The Girl with Two 5 elves F. H. Costello THE GIRL WITH TWO SELVES THE GIRL WITH TWO SELVES BY F. H. COSTELLO AUTHOR OF MASTER ARDICK: BUCCANEER, AND THE TWO ON GALLEY ISLAND CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1913 COPYRIGHT A. C McCLURG & CO. 1913 Published April, 1913 PRESS 0* THE VAIL-BALLOU Co. BINGHAMTON, N. Y. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I HAMIL LEARNS THAT HE Is MARRIED .... i II A BUSINESS ARRANGEMENT 17 III CONFIDENCES 31 IV BESS 47 V DISTURBING POSSIBILITIES 63 VI MORE KNIGHT-ERRANTRY 79 VII DISCONCERTING DISCLOSURES 96 VIII LE BIJOU 113 IX WHO Is THE USURPER? 131 X A POSTPONED MARRIAGE PROMISE 142 XI A CONCORD OF SWEET SOUNDS 157 XII ONE OF EVE'S DAUGHTERS 176 XIII DAVID BAUM 191 XIV AL FRESCO 201 XV CAST AWAY 215 XVI ALTER EGO 230 XVII WAGER OF BATTLE 240 XVIII A NEW PHASE 260 XIX HAMIL'S PROGNOSIS 276 XX IN THE DEEP WOODS 288 XXI IF NOT EDITH ? 299 XXII THE SILENT COMBAT 310 XXIII VICTORY! 323 21347-16 THE GIRL WITH TWO SELVES CHAPTER I HAMIL LEARNS THAT HE IS MARRIED HAMIL observed Nature rather than studied her. Just now he could sat- isfy himself with all that the river and the starred sky had to offer, and still give the most of his time to the tantalizing sug- gestion of human mystery that had only re- cently been presented to him. He was calm and unhurried about it; for, in the first place, there was nothing that he could see requiring haste; and then the hour and the surround- ings stood for a grave and leisurely delibera- tion that it would have seemed almost inde- corous to refuse. He was a young and vigorous American; but books and sentiment had created a deep background for him, so that he felt himself continuous with this an- 1 I The Girl With Two Selves cient past, even though he saw it in little, as one sees through the big end of a spyglass. The steamer was going down the Nile with the stars bringing out vaguely one bank or the other, making barely visible the specters of trees and the exaggerated sweep of shin- ing water, and intensifying the feeling that there was no human life anywhere about but his own the rest slept with the mummies of the tombs, or under the rubbish-heaps of the vanished cities. To be sure, there was wild life enough, but this, instead of filling the void, emphasized it. Man seemed to have dropped out of the scheme of creation, leaving this flat, silent world once again to the primitive creatures. The invisible marsh spots gave out bird-cries and weird sounds ; unknown things of weight flopped or splashed from mud banks; and often a little black island, that meant the back of a hippopotamus, broke clear from the water, slipped along, for a minute or two in the swift current, and then leisurely vanished. Or a crocodile, like a floating tree, would 2 Hamil Learns That He Is Married come into the feeble near-light, and finally drop back to the deeps, leaving a fleeting bit of pale radiance upon the disturbed surface. Hamil felt all this rather than saw it, and in the cutting off of the world outside he had the keener thought for the interesting corner of the little world at hand. The party that excited his curiosity Had come aboard just at dark, and from then till now had kept away from the other passen- gers. Not that there was anything strange in this inclination considered by itself, for of course many rather ordinary reasons might ac- count for their aloofness; the odd part, which was puzzling and interesting Hamil, was that the elderly man who led the party seemed to be devoting all his time and a marked so- licitude to a particular girl. She did not appear to be more than twenty. She was oddly beautiful, with yellow-brown hair and a fair skin, though eyebrows and lashes were both distinctly black. The eyes themselves were gray. She was rather tall, somewhat slight, and in the few movements 3 The Girl With Two Selves that Hamil saw, was noticeably graceful. Her dress was nothing out of the ordinary for travelers, and might easily indicate wealth, as it certainly did good taste. Briefly, in these mere general and outward matters, there was nothing that accounted for the man's pains in keeping her so carefully by herself. For her part, she seemed a bit grave, and before the swift nightfall Hamil, getting a good long-range view of her face, had noticed that once or twice she puckered her odd, dark brows, and seemed vexed. On one of these occasions the man had bent over her and said something, at which she had smiled. Yet it struck Hamil that she did this less from satisfaction at what had been said than a desire to please. By this time the watcher had guessed that they were father and daughter. The man was around sixty, rather short, solid in body, with reddish-gray hair and a snow-white mustache. His features were regular, his air was brisk and energetic, and there was about him a general suggestion of 4 Hamil Learns That He Is Married a go-ahead, practical business man. It was another fairly safe guess that he was an Amer- ican. He possessed a well-dressed appear- ance and showed no sign of soon passing into the easy period of the "slippered pantaloon." There were others in the party, and all were included in Hamil's little study. One was a squat, dark, plainly dressed man who always kept near the older gentleman, and was soon placed as his valet. Next to him sat a tall, angular, elderly woman of strong frame and large features, who was dressed comfortably and neatly, but without much regard to fash- ion. Evidently she was a sort of superior servant; but she appeared to take more than a mere perfunctory interest in what was mainly her business, which was to assist the father in his oversight of the peculiar young lady. The last person in the group looked strik- ingly like the elderly man. She was a girl of sixteen, to eighteen, rather short, but plump, decidedly pretty, and had a good deal of color. Her mass of hair was dark auburn, $ The Girl With Two Selves and her wide-awake eyes were blue. Her fa- ther (that the old man was her father might be taken as a matter of course) called her "Bess," while she oftener than otherwise ad- dressed him as "Major." Also in the common-place matter of names there was something peculiar and uncommon when it came to the "mystery girl" so Hamil had mentally catalogued her. Sometimes the man, and sometimes the young girl, called her "Carmen"; but one might gather that this was a slip of the tongue, for the speaker would immediately correct the word, and sub- stitute "Edith." At such times she appeared slightly vexed ; but as they seemed sorry, she manifestly became pacified. Hamil now thought that he had solved the little mystery. The girl who was the heart of it was not wholly sane, though probably her trouble did not extend beyond some form of mild hallucination. Yet there was that in her manner which to a degree upset this the- ory. She had none of the restlessness, and the discursiveness in her talk that Hamil had 6 Hamil Learns That He Is Married always observed in such unbalanced people as had come under his notice. On the con- trary, she was quiet, not fidgeting, nor fuss- ing, and what he had thus far heard her say was not only rational but relevant; she seemed to keep the trend of the talk, and did not her- self break suddenly and jerkily away from it. On the whole, though, his theory appeared to be sustained ; but there remained a sufficient doubt to keep the whole thing tantalizingly in- teresting. By this time he was tired of his chair, and decided to take a few turns around the deck. Hands in coat pockets, he started. In one of the turns, as he drew rather near the party, the younger girl moved her chair and started to rise. "OH, Car Edith!" she suddenly ex- claimed, still with the queer confusion of name. "Did I hit your arm? I made you drop something, didn't I?" There was already a little cry of dismay. "Yes, yes ! It was one of my rings ; I had it in my hand. It was one that my husband 7 The Girl With Two Selves gave me the rose diamond." Her distress was poignant. "Oh, I mustn't lose it! Get a lantern, somebody." The old gentleman had already lighted a match. "Look with this, Bess, till I can get a lan- tern." But where he stood Hamil got a slant of light from one of the ship's suspended lan- terns. It brought out, under Bessie's aban- 'doned chair, a tiny sparkle. He advanced and picked up the ring. The owner by this time was stooping and peering about. She saw his movement, how- ever, and looked toward him. "Here it is," he said with a smile. The girl cried out joyfully, and put out her hand for it. At that moment the old gentle- man returned with a lantern. Hamil was about to withdraw, but the girl halted him by sweetly thanking him, and he stopped to return the usual polite phrases. He had lifted his cap, and the lantern light now struck fairly upon his face. 8 Hamil Learns That He Is Married As the girl got this first distinct look at him, an expression of surprise overspread her countenance as if she were reminded of some- thing, or somebody familiar. Then a dash of excited color came into her cheeks, and the hand holding the ring dropped to her side. She stared wild-eyed and strangely into his face. The young man, himself taken by surprise, for the instant stared back. Suddenly Bess pushed by him. "What is it, sister?" There was a note of alarm in her voice. "Why do you look at this gentleman so? Oh, Papa! Here quick; I don't know " But a long, slender white hand, warm and virile, forced its way past the agitated younger girl, and closed with nervous eagerness on Hamil's wrist. "Jack! Oh, Jack, I can't be wrong! It is really you at last! Don't you know me? Don't you know Edith? They have told me all kinds of things about you why you stayed away but I always knew it was n't your fault. 9 The Girl With Two Selves Papa, hold the light near! nearer still, I tell you!" "Oh Carmen, please don't don't!" Bess clutched her arm, shaking like a leaf and sob- bing. "Hush!" the father cautioned, but he was evidently very greatly disturbed himself. "Don't excite her. I I perhaps it won't last. We mustn't attract attention. Yes, dear daughter, here is the light. Now you can look at the gentleman. You will see that you are mistaken." Hamil said afterwards that it was the strangest and most upset moment of his life. In fact, that he was like a "great, helpless dummy." Hardly knowing what else to do, he squared a little more to the light, and the gray eyes went on searching his face. Suddenly they grew tenderly luminous. The delicate, sensitive lips trembled. She leaned a trifle forward and took his other hand. "Jack my husband it is you!" she de- clared deliberately, her voice vibrant with 10 Hamil Learns That He Is Married an undercurrent of happiness. "They can't fool me ! They need n't try any longer. And you need n't make believe, either. I can see that you are full of the tremendous joke. You meant to give me the surprise of my life, and you have! God bless you! I knew you would come back to Edith. The years could n't break the hope, or break my heart!" She slipped past Bess, and close up to him. Her two hands reached up and clasped his face. Before he could understand could in any way get out of the bewilderment she had drawn his face gently down how could he resist? and her lips were closed on his. Then, swiftly changing and pressing her cheek to his, she whispered: "Darling, I don't care if people do look! Take me in your arms hold me close make me know that your are here!" But the strong hands of the tall old woman were now on one of the girl's arms, and the father gently grasped the other. "Carmen," he said, "you must stop and ii The Girl With Two Selves listen to me. This is not your husband. You" But with one swift, deft motion, she shook them both off. "No! no! I am not Carmen. This is my husband! Jack, will you deny me? Will you let them separate us? By the God that made me, if you do I will take my life! There will be nothing left to live for! Jack, break this spell! What does it mean? Why do you cower? Well, then say it if you must say that you don't love me." She raised her head, and looked him in the face. Rarely was a sane man ever so near utter bewilderment. His name his true name- spoken with such love, such an appeal, such hope at first, and growing despair now and spoken by such lips, and with such a face near his There are no words that will measure up to what he felt. Then came upon him a strange, irresistible compassion; a tenderness, indeed, that was unlike anything he had ever felt before. 12 Hamil Learns That He Is Married He might be doing wrong, acting like an impulsive fool, but it was beyond him to re- sist. He bent his head a little, and gently whispered : "I shall never say that I don't love you. I you may you must believe in me. I won't desert you. If they will let me I will stay with you. I but God help me! what am I saying?" But she did not seem to catch the last. With a little whispering cry, she had his face again to hers. But dark as this part of the deck was ex- cept for the lantern the bit of stir had caught the notice of some of the other passen- gers, and Hamil was aware of a suspicious moving of chairs. He came to himself ; that is, he got back his practical sense. He heard now the low sobbing of Bessie and the deep breathing of the father. It seemed that they too were helpless for the moment and bewil- dered. "Edith," he whispered, "people are noticing us. They think something is wrong. Sit The Girl With Two Selves down here again by your sister and this other lady, and appear as if nothing unusual had happened. I will sit down by you." She clapped him on the cheeks again, and with a long breath drew back. "All right, dear. Now that I have you again I am willing to do anything." She went back to her chair, but smilingly led him along with her. "There is another chair," she said, pointing to one. "Take that." "I will. But first, dear, I want to say something to your father. It is important, and if I don't look out I shall forget it. You will excuse me just a moment, won't you?" "Yes," she said after a doubting instant. "But don't be long, and don't let papa say things to you that well, I don't know just what. My head has n't been quite right all of the time ; but I know that he has said some things to fool me and put me off. I am myself again now, and he mustn't do it any more. You can see for yourself that I am perfectly rational. I am not talking loudly, am I? I Hamil Learns That He Is Married am so steady and composed that those people think there was n't anything up, after all, and they have gone back. Well, dear, go with the Major now, and don't be long." "I won't. Be patient and a good little girl." He turned to the deep-breathing, shaken old man. "Now, if you will give me a few moments. I have told Edith that it was a piece of rather important business, and she has kindly excused me." "There," she called out triumphantly, be- fore her father could answer, "you see, he knows all about it! He calls me Edith. He does n't mix me up with your 'Carmens.' Go on, Jack, and if you need a little extra time take it. Nobody can deceive you." "Thank you for the good opinion, dear. . . . Now, Major." The old man, still shaken but forcing him- self to play his part, managed to affect a busi- nesslike air, and gestured in the direction of the bows, 15 The Girl With Two Selves "Good place there, I guess. Nobody very near, and we can speak low." "All right." They moved off together, Hamil trying to keep his nerves out of his gait. 16 CHAPTER II A BUSINESS ARRANGEMENT WELL up forward, in the little trian- gle of the bows, they stopped. No- body was very near. The old man nervously worked his hat about on his head, but suddenly stopped and jammed both hands into his trousers pockets. "This is the confoundest piece of business I ever struck! I don't know what you are going to say to me, and I don't know just what to say to you. I am pretty nearly off my base. You can see somewhere near what the situa- tion is." Hamil, though his training had not been a business one, could be businesslike. He saw no use in beating about the bush. "Your daughter is somewhat out of her mind," he said, "and fancies that I am her husband. That is a pretty awkward whim to 17. The Girl With Two Selves deal with, and I don't wonder that it sort of breaks you up. But now, if there is anything that I can do call on me ; I am at your serv- ice." "Thank you. Yes, you are right, or pretty near it. The girl is mentally unbalanced. She is it would take a good while to explain it. One doctor thinks it is in part a mental disturbance, and in part a dual personality. That may be rot; I am sure I don't know. But this is a new freak of hers. She is n't mar- ried, so that 's all delusion, but this is the first time she has imagined she has found the per- son. What to do now, and how to get her out of the idea, is more than I can tell. She is set when once she makes up her mind, and she has any amount of grit. You heard what she said about killing herself? How I wish I knew what to dol" Hamil glanced away for a moment, and then back. His face was of that strong, con- trolled type that is hard to read. Neverthe- less, there was sympathy plain in it now, even by the poor light. 18 A Business Arrangement "There is one thing," he went on in an- swer, "that I should say must be done. For the present you will have to give in to her, and let her have her way. Though of course I don't know much about her, yet I am of the opinion that anything different would be extremely risky." The old man rocked a little on his toes, and puffed out a debating breath. "Yes, I suppose that 's true, and I don't want to take the risk you speak of; but well, how is it to be done? You would have to go along with us, and I can't go so far as to ask that. The old Nick can't tell how long you would have to stay! And yet, on the other hand, it seems almost like a business of life and death. I am willing to pay any reasonable amount of money, if that will do any good. Can we fix up anything, either for humanity's sake or for cash, or both? I am rich and have only these two children : life would n't be worth living if anything happened to either of them." His voice trembled a little, but he steadied 19 The Girl With Two Selves himself and looked up into Hamil's face. Hamil, dark, almost inscrutable such times as he was in deep thought, his frame towering up big and massive, stood imposingly over the older man. But this was only for an instant. Hamil dropped an assuring hand upon his shoulder. "As far as this matter is concerned consider it all right," with a confident air. "I will go with you, and you can keep me till you are through with me. I know you will feel bet- ter if we clinch it on a money basis, and you may pay me whatever you please. Call me your private secretary, if you want to. That is, if you have n't one already." The old man's eyes sparkled. As the heavy hand slipped from his shoulder he seized it and shook it. "I am thunderingly obliged to you 1 It helps me out of a bad hole. As for your pay to settle the money part of it I never had a secretary, but one like you will be worth to me not less than three hundred dollars a 20 A Business Arrangement month. It shan't be a cent less, and if you say more " "No! no!" broke m Hamil. "That will be more than I ever earned before, and will be ample. I may as well tell you that I am a sort of floater, and never did much at any particular job. I am something of a mu- sician ; I sing, and do a little at fencing, box- ing, and monkeying with a few of the modern languages. In all, I have managed to keep my head above water. I have no family ties, so that I have n't needed a great income. I haven't told you my name yet. It is John Dana. I am such a cosmopolite that there is no need for me to give a hailing place." "All right, Mr. Dana," the old man ac- quiesced with pleased heartiness. "And my name is McAllister. I live in Newark, New Jersey. Or I call that home, though of late I have n't seen much of it. I have traveled a good deal, mainly on account of Carmen. It has seemed to take up her mind. "But the first chance I get I must tell you 21 The Girl With Two Selves more about her. I don't suppose it will do to linger a great while now. I will say, though, that this trouble has been on her now about two years. Before that she seemed to be all right. Her name is Carmen, after my wife, who had some Spanish blood, as well as a Spanish name, but she insists that it is Edith. She knows that she is my daughter, and remembers most things of her past life; but she fancies that a few years ago she was married, and that enemies have kept her hus- band from her. At first she was down on us, but after a while I managed to persuade her that we had nothing to do with his disappear- ance, and in a way that has come around all right. But I had to promise her that if I ever did learn where her husband was I would tell her, and bring him to her. And it looks now," he finished with a troubled laugh, "as if I had pretty nearly kept my word." Hamil nodded encouragingly. "It all may turn out for the best. I should suppose she would be more contented now, and easier to control. It is an odd coincidence," 22 A Business Arrangement he went on, "that my name is really Jack that is, John. But my friends always call me 'Jack.' Her speaking to me in that way, just now, was one of the things that helped to con- fuse me. But, ah! that makes me think what is the rest of my supposed name? I mean, what does she think is her husband's name?" " 'Beecham.' That is, she pronounces it so. She spells it as if it was 'Beauchamp.' That is some sort of English twist, I believe. I am not up in that kind of thing." "Yes, that is the way the name is pro- nounced in England. It is a blue-blood name there. They have an Earl of Beauchamp, you know. Well, I am Jack Beauchamp, then. So far, so good." McAllister looked back at the girl. She was sitting quietly, and though her face was turned their way she showed no sign of impa- tience or discontent. "I guess we have done a good stroke of busi- ness," he said with a satisfied nod. "Well, and that leaves only one thing it 's all I think 23 The Girl With Two Selves of now: How are you going to account to her for the way you will have to get along with her? She thinks she is your wife, you know." "Of course I have had thaf feature of the situation in my mind," Hamil said thought- fully. "It does look at first hard to get around, but I believe I have thought of a way. Who is the elderly woman sitting by her?" "That is Mrs. Gurney. She was Bessie's nurse, and since Carmen has had this trouble she has taken care of her. She is an excel- lent woman and thoroughly reliable. She is with Carmen night and day. "Good! Well, all she will nave to do is to keep on. I will tell Edith I am going to get used to calling her that I will tell her that she is not well enough yet to be out of the care of the nurse, and that I shall expect her to do, for the present, the same as in the past; that I am leaving her in the nurse's care because I love her, and want her to get well as soon as possible. I will promise, besides 24 A Business Arrangement that, to have a room close by, so that I can be called quickly if I should happen to be needed. I think that this will satisfy her and make things all right." "Well," McAllister said, "perhaps it will; I only hope so; for if it won't I don't know what we shall do. It is the best we can man- age" he wrinkled his brows a little. "We Ve got to go pretty far with you. She is bound to be more or less affectionate, the same as she was tonight, and you can't repulse her. At the same time, as of course you understand, I shall expect you to be as ingenious as pos- sible in heading off those demonstrations. God! What an affliction it is that she should take this freak!" He drew a long breath, and looked discon- tentedly off across the water. Hamil's short lips closed a little tightly, and a crease came between his heavy black brows. But this was only for a moment. A second thought put him in the father's place, and the cloud vanished. He said pleasantly, but not without some trace of quiet dignity: 25 The Girl With Two Selves "I appreciate your position, and will do the best I can with mine. At the same time, mine is a difficult one, and you will have to keep in mind that it is so. In a sense you will have to regard me as you would your family doc- tor as placed on my honor. It is true that you know nothing about me, but taking me was on the theory of 'any port in a storm,' and it was your own choice." "Oh, that 's all right it 's all right," Mc- Allister returned hastily. "I did n't mean anything different. As for trusting you, it is n't nearly as much as we trust family doc- tors, and you have a face that is a warrant for confidence. I am a good judge of human na- ture, as I have needed to be, for I have had to trust men, and I have seldom made a mistake. Yes, I am sure you are all right, and we '11 go ahead." "Very well, then. And thank you for your good opinion." This was said pleasantly, but with a busi- nesslike brevity. However, they had now pretty nearly threshed the matter out. In 26 A Business Arrangement fact, McAllister here made a motion as if to return to his party; but he apparently thought of something, and stopped. He asked: "Where were you bound?" "To London and then to New York; but I had no particular aim about it. The change will make no difference to me." "I see. Well, you won't need to change that part of your plan. We are bound for the same places. After that we go for a short time to Newark, and then to the coast of Maine. I own a little island there, and we shall rusticate for at least a few weeks. After that we go back to Newark. Newark was n't my original home," he explained reminis- cently, "for I was born and brought up in Massachusetts. When I was a boy I worked on a farm there. The way I came to live in Newark was because it was my wife's old home, and since she died it has seemed like remembering her to live there." They had both turned now, and were going back to the party. McAllister added a last word: 27 The Girl With Two Selves "Suppose you take Carmen aside and explain to her what you just said? Tell her why it is that you can't be with her all the time, and that she must keep on for a while as she has been doing. You can say, as you suggested, that you will sleep close by, so that she may feel that you are near her. We will see, in that case, that it is arranged so." "I had it in mind to take the matter up with her at once," Hamil said. He happened to look at Carmen just then, and thought that she seemed a trifle uneasy. "We had best go back now," he concluded. As they came up, Carmen shook a chiding finger at him. "You are slow! I take it, though, it was papa's fault. Sit down here, now, and talk to me." "Certainly or, wait! Why not take a lit- tle walk? We can have a small private con- fab, as well as he and I. It is a good place where we were just now." "Oh, that will be lovely!" She jumped up delightedly. "Don't you dare to follow 28 A Business Arrangement us!" she severely warned the others. "This is to be strictly and absolutely private." Bess and Mrs. Gurney, taken unawares, looked a bit blank. McAllister, however, managed to gesture a hint. The poor girl gaily took Hamil's arm, and they went off to the little nook. Certainly this was an adventure for the young man, and one, as he might well have thought, without precedent. At least, he was likely to have a practical understanding of the old saw about the "tangled web," that be- ing the product of our first regular practice in deception. One bit of this tangle was the three names that he was carrying, and must keep judi- ciously apart. First, he was John Dana Hamil, secondly, he was John Dana, and thirdly, he was Jack Beauchamp. Why he was John Dana may as well be ex- plained here. It had come into his head that it would simplify his position with McAllis- ter, and make it a little easier to do business with him, if he pretended that he was poor, 29 The Girl With Two Selves and he was afraid that his last name might lead to suspicions. It was a name well known in Newark, for his grandfather had founded the family fortune there, and out of the two or more millions that went to make up Hamil's present possessions a considerable part was in- vested in Newark real estate. Hamil man- aged this property chiefly through agents, and was seldom there in person, but he thought it well to keep the name itself out of sight. For this reason he had lopped it off, leaving the whole simply John Dana. But this bit of deception was easy. He had now before him something of quite an- other sort. The piece of loveliness that thought she was his wife was cuddling up to him, and looking up in his face in confiding delight. He began to see dimly the sort of task he had undertaken. CHAPTER III CONFIDENCES BUT nevertheless he did not waver. His course once settled, it was always his way to go perseveringly, perhaps dog- gedly, ahead. He smiled down now at the confiding face, and drew one of the cuddling hands into his. "Listen, dear. I told you I had something particular to say, and now that we have this good chance I want to say it. You will prom- ise to listen?" "Yes, Jack, of course I will. I am glad of any excuse to hear your blessed voice. It has been so long, don't you see? Say on." "It is about your health. You seem well, but you know that your head has n't been ex- actly right, and, in fact you may as well know that is the reason why the doctors thought I had better go away. They believed The Girl With Two Selves that you should have as little to think of as possible, and that your mind should have an entire rest. They did n't even mean then that you should travel, but as you were restless and uneasy they finally consented to it. This part, of course, you already know?" "Yes," she replied, frowning a little, "I do know about it. But I am not satisfied about the other part," she went on, "for it seems that father and my sister deceived me. They said they did n't know where you were. It would have been better if they had come out with the whole truth. I am not a child, to be mislead with quieting lies." "Oh, but they did n't really lie to you," he hastily returned. "They did n't know just where I was. I was restless, and missing you as I did, I could n't stay in one place. I kept better track of them, though, than they did of me, for you see, when I thought it would do to break the doctors' edict, I came. I had heard that you were much better. To make sure of this, though, I did n't let you know that I was abroad. I wanted to watch you, 32 Confidences and see just how you were. In a few minutes I should have come forward. The loss of the ring merely hastened matters. Now, you can see, we planned the best we could under the circumstances; if there is any blame it belongs to us all, but we thought we were right." He surprised himself by the honest way in which he reeled off this yarn. To be sure, though, there was a saving bit of sincerity in the defense he was making for the others ; and then, behind it all, was the general motive lofty enough, certainly. The beautiful brows smoothed out before his earnestness and seeming candor. She drew a little breath, and rested her head against his arm. "Oh, it was all right, I suppose; and I am not a judge of the condition I was in then. Let it go. Only, I am myself now, and there are to be no more separations. That, of course, is understood." "Certainly." He thought the occasion warranted putting an arm gently across her 3 33 The Girl With Two Selves shoulders. "Henceforth I shall keep Edith under my wing." She did not notice that he very slightly ac- cented her name. It was a bit of reservation that he almost unconsciously made. But the ice was broken now, and he must proceed to the real business in hand. "But of course," he went on, "as to my re- maining with you, we must be governed by regard for your health. You must keep the nurse with you, and in general must follow the doctors' other directions. If not, your father will think it his duty I mean, we shall both think it our duty that I go away again. But as the plan is now I shall always be near you, and at night shall have a room close to yours. You understand all this, don't you, and will agree to it? You don't want me to go away again?" Her face clouded and unclouded again while he was speaking. But now, as he anx- iously waited for her answer, she turned in his arms, and put up her face. "Kiss me. Everything shall be as you think 34 Confidences best. Only don't so much as hint at going away." Tremendously relieved, he kissed her. The victory seemed as good as won. And now he began to see that she was in many things even more childish and impulsive than he had supposed. Even her kiss was like a child's. It was frank, light and quickly over with. She loved him, but with a strange sort of un- knowing simplicity, and, with the natural woman in her forgotten. She wanted to be with him, she felt that she had a right to be, and she was ready to quarrel with those who would withstand her; but here, barring her in- nocent cuddlings and pettings, her arrested nature stopped. In his; relieved mood, and almost without knowing it, he put his cheek down to her head, and they were for a moment silent. After all, this was no light appeal that she was uncon- sciously making to him. The very nature of it the almost bewildering trust, the crying out to him for his love and protection, the impetu- ous and undoubting way in which she had 35 The Girl With Two Selves claimed him, yet with the child incarnate in a beautiful woman these were gripping him in a way that nothing in his whole life had ever gripped him before. It was with a little effort that he finally roused himself from this mood, and returned to the practical issues. It was time, because he had accomplished what he came for, and good faith required that he should not stay beyond that. "We had better go back now," he sug- gested. "This is a beginning, and next time it shall be longer. I want your father to feel that I am careful of you, and that I have not forgotten the doctors' orders." Rather to his surprise, she did not object. " Oh, we '11 go back, then," she agreed. "But as to the doctors, we have had three, and no two have thought alike. But of course you know all about that, for you were in the plot." She laughed, and pinched his arm. "But I have forgiven you, haven't I? Oh, yes, and man lingo sal do il mio proposito. Does that 36 Confidences sound natural? Or have you let your Italian get rusty?" This might easily have been an awkward question, but luckily Hamil was pretty well up in Italian. He answered promptly, using Tuscan as good as her own, and said that he believed he was not very rusty. "By and by," he added in English, "we will have one of our old-time talk-rests." To which she gaily answered: "Mi ralle- gerb" and let him bring her about-face. Hamil concluded that it might be wise to seem frank and open with regard to what had passed ; and so, when they were back, and sit- ting in a little circle, he told McAllister the substance of the talk. "So you see," he wound up, "Edith is as practical and sensible as ever, and is willing to do whatever is necessary for her health." "No, with one exception," she intercepted. "Wait, papa. Listen! Jack and I are not to be separated again. That is the excep- tion." 37 The Girl With Two Selves "Oh, that was already understood," the old man tossed his head, and answered. u Yes, certainly, Jack is a fixture." "Very well, then." She patted one of Hamil's hands, and seemed content. A little later the party broke up. The women went below, and the Major and Hamil were left alone. The old gentleman had rather impatiently got rid of the valet also. "I don't need that fellow a bit," he re- marked, as the man slipped away. "I had a little fainting fit once; the girls went into a panic, and made me get a human shadow. But I leave him at home when I go to the island, and they can't make me budge on that. Not but that he 's well enough, for he 's as quiet as a mouse, and knows his business ; but his presence is sort of humiliating." "I think I understand," Hamil said. In fact, he was sure that he did, for he himself could not endure the constant attendance of a body servant. "At the island," the old man went on re- flectively, "I about half do as I want to. We 38 Confidences don't have many servants, and as I own the island "But," he broke off, "what am I gabbling about that for when there 's something so im- portant waiting? I want to say that you man- aged the business with Carmen first-class, and you can't tell how relieved I am." "Well, I am glad to be of that much use," Hamil said. "But, after all, what I did was n't hard. Edith I want to call her that, to get used to it she was very willing to do as I wished. In some things like this, at least, I have found her almost like a child, and need- ing pretty much the same management." McAllister assentingly nodded. "I see that you understand. Yes, in many things she is almost like a child. The ex- ceptions are the power of her brain when she wants to talk on a literary subject, or anything of that kind. Then her mind is quick and generally as clear as crystal. She can write a sensible letter, too. And handle figures. Sometimes it almost seems as if "But I don't believe it, either. I was go- 39 The Girl With T