| OCR Text |
Show Three Men and a Maid By P. G. WODfflODSE Copyright by Geonja 1. Doran Co. "PINCHED MY TtOUSERSl" Mrs. Hornco IHufnett, world-famous world-famous writer on tlieosophy, author au-thor of "The Spreading Light," etc., etc., arrives in New York on a lecturing tour. ICustnee, her son. Is with her. 'W Indies, ancestral ances-tral home of the HlKnetts, Is his, so her life is lnrpely dovoted to keoplntr him unmnrried. Enter her nephew, Sam. son of Sir Mal-laby Mal-laby Marlowe, the eminent London Lon-don lawyer. It is arranged that Sam and Kustaoe shall sail together to-gether on the Atlantic the next day- Knter Hream Mortimer, American, son of & friend of an insufferable American named Bennett, who has been pestering Mrs. Hignett to lease Wlndles. CHAPTER I. Continued. Bream Mortimer looker embarrassed. embar-rassed. He wriggled a little and moved hi arms as If he were trying to flap them. "You know," he said, "I'm not a man who butts Into other people's affairs." , . . He stopped. "Nor' said Sirs. Hignett. "I'm not a man who . . Mrs. Hignett was never a very patient pa-tient woman. "Let us take all your negative qualities quali-ties for , granted," she said curtly. "What is it, if you have no objection to concentrating your attention on that for a moment, that you wish to see me about ?" "This marriage." "What marriage?" "Tour son's marriage." "My son is not married." "No, but he's going to be. At eleven o'clock this morning at the Little Church Round the Corner V Mrs. Hignett stared. "Will you please tell me who is the girl my misguided son wishes to marry?" "I don't know that I'd call him misguided," mis-guided," said Mr. Mortimer, as one desiring de-siring to be fair. "I think, he's a right smart picker ! She's such a corking girL you know. We were children together, to-gether, and I've loved her for years. Ten years at least But you know how it is somehow one never seems to get in line for a proposal. I thought I saw an opening In the summer of nineteen-twelve, but it blew over. I'm not one of those smooth, dashing guys, you see, with a great line of talk. I'm not . . ." "If you will kindly," said Mrs. Hignett Hig-nett impatiently, "postpone this essay In psycho-analysis to some future occasion oc-casion I shall be greatly obliged. I am waiting to hear the name of the girl my son wishes to marry." "Haven't I told you?" said Mr. Mortimer Mor-timer surprised. "That's odd. I haven't ! It's funny how one doesn't do the things one thinks one does. I'm the sort of man . . ." "What is her name?" "Bennett." "Bennett? Wilhelmlna Bennett? The daughter of Mr. Eufus Bennett? The red-haired girl I met at lunch one day at your father's house?'- "That's It You're a great guesser. I think you ought to stop the thing." . "I intend to." "Fine !" "The marriage would be unsuitable In every way. Miss Bennett and my on do not vibrate on the same plane. I am much obliged to you for coming and telling me of this. I shall take Immediate steps." "That's good ! But what's the pro-eedure? pro-eedure? It's getting late. She'll be waiting at the church at eleven. With fcells on," said Mr. Mortimer. "Eustace will not be there." "You think you can fix It?" "Eustace will not be there," repeated: repeat-ed: Mrs. Hignett. Bream Mortimer hopped down from his chair. "Well, you've taken a weight off my mind. I'll be going. Haven't had 8h Tiptoed Softly to Her Son's Room. breakfast yet. Too worried to eat breakfast Relieved now. This Is 'here three eggs and a rasher of ham t cut off in their prime. I feel I can rel7 on you." "lou can!" "Then I'll Bay goodby." "Goodby." "I mean really goodby. I'm sailing f EngUwd o Saturday on the At-atls i . "Indeed? My son will be your fellow-traveler." fellow-traveler." ltiviim Mortimer looked somewhat apprehensive. "You won't tell him that I was the one who spilled the beans?" "I beg your pardon." "You won't wise him up that 1 threw a spanner into the machinery?" "I do not understand you." "You won't tell him that I crabbed his act gave the thing away gummed the game?" "I shall not mention your chivalrous Intervention." "Chivalrous?" said Bream Mortimer doubtfully. "I don't know that I'd call it absolutely chivalrous. Of course, all's fair In love and war. Well, I'm glad you're going to keep my share In the business under your hat. It might have been awkward meeting him on board." "You are not likely to meet Eustace on board. He is a very indifferent sailor and spends most of his time in his cabin." "That's good I Saves a lot of awkwardness. awk-wardness. Well, goodby." "Goodby. When you reach England remember me to your father." "He won't have forgotten you," said Bream Mortimer confidently. He did not see how it was humanly possible for anyone to forget tills woman. She was like a celebrated chewing gum. The taste lingered. Mrs. Hignett was a woman of Instant In-stant and decisive action. Even while her late visitor was speaking, schemes had begun to form in her mind like bubbles rising to the surface of a rushing river. By the time the door had closed behind Bream Mortimer she had at her disposal no fewer than seven, all good. It took her but a moment to select the best and simplest sim-plest She tiptoed softly to her son's room. Rhythmic snores greeted her listening ears. She opened the door and went noiselessly in. CHAPTER II The liner Atlantic lay at her pier with steam up and gangway down ready for her trip to Southampton. The hour of departure was near and there was a good deal of mixed activity activ-ity going on. Sailors fiddled about with ropes. Junior officers flitted to and fro. White-jacketed stewards wrestled with trunks. Probably the captain, though not visible, was also employed on some useful work of a nautical nature and not wasting his time. Men, women, boxes, rugs, dogs, flowers and baskets of fruit were flowing on board in a steady stream. The cavernous customs shed was congested with friends and relatives, and Sam. Marlowe, Mar-lowe, heading for the gangplank, was only able to make progress by employing em-ploying all the muscle and energy which Nature had bestowed upon him, and which during the twenty-flve years of his life he had developed by athletic ath-letic exercise. However, after some minutes of silent endeavor, now driving driv-ing his shoulder into the midriff of some obstructing male, now courteously courte-ously lifting some stout female off his feet, he had succeeded In struggling to within a few yards of his goal, when suddenly a sharp pain shot through hia right arm and he spun round with a cry. It seemed to Sam that he had been bitten, and this puzzled him, for New York crowds, though they may shove and jostle, rarely bite. He found himself face to face with an extraordinarily pretty girl. She was a red-.Halred girl with the beautiful ivory skin which goes with red hair. Her eyes, though they were under the shadow of her hat, and he could not be certain, he diagnosed as green, or maybe blue, or possibly gray. Not that it mattered, for he had a catholic taste In feminine eyes. So long as they were large and bright, as were the specimens under hi6 immediate im-mediate notice, he was not the man to quibble about a point of color. Her .nose was small, and on the very tip of It there was a tiny freckle. Her I mouth was nice ana wiae, uer emu soft and round. Nature abhors a vacuum. Samuel Marlowe was a susceptible young man, and for many a long month his heart had been lying empty, all swept and garnished, with "Welcome" on the mat. This girl seemed to rush in and fill it She was not the prettiest girl he had ever seen. She was the third prettiest. He had an orderly mind, one capable of classifying and docketing girls. He swallowed convulsively. His well-developed well-developed chest swelled beneath its covering of blue flannel and invisible stripe. At last, he told himself, he was in love, really in love, and at first sMit too, which made it all the more impressive. He doubted whether in the whole course of history anything like this had ever happened before to anybody. Oh, to clasp this girl to him and But she had bitten him In the arm That was hardly the right spirit. That, he felt, constituted an obstacle. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she cried. Well of course, If she regretted her rash act . . . After all, an Impulsive Impul-sive girl might bite a man in the arm in the excitement of the moment and still have a sweet, womanly "The crowd seems to make I inky-Boodles inky-Boodles so nervous." Sam might have remained mystified, but at this Juncture there proceeded "rom a bundle of rugs In the ne gh-horhood gh-horhood of the girl's lower ribs a sharp yapping sound. "I hope he didn't hurt you much. You're L third person he's bitten today." to-day." She klssod the animal to a loving Hnd congratulatory way on the tip of his- black nose. "Not counting bellboys, of course," she added. And I hen she was swept from him In the crowd and he was left thinking of all Ihe things he might have said all those graceful, witty, Ingratiating things which Just make a bit of difference dif-ference on these occasions. Sam reached the gang-plang, showed Ms ticket, and made his way through the crowd of passengers, passengers' friends, stewards, junior officers and sailors who Infested the deck. He proceeded down the main companion-way, companion-way, through a rich smell of India-rubber India-rubber and mixed pickles, as far as the dining-saloon : then turned to his stateroom. A footstep sounded In the passage outside. The door opened. "Hullo, Eustace!" said Sam. Eustace Hignett nodded listlessly, sat down on his bag and emitted a deep sigh. He was a small, fragile-looking fragile-looking young man with a pale, Intellectual Intel-lectual face. Dark hair fell in a sweep over his forehead. He looked like a man who would write vers libre, as indeed he did. "Hullo!" he said, In a hollow voice. "What on earth's the matter?" said Sam. "The matter?" Eustace Hignett laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, nothing. Nothing much. Nothing to signify. m A m mmmi "Oh, Nothing, Nothing Much Nothing to Signify Only My Heart's Broken." Only my heart's broken." He eyed with considerable malignity the bottle of water In the rack above his head, a harmless object provided by the company for clients who might desire to clean their teeth during the voyage. "If you would care to hear the story?" he said. "Go ahead." "It Is quite short." "That's good." "Soon after I arrived in America I met a girl . . ." "Talking of girls," said Marlowe with enthusiasm. "I've Just seen the only one in the world that really amounts to anything. It was like this. 1 was shoving my way through the mob on the dock, when suddenly . . ." "Shall I tell you my story, or will you tell me yours?" "Oh, sorry I Go ahead." Eustace Hignett scowled at the printed notice on the wall Informing occupants of the stateroom that the name of their steward was J. B. Midgeley. "She was an extraordinarily pretty girl ..." "What was her name?" ' "Wilhelmlna Bennett. She was an extraordinarily pretty girl and highly intelligent. I read her all my poems and she appreciated them immensely. She enjoyed my singing. My conversation conver-sation appeared to interest her. She admired my .. ." "I see. You made a hit. Now go on with the rest of the story." "I asked her to be my wife, and she consented. We both agreed that a quiet wedding was what we wanted she thought her ratner mignt stop tne thing If he knew, and I was dashed sure my mother would so we decided to get married without telling anybody. By now," said Eustace, with a morose glance at the porthole, "I ought to have been on my honeymoon. Everything Every-thing was settled. I had the license and the parson's fee. I had been breaking in a new tie for tie wedding." wed-ding." ''And then you quarreled?" "Nothing of the kind. I wish you would stop trying to tell me i..e story. I'm telling you. What happened is this: somehow I can't make out llow mother found out. And then, of course, it was all over. She stopped the thing." Sam was Indignant ne thoroughly disliked his Aunt Adeline, and his cousin's meek subservience to her revolted re-volted him. "Stopped it? I suppose she said, Now, Eustace, yon mustn't!' and you said, 'Very well, mother!' and scratched the fixture?" "She didn't say a word. She never has said a word. As far as that goes she might never have heard ,-jiyUiing about the marriage." "Then how do you mean she stopped it?" "She pinched my trousers ! "Pinched your trousears?" Eustace groaned. "All of them! The whole bally lot ! She gets up long hefore I do, and she must have come nto my room and cleaned it out while I was asleep. When I woke up and started t dress I couldn't find a solitary soli-tary pair tufwowe to wtoU place. I looked everywhere. Finally. I went Into the sitting-room where she was writing letters and asked if she had happened to see any anywhere. She said she had sent them all to be pressed. She said she knew I never went out in the mornings I don't as a rule and they would be back at lunch time. A fat lot of use that was! I had to be at the church at eleven Well, I told her I had a most Important Impor-tant engagement with a man at eleven, and she wanted to know what it was and I tried to think of something; but it sounded pretty feeble and she said I had better telephone to the man and put it off. I did it, too. Rang up the first number in the book and told some fellow I had never seen In my life that I couldn't meet him! He was pretty peeved. Judging from what he said about my being on the wrong line. And mother listening all the time, and I knowing that she knew something told me that she knew and she knowing that I knew she knew 1 tell you it was awful !" "And the girl?" "She broke off the engagement. Ajv parently she waited at the church from eleven till one-thirty and then began to get impatient. She wouldn't see me when I called in the afternoon, after-noon, but I got a letter from her saying say-ing that what had happened was all for the best and she had been think ing It over and had come to the conclusion conclu-sion that she had made a mistake. She said something about my not being as dynamic as she had thought I was. She said that what she wanted was something more like Lancelot or Sir Galahad, and would I look on the epl. sode as closed." "Did you explain about the trousers?" trou-sers?" "Yes. It seemed to make tilings worse. She said that she could forgive for-give a man anything except being ridiculous." "I think you're well out of It," said Sam judicially. "She can't have been much of a girl." "I feel that now. But It doesn't alter the fact that my life is ruined. I have become a woman-hater. Women Wom-en ! When I think how mother behaved be-haved and how Wilhelmlna treated me I wonder there isn't a law against them. 'What mighty ills have not been done by Woman ! Who was It betrayed be-trayed the Capitol!'" "In Washington?" said Sam, puzzled. He had heard nothing of this. But then he generally confined his reading of the papers to the sporting page. "I was quoting from Thomas Ot-way's Ot-way's 'Orphan.' I wish I could write like Otway. He knew what he was talking about." "Well, of course, he may be right In a way. As regards some women, I mean. But the girl I met on the dock " "Don't!" said Eustace Hignett. "If you have anything bitter and derogatory deroga-tory to say about women, say It and I will listen eagerly. But if you merely wish to gibber about the ornamental exterior of some dashed girl you have been fool enough to get attracted by, go and tell it to the captain or the ship's eat or J. B. Midgeley. Do try to realize that I am a soul in torment I I am a ruin, a spent force, a man without with-out a future! What does life hold for me? Love? I shall never love again. My work? I haven't any. I think I shall take to drink." "Talking of that," said Sam, "I suppose sup-pose they open the bar directly we pass the three-mile limit. How about a small one?" Eustace shook his head gloomily. "Do you suppose I pass my time on boarS ship in gadding about and feasting? feast-ing? Directly the vessel begins to move I go to bed and stay there. As a matter of fact I think it would be wisest to go to bed now. Don't let me keep you If you want to go on deck." "It looks to me," said Sam, "as if 1 had been mistaken in thinking that you were going to be a ray of sunshine on the voyage." ' "Ray of sunshine!" said Emtaee Hignett pulling a pair of mauve pajamas pa-jamas out of the kit-bag. "I'm going to be a volcano !" Sam left the stateroom and headed for the companion. He wanted to get on deck and ascertain if that girl was still on board. About now the sheep would be separating from the goats : the passengers would be on deck and their friends returning to the shore. A slight tremor on the boards on which he trod told him that this separation must have already taken place. The ship was moving. He ran lightly up the companion. Was she on board or was she not? The next few minutes would decide. . He reached the top of the stairs and passed out onto the crowded deck. And. as he did so, a scream, followed by confused shouting, came from the rail nearest the shore He perceived that the rail was black with people hanging over it. They were all looking into the water. "1 seen wet guys, but I never 6een anyone so wet as you." j - j (TO BE CONTINUED.) |
