CO PYRI G HT , 1907,

m:

FREDERI CK A S T KES CO MPANY

.

TO M Y

ETHEL ROC K S AYERS

L ORD e nlighten us t o s e e the beam that is

in ou r own eye and blind us t o the mote
that is in our brother s Let us all ca rry
and measure with the false balances of
love and be in our own eyes and in all con
jun ctions the most gui lty H elp u s at the
same time with the grace of courage that
we may n ot be cast do wn When we si t
lamenting amid the rui ns of ou r happiness
or ou r integri ty touch us with r e fr om
the altar that we may be up and doing t o
reb uil d ou r city
RO BE R T L O U IS S T EVEN SO N
,

C O N TEN T S
PAG E

II

11

I II

29

IV

41

51

VI

58

VI I I

X
X
XI

A C ACHE

m BROAD DAY LIGHI

! II

XI I I

73
81
92

AN A W AKENI NG

1 06

TBE MO NEY

120

1 38

1 47

1 66
1 76

19 1

201

C ON T E NT S

x
C HA P T E R

XV I II
! I!

PAG E

2 18

L ITTLE M O NTAN A S PE AKS

24 1

! ! I

2 74

LI S T O F

W hy

ar e

yo u a

he

I LLU S TRA TI ON S

t i f?

she wh is p e r e d

Fr on tispi ece

Facin g Page

o an e d fain tly o n h is s h o uld e r

Th i s h as s h ake n u s a ll t o ge th e r t he p oo r
th e ich t he e i l wit h t he go o d
T h e gir l m

57
with
2 84

TRA V E R S

CHAP T ER I

A FAC E F RO M

TH

P AST

IN

the court of the ol d Palace Hotel in

San F rancisco t wo elderl y gentlemen sat
conversin g with the co mfortable pauses of
congeniality O ne was an E nglishman with
grey hair and moust a che hi s face tann ed a
red brown from long exposure to the E ast
ern su n The other was an American full
of the breezy bonhomi e of the West wi th
shrewd keen eyes an d a ready laugh
Above them o or on oor aro s e the e n
circling galleries p ale ivory in colour of
that famous c ourt Chairs were set at com
for t ab le conversational angles upon the
rare Persian r ugs and dist inguished the
p ortion of the court in which they sat from
the restaurant that o c cupie d the other end
There tables were arranged abl o om on this
gala night wi th rarer blos soms than usual
This blen di ng of reception hall wi th grill
,

T RAVER S

ro om gave an in di vi dual an d delightfu l

ch aracter t o this hi st o ric c ourt which had
been the scene of s o much of S an F rancis
co s history
It told somewhat t oo of the
freedom of i t s hos pitality and the open
hearte dn ess that shared its gaiety as it
mixed its drin k s with less rese r ve than i t s
sister cities in the E ast
Am ong the tables the wai ters m ove d i n
tent ou last touches , or standi ng idly con
t e mp la t iv e abs orbed in a vision of extra
tips the op era seas on presented
Suddenly Colonel Me rriton uttere d an
e xclam ation an d bent fo rwar d wi th in tent
eyes

What s up ? as ke d h i s comp ani on M r

B ell wi th a l o ok of mild i nt err ogati on
The old sol di er settle d b ack in h i s bro ad
crimson v elvet chair wi thout replying to
hi s friend s query an d for s ome secon d s
remai ned motionles s , a remi n i s cent frown
puckerin g h i s brow

I could have swo rn i t was Trave r s , h e

muttered at las t bre aking the silen ce

a s k ed Mr B ell
An d wh o i s Travers ?
wi th the p er s i ste n ce of lo n g establi she d
fri en d ship
,

T RAVER S

4e

sho ul ders like a ramp art Head l ooks as

if it had brains i n it, too , an d he walks wi th
the easy li fting str ide of a tiger C ome
why the deuce are you throwing d own such

a countr yman as he ?
The Colonel leaned fo rward in hi s chair
hi s h ands clutch in g either velvet arm in a
sudden burst of un expect ed anger

I throwi ng him down ! I ! Why wh o

but I
He checke d himself swall owe d the rage
died from his face, and he settle d back
again in his former p osition

The confoun d ed curi osity of y ou

Am e ri cans
he muttered
It isn t Trav
ers I ve loo ke d a se cond time and it isn t

Travers
Mr B ell s exclamation wa s ex

pressive
Well I am gl ad of that now

I ve had a better loo k at h im

The Col on el cocked a thi ck grey eyebrow
and regarded hi s friend sharply beneath
it It seemed as if notwi thstandi ng he de
ni ed kn owledge of the man wh o loitered a
possible thirty feet away that he wi shed t o
s e e h im through his compani on s eyes

Wh at s wr ong wi th h im ? he as ke d
.

T H E PA S T

A FA C E FRO M

Mr Bell ex ami ne d the stranger a p r o

v okin g leisure in hi s scru tiny

I d want hi m on my sid e i n a ght

he s aid at last
Hi s friend gav e an e x cl amati on that had
a ring of triump h in it but checked hi m
self i mme di at ely

And ? he said interrogativel y

He has the ghting quality

A j aw
that tells of a wi ll of iron a will that woul d
send hi s enemy t o the devil if it came t o
a tug of war or a wil l that would send h im
to the devil if it at on ce got on the wrong

bent

Yes
urge d the Col onel hi s eyes
bright with interest

He is a man to le ad a forlorn hope a

man t o sacri ce hi s all for an a ffection a

h
man in short w o n o, he s n ot essentially
a gambler but a man wh o gives himself
wi th such completeness whether t o duty or
love or that often quoted devil
that on
occasion he d be like that cann on loose b e
tween decks that V ictor Hugo tells u s of
i n place a power for or d er or p r otection

out of place a menace

Y ou ar e keen, B ell ve r y keen ,

sa i d
,

T RAVER S

the Colonel af ter a pause

Do you thi nk
h e a man like that wo ul d d ri ft, not r e
ali s i n g for the m omen t
Mr Bell interrup ted hi m wi th a laugh of
repudiation

He would drift, p erhaps but what he

does he does
F or some sec on d s the Colonel s at
plun ged in thought then he said :
You have been watching him I haven t
after the rst look Did he ap pe ar t o n o

tice me ?

I thought as his glan ce travelled this

way that just for the fraction of a second

he hesitated but I can t be certai n

The Colonel arose with an ai r o f resolu
.

I ll speak t o him he s ai d
Mr Bell grew grave

T oo late Colonel I just s aw hi m tu rn

down the corridor toward New M on t gom
ery Street

Confo un d it ! confound it ! cried the

Colonel with agitation Why did I hesi

tate ? Somethi ng tells me I should have

spoken t o this man

He took a few steps t o an d fr o, r ulin g

A FA C E FRO M

T HE PA S T

'

sho r t gr ey looks with hi s n gers a tri ck

he h ad wh e n move d
Mr Bell regarded hi m whimsically

It is one of life s little iro n ies he sai d

that such con viction s often come only

when the other fe llow has turned the cor

ner

T oo late ! cri e d the C olonel

I don t
believe it Let us follow We may over

t ake hi m
Hardly had the y disappeare d when t h e
man of wh om they had spoken r e entered
the cour t He h ad evidently avoided them
and n ow returned assured of a eld free
from observation
He walked with the
leisurely sp r in ging gait Mr Bell had no
ticed hi s eyes concentrated in a curious i n
ward ga ze He went absently across the
entire portion of the court devoted t o the
loungers and seated himself not more than
eight feet from the tables that were
crowd ed t o
night alm ost upon the rare
rugs which alone indicated where recep
tion hall ended and grill room began
It was evident that the surroundin g
scene meant nothi ng t o hi m
He was lost
He s at , hi s broad
i n a p ainful memo r y
hi s

T RAVER S

shoulders lurched forward as if he h ad r e

his s t rong h an ds
ce i v e d a physical blow
were knotted upon his knees : the rise and
fall of a muscle in his cheeks betrayed the
clenchi ng and unclenchi ng of hi s teeth ; and
gradually tiny globul es of perspiration
gathered on his forehe ad
O nce he muttered a few words aloud

It s damnable , he bre athed

It s

d amnable
A s he sat like a statu e plunged in painful
thoughts the crowd fr om the O pera began
t o p our in through the Market Street e n
trance of the hotel In sh arp contrast to
the b owed gure of thi s m an in the throes
of a gr eat so ul struggle arose the pleasant
swish an d stir of the gay throng brushing
past h im intent on enj oyment
S an F rancisco s womanhoo d wa s in gala
attire t o night and San F rancis co s pros
r
e
u
s
n
h
o
ma
o
o
d
was
complacent
and
com
p

pliant willing t o se r ve for the time in the

tedi um of thi s ope ra display for i t s bank
account was a attering one The G olden
Gate wa s all aglow with the gold that
flowed about and through i t t o the open
an d Opening Orient S an F rancis co proud

,
.

T H E PA S T

A FA C E FRO M

in the possession of its high pil e d b uil dings

and growi ng oppo rtun i ties w as doing its

best t o S pe ll in purple an d n e linen se

cu r i t y advance !
F as hi onable or would b e fashi onable
m anhood crushed its opera hat beneath i t s
arm and murmured its usual nothings t o
soft eyes whi ch were a little bri ghter t o
night from the consciousness of charms
shown t o their best advantage in costu mes
long pond ered an d coiffures carefully c on
-

si d e r e d

Soon the court echoe d t o the mu r mur of

sm al l talk and low laughter and the pop
ping of champagne corks It was gl owing
with the soft colour and lm of dainty tis
sue the glimmer of jewels and the wavin g
of priceless fans were accented against the
sharp black of the men s eve ni ng coats
Ami d the r u stle an d the gayety the man
s at unmoved sav e by the battle that raged
withi n him Gradually these warr ing voices
within him gr ew quieter It was n ot a con
quest but a stilling of the st o rm He raised
hi s head an d slowl y a change gr owing
f rom withi n outward m anifes t e d it self in
hi s face His mouth s e t not in re solution
,

T R AVER S

10

but i n reckl essness ; he smi le d not in

mirth but in irony ; an d it was not a pleas
ant smile to s e e The latent devil Mr Bell
ha d di sce rne d in hi s fac e was in p ossessi on
of him
When he m ove d i t wa s t o lean back i n
hi s chair wi th a short, sharp sigh as if he
caught his breath after an har ras sing ph y
s i cal encounter
A moment later he was
grimly observing the tables about hi m with
eyes that saw all whi le appe a ring t o see
nothi ng He watche d and waited an d
watche d A perv ading ai r of breeding
and qui et u n d e an t strength held in abey
ance even tho se wh o, ha d the atmosphere
of hi s person ality been d i e r e n t
would
have s ought explanation for the presence
the re of s o shabbily habit e d a stran ger
,

T RAVER S

12

was perv a d e d by a peculiar richness which

suggested that in the proper blossoming at
m o sp h e r e her spi ri t woul d blo om forth in
rose and gold like an opal in t h e sun The
young man wh o sat beside her had his back
half turne d toward t h e observer in the
chair ne arby but his faultlessly tting
eveni ng coat sat well upon his shoulders
and his fai r h air had a gleam of gold in
it where the light struck across it
This youn g man was Chester Drexel an d
it was he wh o had carefully ordered this
supper the d ay before and h a d chosen this
spot despite M r s A d d in gt on s well known
dislike of conspicuousness She had con
sented t o thi s part y wi th almost visible r e
lu ct an ce
Drexel had chuckled t o himself

as he threw his trump ca rd General Wil

lou gh by
He knew Mrs A ddington wo ul d
relax the vigilance of her guardianshi p in
the exchange of anecdote and old fashioned
compliment and he must have a talk with
Gwendolyn if it took the last cent of hi s
salary to accomplish it It was n ot a t ete
a tete but it was the next best thing t o it
t o murmur words in her ear leanin g o ver
the back of her opera chair unheeding the
.

T OA S T

13

great d ramatic strains of Ca r u so s voice

blind t o F r e m st a d s daring an d delightful
interpretation of Ca rmen
Now as Gwendolyn ate daintily of the
viands p u t before her, girlishly frank in
her enj oyment of them and all that made
li fe full of the agreeable an d luxu r ious he
drank in her beauty with freshened delight
H e saw a low brow under the high piled
yellow hair that wilfully conformed t o n o
accepted mode ; long blue grey eyes b e
neath straight eye br ows ; a n ose whose i n
dependent unclassi ed charm gave Mrs
A d di ngton secure in her aristocratic a qui
line many a secret qualm ; a mouth sweet
in curve with a suggestion o f un develo p ed
strength ; and a sweetly mo ul ded chin ,
dimpling faintly into fascinati on
M r s A ddington was deep in the mem or y
of the dista nt times before the war which
the General recalled between her hushed
staccato ai r m at i on s
Drexel leaned his face nearer the p r ov ok
ing girlish pro le beside him

You must answer me he s aid half i n

appeal half in deman d

It to rtu res me

thi s sort of thi ng

T RAVER S

1 4!

There was a t remolo of se ri ousness about

the gi rl s m outh, bu t sh e ashe d a h al f de
an ce at h im

B ut we mu st h ave Aun ti e s consent

an d you know you r e a detrimental

His clenche d st st r u ck his kn e e i n ex
asperation as the ush sp r an g up his cheek

Why a det rimental ? If i t s blo od sh e

wants my ancestors came over in the May
o we r an d we have Admi rals and Generals
and G ove rno r s enough t o satisfy even Phil

a delphi a

Well y ou se e father forgot Phi lad e l

phi a long en ou gh t o marry a gi rl from Cali

'

forni a

There wa s a li ttl e smi le on he r face a s

sh e broke her brea d thoughtfull y

Her father had a toll house in the

mountains near Santa B arbara an d gran d
mother often said there was n o such beau
tiful sight in t h e worl d a s those eight
horses s wingi ng around the corner by the
laurels It broke her heart when they mad e
it into a Government road She love d t o
coo k for the p assengers and the d ri vers

were all her boys

Drex e l l ooke d at h e r , amaz e d at thi s
.

T OA S T

15

revelation , shocked for an i nsta nt d i spi t e

her winsomeness
The gi rl went on :

F ather was afrai d I d d o s omethi n g

foolish with such blood in my v eins and s o
I must have Auntie s consent

Can t y ou s e e
said Drexel s p eaki n g
rapidly for the precious moments ew

Can t you s e e that you have just the

strengt h of char acter and the daring that
when we are really married and away she ll
have t o consent She can t d o anything

else
A faint glow dye d the gi rl s f ace and the
glance of tender self reproac h sh e threw at
her aun t Drexel strove t o rea d a right Did
it bod e hi m good or ill ?
Even as he eagerly scan ne d her fa ce he
s aw an in d e n ab le change pass over it
She
drew her M y lace scarf about her sho ul
ders shivered an d involun ta rily her hand
s ought her heart

What is it ? aske d Drexel an xi ously

A re you feeling ill ?

No ! N o ! the gi rl a nswered hastily

I t s only that man s face

Whos e face ? que ri e d Drex el wi th vex
,

T RAVER S

16

ation Turn ing he loo ked over his shoulder

to th e man whose clear cu t prole sharply
outlined against the crimson ch air in which
he was seated came directly in his line of

vision
That shabby fellow ? What is he

doing here ? Has he been annoying you ?

No ! No
sh e murmured c on fu se d ly

I can t quite tell what it is

His face
struck me suddenly sharply wi th a sens e

of fear

F ear of him ? questioned Drex el

The gi rl was still visibly discomp osed

I can t t ell sh e an swered

It is s o
od d
I don t know whether I have a sense
of fear of or for him It i s haunting some

h ow Have you seen hi s face ?

She leaned fo rward eagerly questioni ng
her c ompanion
He shook his head in surly negative , j e al
ous of this interr uption

It is such a compelling face

sh e said

below her breath

Not go od I m sure of

that but how bad ; that is the questi on

Him him ! burst ou t Drexel angril y

How can y ou thi nk of hi m now a

stran ge r a nobo dy when we have s o few

precious moments together

.

T OA S T

17

The girl still shrank within herself and

when sh e again glanced toward the m an of
wh om s h e had spoken it was with a sense
of irrepressible relief that sh e pe rceived he
had moved h i s chair s o that now s h e only
s aw the turn of a smooth shaven cheek and
the crisped curls on a well turned head

O h don t let an y though t any person

urged
a lity come between us this evening
Drexel hi s words pouring out in a surge of

intensi ty
Y ou know what this is to me

My very life hangs upon your answer

Gwendolyn half against her will gave
another glance toward the man whose face
had crossed the harmony of her girlish con
s ci ou s n e s s like a crash of chords keyed to
another pitch She turned a gai n t o Drexel
an d once again his p e rsonality possessed
her Seeing h im the world grew faint an d
far away yet for a little longer she strove
to hold her heart in abeyance Her ngers
trembled a s she tore a rose to bits pe t al by
pet al The famous Thorn ton diamonds on
throat and breast glittere d in the qui ckened
beat of her heart

I am awfully exacting sh e said slow

ly
A re you sure how mu ch you love me ?
,

T RAVER S

18

A throb of e c stas y shook D rexel

Can words tell that ? he a sked , hi s

v oice smothered
His answer won To a woman of Gwen
dolyn Thornton s type they meant more
tha n protests Her face broke into a soft
little smile of girlish submission, her eyes
sought his

Thank God breathed Drexel

Let
us make it the day af ter t o morrow I ll
procure the license to mor r ow We ll take

the Limited E ast !

This precipitation startled her A deep
er rose bl oomed suddenly in her cheeks

But why s o soon ? s h e faltered

Why

s o soon ?

Soon ! cri e d Drex el below his breath

It is months away !
Soon when I m
lled from hour to hour with the dread
that something will take you away fr om me
that something will come between us D on t
tell me t o wait longer th an that You trust
me you ve made up your mind have you
not ? Then why not at once if y ou love

me ?
There was an agony of doub ti ng suppli
ca tion in h i s voi ce
.

'

T RAVER S

20

on a calculation half ecstatic half sor di d

T h e girl beside him was frightened a t the
promise s h e had made It w as their two e l
ders who spoke on absorbed in their topics
of mutual interest
Suddenly Drexel
t ouched the girl s hands beneath the table
She blushed and sta rted to draw them
away It was the rst pledge of her conces
sion and sh e half resented it It was a
claim upon her and something in her girl s
heart a rose in sudden pr otest at the thought
of the claim She had hitherto conferred
glimpses of her heart beneath this man s
impetuous wooing that s o fascinated and
startled her She had been as a queen u p
on her throne permi tting herself to be

a dored
Now it would be different she
had not realised how different She looked
up at the handsome face beside her in su d
den perturbation In her girlish vision sh e
had often thought of hi m as a warrior a
C r usader it might be or a da ri ng knight of
the age of chivalry a defender of the weak
and a righter o f wrongs Now for the rs t
time a doubt ass ailed her , a faint doubt
that s h e strove to smother Scarce half a
moment since s h e had given a pro mi se a
,

T OA S T

21

thing s acred in her eyes Was it the su d

den protest o f a na ture t o wh om the sense
of possession wa s t he sense of bondage that
made her for the rst t ime s e e something
else than streng th in the chin splen di dly
modeled bu t it now appeared to her set in
other than the quiet strengt h of self con
quering
Drexel met her timi d upward glance and
the ard our of his look sen t her eyes back
to the owers on the table H is hands pin
i on e d hers for an instant an d she let t hem
lie there her hea r t bea t s echoed in a little
throb in her deli ca tely modeled neck Dr e x
e l saw the quick come and go of this bea t
and it lled him with delight Man like he
was ignorant of the contradictory impulses
of a woman s heart
an
d
he
read
it
simply
,
as a tribute to him
Again Gwendolyn s look turned toward s
her aun t She s aw the strong aquiline pro
l e stern yet gentle the calm intellectual
lines of a long life moulding in t o a beauty
which the features alone did not possess
Gwendolyn realised how kind sh e h a d al

ways been kind if a lit tle inelas tic a t

times in her c onception of her duty towards
.

T RAVER S

22

this niece intrusted to her Su dd enly this

move sh e had promise d t o make took on a
new complexion Was she not deceitful ?
She Gwendolyn , dece itful ! Was it n ot a
stab in the dark sh e c on t e mpla t e d ?
Half resentfully sh e turne d toward Dr e x
That
e l He was looking at her adoringly
gaze and those handsome eyes co nf used her
logic Secure under the absorbing conver
sation of the General an d Mr s A ddi ngt on
s h e leaned toward him

A re you quite sure it i s right sh e said

wistfully
I want t o d o only what is

right
A sudden a sh arose in the dark eyes
watching her, and Drex el s lips s e t
A
pride i n his recent victory made hi m im
patient of these softly murmured scruples
But an instant echo of hi s mood was visible
in Gwendolyn s face She was as sensibly
alive as a d e li ca t e ly p oi s e d instrum ent to a
change in mental temperature She looke d
at him an i n d e n ab le aloofness gro wi ng
suddenly in her mobile face He hastened
t o adjust t heir relative positions

Do you thin k it wr ong to lo ve me ? he

a ske d
.

T OA S T

23

N o,

she mu r mured beneath her breath

Your aun t is ambitious for you Per

haps it is right Heaven k n ows I have lit

tle enough t o re comm end me except my

love for you

F or an inst an t her n gers clung t o hi s
beneath the table

Don t say that sh e cried softly

It
i s only that s h e had done s o much for me
So much ! She has guarded me like a man
and guided me like a woman Why sh e is
in her ofce day after day just taking care
of my a ffairs
That ofce is dreadful ly

dul l

She is pai d fo r it
was the an swer
that ashed into Drexel s mi nd ; but he
only pres sed her han ds s oftly and said :

I ll try and prove dear that you did

not do ill in crossing her will just this on ce
for both our sakes It will mean a new
existence t o me I can s ca rcely believe it

now
The music playe d on About them was a
murmur of convers ation but they were los t
in a world of thei r own In how d i e r e n t a
world each one of them lived, these t wo wh o
had just pledged their lives to each other
.

T RAV E R S

24

at what variance were the colours th eir

thoughts took on
Their reverie was inter rupted b y t h e Gen
eral He was twisting the s t em of his
champagne glass absently between his n
gers Mrs A ddingt on was leaning back in
her chair watching him with a half tender
smile
In retrospect they had just been
travelling back s o many years t ogether
years ripe in j oys and sorrow experience
and development H er heart went ou t t o
her old friend with a mellowed sense of
sympathy and companionship

I have an impulse Drexel t o propo se

a toast said the General

Splendid cri ed Drexel start in g into

sudden life and a nimation

W ai ter ll

the glasses !
They all raised their glasses and waited
expectantly
The General hesi t ated a moment The
toast came haltingly now that he had p r o
posed i t H e began

Your aunt and I Miss Gwendolyn have

been talking of this city of yours We have
been living back again in spirit to the days
of 4 9 We were both here then Mr s A d
.

T OA S T

25

di n gt on

had jus t come around by sea to thi s

s a ndy peni nsula from far away Ph i la d e l
phia I can see y our two tow head pig tails

yet
H e turned and smiled at her
ejaculated Mr s A ddingt on

I was a long legged lad who had ar

river here in a prairie schooner s ome weeks
earlier A battered old land craft it was
with bullet holes in its canvas cover r e
minders of Indi an ghts in the p a sses ; and
our roll call had several holes in it whi ch

tallied with unnamed graves in the dese rt

The General paused a moment Gwen
d olyn s fac e was aquiver with s ym pathy
and interest The mention of those past
days was like a clarion call to her the blood
o f a pioneer father all ale ap withi n her
veins
San F rancisco represented a s t range col
lection of humanity in tho se days A man s
hands went t o his holster with over much

readiness perhaps but it was the man wh o

shot rs t wh o ca me out wi t h a whole skin !
But there was courage here grit and a will
i n gn e s s to take as t o receive blows It was

living the enduring and the daring ! A

-

T RAVER S

26

man pann ed out for just wh at was in hi m

No gold bricks in those days There have
been wild times since then There were the
days o f the vi gilan t e and the panic of the
seventies when men lost their he ad s in the
mad rush of speculation and fo rtunes and
reputa tions crumbled in a day Yes C ali
forn i a h a s had a ch e cqu e r e d caree r despi t e
t h e ceaseless yield of gold from her hi ll
side the suns hi ne and the rich alluvial soil
which yields so willing and abun dant a h a r
vest that we take an d take and for whi ch
we forget to b e than kful as is the mann er
of man everywhere
Now t o day San
F rancisco tells itself that it is arriving
Very d i e r e n t it is from the tent covered
hillside your aunt and I rst viewe d And
it is s omething to be proud of t o have buil t
up such a city far from the cent er of
things ou t off by drear y miles of sage
brush rock and alkali from the E as tern

cities

O f course it i s cried Gwen her v oice

vibrant with enthusi as m for her n ative
.

The General shook hi s head

Your aunt and I are many ye ars older

.

T RAVER S

28

na t ive State in the wa r mth of her rare per

vading personality ; the glowing hair ; the
sparkling eyes ; the broad deep chest above
a slender wais t
Many seated at the tables near by which
were crowded closely together in the e n
d e av ou r to accommodate the gorgeously
arrayed throng turn ed to look at her in

wonder and am azement s h e was s o lovely

s o vi t ally alive
Somethi ng in her atti tude
aroused them from a weariness that was
begi nning to descend vaguely like a mist on
the gala spiri t into the stir of real living
She di d n ot perceive in the burs t of her
warm enthusiasm the man whose face had
arrested her a t t ention a few moments
earlier H e had now turned and was look
ing at her It was an objective gaze a gaze
that made n o allowance for t h e woman nor
the glowing spirit wi thin It was a cool
hard s oulless regard the su r veillance of a
man who h ad slain hi s good angel and wh o
had now n o will to pray for i t s res u rrection
,

C HA PT ER III
A M IDN I G HT

CH T

homes of San F rancisco s weal thier

citizens lay in the Western portion of the
city climbing up and down the steep streets
and out over the sand dun es ; but in the
level Mission district there were still hand
some houses surrounded by spacious lawns
an d gardens
Some few of these were oc
cu p i e d by t h e families wh o settled there
when the district was fashi onable and wh o
had not moved when the caprice of fashion
beckoned them elsewhere
Am ong such residen ces was that of the
Thornton s standing back surroun ded by
roses and heliotro p e
The night a fter the opera was a quiet
one The air was still an d heavy There
was a peculiar waiting hush in it that was
far from a port ent Such motionless a i r
though unusual in San F rancisco was not
TH E

29

T RAVER S

30

un known and Mr s A ddi ngton and Gwen

dolyn did not comment on it as they drove
home through the lamp lighted streets in
their brough am
M r s A ddington leaned back in silence
She had observed more than Gwendolyn
suspect ed of the gl an ces exchanged between
her and Drexel at the suppe r table and sh e
was heavy of hea rt puz zled what move t o
make fearing to assume an active oppo si
tion which would be t oo apt t o arouse an
t agon i sm in a girl of Gwen s years an d
spirit
Gwen herself, nestled in her uffy wrap
was lost in her own thoughts
She felt
gui l ty un happy and ill at ease
They went up the concrete walk to the
house an d were admitted b y the butler
S till no word passed between them
At her chamber door Gwendo l yn tur ne d
suddenly to Mrs Addingt on who was
about t o enter her own r oom Her youn g
face was earnest her cheeks ushed

Auntie sh e cried aren t y ou going

t o kiss me good ni ght

Mr s A ddi n gt on looked down at her
s h a rply obse r vant, but not ungentle
.

A M IDN IGHT CHAT

Wh y

31

dear i f you wi sh

course ,
it

B ut I always wish it Auntie

sai d

Gwendolyn her li p s qui vering You know

tha
M r s A ddington appear ing taller slight
er mo re distingui shed than ever in her
graceful black gown her opera coat falling
from her shoulders sto oped and kissed her
on the forehead
Gwen s arms folded ab out her in a gush
of girlish loving

Such a cold kiss , Aun tie ! Don t say

good night like this Come t o my room for
a whi le Celeste will have a bright r e I
know how y ou despise res but it will be

cosey for a little talk C ome !

M r s A ddington looked down at her
searchingly
She coul d not understand
Gwendolyn though sh e c onscientiously
strove t o do s o To her Mr Drexel wa s
un derbred an d over emphatic
She won
dered at Gwendolyn s evident p reference
for his society The lack of understan di ng
be t ween her niece and herself was not a
question of age but of temperament A t
eighteen Drexel s pers onality would have
been distas t eful t o her She i nstin ctivel y
of

T RAVER S

32

felt for the self controlled natures just as

and had a
s h e knew S evres by in tuition
fas ti d ious taste in the selection of menus
though her own palate re lished only the
simplest fare There wa s an exuberant
wealth of temperament i n Gwen that p uz
z le d her
A t times she fel t tempted t o think
it a taint of the wild Western blood sh e
inherited from her mo ther and to di sap
prove of it as lacking in the quality that
owed in her own Philadelphi a veins A t
other moment s when she s aw more clearly
the fact was shadowed for t h t o her that
t hat abounding believing richness of na
ture while i t might blunder madly might
at the same time touch heigh t s to which
her own well regul ated indi viduality co ul d
never aspire

So to nigh t sh e looked into the gi rl s face

wondering an d puzzled the sense of her r e
sponsibili ty wei ghing he avily upon her She
was anxious to do her duty to the full

Yes my dear
turning to
sh e said
ward Gwendolyn with her usual graceful

dignity i f you wish

Within the room the r e was gleaming
an d crackling
although the temperature
-

A MIDN IGH T CH AT

33

not dem d it Gwendolyn loved t o re

turn to these leaping welcoming res
T h e F rench maid was sleeping in a huge
c hair before it a n d arose with a utter of
apology

Never mind Celeste said Gwen it s

dreadfully late It was careless of me not
to tell you not to wait for me later than
t welve
You may go now and I ll manage

alone t o
night

Bu t mademoiselle s gown unlac es in

the back Celeste protested

Mr s A ddi ngton w il l help me Won t

you Auntie ? asked Gwen

Certainly Gwen answered Mrs A d

di ngtou wa r ming her long slender ngers
absently at the r e T hen she sank int o t h e
deep chair Celeste had just dese rted wi th
an air of abstra ction an d threw back her
opera cloak
Gwen came an d kn elt on the oo r before
her

How nice
she said
Celeste is gone
we re all al one and n owwe can talk Un

lace me Auntie dear

Mrs A d di ngton did s o her h ands a little
un stea dy She was h Op i n g ardently that
di d

an

T RAVER S

3 49

her niece was about to con de in her and

s h e longed for yet dreaded the narration
She pulled the long silken l a ce thr ough on e
hole after a nother and yet Gwendolyn did
not speak She was soon nestle d in the
white fur r u g in her lmy blu e dressing
gown : and then it was sh e laid her arms
across Mrs A d d i n gt on s knees and looked
up at her the r e warming her fresh, youn g
face whi ch looked serious enough as the
deep grey eyes searched t h e countenan ce
above her

Aun tie
she sai d at length breaki ng

the silence
Why don t you like Mr

Drexel ?
S t art led Mrs A ddi ngton s an k back l n
her ch air H er inclination was to retire b e
hind the screen o f her habi t ua l reserve but
sh e sm othered it with an e ffort and gently
rufed the curls on the girl s forehead She
would try not to d ri ve any con d e n ce s
away

H ow d o you kn ow I d on t like him ,

sh e asked

I feel as if you didn t said Gwondo

lyn wis t fully suddenly lowering her head
s o that her face w as invisible
,

'

T RAVER S

36

row in their views What co ul d she have

heard a gainst Chester ? She felt sure th at
her a u nt was unjust an d a sense of loyalty
to the man t o whom sh e had plighted her
troth made her forbear to urge he r t o fur
ther explanati on
She rose and went to her desk Her back
was toward M r s A ddington who co ul d se e
her two heavy br a ids of yellow hair s hi n
ing in the light She began triing with he r
paper knife

sh e
I think y ou are unjust t o hi m
said

Possibly
Mrs A d din gt on s fatal r e
serve wa s begi nning to grow on her

Men aren t all saints went on the girl

over her shoulder

I don t like saints

You haven t the slightest idea of what

you are talking ab out said Mrs A dding

ton
This was the worst line of argument in
the world to employ toward a girl who did
not know Gwendolyn s championship of
the man attacked so vaguely doubled in i n
t ensity

H e never says horrid thi ngs of

sai d Gwen
.

A MIDN IGH T CH AT

not

37

I hope
to my niece replie d Mrs
A ddington f ri gi dly
This reply made Gwen s sense of d i sloy
alty t o her aun t r u sh over her overwhelm
i n gly The tears sprang to her eyes

If you had anythi ng to s ay against

him sh e cri ed you ought t o say it right

ou t and if you haven t it isn t fair or kind

to s p eak at al l
M r s A ddington rose an d took up he r
opera wrap prepa ri ng to leave

My dear
it is v e r y har d
sh e said
for us older people to deal with impulsive
young ones We don t wish t o burden them
or shadow them with the knowledge of an
ugly un savoury world t oo soon We seek
to spare them Perhap s we make mistake s
in our t oo great wisdom an d love God

knows !
Her voice broke su dd enly an d she
stopped her cloak trailing from her arm ,
her head bent in heart weary introspection
Gwendolyn rushe d to her all penitence ,
and threw her arms about her

O h Au ntie A untie
lo ve
sh e crie d
me always I am not sur e sometimes th at

you love me at all

.

T RAVER S

38

Mr s A ddi n gton patted the he a d on her

.

shoulder holding it against her with a ten

derness rarer in her than sh e realised

Not love y ou Gwen sh e said

I ve
loved you always ever since you wer e a
wee tot of a baby But my dear i t may
be that sometimes my conscience my t oo

great anxiety gets in the way

She held Gwen away from her looking
i nto her eyes with deep a ffection

I ve a P uri tan conscience I suspect I

felt the responsibility too keenly pe rhaps

It may be I ve t ried overha rd an d missed

it somewhere

O h ! n o ! exclaimed the gi rl clinging to

her
don t say that I love you de a rly

dearly !

There s comfort in that my darlin g

said Mrs A ddington There s comfort in

that But sometimes it comes t o me al
most as a conviction that more imp ul se an d
less calculated endeavour accomp lishes the

best res ul ts in the long r un

Gwendolyn accompani ed her t o her doo r
and s t ood there lingerin gly

Aunt sh e said y ou ve always done

the best for me

,

A MIDN IGHT CH AT

39

M r s A ddi ngt on paused on the threshold

.

of

the room

The best I knew she said gently the

very best I knew

She stood there r e e ct
ing a moment before sh e spoke again

Gwendolyn I ve decided in future t o take

you more i n my condence in business mat
ters
There would be compan ionship in

that wouldn t there ?

She looked up an earnest wistfulness in
her expression betrayi n g an innate lon e li
ness Gwen had not even sus p ect ed

I suppose there wo ul d
said Gwen

doubtfully but you re s o clever and I m

s o dreadf ully stupid

I fear I m stupid too

replied Mrs

A ddington but sh e smiled brightly We ll

begin just a little to night I ll tell you the
word that opens the s a fe O pera F ive
letters you s e e I ve often felt it woul d
be better if it were known t o you as wel l
a s t o the typewri er Miss R oss an d to me
t

only Remember !

O p era
repe ate d Gwen absently for
her long continued indi fference to her own
business a ffairs made it difcult for her t o
r i se at once to thi s new res p onsibility
.

T RAVER S

Go od night dear wi ll you

love

me ?

Always my darl ing

sai d Mr s A d
di ngt ou fondly as sh e ki ssed her
-

C HAPT ER I V:
TH

E FA C E AGAI N

G W E N D O LY N was t oo excited fo r sleep

Instead of seeking her bed she seated her
self by the wi ndow watchi ng the slow pass
ing of the night The cinders dropped into
the hearth with little smothered noises but
still the gi rl sat her hands clasped about
her knees thinking wi th a heavy heart
The longer she weighed the situation the
m o re it too k on the complexion of t r e ach
ery an d deceit Half against her will the
thought again and agai n occurred to h e r
Would it not have been more honourable
for Chester to have rst s ought her aun t s
consent and if she then proved obdurate
they s o sure of each other and their mu
tual love might then take the step they now
contemplated
The same uttering doubt of him arose
.

41

T RAVE R S

42

in her mind whi ch had ass ai le d her for a

moment the night before as he s at beside
her

What shall I do ? sh e whispered to

herself her hands pressed close ag ai n st her

cheeks
W hat shall I do ? And I ve giv en

him my word
The suggestion was gradually borne in
upon her that there was somethi ng in Ches
ter s own personality that won her over t o
men t al attitudes and to concessions which
were foreign t o her natural bent When she
wa s with him her usual clear cut views
were blurred and he loomed larger in her
heart horizon than he did when she cold
ly reasoned out his arguments alone
She rose and walked her roo m in a m az e
of tangled doubts an d co n icting impulses

O h ! What is it ? s h e exclaimed aloud

Am I half hearted ? weak ? incapable of

sustained em otion ? I never used to be

Poor Gwendolyn could not calculate in
the i gnora nce of her girlish heart on the
element of mere physical attraction which
men of Drexel s char acter may p o ssess
temporarily even over women of her pure
nature Not reco gnising it she did n ot
,

T RAVER S

441

Its faint greys lled her room when she

awoke with a start of terror F or an i n
stant s h e s a t up bewildered not knowing
what h ad awakened her A cold p e r s p i r a
ti on sprang out on her forehe ad and sh e
clutched the bed clothes listening her ears
s t rained t o the uttermost
T hen sh e realised what h ad called her
It h ad been n o sound or
back from sleep
movement It was a sense of impending
d an ger of hoverin g menace ! It was in the
air !
She lay b ack on her pillow her heart
beating like a t ri p hammer It seemed to
her sh e waited an eterni ty She i n s t in c
t iv e ly feigned sleep though her eyelids
twitched and her mouth quivered She
was spell bound She could not call nor
move

There it was a stealthy step in the pas

sage Into her mind ashed the r e colle c
ti on of her jewels a fortune carelessly lit
tering the dressing table Bitterly sh e r e
e
n
p t e d her t hough t lessness while she lay
cold as death striving to quiet her heart
that sh e mi ght clearer hear the ominous
movements in the hall wi thout Her blood
.

T HE

FA C E A GAIN

beat on tumultuously tap p ing her ear

drums with mufed thumps
She was almost rea dy t o scream wi th the
strain of the waiting silence when again
there wa s a slight stir in the h al l
The door handle turned s oftly !
She strove desperately to keep her eyes
close d ; but in v ain She half opened them
t o perceive a dark gure behind the widen
ing crack of the do or The man wi thout
was cautiously slow in hi s movements By
the faint light of the d awn s h e s aw his
black bulk in the shadow A few inches at
a time the crack wi dene d
The hinges
creaked fai ntly The man stopped and lis
tened She could hear hi s breathing Then
boldly he pushed back the door and entere d
the room
It wa s tru e ! It was tr ue ! sh e tol d herself
She was awake and this nightmare horror
o f years was incarnate at last
If sh e could
but control her twitching lids She had al
ready perceived that the man was t al l and
broad abnormally s o he seemed t o her and
that he wa s undisguised A s oft hat drawn
low over hi s forehead was the only e ff ort
t o shiel d himself from p ossible reco gn it i on
,

T RAVER S

46

He paused beside her be d an d she knew

he was watching her Surely he must hear
the tap tapping of her heart though sh e
lay l ike a statue Was it a fe w s econds
He had moved She heard
o r an hour ?
the soft stir of his footsteps on the rugs as
he went toward her dressing table She
opened her eyes and watched him
A sudden
T h e morn ing was upon them
utter of the window curtain let in a long
slit of light t o play upo n the facets of the
gems A stran ge hour for burglary ! Even
amid the terror that possessed her the
thought glimmered th a t probably her long
vigil at the window had delaye d thi s
man s plans
He held up her tiara and turned it about
in h i s hands There was calm poss e s sive
contemplation in hi s scrutin y and his atti
tude
Her tiara ! Her beautiful favourite
ti a ra ! H ow often it had crowned her
braids despite Mrs A d d i n gt on s protest
that such grandeur ill became a girl of her
years A ash of hot indignation cut across
the blacknes s of her fear ; and it began t o
subside She watched h i m wi th i ntent eyes
.

T HE

FA C E A GAIN

he leisurely examin ed her gems with dis

crimina ting regard The courage of her
grandmother who h ad st ood o roadmen
at the point of the pistol began to surge
above the softer ow o f the blood inherited
from her Philadelp hi a ancestors
H e stood there large contemp tu ously u n
a fraid
She s a t up in bed and observed hi m her
heart gradually slowing in i t s beat She
had begun t o detest him with a complete
ness that was rapidly eclipsing all sense of

fear Her jewels they were her jewels !

That was her gradua t ion ring that he was
calml y placing with the others in the gap
ing p ockets of his coat ; now the long shin
ing line of a diamond necklace slid snake
like int o its depths Her cheeks began to
burn with sheer fury Again he looked at
the tiara
Her voice arose in sudden protest The
man turned with a start t o n d the gi rl sit
ting u p in bed a picture of i ndignation

You dreadful man

she c ri ed
take
the rest if you will but leave me my

tiara
He gave a smothered ejaculation stare d

as

T RAVER S

48

at her as though he could n ot credit his own

eyes Then wonder of wonders he laughed
softly below his breath He lo oked grim
enough t owering in the half light and the
old fear began surging back over her ; but
having once spoken she felt an irresistible
imp ulse t o stick to her col ours though her
voice began t o shake now that she felt this
un known lawless man s eyes fairly upon
her

There s a fo rtun e there and it all b e

longs t o me I ll give you the rest but

I do want my tiara vainly struggling to

steady her voice

Well I ll be hanged said the man at

the dressing table in what appeared to be
amused amazement
H er heart redoubled i t s beating but she
sat looking straight back at him
Co ul d it be there was a trace of con
science in that sinister gure ?
He hesi
.

ta t e d

Thanks
he said mockingly but he
laid the tiara back on the dressing table
and turned toward the other gems A cer
tain leisurely assurance had gone from h i s
manner He went on with tr oubled haste
,

T HE

FA C E A GAIN

49

Don t scream , he s ai d
I d on t want

t o draw my revolver
Gwend olyn watched hi m her eyes widen
ing H e looked vaguely fami liar ! Where
had she seen tho se bro a d shoulders before ?
Suddenly s h e ut t ered an exclamation
The man turned with a li the qui ck move
ment on the defensive in an instant
Silence he whispered

I know you I kn ow you cried Gwen

dolyn over an d over again
The man came toward her and leaned
over the foot of the bed

Silence I tell you he muttered

I know you
babbled on Gwen half

hysterical
You re the man I saw last
night in the res t a urant
They stared wildly at each other motion
less each awaiting the next move
She
co ul d hear hi s breath ca tching in hi s throat
Her own c ame gaspingly The morn ing was
brightening and the features of each grew
clearer to the other A s his fa ce became
more di stinct the impression sh e had rst
had of him so startlingly clear and sud
den then again recurred t o her
She put her hand to her throa t
The

T RAVER S

5O

question seemed forced from her

Her
voice was faint and breathless

Why are you a thi ef ? sh e whispered

The man cringed as if sh e had st r uck
h im hi s broad chest contracting suddenly
H e started toward her as if t o smother her
voice She was afra id horribly afrai d yet
sh e looked back a t h im bravely

Why are you a thief ? sh e repe ate d

The man h al f reeled

My G od ! he muttere d
My God !
Then again there was silence while he
st ood there as if faced by a ghost pe tri e d
into inexplicable silence
.

T RAVER S

52

tering the glob es afar Gwen s dressing

t able tottered danced forw ard bowed and
fell hurling its burden of silver and glas s
in all directions The book case advan ced a
few feet into the room then capsized scat
tering a rain of volum es
The clock and
two tall vases on the mantelpiece began a

strange jig reeling drawing nearer to one

ano t her retreating bowing and becking in
Bacchanalian fashion The windows rat
t le d madly in their casings as if shaken by
a frenzie d hand then sash by sash the
glass shivered
Gwendolyn clun g t o her brass bedstea d
It was moving from side t o si d e with a
v i olent motion that threatene d t o throw her
ou t upon the oor
The burglar reeled and graspe d the fo o t
of the b e d for support took a step and
lunged wi th a heavy roll against the wall
near by At the same moment a picture
above him fell with a heavy crash
Around and about sounded the jarri ng
rush of falling b ri ck
The shrill screams of the servants on the
oor above reached Gwendolyn s ears ; and
then gradually t h e fact st ol e ov e r her con

M O T H ER EAR T H IN T ER PO S E S

53

sci ou sn e s s

that beneath and pe r vading all

the scattered many voiced p andemonium of
so u nds wa s the long hollow subterranean
rumble constant deepening but never

ceasing the ominous roll of the eart h

quake
Gwendolyn prayed i n gasps clinging des
r
a
e
l
e
t
her
heaving
bed
impres
t
o
l
l
a
p
y
sions blotted out , save the present all ah
sorbing fear of Mother E arth turned on
the sudden into an enemy and a menace
A beam crushed through the ceiling

above her head then an other The w ri th

ing j ar ri ng ea r th seemed to renew its fury
and take on an added determination t o an
n i h i la t e
A rain of bri cks began t o pour
into the room upon the bed upon Gwe n d o
l yn
Without a word the burglar ung himself
toward her sheltering her wi th his broad
shoulders deecting the ying missiles as
best he could The air was ful l of mort ar
His hands clos ed o ver her mouth to keep
ou t t he oating smothering grey powder
The eart h twisted , writhed jarred on like
a creatur e in to rtur e ; then su dde nl y all was
still
-

T RAVER S

5 4s

Gwendolyn opened her eyes Bricks lay

scattered abou t her ; the room was a wreck ;
great zigzag cracks crept up the wall fro m
which p atches of plaster had fallen, leaving
grey jagged scars
T h e man was shaking the plaster and
bricks from his sho ulders ; the bl ood was
trickl ing slowly from a woun d in his cheek ;
his hands were cut and blee di ng
Gwendolyn sprang from her be d wi th a
sharp cry

My aunt my aunt sh e cried

I ll go to her said the man

She hastily slipped on her dressing gown
and followed him
The do o r of her aun t s room was closed
jamm ed in its ca sings
Within silence
T h e cla t ter and screams of t h e servants
came to her in their bolt for the open

Auntie auntie cried the gi rl beating

the d oor madly with weak whi te hands
The man placed hi s shoulder to it and
heaved It resisted The sickening reek of
smoke and burning cloth began t o creep out
t o them

r
e
It s
her night taper cri ed Gwen
dolyn her fear mounting to frenz y
.

M O T H ER EAR T H IN T ERP O S E S

55

The man hastily gathered a rug into his

hand and attacked the resisting door It
yielded He entered H e turned to her
suddenly

Go back he cried imperiously

The ames withi n the r oom leapt out t o
meet them
H e fought them back with the rug and
subdued them somewhat
She cowered in the hall feeling he fought
best alone A moment later an exclamation
fraught with horror the horror of a strong
man came out t o her She reeled against
the wall
The man h ad reappe ared He looked sick
and faint H is rst movement was to draw
to the shattered door

My aun t ! cried the gi rl striving d e s

r
l
t
e
a
e
t
pass
him
o
p
y
He held her b ack with curious tenderness

N o use
he said huskily
The chim

ney fell full up on her She knew no pain

My God ! cried the girl c overing her

mouth with both her hands to keep b ack the

scream her eyes mad with ho r ror

We

must get her ou t she sai d with he r next

breath
.

T RAVER S

56

The n ames were now leaping high in the

room within !

I ll try said the man

A moment later he staggered ou t gas ping
for breath an d shiel ding hi s eyes with hi s
hands

N 0 use
he said
buried t oo d eep

We ll all be cremated in this hell

F or the rst time Gwendolyn dimly pe r
ce i v e d that the ames started in the b ack
part of the hous e were leaping towar d
them angrily

I won t leave my aun t sh e cri e d, half

faint but unyielding
He took her in his arms and sp r ang with
her towards the broad st aircase The heat
of the r e smo t e her smotheringly as sh e
st r uggled
O ut of the front doo r they went
The
street was full of terried people s c atter
ing madly without design
Th e man l aid her on the lawn She t urned
over with a moan and buried her face in
her arm The great old wooden h ouse
dry wi th age went up like a tinder box
Take me away where I can t s e e cried
the gi rl

C HAPT ER VI
TH

E MATC H

-BO !

AF TER the long ste ady st ri de h ad con

tinn ed block afte r bloc k a consciousness of
the world and her p osition began t o dawn
on Gwendolyn

Put me do wn please sh e demanded

The man hesitated

You have n o shoes on he said

I can walk insisted Gwendolyn ; and

s h e did s o limping only occasionally and
hardly conscious of the cold
She looked about and behi nd her The
steady columns of smoke arose over the
ci ty Th e people surroun ding her mo stly
of the poorer class plodded on dragging
trunks bundles of bedding or motley as
sor tments of usele s s nothi ngs grasped in
the pani c an d ight
Beside her in a sor t of hurried breath
less trot his eyes wide an d his white ha ir
,

58

T HE

MAT CH B OX

59

owing went the little man sh e had remem

bered all her life selling newspapers at the
Chronicle Building Thy were comrades
now !
They overtook an d passed a stout woman
p us hi ng a folding bed laden with a bundle
of household treasures and upon it sat a
parrot in i t s great cage slidi ng up and
down the bars and screeching
Gradually the thought was borne in upon
Gwendolyn numbed and crushed as sh e
was by her own s orrow that these people
in ful l retreat from their burning homes
after having passed through the horror of
the ea r thquake were strangely brave and
bright She heard no word of complaint
s aw few tears
These beings dri ven by the
ames went wi th courage and wi thout fore
boding
She looked at the man by her side His
lips were set and hi s brows knit She knew
not whi ther he was leading her and yet sh e
followed him wi thout question This burg
lar had probably s aved her life withi n the
very hour he sought her jewels !

And now he was her guid e where ?

She recalled her words about hi m ; He s

,

T RAVER S

60

not good , I m sure of that but how ba d ?

That i s

the question
Now sh e had ceased to question
The
latent strength in the man s personality
took possession of her and sh e accepte d
.

A dull wondering pain a doubt of Ches

ter s fate began to throb amid the numb
horror of her memory of her aunt
Her feet were cut and sore but the brave
faces about her forbade complaint and she
struggled on She began to realise whither

he was lea di ng her into the open house

less spaces about the foot of the Twin
Peaks
She turned questioning hi m with her
eyes

s h e asked at
Why do you go there

last
I ve many friends I must go t o

them

They ll be in the parks before night

fall he answered

Y ou don t mean it s going

she cried
with a sudden leap of erce l ove for this
thre atened t own of her birth

A wooden cit y he answere d

wi th

ou t water !
,

T HE

T
M A CH B OX

61

He had a strange undeviating way of

putting facts She recalled with a shudder
his di rect di sclosure of her aunt s death
that morning All shams were down They
were straight upon the axles of circum
stance and must take their tru ths u n cu sh
.

i on e d

She did n ot pause or question un til they

were out up on the grass with Twin Peaks
yell ow and purple with wild owers rising
behind them O ver the sward i t t e d u n
housed gures moving restles s without
distinct design or purp ose in their c omi ngs
o r goings
Sitting on the ground wi th her blee ding
feet drawn up for the rst time Gwendolyn
was conscious of cold ; but sh e di d not heed
it Her eyes were upon the leaping ames
in the city beyond Recalling her aun t to
her it seemed a va st crematory with its
hungry lap of r e an d its spreadin g p ano
ply of smoke
Suddenly sh e bowed her hea d upon her
kn ees and sobbed

I t can t
It can t be that it is going
it can t
She ha d n ot noti ced t hat h e r comp anion
,

T RAVER S

62

had disap peared She looke d up a moment

later at the so u nd of a brisk voice A
woman in a nurse s uni fo rm sto od before
her
She was not a h an d s ome woman ; she h ad
the type of face that is vaguely designat ed

as Western in California meani ng mid

dle Western al ert strong, determined

with an underlying suggestion of hum our
that overrode the worst that life had to
give

Well my girl said the young woman

u
don
t
seem
be
bothered
ith
more
o
t
w
o
y
clothes than you know what t o d o with
Gwendolyn gazed up at her read her
aright and u nderstanding smiled faintly
There is many another n ot s o youn g or

str ong in the same plight sh e an swered

Well if you are n ot pa rticular ab out

style I can d o somethi ng for y ou
The nurse held out a man s overcoat a
cap an d a black skirt Gwendolyn slipped
them on with a sight of relief She had
become chilled t o the bone

Put ou t your feet

s ai d t h e w oman
abruptly
Gwe n dolyn obeyed
.

T HE

MAT CH B OX

63

Hm ! Cut not badly, said the nurse

Any glass d o you think ?

I don t think s o
Gwendolyn
,

swe r e d

Well here are a p air of shoe s went

on the other
They ll d o I guess Not
exactly Paris cut perhaps Can t a or d
t rimmi ngs ear thquake times N o sto ckings
N ot going to grand
in stoc k just now

opera to night
Gwen thrust her feet int o a p air of old
woman s cloth gaiters

Lost anybod y ? aske d the nu rse her

face softening
Gwen bit her lip in silence her breath
catchi ng cruelly

Well nothi ng like work for f orget

t i ng said the other woman but her face

grew i nn i t ely gentle as she laid a hand on

the gi rl s shoulder
If you want to help
dress babies ; cook din ners ; bui ld te nts ; or

what not ; I m on duty Ward O ne Twin

Peaks just now Pitch in and lend a hand
when you feel that way The re be work

for a d ozen t o night

T o help ! t o wo rk ! was thi s wo man s in
,

s t i n ct .

T RAVER S

64

Gwendolyn re al ised it a s the straight

alert gure strode away from her It made
her feel weak and insign i cant Now that
they were down t o the realities what did
her life signify with its foolish charities
where women s quarrels were fostered and
envy and ambition were rife ? What could
How coul d sh e assist ?
sh e d o ?
She absently plaited her unboun d hai r
as sh e reected It wo ul d puzzle her t o do
it into its accustomed coils without assis
tance
Her escort had vani shed wi thout a word
and yet sh e had no thought of the jewels
he car ried in the pockets of hi s overcoat
Her prope rty under insured and heavily

mortgaged as sh e knew for her aunt had

been ambitious that sh e sho ul d prosper
with the city s growth and had b u rdened

it with the best intentions was going up

in the cinders of those leaping ames But
a feeling of the in si gn i can ce of all things
materi al had taken pos session of her She
had no care for it She felt thank ful for
the man s overcoat frayed at the cuffs an d
greasy at the collar that sh e drew around
he r B ut for the aching of her heart for
,

T RAVER S

66

but although I ve do n e most thi ngs I

draw the line at lying

She looke d round at hi m at the res olute
prole wi th the li ps a little hard in their
line

Why did you loot them sh e cri e d

Because the shops woul d burn anyway

and y ou must have fo o d and protection

I won t eat stolen food sh e cried ris

ing t o her feet Even her grotesque co s
t ume could not d epriv e her in di gnation of
i t s full force
He looked up at her quietly contempla;
tive He seemed t o be reecting upon fact s
with which her obse r vation had no relation
His next words proved this

I t s a great pity y ou re s o beautiful

These are lawless t im es Even those clothes

haven t helped much

Gwendolyn gazed bac k at hi m suddenl y
limp and weaponless His observation wa s
evidently s o entirely outside hi mself that
sh e was at a loss
He arose and untied hi s bu ndl e F rom it
he took a bolt o f whi te canvas ; next a
shovel which he viewe d with interest ; then
cam e a fryi ng pan ; three boxes of matches ;

'

T HE

M AT CH

BO!

67

a package of wh e at e n e d akes ; one of

u
! aker oats ; and a side of baco n
He turned the b a con over dubiously

Go o d in theory he s ai d but smells

t oo far Might be a temptation

Next cam e a large package conta ining
many layers of choc olate
Nouris hi ng he observ e d
Several tins of corned beef he laid on one
side A quart bottle of sala d oil he held
up to her with a smi le

I suppose you ve never met thi s except

in mayonnaise but taken pure it is a di
e
s
n
t
e
t
r
That
alone
wou
l
d
sustain
u
f
o
o
g
y

days
Gwen d olyn had reseated herself and was
gazing at hi m her chin in her hand begin
ning to feel despite the num bing ache in

her heart an interest in his catch

A re you preparing for famine

sh e
asked wi thout seriousness

I am he replied gravely
T hi s was a new thought t o he r
She
turned it over in her mind then sent a
swift glance toward the women and the
babies on the hillside an d shuddered
The s o und of dynamiti ng came u p t o
.

T RAVER S

68

them at inte rvals The deep boom of the

blasts echoe d and r e echoed through the
hills

It can t be s o bad as that

she sai d
wistfully longin g for a contra diction

F ire Chi ef Sullivan is hurt unto

death an d the only man wh o un derstands
dynamiting is out of San F rancisco an d
can t be gotten at If he could get here

there might be h ope he an swere d ab rup t

.

ly

A handful of nails ; a h ammer ; three tins

of condensed milk ; and several pairs of
blankets completed his haul
He was soo n at w ork wi th his shovel
making trenches in the soil

There may be rain and your tent is t o

be here he explained briey

My tent !

There it is in emb ryo

He pointe d to

the canvas
An d now I ll lo o t some lum

ber
He went swingin g o across the hillside
He was in hi s shirt sleeve s an d waistco a t
and he left his coat an d overcoat rolled up
and near at hand
Gwendolyn watche d h im a s he d i sap
,

T HE

MAT CH B OX

69

then her eyes straye d t o these

Into those pockets she h ad seen her jewels
ung earlier in the d ay They represented
all the fo rtun e t o whi ch sh e could now d e
n i t e ly say sh e could lay cla i m
The impulse
to repossess them took hold up on her A
strange struggle aro s e wi thi n her Why
not ! by what law of morality sho ul d she
feel that sh e had not a right t o that of
whi ch he had robbed her She looked about
her cautiously E nough sense of her u n p r o
t e ct e d position ha d arisen within her t o
make her fear the chance glance of stran
gers
Near by a mother suckled her baby t wo
Older chil d ren clingi ng t o her sti ll in
a ffright from their recent experiences
An
old man a pipe i n hi s mouth from which
n o smoke as cended
stood intently watch
ing the ery sky above the city The r e
moter groups were bent upo n their own a f
fairs A lready small res were sta r ted
an d there were skeleton attempts at tents
pathetic al ly ins ufcient
She hastily shook ou t the co ats an d felt
in the pockets A handkerchief a few cents
in s mall change ; a wallet l led wi th news
e
a
r
d
e
p

T RAVER S

70

paper clippings ; and a gun metal match

safe with a crest in silver upon it were al l
that sh e found She dropped the match
b ox as a f it had stung her

More loot sh e thought contemp tuous

-

ly

Her jewels had vanished !

She folded up the coats an d replaced
them She was sick with a sudden sense of
loss
A n hour earlier sh e had despised
those jewels Now their absence shook her
to the core of her being H e was a thief
a common thief and her only protector on
this hi llside
She arose in a utter of panic S h e wo ul d
r un away o ff t o her friends whose houses
sh e could still s e e stan di ng secure upon t h e
hills outlined against the sky
Suddenl y he reappe ared with a loa d of
wood across hi s shoulder She san k back
in t o her place He must n ot learn her i n
tention ; she would wait until he turned his
back again She tried t o ght back a guilty
sense born of her consciousness that she
had gone through his pockets but a spirit
of shame died her cheeks pale a moment
earlier from the morning s expe riences
.

T HE

MAT CH B OX

'

71

He threw down the wood an d began t o

fas hi on the frame of a tent H e hammered
with a briskness and a ssur ance of a man
a ccustomed t o the use of tools How big he
wa s sh e thought Such a breadth of sh oul
der Th e s u n shone on the crisp curls damp
on hi s brow He looked the gen tleman !
S omethi ng in his face had s oftened away
sin ce last night What wa s it ? Was it sh e
gave a horried glance about her that amid
these people of a s ocial gr ade t o which she
was un accus tomed already the disti nguish
in g m a rks were growin g fa i nt in her eyes
between class and clas s
Suddenly for half a se c on d hi s hamm er
p oised in mi d ai r Then aga i n with u n
moved face he went ou with his task
She turned and there in the dusky sun
light lay the match box the crest upper
most
H er cheek tu r ned crimson but she tosse d
her head higher in the air
Wh at ! sh e
blush before the man who had robbed
her ! Surely this earthquake had turned all
rul es moral and s ocial topsy t u rvy
Tap ! tap ! went the hamm er Boom !
boom ! came the sounds from the dying city
.

T RAVER S

'

72

Wi th surprising speed an d ac curacy he

spread the canvas lapping margin over
margi n and nailing it into pl a ce Then he
contrived a d r op of whi te canvas in front
It di d not mean complete protect i on , but it
was at lea s t complete privacy
Then he turn ed and with a d eft move
ment picked up the match b ox
She gaz e d ahea d un move d
,

T RAVER S

74s

Gwen s at in silence She was numbed by

the horror of the earlier part of the mo r n
ing Now the ominous roll i nspired in her
hea r t sickness in whi ch there was both
dread unspeakable and question ; but she
could die bu t once The man beside her who
had appeared so brave and fearless
through it all tur ne d suddenly ghastly

Horrible ! he cried below his breath

I want something I can ght

He sat down beside her for the moment
all motive toward action cr u shed

C an t you get out of here ? h e asked

a t last wi th an outburst of impatient ir ri
.

t a t i on

Her heart gave a leap at the thought of

leaving it all

I suppose I coul d go to San Jose sh e

answered
Thi s recalled him t o the facts

San Jose is at he said with a half

laugh of scorn of all t hings human

We
a r e cut o ff
Why d o I speak so ? No tele
phone ; no telegraph ; no railway connec
t ions
We re just penned in here with the

earth trying to buck us off

The strong man b ale d appeale d t o her
.

A CA CHE

IN

BROAD D AYL IGHT

75

stronger feminine ins ti nct to submit t o the

inevita ble

Never mi nd , sh e s aid
If i t s t h e
end aft er all it must come sometime
The
tears ov e r owe d her eyes at the memo ry
of her aunt
His muscul ar han d s kn otte d over on e an
other

I t s not the way I d choose t o di e

His

eyes swept the burning city

Poor beg

gars
he said the words born of the

t hought those lurid skies engendered

At

a ll events we have the open

Perhaps it is the last shock she said

gently
W e must expe ct a succession of

them after such a great one

He shrugged his expressive shoulde r s
and rose t o hi s feet h i s cool self once more
At this moment there was a rush of
starched skirt s up the hillside It was the
nurse on her round from camp to camp
Her apron was laden down

I s that Nob Hi ll
she cried as sh e

paused beside them

uite
a
palace
you
!

have there !

Camp New Hope

answered Gwen
s omethi ng warm and hu man stir ring in he r
.

T RAVER S

76

heart at the sight of the str ong cheering

face

Well n ame d
said the nurse
I ll
delegate you medical headquarters
I ve
just broken into a drug s t o re an d done the

best I could on the jump

She held Ou t her apron an d exposed its
contents nami ng ove r the bottl e s an d pack
ages wi thi n
Whi sky ; b r omi de
ni t r o-glycerine
st rychnin e ; c ollodion ; morp hine ; absorb
ent c otton ; i o d ofo rm ; gau z e ; b andages ;
carbolic acid B est sterilise r I can run in
thi s camp Can you cach e th em i n your

place ?

O h ! I d l ove t o cri e d Gwe n

The man h ad already p la ce d the m, wi th
swi ft accustome d nge r s

Y ou h av e a hea d nu r s e , h e s ai d a d

mi r i n gly
Remembe r I m a doc t or
though a littl e ou t of pr act i ce n ow

D octo r !

The nurse s gl an ce took him in swiftly

noting t h e strong e xib l e, capab l e han d s

Y e s surgeon, sh e s ai d
He no dd ed
We ll, we 11 ke ep you bu sy Docto rs have
,

A CA CH E I N B ROAD D AYLIGH T

'

77

been bobbing up like mushr ooms but I

know a workman when I s e e h i m

She was o wi th her usual s wi ft st ri de
The man watche d her di sappe a r and
laughed a low bitte r laugh

I r e enter my profess i on, mad e moi

selle he s aid un der p ressur e

A doctor ! s aid Gwe n amaze d Then

sh e paused catchi ng he r lip an d blus hi ng
He bowed

And a thi e f
She remembere d he r vani sh e d j e wel s an d
involuntarily withdrew within herself
He note d this un shrinkingly looking at
he r wi th a s crutini sing g az e that to ok in all
the details wi th almost merciless accuracy
The Go d s grind slow but they gri nd ex

he said
It s t oo ba d they
c e e d in g sure

waste s o much time on me

He paced a step or t wo t o on e s i d e the n
retur ning stood wi th his back turned to
ward her He was evi dently ghting out a
battle with hi mself

I m obstin ate he said slowly I hate

t o have my han d forced ; but there are
legi ons of fears a oat on these hills i des t o

d ay Why a d d t o them ?
,

T RAVER S

78

He put h i s han d wi thin his waistcoat an d

withdrew a package tightly boun d Bow
ing he handed it t o her
She turned it over amazed She could
feel the roughness of the jewels wi thi n the
parcel of unbleache d muslin careful ly tied
togethe r

I am s orry he said but the tiara is

not there
She was dumb before him With trem
bling ngers sh e started to un d o the knots
of the package
he cried sharply
She start ed all atremble
He ung his han d back across hi s fore
he ad with one of his reckless bitter laughs

God knows you were right t o y our sus

n
i
i
c
o
s but there are other eyes than ours
p
a bout
Those jewels will mean comfort t o

you despite what those ames can d o He

pointed t o the distant city and the long line

of r e and creeping smoke

Guarded

they mean life ; unguar ded dea th

She gave a little cry The intangi ble fear
that had been gathering within her hea r t
materialised and faced her She feared her
fe ll ow me n ; sh e feare d the s u dden e e ct of
,

CA CHE IN B ROA D D AYLIGHT

79

the loo se ni ng of the bands of law in the

burning city
!
How alone ; h ow hor ri bly alone she was
He took the bundle from her hand and
gra sping h i s shovel strode h al f a dozen
loose s win ging strides to the left of her
tent

See he sai d pausing

Thi s is safer

than the tent itself

He dug a deep hole with elaborated pur
o
s
e
l
s
t
e
s
n
ss
and
with
swift
glances
the
a
e
p
people about
Withi n it he placed the
package and stamped the ear th heavily
back tramping from on e po i nt t o another
brui sing the young grass and obliter ating
traces

A cac he in broad daylight

with a

half laugh under the eyes of a penniless

people Reckless I m afraid Very reck

les s !
He stood i n reection
Gwen could scarcely credit her senses
What was sh e to think in the face of this
whi rl of contradiction ? A t times an i m
pulse born of an outgoing nature which
detested shams and half measures prompt
ed her t o t ru st h i m Then the memory of
.

80

T RAVER S

the morning swept b ack like a black ood

and sh e shrank inexp ressibly from the very
sight of the hands ome he ad and the broad
capable shoul ders
,

T RAVE RS

82

top gathe ri ng and darkeni ng Gwen c oul d

scarcely believe her eyes Commencing at
the lower oors the am es lapped shi ning
out of the wi ndows and climbing story by
story higher and hi gher It was going !
E rect it stood unshattered beautiful still ;
but gutted within by r e from basement
to roo f
Gwen turned away She felt maddene d
She coul d gaze no longer
The tents had gathered thickly ab out her
many of them con sisting chiey of a ap of
carpet Some were o f sheets tacked on
slight frames Before an occasional one
was a clutter of household goods cooking
utensils or treasures S ome of the l atter
were pathetic in their i n s ign i can ce Beside
one woman s t ood a jardini ere the art i ci al
palm in it a quiver in the shock of the blast
ing Near her sat a man dazed a dres s
suit case at his feet and before him at on
its back was his own p ot r ai t execrably
painted its fatuous smile moc king hi s pres
ent plight Every second man or woman
had saved a d og which th ey had securely
tied fearing their straying
The poor
beasts crouched steeped in the fear the
.

T HE

HILL D WE LL ER S

83

earthquake engendered in the keener i n

s t i n ct s of animals whining miserably ; and
there were parrots an d p arrots screechi ng
and pert impe lled in to un usu al loquacity
by the excitement about them
Gwen was amazed t o obse r ve the number
of phonograph fun nels there were
some
carefully wrapped in blankets The phono
graphs had been forgotten in the ight but
these useless funnels cluttered the hi llside
There was a cheery bustlin g spiri t for
the most part in the people about her They
were arrangi ng new quarters as best they
co ul d and to her surprise above these
crazy make shift homes hum orous signs

appeared scrawled in charcoal

Poo dle
Dog Restaurant
Pala ce Hotel
C am p

R ooms t o Rent on the
Never Say Die

R oof
Many res were started and women and
men alik e cooked before them arran gi ng
their utens ils b y curiously in genious de
vices
Gwen paused before a strange sprea d of
white on the grass It gave her a start It
looked like a couch of death reverently
sheeted Near by a woman stoppe d i n her
,

T RAVE R S

84

cooking t o cast a glan ce of pri d e toward

thi s shrouded s omethi ng on the sward
Is anyone ill as ked Gwen falte r ingly

s ai d the woman
I t s just some
No
thing handsome my hu sban d ma d e I h ad
to save
She turne d back the sheet This reve ale d
a b e sh e lv e d b e mi r r or e d ar r angement i n
tended t o be s e t against a wall painted
black an d lined in spots wi th bright blue
Gwen respond e d t o the woman s e xp e c
tant glance

I t s v e ry pretty, sh e s ai d an d p a sse d
on
Just i n the line of her a dvan ce wa s a
shelter that caught her eye
It consiste d
entirely of rugs whose rari ty an d beauty
str u ck her at on ce
A querulous voi ce came ou t t o her

Dawkins
it s ai d
I can t have my

coffee in the tin cup I t s absur d

Gwen recognised the v o i ce an d hastened
forward
An old lady lay b ack in a wheeled chai r
her helpless han d s crosse d before her he r
fai r sweet face un r ule d She was a pa r a
lyt ic ; an d p atience and res ignati on r e
.

T RAVER S

86

It s barbar ous ! I won der the Wil

coxes didn t send their carri age for us at

once Upon my life I do

Perhaps they re in trouble t oo

said
the woman as sh e handed him two fri ed
eggs in a t i n plate
Gwendolyn advance d toward the group

Good morn ing Mrs Davenpo r t

sh e
said with the sweet deference sh e in v ar i a
bly rendered ag e

My dear ! My dear ! crie d the old lady

s o you are here too
I am s o thankful y ou

are saved
Her s on had not st r uggle d to hi s feet
fearing to risk the balan ce of the plate
placed on a bit of cotton on hi s knees ; but
he looked up with an exclamation The
thin veneer of h i s polish had cracked hope
lessly in the gri p of this great d i s or gan i s a
tion of the conventional

W h y Miss Thornton ! he cr i e d Isn t

this s imply t oo ho rri ble

~
u
Very horrible res p on de d Gwen s p
pressing a shu dder

Can you be lieve it went on the man

Our house is gone ! A ctually gone I can

scarcely cre di t it We barel y escap ed with
t oo

'

T HE

HILL D WE LLER S

87

our lives ; and you remember ou r b ri e a

brac collect e d all over the world We can
never replace it The loss is irreparable !
And our pictures ! You recall a genui ne
F ranz Hals a D Aubigny a Rembrandt of
disputed authenticity t o be sure but au
t h e n t i c I m convin ced
Gone up in cin

ders ! What a fate ! And

with a su d

den change of tone

now I actually

haven t a de cent c o e e cup

The helpless old lady turned toward
Gwendolyn hastening t o hea d off this o od
of complaint

And how is your au nt Miss Thorn

t on ?
sh e querie d
Gwendolyn strove t o reply st r uggled
but the words died i n her thr o at

I can t tell you I can t sh e cri ed and

hurried past the retreat of rare rugs out
into the smoky suns hi ne s obbing as sh e
went She could bear it better amongst
these strangers wh o did n ot know these
busy brave helpful pe ople
O n an d on sh e went un til she paused
breathl ess Th e tents had grown s cattered
then stopped ; and she co ul d look bac k at
the city aglow b e neath her and at the
-

T RAVER S

88

houseless ones their extempo rise d shelters

fringing the hillside p urp le an d yell ow
with wild owers
T hi n k sh e da re d n ot She was house
less and alone but for the p rotection of
a burglar Yet she tu rned a sudden dread
in her hea rt lest sh e might have lost her
bearings and the fragile pr otection of the
tent she had seen gr ow bene ath he r eyes
might be deni ed her als o
When she ar rived within sight of it she
saw the burglar of the morning at work at
a r e before it He had made a so rt of
D utch oven of piled bricks an d a pan upon
which bubbled some bacon an d eggs Be
side them a kettle boiled sendi ng up a
cheerful puff of steam

How useless I am
sh e s ai d as sh e
came up
O n a cle an pl ank of wood wa s a l oaf of
bread a clasp knife beside i t He tu rne d
o ver an egg wi th a bit of attene d t i n and
wiped his brow

I m accustome d t o camp l ife he sai d

It is nothing t o me I ll h av e your b r eak
fast rea dy i n hal f a mi nute I h Op e you
d on t obje ct t o woo d en p l ate s An d y ou ll
,

T RAVER S

9O

able air of b reeding about hi m in spite of

his rough shirt and the fact that he wa s
working at menial ta sks in his waistcoat

Won t y ou have s omethi n g t oo fal

t e r e d Gwen at last
He p oured her a cup of c o ffee an d
trickled the condense d milk into it before
he answered her
N o I thank you
he said without self
consciousness or abruptness His thoughts
were elsewhere

But
s h e began

I have had enough for me

he said
taki ng a bi t of nibbled chocolate from his

pocket and returning it

I m accustome d
t o eating on the marc
A reminiscent frown lined his brow for
an instant and he gave a sup p ressed sigh
Gwen tried in vain t o eat She made poor
progress with the clas p kni fe and at last
gave up the struggle

S orry he said b riey It woul d have

done you goo d to eat

To her surp ri se he ha d al r eady e xt e m
p or i s e d a cupboard at the side of the tent
and into this he put the food wi th h i s usu al
l eisurely promp tnes s
,

T HE

HILL D WE LLER S

91

You re making yo u rself comfo r table

quart ers sh e said smiling faintly

He straightened with a start

My quarters would be a blanket on the

hillside This tent is yours mademoiselle

Twice he had called her mademoiselle
and not by her own name with whi ch she
knew he must be perfectly fami liar F or
the rst time sh e realised the resourcel es s
ness of the E nglish language that fur

n i sh e d no
signorina or mademoiselle
to gloss ov er an un forme d acq uai nt ance

To have called her Miss woul d h ave

smacke d of servi tude to hav e ad dresse d

her as Mis s Thornton woul d un der present
condi tions , hav e been a presump ti on

C HAPT ER IX
GWEND O LYN

GU E S T

BU T I cannot stay here ,

protested

Gwendolyn
Something in the strength of his will
made her fe el suddenly imprisoned and
powerless She resented it

My friends are o ver there she point

ed towards the di stant hills with a nger
which shook a little

Where the ames will shortly be he

s ai d laconi cally

I cann ot endure it
It
sh e cried

shall not b urn ! It shall not burn !

He p oin t ed t o the city bel ow them
O ver it hun g the great shroud of smoke
unimaginably terri c in its v olum e bil
lowed cloud on cloud The ames sprang
hundreds of feet in the air while the r e
raged sprea d devoured wi th hor ri fying
.

92

T RAVER S

94

You may thank me for it one day he

an swered avoiding a direct reply
She bowed her he ad on her knees and
sobbed
When sh e lo oke d up he had move d a few
feet away from her and was standing gaz
ing over the city

C an t you n d hi m for me sh e said

her v oice suddenly faint and chi l dl ike

He ll wonder s o an d be ter ri bly afraid

If I could get word to him tell h im ; and

I m so al one
When he turne d towar d her agai n h i s
face l ooke d drawn an d l in e d Hi s li ps
move d s t ify as he spoke

D on t fear for h im
he sai d
I ve
lea rn e d t o d ay that the porti on of the city
in which he lives i s practi cally un injure d
by the earthquake He is a man an d can
Y ou nee d n ot fe ar for
escape the r e

him

B ut he will be wi l d wi th fear for me

she protested I cann ot bear the though t

They h ad sp oken of Ch este r us i ng n o
name They di d not fence wi th facts He
had obse r v ed the whispere d convers ation
the night before an d each wa s aware of the
,

,
.

GWE ND O LYN S GUE S T

95

other s knowledge A man occupied as he

h ad been at dawn would not be unaware of
the destination of each member of the party
he observed and this was n o time for
empty pretence They each tacitly accept
ed the situation

I ll act as I thi nk best he replied a f

ter a pause
If it a ppears I am not vital
ly needed here and the declaration of mar
tial law that is sure to com e within an hour
or two assures me of your safety I ll do

the best I can t o n d him , if you want me

to d o s o
Pr otest an d rebellion ro s e in her but
they were shamed back from open expres
sion by the sense of her helplessness her
uselessness She d ared so little was s o
ill equi ppe d t o ght conditions
T hi s
strange burglar thi s masterful man had
for the time bei ng put hi s han d s t o the
helm of her life with quiet assurance and
authority that b afed her b r uised in spi ri t
as sh e was and s t u nned by sudden gri ef
and reversed fort u ne
She l ooke d up t o see a sudden b ri ghten
ing p a s s over his face and she followed hi s
glan ce to where a brisk gure in rustling

T RAVER S

96

white was sp ri ngi ng rapidly up the hi ll

towards them

It s Little Montana he s ai d

Little M ontan a, sh e echoed won de r

,

i n gly

A nickn ame for on e of the famous D r

Du B ois s head operating nurses and he

waved a greeting t o the woman approach
ing them with an air of r es p ect ful com
.

r a d e sh ip

Gwen sprang t o he r feet an d too k a s tep

or t wo with him d o wn the incline
Little Montana s fa ce wa s grav e her lips
s e t her eyes intense
It wa s a sol di e r s
fac e braced t o enter a cti on

A nyt hing serious ? aske d t h e man

Bad case s ai d Littl e Montana

F in
i sh e d I m afraid
Just picked up from

un der the p i le of bricks

This woman
half of whose life was spent in an operating

room shuddered
Nasty work ! Nasty
work ! A gho ul ! Thi s is the limit W e must

put her under a protection

My tent ? asked Gwen d olyn anxi ous

t o contribute something

F ine and dandy

sai d t h e nu rs e

W e ll have her here in a ji ffy

.

T RAVER S

98

You must help

s h e tho u ght
Y ou

must n ot think of yourself

She distinguished the crushed form of
a woman stretched upon the blankets Her
hair wa s unboun d and the fragile elegance
of her dressing gown its lace and silk torn
and stained mocked her prese nt helples s
plight
It seemed t o Gwen that sh e could never
have imagined s o much blood There was

blood blood everywhere about the cruel

ly mangled head on the light robe
Gwen
Th e
watched fascinated by her horror
strange accid inert ness of the form lying
there revealed the story of crushed bones
even t o her inexperienced eyes

I have brought you water s aid Gwen

faintly grasping the tent pole for sup p ort

Good
said Montana cur tly
Just

what we want
The burglar wa s bendin g over the wo
man
H is face had changed since Gwendolyn
had seen it It looked strange hollow and
sunken H e was gazing at his patient as
he wor ked over her in a sort of fascination

as if sh e held him b y a spell a spe ll of

.

GWE ND O LYN S GUE S T

99

won d er yearning pit y an d the bon d of

memory
The thought took possession of Gwen a s
sh e watched him that t hi s woman was n o
stranger to him but that sh e came to hi m
to day out of the past What r le she had
played in that past sh e coul d not even faint
ly surmi se but that it had been a control
ling on e she never doubted after sh e s aw
the expression on the man s face

Shall I sterilise ? asked the nurse

Yes he replied with a curtness of on e

a ccustomed to command and t o obedien ce

an d b ri ng the kettle There must still b e

s ome warm water in it We must give he r
a shot of nitro glyce ri ne Heart i s go ing

down

Right s i r
sai d Montan a
The delicate hypodermi c syri nge f o rce d
the dose into the wounded woman s soft
forearm
Gwen now perceived that he r
crushed head h ad been bandaged Her fa ce
looked strange di stort ed and vacant but
still perceptibly beautifu l beneath the inter
woven white bindings through whi ch the
blood still seeped colouring them fai ntl y
here an d there as if they were tou che d
,

T RAVER S

1 00

from without by strange red tipped i n

visible ngers
The man bit his lip and bent nearer pity
in every line of his form

Now for those ngers he said

He raised the woman s right han d wi th
innite tenderness the blood S purting in
intermittent jets over his own as he did
so
With a gasp of sickening horror Gwen
perceived that the third an d fou rt h ngers
had been rudely hacked off at the mi ddle
j oint

If we only had instruments he cri e d

in the sudden impatience of mental pain

Here you are si r said Montana p ro

d u ci n g a razor from her pocket

I co ax e d

it from a barbe r thi s morning Knew we d

need a dozen
The man gave a sigh of rel i e f

Goo d he exclaimed
Gwen watched them as they wor ked t o
gether t oo intent to note her presence cu t
ting the bones of the ngers shaping an d
lapping the esh into pla ce bin di ng an d
sterilising as they worked using a solution
of the carbolic acid and the wa ter that sh e
had brought d o wn from the hill
-

T RAVER S

1 02

with a hatchet a hatchet

He cut them o

with a hatchet
They were all petri ed i nt o silence while
the fearful reiteration continued

My G od cried the man

This is u n

endurable T hi s must stop

Then in a

low voice
We must learn where her hus

band is befor e i t i s too late

He put his nger over her pulse and
shoo k his head Then agai n his hand rest
ed with hove ri ng tenderness upon the wo
man s head

F rances he s aid with gentle urgency

where is h e the General ?

F or a moment the murmuring lips gr ew
S ilent
H e leaned nearer A fai nt gleam
of intelligence crossed the w oman s face
Where is the General ? he asked again
Speaking impressively and di stinctly
Her mouth opened slightly revealing a
gleam of even whi te teeth He inclined his
head that he might more clearly hear the
expected word s

He cut them off with a hatchet

she
murmured

This is unbearable cried the man ris

ing to his feet
.

GWE ND O LYN S GUE S T

1 03

He took a step or t wo into the op en

stretching out hi s a rms wide i n a s ort of
appeal
Gwen an d the nurse lin gered their ey es
on the dying woman lled with pity but
helpless
In a moment the man returned and knelt
beside the couch He w as making a last
e or t
He concentrated his will looking
deep into the meaningless eyes over whi ch
the lids drooped the blue iris o nl y half di s
closed

Grafton General Memsahib

he sai d
slowly but very di stinctly a s if in an
,

n ou n ce

me n t

The woman s voice grew silent

Her
head ceas e d to move

Grafton General Memsahi b

he r e

a
t
e
e
d
p

The dazed mind jolted b ack from pres

ent conditions into old and accustomed
grooves hovered for a moment on the
verge of consciousness Then her lids slow
ly lifted
Her eyes free d from the lm of delirium
looked straight in the m an s ben di ng over

her Wonder grew in her face wonde r

,

T RAVER S

1 04

and a trace of fear The unwoun d e d hand

groped over the blanket

Where am I ? she asked

Here F ran ces among fri en d s he an

.

swe r e d

The fear in her face deepene d

Am I dead ? s h e whispere d

Why you know me F rances he sai d

It s Keith

Keith ! she echoe d the terror cone en

t r at in g
Keith !
Her voice rising in a

sort of shriek
Not Keith !

Y e s and your friend always

he sai d
st ri vi ng to soothe her

N ot y ou !
O h ! not you sh e went on
it is t oo muc
He bit his lips feeling powerless t o qui et
her increasing distress
A re you happy ? sh e a s ke d fai ntly her
eyes xed on him

Yes quite happy

O h ! I have dreame d of you always It

has been my punishment ; and now this !

She stru ggled to raise herself in a sort
of panic

Don t dear don t he beseeche d Lie

still We all wish y ou well Think of the
.

CHAPT ER !
A

N AWAK EN I N G

D EAT H ! It was coming Gwen re cog

n i s e d the approach of the arch foe as s h e
crouched in t error in a corner of the tiny
tent listening for the rst time t o the
sound of the death rattle She shrank and
shuddered without power t o move Lit tle
Montana wa s t oo busy to notice her pres
ence and it wa s not until sh e had closed the
dead woman s eyes an d comp osed her
limbs that she turned and saw Gwen s
shrinking gu re
You here S he said in a low voice
It

is a pi ty
There was no need
She

stopped in reection
We must put her

out of sight soon

Without a prayer cried Gwen d olyn

sobbing
Little Montana s face softened
.

106

A N AWAKE NI NG

1 07

O ne can pray on one s feet in times like

these You may stay here with her look

ing at the gure on the bed

It may help

you both
She went out letting the tent ap d rop
behind her
T o approach the dead woman took all
Gwen s moral and mental strength
Sh e
knelt and stretched out her han ds She
wa s all unused t o prayer except her own
e
i
rlish
petitions
breathed
thoughtlessly
b
g
twixt consciousness and sleep with a dozen
memories dancing in her brain t o drive ou t
more intimate commun ion N ow her words
went up from her heart in a cry of c ompas
s i on at e yearning

O Lord be merciful t o her a sinner O

Lord ! be merciful
W hen D r Travers and the nurse r e
turned they found her kneeling with her
face burie d in her hands
The d oct or
paused an d looked at her i nexpres sibly
shocked She appeare d lik e the gure of
the Magdalen wi th h e r u nboun d hair fall
ing about her

Poor chi l d !
he mu tt ere d
Poo r

child !

T RAVER S

1 08

Then hi s eyes strayed t o t h e battere d

form stretche d on the couch He stoo d for
an instant Montana behin d awaiting or
ders A mist came over his vi sion as he
loo ked He passed the girl and bowed hi m
self for a moment beside the dead His p e
tition was a silent humble one He dou bte d
hi s own right t o prayer T h en he bent for
ward and kissed the col d forehe ad just
ab ove the e yes

F or aul d lang s yn e he whi spered

N ow de a r you h ad better go
said
Little Montana
Gwen loo ked up at her chilled by her
words She realised what underlay them
She knew that the hasty dispos al of the
dead must foll ow the tragedies of these
days Delay was but a threat to the living
and left the horrors t o accu mulate about
them ; but it was s o d readful ! She could
not justify it t o herself at that moment
The wom an was on e of her own wo rld and
had moved scar cely twenty four hours b e
fore carelessly happily i t was probable
among her own friends Gwen wa s still
shu ddering from the thought of her aunt
an d the memory of the leap of ames ab ove
.

T RAVER S

110

were the words scrawled rudely abo ve their

S helter

How many courses t o night chef ?

asked one man of another who wore a
paper cap up on his head in imi t ation of a
F rench coo k

I tink s ai d the coo k in exorable imi

I tink ten
t at i on of the F rench accent
He held up ten ngers

H a ! Ha ! roared the cho r us

What

wi ll you give us ?

F irst beans un d second beans he t al

lied on his n gers und den beans

Shut up y ou old cucko o cloc

one of
the group called ou t and the laughter rang
By some means one quaint old lady had
managed to get a square piano dragged up
on t he hillside and she was hurrying about
busily arran gi ng a meal She had iron grey
hair over which she wore a black lace cap
Her co stume of shining alpaca was speck
less She h ad the intent intimate ap p ear
ance of a spinster pursuing accu st o ed
duties at her own reside
An Irish woman with a broad good
natured face stopped in her ministration
to her baby which in usual times are r e
.

A N AWAK E NING

111

s e rved for the secret priva cy of the family

circle t o watch the little wom an s p rim
canary l i ke preparations

Ph a t s up ?
s h e queried
Y e z got
more t oim e than money thi s d ay O i m

afther t hi nk i n Mi ss Jordan

Time ! Mrs F lynn time ! s aid the lit

tle woman in the black cap stopping her

preparations
I ve got a good half dozen
lessons to gi ve t o day and in the be st fami
lies Such people are exacting and I m
not complaining They have a right to be
They a sk the best and I give the best but
h ow I m going to have t he time t o get them

in is what I don t se e
Mr s F lynn put down the baby an d
rushed o to share her j o k e wi th half a
d ozen cronies

Will y e z listen my deari es wil l y e z lis

ten ? Miss Jordan is afther gi vin lessons
this blissed day ! O h ! W hi r r a ! W hi r r a !

Will y oz hear that Thi s blissed d ay !

Miss Jordan s cap s t r i n gs trembled wi th
in di gnation as S he turned t o meet Gwen s
compassionate eyes

What can on e expe ct of the vulgar

she said with qai n t digni ty U nfo r tunate

T RAVER S

1 12

ly,

though my instructors were of the best

an d my clientele still most distingu I feel
compelled because of cl ose competition t o
demand but a sl ight remun eration for my
servi ces an d it obliges me t o arrange my
domestic a d airs in a way that brings me in

contact with these un desirable pe ople

espe ci al ly in times like these

I fear Miss Jord an

Gwen
s ai d

gently that perhaps y ou don t qu i te r e

alise h ow disorganised conditions are just
n ow
I d on t think your pup ils wi ll expect
,

o
u
y

expect me
sai d Mi ss Jordan
blankly She sat on the grass careless of
her s p eckles s alpaca from Sheer amaze

ment
I haven t mi ssed a lesson wi th the
exception of holidays and Sabbaths for

twenty v e years
Gwen sat down besi d e her

A ffairs will arrange themselves

she

said so othingly
But just now you re

safer an d better staying here

Miss Jordan wi nked striving t o di gest
this new phase E arthquakes were di scon
certing con agr at i on s excessively i n con
v e n ien t
but t o deliberately neglect her

Not

T RAVER S

114

duties of an honest woman No ! I ve got

a clear conscien ce and I m proud of it I
turn ed up my sleeves forty years ago and
I ain t had time to turn them down again
since That s what it is t o be an honest
woman an d a good wife Let s see what
these Mr and M r s J e h ov ah s will d o now
that they are down with the rest of us Let
u s s e e what they will d o now the judgment
of the Lord i s turned against them and
their vanities and their p u fn gs up And

the women are the worst sh e cried with

a sudden burst of fury that turn ed her re d

face purple
The women are al ways the

worst

cri ed the man wi th the

G o it old gi rl
paper cap and there was a round of iro ni c
applause

O i could well believe it s e e in ye z

said Mrs F lynn d ri ly

Ye Jezebel ! yelled the or at r e s s

Ye blasphemous old windbag

crie d
Mrs F lynn
Then a p eace spreading
neighbour interfered and bore Mrs F lynn
away and the old harridan gradually gr ew
silent from lack of an audi ence
T o o much real trage dy lay about them

A N AWA KE N ING

115

for

more than a S hort diversion from their

own ca res and needs
Gwen s at down upon the grass watching
the relentless spread of ames within the
city The p ower of emotion seemed to have
di ed within her She watched and wai t ed
and watched Would the r e never cease ?
T h e news of its actual progress ltered
slowly into thi s ring of foot hi lls bounding
the mission districts It was more cut o ff
than most po rtions of the city from cen
ters of information T o the people taking
shelter here help came slowly Medical
supplies and food reached them days later
than it di d other portions of the t own It
was not until the nex t morning that the
re gul a r soldiers or volun t eers un der the
city governm ent patrolled these hi ll s
And it w a s against t hese odds that Trav
ers an d Lit tle Montana were ghting with
a scant supply of stimulants i n su i ci e n t
means for sterilising and li ttle more than
t wo r a zors whi ch s oo n grew dull and a
sm all s aw lent them by a kind heart ed
butcher for their surgica l work But they
wen t their way undaunted their chi ef a id
coming from Montana s c ache of the early

T RAVER S

1 16

morning on whi ch they drew with cau ti on ,

fearing it might become e xhausted
Gwen sitting there beheld a new Trav
ers A man wi th a worn handsome fa ce but
full of purpose an d the winn ing charm of
self for getting She hear d his low consider
ate tone t o women whose troubled fac es
brightened as he passed ; she s aw his tender
touch upon the he ad of children ; sh e n o
ticed the patience wi th which h e passed
over difculties an d the steadfastness of
his outward upward look She watche d
him until with a sudden sense of self con
v i ct i on that ho r ri ed her sh e realised that
her thoughts were con centrate d on thi s
man while the vision of Chester was wa x
ing dim in her min d
She gave a little gasp a s the thought fel l
a cross her consciousness like a blow
Trave r s had just eme rged from on e of
the tents and stoo d for a moment in the
open His eyes turned t o her for an i n
stant then over towar d s the burn ing city
It was on e of the few p auses he had al
lowed hi mself and although he looked
worn there was a serenity in his face that
stoo d lik e a ch asm betwe e n thi s T rave rs ,
,

T RAVER S

1 18

stance aroused her t o fac ts t o whi ch she

would have awakened later ami d d i sillu
sions an d with a n aching heart If that
were s o still s h e despised herself How
could sh e have blundered s o have planned
to brave h e r aunt s displeasure but t o n d
upon the morrow sh e had staked s o much
up on s o slight a thi ng ?
She would think no more S he resolve d ;
and then again before sh e was awa re of it
her mind was madly hamm ering upon the
very no t es that sh e had vowed sh e would
n ot strike
Might it n ot be her thoughts
went on that people sometimes read their
heart s a ri ght o nly below the illumi nating
touch of a re al love
Hers leapt as sh e
pressed her lips close But Travers ! The
burglar of that morning !
H er heart took up the argument : he wa s
not all bad The moment S h e had seen h im
a stranger th a t had stru ck her and now
t o day she s aw him all patience an d gentle
ness Behind him stretched a life lled all
too probably wi t h S in an d a tragedy W h o
wa s sh e to judge him ?
The lines of Browni ng crep t i nt o he r
min d :
.

A N AWAKE NING

W i t h hi s ow er s t o

pr ai

se

eed s t o b lam e

er or b ot h t o lov e

Or h i s w
An d i t h

119

I won t listen sh e said t o herself It

is the earthquake These strange condi

t ions have bewitched me

He is a cri minal said cold Judgment

sternl y taking up the argu ment
Her hands dropped to her knees an d
rested there She thr ew back her head in
sheer wea ri ness of her conicting emotions

I won t struggle
I ll
sh e thought
just live on and d ri ft I m only an a t om
a useless atom Nature has been telling me
that al l day and instead of feeling my lit
t le n e ss I m sitting here shut up within my
self close within myself ghting bloodles s
bat tles with phantoms while all about is

pain re al pain an d death

C HAP T ER XI
TH E

M O NEY

AT

A N D TH

E M AN

about twelve o clock on the m or ning

of the earthquake a girl was seen walking
down Van Ness Avenue She went a few
steps and then loitered biting her lips as
if sh e fought an M pu lse She was a tall
dark girl with a full re d mouth and a
spirited air Her rufed hair hastily ar
ranged amidst a great excitement curled
rebelliously from beneath a jaunty hat
whose red rose s e t o the russet glow of
her cheek
Her br own S hoes were scuffed from long
hard toiling and her fac e was s p otted with
so ot She was clad in a dark blue side
pleated skirt an d a black j acket
A s sh e paused sh e glanced at the roll of
smoke above the city smiled mockingly
and then with an impatient shr ug of her
sh oulders , r esumed her walk

120

T RAVER S

1 22

chuckle in whi ch contempt was la rgely min

gled Then s h e turned and walked up the
gra ni te steps of the apartment house
Th e door was un guarded
The coloured
boy usually stationed there h ad deserted in
the unive rs al disorganis ation
The e u
trance was luxurious i n softly tinted mar
bles and richly wrought brass lamps Th e
elevato r was st a tion a ry between the oors
some ights above Nobod y was in sight
The girl knew her way She went up the
st ai rs with h ardy resolution never stop
ping un til she paused before a door of one
of the front compart ments F or a moment
s h e stood there listening before S h e un g
it open with an air of bravado
It was a beautiful r oom into which S he
stepped Its furnishing had been directed
by an indi viduality which felt for the soft
spots of the earth
There wer e deeply
cushioned chai rs many pillows on the
divans shaded lamps mellow hued rugs
and a broad r e place It was a room in
which a spoiled sle ek house cat would have
curled up with a sense that it h ad reached
cat heaven
Before the wi n d ows a man bent o ver a
.

T HE

T HE

M O N E Y AND

MAN

1 23

table his han d some head and brawny

throat standing clear and n e against the
yellow sheen of the draperies He was play
ing a gam e of solitaire !
T h e gi rl stepped swiftly within the room
closed the door and placed her back
agai nst it The man looked up with a start
a card po ised in h i s hand hi s eyes darting
interrogation and wrath

What the devil brought you here ? he

queried, angri ly
The girl clasped her hands behind her
back and laughed

Well let s call it the de vil Cheste r

Drexel

Damn you ! cri ed Drexel rising with

angry haste and h al f upsetting the ca rd
table as he did s o
You promi sed me only
yester d ay that we were quits an d it was
,

Be careful Mr D rexel said the girl

ironi cally advancing a step or two into the

room or just think you may never k n ow

whe ther you beat yourself at that game or
not A S for yesterday i t was yesterday

Lots has happened since

But for you t o turn up in thi s fashion !

,

T RAVER S

124

an d
Someb od y mi ght have seen you
Drexel opened the door an d peere d d own
the passage anxiously
The girl threw herself into the chair b e
fore the r e removing her hat and t ossing
i t lightly to on e side

O h ! don t worry
leaning
sh e said
back and speaking with a provoking drawl

The world really isn t watching you this

morning F or once it s mindi ng its own
business an d it s having plenty t o d o N ot

playi ng solitaire either

Chester gave a shamefaced glan ce at the
ca rds on the table ne a r the window before
he came and stood before the carve d man
t e lp i e ce leaning agai nst it with his usual
unvarying grace The assurance that the
world did not have its eyes upon him made
thi s intrusion upon hi s solitude s omethi ng
of a relief

A fellow must empl oy hi ms elf some

way these tim

es he said
I t s the v e ry

deuce if you let yourself think

Indeed
sh e sai d
A n d y ou c o u l d

n d nothing to d o out there

She nodded toward the win d ow

O ut there he cried wi th a shi ve r of

,

T RAVER S

1 26

ing like d emons in those ames there And

women women who co ul d be silent yes

silent with the world going to pie ces under
their feet I ve seen such sights as I could
never have believed in
Un se lsh n e s s !
H eroism ! They re not only words in the
dictionary !
They re living breathi ng
facts
They re true And I left them
turne d my back on them and came here t o
n
d
i
o
u
you
nothi
n
g
u
beautiful
s
k
n
a
b
t
y
badness Nothing nothing
She walke d t o and fro p u s hi n g the fur
n i t u r e heedlessly to ri ght and left t o clear
a path for herself There was something
erce in her stride as she went
D rexel
watched her without spe aking
He had
seen her in many moods an d ha d l earned
the wisdom of silen ce

An d yet I came
she went on
Look

at me
She ung her arms d own at her

sides in token of defeat

Your work and

you know it ! And yet I am back agai n

She beat her hands suddenly to her tem

ples
See here Chester Drexel If I am
what I am for once I ll tell you what a
poor mean shrimp souled creature you are

A ctual ly, sh e l aughe d b itterly, I came

.

'

T HE

M O N E Y A ND

T HE

MAN

1 27

here despite mys elf t o s e e if you were safe

I feared as well as I knew you that you
might be down among the r e workers and
injured What a joke ! What a splen di d

j oke !

See he re E rma You re going a little

too far
cried Drexel hoarse with p as

sion
I won t endure this from an yone
She turned and with a swi ft gesture point
ed toward t h e table wh ere the car d s lay

Won t you sh e sai d wi th derisively

ra i se d eyebrows
Sham e d he hesitated but o nly for an
instant Then hi s lips loosed and his bro w
lowered in a brutal rage

No I won t he s t amm ered I won t

take such talk from anybo dy but much

less from y ou ; ending wi th a sneer

She had resum ed her position i n the
ch ai r and sh e now leaned forward look
i n g up at hi m immov able as a sta tue her
full red lips a little dro oped at the corners
but not in despondency, he r r ufed hair
astray on her cheeks

sh e
Yes you have a ri ght t o sneer
said slowly speaking more to herself than

to him but not for the past It i s for the

.

T RAVER S

1 28

present W hy am I here ? Why didn t I

leave you t o make your own way out of it ?
I could star t life afresh somewhere else I
know the power of a h an dsome woman and
I have the brains You haven t e ven

brains
He ma d e a threatening movement as i f
he woul d stri ke her but sh e s mi led calmly
back in his fa ce

O h ! N0 you won t st ri ke me sh e said

I des p ise you t oo much Y ou s imply

couldn t
A s she smiled the power went ou t of
him but not the rage

And now I kn ow you for just what you

a r e and yet
s e shrugge d he r shoulders ,
h

I m here

D amn you he burst ou t

Do you kn ow what I ve been watchi ng

all thi s morning ? S h e went on unmoved

I ve just gone from s p ot t o spot an d seen

Miss Tho r nton s b ui ldings burn

H e gave a start

But they re insure d h e gaspe d wi th

greed uppermost
She leaned back in the gre at chair threw
on e l eg o v er the other clas p e d her h an ds

T RAVER S

130

the room She peered into a vase turne d

over a pillow readjusted a dr apery but to
Drexel sh e made n o reply

Is she pe nn iless ? he gasped at last

to rtured by the silence
E rma came an d stoo d before hi m

Women are queer beasts

sh e said

musingly
Now you re not worth the lit
tle n ger of one of those men down there
ghting the r e
You re a gi ant in
strengt h and yet I doubt if you d lif t y ou r
hulk to save a chi ld from dr own ing A ll

those inches she waved her hand up an d

down t o indicate hi s great height hiding

in here for fear you d be asked t o s oil your

white hands

I ll strangle th at vi le tongu e i n your

throat cried Drexel

O h no you won t I ve m ore to tell

you of Miss Thornton s money

A fter
I ve told you that and a few other thi ngs ,

we may talk of strangling Not yet !

Well s ai d D rexel impatiently
Suddenly she put her hands on his sh o ul
ders and a new light dawned in her lus
trous br own eyes

I sai d we women were queer beas t s

,

T HE

M O N E Y AND

T HE

MA N

131

sh e

went on
I am going t o marry you

Chester
He u ng down her hands with an o ath
and strode away from her
When he
turned sh e was still standi ng in the middle
of t h e room watching h im

sh e
Damaged goods
s ai d bitterly

marked down ; but perhap s you ll n d me

worth the price

You ! he sneered

Yes me S he answered wi th p ati ence

You ve got t o sta rt all over again ; you

haven t a penny ; y ou have expen sive

tastes
I
there was an appe al in her

voice I can look a lady honestly I can

and I can act a lady when I remember and

I try and I ll t r y for your s ake Ches

ter
She extended her hands t o him i n

supplication
I was a good gi rl when I

met you
With a snarl he struck her han d s as i de

Shut up that gam e he cried

When again S he spoke her voice was
clear and cri s p The best of her sh e had
put aside There wa s n o more ap p eal

Al l ri ght
Let s have a new deal I

an d I h ave them ;
S ai d I ha d the brai n s
.

T RAVER S

132

but you ve got to pay for them Chester

Drexel an d they come hi gh these times I
can give you a fo r tune but the p ri ce of it

i s t o marry me
His face was lled wi th an amazement
that was almost comical The sight of hi s
exp ression sent her o into a burst of half
hysteric al laughter

It s a big dos e but you ve got t o swal

low it or
She snapped her ngers in
h i s fac e he r own lled with un hallowed

What s the game he asked sulkily

She slipped her hands into the pockets of
her j acket and spo ke deliberately

The game is just thi s : Mrs A ddi ng

t on received only yesterday a large number
Some
of payments in gold and currency

thi ng over ten thous an d doll a rs

Ten thous an d s ai d Drexel m ocking

ly

It isn t much but it s s omethin g the

girl went on imperturbably
An d she has
in Governm ent bonds and foreign consols
a clean hundred thousand dollars loc ke d
up in the safe on Sutter Street, an d I know

the combinati on

T RAVER S

1 34

that h i s esh cr ept as he thought of E rma s

words

Great G od w oman he cried in agita

tion
Have you n o h eart

Lots of my own kind nonchalan tly

Mrs A ddington is well she s ni shed ;

and why should I be sorr y ? Why ? Tell
me that ? She stood there like a sentinel

guarding that niece of hers ; and I I had

to take the scraps that came my way and
creep off like a d og when you were done

with me M r s A ddi ngton ! Bah !

She
again snappe d her n gers her eyes bright
her cheeks burning her lip s curling cruel

ly
It wo ul d have been a goo d thing if
that niece of hers had gone up i n the ames

with her Putty face !

Silence ! deman de d D rexel honestly

aroused at last
The girl took a step toward hi m an d
grasped hi s wrist savagely

Did you love her ? sh e asked below

her breath
Drexel hesitated
The girl un g hi s hand fr om her wi th a
b urst of harsh laughter

I m worth ten of her sh e cri e d t ri um

T HE

h
l
an
t
p
y

M O N E Y A ND

T HE

MAN

135

Pre tty baby ! These are gh t

ing days an d what can sh e do now ? Noth

ing ! Lo ok at me
She drew near him

Am I not worth ten of her ? I am alive

man alive F eel my hand

She placed it burni ng up on his and
somethi ng of her strange intensity entered
into him vivifyi ng his placid personality

Well ?
he
asked
shamefacedly

Wha t s your design ?

F irst daringly t o marry you

He gave a gesture of impatience

Yes that s my p ri ce her voice went

I am the o nl y one who kn ows

on evenly
the word that opens th a t safe When you
marry me you will have one hundred and
ten thousand dollars i n your hand pat

Thi nk of that !

You re a devil he cried ingi ng him

self away from her

a devil ! I ll have

Gwendolyn and the money t o o

F ool sneered the gi rl

Try it Try
it Would she marry you now ? Have you
searched for her ? Gone to her ? H as a
woman n o vanity ? You the man who swore
you loved her, waiting here playi ng
solitaire
.

T RAVER S

136

I ll explain
he stammered

And s o shall I expl ai n

she cri e d

I ll be silent no longer
aam e with fur y
I ll explain Chester Drexel I know her

and her kind She s cold at heart cold as

a snake Would sh e forgive you ?
Not
she ! It is o nl y such women as I who for
give and forgive an d forgive and not those

pasty saints

You
cried D rexel You
He
choked with rage hi s face purpl e and n o
longer han dsome with his hair damp on
hi s forehead an d his lips workin g
She leaned back against the table both
her hands supporting her upon it , he r chin
lifted tauntingly

You will marr y me, an d t h e mone y or

you ll mar r y nobo dy Let me tell you
tha
She stoo pe d an d p i cked up he r h at p in
ning it into place with mocking delibera
tion but her eyes warily on him the while

You kn ow my address
sh e said as

sh e walked t oward t h e door

Let me

know when you have the license

The door closed shar ply behind her
D rexel stood looking stupidly toward it

CHAPT ER XII
TH

VI

GI L

S O MEBO DY t ap pe d Gwendolyn upon her

sho ul der She turned wi th a sta rt to face
Montana

Come demande d the nurse b ri ey

Gwen obeyed without questi on
O nce
more they r e entered her tent The low

couch had another oc cup ant now a mother

and a tiny wail caused Gwen t o turn t o
where a baby lay wrapped in a bl an k et
Travers bent over the couch battling for
the mother s life that ickere d and i ck
ered and threatened to expire His lips
were close pressed the lips of a soldier at
battle with the uni vers al foe ; but there was
in n ite tenderness an d patience in the
man s fa ce as he sought by the aid of
stimulants t o coax back energy into t h e
.

188

THE

VIGIL

1 39

Gwen an d the nurse were soon occupied

with the baby All the laten t motherhood
in the girl s nature was s t irred by the sight
of the tiny creature born un der such u n
toward circum stance s
N ow they washed
an d
dressed it side by side Gwen
t aking inn ite comfo rt in the act for Lit
t le Montan a told her with t h e cu r t n e s s of a
general d i sp osi n g of her forces that there
would be other babies to dress before the
day was over and sh e must know h ow to
attend t o them
Gwendolyn di d not re al ise at that
moment that it was the only panacea for
sorrow the nurse was o e r i n g her work
an d helpfulness
It came by instinct to the girl to turn and
lap this strange soft object in her arms
slipping squirm ing hands into ill assort ed
garments which h a d been gathered or
begged on the hillside

Let me al one wailed the woman from

the corner
take care of the others who

care to live

Nice speech for the mother of a baby

lik e that
said Little Mont ana
D on t

like that talk Do we D octor ?

.

T RAVER S

1 40

The d oc tor shook his head smiling at the

woman whos e head moved restlessly from
side t o side upon her low pillow
The little chap will need you don t for
get that The little chap will need you more

than ever he said

The S ick woman s head ce a sed t o m ove
and her eyes turned u p toward his F or a
moment she gaz ed an d seemed to gather
courage there

Well I supp ose he d oe s

she said

weakly
I ll t r y to ca re
Then sh e gave

a sudden wail of recollection

O h ! We d

b oth looked forward t o hi m s o

The doctor laid a hand on her brow an d
again s h e grew quiete r

She s going t o try he s aid turnin g t o

the nurse and as if he was speaking of a
child

O f course sh e i s responded Montana

brightly
She s n o quitter
Then sh e explained t o Gwend olyn that
the woman s husband had been kille d that
,

It wa s not the o nly baby by seve ral wh o

rst s aw the light in that hu ddled settle
ment of tents ab out the foot of Twin Peaks
.

T RAVER S

1 42

Grit clean through

Little thi ng l ik e

that too

Let s give her a feed said the chef

Compliments of the Z in dk an d s Cafe and

a th an k you all round She dressed Jim s
a r m good as new, and it was blistered t o
the shoulder It made me sick t o look at
it She sick ? Not sh e ! She didn t have
time t o get sick
Up an d at it agai n, s e z
.

sh e

I guess I d better go Docto r

M on
tana had said as Gwen urged her t o their

eveni ng repast
They d kind of feel it if
I didn t You d be surprised how thin
skinn ed men like that can be They re good

fellows every one of them

A ren t you c omi ng nurse ? urged t h e

ch ef from the distance with more energy
than manners a s he lifted a steami ng p ot
from the r e

Sure thi ng said Little Montana an d

she paused to say hastily with a nod t owar d

the tent : T hi nk we ll p ul l her through ?

Travers smiled reassuringly as he an

s we r e d
I believe we shall ; and that we
shall make a go of the condensed milk f o r

the baby wh ose moth e r has di e d

T HE

VIGIL

1 43

Montana s face brightened

F ine and dan dy ! sh e cri ed as sh e

hurri ed down t o j oin the group below
Gwen and Travers s at watching the u m
abated glow ln the heavens They could
clearly trac e the ravages of the growing
r e
T h e city l ay before them like a cr ea
ture in pain the thun der of the dynamite
reachi ng them di stinctly at i nte r vals It

d
thundered en lessly en dl essly
Gwen was un accustomed t o such physical
exertion as had fallen to her lot that day
and though she was t oo weary for connect
ed thought the sense of her gri ef and the
horr or of the morning hovered over her
like phantoms a s sh e watched the burning
city the r e glow shining on her young
face on the dark eyes and on the d rooping
mouth n ot accustomed t o such unmi rt hful
cu r ves
Travers spoke at last a s ort of awkward
E ach
shyness taking po ssession of him
moment of that day had hi the r to been too
overo wi ng wi t h action for any sense of the
personal to enter in

I am awfully s orry that you ar e not to

have your tent after all he said

T RAVER S

1 44

She looked up with the aloo fness of grief

It seemed such an in ni tel y small matter
t o her

I m only t oo gl a d sh e h a s i t sh e said

I shall be all right

He lingered still watching her and not
ing the tragic touch t h e r e lent to h e n
beauty

There are t wo pai rs of bl an kets

he

said, an d I ve made a pillow of my coat

W on t y ou li e down an d rest ? Y ou need it

sa dly

Rest
sh e cr i ed in su dd en despair

How can I rest with that over there

She pointed to the sweep of the ames
His face grew soft watching her

But you re needed you see he said

If you don t try to keep up you r strength
y ou ll just be in the othe r c amp W on t
o
u
rest
?
y
This argument went h ome She struggle d
wi t h herself a moment the yell ow glint of
the dancing r e in her e yes

Well I ll try
It di d not even o ccur t o her to feel any
fear of h im or of those about her A fter a
moment s hesitation sh e crep t int o the
.

"

T RAVER S

1 46

O ccasionally it caught in a qui ck sigh the

unequal respiration telling of the heavy
heart within where even in sleep the grief
was not completely forgot ten He s at down
and ga zed at her A strange vigil ; he the
burglar wh o had entered her house by
force an d stealth not twenty f our hours
earlier ; sh e t h e sp oile d child of fortune
lying on the earth beneath a borrowed
shelter am id a medley of the city s hum
blest folk S lumbere d on beneath h i s gu a r
,

'

d i an shi p

CHAPT E R XIII

RSS

C I I

GW E N slept but occasionally her eyelids

quivered and her limbs twitched from the
stra in of overwrough t nerves and over
used muscles and her mind was troubled
by dreams
Now her aunt was speaking as sh e had
spoken the night before stan di ng wi th her
O pera cloak slipping from her sho ul ders
but her face wa s pe r v aded by a sadn ess
whi ch Gwen was vainl y seekin g t o dispel

Why are you s o s ad Aun tie ?

sh e

whispered
Why are y ou s a d ?

Again sh e was dressing babies babies

with str an ge old lined faces and feeble
groping hands

I di dn t kn ow there were s o many

babies in the world sh e thought

Then sh e was in h e r t e n t on the hill
,

147

T RAVE RS

1 48

side with the woman wi th the crushe d

head ; and everywhere was blo o d Th e wo
man was dead she knew because sh e lay
What was the matter
s o horribly quiet
with her hand ? God ! It was mangled !
H ow hi deously man gled
S u ddenly the
dead woman unclosed her glassy eyes an d
raising her bl oody hand , p ointed squarely
at Gwendolyn

Give me back my ri ngs she muttere d

between her col d, blue lips
Give me b ack

my ri ngs
Gwendolyn s creame d

Stop looking at me
sh e cri e d
I

have done you no wrong

But the atmos phere about the woman vi
b r at e d with a thousan d v oices shouting :

Her ri ngs give he r back her rings !

The air was clamorous with them
Gwen sat up amid her blankets trem
bling an d gasping her hea rt beating tumul
It was only a dream ! No ! It
t u ou sly
was re al ity ! Now t hat her eyes were open
the voices rang on louder and louder shout
ri sing ab ove sh out !
The r e in the city below d an ced on n u
appease d
She coul d di stingui sh t h e
,

T RAVER S

1 50
an d

gradually the impression grew in

Gwen s mi nd that it bore a n ote of joy rath
er than of alarm or desp ai r It was cheer
ing ! mad lusty cheering ! A round it cir
cled ca rried like a breeze from group to
group of the folk crowding down the hill
side an d into the recently deserted city in a

rn a s s

There were waving arms tos sing h ats

and a pandemoni um of clam our
Gwen could not guess its cause
She
perceived in a hazy way that the r e had
eaten nearer her retreat for her wea r y
mind was slow to grasp imme ssi on s A
wom an s voice oated up to her with a s ob
in it

They ve turned back the r e at Twen

t i e t h Street
the voi ce said
O ur home

won t go after all John

It was then that Gwen re al ised that they
had checked the progress of the con agr a
t ion in the direction of Twin Peaks

Thank God ! Gwen b re athed with me

ch an i ca l lips
striving t o rej oice with the
pe ople but her agging spirits refused to
respond The inevitable reaction born of
a
l
r
i
ef
nerve
hocks
an
d
severe
p
hysic
S
g
,

A CRISI S

1 51

strai n h ad taken hold of her

She felt
chille d and her bones ached Her couch
upon t h e earth had grown harder with each
succeeding hour but that was di scomfort
of the body only
The oa ting fear
demons bred in thousands of terror strick
en heart s clu tc hed upon hers
The whi m perin g dogs fri ghtened her ;
the glare of the r e appall e d her ; the hill
side with i t s litter of deserted tents lled
her with dread unspeakable These indi
cations of man s presence rep resented n o
c ompanions hi p but a s they stoo d for h u
mani ty were a menace
F or it was h u
manity sh e dre ad ed the prowling mi dnight
looter and worse The vague envel opin g
fear of the night aros e int o sudden frenzy !
She unrolled herself from her blank ets
with palpitating haste The i nstinct of r e
treat gripped her She must ee away
She was di straught without distinct pur
p o se p ossessed of a demon of i nsensat e
panic t h e chi ld of her long day of horror
and exhaustion She rose and paused in a
utter for chance t o di rect her way She
s aw the silh ouette of Travers
fo r m tall
and black against the r e glow She knew
.

T RAVER S

1 52

he was watchi ng her h ad been watching

her This S inister gu re became the focus
It had been mingled with
o f all her fears
the rst pale hours of the morning when he
had stood within her room an i n car nation
of lawlessness
He was a bu rgla r and sh e
was there in the night alone with him an d
the smi tten labouri ng city below
O n a sudden the most terrible feeling in
the world the fear of a woman for a man
closed over he r With a smothered cry sh e
sped away
In and out among the tents sh e went
She stumbled over a tent r ope ; again she
lun ged into a jangling collection of house
hold utensils ; now sh e barely escaped the
snapping jaws of a hound slinking in the
shadow But for her there was no fear
but the one sh e felt following close behi nd
her intent threateni ng un escapable

Miss Thornton a v oice cal led out ap

.

l
i
n
e
a
l
p
gy

The sound of that v oice but lent wings t o

her feet O n she sped ! A long black h ol
low of the hills sloped down before her
Into it she d a rted her pace qui ckening on
the unimp e de d swa rd A lamp hun g d ang
.

T RAVER S

1 54

ly, t h e black

shadow below it oating wi th

it over the short grass It wa s s o still ; s o
hi deously silent
N 0 need t o read the word scr awle d r ude
ly on the placard over t h e c ollap s e d chest
Gwen kne w ! There stoo d her fear and its
consequences embodied there were r e p r e
sented violence outrage and sudden dea th
It was the vengeance of an un protected p e o
ple who s a feguarded themselves and the
honour of their women by this summary
justice
With a helpless cry sh e reeled and fell
trembling and powerless to drag herself
away from the awful thing tha t swayed
above its shadow oating over her and
now gently withdrawing as if in salutation
She felt Traver s breath come in gasps
and hi s han d shake as he strove t o raise
her

H ave mercy ! sh e whi spered feebly

H ave mercy !
She shrank from hi m s obbing di gging
her ngers into the cold ground her cheeks
swept by the short u p s t a r ting grass

My God ! h e cried and I have for

fe i t e d the right to re assure her

'

A C RI SIS

1 55

F or

a moment he sto od there be fore he

bent over her once more

I believe he said hoar sely I believe

if you fear me I ll go mad !

He raised her trembling t o her feet an d
half ca rr ied her back t o the tent
The camp r e was dying down She sat
huddled on the blankets sh e h ad just de
s e r t e d as he p iled it hi gh with shi ngles and
broken boxes that he h ad gathered that day
in his usual far sighted way Hi s fa ce
lo oked stran ge in the icke ri ng light
He came and h ande d her a draught in a
.

Drink it he said
It will help you

Y ou are in s ad need of it
No n o
she whi spered rocki ng herself
to and fr o l ike her squaw sisters fright

ened back in to the primi tive No no

You must
he urged with gentle in

sistence or you ll be ill

She obeyed him mech an ically her teeth
chattering on the edge of the tin cup as she
.

di d

so

And now won t you lie d own ? he said

beseechi ngly
You need the warmth and

the me di cine wil l take e ffect the s o oner

T RAVER S

1 56

sh e

protested with sti ff lips ;

and s o he wrapped a p air of blan kets about
her shoulders as sh e still s at staring at the
r e

No

n o,

He retired to the other side of it and all

was silence save for the crackling of the
ames the whining of the dogs and the
ominous boom of the dynamite from the
burning city
At last Gwen spoke

Why di d y ou keep me here ? she de

m e nded

Because I thought the city was

doomed he answered

But my f ri ends houses are still there

You can se e them against the glare

she
insisted
He twisted one hand over the other Thi s
inquisi t ion was agony t o him

I honestly thought I did best at rst

he s ai d as if the words were f orced fr om
him

At rst
And
sh e echoed ercely

later ! Wha t about then ?

Those houses will probably go yet he

went on
There are the scattered cinders
the in dividual res started here an d there
,

T RAVER S

1 58
of

the woman s head that mo r ning She

knew he too was blee din g from withi n
though he struggled to suppress hi s grief
with a ll the might of his will
She watched in am azement The b r o
mide he had gi ven her was begi nning to
tune her jarred nerves t o a point nearer the
natur al She grew more normal an d s aw
clearer as she watched
The woman in her rea d one thing di s
t i n ct ly
It was a soul crisis that sh e was
witnessing an d gradually a faith in the
tortured man began to blossom within her
heart She stole around and sat down by
his side Life had been crowding i n upon
her rapidly dur ing this endless day She
had developed years within its hours She
had reached the mellowness of womanho od
in whose train came hum an comprehension

an d with it its sister i n l ove

sympathy
Here was a l i fe an d soul comm itted to her
care to her so unprep ared and i n e x
r
i
n
She
lifted
her
eyes
and
her
lips
e
e
d
e
c
p
moved

Lead me F ather sh e wh i s p ered O f

myself how ca n I know ? I am s o unused

s o ignoran t !

A C RI SIS

1 59

F or s ome moment s sh e sat there before

he became aware of her presence Gr adu al
ly it dawned upon h i s consciousness that
an inuence sweet as an aroma was near
and he looked up and saw her The r e
light played softly over her lovely pro le
upon the sunn y curls upon her brow and
revealed the gentleness a s of an angel that
dwelt upon her face
He co ul d scarcely believe in her pres
ence His wondering n gers felt for the
rough hem of her overco at t o a ssure him
self that he saw a ri ght
F or a few moments they were both silent
Then she spoke :

You have h ad a bitter struggle and

h ard blows I know
But would it not be
better to tell me I feel it wo ul d unbur d en

your hear t and make the new start easier

The new start ? he questioned iro ni

ca lly

Yes sh e answered
Can a man ever make a new start ? Can

he ?
It was earnest inquiry F rom the depth
o f her girlish faith sh e answered :
.

T RAVER S

1 60

Ah !

he sighed wi th deep drawn

breath the start will be easy enough

Yes I know sh e rejoined her youth

j arre d by the years of that day into pene

t r a t i on
It will be the keep ing up That

will be hard

N
he answered not quite that It
will be hard t o think that it is wo rth

whi le
Her spirit e d face was like a call

What is worth while but honour an d

self respect ? sh e cried

h e sp ok e slowly
There are times

when a man i s thi rsty parched to famish

ing with memor ies of sun baked desert s
behind and white bones perhaps littering
the trail when nothi ng seems t o matter but
the clear lake of the mirage He longs with
all his human man s strengt h for water
I t s happi ness he wants
H e loses sight of
the road and of a goal beyond to which he
must labour W hat does he care with his
starved hea rt , for that city ? He wants
happiness
His voice broke She co ul d feel the love
hunger through it and it disturbed her

made it di fcult for her to speak but sh e

,

T RAVER S

1 62

Wi thout vi sio n s the r e would be n o

goa ls he sai d
Bu t it can t be un done

I ve blazed a devious path for myself

But the future is our s ready for the

sowing of the harvest,

she murmured
softly

My dear and you believe that !

This ex burglar spoke t o her as if sh e
were a child an d s o little self i nterest e u
t e r e d in to this earnest appeal of hers tha t
sh e di d not even notice it
He went on :

I se e the future It s bare an d hard

he braced himself it is best per

haps There will be ghting

And waiting sh e a dded

Already sh e re a d him s o aright that it
wa s inac ti on an d n ot a ction th at sh e feared
for him

Yes there 11 be t h e waiting W aiting

is
he checked himself biting his lip

The devil
S he complete d comp osed

ly
That s what you were going t o s ay

and that s what it literal ly is t h e devil

Y ou must work work wor k

Work
he answered
I ve ne ve r

shirke d work of on e ki nd or an othe r

A C RI SI S
Sh e

1 63

t h e hi nt

an d it h urt her Then

she sai d longin g to br ing him t o the c on
fe s s i on whi ch sh e thought wo ul d alone help
him to begin anew :

I saw you r match bo x thi s mo rn in g

An d di dn t th in k it was mi ne n a tural
ly It was That was the crest of our co rp s
In di an Medical Se rvice
Maj or Keith
Travers he saluted mili tary fashion with

a moc king smile

It sounds rusty it s s o

long sin ce I ve heard it

Keith Travers sh e repe ate d

O nce a V C man Har d t o be li eve

isn t it ? E xpedition to Kabul
They
thought kn ockin g arme d natives about with
a bare s t when they tur ne d treacherous
and attacked u s being fai rly conversant
with the l an guages of the section and h av
in g a gift for di s guise as a Pathan mer
ch ant a faki r a water carr i e r an d what
n ot wa s sufci ent warran t for this honour
Mere physical courage an d resour ce It

d oesn t count speci ally

It coun ts a great deal sai d Gwen he r

hea rt warming at hi s brief recital

An d

then you left Indi a ?

He gave a long d rawn b reath
s aw

T RAVER S

1 64

I wa sn t missed The Medical Se rvi ce

did not su ffer seri ously

He would say n o more
Gwen felt with abs olute convicti on that
to smother his past his griefs his thoughts
could only lead to evil again He need
ed to get ou t into the light How could sh e
induce him t o speak ?

And Mrs Grafton ? She aske d

F rances ! he crie d
How d i d y ou

kn ow her name ?
She was visiting ou r ne i ghb ours I ha d
seen her almost met her She was on he r

way t o India via San F rancisco I kn ew

Poor F rances he sighe d

It was a comfort to thi nk you forgave

her r s t

What ! he exclaime d startle d

She a sked your forgiveness an d I

heard her
She rui ned your life
sh e
cried in one of those ashes of intui tion
that are clearer than broad daylight

Please don t he entreated

She was
like a sister to me W e were reared side by
side A man has n o right t o permi t hi s life
to be ruined by an y circumst an ce Let u s

leave her ou t

C HAPT ER !
E!

IV

E R MA

IT

E AR LY

Thurs day m orning Drexel and

E rma made their way down Sutter Stree t
side by side There was a silence between
them The girl was evidently discontented
a n d impelled more b y the situation than by
her own will She re alised that the rapi d
spread of the ames was defeating her
pl ans Drexel had not obt ai ned the license
and S h e distr u sted him heart ily ; but to de
lay any longer meant an i nevitable defeat
and she went with him angry with condi
tions and telling herself that in all proba
b i li t y she was beaten but resolved that she
w ould make a hard ght for it
The cordon h ad not yet been stretched at
Jones Street and they succeeded in pene
t r a t in g t o Taylor Street ; but the picket
warned them O E when they sought t o enter
,

166

EXIT ER M A

1 67

the buildi n g where Mrs A d d in gt on s o fces

were loca ted
E rma s bravado stood her in good ste a d
She s aw that the man wi th the musket h ad
a soft yielding face an d an appreciative
eye for a pret ty woman and so sh e l ooked
up at h im smi ling brightly

Come she said now don t be ugly

It will be a serious business for Mrs A d
dingtou
She h a sn t come all this time
Those are the windows of her oi ce on the

secon d oor ; s h e p ointed t oward them

I kn ow the word that opens the safe and I

She smiled at
al one can save the pa p ers

The young fellow eyed he r dubiou sly in

cli n e d t o yield an d yet d oubtful of hi s
course

That s a pretty thin s tory

he said :

Even I could have thought of on e as good

a s that
E rma turned to Drexel

H ere is Mr Drexel Miss Tho rnt on s

an c Perhaps he wi ll convi nce you that

I am telling the tru th

Drexel wheeled on his heel sullenly To
be seen was the ve r y last thing he desire d
,

T RAVER S

1 68

in the face of future contingen ci es and h e

coul d have cursed E rma for her b old move

Confou nd you !
he growled in an

aside keep me out of thi s

Yes
in a whisper
sh e
an swered

keep out of it an d the whole game is up

T h e p i cket was eyeing them suspicious
,

ly

Come play your pa rt urged E r ma

Then she turned to the soldier with a
bright smile

He is in an awful state sh e s ai d he
hardly knows what he is doing He ca n n d
neither Mr s A ddington nor Mis s Tho m
t on or we should n ot have ventured on this
move C an t y ou s e e what hard luck it is
t o let all those papers burn without making
a st r u ggle t o get them
Miss Thor nton

would be the only loser if we di d so

The man hesitated an other m oment and
then E rma s beauty overb al anced hi s pru
dence
I am not obeying orders he said but

perhaps you are ri ght

E rma gave a little laugh in her throat
an d sped up the stairs
Her triumph made
her half forget Drexe l an d h i s obstinacy
,

T RAVER S

1 70

Co ul d not make up your mi nd ! An d

I knew what you were doing You spent
yesterday honestly hun ting for Miss
Thornton You thought y ou woul d have
her an d the money F ai ling that you have
tu r ned to me again That s just your pl an
and nothi ng else
Drexel was s ulkily silent That had been
his plan What his next was he ha d n o
mind to discuss with E rma

Well we h ad better be about it

he

said ri sin g
Where is the s afe ?
With a qui ck movement E rm a went and
closed the doo r le adi ng to the inner roo m

Do you think I am fo ol enough to let

you open that safe unless I am sure of you ?
Now just let s s imply review the situation
and see what sort of a h an d you hold I
have all the trump car d s F irst I have

the a ce that is the fact that I intend t o

t ell Miss Thornton the whole business if

s h e can be found
Drexel gave an angry growl and his n
gers worked as if they itched to close upon
her throat

Next went on the girl mockingly I

have the king whi ch means th at I told

ly

'

EXI T ER M A

1 71

that man who you are an d he will be able

t o identify you Third sh e tallied on her

ngers
I hold the queen the combina

tion of the safe ; fourth the knave the fa ct

that the whole thing will t ally when those
papers are missed S o you s e e Chester
Drexel with a hand like that agai ns t y ou
I thi nk you had better play fai r No fun n y

business
Drexel s at down slowly He felt n o i n
cli n a t i on
in the face of this exp o sure of
the enemy s hand to take a move Then he
realised the girl s weak poin t an d spoke :

Well y ou know he said we ca n let

i t go al together if you don t t r ust my prom
,

1 se

She drew near h im

Will you
she said
gi v e me your
solemn word tha t if I pl a ce thi s fortune in

your h an ds you will marry me ?

Drexel becam e suddenly in terested It
gave him an opport un ity t o act to pose ;
and p osing especially t o w omen was the
breath of hi s nostri ls

E rma
he said s oftly I have given

o
u
my word
y
She l au ghed wi th a in g of her hea d
.

T RAVER S

1 72

An d I promise you
he went on

upon my wor d of honour that t o morr ow

y ou will be Mrs Chester Drexel and then

we will light ou t for the E ast

F or a moment the girl despite he r di s
trust of hi m was carried off her feet

And E urope sh e whispered e agerly

her eyes gl i stening

Europe
an d F rench gowns and

E gypt
went on Dr ex el rising to the oc
ca sion

Y e s Egyp t
How I
E rma echoe d

h ave always longe d for Cairo

Sud d enly her mann e r ch an ge d an d she
ung herself away from h im turni ng her
back her face buried in her arms whi ch
were resting on the doo r t o the in ner r oom

What an i ncorri gible fool I am

sh e

sai d
actually beli evi ng i n the wo r d of

this man
Drexe l was regai ni ng c on d en ce i n hi m
self

I t i s a ca se of tru st ing me
he s ai d

or it is goo d bye t o the whole plan

No it isn t sh e cried ashi ng aroun d

a t him
I co ul d car r y i t ou t al one
Neve rtheles s she ente r e d t h e sm all of
,

T RAVER S

1 74

N ow

we are off he said

Yes you an d I s h e answere d

o
u
y
an d I
He face d her ab ruptly his face be com
ing on a sudden a mask of cruelty

You and I ! he mocked

An d s o y ou
thought you ha d the t r um p hand ove r me

did you ? You !

He ung her from h im with such violence
that S he fell t o the ground He would have
passed her but she clung desperately t o
his ankl e A s he looked d own she was
laughing a laugh he did n ot underst an d

You fool ! sh e s aid looking up at h i m

an d s o you thought you were n i sh e d

n i sh e d wi th the safe and with me ; going
away like the idiot you are with a cool fty

thousan d still left there t o bu r n

What he crie d starting back

Yes
she answere d Will you never

cease t o be a fo ol ?
He rushed b ack t o t h e safe slinging the
pap ers about searchi ng searching
She dragged herself t o her feet The
life had gone from her movements ; her face
looked white and bl an k S h e was facing
her defeat but the gre e d for revenge wa s
,

EXIT ER MA

1 75

surging wi th in her as erce a con agr a

tion as the r e without
She stole to the window and looked down
into the street The picket stationed below
was about to enter the b ui lding

Come out he shouted the r e is ap

r
n
a
h
It will be
o
c
i
p
g at a horrible pace

here in n o time

Yes y e s she murmured back at him

in a low v oi ce we shall be down in an i n

stant
The man st amped his foo t i mpatiently

A t once sh e answered Do you think

I want to get burnt any m ore than you
want me to ? There is lots left in life for

me yet Lots ! and sh e laughed though

her face l ooked strange and wild
She sto l e back into the ro om an d lo oked
at Chester to ssing the papers about his
face mad with eagerness and greed ob
li v i ou s of all save h imself and h i s desires
F or an instan t she watched hi m an d then
stole on tiptoe from the r oo m
,

C HAPT ER XV
A

D ASH F O R A F OR T U NE

G WEN again lay d own in her bl ank ets for

a snatch of sleep Her companion h ad left
her for a roun d of visits to his p atients
The sun was just above the hori zon when
a hand was laid on her sho ul der
She
awakened with a start and beheld Travers
H er rst thought was for the city

Is it still burning ? she asked sitting

up and hoping fo r an abatement of the wall
of r e

Still bu rning
he answered s adly
Going t oward No rt h Beach n ow It is of
the r e that I came to speak I ve been
repr o aching myself for an incredible piece
of forgetfulness an d but for your excessive
weariness I should have awakened you a
half hour earlier
A s it is I have y our
breakfast p repare d an d we must los e no
time
.

1 76

T RAVER S

1 78

of great import an ce about the offi ce We

sho ul d start a s soon as possible
Oh ! I
cann ot se e h ow it was that I did not thin k
of it sooner I am an incredible a s s Why

didn t I thi nk ?

You ve had your min d s o fu ll of these

su ffering people Don t blame yourself

It was a b a re half hour later when Gwen
dolyn and her compani on m a de their start
f or the city
Th e s u n was a ball of faint
red in the sky that cast n o shad ows A l
though the r e had died a way in their vi
ci n it y
it still smoulder e d ercely in t h e
burnt district but was no longer devouring
in great sheets of ame It w a s like a beast
o f prey gorged but s till l apping here and
there in t he insatiety of its greed Pe ople
t r u dged hopelessly back over t h e scarre d
portions of the town gazing half believing
prospecting an unk nown co u ntry picking
out old si t es with an e ffor t ami d the brick
piled debris

Shall y ou be tired ? asked her c om

panion There seems n o way for the pres

ent but to walk

No n o cri ed Gwen upon Whom the

ful l seriousness of the situatio n had at l ast
.

A D A SH FOR A FOR T UN E
dawned

1 79

It is only that it is so slow The

r e ma y be quicker than we are

An automobile will probably be along

di rectly
he said with an alert look about

him and if it comes we can hail it

There was patien ce in the fa ce he set to
wa rd the burning city
It struck Gwen
forcibly His iron will s o plainly discern
ible in the r m chin had been long turned
toward enduri ng without hope and h i s ex
pression was in such contrast to the
spirited aquiline nose and lips where h u
mour lurked ever toward the surface But
these reections were forgotten again as
her eyes left his countenance to turn to
ward the glare of creeping red in the north

O h ! sh e cried wri ngi ng her hands

wil l it never be appeased ?

He shook his head and strode on
Castro Street appeared ahead of them
granite and grey its rough cr own crop
ping out in the midst of the city It was
surrounded now by little tents with s ol
diers standin g guard among them Above

a post box Gwen r ead :

Any piece of
paper with out a stamp properly di re cte d ,

wi ll be a ccep te d
.

T RAVER S

1 80

Uncle Sam i s d oing his best sh e sai d,

wi th a little laugh t o cover the te a rs
Two women an d a chi ld of s ix or seven
years advanced toward them Th e chil d
carried a bent g ri di ron which h ad e vidently
just been taken from the debris for it was
still h ot and the little gi rl carrie d it
wrapped in a bi t of sacking

I s that al l
s
ou
h
a
v
e
a
v
e
d
?
ke
d
s
a
y
Gwen addressing the women
They looked back at her un emoti onally
There was n o bitterness nor revolt in their
strong sim ple faces

Not s o much as that said on e

They had now reached Market Street
The r e raged bel ow them at the juncti on
o f Montgomery an d Sutter Street
F or an instant Gwen ca ught her breath

It is n ot for myself I grieve sh e said

It is just for the city Surely I shall wake

up and n d it is only a horrible dream

A t this m oment an automobile cam e
into view an aggress ive red m achin e d r iv
en a t fu ll spe e d

Stop
crie d he r comp ani on holding

up hi s ar m, A l ady her e nee d s a ssi s

tan ce
,

T RAVER S

1 82

How far ?

with an impatient ti lt of the

Taylor Street sh e an swered

The man laughed provokingly

Taylor ! Can t do it We are st opped

at J ones now Do you want t o get co oked

alive ?
Gwen gave her companion a star tled
glance H is jaw settled grimly combative
H e was being attacked along the weakest
line in his character Such obstacles roused
a b ull d og determination t o c onquer that
was gui ded by neither p r u dence nor judg
ment He s at heavily in his seat his shoul
ders lurched for ward He was forgetting
every consideration but the single on e of
winning his goal Such men c an be turne d
a side only by their affections or their sym
pathi c s Had Gwen said one word the plan
would have been abandoned O n the con
t r a r y in her too was roused the da ri ng
pioneer spirit which had car r ied her grand
parents across the prairies amid te r ri c
suffering and against overwhelmi ng obsta
cles Her head rose higher on her shoul
ders

T ake us t o Bush and Jones please

.

A D A SH FOR A FOR T UN E

1 83

she said A design had ashed into her

mind
The reek of the smoke was smothering
although the r e was still blocks away
The man stopped the car a t the place
named
Gwen and her compani on de
scended and the machine darted back over
its course
Th e street was crowded by pe ople recent
ly turned from their homes and lingering
nearby despairingly cur ious spectators
sol di ers an d p olice
A t the corner s t ood the C olonial H otel

If I can only get in there whispere d

Gwen I think I can make it

I am afraid it is no use You see these

people have been driven out Travers an

s we r e d reluctantly keeping a vigilant eye
on the police near at hand
But the r e is bl ocks away I know the
combination of the s afe perfectly and if
I could o nl y get there it woul d n ot be a

moment s work
Travers took in the situati on There was
a doo r opening from the Hotel on the Jones
Street side The atten tion of the soldiers
an d the people was turned down Bus h
.

,
.

T RAVER S

1 84

l ng whi ch the ames were ap

r
n
a
h
i
o
c
s
He
cou
l
d
not
e
e
just
h
ow
p
g
Gwendolyn expected to get from thi s co r
ner to the on e diagonally oppo site but he
was sure s h e had a plan th at wa s at least
worth tryi ng A s for Gwen herself by a
curious chance her mind had travelled back
to the time when as a little gi rl her nurse
had brought her morning after morning to
the Madame wh o had rst trained her in
the mystery of F rench vowels and conjuga
tions This old lady had lived in a little
c ottage facing the tiny court whi ch bisected
this block and Gwend olyn s investigating
feet had travelled down many a f orbidden
alley lined wi th unromantic ash an d gar
ba e barrels The little creatu re had stolen
on tip toe excursions i n v ari ou s directio n s
dreading the Madame s rep ro a ch if sh e
were discovered an d enj oying a delicious
sense of naughtiness becaus e of her diso
Street

a o
.

b e d i e n ce

She and Travers went a few cautious

paces down Jones Street They glanced
about and feeling themselves unnoticed
stole into the side entran ce of the hotel
Gwen surp ri sed herself by a half laugh the
.

T RAVER S

1 86

This all ey en ded in a blank wall of sol i d

boards Beyond rose the brown pile of the
W e n ban B uilding

That s nothing
sai d her c ompanion
lightly
He s wung himself up an d di sappeared
An instant later a few kicks had driven two
plank s from their places They entered the
deserted W e n b an by the cellar all the
doors yawning wide and found their way
to the cent ral hall A t the entran ce they
perceived a s oldier on guar d and they
dodged behi nd a turn of the staircase
When the man walked on out of sight they
made a noiseless bolt for the rooms oppo
site which O pene d on the Jones Street
side
Here for an instant Gwen pause d
They were in the o fces of her phys i cian
The pity of it cut her to the heart She
sa w his n e medical library lini ng the wall
ha lf to the ceiling Beyond th r ough a door
sh e caught a glimpse of hi s instrum ents
careful ly disposed and of hi s laboratory
with all the paraphernalia of a scientic
mi crosc opic research All wa s in perfect
ord er awaiting the approach of the r e
.

A D A SH FOR A FOR T UN E

1 87

But Gwen allowe d herself o nly an instant

for the observations
They threw open a window an d both
looked ou t Soldiers were pickete d along
the street at interv als

It is that stone bui l ding oppos i te sh e

said whispe ri ng involuntarily
Then a new thought struck her

E v en if we can get the bonds an d

money an d record s the y may take u s for

looters
sh e crie d
The danger had ar oused a cu ri ous s ort
Her eyes were
of high s pi rits in her
dan cing
He shrugge d hi s should er s lo o king d own
at her calmly

You would soon be identied an d r e

leased and at the s am e time y ou could

give me up to the law

S h e had utterly forgotten
Here in the
heart of the city deserted and awaiting the
a ppro ach of the r e foe sh e was a lone with
a man wh o had burglarised her home but
the morning before She h ad trusted her
self to h im entirely ; in a moment sh e would
put a fortune in gold and currency and
bon d s i nto his han d s She gaz e d b ack at
.

T RAVER S

1 88

h im

won de ri ngly, he r han d s still gr asp i ng

the grani te window sill upon which sh e had
laid them medi tating a j M p into the
street below Still he regarded her calmly
questi oning but he had chos en t o remind
her rst She recogni sed that in a ash
O ne call from her wo ul d bring the soldier
at the corn er t o her on a r un She was s a fe
still while he wa s at her mercy He
changed the direction of hi s gaze lo o king
past her ou t t oward the hovering smoke It
was not t o avoid her eyes as she felt but
to give her an opportun ity t o study h im
without embarrassment
It was a worn
face sh e saw lined here and there with the
ma rks of su ffering and suppression but
even a two days gro wt h of beard co ul d
not brutalise it Gwen fa ncie d sh e heard a
quick muffled thum p Surely yes surely it
was the beating of his heart It revealed
t o her the tempest of suppressed emotion
It touched her
behind the quiet exterior
inexpressibly She thought of the he a rt:
weary man of last night s revelations and
her face grew soft though he did not see
i t When sh e spoke it was in a matter of
fact tone a s if she had n ot p e rc e ive d the
-

T RAVER S

1 90

wi th her acros s the street an d into the mar

ble p o rtico of the building t o whi ch they
had been st ri ving t o gain an entrance Here
they paused a moment crouched
the wall Then reassured they made a
swift a scent t o the second o or
.

C HAPT ER XVI
GW E N D O L Y N A N D
MRS A DDI N G T O N

E E R MEE T

C H ST

were near the

head of the stairs a suite of small luxu r i
ous rooms The door had been forced by
the authorities in their search through t h e
apartments t o assure themselv es that n o
on e was lingering on the premises
The
s ui te consisted O f t wo rooms and a smal l
dress ing room whi ch contained a basin
with running water s ome towels a mi rr or
and a few hooks for wraps The outer apa r t
ment had a desk co v ere d wi th rich appu r t e
nances a le of papers and a rack of
bo oks Some pink ro s es i n a t all vase were
f aded an d drooping What a sho r t time
before M r s A d d in gt on s ngers had placed
them there ! O n the w all were several n e
p ri nts ; a map O f San F r an cis c o in the 50 s
and another O f the modern city There
were heavy chairs cushione d in d a rk leath
.

oi ce s

19 1

T RAVER S

1 92

er an d about the room hung a faint su gge s

tion of Mr s A d di n gt on s favou rite per
fu me The breath of it was like a clutch at
Gwendolyn s hea rt The inn er room con
t ai n e d the safe les of boo ks and on a
table there was a typ e writer whi ch still had
a sheet of paper in it half covered with g
ures just as Miss Ross had left it on her
last exit Tuesday afternoon escap ing has
t i ly intent on s ome engagement for Mrs
A ddington had been a kindly mistress The
windows of bo t h rooms were draped wi th
heavy curt ains over whi ch hung portieres
of velours
Gwen and Travers passed through the
rst room with a glance but on the
threshold of the sec ond they stood trans
x ed
The safe was yawning wide open its con
tents ung about in evident haste littering
the floor

What does thi s mean gasped Gwen

dolyn

Burglary I m afraid
replied her

comp anion briey

Will you look it ov er
as quickly as possible Miss Th ornt on , an d
we wi ll se e what can be done
,

T RAVER S

1 94

Thus they me t !
With great qui ckn ess of m in d sh e
stepped forward an d closed the do or into
the hall
The lock wa s broken s o sh e
placed herself before it She was sick in
mind a nd body cru shed an d numb yet
s omewhere in the backgro un d of her nature
still lingered the ghting inst i ncts of her
ancestors

Let me go gaspe d Chester

You d og ! You dog ! repeate d T ravers

hoarsely hi s n gers closing on the other
man s throat
Gwendolyn was fri ghtene d b y t h e stony
col dn ess with which sh e watche d this ter
r i fyi n g scene
A convicti on of the man s
duplicity h ad seized upon her n all y He
h a d so deceived her and s h e had s o entirely
trusted him These t wo last d ays had been
lled t o the b ri m with griefs ,fears an d di s
i llu s i on in gs
She was capable of n o more
emotion

Don t kill him sh e sai d qui et ly

He

isn t wort h it
Travers releas ed his hold and Chester
staggered back gasping and p ulling at hi s
,

GWE ND O LYN M EE T S CH E S T ER

1 95

I ll guard the door said Travers t ak

ing her place It is a pity you mus t wit

ness thi s
Gwen said nothing She merely watch ed
Chester s struggles with a sort of imper
sonal pity She would feel relieved when
his breath came more easily It did aft er
a few moments Then he loo ked at her
striving to ass um e an air of ease He was
not a go od looking man now It was some
how as i f the bolts of character had
been removed from h i s fa ce and hi s
featur es appeared a ccid an d meaning
less
They h ad one an d all for gotten the creep
ing r e without !

T hi s man has st r ange m anners Gwen

said Chester jauntily
A slow glow of red ru shed up Travers
face t o the forehead as he heard her name
pronounced but he stoo d immovable Gwen
did not hee d thi s remark

E xplain your presence Mr Drexel

sh e demanded haughtily
Drexel threw back his shoulders wi th an
exaggera t ed air of gallantry He was act
in g and u nde r a t e rri c strain , an d h e

T RAVER S

1 96

overdi d h i s part in v oi ce m anners an d ge s

ture

Need I explain t o you Gwen he be

gan

You must sai d Gwen immovably

He shifted his feet pulled at the coll ar
about hi s bruised throat and continued l ess
,

I came here t o get this money for you

I remembered it almost t oo late t o acc om
l
i
h
i
s
anyth
ng I came at the ri sk of my
p

life

And hi d behind the curtain

sai d
Gwen with a curl of her lip

I th ought it was the soldi ers

he as

se r t e d
They would have put me ou t b e
fore
Befo re ? sai d Gwen , lifting a tentat iv e
eyebrow

Before I had nishe d my mission an d

taken possession of your p apers

said
Chester with growing si gns of u n e a si
ness

Which you threw right and left as

thi ngs of n o account went on Gwen r e

.

le n t le s sly

He stamme re d :

I d id i t in

my e x

1 98

T RAVER S

read it i n D rexel s face He h ad known

Travers at a time somewhat remote an d
therefo re he had not recalled hi s fac e
e a rlier
She perceived every iota of the
i mplied insult and s h e received it squarely
S h e looked t owa rd Travers
He was erect
a n d undaunted but p al e to the lips Dr e x
el s fa ce was devilish wi th s p ite an d mock
ery

Han d over my money t o Mr T r ave r s ,

s h e s ai d
A gl ow spread over Tra v ers fac e as if
it had been illuminated from within but
not a feature moved s ave hi s lip which
quivered fai ntly in one corner and then was
still

In deed ! c ri ed Chester breaking into

the sudden rage of the weak
I pass over
your fo rtune t o a common thi ef a cut
throat a bully a n obody knows wh o from
nobody knows where ? I must save you
from yourself Gwen I

N 0 time for words said Travers hi s

ears sharp for word s from without H and

over the money to Miss T hornton M iss
Thornton th ose pockets of yours are ca

i
ac
ou s
p

GWE ND O LYN MEE T S CH E S T ER

1 99

She held them O pen with dain ty n gers

Ready Mr Drexel
sh e said

You know I have done this for you

Gwen
said Chester suddenl y weak and

appealing y ou know

That my stocks bonds and records

good only for me were forgotten

sh e
said with a curl of the lip her eyes reading
deep into hi s s hi fting ones

Oh my God ! exclaimed Drexel si t

ting down and burying his face in his

hands
T O be S O mi sunderstoo d
I can

not endure i t I cannot

T im e is up
said Travers and step
ping up t o h im with a skillful movement

N ow give up the
he pinioned h i s arms
currency ; and no more words We have de
layed too long Ah and here are papers !
F oreign cons ols government b onds and

Cleverer than I thought

u n i d e n t i ab le
Drexel gave a snarl and struggled t o r e
lease himself ; but in vain The gold an d
currency the bonds and consols change d
hands Into Gwen s ca pacious p o ckets and
into Travers they were put away
They turned to go unh ee d ing Chester
when a er ce cry arrested them He had
.

T RAVER S

2 00

seized the brass inks t and fro m the desk

and with a yell of demoniacal rage hurled

it at Travers
It sped toward h i m h e
dodged and it st r u ck the do or leaving a
great smear of i n k on the panels and the
carpet

Gentleman Ja ck
shri eked Chester

A nice champion ! My congratulations

Mis s Thornton
T imes have changed ,
Gentleman J ac
With a wi ld laugh he rushe d out into the
hall only t o stagger b ack i nto the roo m
again gasping

My God he cried we ve been ma d !

The ames have re ache d u s !

,

T RAVER S

2 02

up the bui l di ngs with un belie v able vel ocity

while they had p arleyed with Cheste r It
seem e d incre di ble ! It had advanced in a
so lid wall blocks wi de Travers was puz
zle d t o kn ow why the buil di ng the y were in
had not ign ited like the rest

Wait an instant
he whi spered to

Gwen and I ll go an d investigate

He went to the little dressing room and
wound a dampened t owel about his mouth
and chin p ullin g his hat down t o protect
h i s head and eyes as much as pos sible Then
he removed his coat and held i t m advance
as a sor t O f s hi eld
He ventured t o the s t reet door Th e
blast of hot air that swept in nearly su ffo
How co ul d they have been so
c a t e d him
blind as n ot t o h ave noticed the thickening
smoke or rising temperature
B a ck and all about them writhe d the
ames !
T aki ng l n the situation he n ow under
stood what had saved them thus far : the
building in which they were i mpri soned had
two blank r e proof wal ls against which
were built low wood en structures in the
hap ha z ard fashi on of rapidly growing

OFF

CUT

2 03

western cities These two s t ory bui ldi ngs

were burning rapidly the ames lick ing up
against the granite walls of the structure
in which they were but as yet making no
impression upon them Impris oned ! was
the word th a t came t o his mind and hi s
heart grew sick a s he l ooked at the brown
pile of the W e n b an and the rows of h ouses
on the other side of the street He realised

the truth they were lled with dynamite

an d s im y waiting the touchi ng of the
fuse He could see the men in full retre a t
s ome distance up Sutter Street All about
hi m the b ui ldings were mined and on the
eve of a v ast upheaval
His h ai r stood out from his he ad at the
helpless horro r of the situation
Great
masses of masonry would soon be hurt ling
through the air crushing through the roo f
of the building in whi ch they were con
ned ; and besides this they were literally
in an oven for the Walls must gather heat
in the mi dst of the sur ge of the am es all
about them and at any moment might
themselves b u rst ou t and mi ngle with the
approaching con agr at i on
He careful ly
closed both the v estibule and the hall do o rs
-

T RAVER S

2 04

help keep out the dense and smothe ri ng

smoke

Great God ! he cried as he turned t o

spring up the stairs t o j oin Gwendolyn
A t the rst turn he stopped for a second
A happy thought had struck him He put
h i s hand in his pocket and it came
in contact with the hard slippe r y surface
of a vial
It was ether He had been using
it that morning in hi s ministrati ons t o the
wounded
Than k heaven he breathe d t o himself

s h e need not suffer

When he reached the room onc e more he
leaned against the doo r in sudden weak
ness N ow that he faced her the situation
redoubled in horror Chester was prostrate
on the oor, hi s hands clasped acros s h i s
face writhing in an ecs t asy of terror His
breath came in half sobbing words He was
mad with fear, t oo lacking in character for
action
Not s o Gwen d olyn ! The great heat an d
the smoke th a t had begun t o creep in had
made her faint
She was seated in her
aunt s chair before the desk her head lean
ing back against the cushi ons Her hair,
to

T RAVER S

2 06

as the maternal stroke on the hea d of grief

stricken babyhood Grad ually it quieted
him ; the sho ul ders ceased to heave ; and as
he gr ew qui eter the little touches became
les s fr equent then her n gers settled on his
head and remained there He looked up
awest r uck He s aw her thr ough the lm of
fa int grey that was beginn i ng to sting
cruelly in eyes and throat She was smil
ing gentle pity on him smiling !

D on t gri eve sh e said I can t think

it will be long S omehow I have an idea
we ll smother before we burn It was I
wh o brought you here
O h that wr etched

money ! It was I ! F orgive me

F orgive you he cri ed an d suddenly

he car r ied her h an d to hi s lips and covered
it an d t h e soft r oun ded forearm, with
kisses
Kneeling he l ooke d up at h e r

I love you he breathed

I can s ay
it now I love you Never l n all my life
have I loved an other woman ; I have played
at it ; I have deceived myself but I love
you love y ou love you
An d a s he said it wild with a longing t o
cl asp he r in h i s arms , h e wi thdr e w fur the r
.

OFF

C UT

2 07

from her A t the last he thought when

s h e was un conscious and beyond the reach
of pain he might take her in his embrace
and die ; but not n ow
The heat wi thin the room was su ffoca t
ing an d the ames increased t o a deafening
roar
Gwen struggled to her feet and her v oic e
reached him faintly She staggere d and
grasped his arm for support

I want you to know something sh e

said
I thi nk it is gi ven us near death t o
understand
I want y ou t o know th a t
whatever you have done an d whatever
you appear t o have d one , I believe in

you
It was his rehabilitation ; it was the coro

nation of the inner man the man whom

neither this world nor its co nditions had
touched H e bowed his hea d in silence too
overcome for speech
At thi s instant the air was rent with an
ear splitting thunder B oom ! boom ! boom !
it volleyed
The b ui ldi ng rocked like a
house of cards and there was a sound of
splintered and falling glass
F rom the
oors above them came the crash of shat
.

T RAVER S

2 08

beam and rafter, as mas ses Of mason

r y crashed through
Gwen reeled an d clun g t o Trav ers for
support The p rostrate gu re of Chester
crouched with its face pressed t o the wall
moaning in an ecstasy of terror
Travers wo un d his arms aroun d her cow
ering gu re and stood al ert his eyes
strained ahead in specul ation
There
might be a chance for them now !
He laid her gently in the chai r went t o
the dressin g room and returned with two
t owels which he had succeeded in soaking
in the tri ckle of water that still ran from
the taps in the basin O ne he wo un d around
her head and another he boun d across her
face to lter the smoke

Slip off your skir t, he sai d

She obeyed mechan ically A moment
later he handed it back t o her d ripping with
water N ext he wound the overcoat also
soaked about her sho ul ders

Now the blasting is over

he said

We may make a break for it

She submitted t o hi s directions like a
child
Travers approached the coweri ng gure
te r ed

TRAVER S

210

while the heat drew little whi te clouds of

steam from her clothing
They were both dazed from the S hock
T hen Travers groaned hopelessly

I have seen enough to satisfy me It

is the story of the whole r e ; they have
wa ited too long for the dynamiting The
ames are there too and that whole block
will s oon be a h olo c aust
Without the r e danced and ickered
merrily amid the S hattered remains O f the
mined bui ldings
Travers was for the moment unm anned
He walked t o an d fro like a creature caged
He wa s s o strong He felt such a vital cur
rent a ow withi n his veins such a sense O f
power and a bove all the bucklin g down
into ch a ract er and p ur pose of a will of late
un di sciplined He was a man once m ore
for what ? F or death ; t o be faced mock
i n gly with a conviction of his own impo
tence again st the ruling forces Just now

when he had resolves such resolves and

felt within himself the p ower t o keep
them
The power had been there al
ways but he had for the time let
circum st ances call him master
He
.

CUT

OFF

211

looked at hi s sinewy hands he felt hi s

brea t h rise with a sense of a force for bat
tle ; then he turned t o a little shapeless g
ure huddled weakly against the wall ami d
a o od of loosened blond hair
There
st ood his punishment ! The anguish of two
lifetimes was crowded into the conscious
ness of his powerlessness to help her
He stood yearning over her for an i n
stant in a passion of tenderness
The temperature withi n the house was
increasing with alarming quickness She
clun g to h i s arm with b oth hands her head
drooping piteously
Let me carry you u p stairs h e b e gge d

No no no
s h e proteste d weak but

determined
Let me walk
She tottered slowly up the st ai rs He
s aw the tears rolling down her cheeks
He
knew intuitively that they were the tears
of physical weakness , not of physical
fear

P oo r Aunti e
after
sh e sa i d softly

all it was a mercy

The memory of that face amid the piled
b ri cks an d of the house converted on the
su dden t o a pyr e turne d him sick as he
,

T RAVER S

212

lo oke d at the girl, an d involun ta rily h e

groaned aloud

And I brought you here sh e said as

if the groan accented an i dea hovering in
her half dazed mind

he cried
d on t reproa ch

yourself

She s mi le d gently d eprec ating and

fainted He ca rried her t o the rooms they
ha d just left Chester was in a half sitting
posture rocking himself t o and fr o in
abandonment of despair It was a b r u tal
giving over of the in telligence to unreason
ing fear S O Travers had seen coolie s roc k
and wait in an apparently hopeless border
skirmish
Travers laid Gwen up on the oor where
he knew the air was least smoke tainted
an d went t o the dres sing ro o m for water
The basin he had just lled was st one d r y
and the trickle of the water had ceased al
together
The building in which they were conne d
wa s burn ing slowly sp u t t e mn gly r e lu c
tau tly from the top down
The cinders
fr om surroun ding res had ignited the
roof, but the reproof si d es still wi thhel d
.

T RAVER S

21 4

near the en d I ca n t seem to thi nk of the

past or of a possible future after it is over

It is of just you you you

T hat is wrong
sh e whispered gently

Most things men think and d o are

wrong Perhaps thi s love the best of me ,

may help over there

A feeble little h an d touche d h i s an d
closed ab out it a child s clasp that needed
and gave assurance in the dark
There is just one thing I can do for y ou
I am not hi s tongue laboured thickly over

the horri d words going to s e e y ou die or

the ames lick your b ody while you live
I have ether here and my handkerchief
See ! When the end draws near I ll soak
the handk erchief with this ether and pla ce
it over your face You ll k now n o pa in I

want t o give you that assuran ce

In sudden tempo rary strength sh e rose
t o a sitting posture
The hand grasping
his tightened upon it then threw it from
her in horror Her eyes stared wi de and
her lips parted

No n o
no never
sh e cried
He looked at h e r won de ri ng an d misun

d e r s t an di n g

CUT OFF

215

But i t wil l o nl y be when the re i s n o

he said blun deringly

h Op e

s h e cried
Promise me you
won t d o thi s thi ng Let me di e brave let
me di e as God wills me t o di e Promise

me that
He looked at her i n amazement He felt
within himself a hope not a conviction that
he would ght ou t thi s issue t o the end
Physical bravery he was not lacking in ;
but for thi s slight delicate girl t o take this
sta nd ! In hi s bli nd mascul ine way he h ad
been seeking t o r ob death of its terrors for
her Even yet he scarcely believed

But it wi ll only be at the last the very

last

NO n o n o
S he gas ped vehemently
sobbing now from sheer physical weakness

I n God s way pro mi se me that

H e was silent She t urned and looke d
deep into his eyes
H e hesitated still stun g t o hi s so ul Then
her eyes won

I pro mi se
he said lying as he
said it
She gave a sigh of relief and sli ppe d
d own cl os e t o the wains cot Her ngers
,

T RAVER S

216

grop e d for an d hel d hi s h an d an d th e re

they r este d
He felt hi s he a d grow di zzy W as i t t h e
crackling of the r o aring ames wi thout or
was it only the wheels of r e within hi s
brain that whirle d an d sung and threat ene d
unconsciousness wi th every passing s e c
on d ?
He gathere d hi m sel f togethe r wi th
an effort
Gwen had b ecom e unconscious !

The tim e is come he said

He gathered her i n hi s arms he r fo rm
lyin g ine r tly against him

Good bye dear love he whi spere d

A s he felt the yielding of her fair young
form there e ven ami d the smoke and reek
of the room and the roar of the ames
above and wi thout the heart went ou t of
hi m
Co ul d he end it ? Had he the cour
age to take t h e life that still uttered faint
ly in the feeble come and go of her breath ?
B ending he kissed her softly reverently
The whirling of hi s head warned hi m
He reached for the bot tle It was gone !
With a cry he started u p Through the
grey of the smoke lms he s aw Chester
s t r et che d on t h e b r o ad of hi s b a ck O ve r h i s
.

C HAP T ER XVIII
A CAPRI C

E OF

TH

E F IRE F IEND
-

I T wa s the morning of
The r e was licking u p

the followin g day

the houses on the
tall hills near the bay in s p urt s and start s
easily checke d It was beaten at last and
it admitted its defeat wi th s ul len r e lu c
tance The c on agr at i on had been stopped
a t V an Ness Avenue as had been eagerly
hoped Here and there it had hurled its
way across the bro ad boulevar d but it had
been forced back af ter maki ng only a block
or two of progress
The engines were being s l owly d rawn
back into the unburned district seeki ng ex
temporised places of shelter
They no
longer shone with the proud gleam of pol
i s h e d brass but were blackened and almost
leadened in appearance The remen their
faces s ooty and drawn wi th exh austion
.

2 18

C APRIC E

T HE FIRE-FIE ND 2 1 9

OF

clun g t o them with relaxed han d s They

had fought nobly against terrible O dds
heroes qui et and un speaking as i s the habit
of heroes t o whom deeds not words come
easily The city lay behind them smoking
still a desolate heap O f rubbish ; a silent
tragic tangle from whi ch the life had per
.

i sh e d

A group of men pushe d the i r way

through the waste wi th an o cca s i onal p ause
for comm ent

W h o co ul d hav e believe d it sai d one

with a strong purposeful fa ce and a heavy

head O f whi te hair here we are back in

4 9 again We must sta rt all over

A young man in kha ki laughe d the easy
laugh of youth

I t s up t o us n ow father You b ui lt a
cit y and n ow we ll see what we can do It
will be worth whi le just t o watch it and t o
help My job t o day i s t o stand guard duty
while the men throw brick N O room for

white hands in F risco

A third man of s ol di erly be ari ng tur ne d
to smile at hi m

Good Walter he sai d

t was worth
being here just t o s e e the gri t you have all
.

T RAVER S

220

shown It wa s splendid The Briti sh bloo d

will tell

Come come C olonel

said the rst
man as he stumbled over the prostrate rail
of a r e escape lying in the street b e fore

him
don t be s o English ! Give us the

I
t
s
credit
American any c re dit we may

d ese rve

You bet, cri e d the y ou ng man em

phatically

Very well , very well

answere d the

soldi er good naturedly

But why you
Americans are s o anx ious t o di sown your
grandfathers puzzles me

I guess
said the white haire d man

it s because it s only s o lately you E n g

lish remembered we had grandfathers

much less E nglish ones

The Colonel was silent There was tru th
in Mr Bell s speech and he knew it as well
as he knew that such distinctions found n o
lodgment in his own broad mind and hea r t
Mr Bell stopp ed with a start gazing up
at a fra gm ent of a grani te building before
them

What pranks this r e has played he

sai d
N ow that building eight stories in
.

T RAVER S

2 22

the spot amazed at the C ol onel s attitude

an d expression

My G od Travers
he cried
you

here ?

Hurry
gasped Travers
in mercy

She may die sh e may be dead

H e staggered back into the room an d
they followed h im
They saw a form stretche d full length
upon the oor It was a man s
In a corner knelt Travers in his arms a
girl s gure clad in a lmy dressing gown
an d a black skirt
Her head hun g lifeless
1y back against his shoulder

Colonel
s ai d Travers turn ing t o
wards him as naturally a s thou gh their last
parting had n ot been in the heart of India

v e years before
e
ou
se
it
is
collapse
y
She has been i n thi s fearful oven over
night I was unconscious myself until a

few moments since

He put his n gers t o

her w ri st
I can feel no pulse
He bent hi s face close against hers seek
ing for a sign of utte ri ng breath

My God he cried in a burst of erce

anguish I believe she is dead !

He t urne d his face o ver hi s shoul d er t o

A C APRIC E

O F THE

FIRE FIE ND
-

the Colonel in sudden weakness and such

a tempest of despair that it moved all three
men strangely

Let me s e e
s ai d the Colonel t a kin g
the girl from hi s arms

Why it s Miss Thornton said young

Walter in amazement
The Colonel pressed hi s ask to the girl s

mouth i t was useless

Give it me cried Travers
He force d open the colour less lips and
let a few drops trickle in Af t er a pause
the girl choked slightly an d moaned A gain
a few drops ; sh e moved her head and a
deep breath esca ped her

I believe we may s ave her breathe d

Travers
Little by little he coaxed the raw wh i s
By degrees life r e
ky into her throa t
turned but no t consciousness Her pulse
gr ew slowly in power but it was still u t
t ering and un even

Walter run for an automobile cried

h i s fa t her
We must take Miss Thornton

home wi th us
The young fellow disappeared with alac
.

T RAVER S

224

Travers
said the Colonel layi ng a

hand on his shoulder you had better take

a drop or two yourself

T r a vers looked up for an insta nt from
h i s task of revivin g the girl

DO you think it worth whi le ?

he
asked with a bitter s mi le ; but he complied
knowing that just then strength meant
greater usefulness
Mr Bell had turned towards the gure
near the wainscot H e start ed back in hor
ror a s he recognised Chester Drexel The
circumstances t old their own tale ; the
handkerchief the emptied vial of ether
H e stood looking d own drowned in
thought
The Colonel j o i ne d h im

Well said Mr Bell this ea rthquake

and r e lays bare the heart There i s the
man we all supposed l oved Miss T hornton
See ! he has t aken all this pain killing s t u E
to save himself su Ee r rn g There i s the

girl who fa ced it out

The Colonel nodded with comp ressed
lips H e had seen in h i s day many heroes
become cowards where it was least exp e ct
ed They both turne d their b acks upon t h e
,

T RAVE RS

226

He turne d t owards them n ow wi th a b af

ed expression

O ne S hot of nitro glycerine would do

it he cried, and I haven t an atom with

me She may go yet

We 11 get her to the house in a few min

utes Walter is sure t o return soon and we

will have the best of aid

said Mr Bell
in inv olun t ary pity of the anguish he
r e ad s o plainly in the face of the other
man
Th e Colonel watche d and wondered
watched an d wondered as he h ad in India
when ano ther woman was in the question ;
anathematised himself for liking and trust
ing the man before h im the broad shoul
dered soldierly man whom hi s own army
had expelled in disgr ace
Wh at is it in hi m, he won dere d
Am

I an Old foo l ?
A moment later Wal ter rushed u p the
stairs

There is a machin e at the door

father he cri ed

We can move her n ow

said the
Colonel approaching Travers

The so o ner the better

Travers r e
.

A CAP RIC E OF

T HE

FIR E FIE ND
-

227

plied hur ri edly re su mi ng hi s coat and

overcoat
Young Bell would have taken t h e girl in
his arms but Travers made an involunta r y
gesture of protest

I am a doctor he s ai d
Perhaps I
had better keep her in my charge un til we

have reached the house

He turned di rectly t o the Col onel an d
there wa s an appeal in hi s face

Perhaps y ou had
said that warrio r
and nobody dreamed Of the mental com

ment he growled to hi mself : Perhap s I

am an old foo
An automobile wi th an apparently life
less gu re i n it was n o un usual sight in
those days but the sol di ers turned to stare
as this on e sped out from amid the ruins
Mr Bell had instruct ed hi s s on to remai n
t o se e to Chester s body an d t o examine
the room for valuables The t wo old men
s a t on the seat wi th the ch au Ee u r whil e in
the rear one Travers supported the girl
as best he could
H e was going over in hi s mi n d the events

of the last few days strange wild days

overowing wi th trage dy yet to him they
,

T RAVER S

228

had been full of a sort of happy p ain A s

he looked back on the last years just past

life arose one vast irony useless suffering

purposeless sacri ce Now the cl imax had
been reached in his love for this girl In
proportion as the world had t ortu red and
misunderstood him the whole strength of
his nature had concentrated without divis
ion O f interest or affection upon thi s w o
man thrown so strangely across hi s path
He had hel d her out on the hills a literal
prisoner He had known thi s and yet in
the sel shn es s of his sudden intense yearn
ing for her presence he h ad persisted He
realised now with an undivided mi nd that
if sh e had been among her fri ends that
they if not she would have thought sooner
of the safe an d its conten ts therefore he
should be accou ntable for her death if it
followed upon this hi deous night Of ex
os
u
r
e
It was all so of a piece with his
p

life tangled useless drifting The clutch

on h i s heart tightened as he looked at her
In such a little wh ile now sh e would pass
ou t of it It must be s o an d for one savage
sudden moment he could have cried aloud
at the cruelty of the fate that had cut O E
.

'

T RAVER S

230

man
Carr y her u p stairs sh e s aid for

mally and be careful n ot t o slip on the

rugs ; the oor is hi ghly waxed and the
poor chi ld d oes n ot want any more mis
-

h ap s f

They entered the hallway The house

was p a rtially dismantled Gre at patches of
plaste ri ng had fallen from the walls an d
the bronzes and marbles had been removed
from their pedestals and placed upon the
oor against the recurrence of another
shock

P oor chi ld ! wh at an experience Mrs

Bell kept murmu ri ng as sh e conducted him
up s ta irs to a luxurious room on the second
oor and di rected hi m t o lay Gwen upon
the bed She evidently expected hi m t o
leave immediately He hesitated looking
down on the face on the p illow Mrs Bell
gazed at hi m in cold surpri se

We hav e summoned a physician sh e

s aid
H e will be here immediate ly
The situation puzzled her

Travers
sai d the Colonel
Travers went t o him His fac e was
drawn and ghastly The Colonel lai d a
pitying hand on hi s shoulder
.

A CAP RIC E OF

T HE

FIRE FIE ND
-

231

Travers he said gently the doc tor

wi ll be at the d o or in an instant T h e Bells
expect to take charge of Miss Thornton

from n ow on
Travers stood as if turned to stone then
he made a mechani cal ste p t oward the
stairs H e stumbled slightly

J upiter Am mon !
cried the impulsive

Colonel starting toward hi m I had for

gotten you were sta rving man Come and
have something t o eat at once Step this

way

N ot in thi s house
said Trave rs

hoarsely
I m taboo I ll go back t o my

fellows on the hillside

H e laughed in a strange way th at
startled t h e Colonel

Come be reasonable said t h e old s ol

dier
You ve had a fearf ul experience

We are comrades ! Don t forget that

Travers raised his h aggar d eyes t o the
other s face

A r e we comrades ?
he asked
The Colonel s gaze dropped Before h e
had recovered hi s composure Travers was
half down the stairs Here he h alted with
an exclamation
,

T RAVER S

2 32

I d clean forgot Here is Mi ss Thorn

ton s money in my pockets
He t ook it out in handfuls O ne gold
piece dropped with a ring and rolled t o the
hall below

There is more in the pockets of Miss

Thornton s overcoat a man s coat

he

half smiled
I m afraid it was left at
Mrs A d d in gt on s o fce But young Bell

i s there s o he will look after it

The Colonel could not bear to see him go
like this Perhaps his heart went out with
unusual a ffection toward his fellow coun
t r ym an here far from the land O f their
birth
He followed him an d held out his hand

Take it T ravers he said gravely it

is the hand of a comrade

Travers looked at it strangely Then h e
leaned weakly against the door and
brushed his hand for a moment across his
eyes

Another j oke a rare j oke of fortune

You a r e just three days t oo late he said

And he went out clo s ing the door quietly
behi n d him

T RAVER S

23 4

spirit in her fa ce was undaunted if her

v oice l agged a little in its crisp tones
Travers smiled faintly at her and n od
d ed

Same here said Little M ontana an d

sh e seated herself beside him

I think we
have earned a little breathing space don t
you ? E ight babies in three days t o say
nothing of an asso r tment of surgical cases
and a running accompaniment of general
ailments i s about up to my limit I guess
I ll let Uncle Sam take a hand for a while
H e seems to have taken O E h i s b linders

some
Travers nodded at her as on e soldier to
another
When she spoke agai n her voice was low
er She had detected the heart ache in hi s
face with a woman s ready instinct

Where is she ? sh e asked nodding t o

ward the tent

With her friends as she should h ave

been these three days he said bi tterly

O h I don t know Montana pro t ested

She did good work up here Her face

was just heaven to those women an d she s
a wonderful hand at babies I know the
,

LIT T LE M O N T AN A S PEAKS

235

is made of and I ll bet sh e woul d

rather have been here lending a hand th a n
loll ing up there with opera gla s s e s wat ch

ing the r e
Travers face b ri ghtene d

I believe sh e would he said Then a

moment later a shadow fell acros s 1 t But

we h ad a hideous t me over t here Clean
surroun ded by the r e Nearly baked The

end isn t yet

What ! cried Montana

not in dan

ger ?

Heart down t o nothing he answered

Montana wa s silent a moment then s h e
sai d :

She s young and str ong ; s he ll p ull

through

God willi ng he said

F or some time they were silent The
people moved about them on the hillside
The little woman with the piano had con
t r i v e d to cover it with a sort o f tarpaul in
and beneath the Old fas hi oned instrument
now her one treasure and in a measure her
home sh e crept t o her sleep The tent of
rare ru gs had been moved Mr s Davenpo rt
and her s on h ad contrived t o get word to
s t u E sh e

T RAVER S

236

their frien d s an d t h e y h ad b e e n d ri v e n away

in a luxurious car ri age that s e t the Old har
ridan again railing agai nst the sins of the
rich Travers coul d s e e her now cooking
for the camp of men wh o had treated Little
Montana t o di nn er the night before
Madam Harri dan served the meals to the
men rich or poor with n o unwilling h and
It was her own s e x u pon whom her curses
fell like hailstones The men sh e waited
upon laughed an d nudged one another well
pleased t o pro t by her foible and enj o y a
joke at her expense

Won t you rest to n i ght in her tent

asked Travers at length

You need it

sa dly

NO
sh e
answere d
I m go ing t o
friends I ll be O E in a j i Ey You have

earned a rest yourself

He turned h i s face away with comp ressed
lips Montana coloured a little She knew
now how great had been the compl i ment
he O ffered her
Hi s resting place would
s till be the unprotected hillside
Her profession had brought her con
s t an t ly in contact with humani ty an d sh e
was a r e ady r ea d e r of the hum an heart
,

2 38

earthquake I ve been re ad ing about thi s

earthquake in the papers thi s last day or
two an d I gure it out like this The sur
face i s just the s ame for all we know but
undern eath there is a change a sh ri n king
down in the depths The surface goe s on
a ll right and dandy until some time all u n
known t o us this strain within seeking r e
adjustment strikes a fault that s what the
papers call i t and slide it goes ! Then there
is the devil t o pay That i s an ea rth

quake
Travers s at listenin g asto ni shed an d
half resenting her penetration Montan a
went on :

Now that s what petrifaction doe s t o

us ; we don t grow Down in our s oul s we
are shrinking but we d on t know it Then
suddenly comes t e mptation maybe it s ou
ly recklessness the world cares nothing
for us and we long t o cuff it back just to
readjust the surface that is straining hard
in places Then in les s than n o t ime every
thi ng falls to pieces and we think it is judg

ment day It i s an earthquake of the soul

T ravers face set

You re right, Little Montana he s ai d

LIT T L E MO N T AN A S PEAKS

2 39

only

it is judgment day : the end of all

things for us

Come come
said Montana
that s
nice talk from an E nglishm an who never
knows when he is beaten ; a man wh o could
work as you have worked these last few
days ; a man wi th skill an d power t o help !
That s talk for t he chappies with white
hands who co ul dn t hold a mustang on the

trot
This stung Travers to the quick

O h I ll s t ay he said below hi s breath

and I ll work like a thousand devils if I

can get the work t o d o
Can I take an
honest m an by the hand again ? I could cut

mine O E when I think O f it

Why of course you can

sai d Mon
tana laughi ng the relief in her warm hear t

at hi s words
If you ca n n d the honest
man s hand to take That will be the d i ffi
culty W here are these h onest men ? The
men who water stock and cheat widows and

r
n
o pha s smug faced church members ? The
men who bui ld buil di n gs with sham safes in
them such as have c ome t o light in t hi s
r e and caused whole fortunes to be lost ?

Come Doctor don t be sentimenta l

.

T RAVER S

2 40

She rose t o he r feet an d stoo d before

Travers

Now just you loo k yourself i n the eyes

a n d say, Doctor you have ma d e a mistake
you have petried
There has been an
earthquake ; but please Go d I ll begi n all
o ver agai n
There were tears i n her eyes when sh e
ceased speaking an d she looked u p at h i m
her whole face sweet with earnestness

Didn t know I coul d d o it di d you ?

sh e said a moment later a boyish sort of

shame at her own emotion

I keep it
down mos tly it doesn t pay y ou know But
you are worth slinging a phrase or t wo
I ve seen a lot of the world and I ve seen
such men as you S ome have the s t u E in
them and they come up smiling and ready
for the next round Be ready Doctor It

may be a dandy but stand by it

She waved her hand and started down
the hillside her movements a little lan guid
fro m fatigue but her face still bright
Travers strai ghtened his sho ul ders r e
invigorated He felt that he was ready for
the next ro u n d
.

T RAVER S

2 42

He picked at the crushed grass with ab

sent ngers
There was n o motive for
movement

H ello pard sai d one of the ca mpers

Business is dull this m orning hey ? I

gues s you have no objection t o the govern

ment taking a hand for a while

Not the slightest

said Travers roll
ing out of hi s blanket and sta rting up the
hill pail in hand sp ri n gwar d Refreshed
by the par tial bath circumstances permit
ted he partook of a light breakfa st wi thout
starting a r e
Then he s a t down t o think
Just so he had s at beside the trail in the
Klon di ke an outca st and refugee eeing
from the anger of men with hi s heart grow
ing bitter and more bitter and his nature
hardening into desperation The wor ld had
proved so small and to i t s uttermost c or
ners misfor tune h ad dogged hi m and sus
i
c
i
n
o
n
had
clung
to
him
He
did
o
d
e
t
p

i
c e v e hi mself
i t would face hi m again
Here in this blighted city for the moment
it lay scotched ; but h ow so on woul d it ri se
as the town gained in strength ? With their
fortun es once more as s ured me n woul d
.

A S T RUGGL E OF S OULS

2 43

turn in their i mmunity t o accu se h im again

He could lose himself he knew
In the
heart of China perhaps or in Borneo or
Java or he could j oin the ri E ra ff tha t

oa t ed in corners O f S outh Africa in the

companions hi p of c on sci ou sle ss men hap
pily hardily i ndi fferent ; but among gentle
men that spectre must rise up agai n and a o
cuse
Slowly he had s un ken beneath the per
sistent doubts and suspicions in the faces
turned toward h im H e had lost faith in
life ; faith in the ultim ate trium ph of right ;
lost faith in men ; and by an inevi t able fos
s i li s i n g process his moral sense had gro wn
dulled He had moc ked at hum ani ty ;
mocked at society ; until at last the time

had come when he had sinned sinned

under n o especial stress of circumstance
and with no thought of gain or self inter
est rather i n a cynical amusement a dar e
devil snapping O f his n gers in the fa c e of
pursuing fo r tune It wa s an obj ectl e s s
crime a tacit acc eptin g O f the r ole fate cu t
ou t for hi m
H e was considered a thief and s o every
He had not
on e had turned against him
.

T RAVER S

2 44

been able t o obtain a p osition wh e r e hi s

evil reputation would not follow him and
it seemed impossible t o earn money hon
e s t ly
If he appeared t o be a thief why
not become on e an d wa rr ant the su s
p i ci on s of others ?

I have the reputation ; s o be i t then !

B ehold me Travers the thief

He h ad t ak en n o elaborate means for
evading justice To have been taken red
handed would have been but the clima x of
the whole mad tale of un just persecuti on
mor al deterioration and spiritual capit ula
tion He would have laughed in the face of
his judges an d p leaded guilty wi thout a
blush
Then ha d come the e arthquake bri nging
with it all i t s attendent horrors ; the legi ons
of fears ; the thunders of the unk n own an d

the unguessable an d thi s gi rl defenseless

and bereaved had been thrown suddenly
upon h i s mercy Travers the man awoke !
The ice from about hi s heart had melted ;
his blood h ad owed ; h i s spirit had lived ;
he had come once more into his own
And now he told himself he must go on
No mo re sti llin g of the v oi ce of c on sci en c e,
,

T RAVER S

2 46

Never for on e instant di d he believe t h at

the blow about t o des cend upon him was
aimed by Gwendolyn s hand

Travers
s ai d the C olonel solemnly
Travers saluted mi litary fashion

H ere s i r he s ai d There was a fai nt

brave s mi le up on hi s face

Yesterday I o ffered you my hand

said the Colonel sadness gathering in his
eyes

And I refused it !

Yes I know you di d s ai d the C olonel

begi nnin g to pace the o or wi th troubled

fo otsteps I know you did

The silence con tinued un broken for some
minutes Travers stood like an Ofcer wait
ing commands

It tr oubles me greatly
sai d the

Colonel
It wa s bad enough over there
but it was as it were in the family and
somehow I never could believe it of you let

a ppearan ces be what they might

I thank you Colonel

sai d Travers
He wa s touched by thi s Old o fcer s evident
distress

Confoun d these detectives

cried the
C olonel in a sudden outburst of irritati on

A S T RU GGLE OF S O UL S

2 47

I sho ul d think they woul d have enough

to attend t o at thi s time without meddling
with this a Ea i r It seems they know t h e
famous jewels of our nobili ty as well as

they know the n gers of their hands

Travers began t o foreshadow the dir co
tion of the attack
He though t of Mrs
Grafton s words : It was thos e very rings

Keith
The poor woman in her insensate
love of the jewels had ventured t o wear
them here among strangers in an outburst
of vanity as inexplica ble as her mad i m
pulse t o possess them had been
The Colonel s next words conr med h i s
suspicions

Th e fact is
he said pausing and
watching Keith s face with the eyes that
had spied ou t secrets before then in t he

subtlest of E astern faces

Lady Maud s

jewels are discovered

I am glad for Lady Maud s sake

said Travers gravely

Hm said the Colonel still regar di ng

.

Travers return ed his gaze simply h on

,

e s t ly

You perhaps don t realise the d ii cirl

T RAVER S

2 48

went on the C olonel The whole sto ry

i s known that a Eai r at Delhi
I t s dam ne d
awkward ! I suppose they thi nk they are
showi ng their mettle They were here thi s
morning before breakfast with increase d

indignation
an d I most heartily wish
that famous yellow p earl an d gr ee n di a

mon d were in perditi on

The black pearl an d the blue di a

mond corrected Keith with a twin kl e in

his eyes He ha d suddenly grown gaily i n
d i Ee r e n t
He vitally valued but on e thi ng
i n this w orl d on e W oman s go od opinion
That he had sacriced and his reputation
was gone f or e ver No o fficer in hi s old re gi
ment could again regard h im without aver
sion His family co nn ections were distant
ones wh o had congratulated themselves
since his disgrace at the slightness O f t h e
blood tie between them
He felt more
t
roubled now for the Colonel s evident dis
tress of mind than he di d for hi mself
He utterly i gnored the possibility O f
r ighting himself by accusing the dea d wo
man That i d ea di d not formulate itself
in his mind

Now, T rav e r s
s ai d t h e C ol onel turn
t y,

T RAVER S

2 50

Let me be true t o somethi ng

he
thought to hi mself

Have y ou nothi ng t o s ay ? urge d the

Colonel
Travers voice was low as he answered
bravely but with a heart heavier than he
had felt even duri ng the last pa in lle d
hours :

Nothing
A soft toned exclam ation caused the men
to turn Gwen stood between the portieres
clingi ng to them in evident weakness but
there was no lack of s p irit in the direct gaze
s h e xed up on Travers
In his j oy at the
sight of her he forgot everythi ng but glad
nes s He stepped toward her h i s face ir
radiate d

You here
he crie d
She did n ot s mi le n or res p ond Her eyes
a ccused hi m

I must apologise sh e sai d

I was ly
ing in the adjoining room in a half d oz e
when your voices awakened me I have
played eavesdropper wi thout intention I
did not dream that your conversation

would take s o se ri ous a turn

The Colonel coloured with embarr ass
,

A S T RU GGLE OF S OULS

2 51

ment Despi t e any p hi losophy he felt a

shame in his fellow count r yman s disgrace

I am s orry Miss Thornt on he said

But I suppose the story will s oo n be pub

lic property ; it can t be helped

But it can be helped C olonel Merri

said Gwen with conviction

Let me
t on
s i t down
I have much t o s ay and I still

feel shaken
The Colonel helped her t o a chair wi th
gallant alacrity He was amazed at her
words
Travers sto od as if trans xe d awaiting
the next mov e of the game He felt n o
anxiety for he had abandoned hope He
watched her face hungrily feeling assure d
he shoul d s e e her n o more

Mr Travers , sh e said, turni ng towa rd

hi m
di d you s ay a moment since that
there was nothing t o be s aid in your de

fe n s e aga inst that ho rri d accusation ?

I did Mis s Thornton

Travers r e
plied gravely

And why sh e leaned toward him her

ngers interlacing
why di d y ou s ay that ?

W a s it the truth ?
It wa s easier t o tell an unsel sh lie than
.

T RAVER S

2 52

protest i t to be the t ruth

T ra v e r s
coloured bit hi s lip an d hesitated
W a s that the truth ? sh e persisted
The Colonel grew as ale rt as a hound
who havi ng los t the scent comes suddenly
upon a new trail
His blue grey eyes
sparkled a s he intently listened t o thi s
strange dialogue
Still Travers hesitated
Gwendolyn
watched him in silence as if she wo ul d com
pel a confession from him

You know the truth Miss Thornton

he burst forth at last in a tone of sudden

appeal and kn owing it I beseech you t o

be me r ciful

T o whom
she asked t o y ou ?
F or a fe w se c onds he wa s silent then he

said shamefacedl y
Yes t o me
A change came over the girl s fa ce Her
eyes grew Wi d e an d bri ght, he r mouth har
d oued

Ah that was it then

Y ou l oved that

woman sh e cried
The Colonel s eyes snap pe d They wer e
indeed opening up new ground His i n
t e lli ge n t face grew suddenly bl an k ap
pearing t o s e e least when most was reveal
to

T RAVER S

2 54

held her still It held her as it held the

C olonel She longed t o hate him
She
strove as she stood there t o tear down all
the attraction his presence h ad for her She
tried to recall all sh e had known of him
which had inspired her with fear an d con
tempt In vain ! Al l the earlier impres
sions were blotted hopelessly out by a con
v i ct i on of an innate nobility in the man ob
s oured but not obliterate d The man wh o
migh t have been was clearer t o her inner
vision than the man who h ad been He a p
pealed to her s o irresistibly that sh e felt
a natu ral impulse t o draw nearer to him
despite the sudden pain of jealousy and
disappoint ment
She stood supporting
herself by the table with both hands
He turned away from her abruptly u n
able t o bear the anguish O f appeal in her
eyes or t o endure the e ffect of his own
noble falsehood He went t o the window
and looked ou t though he saw nothi ng He
was h Op i n g in a numb sort of a way th a t
the interview would s oon be over

What c an we do wi t h hi m this man ?

asked Gwen in a low voice t o the C ol onel
S h e wen t t o h im l ike a chi l d t o h e r fath e r,
.

A S T RU GGL E OF S OULS

2 55

looking u p at h im wi th simple questioning

all selshness dying from the struggle She
stood beside him taking hi s arm for su p
po r t seekin g t oo for the strength of his
masculine judgment
She was st ri ving
with all the might of her heart t o compass
her end before Travers interfered

He has told me the whole sto r y sh e

said
It was the t ruth He told me out
there by the reside on the hill It was the

truth
sh e repeated again
His heart
wa s breaking while he told it I had feared
hi m feared hi m horri bly and the i mpulse
t o gain my co n dence m ad e him confess
what he now denies He never stole those
jewels It was the General s wife Graf

ton General Memsahi b She echoed Trav

ers words un consciously

It was sh e

He denied it t o save her

Sud denly her
hands went t o her fa ce an d sh e s obb e d :

T o save her

Well here s a p retty kettle of s h ,

said the C olonel with out elegan ce
What was he t o believe ? Might it not
be but another falseho o d a d amnable false
hoo d t o gain thi s con d in g gi rl s regard ?
He fought back his old illogical , un con
,

T RAVER S

2 56
r
u
a
l
e
b
e
q

l iki ng for Travers an d stro v e t o

read the t ruth without p rejudi ce in his
face which was whi te and drawn as he
turned back into the room from where he
stood by the window

Why di d you do this ? sai d Travers t o

Gwendolyn his v oice full of tenderness

D on t you see it tak es from me my last

oppor tunity t o make amends ? Can t you

re al ise how useless it all is ?

He was shaken t o hi s depths
He s o
longed t o re ad in Gwendolyn s eyes a gleam
of res p ect t o which he could honestly lay
claim He di d read something in her face
whi ch s e t the blood drummi ng in hi s ears
It made it more difcul t for him to bra ce
himself anew for t h e s acri ce upon which
he ha d determine d The old General and
the chil d ren must be spare d He repeate d
the thought t o himself again and again in
hi s dete rmination t o conquer hi mself until
it almost lost meani ng in hi s mind He
was i n the t ravai l of a v e ry gr e at t e mp t a
tion
The C olonel s cl ear eyes r ea d eve ry

phase of the s oul s struggl e He t ur ne d t o

the gi rl
,

T RAVER S

2 58

But Travers closed h i s lips obstinately

The girl sp oke rst

She was here Mrs Grafton sh e b e

gan addressing the C olonel

Here cried that o fcer in amazement

Yes went on Gwen

She was visit
ing friends en route for India She ed in
the earthquake and was wounded by fall

ing debris

Great heavens muttered the Colonel

By chance sh e was brought to my tent

horribly mangled ; her breath came in

gasps as sh e spo ke
Two n gers had been

ff
cut O by the gho ul s for her ri ngs A s
sh e regained consciousness I heard her say

and the nurse too heard it : Keith is that

you ? H ow horri ble ! It was those ve ry

ri ngs
F orgi ve me !
G od ! muttered the Colonel wiping hi s
forehead with hi s h andkerchief
He was staggered F or some m oments
he paced the oor before he paused beside
Gwen in a s t upor of horror Then Gwen
rose t o her feet and approached Travers
H e lifted his eyes heavy with reproac h t o
her face

You ve s p oiled four l iv es , he s ai d

.

'

S TRU GG LE O F S O ULS

2 59

I v e sa v e d two
she answere d look
ing up at him b r av e ly her face dye d with
blushes
Yester d ay you tol d me that you
lo v e d me an d I sai d tha t I belie v e d in you
When a woman believ es in a man with al l
her heart be his past what it may sh e lo v es

T hi s confession took a rare typ e of

courage
E v en
The C olonel listene d amazed
ami d st the recent horror of her re v elations
hi s ol d hea r t glowe d a t the girl s wor d s
at her attitu d e
Trav ers staggere d then sank i nt o a
chair burying his face in his han d s

I hav e not the strength

he breathe d

I hav e not the stren gth

Gwen d rew ba ck all her womanl y r e
ser v e in a r ms at this u nexpecte d mo v e She
wru ng her han d s together

What am I to d o ? she crie d t u rnin g

to the C olonel
What a m I to d o ?
G o d ear he sai d laying a gentle han d

on her hea d
H e an d I must hav e thi s
out t ogether
.

CHA PT E R

! ! I

T H E H AR T LAI D BABE

WH E N the C olonel returne d t o the library

Travers was still seate d by the table his
hea d restin g on hi s arms which were fol d
e d upon i t H is attitu d e was replete with
e xhaustion an d d espair
A s t he C olonel lo oke d at hi m his eyes
grew moist H e was gla d he tol d himself
that he ha d ne v er th oroughly ren ounce d hi s
faith in this man He pitie d h im now from
the bottom of his sol d ier s heart behol ding
in him a v icarious sacri ce t o the abomina
ble vanity an d cupi d ity of a s ex whi ch the
C olonel never met at close qua r ters if he
coul d a v oi d it H e never u n d ers t o od women
an d like a true Briton the C olonel always
expecte d s omething sinister in what he
coul d not un d erstan d
Travers r e t aine d his p o sit i o n wi th o ut a
,

2 60

T RAVER S

2 62

It sh o ul d be the s im ple axiom o f every

honest man s ai d the C olonel

Travers le ane d f orw ar d his elb o ws on
his kn ees his chi n on hi s palms r e e ct
ing

S ometimes the path is f orke d an d o ne

must choose

Between wh at ? cr ie d the C ol o nel i n

.

d i gn an t ly

Between jus tice an d mercy

A hem
s a i d the C olonel abashe d
taking a step or two d own the ro om Then
he returne d an d face d Travers scowling
Travers ha d seen th a t scowl before an d he
smile d again a s he ha d then a faint a n d
wintry smile though un d erlai d by the ol d
a ffection

Y ou are playing with wor d s sai d the

C olonel sternly
Juggling with the t r u th
is unworthy What good come s of it ? What

goo d has come of this ?

There is the G eneral an d there are the

chil d ren
sai d Travers softly

A n d that woman ?
L ies out on the hillsi d e poor crea ture
Travers shu dd ere d

The General mus t kn ow of thi s sai d

.

TH E HEAR T L AI D B ARE

2 63

the C olonel trouble in e v ery f e at u re o f hi s

kindly face

I hav e t aken steps to in form hi m of

her d eath p oor ol d fellow

Travers was again lost in a maze o f pain
ful memories

crie d
W h o coul d have thought it ?
C olonel M er ri ton res u m in g hi s mi litary

stri d e to an d fro
Poor ol d G rafton

Yes p o or old G eneral Y ou ll never

let hi m know h im or the chil d ren ?

These wor d s brought t h e old o fce r to an
abrupt pause

It is a d amn e d difcult p o sition

he

muttere d
A goo d man s character is of
s ome account Y ou are young an d you re
able an d your whole life lies before you
Y ou sho ul d be reinstate d We nee d such
men as you are with our army ful l o f car
pet kni ghts Why Trav ers d o you remem
ber when we surp r ise d that uprising in
A ssam ?
W asn t it great work ?
It
makes a man s hea rt leap just to remember

it
Trav ers heart leapt t oo A ame ick
ere d for a moment in hi s eyes before it die d
,

T RAVER S

2 6 4s

The G eneral an d the boy s must n ot

know he s ai d dully
Once more the C olonel resum e d his walk
running his ngers through hi s hair until
his few remaining l ocks stoo d on en d

I t is a d amne d d ifcult position

he mut t ere d
A d amne d di fcult posi

ti on
Trav ers r os e an d s t ood be fo re hi m H i s
eyes were d etermine d an d compelling

There is one o f me he sai d with slow

emphasis
There are four of them v e
f-o r F rances mem o ry s h oul d be c on si d

ere d
The C olonel no dd e d d espite himsel f

A n d I weighe d all the costs out there

Inv oluntarily he sighe d N ot all the co st
as he realise d now for how little he knew
there was to be a Gwen d olyn to reck on
against too Bu t he wo ul d not pe r mit him
self t o think of that H e went on :

I m a lonely man an d I belong to no

one There wo u l d be har dly a soul in this
worl d t o weep if I d ie d Just a few fellow
sol d iers t o blow their noses rather m ore
lou dly than usual an d tak e an ext ra d ash

o f whi sky in their s o d a

,

T RAVER S

2 66

The C o lonel no dd e d an d a dde d another

mental ex ecration again st the me ddlesome
police
Travers went on It was a relief from the
tension of years thi s c onfession to the
C olonel The matter h ad been taken from
his han d s an d he coul d spe ak f reely an d
without sel f reproach

W e were playing car d s L a dy M au d

ha d remo v e d her rings fo r the stones
were large an d annoye d her A few mo
ments later when we starte d a new han d
she perceiv e d that the rings h ad v anishe d
N o one ha d entere d the room not a p un
k ah wallar not a ki t m a ga r The rings ha d
lain on the table in plain sight L a dy M au d
looke d horribly emb a rrasse d an d insiste d
that sh e ha d p robably been mis t aken an d
h ad n ot worn them th a t e v ening F r ances
starte d off on a search for them I remem
ber sh e crept un d er the t able an d looke d
white an d queer
It was an u n d i gn i e d
thing for her to d o The G eneral was in a
d rea d ful temper He woul d not acce d e to
L a dy M au d s suggestion
I saw them
myself not a m oment since he insis t e d I

saw them myself I can hear him s till

.

TH E H EAR T

B ARE

LAI D

2 67

Tra v ers p ause d frownin g in a t rouble d

way at the un pleasant memo r y

Well you know the rest he sai d ab

r u p t ly
It wa sn t the G eneral i t
coul dn t be the G eneral s wife
I was
aske d to resign They di d it d ecently I
can see the fellows faces now as they

turne d away from me

A n d M rs G rafton ? as k e d the C olonel

stonily

I can t account f or her

answere d

Tra v ers
U nles s sh e yiel d e d to a su dd en
temptation an d then there was such an
awful row sh e lost her hea d an d d i dn t
know how to put it right That seems the

most likely solution

You v e ha d a tough time

mut t ere d
the C olonel
Travers lowere d hi s hea d an d his v oi ce
sank He spoke rapi dly hastening on the
narrativ e It was no mere narrative to
him It was a so ul confession the sto r y
of a battle an d a d efeat

I co ul dn t hi d e in the ol d worl d Y ou
know it a mere Picca d illy ev ery inch of
it where acquaintances bob up like mush
r o oms I t rie d N ew Y ork It wa s n t mu ch
,

T RAVER S

2 68

better The story followe d me an d d ecent

men a void e d me Then I went Wes t to the
R ockies In some strange way from some
s ource that horri d tale wo ul d come I got
t o ha ving a premonition about it I woul d
feel it in the air kn ow it was coming like
the prickle of an approaching thun d er
s torm before I loo ke d u p an d rea d it in
men s eyes M en who shot at s i ght ; men
who cheate d at car d s ; men wil d an d reck

less one an d all tosse d that jibe i n my face

as though they were s aints an d I the only
sinner I got t o thinking life ha d a gru dge
against me an d that I believ e was when I

rst began to shrink

He was rev erting t o L ittle M ontana s
word s of the d ay before

I grew har d an d reckles s ; I ro d e ma d

ly ; I gamble d m a dly ; I d rank ma dly Then
another imp ul se sei ze d me to get away
from it an d try again I went to A laska
not only to A laska but far O H t o the north
abo v e latitu d e 65
There aren t many
scruples abo v e latitu d e
he sai d with
a shrug of his sho ul d ers a n onchalant
gesture an echo of the spirit which ha d

th en p o s s e s s e d hi m
But they like d me
.

T RAVER S

2 70

It ha d been publi s h e d in le tte r s tw o inch es

high al ong the t o p of on e of the j ou r nals
Y ou kn ow the ki nd ?
Yo u s ee I was an
E nglis hm an of s ome po siti on and they
thought i t w o uld mak e go o d rea di ng an d
there were plenty o f Kl on d ike men about t o
i d entify me wi t h the G entleman Jack of

the s t o ry
The C olonel no d d e d British cont empt for
the A merican newspapers

But I ha d arriv e d a t t h e d on t care

s t age That was when I turne d the c o rner

an d went straight t o the d ev il

He

moistene d his lips f or they were d ry

I
ha d no place in this city I was a p ariah
I trie d anything my han d came to It was
no use It was G entleman Jack of the
Klon di ke who go t his cong at regu lar i n
I was a street car c on ductor until
t e r v a ls
they turne d me off F or a time I was a r e
tail boot clerk ; then little by little there
seeme d no p l a ce for me but the s aloons
along the water fr on t I thought I knew
the worl d but I hear d yarns there I hate
to think of to d ay G ra dually s o har d ene d
an d hopeles s h ad I become always with a
g r u d ge again s t the fate whi ch I felt was
.

TH E H EAR T LAI D B ARE

271

purs ui ng me that I began t o scheme in my

mi n d h ow nice clean gentleman ly rob
b e r i e s co ul d be co mm itte d
I ha d a con
tempt for those men wh o tol d their stories
in hushe d v oices hea d s close t ogether o v er
their beer
I thought intel ligence ought
to tell an d I d plan as I hear d them talk
how I sh oul d hav e d one this j ob or th a t It
was a sort of game a thought I d allie d
with ; but such th oughts bree d d ee d s I h ad
fallen in t o we ak submis sion t o circum
stances I ha d giv en up the ght I di dn t
care for burglary for its own sake I ha d
nev er lo v e d money perhaps not enough
for a certain cauti on is a s a feguar d But
I wa s like a man at M onte C ar lo who feels
no especial interes t in the game yet who
longs to work ou t a c ombination of his own
just t o s e e how it will turn I grew less
listless I became fai ntly intereste d A ll

the m oral is sue ha d d ie d

He le ant forwar d hi s han d s hanging
betw een his knees hi s fac e lik e a mask

Jup iter Am m on
mutter e d the Col

Who could hav e thought it ?

on e l
Thi s low v oice d lifeless recital opene d to
hi m the co nsciousnes s of a trage dy mo r e
,

T RAVER S

2 72

terrible than M rs G rafton s horr i d en d

H e ha d kn own Travers the lightheart e d
the chiv alrous the cour ag eous

The Op era seas on o ffere d me the opp or

t u n i t y I s ought
went on Trav ers
It was s ome time before he coul d con
t in u e struggling with this point of his nar
r a t i v e which was to h im the most painful
I watche d M iss Thornton s party at the
Palace H otel M iss Thornton was nothing

to me his han d s su dd enly gripping one

another
She w a s just a p awn in the
game I wante d to play T h e nex t morning
I playe d the game I was waiting for M iss
Thornton sat long at the win d ow an d d e
laye d me M y new philosophy di d not i n
I was tolerably in d ifferent
olu d e mur d er

about jail I just wante d to pl ay the game

I kept tellin g myself : W ell you re d oing
it it s what you must have been born for
L ife has egge d you on G o on go to the
d e vil go to the d e vil

What ! crie d the C ol onel you

H e stammere d o v er the wor ds

Burglarise d M iss Thornton s home

The earthquake interrupte d
I wasn t

co u nting upon earthquakes

He put his

CH AP T ER ! ! II
T

RAV E R S RE T UR N S T O T H E H ILL

S I DE

C olonel was f airly fa ce d d own T o

his clear c o d e Tr av ers crim e ha d been an
o dious o n e ; he co ul d n o t d eny it t o him sel f
H e lo ok e d a t the well sh ape d hea d an d the
d etermine d face , an d he trie d t o ass o ciate
i t with the ugly c o wardly act of a d eliber
a t e burgl a ry I t was imp ossible Tra v ers
the s ol di er surgeon he s aw clearly d en e d ;
or the man who s a cri ce d him s el f nobly
an d un s e lshly f or other s an d hi s hea rt
softene d But the d evious d ownwar d path
by whi ch he ha d arrive d at the d ee d which

he ha d c onfesse d to h im on tha t the

C olonel hate d t o dwell I t was ugly, d e
spite any re a soning o f hi s H e began t o
won d er if there were not a m o r al rift some
where withi n the man which con d iti ons ha d
d eve l o pe d Th e C olonel h ad n o t d ev ot e d
TH E

2 74

T RAVER S

hi s

RE T UR NS

T O T HE H ILL 2 7 5

upright un an alysin g min d t o t h e d own

war d i mpelling proce s s of s ugges ti o n the
d emoralising e ec t of repe ate d suspicion
carrie d o v er a perio d of years un til a man
or a w oman lo s es sel f f aith an d oats d own
the current pub lic op ini o n chart s f or them
H ow was the Co lonel t o know thi s ? He
kn ew that he pit ie d Trav ers bu t that he
h ad been a burglar ! H owev er kin dly the
C olonel mi ght have f elt t o war d the man
that set hi m outsi d e the p ale fo rev er
He felt h o r ribly embarrass e d an d b eart i
ly wishe d h imsel f o ut o f i t
H e caugh t
Trav ers eye x e d di rectly up on him
H e wa s b e in g s t udi e d he felt an d he was
n o t playing up t o hi s r ole H e began to
grow ind ignant

We ll ? he s ai d qu es t i onin gly He wa s
in no min d then to b e ju dge d
Trave rs r ose an d t hr ew ou t h i s arms
wi th a h opeless ge s t ur e
N ow you know why i t was b e s t sh e wen t

away
he s ai d

W ell women are s t range bein gs sai d

t h e Co lonel
An d s h e knew thi s ?
Trav ers n o dded , a worl d o f wo e in hi s
f ace
,

T RAVER S

2 76

Isn t it a f arce he crie d f or this to

be giv en me now ?

The girl has gone through s o much I t

is no time f or her t o ju dge her feelings or

see thi ngs relativ ely

s ai d the C ol onel

S he ll have a d i e r e n t vi ew i n a few

d ays
It wa s Trav e r s c ond emnati on He pu t
hi s h an d be f ore hi s eyes suppressing a
sharp excl am ation H e ha d jud ge d him
self as unforgivingly as another possibly
coul d bu t when the C olonel spoke the
w o r d s th at were circul atin g in hi s own
min d the iro n entered hi s so ul
The
C olonel turn e d away pre t en d in g not t o
n oti ce hi s emotion

I want you to kn ow it was s plen di d o f

o
f

a
l
t
hat
cer
sa
d
aw
ar
d
ly
u
o
k
w
i
y
most inconceiv ably s o, fo r y ou to sacrice
yoursel f s o n obly f o r the G eneral an d the
babies but o f cours e you can s e e there

coul d be n o reinstating a fter thi s

Have I a s k e d it ? qu erie d T rav ers

with su dd en sharpness
Hav e I s ug

geste d it ?

No
s ai d the Colo nel in embarrass
ment

T RAVER S

2 78

ened all the tents in the neighbourhoo d He

part icipate d in the bringing t o perfection
of a pan roast ami d general a dmiration
H e rubbe d a liniment into the aching j oints
of a near b y neighbour whose case was not
consi d ere d sufciently serious for hospital
treatment In fact he playe d han dy man
with out p au s e

On e girl whi spere d t o an o th er : S ome

thin has happ e ne d t o hi m Y ou see the
i
irl
has
went
W
ell
there
a
n
t
n
o
account
g

i n for t as t e
and sh e t o s s e d her hea d de
.

an t ly

Y es so me thing ha d happen ed t o Trav

ers an d he was s t ri vi ng t o s ee k o u t his own
s alv a t ion by minis t erin g t o the nee d s of
o thers H e though t there was no other
way ; in i t alone lay sanity and the p ower

t o s av e himself i n work work work !

H e struggle d without appeti t e thr o ugh
a supper of bake d be ans with the men in

Z i n d kan d s C af
They felt an i n
cli n a t i on t o jolly hi m on the d isappearance
of the pretty girl but s omething in his face
restraine d them an d they contented them
sel ves with sly winks an d nu dges when hi s
h an d p a u s e d in its p a ss age fr om hi s plat e
,

T RAVER S

t o hi s

RE T UR NS

TO

THE

mouth hi s eye s x e d
,

un

H ILL 2 7 9

seeingly

be

fore h im
There wa s no ligh t sav e that fr o m t h e
d ance of the dying M p r e s whe n he
returne d t o his tent A s he moved down
the hi ll he sta rt e d an d rubbe d hi s hand
acros s hi s eyes

I am dr eami ng, h e s ai d, an d lo oked

.

of hi s own li ghti n g glimm er

e d before the t ent c olouring i t dul l crim
s on and yellow A f amiliar gu re sat
watching it a gure in a black o v er co at and
s kirt and a cap res t e d on the p lai te d
hair
Trav e rs s t o ppe d s h o r t

I t is mania
he mu tt e r e d, I mu s t

look o ut f or thi s
A s he cam e up the gu r e t urn e d t o hi m
an d he s aw the sweet
a s if she wait ed
spirite d face in all it s allu ring per fection
H e went on drawn in S pite of himsel f and
s too d staring Still he d i d n ot believ e The
girl l o o k e d up at him and smil ed

I ha v e come
s ai d t he visi o n s o ftly
but as if a will lay hi d d en somewh e r e be
h in d
A r e ,

n ot

,
,

T RAVER S

2 80

Gwen he crie d springing t o her si d e

what have you d one ?

C ome back to the camp sh e answere d

sh yly but triumphantly

But you shoul dn t y ou sho ul dn t he

exclaime d tho u gh he wa s mad with j oy at
the sight of her

A re y ou so rry ? s he a s k e d but there

w a s co quet ry an d n ot d o ubt in the eyes sh e
tu rn e d t o h im

But you s h ouldn t, h e r ep ea t e d me

,

ch an i cally

Why n o t ? s h e s ai d
Thi s i s my
h ous e y ou buil t it for me A n d these ar e
practically y our clothes fo r it was through

you I obtai ne d them

G oo dnes s kn ows whose clothes they

a r e 3 he r e plie d with a ruthful s mil e f eel
ing wh olly ina d e qua t e t o the situ at i o n

Wh o s par ticul ar in ear th qu ake time,

sh e sai d sco rnfully
H e re ca lle d her r epu di ati on of hi s lo oting
on the m o rning o f th e s h o ck bu t her in con
sistency f aile d t o ar ou se an y s e nse of
humour withi n him

Bu t t ime s are ch anging Th e y ar e di f

fe r e n t now
he s ai d ba ttling b r av ely wi th
.

T RAVER S

2 82

A ren

t you here ? she as k e d leaning a

tri e nearer to hi m
H e with drew like a monk shutting his
t eeth and s upp r e s sing a sharp drawn
breath

But it was di ff eren t then N ow tim e s

are changing rea d justing them s elv es ; con
d i t i on s are n o rmalising ; c o nv ent ion once
again taking h ol d
H e spoke mechani cally
The words
s oun d e d in his ears like a lea ding article in
a d aily j ournal H e wa s ghting back all
the man in h im with both h an d s

What are the Bells t o me ? she crie d

N o grea t frien d s hardly more than well

d e v elope d acquaint ances I ve entert aine d

them they have entert a in e d me That s

all
H er f ace glowe d a s she lo ok e d h im

squarely in the eye s

They woul d hav e
pu t you ou t if they knew the t rut
It soun d e d a cru el thi ng t o s ay an d he
bowe d his hea d in silence

And C olonel M erriton ! He ju dge d you

Y ou tol d him an d he ju dge d you What

part have I with them o r hi m ?

Oh Gwe n , Gwen , h e mu rmu r e d ho p e

le s sl y

T RAVER S

RE T UR NS

T O T HE H ILL 2 8 3

Yes he ju dge d you an d they woul d

They are s o secure s o h onest s o sure of
themsel v es I have liv e d through it all in

the lines of your fa ce I v e watched an d

she threw back her head in triumph I v e

believ e d
H e looke d a t her ama ze d Her face was
.

t r an s gu r e d

Who are these good pe ople ? H alf the

time they are just people who ha v en t been
tempte d simple people who spen d their
liv es in thank ing God they are n ot as other
men are What is their morality ? An ao

c i d e n t ; g ood luck !

Gwen y o u must not he pr o t ested He

coul d not endure these wor d s fr om her
lips
An d wha t are many other g oo d people ?
Just wor d s words wor d s wi th e vil in their
hearts ; cautious re s pe ct able pe o ple A r e

they goo d ?
The r e sprang up an d ba the d her face
in a gol d en glory
He shook his hea d
d espon dingly S he went o n :

I ll tell you the men or the women who

l
are w o rth cal ing goo d they are the men
or t h e wo men wh o h av e b een t emp t e d

T RAVER S

2 84

b e but wh o

fal len i t may

s t ill hav e the
courage t o come back with the st a in upon
them to come back and liv e for their i d eals
To liv e abo v e the sneers about them ; to liv e
ab ov e the whispere d record o f their i ll
d ee d s sen t from m o uth t o mouth by the
people who ar e s o quick t o respon d wi th
mechani cal lips t o the words : L ov e thy
brother a s thy s elf in th e church on S un

d ay m ornings

Don t Gwen
h e s ti ll murmu r e d
She sprang t o her fee t

I ll hav e no par t n o r lot with them

she crie d
I d on t want them and th e y
d on t nee d me Thi s earthqua k e ha s shak en

us all together the poor with the rich the

e vil with the g o od I d on t want t o go back
and begin it all over again just the p al t ry
grin d that S pells n othing when one s ums u p
one s life I wan t t o live ! I wan t t o

liv e !
She wrung her hands in a sort of imp a
tient anguish Life had taught him mor e
an d he was still

I v e ma d e up my mi n d
sh e sai d a
moment later as she again sa t w at chin g th e

r e
that I m g o ing to work d own among
,

T RAVER S

RE T UR NS

TO

TH E

H I LL 2 8 5

the p oor people wh o nee d me They d on t

need me o v er there
she nodded t owar d

the houses outline d against the sky

I ve
a frien d a dear frien d in an eastern city
S he ll teach me how ; I m s o ignorant just
now like a little chi ld I do n t e ven know

how t o help
Her hea d dro o ped d e s p o n d ently
S he wa s going away Travers th ou gh t
and i t was best bu t it was bitterer than
d eath H e knotte d his hands one o v er an
other and was silent his head bent forwar d
s o that in the f ailing ligh t sh e c ou l d n o t s e e
his fea ture s

Wh at are you g o ing t o d o ? she a ske d

at last her v oice fa int and troub led
He raise d a s te rn white fac e

G oing t o s t ay an d l en d a h an d, God

wi llin g
He wa s s ilent lo ng Then a soft h an d

wi th a t ouch lik e a little chi ld s closed ov er

his for an instant

Perh aps after a while when we v e b oth

learne d t o w o rk and t o liv e y ou w o n t

s en d me away again
H e di d n ot answer H e look e d ou t o v er
the gr o wi ng d arknes s There he saw pic

T RAVER S

2 86

s truggle

tures o f a
a s t ruggl e wi t h ol d
d ifculties old s uspicions whi ch mus t rise
up and face h im again ; bu t he also s aw
work
E ven in the d a r kn es s the fain t shadow of

the city was d iscerni ble a waste at

d es olate dese rted where a f ew d ays e a rlier
life ha d been ri fe Here a r o s e a gaunt
chimney stan di ng u p in the glo om like a
gh o st ; there appear ed a t otte r in g wall a
menace an d a m o ck ery
Jus t s o lay hi s life !
But ami d the murki ness s pre a d be fore
him he espie d a tiny light gli di ng with
purpose an d d esign ; then another They
were the light s of the electr i c cars the only
line that had as yet been pu t int o O pe ra
tion ; but i t was a p r o mi se and h e wel
comed it

Deare s t
h e s ai d t o Gwen his v o i ce

tense wi th the struggle you kn ow how u t

t e r ly I lo ve you
Perh ap s on e d ay i f with
another s u n rise a ll thi s dream has no t van
i sh e d a way it may be I shall f eel my s el f a
man again an d then

An d th en ? s ai d Gwen
Bu t sh e wa s content th at t h e sentence
,