlor he rose to welcome the with something the air one uses at mrs had been of the return of said madame and regretted that she was not well enough to meet him at once perhaps later in the day she would feel equal to the effort the lamentable death of her father ah mr would appreciate her sentiments will you tell me asked the husband with a that surprised himself how soon mrs expects to be confined the daughter of was thrown off her guard for a moment by this pointed inquiry to be confined she repeated uneasily a surprised husband yes you understand the term do you not when is she to become a mother the five seconds in which this form of the had been were enough to decide the question that was in the mind of madame it was evident that knew of his wife s condition and there was no reason why she should answering i cannot tell you with anything like she said acknowledging with a low bow that she comprehended at last dr will be here at two o clock and i will tell him that you wish an interview the husband wore an anxious look has she suffered much poor lady yes and at present is she any worse than she has been about the same i judge she is up nearly every day and even goes to ride but her nerves are terrible tell the doctor said that i wish to see him as soon as he is through with her to day and please inform the servants that i shall not care for lunch i am exhausted with travel and wish to get a little sleep madame indicated that these things would all be attended to and was left alone he found by consulting his watch that it was nearly noon utterly tired out he threw off his clothes and got into his bed and notwithstanding the troubles that upon him it was not ten minutes before he was in the kind of a slumber when knocked at his door it was past four miss giddy o clock the physician had arrived at the house a little later than usual and his interview with his fair patient had been prolonged beyond the ordinary time it required a second and third rap to bring the to the door and when it was opened the doctor found his old friend in a dressing robe rubbing his eyes and yawning without permitting the least delay absolutely refusing to discuss any other subject till this one was disposed of begged to tell him all he could in relation to the health of mrs the doctor expressed the greatest surprise to hear that the husband had learned that morning for the first time of the fact of central importance he had supposed of course that he had been informed at the beginning and had never thought it necessary to allude to it in the letter he had sent still he could account for the of the young wife considering the extreme from which she suffered and the retiring disposition she always showed her present condition was slightly improved from what it had been there was now a strong hope that she would be able to pass the ordeal in safety to herself and offspring for months the loss of the latter had been feared when things had been at their worst the heroic lady had refused to have her husband informed declaring that he should not suffer on account of something which he could neither prevent nor mrs had been much by the news of her father s death but she had borne it better than it was feared she would during the latter part of the doctor s recital his a e husband found it impossible to control his feelings tears rushed to his eyes and flowed down his cheeks why this is all wrong cried dr briskly your wife has passed through some narrow passages but the worst is believed to be over the present situation is one on which we should all congratulate ourselves mrs has requested me to say that she will meet you to morrow morning at ten in her private parlor all i need add is that you must be wise enough to make the interview brief and say nothing to her could not talk to of what disturbed him not as well even as he could have done to he made no attempt therefore to explain the cause of his agitation but he confined his answers to questions relative to his journey to the very shortest compass warned again to on no account add to the anxiety of his wife met at the appointed time with as firm a nerve as he could summon she was not much paler than of to his relief and she assumed an

0Arthur Conan Doyle

air that was almost cheerful he could not avoid telling her of the south and of as he had the others who questioned him and she expressed the hope that some day she would have the pleasure of seeing the tropical land which she made him describe between his desire to obey the of the doctor and his fear that if he began to entreat her pardon for his faults he would break down he was unable to say a word upon the subject on which he most wanted to speak with her and he left his wife without in the remotest way alluding to her delicate situation from the arrival of in new york he saw young miss giddy his wife nearly every day but never more than a quarter of an hour the courage which had failed him at the outset did not return the things he wished to talk about never came upon his lips in her presence he met charles frequently but he had little inclination to confide in the young man whose whole life was now devoted to the working people upon whom he was his entire share of his father s fortune the only man that sought much was mr and that gentleman refrained from all allusions that could possibly have a disagreeable flavor it was about the middle of may when the asked his friend to accompany him to van upon a business matter connected with the estate of which he was now being consulted urged to accept and joined in the advice saying he needed a change that he was not looking as well as she could wish the physician assured the husband that he would him if anything special occurred to demand his presence with this was fain to be content the life he was living was indeed wearing on him a few weeks of change would do him great good he told that he would go during all this time strange had been stopping at the st living the life of a if not of a once a day mr called upon her and stayed perhaps half an hour the girl always tried to meet him as cheerfully as possible but they did not succeed in much joy to each other s countenances was as strong in urging the western journey as the other a out process had been it was agreed that she would engage a maid and go to an interior city during his absence i am sorry to be such an expense to you said when this arrangement was suggested for heaven s sake never speak of that he exclaimed draw all you need from mr and say nothing be a good girl now till we meet again he felt that she would allow him a good by kiss ut he could not give it during the weeks he had been at home he had never kissed his wife and he could not bring himself at this time to offer that salute to another chapter a out process a large part of the state of van is a wilderness there was no better reason why it should have been received into the union than that a few ambitious desired to enter by that door the mines which the late had left in his s charge were in the interior and required some days of wagon journey after leaving the railroad when they had been thoroughly there were other lands to see in which the company s believed quantities of silver lay hidden and to these points journeys were made on horseback a month was consumed in this way miss giddy instead of the fortnight intended and it was late m june when a letter was brought to from dr stating that he was the father of a girl trembling in every limb handed this to as soon as he had read it why the devil did i ever come out here he aid of all times in my life this is the one i should have been at home not a bit of it answered the knew what he was about when he advised you to go away and so did your wife when she his motion you would have turned the house at a time when they needed the utmost quiet you would have wanted to break into the sick chamber and when you couldn t do it you would have distracted the physician and nurses asking for half minute look at the of this letter mother and child doing well i should think that wholly original expression would answer all your doubts we are through here now and can start home to morrow in eight days we shall arrive and you will thank your stars that you escaped the most disagreeable strain that any man ever has on his mental mr tried to see it in this way but he could not satisfy himself that he was not a heartless wretch on the homeward trip it took all that the could do to rally him the night he arrived in new york he because the nurse in charge refused to allow him to enter the room where his wife lay he took but the most inspection of the infant they brought him sound asleep in its he had never abused this young was not the person to whom he owed an a out process apology he wanted to see and tell her how sorry he was that he had been away at such an time before they would let him see his wife the next morning dr had to be summoned it the husband to find this personage standing always between him and his other half but there was no help for it he was relieved however after the doctor had talked with him a few moments for it appeared that he held the same view that mr had expressed he declared it a positive

0Arthur Conan Doyle

piece of luck that the father of the promising child in the other part of the house had not been inside its two weeks earlier i should not have known what to do with you laughed the physician you would have been a positive nuisance but supposing she had died replied with a shiver ah but she didn t all s well that ends well you know when mrs received her husband however it was evident that she did not take precisely the physician s view she inquired with the first touch of she had ever shown in his presence why he had remained away so much longer than he promised when he took his departure she feared the friends of the family would draw unpleasant and had given orders that the birth of the child should be concealed from for the present dr she said could be relied upon to show due discretion all this and much more the young wife told him from her place on the pillows and the husband felt miss giddy a depression that would have driven him a year earlier into the present difficulty could not be solved in that way if he was ever going to show himself a man it was high time he set about it to his wife became from this time less acceptable if possible than before when she recovered from her illness she avoided him openly showing a desire to see him as little as possible dr shrugged his shoulders and said there was no for the of women he considered mrs fairly well now and thought his services were not likely to be of much further use she had formed notions after the birth of her child which he could do nothing to it was a common thing for women to receive these impressions and sometimes it took a very long time to get them out of their heads the summer was passed miserably enough and in the early autumn went to david the entire affair to him and asked his advice i would a thousand times better be single he said my wife treats me as as if i were a stranger to whom she had recently been introduced i have made explanations and apologies until i can do no more if this keeps up much longer i shall be driven crazy mr put on his most thoughtful look this is not entirely new to me he said i have seen a little of what was going on and several times i have taken the liberty to reason with your wife about her conduct the intimate relations which i held with her father justified me in that i a process think do you want my explanation of the state of her mind go on was the earnest reply well it is this in a mrs has one of those sensitive that are not made for marriage she obeyed her father s wishes like a dutiful child the matrimonial state is associated in her mind with nothing but suffering in the very shortest time possible she has had to go through all the unpleasant things that women dread and she fears that they might be repeated you are in short an object of terror to her she receiving you on anything like the old terms it is a sad case but i do not see that it has a remedy now i would advise but perhaps you do not want my advice i do it is exactly what i came for i would advise resumed that you accept the situation make no fuss about it take a trip abroad and see if time does not set things right she will let you go i am certain and i am almost equally sure that she will send you word to return before many months are over sometimes the best thing to do with a horse or a woman is to give them their heads while you stay together nothing can be done she has a great amount of determination for such a little creature tell her you think of going away and see what she says felt again how unpleasant it is to be told that one s wife would prefer his room to his company it is he ventured to remark of course smiled the everything about marriage is i only recommended it to you as a financial and so far as that g miss giddy is concerned you will admit that it has turned out well i ve told you what to do now you must be your own judge before would act on this suggestion he made up his mind to try every thing else he could think of the only result was that grew more and more reserved toward him as the weeks passed away she saw him at first at dinner the bells which connected his apartments with hers were rung in vain she was well enough in fact she had a new color that made her much than ever before but none of it was for him at last she declined to see him at all taking her meals in her own apartments dr who was begged to ascertain the reason of this conduct reported that he was unable to it he said as did that the best thing he could think of to bring her around was a trip to some distant point she would undoubtedly recover her natural if left alone during this time mr saw very little of strange he visited her not oftener than once a fortnight and wrote to her on the alternate weeks very brief though kind letters as long as he had hope of up an with his wife he felt a delicacy about being much in the company of the other girl finally however he concluded to do as he had been advised he was very tired of living in a house of which

0Arthur Conan Doyle

he was not master on the opposite side from a woman who refused to act the part of a wife the note that he sent in to telling her of his intention was written in the most courteous manner it said she had only to speak the word and he would jl out remain with her otherwise he must she desired him to cease acting the r e of a husband entirely the answer she sent him was very brief and informed him in effect that she quite approved of his journey and trusted it would be a benefit to him as for herself her child now required all her attention she ended the note by wishing him happiness and asking that he write occasionally nothing could have been colder or more formal the wife had not even expressed a wish to bid him good bye in person nearly distracted by the situation which he could not in the least explain packed his things and sent for he could not bear to set out on his travels without one heart in which he could find sympathy and to his delight the girl responded instantly in person ready to go wherever he went their path was in a direction as the weather grew cooler back to that which both had learned to like so well and from which they had parted so suddenly they stopped at for at and a dozen other places of interest and when the new year opened were again in the district so little thought had they of danger or detection that they went about with perfect freedom in each other s company on sunday mornings they visited the gigantic and most beautiful cathedral where once they saw at least a hundred little mothers not one of them over five feet in height offering their tiny babies for the to in the afternoon they drove on the amid the most picturesque of and to be seen on the american continent at night they attended the on other days they visited the museum the ancient relics and at the paintings so much finer than they had expected to see in this country the city was filled with and fountains and statues they also drove out to to the church of the fortress of and every other place of interest within many miles in these months almost renewed the youth he had been on the point of losing he could not forget all that had made him unhappy but the sweet companionship of soothed the wounds he had received the young girl confided in him now as the only friend on whom she could rely they were like two walking hand in hand through the world preferring the dreams they loved to the reality to which waking must bring them among the which they both liked best was the canal that semi and artificial stream that runs from a point in the outskirts of the city of a long distance into the country they were frequently in the habit of a boat and going to the or floating gardens and sometimes much farther partially concealed by the they would lie at ease in the bottom of their frail craft enjoying the slow ride past the strangest villages and the people meeting market boats loaded with vegetables and many pleasure craft filled with happy singers and players making the most delightful music nowhere except it be in are the natives so often u amuse himself would call out this man to some boat load of people and the response given with the utmost politeness always came quickly february arrived and still the had no thought of leaving these delightful scenes but one evening as they were floating at a s pace back to the city on the bosom of this strange canal another pleasure boat passed them covered like theirs with a of cloth the voice of one of its occupants could be distinctly heard from beneath the canvas and turned toward with startled eyes it is she j he whispered in the greatest agitation it is my wife what can she be doing here hush replied the girl in an equally low tone she cannot see us under this covering keep perfectly quiet just then a peal of musical laughter came to the ears of the listeners from the occupants of the other boat chapter arrest this man unable to resist the temptation peered beneath the when he raised his gaze again to he wore an expression that frightened her to the utmost there was a horrible of the muscles and both his eyes filled with little of red j miss giddy this is what he had seen his wife sat low in her boat with one of her arms about the neck of strange whose head lay against her bosom with her disengaged hand she was the hair of the carpenter at the very moment when the husband beheld them she was the warmest of kisses upon his cheek near by apparently not at all surprised at the the french maid sat smiling upon the pair obeying his first impulse drew down where she could be a witness of this astonishing scene otherwise he did not move his sufferings were so acute and his head was in such a whirl that he could not think of any plan of action there is no one near us who speaks anything but spanish you silly girl mrs was saying in french to the maid we can use any other language without the least fear of discovery this was evidently said in reply to a remark which had called forth the laugh that attracted s attention but you know is somewhere in protested the more careful and it would not be nice to have him get word of this he is still at replied smiling r but even if he were here and could see and hear me i don t

0Arthur Conan Doyle

know as i should care very much i am tired of him if he should say a word i would ask him where he had left his own the farce of pretending to be an obedient wife is ended s hand on s arm she could only imperfectly understand what had been as her education in french was more this v than practical but her fears threw her into a state of intense excitement what are you talking about came from the lips of young strange it is just as well to speak english forgive me said in a most caressing tone we were speaking of mr and i was remarking that if we should ever meet i should have very little to say to him if he will keep away another year i can get a divorce for desertion and then my darling i shall be yours forever the husband uttered a groan so low that no one but heard it but filled with such pain that it thrilled her with horror the boats floated within thirty feet of each other and the old acquaintances were talking familiarly in the mixed native and spanish dialect you know well said the wife after a moment s pause that had it not been for the affection i bore my father i could never have endured all that misery how dreadful to marry a man i did not love when my whole heart was yours except for our child i would have refused as long as i lived but that left no alternative what do you think mr would say if he knew whose baby it was and that it was born two months earlier than he believes wound her arms around holding him down he had feebly struggled to rise to his feet one of her hands was placed upon his mouth she felt that something dreadful must happen soon he breathed like a man in it is really amusing continued and again her musical laugh rang out on the young miss giddy ir it is too awfully funny to think of all the pains i had to take to deceive him getting that of a to help me out and bringing all my wits to bear to deceive mr who i more than half believe everything mr only glanced at the child but he wouldn t have known if it had been a year old instead of the fortnight he thought and when i looked at him in such an injured way as if my heart was broken at his long neglect the tears came into his poor eyes oh i thought surely i should die of laughing when he had gone from the room and you and and came back and every day would come in with such stories of his and his anxiety for my health i the french maid interposed once more really madame she protested you forget how loud you are speaking give your advice when it is asked was the short reply of her mistress do you think these market people or these understand me i am as free here as any bird not only to do as i please but to utter my thoughts she added bending lovingly over her companion of what are you thinking are you not glad to be with me where no one can question us does it make you happy not to pretend to be my servant in the presence of so many people when you know i would lie in the dust for your feet to walk on me the young carpenter made a half audible response which seemed to satisfy her for she bent over him again and kissed him upon the mouth ah ray god exclaimed the wife i never kiss thi man you but i think of that terrible week after my marriage when i had to endure my husband s caresses i had wept myself wild at the thought that it would have to be for the six weeks that preceded the but i was no more prepared than ever you know how i risked so much to come back to you the evening i was married i would have endured exposure my father s anger anything rather than not have sought you out after you left that parlor so wan and white do i not deserve to be happy with you if only for the terrible sacrifice i made in myself to his arms to save your child from disgrace and it troubles me too my darling that when grows to be a woman she never can know who is her real father she will bear a name that her mother has learned to hate under the hands that clung to mr could feel the hot flesh burning as with a fever the girl could only hope that the boats would ultimately drift apart and put an end to the awful strain on the listener most interested she recognized the face and voice of her brother and knew that it was he who had been the partner in sin of the young wife but the boats clung as closely together as if they were beings gifted with a knowledge of what was upon their decks and feeling a malignant joy at the impending crisis strange only replied to the of his companion by a he seemed much more engaged in watching the scenes along the bank of the canal than in listening to her words the more thickly settled sections of the city were up before them it would not be long now ere they would be at the hotel where a good dinner undoubtedly awaited their coming what a life i led all through my childhood exclaimed seeing nothing but the countenance of him she loved everything that money could buy was on me but i never was content that day i saw you first working at your bench i knew an

0Arthur Conan Doyle

end must come of all my madame and made it so easy for me to seek you they both knew what it was to have a lover and that the possession of wealth made no change in the heart of a girl you remember she said speaking to the maid how you searched for him and made him meet me pretending that he might lose his situation ha ha unless he did and after that he came to our house on fifty second street every evening to show me the carving he was doing taking his pay for extra time and never seeming to understand how it ever came about i do not know for you were the darling that ever lived she continued addressing herself again to at last however you saw that it was you and not the stupid wood that i wanted from that hour i was in i could not wait till evening for you but used to go and stand where could see you happy to be in the same house under the same roof crossing the canal are numerous bridges built low like those at whenever a boat has to go beneath one of these arches the a cry of warning and by a small the that hangs above the passengers at this moment a bridge was encountered and the canvas drooped over mrs and her this ma t shutting them temporarily out of sight she seized the opportunity to press her lips once more to those of her lover as if she could not bear that any of the honey upon them should escape her and when her husband whose boat covering fell also second later found it raised into its usual place this was the sight that met his dazed and outraged eyes strange held to with the strength of desperation she still hoped that something would happen to separate the boats from each other she believed that if they once got far enough apart to enable her to talk with him unheard she could persuade him to leave without seeking an interview with this dreadful woman who had so him s head was ready to burst his throat was his skin was his were he lay in the bottom of that boat suffering as if it were made of red hot iron but not ready yet to move it was so long so very long said when the bridge was passed before i could find a way to have you wholly to myself i had to pretend a great deal more illness than i felt though the constant worry about you made me pale enough it was not papa alone who had to be won over to the idea that i needed you to help me in my travels he was ready to anything his favored fortune was on my side and at last mr secured you for me that made everything easy i did not have to wait till evening for you to come dragging the long dull days in restlessness i did not have to dread the clock striking tea at young miss night knowing that you would consider it a signal to start for your own home you were mine then all mine madame and and dr were in my secret and nobody else knew or needed to know rose abruptly and to his to remove altogether the that had hidden the they were now so near the end of their trip that he wanted to begin preparations for landing the delay in made by this caused the second boat containing and to pass slightly ahead could now see the entire group and he noticed above all that his wife wore the brightest smile he had ever seen upon her face there have been so many queer things said and her voice came clearly to him over the water you remember dear when we found mr in that can can hall in new and i drank wine with him without his ever suspecting my identity i was half inclined to like him when i saw his flaming eyes watching the wild dance i gave but my heart was already won i wonder who that little silly creature was who accompanied us to the and was afraid she would see my stockings and what a fright i had do you remember when i lost the mate to this article she paused long enough to show it to him and all the time poor thought me an angel and a saint rippling out upon the bosom of the canal came again the laughter of the young wife at this pleasing paying little if any attention to her stood up in the boat looking at a more interesting spectacle with the of this that the natives of half a dozen young women were bathing in perfect a hundred feet away we are almost there said the young man at last in a remarkable burst of could restrain mr no longer one of his hands had found its way to a rear pocket and when it emerged it held a revolver tightly grasped within it beg you to think she whispered in agony he is my brother if he heard her he did not reply his came at that moment to take away the that hid them and did nothing to prevent him the stopping of the allowed the other boat to pass this one when threw off the clinging girl with brute force he faced the lover of his wife who was standing with folded arms his back toward the of his craft it is mr he will kill you screamed was upon her feet before these sentences were ended seeing the situation she threw both her arms with a protecting motion around the body of her lover so that is the girl for whom you left me she cried i think we may call it it was a most peculiar

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the wife s embrace was about her lover while that lover s sister held the husband as tightly as she could hoping to the aim which she had good reason to fear would be deadly was the picture of determination whatever else showed in his countenance there was nothing there of the coward he tried to s arms from his body the boats were too far apart to permit him to attack his enemy with natural weapons the only ones he had with him but he wanted to be free to act in an emergency he saw the revolver but he did not he waited like some superb animal for an opportunity to spring both the when they saw what was going on began to toward their destination perhaps it struck them that the nearer the police they could get the better at any rate the boats flew through the water at astonishing speed his arm partly from s control fired point blank at her brother but without him subsequent shots thrown out of their course by the struggle he was constantly having with the girl made no more impression would you be a murderer too came the shrill voice of mrs you who have given him the greater cause you are firing at an man the boats were being separated every moment strange s was more than the other and at each sweep of his he was increasing the distance between the with the strength of desperation clung to her companion though he made every effort to be free of her five shots thanks to her had passed into the air as was about to take the sixth one an agency that had not been taken into account made his work superfluous suddenly fell forward as if struck by a club f and clinging to him was thrown to the bottom of the boat by the force of his fall dragged to his knees by the desperate exercise of her full strength a collision was now inevitable it was one of the low bridges that had done the deed with his back to it too much occupied to heed the cry of the strange had received the full force of the against his head the boats touched springing furiously upon the other craft raised his empty pistol he was about to strike the figure when the french maid stopped him with a scream he is dead already she cried and madame oh i fear it has killed her too the shock of what he heard especially the closing words had such an effect upon the husband that he let his weapon fall into the canal where it soon sought the bottom bending over his wife with a tenderness hardly lessened by the revelations of the last quarter hour he saw her open her eyes slowly have you killed him she asked hoarsely if you have you shall pay life for life and dragged the heavy form of the carpenter from that of mrs with difficulty would not assist them and the stood as if with fright it was no time for words the french maid afraid of nothing tore open the of the prostrate figure and listened at the chest there was not the faintest flutter of the heart saw the hopeless look with which the girl made the discovery and was with a wild cry of anguish threw herself on the form she cried do not let them tell me that you are dead for the sake of our little child for the sake of our love so deep and strong that we may defy those that hate us and make our lives one long holiday of joy then she fell into a of tears he does not speak he will never speak to me again she screamed but you she rose and gazed with intense into the eyes of her husband you had better have died at your birth than to have seen this day drew back from the enraged woman and pressed his hand to his side turning from him she the shore with her keen gaze and saw to her delight an officer of police along the here she cried in her key this man has committed a murder arrest him i charge him with this deed chapter what told six months later two men were conversing earnestly in a new york club house over their and wine they were david and dr then everything is satisfactory is it said the your bill is in full and you start for europe to morrow what told precisely mrs has been more than liberal i shall not need to practice medicine for years unless i choose and now i want you to tell me about that trip of yours of which i only had as yet an begin at the beg and let me have the entire story thought a moment before replying then he said that he saw no objection to his companion tt was about the last of february he began that i got word of the trouble and went immediately to the city of mrs seemed to think because i was to execute her father s will that i ought to help to execute her husband also she told me he was in jail awaiting trial and that she would never rest until he had been punished for his brutal and cold blooded murder of her servant although i believed at first that she had given the true version of young strange s death that had struck him with a blunt instrument it wasn t my notion that he would look any better after those had emptied a lot of cold lead into him how to satisfy her and at the same time save my old friend was the puzzle i had to set about the local agent of one of the great was known to me the having been quite a large in

0Arthur Conan Doyle

the company through him i learned that there was no other key so effective in that country as a golden one instead of asking the authorities for permission to visit the prisoner i quietly took a guide and the men in charge of the prison to let me in was as comfortable in his situation as could be expected he had been able to mis giddy buy good food and plenty of h for the rest he didn t seem to care he was the most man i ever saw all he could think of was the dreadful death of young strange which had affected him and in the talk that he made i got my first information of the fact that the fellow had his head against a bridge and that had nothing at all to do with his taking off i asked him if he was doing anything toward a and he said he was not he didn t exactly want to die but he wasn t doing a thing tc save himself although he hadn t laid his hand on strange he felt that the young man had died from his fault that he would have been alive now if it hadn t been for him he said to me over and over that he had tried his best to kill him firing every shot in his revolver with that intent when i hinted that he might feel somewhat justified he would not listen he had been mad if his wife had loved another man better that her husband it did not give him the right to commit murder and it was s brother too that troubled him a great deal he had not seen the girl since his arrest refusing to allow her to enter his cell he did not believe he could face her he was glad i had called and hoped i would come again i told him the way i had and urged him not to mention my vl it then saying he would hear from me often i went away my next step was to engage a lawyer this lawyer soon discovered that both of the and the french maid t were ready to swear that strange with his own hands what b told indeed their were already on file to this effect it was a hard place to be in i tell you every person but who had seen the affair were against our friend the railroad agent and the spanish lawyer finally agreed on one thing the court would certainly the prisoner whenever he was brought to trial we must help him to escape in some way dr l not help interrupting do you say that i mean mrs stuck to the same story herself like a i talked to her about it repeatedly and she never varied her recital by the width of a hair she told me she was on the with her servants when her husband and that woman of his passed them had no warning jumped up and began firing at him a lot of pot shots when none of them took effect on the surprised young fellow the man sprang into her boat she said and dealt a terrible blow with a piece of wood there was no reason that she could for his conduct was the most boy that ever lived why i had seen him enough myself to know that the only thing she could think of as a cause for the assault was the fact that was with and he might have feared that the brother would against such an open scandal as their relations were making i put a hundred questions to her and she never turned an i reminded her that a conviction of her husband would be a stain on her name and on that of her child but to no effect she said the horror of the murder had made such an impression or jam her mind that she had lost every other consideration in the feeling that his crime ought to be punished if she was taken before a she would speak and tell the truth i told her after i had been to the prison what said pretending i had heard it from an and she answered that the and were her witnesses it was a nice mess to get out of wasn t it dr replied with a shrug of the shoulders that it was indeed and how did you get out of it he added with great interest u where there s a will there s a way as you may have heard some one remark i merely let the case be tried and the verdict be recorded i don t mean that we didn t cross question those confounded and where are done in writing this takes time but would not let us call the only other witness besides himself to the real reason of strange s death he said the lawyers would be almost certain to something about her character which was as pure as the snow that is driven he wouldn t risk that he told his own story and it was met with the oaths of three persons that he was a liar a verdict was recorded of his guilt and he was to be shot the listener as he heard the words it was as if a ball had just whistled over his shoulder close to his ear of course i had seen the girl pursued the quietly if i had not convinced her that we would yet save s life she would have moved heaven and earth and perhaps though it may be doubted the government at washington to what told fast t get him free the lawyer and i persuaded her that we could do more if she did not interfere she was a sad sight those days though talk about attach ment she would have given

0Arthur Conan Doyle

her heart s blood with the greatest of good will for the man who had tried to kill her brother and what had we to do why get a good sized sum of money of coarse and put it where it would do the most good the way the law is carried out in materially from the method in the united states outside of military there are hardly any legal deaths in that country under the form such as train robbers and common are shot at sight without the least wherever found who are deemed worthy of a trial are generally takes after sentence by a of soldiers from prison to another and they the prisoner attempted an escape and we were obliged to fire at him is the on the much better than to bother the isn t it we found that this would most likely be the way they would dispose of poor it cost us two thousand dollars to get the programme in merely one very slight particular the paused to give his tale toe force of they were to take him across the country to another jail on a certain day according to custom he was to be shot soon after they were out of sight of the city the two thousand dollars that i handed over was to get the bullets drawn from the guns that were to be fired at him it was all nicely fixed the place where the guard would stop for mm was known to us near by we had horses and everything else in readiness at the foot of a the prisoner was to be given a chance to run for his life at about dusk the guns were not to be to handy and when they had been fired the other ar was to be it worked to a the men not in the secret must have thought th exceedingly stupid but they knew t to say nothing my only fear was that would refuse to run when the time came for he was so absent minded that he hardly seemed to take the trouble to breathe but he did very well he made as had been agreed upon toward the edge of a lake in which it was to be reported that he had sunk after being shot darkness was upon us all and we got away easily the guides i had hired knew the country we caught a train for and before any statement reached we were out of the country the physician remarked that this must have had a very agreeable flavor for all of them but what became of miss he added she was with us during the whole expedition and exhibited the greatest fortitude on the steamer she persuaded that he had no guilt in her eyes and they were reconciled i watched them closely for the next two days and i tell you i believe in the virtue of that girl i hadn t believed in it in spite of his for any mat worthy of the name will lie to protect the honor o his sweetheart but i used my eyes and my ears when they had no idea they were not alone and i would all i m worth on her told dr could not help letting a smile creep across his face you d have done the same for mrs m a year ago he remarked well i would acknowledged the other there aren t many cases like hers i began to think was wrong though when we were at new if you had been half the friend to me you pretended you would have let me into that the physician shook his head if doctors told all they know my dear fellow he said this world would not be safe to live in we are full of private information that would a priest of the catholic church does not hear more important secrets than the average family physician i couldn t tell you a word and you would have gone to your grave without knowing it for all of me but about these i am always it s not according to human nature and what will be the ultimate result do you suppose can t go on up and down the earth with an unmarried girl can he mr smiled he can but i don t think he will said he when his wife learned of his escape from death she entered a suit for divorce on the ground of desertion she has had word from him that he will not oppose her so long as she does not in any way bring the name of miss strange into the affair the suit is entered in van where she claims her present residence when it is granted there will be nothing under our system of marriage laws to stop him miss offering his hand and heart to the girl who has done so much to win them excellent and what do you suppose mrs m will do the rest of her life live in and continue to wear mourning she had an for that young carpenter that amounted to she will never love another man her residence that cost me so much time and the such a of money is in the market one of the of the planet has made an offer for it i doubt if she will ever return her life is to the child his child as she confessed to me in a burst of the last time i saw her and it was on that confession that i secured her consent to have dr opened his eyes wider she s a queer one he remarked and about charles the same as ever yes more so if anything his sister positively refused to see him when he went to her a terrible break up all around isn t it by the way do you know

0Arthur Conan Doyle

about the tomb that mrs has ordered for her lover it is to cost a hundred thousand and there is inscription to go upon it fit for a hero and a martyr it will be erected on her own estate near the city of which she has purchased for a permanent residence something in this caused the physician to laugh softly to himself you are making a good thing out of the family i hope he said well not so bad i have charge of everything you know a word ml a parting word last winter when i was in being one evening at my attention was attracted to a handsome american woman still young attired in deep mourning playing for large at a table one of the remarked to me that she frequently lost and won hundreds of dollars at a sitting and that she engaged nightly in the same occupation but she isn t likely to play long enough to her fortune he added in that familiar way which often use toward each other her name is mrs her father was an american who left her a yearly income of over half a million she is a widow i believe and she has one child to whom she is attached you can see them riding out together any pleasant afternoon wait a moment she always leaves at midnight the pushed toward the player a pile of notes thirty six times the amount she had on one of the numbers and at that moment a dignified french woman leaned over the lady s shoulder it is twelve o clock she said very well was the languid reply has come the indicated an affirmative mrs rose from the table and madame gathered up the money that represented her as they walked toward the door a hundred pairs of eyes followed them it is worth your while to watch her a longer said my new acquaintance come with me to the entrance curiosity led me to accept the invitation a maid was waiting with a carriage for her mistress did you see just as you came away asked mrs madame and was sleeping peacefully a crowd of that had gathered in the vicinity pressed around the carriage they evidently expecting something said mrs wearily madame give that money to these poor fellows the french woman had put half or more of the amount in her pocket with a sly motion the rest of it she threw to the as one throws to birds there was a scramble and well there might be not less than a thousand dollars was in the heap she does that every evening whispered the stranger in my ear as the carriage we were watching was about to be driven away another arrived and stopped in front of it a gentleman within was explaining to his lady companion the character of the gambling house at which he had no intention of looking up he saw the face of faces that he would rather not have met there was a perceptible shock to all parties mrs who had been leaning back on her cushions sat bolt upright a r word i it s his old mistress she said in voice loud and harsh they say he has married her well it was time f a peal of laughter came from her vanishing carriage turned to the trembling figure at his side do not mind her he said she is to be pitied quite as much as blamed it was her father s theory that girls need no instruction in morals that they should be allowed to act out what is in them she must have inherited passions which a good mother would have but which that detestable into flame yes mused her eyes f tears and all she loved him new books and new john marsh s millions a novel by charles and arthur x cloth illustrated new faces a volume of eight stories by these stories first published in the saturday evening post companion and magazine now in book form cloth illustrated the house on a novel by r h hazard cloth illustrated o a novel by wm m r author of m etc cloth illustrated children of destiny a play in four acts by i mo cloth illustrated paper covers cents the of jewels a story by cloth the silver king from the great play by alfred i mo cloth illustrated and gold a new novel by author of everybody s secret doth illustrated he red flag by author of the a power fully dramatic story of the conflict between master and men cloth the a 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0Arthur Conan Doyle

vm chapter xx an awful shock and jar xxi whatever the world may say xxii very much like where was xxiv the plot xxv mr his stock xxvi two strange marriages makes a revelation a journey and return looking backward â â c â â â speaking of chapter i the of speaking of â yes how came she to be called the mai ness of the young man to whom the was addressed paused a moment local history does not record the origin of the title he when he was ready to reply what do you was the reason â her manner i should say i or i doubt if you ever saw anything more stately though why instead of or queen i do not understand she might be the of if one to judge by her gait and manner you did not mention her i believe she has none no and she is rather proud of the fact her mother was an english girl who used to work in the mills here the same as does now her father is said to have been a united states i speaking of then what the law calls â yes philip noticed a peculiar in the tone in which his companion uttered these words as well as something strange in the words themselves what the law calls he repeated and what call it t love born philip laughed lightly perhaps the united states deserves no such compliment he said he is quite likely to have been a cold hearted villain without qualities very true said but my reference was wholly to the mother the father s part in a child is usually selfish the mother s nearly always sublime the unfortunate mill girl must have loved the and her child deserves no epithet that carries with it a sting looked thoughtful could have taken his name though he said i have known of such cases she would not honor him so highly was the positive ah she the filial sense does she on that side naturally her father never acknowledged her and even her mother when informed of her condition he was not a then but the handsome son of a rich father and just beginning to rise in politics the story of his had it become known to the world might have injured him he could have provided for her in a quiet way but she would have been a constant menace the easiest thing was to don her and he did it a bitter feeling was evident in the sharp cutting tones thk of of the speaker for which his companion could find no warrant in the circumstances of the case as he understood them you speak warmly he said what interests you so deeply in the of she is my sister was the unexpected reply your sister yes and yours looked relieved oh in the broad sense eh a daughter of our mother eve well she is a credit to her in looks at least if all accounts are true i would like to know her better glanced at the speaker s face its owner evidently belonged to what is called in some circles the upper classes the features upon which gazed were those of a man who considered himself born to rule s air while perfectly was undoubtedly aristocratic on the contrary though dressed in his best suit could not have disguised the fact that he was a nobody would have mistaken him for a gentleman as that word is so often his hands were hard and rough all of his garments together could not have cost as much as the chain and which were attached to s gold watch everybody in knew the of the great central that gigantic concern which owned all of the mills as well as the larger part of the other real estate in looked up to him as to a friend upon whose intelligence and sympathy they could always rely but mr baker the mill agent who could find no fault with his work suspected him of is or holding on the relations between cap and labor if there is ever another strike here a ent baker had remarked more than once to various i shall keep my eye on that young philip had reached the age of thirty years making him some six years the elder of the young with whom he was walking the streets of on the morning when he is introduced to the reader his usual abiding place was in the city of new york where in an office on lower he was supposed to attend to the management of the estates of and others â a business which had descended to him by natural process from his deceased father among the property which he had in charge was considerable stock in the great central as well as sundry houses and lands adjacent his acquaintance with was at first accidental but time had it into a friendship which apparently bade fair to be lasting liked to talk with he had a taste for and delighted in argument so long as it was conducted on an agreeable basis cultivated his acquaintance largely because he thought him ground for the labor reform seed which he was so fond of one was an up to a certain line though courteous to a degree in his intercourse with those whom he esteemed beneath him in a social way the other while himself the equal of any man who walked the of god was proud to be a man of the people and had no desire to rise above his condition unless he could lift his fellows at the same time why do you wish to know he asked you would find her haughty and very likely you wâ call the of her she has little love for men in your station to her a gentleman of wealth is nothing more or

0Arthur Conan Doyle