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 Frontispiece.
 
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 JijecaMse of 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ""VTOW look back," said the Judge, bringing his 
 horses to a standstill on the bridge with a 
 hump in its back. 
 
 Hamilton turned and looked down upon a part of the 
 Delaware Valley where Nature has drawn her outlines 
 and swept her brush with lavish strokes. 
 
 " Superb ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Isn't it ? " said the Judge, his eyes following the 
 shining length of river as it wound through sunlit fields, 
 stretching away to meet the hills. " Do you see how 
 the stream widens out below the bend where the wil- 
 lows grow? That's where the barefoot boys fish with 
 birch rods, and don't you let her know I told you 
 but before my girl grew up, she was often found there, 
 too bare feet, birch rod, and a can of bait she dug 
 herself." The Judge chuckled over this betrayal of 
 his daughter's youthful pranks, and then changed the
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 subject by asking Hamilton, "if he heard the rush 
 of falling water? " 
 
 " It sounds quite near," replied Hamilton, listening. 
 
 " "Well, right up there," said the Judge, indicating 
 the direction with his whip, " a mountain torrent 
 tumbles into a deep ravine, and becomes the well-be- 
 haved brook under the bridge we're on." 
 
 " I don't wonder you're devoted to this place, Judge." 
 
 " Wait a little you haven't seen much of it yet." 
 
 They drove on up the hill, until through a break in 
 the trees at a turn of the road, Hamilton saw the town 
 they had left, far below them. 
 
 " I didn't realize we were up so high," he said with 
 some surprise. 
 
 " Yes, it's a steady ascent the whole two miles," 
 replied the Judge. " Look ahead of you, there I 
 want to know what you think of that." 
 
 " That " was a colonial house, surrounded by stately 
 trees and commanding a view of the whole valley. It 
 was one of those time-stained dwellings imbued with 
 the charm only bestowed by the passing of many lives. 
 A wistaria of wondrous growth covered its weather- 
 beaten front, overhanging the wide veranda and whis- 
 pering long hidden secrets to the old-fashioned flow-
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 era lying in the shadow of the mountains rising directly 
 behind the house. 
 
 The general appearance of the place led Hamilton to 
 anticipate the choice Chippendale filling the rooms 
 within. Most of it had belonged to Mrs. Burton's 
 family, and she kept it so highly polished that mirrors 
 were superfluous. Marita often said that the first re- 
 quisite of a suitable maid was her ability as a polisher. 
 So much dark old mahogany might not have suited the 
 Judge, who liked things cheery, had it not been for 
 Mrs. Burton's gift of making everything she touched 
 attractive. She had a delightful way of slipping a 
 pillow into a patriarchal chair; of disposing antique 
 Turkish squares under the bronze lamps on the tables ; 
 of placing magazines and ash-trays on stiff-looking 
 stands; of brightening dark corners with flowers and 
 even giving a sociable air to the bookcases by strew- 
 ing favorite volumes on top of the rows of books. 
 
 Mrs. Burton was one of those women whose exquisite 
 taste creates an air of refinement. She liked only good 
 things, and, fortunately for her contentment, had al- 
 ways eaten her food with a silver fork and sipped her 
 tea from a china cup. She was an ideal hostess, and 
 her cordial welcome made the coolness of Marita's 
 greeting all the more pronounced.
 
 8 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 As Hamilton dressed for dinner, a tall figure in pale 
 green persistently rose before him, and he wondered 
 if the Judge's daughter was going to be unapproach- 
 able or companionable. Her well bred, but distant 
 demeanor downstairs was not promising; yet when 
 Hamilton thought of the barefoot girl fishing under 
 the willows, he could not help feeling that they would 
 be friends and perhaps her greeting was not so cool 
 after all, for as his eyes roamed around the room they 
 rested upon a tall, clear glass vase filled with long- 
 stemmed roses of the deepest red. They were grouped 
 with a certain free grace quite different from the deli- 
 cate arrangement of the daisies and ferns he had no- 
 ticed in the rooms below. Hamilton was sure that 
 Marita had placed the roses here, and bending over 
 them he revelled in their fragrance ; as he turned away, 
 a large thorn caught in his coat sleeve and the vase 
 fell to the floor, crushing some of the flowers. Much 
 annoyed, Hamilton gathered up the roses and replaced 
 them as best he could, consoling himself with the 
 thought that while the thorn had caused the petals to 
 be bruised it had also been instrumental in laying bare 
 the golden hearts. 
 
 This incident occurred to Hamilton several times
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 through the evening, and he couldn't help wondering 
 if such wealth lay beneath Marita's reserve as the roses 
 disclosed when their petals were shaken off. There 
 were other things to wonder about, also. It was ap- 
 parent that the Judge adored his wife and daughter 
 and delighted in his home; he was known to have 
 amassed a considerable fortune during a brilliant career, 
 and his social position was enviable, coming, as it did, 
 both from ancestral and personal prestige; but notwith- 
 standing these happy conditions, there was that in the 
 Judge's face which told of suffering, long endured and 
 still keen. The lines were so deep that the marking 
 must have taken many years yet so intense that they 
 might have been drawn yesterday, were it possible to 
 sear a face as his was seared in so short a time. There 
 was a tone, too, in his voice that went straight to your 
 heart; it made you feel that here was a man to whom 
 much might be confessed, because he could confess much. 
 To his wife the Judge gave that tender devotion so 
 beautiful to see in a man whose hair is streaked with 
 gray; his manner was almost reverent at times, but 
 never tinged with the intensity which characterized 
 his bearing towards Marita. This daughter was the 
 heart of his heart, and he hungered for her nearness
 
 io BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 as a lover might. She was the one person who could 
 soften the lines in his face and that only by the spell 
 her violin cast over all listeners. 
 
 Grant Hamilton observed this on that first evening 
 at Lindenhurst. He was sitting on the veranda with 
 the Judge and Mrs. Burton while Marita was filling the 
 air with the kind of music that makes one thrill as in 
 the presence of an unseen power. By the light from 
 the library windows Hamilton could see how the Judge's 
 eyes lingered on every line of the lithe figure; how 
 they wandered from the thick waves of chestnut hair 
 to the dark eyes now lit with inward fire; how they 
 dwelt upon the features, so like his own, and followed 
 the motion of her hand as it drew from the violin an 
 expression of her soul. The man was entirely absorbed 
 in the girl he watched through the open window, and 
 when she laid aside her Cremona he sat up in his chair 
 and raised his eyebrows as if rousing himself from a 
 dream. 
 
 Hamilton's observation was not limited to the Judge. 
 He, too, watched Marita, thinking that if beauty is a 
 dangerous rock to man, that subtlety known as fascina- 
 tion is a perilous cliff. "The rock," he thought, " causes 
 man many a fall, but he picks himself up, goes on his
 
 BECAUSE of POWER n 
 
 way, and, in time, his bruises heal. The cliff is another 
 matter. Beauty attracts, but it does not hold. The 
 woman who is more than an episode in a man's life 
 has a power greater than beauty and the Judge's 
 daughter has that power." 
 
 Hamilton was right; Marita did have that power in 
 large measure. It could not be defined; it was elusive, 
 yet always there a personal atmosphere created by 
 the manifestation of a rare soul through a healthful 
 body. She was full of spirit, and everything she did 
 suggested capability. When she walked across the 
 room, you wanted to see her do it again; when she 
 spoke, you thought nothing could be more delightful 
 until she laughed, and then you were ready to commit 
 any absurdity to make her repeat that laugh. From 
 her ardent eyes and rich vocal tones you knew that 
 Marita was a woman of passionate nature; from her 
 firm step and resolute mouth you knew that nature 
 was balanced by strong character. This admirable 
 poise was one of the most striking things about Marita ; 
 but you always wondered which way the scale would 
 tip, were it put to a crucial test. 
 
 As Hamilton saw her that night, standing with the 
 violin under her chin, eyes aglow and figure thrilled,
 
 12 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 warm blood flushing her cheeks and breath coming fast 
 through parted lips, he felt that when Marita loved she 
 would forget everything. Later, when he saw her shut 
 away the violin and gather the music into an orderly 
 pile, he felt that even though Marita loved, she would 
 remember everything. Were it otherwise, she would 
 have left the violin uncased, the music scattered. 
 
 However that might be, Hamilton knew now that 
 this rose held great richness within its petals, and he 
 resolved that those petals should be folded back. Act- 
 ing upon this resolution, when the Judge went to make 
 his nightly visit to the stables to see that his pet horse, 
 Salem, was properly cared for, Hamilton drew a cigar 
 from his pocket and stepped through the low window 
 into the library, where Marita was closing her cabinet 
 of music. 
 
 " Will you take me to an ideal place for this? " 
 he asked, holding up his cigar. " I'm sure there must 
 be one somewhere around this delightful house." 
 
 " The balcony outside that window is a favorite place 
 with father's friends," answered Marita. She indicated 
 the window by a slight gesture, and was moving away 
 when Hamilton said in a tone people generally heeded : 
 
 " I asked you to take me to the place."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 13 
 
 Marita paused, her eyes looking into his with some- 
 thing in their depths which reminded him of a doe he 
 had once brought to bay in the mountains. Ready to 
 accept his challenge and battle to the last breath, Marita 
 saw that in his face which made her hesitate an instant ; 
 then she turned, and without a word led the way to 
 the balcony. 
 
 It was one of those nights when the air is full of 
 magnetism. The crescent moon had disappeared long 
 ago, but the heavens were clear and brilliant with stars. 
 The earth was rich with moist fragrance, and the trees 
 whispered as they never do in the daylight. 
 
 Marita stepped through the window. 
 
 " Well," she said, with a touch of defiance in her 
 tone, " I have taken you to the place." 
 
 " Won't you do me another favor and occupy this 
 seat ? " asked Hamilton, placing a chair near the one 
 he was about to take. 
 
 Now this was a master-stroke ; a woman loves to grant 
 favors to a strong-willed man. Marita accepted the 
 chair with a quiet " Thank you." Hamilton was glad 
 he didn't have his hat he was sure he would have 
 tossed it up in his human delight over getting exactly 
 what he wanted.
 
 14 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Your music was a great treat, Miss Burton," said 
 Hamilton, lighting his cigar. 
 
 " I think you really appreciate music," she returned. 
 
 " Why do you think so ? " he asked, looking at her 
 profile outlined against the dark background of vines. 
 
 " Because you don't talk about it the moment the 
 last note is sounded." 
 
 " I can't. I've often wished I could say the grace- 
 ful things other people do; but the words refuse to 
 come." 
 
 " That's just it you enjoy the music so much that 
 words seem inadequate, and you can't speak them." 
 
 " You are generous to offer such a kind reason for 
 my lack of eloquence. But do tell me about your 
 music," said Hamilton, knowing she would talk more 
 freely of that than anything else. " You have always 
 cared for it ? " 
 
 " Always," replied Marita. " Ever since I can re- 
 member. I used to beg for a violin when they gave 
 me dolls, and after I had one there was no such thing 
 as a quiet hour at Lindenhurst." 
 
 " Did you have instruction ? " 
 
 " Not until I went to Vassar ; but I always loved it. 
 A violin is such a speaking instrument! It answers
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 15 
 
 to your lightest touch, responding so readily to any 
 mood and winding itself right into your life. Really 
 it becomes a part of your thoughts and feelings." 
 
 " Lucky violin," thought Hamilton, only saying : 
 " You're a true musician." 
 
 " I consider it a great privilege to be able to sur- 
 render to the spirit of music. It is such a glorious feel- 
 ing. You thrill and throb and forget everything 
 even the notes. You just give yourself up to the lux- 
 ury of living the melody, and the strings breathe under 
 your fingers." 
 
 Hamilton smiled to himself in the darkness, think- 
 ing that here was a woman worth knowing. Then he 
 said, earnestly: 
 
 " Do you remember Maggie Tulliver's words, ' Music 
 seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into 
 my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when 
 I arn filled with music ' ? " 
 
 " Why," said Marita, enthusiastically, " when I came 
 to those words in ' The Mill on the Floss ' I laid the 
 book down and wrote the two sentences on a sheet of 
 favorite music, I liked them so much." 
 
 While she was speaking, the Judge's footsteps 
 sounded on the gravel path.
 
 1 6 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 "Marita," he called. 
 
 " Yes, father," she answered. " Here I am." 
 
 The Judge came across to the balcony, and leaning 
 on the railing, he looked up, saying : 
 
 " I wish you'd come down to the barn and tie up 
 Sam's hand. He's given it an ugly cut." 
 
 " I'll come at once," Marita said. " Is it a bad 
 wound ? " 
 
 " Not very it needs attention, though." 
 
 The Judge turned towards the barn again and Ham- 
 ilton rose, throwing away his cigar as he said : 
 
 " You will let me go with you ? " 
 
 " It isn't necessary; but if you'd like to " 
 
 " I would," he answered, following her into the 
 house. Marita disappeared for a few moments, and 
 while Hamilton waited for her on the veranda his 
 thoughts were not traveling far from Lindenhurst. 
 
 When she came out of the house he took the basin 
 of water from her hand, exclaiming as he did so : 
 
 " Why, this is hot ! " 
 
 " Of course it is. You don't suppose I'd dress a 
 wound with unsterilized water ? " 
 
 " Pardon me, I didn't know surgery was one of your 
 accomplishments."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 17 
 
 " It isn't," Marita said, with a laugh. " Here in the 
 country we have to do for ourselves in case of emerg- 
 ency, and my mother dislikes the sight of blood, so I 
 do this kind of thing." 
 
 On their way through the garden several pictures 
 rose before Hamilton one of a barefoot girl fishing 
 in the shade of a willow, one of a self-possessed society 
 woman at dinner, one of an artist swayed with the pas- 
 sion of music, and one of a practical helper with band- 
 ages in hand. As he watched the girl walking in front 
 of him, he wondered if she would do her work without 
 a quiver as she had prepared to do it without a fuss. 
 
 When they reached the barn Sam was sitting on a 
 tool-box and the Judge stood near him holding a lan- 
 tern. The dim light cast fantastic shadows on the 
 rough walls hung with harness, and the occasional 
 stamp of a horse's foot echoed into the hayloft. Marita 
 knelt on the floor, commencing operations at once. 
 Hamilton observed her closely, unable to detect any 
 sign of nervousness as she cleansed and bandaged the 
 injured hand. 
 
 " Where did she learn how to do this ? " Hamilton 
 asked the Judge as they both watched her deft fingers 
 
 fly.
 
 1 8 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Don't ask me," he answered. " I suppose she 
 learned how to dress wounds the same way she learned 
 to play a violin before she ever had a lesson." 
 
 " Hardly, father,' said Marita, smiling at him as she 
 unrolled a package of antiseptic gauze. " Music may 
 be instinctive, but surgical dressings are not. My 
 room-mate at college met with an accident," she ex- 
 plained to Hamilton, " and I learned something from 
 that experience." 
 
 Sam looked at his young mistress admiringly, and 
 spoke with unusual emphasis in his customary drawl: 
 
 " Mis Marita c'n do anythin' she tries to."
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 f I V HE next morning Hamilton rose early, intend- 
 ing to take a row on the river before breakfast. 
 As he stepped out on the veranda, the glorious air 
 thrilled through every fibre with that tingling sense 
 cf fresh life that comes only when the day is young. It 
 was intoxicating, and as he watched the mist lift from 
 the river and roll away he was possessed with a strong 
 desire to shout aloud just for the joy of living; but 
 out of regard for the quiet sleepers within, he re- 
 strained the impulse and started off at a brisk pace 
 down the road. 
 
 People always spoke of Grant Hamilton as one of 
 Fortune's favorites. Born an aristocrat, he had been 
 educated at Columbia, like most of his ancestors, had 
 seen a large part of the civilized world and had money 
 enough to do as he liked. His face was strong rather 
 than handsome. The long nose and deep-set eyes bore 
 a marked resemblance to Alexander Hamilton's; the 
 firm chin was tempered by the gentle mouth yet that, 
 as all his features, bore the stamp of determination.
 
 2O BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 It was a face that children loved and their elders 
 trusted. 
 
 Hamilton lived in the upper part of New York City, 
 where his widowed mother presided over the old family 
 house with the dignity of a Colonial dame. She would 
 not have exchanged the quaintness of Hamilton Grange 
 for the elegance of any mansion in town. To her the 
 house was imbued with the spirit of Alexander Hamil- 
 ton, whose lineage she had studied until the names of 
 his ancestors were as familiar to her as those of her 
 own family. She could tell you all about the founders 
 and branches of the ducal house of Hamilton, and, of 
 course, she took particular delight in tracing the un- 
 broken line from Bernard, brother Viking of Holla, 
 first Duke of Normandy, down to Alexander Hamilton, 
 the twenty-seventh direct descendent. 
 
 The great man's brilliant career and tragic end were 
 more than history to Grant. As a boy he had wor- 
 shipped the hero as a man he recognized a vital kin- 
 ship with his ancestor in the tenor of his own mind 
 and character. Accustomed to think for himself, firm 
 in his convictions, strong in his passions, he was yet 
 genial, frank and generous. Perhaps Alexander 
 Hamilton's success at the bar had something to do
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 21 
 
 with Grant's feeling that he could never be anything 
 but a lawyer. Certain it is, that when he learned his 
 mother's wish that he should make literature his pro- 
 fession, he felt as if she were trying to deprive him. 
 of his birthright. 
 
 He never forgot that moment; it had always seemed 
 to him that the words he spoke in reply were the first 
 words of his manhood. Looking from his mother to 
 the portrait of Alexander Hamilton hanging over the 
 library hearth, he said: 
 
 " No, mother; with his blood in my veins I must 
 enter active life. Nothing but positive contact with 
 the world could content a man who has something of 
 that man's spirit." 
 
 Mrs. Hamilton was too wise to combat the deter- 
 mination expressed in look and tone even more than 
 words; so it was settled though she always maintained 
 that Grant would have made a great writer, citing his 
 briefs, which were noted for their concise style and 
 lucidity, as an illustration of what might have been. 
 
 Both briefs and clients were far from Grant Ham- 
 ilton's thoughts as he swung along the dusty road on 
 the way to the river side. This was the first vaca- 
 tion he had allowed himself since he began practising
 
 22 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 law. He had expected to enjoy his fortnight at Lin- 
 denhurst when he accepted Judge Burton's invitation, 
 though not anticipating the extent of the pleasure 
 awaiting him. Hamilton did not know that the place 
 was the kind of a spot he most delighted in; only 
 enough of man's work visible to make the wildness 
 livable; he did not know that the saddle-horses were 
 so fine, the fish in the streams so plenty, the books so 
 well selected. Nor did he know that the Judge's 
 daughter would interest him so much. 
 
 He was thinking of Marita as he unfastened the boat 
 and slowly pulled along the shore. Now, Hamilton 
 knew women as well as any man of thirty-five, not 
 gifted with supernatural powers, can know them. He 
 had known the fire that is lit by their eyes had once 
 been burnt enough to bear a scar but never had he 
 met a woman who impressed him quite as Marita did. 
 Whatever she said, whatever she did, conveyed the 
 idea of reserve force. He felt that the tide of her 
 inner life ran deep and strong that its course could 
 not easily be perverted yet he knew that she was not 
 self-sufficient. Marita had the independent depend- 
 ence which men invariably delight in, and Hamilton 
 was beginning to feel its charm.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 23 
 
 Just now he was re-living the hours when she had 
 filled the night with music, smiling to himself as he 
 recalled Wordsworth's lines : 
 
 " The music in my heart I bore, 
 Long after it was heard no more." 
 
 He was thinking that Marita's music left one with 
 the sense of having received a benison, when suddenly 
 his attention was attracted to the figure of a woman 
 flying along the road. She was covering the ground 
 with such speed that little could be distinguished ex- 
 cept a short brown skirt and a blue shirt waist. Fear- 
 ing something startling must have happened, Hamil- 
 ton began pulling back. Then he saw that it was 
 Harita and surely she needed no assistance, for a 
 happier, more rapturous face no man ever gazed upon. 
 From the abandon of every move he saw that the air 
 had intoxicated her too. Once she stretched up her 
 arms to the trees above, as if she wished that " all 
 creation had but one mouth that she mighf kiss it." 
 
 After running a little way she slackened her pace, 
 turning into the river path. Marita's hat had been 
 left at home this morning, and as she came down the 
 bank her waving hair caught the sunbeams in the most
 
 24 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 betwitching way. It was almost down, too how Ham- 
 ilton did wish that the last pin would give way! He 
 was always hoping that some accident would send it 
 rippling over her shoulders, but she had a provoking 
 way of fastening it securely. 
 
 As Marita neared the water's edge she saw that the 
 boat had disappeared, and looking down the river to 
 see if it had drifted away during the night, she dis- 
 covered Hamilton sitting in the missing craft, resting 
 on the oars. 
 
 " You're more sensible than I thought you were," 
 she called. 
 
 " Why ? " he asked as he pulled towards her. " Did 
 you think I was hopelessly addicted to the morning 
 nap?" 
 
 " Yes," she answered frankly, " I did. I thought 
 of you with pity when I came out to revel in the sun- 
 rise." 
 
 " I must confess I was only thinking about getting 
 up when the sun rose." 
 
 " Even that is doing well for a city man," she said. 
 
 " You were going for a row ? " he asked, stepping 
 out of the boat and holding it for her. 
 
 " If you'll pull down to the spring, I'll pull back."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 25 
 
 Marita's tact was one of her greatest charms. She 
 knew Hamilton would feel uncomfortable on being 
 caught running off with her boat when she wanted 
 to use it, and this was a very pretty, as well as satis- 
 factory, way of putting him at his ease. 
 
 " Thank you," said Hamilton, taking up the oars 
 with alacrity. " Which way is the spring up or 
 down?" 
 
 " Both," she returned, laughing. " Down the river 
 and up the mountain. It is a spring that bubbles right 
 out of the rocks, and the water is delicious. I love 
 to go there after ' She hesitated, and he suggested : 
 
 " After you've been playing Atalanta ? " 
 
 " You saw me ? " She paused a moment, and then, 
 with a little shrug of her shoulders, continued, " I 
 know it is a wild thing to do, but on a morning like 
 this I have to run. There is something within me that 
 will not be checked; it must be out and away, as free 
 as a bird." 
 
 Hamilton looked at Marita with growing admira- 
 tion and a sense of comradeship as he remembered his 
 own longing to shout aloud. He liked her impulse, and 
 he liked the fearless way in which she spoke of it. 
 
 " Don't try to check it," he said, smiling straight into
 
 26 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 her eyes. This was a dangerous thing to do, for when 
 you looked iiito those depths you longed to fathom 
 their shadows at any cost; and when Hamilton longed 
 to do a thing he generally did it. 
 
 Marita guided the boat to the spot where she wished 
 to land, and designated the tree, which she called " the 
 hitching-post." When they began to ascend the moun- 
 tain she laughingly refused his aid, and, stepping 
 lightly over the rocks, showed him a steep path which 
 a stranger would never have seen. On reaching the 
 spring she turned to him with sparkling eyes and glow- 
 ing cheeks. 
 
 " There," she cried, " is the spring of everlasting 
 life! Drink, and your soul will be refreshed." 
 
 Marita didn't look as if her soul needed refresh- 
 ment, she was so thoroughly alive. Like a true moun- 
 taineer, she bent over the spring and made a drinking 
 cup of her hand. Following her example, Hamilton 
 dipped his hand in the water also, saying : 
 
 " Here's to the ' something within you that will not 
 be checked ' ! May it long remain as it is." 
 
 Marita laughed at this, making no reply. She seated 
 herself on a mossy stone, and looking up at Hamilton, 
 asked :
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 27 
 
 " How do you like the water ? " 
 
 " I never tasted a purer draught; and this woody 
 dell is fit for the home of a nymph. Why, you have 
 everything here rocks and moss, ferns and flowers, 
 trees and " 
 
 " Spiders," interrupted Marita, brushing one away. 
 " This nook has been a little of everything to me 
 nursery, schoolroom and sanctuary. I used to play 
 here by the hour; the roots of that big tree over there, 
 with a pile of twigs and stones, afforded me more 
 amusement than toys. When I left off play for study, 
 I always worked out the knotty problems here, weather 
 permitting. Somehow, things were easier in this 
 place." 
 
 " And the sanctuary ? " questioned Hamilton, stretch- 
 ing himself at Marita's feet and resting his head on his 
 hand. 
 
 " Well, I'm afraid I must own that I was a very bad 
 child. I sometimes ran away on Sunday morning and 
 came here instead of going to church. No amount of 
 scolding or punishment could make me mend my ways 
 or tell where I went. During the winter I behaved 
 myself, from necessity; when the warm weather came 
 I was often missing. I tried to be proper I used to
 
 28 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 make up my mind to go to church as I ought but 
 when the time came the birds called and the leaves 
 beckoned and away I went to the woods." 
 
 " It was the ' uncheckable something ' that took you." 
 " Perhaps it was yes, it must have been." 
 They looked at each other and smiled. Then he 
 said: 
 
 " I wonder if you remember the lines that have been 
 running in my head while you've been talking ? " 
 
 " l Overhead the tree-tops meet; 
 
 Flowers and grass spring 'neath one's feet ; 
 There is nought above me and nought below 
 My childhood had not learned to know/ ' 
 
 " Ah," she said, with a smile of recognition, " those 
 are little Pippa's words; and they might have been 
 written for me." 
 
 " Is Browning one of your favorites ? " Hamilton 
 asked. 
 
 "Yes," she replied, "he is. But I refuse to dis- 
 cuss poets before breakfast, and if we linger here any 
 longer we'll have coffee and chops without flavor." 
 
 Marita insisted on rowing back because she had said 
 she would. Hamilton sat in the stern and watched
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 29 
 
 her glad that she pulled a good, steady stroke. It 
 annoys a man to see a woman try to row when she 
 doesn't know how. 
 
 After the boat was moored she led the way up the 
 path and he followed, wondering how many women 
 appreciated the blessing of an attractive back. Marita 
 certainly had that indefinable something called style. 
 She wore her bicycle skirt and shirt waist with an air 
 that a princess might envy. 
 
 As they approached the house Mrs. Burton came 
 out on the veranda, and seeing Marita's flushed cheeks 
 and loosened hair she suspected a run, and was about 
 to remonstrate when Hamilton exclaimed: 
 
 " Behold a merciful maid ! She found me escaping 
 with her boat, and not only forgave the offence, but 
 allowed me to sit in the stern and admire her stroke." 
 
 " I'm hungry," was all Marita said as she disappeared 
 in the house ; but she thanked him with a look he did 
 not soon forget.
 
 CHAPTEK HI 
 
 A T the breakfast table Judge Burton announced 
 his intention of taking a holiday, saying to 
 Hamilton : 
 
 " Get on your regimentals and I'll show you some 
 fishing that is fishing." 
 
 They were soon ready to go, and started off, as 
 Marita said, " looking jolly enough for truant school- 
 boys." Crossing the meadows, they tramped over the 
 hills, following an indistinct trail through the woods. 
 Though Hamilton had angled in many waters, he never 
 before had fished a mountain brook, pushing his way 
 through tangled underbrush and wading deep to find 
 quiet pools harboring trout. So wild were the haunts 
 they sought that the fly-books were unopened, for the 
 overhanging trees prevented the casting of a line; but 
 the homely worms provided by the gardener were 
 dropped into the stream with good results, and they 
 sat down at noon, tired and hungry, though satisfied 
 with life. Hamilton expressed his delight with their 
 expedition while they lunched on sandwiches and fruit.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 31 
 
 " Well," said the Judge, " to me there's nothing so 
 restful as a day like this. It is such a relief to get 
 away from it all out into the freedom of the woods 
 where everything is natural.' 
 
 Hamilton looked at his companion, somewhat sur- 
 prised, not at the words so much as the tone, which 
 seemed to him more intense than the occasion war- 
 ranted; then he smiled to himself as he remembered 
 Marita's similar expressions of the early morning, not- 
 ing how the man's character had repeated itself in his 
 daughter. 
 
 " When a man has reached my age," continued the 
 Judge, " he grows impatient of conventions weary, 
 too, of always playing the part of the justice." 
 
 Had it not been for these latter remarks Hamilton 
 would have given no further thought to the former; 
 but the Judge spoke in a half-apologetic way, as if to 
 explain the earnestness of his first words, and the speech 
 that was meant to subdue wonder roused it. Often 
 through the afternoon, as they wandered along the 
 bank of the stream, Hamilton asked himself why the 
 Judge found it " such a relief to get away from it 
 all," and questioned the meaning of " it all." Being 
 a keen observer of men and things, he looked at Judge
 
 32 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Burton with a new interest, and wondered if the lines 
 in his face had been traced by the something from 
 which he longed to escape. 
 
 Hamilton was still occupied with these thoughts 
 when they left the brook and turned their steps home- 
 ward; but as they neared Lindenhurst his interest in 
 this problem lessened, though it was not lost, even in 
 the fancied visions of Marita meeting them at the door. 
 She might and it would be so delightful if she did. 
 It is such a precious thing this beginning of love 
 and to a person of imaginative temperament so fraught 
 with sweet suggestions. Hamilton was not conscious 
 of loving Marita and, indeed, these first awakenings 
 can scarcely be called love but he was conscious 
 of hoping that Marita would greet them on their 
 return, and keenly disappointed when she did not. 
 He walked upstairs rather impatiently, and it is to 
 be feared that his neckscarf was not any too carefully 
 untied. 
 
 Just before he went down to dinner Hamilton opened 
 the blinds to admit the air, already cooling as the sun 
 sank behind the trees. His face glowed with appre- 
 ciation as he stood at the window, held by the beauty 
 of the valley bathed in the high light that intensifies
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 33 
 
 color and yet seems to my&tify everything touched by 
 the appealing poetry of the crescent moon, beginning 
 her reign in the pale blue sky so soon to lose its opales- 
 cence in the duskiness of twilight. 
 
 " Another ' night divine,' " thought Hamilton, re- 
 calling the balcony talk of the previous night. 
 " Strange how that girl is absorbed in her music ; it's 
 more than part of her nature it's the essence of her 
 soul. Such abandon to art is rare, especially in Amer- 
 icans; but then she is intense there's nothing luke- 
 warm about her " 
 
 His reverie was broken by the sound of the Judge's 
 voice calling: 
 
 " Marita ! Where are you ? " 
 
 " Here I am. Do you want me ? " 
 
 Hamilton smiled when he heard those words in the 
 tones that were growing familiar, and left his room 
 with a mingled feeling of contentment and unrest. He 
 found the family on the veranda, and immediately ob- 
 served that Marita looked particularly well in white. 
 The clinging muslin revealed the grace of her figure, 
 and as she came towards him Hamilton marvelled, as 
 he often did, on the easy strength of her movements. 
 All through dinner he was thinking that, notwith-
 
 34 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 standing her irregular features, Marita was one of the 
 most distinguished looking women he had ever seen. 
 Her eyes and hair were matchless; if there was a lack 
 of beauty elsewhere there was no lack of character; 
 the olive skin glowed with health and the whole face 
 was animated by a magnetism that attracted strong 
 men because it was the outcome of a satisfying mental 
 and physical maturity. 
 
 While they were still sitting around the table Doctor 
 Earle was announced. Marita rose immediately, and 
 the others followed her out on the veranda, where the 
 gentlemen smoked their cigars with the caller. 
 
 Hamilton grew restless as the evening advanced; 
 he had hoped for more music and a vantage point 
 from which to watch the musician. This desultory 
 conversation was wearisome, and somehow he wished 
 the Doctor was less interesting. There was enough 
 light coming through the wide doorway to enable him 
 to see that Henry Earle had a remarkable way of 
 handling his straight, athletic figure indeed, Hamil- 
 ton never remembered seeing a man who naturally 
 posed so well. It was too dark to see much of his face, 
 but his voice was delightful, and he certainly had an 
 original turn of mind. After the laughter following
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 35 
 
 one of his inimitable stories had subsided, the Doctor 
 lit another cigar, saying : 
 
 " Well, Mr. Hamilton, what do you think of Linden- 
 hurst V 
 
 " On that subject I do not believe even doctors would 
 disagree. There could be only one opinion." 
 
 " It is delightful, isn't it ? Such a perfect specimen 
 of old-time architecture. This entrance is famous; of 
 course Judge Burton has told you how often it has 
 been copied? I'm going to subject that man's head 
 to an X-ray some time, and I'm morally sure that the 
 portion of the brain lying beneath the bump of pride 
 will be plainly stamped with a reproduction of that 
 doorway." 
 
 " If it is as you say," returned Mrs. Burton, " I'm 
 equally sure that Marita will be found on the thresh- 
 old." 
 
 The odd fancy amused them all, but Hamilton 
 thought the Doctor seemed too much pleased with his 
 own clever idea. 
 
 " ' Marita.' That's a very odd name of yours, Miss 
 Burton." 
 
 The Judge moved his chair as Marita replied to the 
 Doctor's remark.
 
 36 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " It's unusual in this country." 
 
 " An Italian name, isn't it ? " Earle persisted. 
 
 " It is," answered the Judge, rising abruptly. " If 
 you don't mind, we'll go down to the barn and take a 
 look at Sam's wounded hand." 
 
 Hamilton knew that the Doctor was not longing to 
 go, but of course he rose and accompanied the Judge. 
 Mrs. Burton rose also, and went inside to superintend 
 the iced drinks. 
 
 " I was born in Italy," said Marita, turning towards 
 Hamilton, " and spent the first years of my life there. 
 Don't you suppose that has something to do with my 
 love for music and violets ? " 
 
 " Possibly," he replied indulgently. With all Ma- 
 rita's womanliness there was a childlike simplicity very 
 winning to a man in whom the protective instinct is 
 strong. 
 
 " I like to think so," she continued. " It pleases me 
 to fancy that glorious Italy has infused some things 
 into my blood." 
 
 " I believe it has," said Hamilton decidedly. " You 
 have some Italian characteristics, rather strongly de- 
 veloped, I should say." 
 
 " What, for instance ? " asked Marita.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 37 
 
 " Well," he returned slowly, wishing she hadn't asked 
 that question, " your power to abandon yourself so com- 
 pletely to the spell of music is certainly not an Amer- 
 ican trait " He paused. 
 
 Marita waited a little before she said playfully: 
 
 " That's only one thing, Mr. Hamilton ; and I believe 
 you said ' characteristics.' ' 
 
 " Now," he said, laughing, " you've turned the tables, 
 and are cross-examining a lawyer. Just to establish 
 your reputation as a gainer of information, I'll tell 
 you another characteristic." He moved a little closer, 
 and leaning forward said in a low tone : " It's the ' un- 
 checkable something.' ' 
 
 " That's an evasion ! " she exclaimed triumphantly. 
 " Now, seriously, don't you think that environment has 
 a great influence upon character ? " 
 
 "Undoubtedly," affirmed Hamilton. "Provided 
 the environment is of long enough duration." 
 
 " A good point," said Marita, whose quick apprecia- 
 tion made her a delightful companion. " But may not 
 even temporary surroundings have their effect especi- 
 ialy if one is at an impressionable age ? " 
 
 " Well, Miss Burton, I have always held that char- 
 acter is too deep to be moulded by transitory things.
 
 38 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 So much of it comes to us as an inheritance and the 
 rest is largely a growth fed by habits and thoughts upon 
 which temporary surroundings have little effect." 
 
 Their conversation was of short duration, for they 
 were soon interrupted by the return of the Judge and 
 Doctor Earle. At a word from her father, Marita left 
 them to get out her music. Both Earle and Hamilton 
 watched her as she walked away, the Doctor plunging 
 his hands into his pockets and exclaiming: 
 
 " Isn't she stunning in that white gown ! " 
 
 Hamilton made no reply. He was vexed with him- 
 self for allowing this remark to irritate him; but it did, 
 nevertheless. 
 
 " How is the evidence developing in the Austin 
 case ? " he asked the Judge, who then gave them a 
 detailed account of the proceedings, as Hamilton felt 
 sure he would; however, at the first sound of the violin 
 the Judge stopped talking, soon losing himself in Ma- 
 rita's music as he had the night before. 
 
 She played with magnificent technique and much 
 expression, too, yet Hamilton missed the ecstasy of the 
 previous night. Now she was trying to give others 
 pleasure; then she had revelled in music for the pure 
 rapture of it. " Why was it ? " he asked himself.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 39 
 
 " Why did she feel restrained? Were there stirrings 
 within her that made her more self-conscious? If so, 
 who caused them ? " 
 
 It was late when Marita and Hamilton acompanied 
 the Doctor to the gate. He untied his horse, and say- 
 ing good night, rode away, leaving them standing to- 
 gether. 
 
 Hamilton was a tall man, and Marita was just enough 
 shorter so that, as they stood side by side, he must 
 bend his head to look into her face. He bent it now. 
 " What was the trouble to-night with the music ? " 
 " Why, did you notice anything wrong ? " 
 " Only that you did not play as you did last night." 
 " Unfortunately, one can't always be in the same 
 mood." 
 
 " I know that; but there was a reason for this mood." 
 Then, fearing he had said too much, Hamilton laid a 
 detaining hand on her arm, saying : " Wait a moment ; 
 before you go in, look up ! " 
 
 She did look up, and they stood silent, awed by the 
 superb night that overarched and enveloped them. 
 Marita looked and looked until the magnitude became 
 almost oppressive. She drew a long breath. 
 
 " Now," he asked gently, " is the mood quite gone ? "
 
 4O BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Yes," she answered; " entirely. I could play now 
 and forget everything 
 
 " Because that," said Hamilton, indicating the star- 
 lit sky, " has made you forget yourself." 
 
 " How you do understand people ! " 
 
 " Some people," he returned. And they passed in 
 out of the night.
 
 CHAPTEE IV 
 
 T T AMILTOK was one of the Judge's admirations. 
 Marita had often heard her father enlarge upon 
 his professional ability, his sterling qualities and 
 his family connections. As is frequently the case 
 with people who form their own judgments, she was 
 inclined to be very critical where so much praise had 
 been bestowed; therefore when Hamilton came to Lin- 
 denhurst he was on probation with Marita, but he had 
 the virile power which always appeals to women, 
 especially when it is qualified with the gentleness 
 born of true culture; so it was not long before Ma- 
 rita was ready to endorse her father's opinion. She 
 had always liked the spirit evinced by Hamilton's 
 daily life, knowing he was one of the hardest-worked 
 lawyers in New York City, though his fortune would 
 enable him to live well without lifting his hand, and ad- 
 miring the strong nature that chose to marshal its 
 forces on the battlefield rather than exhibit them on 
 the parade ground. 
 
 Marita was thinking of the incident at the gate as
 
 42 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 she bent over the breakfast table arranging roses still 
 wet with dew. The few men who can divine a 
 woman's moods seldom let her know it and nothing 
 pleases her more for it implies a keen interest, if no 
 deeper feeling. Probably Doctor Earle could have 
 understood her as well as Hamilton did, but he would 
 not have dared to tell her so, and then she wondered 
 if his sympathy would have been complete enough to 
 satisfy her need as it was satisfied. With a woman's 
 power of re-living things, she felt again the warmth 
 of the firm hand on her arm, she heard the earnest 
 voice say, " Look up." Yes, he had been lovely to 
 her, and the way he had shielded her from her 
 mother's disapproval in the morning it was sweet to 
 be so thoughtfully considered. 
 
 She was still bending over the roses when Hamil- 
 ton entered the dining-room. Coming as he did from 
 restless turnings and vague dreamings, he thought he 
 never had beheld anything so tantalizing as that red 
 rose in Marita's hair. Why didn't it loosen so he 
 could fasten it in those waves that tempted his fingers 
 every time he saw them? This longing was choked 
 by the thought that he had no right to replace it 
 then something rushed over him, leaving a great de-
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 43 
 
 termination to win that right. While the tumult of 
 his heart was declaring that Marita should be his wife, 
 he was asking, " What kind of roses are those ? " His 
 own voice sounded far away, and he never knew what 
 Marita replied; he was glad when Judge and Mrs. 
 Burton came in, for he could not have spoken to her 
 again without betraying the passion surging through 
 him. 
 
 Hamilton often wondered how he got through that 
 breakfast. Certainly he was most thankful to Mrs. 
 Burton, who relieved him of a morning at the house by 
 suggesting that he and Marita should ride down to 
 the village with the Judge, who never used a carriage 
 except in the worst weather. 
 
 " He would rather be soaked on a horse than 
 cramped in a wagon," he said. 
 
 While Marita executed some errands for her mother, 
 the Judge took Hamilton around the town, and as 
 they rode through the main residence street, they met 
 Doctor Earle, also on horseback. He was superbly 
 mounted, and wore a perfect riding costume. For 
 the first time Grant saw him in a good light, and 
 though he was not surprised to find the Doctor hand- 
 some, a queer feeling stole over him, and a close ob-
 
 44 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 server might have seen his lips tighten. Of course 
 Earle turned about and rode with them Hamilton 
 knew he would when he first laid eyes on him. The 
 Judge designated the points of interest as they passed 
 through the village, and his guest tried to make in- 
 telligent observations, while he was wishing with all 
 his might that somebody would be sick enough to 
 need that doctor before they joined Marita; but the 
 townspeople seemed to be provokingly well that morn- 
 ing, and on leaving the Judge, after meeting Marita, 
 they were still a party of three instead of two, as 
 Hamilton had hoped. He thought that Scotchman 
 knew what he was talking about when he made the 
 remark as to " the best laid schemes o' mice an' men." 
 
 As they rode away Hamilton looked back, and he 
 fancied that Judge Burton's piercing gray eyes fol- 
 lowed his daughter uneasily. Was he fearful of losing 
 her? Hamilton saw the careworn look deepen in the 
 kind face, and his own grew graver as he glanced at the 
 two riding a little ahead. Quickening his pace, he 
 overtook them while they were planning a ride for 
 the coming week. Marita turned to him, saying: 
 
 " You would enjoy a canter over the hills and din- 
 ner at a quaint old inn, wouldn't you, Mr. Hamilton? "
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 45 
 
 " It sounds delightful." 
 
 " Then you may count us in the party, Doctor; and 
 I think there can be no better rendezvous than Lin- 
 denhurst it is a convenient distance for you all, and 
 near the Ridge Road." 
 
 " Yes," replied Earle, " Lindenhurst is a good place 
 for everything." 
 
 Thinking he detected an unpleasant emphasis on the 
 last two words, Hamilton looked at the Doctor, who 
 was riding on the other side of Marita, and their eyes 
 met. It was as if they had measured swords. 
 
 There is probably nothing in the world that puts 
 a man on his mettle as the presence of a rival does; 
 however, there are different mettles. The Doctor was 
 a brilliant talker, and this morning he kept up a fire 
 of wit and wisdom that strongly contrasted with 
 Grant's quiet words. Indeed, the more Earle talked, 
 the less Hamilton said, and when they reached home 
 Marita felt as if she had witnessed a clever display of 
 mental gymnastics executed in the presence of a spec- 
 tator who had as much strength as the performer, but 
 chose to use it differently. 
 
 The Doctor was on the Lindenhurst side of the road, 
 and as they neared the gate he gradually led his horse
 
 46 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 a little in advance. Guessing his purpose, Hamilton 
 drew in his rein, and as Marita passed him, wheeled 
 his horse across the road, sprang to the ground and 
 was at her side to assist her before the Doctor had 
 even dismounted. It was done so quickly and neatly 
 that Earle couldn't help admiring the man, though 
 his chagrin deepened when he saw the smile Marita 
 gave Hamilton as he lifted her down. She imme- 
 diately turned to the Doctor, however, and asked him 
 to come in to luncheon. He did so, but though Ma- 
 rita talked with him even more than with Hamilton, 
 he couldn't help feeling that the other side had scored 
 a point, and when he left Lindenhurst early in the 
 afternoon his humor was not a pleasant one. 
 
 As for Hamilton, he knew he was unreasonably 
 elated. His maneuver had been a trifling thing, 
 after all, and yet, he had succeeded in his attempt, 
 and she had been near him so near for one blessed 
 instant. He lay on the sofa in the library living it 
 over and over. Almost opposite was the fireplace, 
 blackened by the smoke arising from the fires of many 
 generations; above it was a shelf, adorned with sev- 
 eral choice bits of old delft, over which hung an ob- 
 long mirror in a frame of pale dull gold. The blinds
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 47 
 
 were closed, and the room had the cool dimness so 
 grateful in summer. 
 
 Hamilton was alone, for Mrs. Burton was resting 
 and Marita had disappeared soon after the Doctor's 
 departure. His attention was attracted by the artis- 
 tic arrangement of daisies and ferns in a blue jar so 
 placed on the shelf above the fireplace that they re- 
 flected their grace in the mirror. Then his thoughts 
 wandered to the image above their own hearth at 
 home, and he seemed to see the familiar features of 
 Alexander Hamilton in the glass, but he no sooner 
 saw them than they vanished, for Marita's face really 
 appeared in the mirror as she entered the room through 
 the hall door directly opposite the fireplace. Ham- 
 ilton had seen his ancestor so distinctly that the in- 
 cident, slight as it was, left an impression, and after- 
 wards he remembered it as one of those strange 
 presages that baffle analysis. 
 
 " I hope I didn't disturb you," said Marita, when 
 she discovered the lounger. 
 
 " Oh, no," he answered. " I was not sleeping 
 only dreaming trying to laze away a slight head- 
 ache." 
 
 " You are not accustomed to being in the sun so
 
 48 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 much," she suggested, moving towards the piano at 
 the other end of the room. Without further remark 
 she quietly uncased her violin and began to play. It 
 was another instance of her womanly tact trusting 
 to her intuition that music would be soothing and 
 giving so simply that which he needed. 
 
 Hamilton never knew what Marita played that 
 afternoon; he heard the wave of melody as if it came 
 from spiritland, so absorbed was he in watching the 
 woman he loved; yet those sounds were echoing 
 through him far into the night. 
 
 It must have been an hour or more before Marita 
 laid aside her violin, and crossing over to Hamilton, 
 asked him, as he had asked her the night before: 
 
 " Is it quite gone? " 
 
 He looked up and met her eyes. 
 
 " Yes, entirely," he answered, as she had. 
 
 The remembrance of stars was between them, and 
 the consciousness of increasing sympathy. 
 
 " I am glad," said Marita, crossing over to the low 
 window. She unclosed the blinds and stepped out on 
 the balcony, exclaiming: 
 
 " Oh! Come and see these storm clouds! " 
 
 Hamilton lost no time in reaching her side, and
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 49 
 
 together they watched the great black mass darken 
 the sky. Up from behind the mountains the wind 
 rose like a demon, sweeping down the slope, bending 
 the trees and tearing off leaves in its fury. Thunder 
 rolled from hill to hill, and lightning streaked the sky. 
 
 " I glory in a storm! " said Marita, her eyes shin- 
 ing. 
 
 " Yes, I should expect you to," replied Hamilton 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 " That is not an Italian characteristic, though." 
 
 " No," he answered, smiling; " and yet, absence of 
 fear and delight in the untamed elements are not in- 
 compatible with the ' uncheckable something.' " 
 
 " Did you choose your profession because of your 
 ability to carry a point? " 
 
 " No, indeed," he said, laughing, then added, seri- 
 ously. " My profession was never chosen, it was the 
 natural outcome of a desire that grew with me from 
 the cradle, I think. As I look back upon my boy- 
 hood, there is no more distinct impression of those 
 early years than my ambition to become a lawyer as 
 Alexander Hamilton was. The career of a great man 
 often has a direct influence upon the lives of his de- 
 scendents." 
 4
 
 50 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " I have always had the deepest admiration for that 
 man," Marita said earnestly. " His intellect was so 
 clear, his will so irresistible! He was so wonderful 
 in his ability to foresee results and order affairs ac- 
 cordingly; and then for a man to rise, as he did, to the 
 highest in everything he attempted it was superb! " 
 
 As Hamilton listened to these words his hands 
 tightened on the railing he was leaning upon. To 
 hear her speak thus of one who had really been a 
 power in his life, it was like welding a bond already 
 strong. He longed to unburden his heart, but he 
 knew the time was not yet come, so, though wild im- 
 pulses struggled within him and he dared not look at 
 Marita, he said slowly and with apparent calmness: 
 
 " To most women he is merely a man who was killed 
 in a famous duel." 
 
 " Are you not a little severe? " 
 
 " Possibly, but " 
 
 " So was he," interrupted Marita, " and here comes 
 the rain, torrents of it! "
 
 CHAPTEK V 
 
 TT 7HEN Marita awoke on the morning of the 
 horseback excursion, she found the sunlight 
 giving every promise of fair weather. She was very 
 glad, for it was Hamilton's last day, and she wanted 
 it to be a pleasant one. They were to start soon after 
 breakfast, so Marita dressed for the ride, fastening 
 her habit with the satisfied air of a woman who knows 
 her costume is faultless and becoming. She was con- 
 scious of a thrill of excitement, and she knew it was 
 caused by something more than the anticipation of 
 an enjoyable trip. 
 
 Hamilton was a man of such strong passions that, 
 though he could control them, he could not entirely 
 conceal them. Perhaps he did not try to hide his 
 love for Marita, perhaps he wanted her to see it and 
 grow accustomed to it, before he expressed in words 
 that which was so apparent in look and tone. How- 
 ever this was, she knew that he cared, and while she 
 hoped he would not speak to-day, and was determined 
 to prevent him if possible, yet, realizing that Hamil-
 
 52 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 ton's time was limited, and that the Doctor's persist- 
 ent devotion always exasperated him, she felt as if 
 the air was electrified. 
 
 Marita's knowledge of the world was unusual for a 
 woman of twenty-six, probably because there is no 
 better enlightener than experience with the human 
 heart. She knew the power of her personal magnet- 
 ism, and she also knew that the charm exercised by 
 this quality alone seldom stood the test of absence. 
 Infatuation is a poor substitute for the love upon 
 which women base their lives, and knowing that her 
 happiness depended upon Hamilton's feeling being 
 nothing less than love, she wanted him to leave her 
 with no spoken words to bind him. Then, if he re- 
 turned, she would put her trust in the man to whom 
 she had given her love. 
 
 It was all very well for Marita to reason so clearly 
 when she was alone; when she was with Hamilton it 
 was quite a different matter. How could she dis- 
 criminate between infatuation and love when he 
 looked into her eyes, drawing her soul into his and 
 holding it there? A woman's delight in such absorp- 
 tion is all the greater if her personality is a strong 
 one. It is the joy of giving where there is much to
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 53 
 
 give. Marita thought of this, and felt that it would 
 be very hard to ward off the words she longed to hear, 
 but trusting that strength would come when the need 
 arose, she went down with the air of good-fellowship, 
 which is the hardest of all things for a lover to over- 
 come. 
 
 On encountering Hamilton in the lower hall Marita 
 dropped him a mock courtesy to avoid meeting his 
 eyes, which were full of fire. 
 
 " Come and pay your respects to Old Sol," he said, 
 stepping towards the veranda. 
 
 " Come and pay yours to the cook," she returned 
 saucily, moving in the opposite direction, and quickly 
 sliding into the dining-room, where Mrs. Burton was 
 placing a cut-glass bowl full of strawberries on a 
 mass of their fresh green leaves. " Oh, isn't that 
 lovely! " 
 
 " Do you like it? " asked Mrs. Burton of Marita, 
 while Hamilton, who had followed her, replied: 
 
 " It is positively a work of art ! " 
 
 " Yes," said Marita, with a fond look at her dainty 
 mother; " she is truly artistic." 
 
 " Not more so than you are, my dear." 
 
 Marita shook her head.
 
 54 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " If I have any artistic sense it is of a very dif- 
 ferent kind." 
 
 " As different as French and Italian art," suggested 
 Hamilton. 
 
 " Italy again? " Marita raised her eyebrows. 
 
 " What's that about Italy? " asked the Judge, en- 
 tering the room as his daughter spoke. 
 
 " Just nonsense," answered Marita. " Mr. Ham- 
 ilton delights in tracing imaginative Italian elements 
 in my composition to all sorts of impossible ends. I 
 suppose it's because he must have something to argue 
 about, and since his real cases are pigeon-holed during 
 his vacation, he takes a fanciful one." 
 
 They all smiled at this sally except the Judge, who 
 looked at Hamilton with a curious expression and re- 
 mained unusually quiet throughout the entire meal. 
 
 Before they had finished breakfast Marita saw the 
 party from town coming up the hill, and excusing her- 
 self went out on the veranda to meet them ; as she stood 
 on the steps waiting for them to dismount, her hand 
 crushed a spray of wistaria, and she saw only a pair 
 of deep, determined eyes. 
 
 When Hamilton appeared he was presented to the 
 pretty Miss Marvin, with social ambitions, and Miss
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 55 
 
 Andrews, a young woman who wore eyeglasses and 
 thought she was brilliant because she quoted so aptly 
 from Shakespeare. The gentlemen of the party con- 
 sisted of Doctor Earle, who greeted Hamilton with the 
 cordiality sometimes bestowed upon those we are least 
 glad to see; Norman Rives, an artist whose work 
 gave promise of better things; and Mr. Bellenden, a 
 Harvard graduate who had carried into business cir- 
 cles the cleverness of a man whose knowledge of Greek 
 and Latin grammar is far greater than his apprecia- 
 tion of Homer and Virgil. 
 
 It was not long before the group on the veranda 
 hailed the arrival of the chaperone, Mrs. Alison, who 
 rode up with the man always spoken of as " Mrs. 
 Alison's husband." She was an energetic little body, 
 so genuine that she scorned even a dash of powder, 
 and so full of fun that she insisted on riding a white 
 horse " because her hair was so awfully red, and she 
 did love to humor tradition." 
 
 Hamilton liked her immensely, and rode with her 
 until they reached a wayside spring, several miles 
 from Lindenhurst, where they stopped to drink the 
 clear cool water trickling into the basin of moss-cov- 
 ered stones. From this point they could see the river
 
 56 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 flowing at the base of the mountain, far below them 
 and in the distance, beyond the ripening fields, a 
 single white spire rose from the clustered roofs and 
 tree-tops of a village among the hills. 
 
 Marita had walked her horse a little way from the 
 others, and was revelling in the beauty of it all. Her 
 delight deepened until she slightly shook her head as 
 we do in the presence of something so fine that we 
 long to absorb it and, knowing that we cannot, al- 
 most unconsciously give this outward sign of our in- 
 ability. Hamilton watched her, and every pulse 
 throbbed as he looked. " Heavens, how that woman 
 could love! " he thought, and he deliberately rode up 
 to her side. Before either one of them spoke, the 
 Doctor joined them, and all three turned to follow 
 the others. Hamilton was very quiet as they rode 
 along; indeed, he scarcely heard what his companions 
 were saying. He was wondering whether, to-morrow 
 this time, he would be blessing every breath he drew, 
 or cursing the hour he was born, for he meant to open 
 his heart to Marita before he went away. By the time 
 they reached Farno's Inn, where they were to dine, 
 Hamilton was so divided between a determination that 
 she must love him and a great fear that she didn't
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 57 
 
 and wouldn't, that he was not in an enviable state of 
 mind. Desiring to regain his equilibrium, he left the 
 others and took a turn down the road alone. 
 
 While Hamilton was gone Doctor Earle improved 
 the opportunity of talking with Marita, who was rest- 
 ing in a cool corner of the inviting piazza.. 
 
 " Are you tired? " he asked. 
 
 " A little," she answered, " just a pleasant degree 
 of tiredness." 
 
 " It was a delightful ride, and this place is certainly 
 worth coming to." 
 
 " One generally thinks so, especially after dinner." 
 
 " Dinner! " exclaimed Mrs. Alison, coming up to 
 them in time to catch the last word. " That's what 
 we're all thinking of, and dinner in this place is so 
 well cooked and well served that it's something to 
 dream of, no nightmare either! " 
 
 " I don't see how such a master of culinary art as 
 Farno is ever came to settle in this out of the way 
 spot." said the Doctor. " Why, he could make a for- 
 tune in the city." 
 
 " He doesn't starve here," argued Marita. " And 
 perhaps the freedom of this life is worth more to him 
 than extra dollars."
 
 58 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Possibly," returned Mrs. Alison, " though one 
 doesn't look for sentiment in cooks." 
 
 " I believe," said Marita, " that something fine 
 underlies every personality excelling in the accom- 
 plishment of any one thing, even cooking." 
 
 " You can support your beliefs altogether too well 
 for me to dispute you," replied Mrs. Aliton, half hu- 
 morously; then glancing around, she asked: " Where 
 is your friend Mr. Hamilton? He's such an inter- 
 esting talker! " 
 
 "Yes, isn't he?" said Marita, trying to speak 
 indifferently, while she was thrilling as every woman 
 does when the man she loves is mentioned. 
 
 " I have seldom met a man who had more to say or 
 said it better. I like him, he impresses one as a man 
 of great character." 
 
 " I should say rather as a man of great strength, but 
 questionable control," remarked the Doctor coolly. 
 
 Marita was so surprised at his discourtesy and in- 
 dignant, too, for she felt sure he knew the untruth 
 of his criticism that she could not reply at once. 
 Mrs. Alison gave the Doctor a penetrating look as she 
 said: 
 
 " That is not my impression, though it wouldn't be
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 59 
 
 strange if uncontrollable impulses were found in a 
 descendent of Alexander Hamilton, as I think you 
 said he was? " turning to Marita. 
 
 " Yes, a direct descendent," she replied abruptly. 
 
 " I don't suppose Alexander Hamilton's influence 
 on our country has ever been fully appreciated," con- 
 tinued Mrs. Alison, scenting something unpleasant, 
 and thinking it best to do the talking herself. " 1 
 remember hearing my father say that history showed 
 few instances where such great results had been 
 achieved, without money and influence, solely by the 
 might of one man." 
 
 While Mrs. Alison was speaking, Marita saw Ham- 
 ilton nearing the inn, walking slowly and switching 
 the roadside weeds with a stick he had cut and 
 trimmed. When he noticed them he quickened his 
 pace, and as he came down the piazza Marita thought 
 she had never heard a more characteristic tread, it 
 was so firm and steady; as he approached, Mrs. Alison 
 addressed him: 
 
 " We were just talking of your famous ances- 
 tor." 
 
 " Alexander Hamilton? " 
 
 " Yes," she replied. " We were speaking of his
 
 60 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 wonderful ability to achieve things in the face of ad- 
 verse circumstances." 
 
 " Largely due to his power of concentration," re- 
 turned Hamilton. 
 
 " Which is a great gift," Marita added, thinking 
 she knew some people who had it. 
 
 " Well," said the Doctor, " the man's attainments 
 were remarkable considering all he had to contend 
 with." 
 
 Hamilton hesitated an instant, and then replied: 
 
 " Certainly it must have been difficult to rise, as he 
 did, in a strange country, without wealth or friends." 
 
 " No career is easy when it begins with uncertain 
 parentage." 
 
 As Doctor Earle spoke these words he looked 
 straight at the man he insulted. Hamilton, who was 
 standing, leaning against a post, never moved a muscle, 
 but Marita saw the color leave his lips, and her 
 heart gave a great bound, realizing how much he was 
 hurt. 
 
 "Birth is the one thing for which no man is re- 
 sponsible," said Hamilton, returning the Doctor's look 
 with unflinching eyes. 
 
 Marita could scarcely restrain her delight in his
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 61 
 
 splendid self-control. She found it difficult to con- 
 tent herself with saying: 
 
 " True, and if a man must labor under the 
 stigma of illegitimacy his success should be doubly 
 crowned! " 
 
 " But," said Mrs. Alison, " as I understand it, no 
 one knows the real truth concerning Alexander Ham- 
 ilton's birth." 
 
 " The best authorities, I believe, consider it irregu- 
 lar," replied the Doctor. Hamilton wondered how 
 much longer he could keep his hands away from that 
 man. 
 
 " Dinner is served," called Mr. Bellenden from the 
 doorway, where the rest of the party stood waiting. 
 
 Marita rose, and stepping towards Hamilton spoke 
 with a tremor in her voice. 
 
 " Will the gentleman who has the honor to be de- 
 pended from Alexander Hamilton take me in to din- 
 ner?" 
 
 He looked into the loyal brown eyes, and forgot to 
 reply, such balm did he find in their depths. He 
 merely inclined his head, and they passed into the 
 dining-room together. 
 
 After dinner they all started for Hunter's Falls,
 
 62 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 leaving the road a short distance from Farno's, and 
 turning into a path slippery with pine needles dropped 
 from the branches above. Everywhere were the 
 greens and browns and grays of the woodland softly 
 blending in sunlight and shadow. Ferns and blue- 
 bells grew on the rocks wherever the lichens gave 
 them a lodging place, and each fallen tree was a riot- 
 ing ground for some vine. They followed the winding 
 path for some distance, and as it grew steeper, the 
 sound of rushing water reached them, though the falls 
 were not yet in sight. 
 
 " Hark! " said Marita, stopping a moment. " That's 
 the sweetest music in all the world ! " 
 
 " Except yours," returned Hamilton, speaking in a 
 low tone full of tenderness. 
 
 Oh, how Marita longed to look up and drink from 
 the well of love in his eyes; but she only gave her 
 head a little shake, and raised a protesting hand as 
 she moved up the path. 
 
 When they had viewed the falls from various points, 
 Mrs. Alison suggested that they climb up one side, 
 which was rough but not impassable, and see how the 
 stream looked before falling its foamy length. This 
 proposition was greeted with delight, and while the
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 63 
 
 ladies securely pinned their habits, Hamilton went on 
 ahead to assure himself that it was safe. 
 
 " It's a rather hard climb, but I think you can make 
 it," he called back. 
 
 The other gentlemen assisted the ladies, and Ham- 
 ilton remained at the top to help them up over the 
 hardest place of all. Just below the rock where he 
 stood there was a long reach with no possible rest for 
 the foot except a clump of moss and small ferns grow- 
 ing on a slight projection. When Marita, who was 
 the last lady to ascend, placed her foot on this spot, 
 the moss and dirt, loosened by the others, gave way, 
 and she would have fallen fifty feet if Hamilton, who 
 held both of her hands, had not thrown himself back 
 and pulled her over the edge. Only a man of such 
 strength and presence of mind could have saved her. 
 
 " So awkward of me," said Marita, not realizing 
 how great the danger had been. Nobody replied, and 
 glancing from one to another she saw a terror in 
 every face, and in Hamilton's eyes a look she never 
 forgot. 
 
 "Ye gods! " exclaimed the Doctor, as he scrambled 
 up over a different rock. " That was a narrow 
 escape! "
 
 64 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Marita looked at Hamilton. He stood perfectly 
 still, almost rigid. His face was white and tense. 
 
 " You saved my life." 
 
 " Don't," he said, drawing back as if afraid she 
 would thank him. 
 
 " No," she answered, understanding what he meant, 
 and adding almost in a whisper, " Only I'm so glad 
 it was you at the top." 
 
 Then feeling she had said quite enough, Marita 
 turned aside, brushing off her habit. 
 
 They went down by another passage, which proved 
 safer, and the homeward trip was made without fur- 
 ther incident. It was late when they reached Lin- 
 denhurst, tired and quite ready for the tempting sup- 
 per Mrs. Burton had prepared for the party. To Ma- 
 rita and Hamilton that meal seemed interminable; 
 but when the last guest had ridden away, instead of 
 seeking an opportunity to speak with her alone as she 
 hoped he would, for she was ready to waive her reso- 
 lution of the morning, Hamilton said to Mrs. Burton 
 and Marita, as they stood together on the steps: 
 
 " If you'll excuse me, I think I'll take a last look 
 at the river." 
 
 And saying goo'd-night he left them standing there.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 65 
 
 Marita went up to her room, and throwing the blinds 
 wide open, dropped on the floor by the window and 
 looked out into the night. Slowly the waning moon 
 rose behind the mountains, shedding its light over the 
 tops of trees and casting weird shadows around the 
 house. No bird nor insect raised a note. Through 
 the stillness Marita heard the muffled sound of her 
 heart, throbbing out its pain. 
 
 " Why, why, why? " it said. Then suddenly it 
 ceased to question, for it knew. With passionate 
 certainly she clasped her hands; surely surely he 
 would not ask for her love the day he had saved her life ! 
 She worshipped him for his silence; she knew that 
 this was not the spirit of infatuation, and in her joy 
 she whispered over and over: 
 
 " Some other time some other time! " 
 5
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 /^\N a Saturday afternoon late in August, Hamilton 
 entered a parlor car in the Erie Depot at Jer- 
 sey City, with a step which matched his heart in light- 
 ness. He was going to attend a house party at Tuxedo 
 and Marita would be among the guests. 
 
 Since leaving Lindenhurst, Hamilton had paid fre- 
 quent visits to the book shops, while certain Broadway 
 florists and music dealers had grown to look upon him 
 as a regular customer. Of course such favors were 
 duly acknowledged by Marita, and through these let- 
 ters for he received more than notes of thanks he 
 learned that she, also, would be at Chester Towers to- 
 night. Full of anticipation, he settled himself in his 
 chair, pleased with the perfection of the violets packed 
 away in his dress-suit case, and feeling that this world 
 is a very good place to live in. 
 
 Across the aisle sat a boy with one of those thor- 
 oughly alive faces that always attract attention. He 
 was about thirteen, and evidently starting on his first
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 67 
 
 journey alone; as the train began to move Hamilton 
 heard the boy's mother say from the platform: 
 
 " Don't forget to telegraph just as soon as you get 
 there." 
 
 " I won't," and he waved his cap out of the window. 
 
 Hamilton thought he'd like to talk to a boy with 
 such snappy eyes, so after they had passed through 
 the tunnel he ventured to remark: 
 
 " Nice day to travel." 
 
 i 
 
 " Fine," was the reply. 
 
 " Are you off on a vacation trip? " 
 
 " Going to my grandfather's. He's got a dandy 
 farm up in Orange County." 
 
 " Let's hear about it," taking an unoccupied chair 
 next to the boy; then, knowing it would please him, 
 Hamilton opened a leather case and offered him a card. 
 The young face glowed with pleasure at this treat- 
 ment, and Hamilton was immediately presented with 
 a pasteboard, cleaner than might be expected, on which 
 he read : 
 
 Ealph Chisholm, Jr.
 
 68 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 "I think I know your father. Isn't he a lawyer 
 with an office in the Equitable Building? " 
 
 " You bet he is! Do you really know him? " 
 
 " I've heard him argue cases in court you see I'm 
 a lawyer, too." 
 
 "Say, isn't this jolly!" 
 
 "I think so," said Hamilton, who was much inter- 
 ested. " I'd like to hear about that farm." 
 
 "Nicest place I know of!" exclaimed Ralph. 
 " They've got five dogs up there and a pony that can 
 beat anything she goes like the wind! " 
 
 " Do they let you ride her? " 
 
 " Only when Uncle Bob goes along; but I tell you 
 we make him hustle to keep up! " 
 
 " I fancy you do," said Hamilton. 
 
 "Yes sir! And you ought to have seen him the 
 day I chased the hens with rotten eggs! My, wasn't 
 he mad! " 
 
 Hamilton laughed over this instance of the irony of 
 fate, and asked Ralph if the fishing was good near the 
 farm. 
 
 " Bully fishing we get bass in the river, and go 
 up the brook for trout. It's great fun, unless you 
 tumble into the water and get your lunch all wet, like
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 69 
 
 i 
 
 I did one day. I didn't mind the soaking, but the 
 grub was no good, and it takes the edge off your sport 
 when you're hungry." 
 
 "I should think so." replied Hamilton sympathet- 
 ically. 
 
 Ralph chatted on about his various exploits, and 
 Hamilton listened with amusement, saying just enough 
 to keep the boy going. They were about five miles 
 from Tuxedo, and Ralph was recounting a hairbreadth 
 escape on the pony, when suddenly the train came to a 
 standstill. Everybody waited quietly for a moment 
 or two; then people began craning their necks out of 
 the windows to see what had happened, and a few of 
 the men left the car. The conductor passed through, 
 and Hamilton asked him the cause of the stop. 
 
 " Freight train jumped the track ahead of us." 
 
 " How long will it keep us here ? " 
 
 " Hard to tell probably a couple of hours or more." 
 
 Two hours or more! That meant hurrying into his 
 dress suit, dinnerless, while other men were dancing 
 with Marita, and the violets would hide their beauty 
 in a box instead of gracing her gown as he had hoped. 
 It was really too bad, but what could he do? Then, in 
 the midst of his perplexities, it occurred to Hamilton
 
 70 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 that he could easily walk it and reach there yet in time 
 for dinner; of course, why didn't he think of that be- 
 fore? When he rose to his feet, Ralph eagerly asked: 
 
 " May I go with you to see the wreck? " 
 
 " See here, youngster, how far do you go? " 
 
 " To Greycourt." 
 
 " Will somebody meet you? " 
 
 " Oh, sure ! Uncle Bob'll be there, crosser'n two 
 sticks if the train's late. Where you goin' ? " 
 
 " Tuxedo," said Hamilton rather abruptly. 
 
 " We're not far from there, are we? " 
 
 " Only about five miles." 
 
 " You could hoof that, couldn't you? " 
 
 " Yes, I could. But I don't think I will." 
 
 " I'm awfully glad! " Ralph said with so much 
 earnestness that Hamilton couldn't regret his decision 
 to stay with the young fellow who would have such a 
 lonely wait if he left him. It was characteristic of 
 Hamilton that if he once made up his mind to do a 
 thing, he did it as well as possible; having decided that 
 he ought to remain with the boy, he resolved to turn the 
 delay into a good time for Ralph. Still, Hamilton 
 was human, and the thought of those violets made it 
 very hard to say:
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 71 
 
 " Come on now, we'll take a look at that wreck." 
 As they walked along the side of the track Hamil- 
 ton heard a man, who had been sitting in their car, 
 say to the conductor, " I'll make Tuxedo long before 
 you do," and watched him start off at a brisk trot. It 
 required some effort to give his attention to Ralph, 
 especially when he saw what a pile of debris must be 
 removed before their train could pass, and realized 
 that it would take fully two hours, if not more. 
 However, he devoted himself to showing the boy all 
 there was to be seen and explaining things as well as 
 he could. 
 
 " What do you say to hunting up some supper? " 
 " I don't mind," said Ralph, with a grin, wondering 
 how Mr. Hamilton knew so well what boys would like. 
 They started up a country road in search of some 
 farm-house, and after passing one where an irate 
 woman answered their polite inquiry by saying, " I 
 don't keep no lunch counter goin'," they found a 
 charming old place with a well in the front yard, and 
 huge elms shading a latticed porch, where a lame little 
 girl sat beside her mother. Hamilton explained their 
 predicament, and they were graciously asked to sit 
 down while the woman prepared some food. She
 
 72 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 soon reappeared, bearing a tray laden with cold chicken, 
 biscuits, sliced peaches and cream. Placing this feast 
 between them on the board seat, they " had lots of fun 
 eating up their appetites," as Ralph expressed it. 
 
 Hamilton knew that this woman, who impressed him 
 as one longing for higher things, of which, perhaps, 
 'she had only a dim conception, would take no pay, so 
 he handed her one of his business cards, saying: 
 
 " My services are always at your command." 
 
 Courtesy rarely came into her life, and she was as 
 much pleased as she would have been insulted if he 
 had offered her money. As he went out of the gate 
 he turned and lifted his hat once more, making a men- 
 tal note to express a box of books to that lame child 
 as soon as he returned to New York. 
 
 The sun was getting low, and the walk back to the 
 wreck would have been delightful if Hamilton had 
 not been thinking unspeakable things about that 
 abominable freight train; but Ralph never guessed 
 that there was any disturbance in his companion's 
 mind he thought Mr. Hamilton told the best stories, 
 and was altogether the j oiliest man he knew; indeed, 
 he was almost sorry when their train actually started, 
 though to Hamilton there had never been a more
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 73 
 
 welcome sound than the first creak of those moving 
 wheels. 
 
 When they rolled into the hill-girt station at Tuxedo, 
 nearly three hours late, Hamilton bade Ralph good-by, 
 promising to telegraph his father that the train was 
 delayed, but all safe. 
 
 The beauties of Tuxedo Park did not delight Hamil- 
 ton as much as the speed of the horses that bowled the 
 carriage over the smooth roads at a rate satisfying even 
 to a belated lover. By the time he reached Chester 
 Towers the gay party in the dining hall had finished 
 the game course; while they were occupied with salad 
 and dessert Hamilton quickly changed his clothing, 
 though when he was announced to the company linger- 
 ing over the cordials, his perfect evening attire 
 showed no signs of haste. 
 
 Lawrence Chester rose and welcomed his guest with 
 the winning cordiality which so endeared him to his 
 friends. After the greetings and presentations were 
 over, Hamilton explained his late arrival and said that 
 he had dined, thinking of the contrast between that 
 simple tray and this table, furnished with Tiffany's 
 best. The butler drew out the vacant chair and Ham- 
 ilton seated himself, wondering how he could keep a
 
 74 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 level head with Marita sitting almost opposite looking 
 like that! He had never seen her in evening dress 
 before, and the pale green gown she wore enhanced 
 her coloring to the bewilderment of poor Hamilton, 
 who was lost in admiration of the creamy skin and 
 bronze waves. It has been said that love is a great 
 beautifier; however it may be, it seemed to Hamilton 
 that each line of Marita's face had softened that 
 something had lent a bewitching charm to every fea- 
 ture. Though her large mouth and irregular nose 
 must always prevent her from being called a beauty, 
 she was, without question, the most distingue woman 
 present. It was maddening to watch the turn of her 
 head, so exquisitely poised on shoulders that well, 
 he had to look at some one else. 
 
 As he glanced around the table, he recognized in 
 one of the gentlemen to whom he had just been pre- 
 sented, the man who told the conductor that he would 
 reach Tuxedo before the train did. Hamilton was 
 just thinking that it was well he didn't know that man 
 was also bound for Chester Towers, when his host 
 remarked: 
 
 " Well, Hamilton, this is the first time I have ever 
 had occasion to question your energy. Norton, here,
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 75 
 
 walked five miles, and knowing you were on the same 
 train, we supposed you would do likewise. He never 
 walks except around the golf links and you're a 
 regular tramp." 
 
 " I would have done so had it not been for my 
 traveling companion." 
 
 " She must have been awfully attractive," drawled 
 out one of those men, not by any means rare, who 
 seem to enjoy being social blights. 
 
 " My companion was not a lady," returned Hamil- 
 ton with as little asperity as possible under such provo- 
 cation. 
 
 " I can vouch for the truth of that statement," inter- 
 posed Mr. Norton, who appeared to be very much of 
 a gentleman. " Mr. Hamilton was devoting himself to 
 a young boy." 
 
 " Some one put in your charge? " Lawrence Ches- 
 ter asked. 
 
 " No, not even that for an excuse. Just a little chap 
 taking his first trip alone." 
 
 " And you turned that long wait into a lark for him 
 it's just like you," said Mr. Chester, adding heartily: 
 " Ladies and gentlemen, fill your glasses; we drink to 
 the health of Grant Hamilton."
 
 76 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Marita could scarcely swallow, but she drained her 
 glass, and over its brim Hamilton caught a look more 
 intoxicating than champagne. She was so proud of 
 him, so happy in his presence, so radiant in the surety 
 of his love; all this, and more, he saw in that glance. 
 They were both glad when Mrs. Chester rose, and the 
 ladies left the gentlemen to their cigars. 
 
 Marita went straight to her room she must have a 
 few moments alone. The lights were lowered, and at 
 first she did not see the box of violets which Hamil- 
 ton had dispatched by a maid before he went down. 
 She went to the open window, but the night air failed 
 to cool her hot cheeks, and turning to bathe them, she 
 saw the box on her dressing-table. "With eager fingers 
 she untied the ribbons, and burying her face in the 
 purple fragrance, Marita kissed those violets again 
 and again. Drawing a long breath of delight, she 
 raised her head and noticed his card, on which was 
 written: 
 
 " Will you wear them? " 
 
 Would she wear them! Ah, how quickly the lights 
 went up, and how carefully those violets were fast- 
 ened, high on the shoulder and over the breast glow- 
 ing with passionate joy. She smiled at the reflection
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 77 
 
 in the mirror, knowing how the harmony of gown and 
 garniture would please him, and her face burned more 
 than ever as she went to join the ladies below. 
 
 When Hamilton entered the drawing-room, he 
 looked for the slender figure in green, hoping to see 
 the added touch of purple, yet scarcely expecting that 
 she would find the flowers until the evening was over; 
 but she had found them she wore them and as he 
 approached her, the light in her eyes was to him as a 
 beacon to the mariner. 
 
 " Your violets are not as fresh as they would have 
 been" 
 
 " I like them all the better for that delay and 
 thank you so much." 
 
 Hamilton hoped that Marita would continue talk- 
 ing, but she was not in a conversational mood, so he 
 finally remarked: 
 
 " It is fortunate for me that dinner here was so 
 late I'm in time for the first dance after all." 
 
 " You like to open the ball? " 
 
 " Yes, to-night I do." Then, as he heard the 
 strains of a waltz and saw Mrs. Chester rising, he 
 said, " Will you honor me? " 
 
 "With pleasure," she replied; and they followed
 
 78 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 the others through the great hall hung with armor, 
 past the library and music-room, into the beautiful 
 pink and white ballroom. 
 
 Hamilton had been thinking of this dance ever 
 since he learned that Marita would be here, and when 
 he drew her into the rhythmic circles it was like realiz- 
 ing a dream. Their dancing was perfect harmony of 
 motion; swaying with the same strain, gliding together 
 with the music, they knew that their hearts were 
 united as completely as their steps. 
 
 It was late before they had another dance together, 
 for Marita was in great demand, and Hamilton was 
 too well-bred to neglect the other ladies; but at last 
 he led her out again once more he felt her lithe 
 figure yielding to his guidance; once more he held the 
 woman he loved, and her nearness thrilled him until 
 everything grew dim, and then they found themselves 
 out in the starlight alone. 
 
 " Marita? " he whispered, opening his arms. 
 
 " Yes," she breathed, and their lips met.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 " "V^OU knew I loved you when I was at Linden- 
 hurst?" 
 
 " Yes," in a low tone. 
 
 " And you knew why I did not speak before I left ? " 
 
 " Yes," still lower. 
 
 " Speak to me, dear. Tell me how glad you are." 
 
 " Oh, I am glad so glad ! This tells you," and 
 bending towards Hamilton as he lay on the ground 
 at her feet, she drew his head into her arms, laying 
 her lips upon his. 
 
 They had slipped away, as lovers will, and were 
 spending the morning beside a brook overhung with 
 trees, so in harmony with the quiet spirit of the day 
 of rest that the leaves hung almost motionless, not even 
 stirring enough to rustle. Except when a squirrel 
 scampered through the underbrush or a bird trilled 
 out a song, the only sound was the gurgle of the water 
 rippling over the stones. Nature seemed to smile at 
 them, saying : " Be content ; all is well." And they 
 were content happy with the happiness that comes
 
 8o BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 but once in life, joyful with the joy of loving as only 
 man and woman not youth and maiden can love. 
 Both had known that exquisite flower of the heart 
 called first love; and both knew that this later bloom 
 was far richer, deeper, more precious. Looking into 
 each other's eyes, they read a fair promise of the future 
 they saw there the completion of love so satisfying 
 to the mature heart. Trust in each other, soul kinship 
 with each other and passion for each other this was 
 their creed. 
 
 " Marita," said Hamilton, " tell me when you began 
 to care ? Do you know ? " 
 
 " I think I cared from the very first, but I wasn't 
 conscious of any attraction towards you until that night 
 when you understood me so perfectly when we were 
 standing under the stars and you said, l look up.' Do 
 you remember ? " 
 
 " I remember everything that happened, dear ; and 
 it was the very next morning that a positive deter- 
 mination to make you my wife rose out of the indefinite 
 longings which had been stirring ever since the first 
 time I heard you play. Your violin was the key that 
 unlocked my heart; it also told me that the love of a 
 woman who could abandon herself so completely to the
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 81 
 
 passion of music would be as sweet as it is," and his 
 voice sank into a whisper as he drew her face down to 
 his. 
 
 " That," she said, after a happy pause, " is one of 
 my Italian characteristics." 
 
 " Even so," he replied. " The Italian women can 
 love. You have their strength of passion, and higher 
 attributes they seldom possess." 
 
 " I don't know; I only know I love you." 
 
 " God bless you ! " he said fervently. Then, looking 
 up with ardent, pleading eyes, he clasped her hands in 
 his, saying slowly : 
 
 " Marita, you'll not keep me waiting long? " 
 
 " No," she stammered. " I I couldn't." 
 
 " Ah," he exclaimed, springing to his feet and lift- 
 ing her up in his arms, " there is no one like you ! 
 What a wife you will make, you perfect woman ! " 
 
 Throwing her head back, Marita said in her piquant 
 way: 
 
 " Now, how can you say that, with my big mouth 
 and crooked nose right before you ? " 
 
 " Your nose isn't crooked, it's only irregular ; and 
 what if your mouth is large? That's only so much 
 
 more sweetness. Besides, you know very well that I 
 6
 
 82 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 didn't mean features when I said you were a perfect 
 woman. I meant the you, the rich personality, the 
 something that throbs in your music and shines out of 
 your eyes and makes me the happiest man alive ! " 
 
 " Dearest," she said, with an ecstatic little gesture 
 expressive of the delight a woman feels when the great- 
 ness of a man's joy in her is acknowledged. Then, 
 after a thoughtful moment, she looked up at him seri- 
 ously, saying: "Father will be happy, too; he likes 
 you so much." 
 
 " Yes, I think he does; but he will be very loth to 
 resign you, even to me," and Hamilton thought of the 
 Judge's singular devotion to his daughter. Perhaps 
 it was the babble of the brook, so like the one they 
 had fished together, that recalled to his mind the day 
 in the woods when Judge Burton had revealed the 
 existence of some trouble from which he longed to 
 escape. It pained Hamilton to think of how that 
 kindly face, so seared with inner struggles, would sad- 
 den when Marita left her home, and he resolved to be 
 the tenderest, most devoted son a man could ask for. 
 Some day he might know what the trouble was; and 
 then how he would sympathize, how he would comfort 
 the man who had comforted so many others !
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 83 
 
 " I wonder what you are thinking of ? " asked Marita. 
 " Not you, for once, but your father." 
 Then, as they moved slowly along the bank, it oc- 
 curred to him as a little odd that the father should 
 have been uppermost in the minds of both. Why had 
 neither one of them considered the mother? Was it 
 because she was such a quiet little body that one was 
 scarcely aware of her presence until reminded of it by 
 some gentle word ? Or was it because the Judge mani- 
 fested his love for Marita with such intensity that her 
 mother's less ardent love was overshadowed? Ham- 
 ilton felt that in his own case it was because Marita 
 had so many of her father's characteristics, so few of 
 her mother's, and his thought naturally turned to the 
 one who had been the strongest element in her life. 
 As for Marita, he knew perfectly well that while she 
 had the deepest affection for her mother, there was no 
 such bond between them as that which held father and 
 daughter. Indeed, it had not taken Hamilton long to 
 discover that Mrs. Burton had little sympathy with 
 and slight comprehension of Marita's intense nature, 
 and it was equally plain that while Marita recognized 
 her mother's fine qualities she also knew the limitations 
 of her sweet disposition.
 
 84 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Such thoughts vaguely passed through Hamilton's 
 mind, but were soon lost in the happiness of " talking 
 it over " as they followed the stream, picking their 
 way over stones and wet places, or sat in the shade 
 thinking of nothing but each other. So the morning 
 passed, and when they reached the Towers, just in 
 time for luncheon, it was with the feeling that how- 
 ever great their future joys might be, they would sel- 
 dom live through such unclouded hours again. 
 
 A driving party had been planned for the afternoon, 
 and this, with music in the evening, prevented any 
 further talk alone. 
 
 When they all gathered in the music room, Hamil- 
 ton stood in the doorway and watched Marita take up 
 her violin, feeling that she would play as she never 
 had played before. She was dressed all in white to- 
 night, her only ornament a star of pearls. The soft, 
 silken crepe, exquisitely made, clung to her graceful 
 figure, and when she raised her arm and rested her 
 chin on the Cremona she made a picture every man in 
 the room admired, and most of the women envied. 
 Slowly the notes rose, as if summoned from a spirit 
 reluctantly giving up its treasures, then gradually they 
 melted into passionate strains voicing the very life of
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 85 
 
 that spirit now abandoning itself to the joy of expres- 
 sion. Hamilton was right; Marita had never played 
 like this before. He knew that every tone was a call 
 from her heart to his, and he longed to answer, longed 
 to cry out, " Yes, love, I hear you, and am with you 
 always "; but he only folded his arms across his breast, 
 though the tightness of the folding made them ache. 
 
 Marita laid down her violin amid a storm of the 
 noisy applause she hated. Her eyes sought Hamilton's 
 over the heads between them; he gave a nod that said, 
 " I understood," and she replied with a smile which 
 meant, " That is all I care for." 
 
 A little group gathered around Marita, and as Ham- 
 ilton crossed the room to join it Mr. Chester was say- 
 ing: 
 
 "Miss Burton, you belong to the only aristocracy 
 worth considering the aristocracy of genius." 
 
 " Hark ! " said Marita with the comic air of solemnity 
 she could assume so well. " Methinks I can hear your 
 long line of ancestors stirring in their graves." 
 
 " Some of them the biggest rascals that ever lived ! 
 Xo; I take no stock in an aristocracy founded on mere 
 pedigree. I'd rather have one distinguished forefather 
 than a dozen of the ordinary kind; and I'd rather have
 
 86 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 one spark of genius in Lawrence Chester than any 
 number of famous ancestors." 
 
 " Your creed, then, is that of individual worth," 
 Hamilton remarked. 
 
 " Most decidedly. It is the only true standard in a 
 world of shams." 
 
 " I agree with you," replied Hamilton, admiring 
 Chester more than ever. 
 
 " Yet you have family connections to be most proud 
 of," said Mr. Norton reflectively. 
 
 " Very true," Hamilton answered ; " but to me the 
 character of Alexander Hamilton is of greater im- 
 portance than the fact that he was the twenty-seventh 
 in a line which numbers many earls and dukes." 
 
 "That's it exactly," Chester exclaimed. "The 
 character of a man like Alexander Hamilton is a 
 grand inheritance far excelling the value of landed 
 titles; though even that is subordinate to the force 
 that makes Grant Hamilton's name a power in the 
 courts." 
 
 " No depreciation of Mr. Hamilton's ability," said 
 Mr. Norton, with a courteous bend of his head, " but 
 is not this very force inherited ? " 
 
 " Why, my dear fellow," returned Lawrence Ches-
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 87 
 
 ter, " that's one advantage in having an illustrious 
 ancestor, he's apt to transmit some of his greatness to 
 you. But I tell you, no amount of transmitted great- 
 ness ever becomes a power unless it is utilized by the 
 inheritor." 
 
 " Developed through freedom of the will," suggested 
 Marita. 
 
 " Precisely," Chester said; and then a gentleman be- 
 gan to sing. 
 
 Later in the evening, when all the guests were prom- 
 enading on the great veranda, Hamilton and Marita 
 found a quiet corner where they were undisturbed for 
 a few minutes. 
 
 " I shall not see you in the morning," he said, touch- 
 ing her hair with his lips. " I must leave on the early 
 train." 
 
 " If we were at home I should see you off ; here it 
 would be too conspicuous." 
 
 " I fear it would, dear ; but I'll give you a chance 
 to see me off next week. I may come to Lindenhurst 
 Saturday, may I not ? " 
 
 " Oh, will you come ? " she entreated with a joyful 
 tremor in her voice. " I wish you would; I want you
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Do you, love ? " and he drew her close to his 
 heart, holding her there till untimely footsteps ap- 
 proached. Then he released her, saying in a passion- 
 ate whisper: 
 
 "Until Saturday."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 11 T DUNNO what's come over the Judge, Miss Ma- 
 rita," said Sam, who was a long tried servant 
 privileged to speak out as faithful retainers often are. 
 He was driving Marita home from the depot, and took 
 this opportunity of expressing his anxiety concerning 
 the Judge. Sam worshipped his master, and never 
 wearied of telling how he was lying in a drunken 
 sleep by the road when the Judge came riding along, 
 and, seeing him there, aroused him. " You jus' ought 
 to seen his eyes blaze," Sam would say. " He set me 
 up 'gainst a fence, an' then he let fly at me. ' Look 
 here,' says he, ' I dunno who you be, but you ain't 
 got no right to go treatin' your body 's if 'twas a bar- 
 rel. A man's got brains, an' they ain't like dried 
 apples soakin' don't improve 'em. Come now, why 
 d'you clog your thinkin' machine with drink till you 
 ain't no better'n the animals, nor as good as some of 
 ? em.' I tell you what, no temp'rance talk I ever 
 heard straightened me out like that did. I braced up, 
 an' I says to him, ' I do it 'cause I'm a fool.' ' Well,
 
 90 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 you're honest,' he says. * Got a job?' I shook my 
 head. ' No job an' no home.' Then he looked at 
 me kind of sorry like, an' he says, ' I need a man, an' 
 I'll try you till you do this again,' * It's a go, boss,' I 
 says, an' it's been a go ever since. You see it's a 
 mighty good place the Judge always treats you square 
 an' I've never yet been willin' he should think some 
 animals better'n I am." 
 
 All this happened long ago, when Marita was a little 
 girl in short frocks, and Sam was now the trusted man- 
 ager of the farm. His evident anxiety troubled her. 
 
 " You think something is wrong with my father? " 
 she asked uneasily. 
 
 " Looks that way." 
 
 " Why, how does he act what has happened? " 
 
 " Fur one thing, he comes home every day lately with 
 Salem in an awful sweat 'n you know, Miss Marita, 
 that ain't like the Judge." 
 
 " It certainly is not. What else have you noticed? " 
 
 " Well, he went fishin' on Sunday somethin' that 
 .ain't happened since I been at Lindenhurst." 
 
 " That's very odd." 
 
 " An' the oddest part is he come back without any 
 fish."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 91 
 
 " No fish? " 
 
 " No fish. Nuther thing that ain't happened since 
 I been at Lindenhurst. My 'pinion is that the Judge 
 never sunk a worm that day. His line was as dry as a 
 chip when I put it away." 
 
 "Anything else?" said Marita with some misgiv- 
 ings. 
 
 " Well, Miss Marita, last night Monday I was 
 comin' home from town late must 'a' been midnight, 
 or mebbe after. As I druv up the hill I seen a man 
 leanin' on the stone wall 'longside that there peach 
 orchard we jus' passed. I kind of halted, thinkin' if 
 he needed help, he could call out ; but he kep' still, so I 
 come along home. When I got up to the house, there 
 was Mis Burton on the steps, all dressed an' lookin' 
 peeked like. ' Sam,' says she, ' have you seen the 
 Judge? ' ' Seen a man down by the peach orchard,' 
 I says, ' but I couldn't make out his face in the dark.' 
 I never seen Mis Burton look so troubled, an' she says, 
 * He went for a walk after dinner, an' he aint' come 
 home yet.' ' He'll be along pretty soon,' says I, ' he's 
 only thinkin' out a case down there in the quiet.' 
 Then I druv 'long out to the barn an' put up the horse; 
 but I felt uneasy like, an' I knew Mis Burton did, so
 
 92 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 I went out to the gate to take a look down the road, 
 hopin' I'd see him a-comin'. An' sure 'nough, he was 
 comin' an' what d'you s'pose? Mis Burton was 
 walkin' with him ! I seen her white dress close to him, 
 like as if he had his arm 'round her. ' He's all right 
 now,' I says, an' then I turned in fur the night." 
 
 " I am glad you told me about this, Sam," said Ma- 
 rita. 
 
 " You know how much I think o' the Judge, an' if 
 anythin' goes wrong with him, I can't help seein' it. 
 I thought you oughter know 'bout it, 'cause if any- 
 body c'n smooth things out fur him, you can, Miss 
 Marita." 
 
 " Perhaps things aren't as bad as you think there 
 he is waiting for me ! " 
 
 Marita waved her hand at the Judge, who stood at 
 the gate ready to lift her out. He greeted her as 
 though she had been absent four months instead of 
 four days. 
 
 " Did you have a good time, dear? " he asked, as 
 they walked up the box-bordered path to the house. 
 
 " Oh, yes! " Marita answered. 
 
 "Many there?" 
 
 " Quite a house full even for Chester Towers."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 93 
 
 " Hamilton show up as he expected to? " 
 
 " Yes, he was there," Marita replied; by this time 
 they had reached the steps, and she ran up on the 
 veranda to meet her mother. 
 
 All through dinner Marita kept up a lively talk, and 
 at times she thought the cloud on her father's face 
 lifted; but there was an unmistakable cloud a drawn 
 look about the eyes and mouth that told of mental dis- 
 tress. When they rose from the table, Marita slipped 
 her arm in her father's, saying: 
 
 " Now come and ' pace.' ' 
 
 " Pacing " meant promenading the veranda from 
 end to end, a habit of theirs ever since Marita was tall 
 enough to walk with the Judge arm in arm. Though 
 this was one of his favorite pastimes, he soon ended 
 their pacing to-night by sending her upstairs to un- 
 pack her violin. 
 
 " I'm hungry for some music," said the Judge, a 
 pathetic note sounding in his voice. Marita's eyes 
 would have filled had she been a woman given to 
 tears. 
 
 Marita came down with her Cremona in just the 
 right mood to open the floodgates of her heart, and she 
 did. Her music bore the message of her love, and in
 
 94 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 the glorious melody Judge Burton read his doom 
 and hers. 
 
 " It has come," he thought. " She loves Hamilton 
 and I know that he loves her." 
 
 Suddenly Marita stopped playing; for the first time 
 in her life she let her violin fall. With a half sob she 
 went straight to her father's arms. 
 
 " My little girl is it so? " 
 
 " Yes," she whispered, nestling close to the breast 
 which had always been a never-failing shelter. 
 
 " Hamilton? " 
 
 She only clasped his neck tighter, speaking no 
 word, but he knew. 
 
 That night while Marita slept, a happy smile part- 
 ing her lips, in the room across the hall her father, 
 with aching eyes, watched the black hours through 
 until dawn.
 
 CHAPTEK IX 
 
 , Hamilton," said the Judge, closing the 
 library door behind them. 
 
 It was Sunday afternoon, and the house was very 
 quiet. Hamilton stood in front of the window open- 
 ing on the balcony where he had passed so many hours 
 with Marita where they had watched the thunder- 
 storm together, and she had spoken so comprehensively 
 of Alexander Hamilton. 
 
 The Judge sat down in a leather armchair by the 
 big table, and resting his elbow on the books and maga- 
 zines, he raised a face bearing the look of a man who 
 has braced himself for an ordeal. Hamilton did not 
 wonder at this; he knew that when the Judge gave 
 Marita, he gave the dearest thing in his life. 
 
 For a moment they looked at each other in silence. 
 A cricket lazily droned in the garden, and outside 
 the windows the wistaria rustled in the breeze. Ham- 
 ilton found the stillness growing oppressive, and 
 thinking it best not to delay, he spoke right to the 
 point.
 
 96 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " I suppose you know, Judge Burton, why I re- 
 quested this interview. You must have seen that I 
 love your daughter, and I ask you to give her to me in 
 marriage." 
 
 " Hamilton," said the Judge, after a pause which 
 seemed inexcusably long to Grant, " I know you are 
 not one of those men who regard a woman as a horse 
 a creature to be groomed and paced according to the 
 whim of the master." 
 
 The spark in Hamilton's eyes said: " If you did 
 think so, the devil would be to pay." 
 
 " And you say you love Marita," the Judge con- 
 tinued. " Does that mean that she stirs your pulse, 
 that you enjoy her companionship, that you think she 
 would grace your home and be a credit to you in so- 
 ciety? Or does it mean that she is a part of yourself, 
 that every shadow in her life would be a pain in yours, 
 that, if she must suffer, you would willingly suffer 
 with her? " 
 
 " It means, Judge Burton, that I hold no privi- 
 lege dearer than the right to suffer with Marita, 
 and no privilege greater than the right to suffer for 
 her." 
 
 " Bravely said, Hamilton."
 
 Why do you refuse?" 
 demanded Hamilton. 
 
 Page 97.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 97 
 
 " Truly said," he replied in an earnest tone. 
 
 " I believe you," said the Judge sadly, " and I am 
 sorry for you." 
 
 " Sorry for me? " Hamilton interrupted. 
 
 " Yes," with a sigh. " Sorry that you must suffer 
 as you will, if you love her like that; sorry you must 
 know that I refuse to give you my daughter." 
 
 Every vestige of color left Hamilton's face. 
 
 "You refuse?" 
 
 " I do," said the Judge, his heart aching with pity 
 jfor the wound he had inflicted. " And I must tell you 
 why. My refusal pains you, Hamilton, but the cause 
 of it will be to you something of the agony it has been 
 to me," the Judge paused as if gathering strength to 
 go on. 
 
 " Why do you refuse? " demanded Hamilton, every 
 fibre in his body strained with suspense. 
 
 The Judge answered slowly and distinctly. He had 
 reached the point of torture where calmness comes 
 .from the very inability to suffer more. 
 
 " I refuse because the woman you love is not Marita 
 Burton. She is only Marita" 
 
 Hamilton was stunned. 
 
 " You mean " he said hoarsely.
 
 98 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " That she is my daughter, but not Mrs. Burton's." 
 Hamilton said nothing; for once his strong limbs 
 refused to support him, and he sank into a chair. His 
 brain was in a whirl; he could not think clearly. He, 
 to whom birthright meant so much, could not adjust 
 himself to the thought of Marita with no birthright, 
 Marita with no name. That proud-spirited woman 
 branded with the curse of illegitimacy? Oh, God! it 
 was too awful too cruel! He was shaken to the very 
 soul, every fibre ached with the strain; after a sharp 
 struggle gradually the confusion of the shock sub- 
 sided, and out of the chaos into which his mind had 
 been thrown there rose the clearest mental perception 
 Hamilton had ever known. For one brief instant it 
 seemed to him that all the conventions of life fell 
 from the human soul, and he saw it in its relation to 
 the universe bare of every attribute save its own 
 power for good or ill. Such a God-given thing could 
 rise above the circumstances of birth by the right of its 
 merit! There was there must be in Marita the 
 power to do this. Then, with this thought still up- 
 permost, the human phase rushed over him again all 
 the anguish and humiliation. Oh, how the pity and 
 tenderness surged up in his heart; how he longed to
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 99 
 
 draw her into his life that he might strengthen her and 
 soften the bitterness with his love. 
 
 He was about to speak when the Judge, who had 
 been watching Hamilton's face, raised his hand, sav- 
 ing: 
 
 " Wait ! Let me tell you all about it. Of course 
 you understand that Marita knows nothing of this. 
 It has been the care of my life to keep it from her." 
 
 Naturally Hamilton's first thought had been for 
 Marita; but these words brought a realization of the 
 suffering this man had endured. Now he understood 
 the lines in the Judge's face his singular devotion to 
 Marita his great longing " to get away from it all." 
 Thinking of how his life had been embittered, of how 
 many times his heart had been wrenched by an un- 
 conscious word, of how an ever-present sting poisoned 
 the father's joy in the daughter, he was filled with 
 sympathy and compassion. 
 
 " When I was young, Hamilton, I was a hot-blooded 
 man, guilty of some indiscretions. I spent two months 
 in Eome one winter, and during that time I lived with 
 Mondello, a talented old musician who had one daugh- 
 ter. The girl was young and very beautiful. She had 
 no mother, and her father was too much engrossed with
 
 ioo BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 his music to look after his daughter's welfare. It was 
 the old story of woman's frailty and man's selfish pas- 
 sion. I was happy with Anita Hondello, for she was 
 not only amorous, but companionable, a girl who, if 
 she had been educated, would have made a superior 
 woman. 
 
 " I left Italy in the spring, and on the steamer 
 coming home I met Mrs. Burton. She was so differ- 
 ent from the other girl I suppose her greatest at- 
 traction for me lay in that difference. Before we 
 reached American shores we were engaged, and not 
 long after I won her father's consent. We were mar- 
 ried in the fall, and the following April we went abroad 
 for a year or more. My wife had never been in 
 Italy, and, of course, was anxious to visit Rome. Be- 
 fore we went there I firmly resolved not to go near 
 the old street where I had lived before; but on one of 
 those spring days, when the blood flows like lava in a 
 man's veins, the temptation grew too strong, and I 
 turned into that street. I don't like to think of what 
 would have happened if I had found things as I left 
 them! 
 
 " When I approached the house, I saw Anita's 
 father coming out of the door. As soon as he recog-
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 101 
 
 nized me his face grew black and no wonder! Well, 
 I was not long in learning that I was the father of a 
 baby girl and Anita was dead. Mondello went 
 back with me, and as we entered the living room I saw 
 my child, lying on the floor on a blanket, kicking her 
 heels in the sunlight. I bent over her, and she laid 
 perfectly quiet gazing at the stranger. Then a smile 
 broke over the tiny face, and her little hand closed 
 over one of my fingers. Ah, Hamilton, the magic of 
 that touch! It bound me to her from that instant it 
 was the dividing-point between a carefree and a care- 
 worn life. 
 
 " I confessed everything to my wife, and she agreed 
 with me that the only right thing to do was to take 
 the child and bring it up as our own. You may, per- 
 haps, understand the reverence I have for the woman 
 who not only forgave my sin, but so nobly took up the 
 burden of it with me. 
 
 " We remained in Italy several years, and before 
 we left I buried Anita's father beside her, vowing to 
 spend my life in righting, so far as I could, the wrong 
 I had done them. Now, Hamilton, I have told you 
 everything. You know what Marita's life has been. 
 You know how she has been loved, sheltered, and
 
 IO2 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 educated; but you don't know you never can know 
 what these years have been to me ! To see a daughter 
 develop as she has developed, to see the lovely girl 
 grow into the glorious woman, to watch this day by 
 day, knowing that every added grace hastened her 
 doom for love is the doom of such as she ah! I 
 wonder that I'm a sane man! " 
 
 The Judge was silent a moment, and then continued: 
 
 " I have seen this coming, but I was powerless to 
 prevent it. Any opposition would have merely hast- 
 ened matters. It was inevitable, and though I grieve 
 for you, Hamilton, I thank God that her love has been 
 given to a man so noble. You will suffer but as you 
 said, you will suffer for her and you will find a way 
 to slip out of her life without hurting her more than 
 is necessary." 
 
 Hamilton sat silent, weighing everything. In the 
 few minutes that passed before he spoke, his own fate 
 had been decided and Marita's. At last he rose and 
 stood before the older man, feeling that he was in the 
 presence of incarnate remorse. 
 
 " Judge Burton, you tell me that now I know every- 
 thing. First, let me tell you that I am proud to 
 know such a man! You have my deepest respect and
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 103 
 
 sympathy, but you are mistaken in one thing. I shall 
 not slip out of Marita's life. Once more I ask you to 
 give me your daughter in marriage." 
 
 "What!" exclaimed the Judge, rising out of his 
 chair. " You a Hamilton would marry a nameless 
 woman! " 
 
 " Yes, I would," said Hamilton with a proud lift 
 of the head. As he continued speaking, the Judge 
 walked up and down in his agitation, clasping and 
 unclasping his hands behind him. " Am I not right 
 in supposing that you, Mrs. Burton and myself are 
 the only persons living who are aware of Marita's 
 parentage ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes," said the Judge, knitting his brows. 
 
 " Well, then, why should she not become my wife? 
 It is unlikely that any one of us will enlighten her, 
 and to the world she will be as she always has been." 
 
 " Hamilton," answered the Judge, pausing in his 
 walk, " I have not doubt but that, so far as you and 
 Marita are concerned, it would be a happy solution of 
 a difficult problem, since you are willing to waive your 
 family pride; but this is a deep question which must 
 be considered from all points. Can you deliberately 
 take such a step, under such circumstances, when you
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 think of the account you must some day render to your 
 children? " 
 
 The Judge asked this question almost as if putting 
 it to a prisoner at the bar, and Hamilton answered as 
 if he were pleading for his life. 
 
 " I have thought of that, and I have based the whole 
 future on the ground of individual worth. It is the 
 foundation of my own family. Our pride is in the 
 noble character of Alexander Hamilton rather than 
 in his long lineage. As you know, his parentage is 
 uncertain; but that fact does not reflect with discredit 
 upon him nor his descendents. Why? Because all 
 things are secondary in the face of such nobility! 
 
 " Therefore, I say that a woman who has the in- 
 herent power to overcome evil and promote good; 
 a woman who has exercised that power successfully in 
 the past; a woman who, by the very laws of her being, 
 must continue to exercise that power in the future, is 
 a woman who will bequeath to her children a wealth 
 of character far better than a family tree. I believe 
 in Marita. I believe that if she remains ignorant of 
 her birth, she will be a noble wife and mother; I be- 
 lieve that if she should in some way discover her ille- 
 gitimacy, she will prove herself worthy of honor by
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 105 
 
 the power with which she will rise above her misfor- 
 tune. My love for Marita lies too deep for words. 
 I cannot tell you how great it is; but I can tell you 
 that if you give her to me you will never regret it 
 and that, from me to you, means much. I will not 
 promise to shield her from trials; that is idle. We 
 both know that trials come to every soul worthy to 
 struggle with them. I will promise to help her bear 
 those trials, to do all I can to strengthen her." 
 
 " Hamilton," the Judge interrupted, " it's no won- 
 der you win your cases. Your words have great 
 weight, and they're the words of one of God's noble- 
 men. You are worthy of trust, I know, but if I con- 
 sent to this marriage there is one condition I must im- 
 pose." 
 
 "And that is?" 
 
 " Don't teU her, Hamilton, don't tell her! " 
 
 " I shall never tell her, Judge Burton. That is 
 your right." 
 
 " Yes, it is my right as long as I live; and remem- 
 ber, it has been the care of my life that she should 
 not know." 
 
 "It shall be the care of my life, too! " said Ham- 
 ilton, holding out his hand to the Judge. Neither man
 
 io6 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 ever forgot that handclasp. It was to them the seal 
 of a compact. 
 
 " Hamilton, I believe in your love for Marita, and 
 I think it is a love that will deepen with time; but a 
 husband must have something more than infinite love 
 he must have infinite patience, as the wife must also. 
 Will you have the patience to bear with my little girl, 
 to spare her the small wounds that often hurt so 
 cruelly, to think always of the tragedy underlying her 
 life?" 
 
 " How can I forget it? Will it not be a tragedy in 
 my life, also? Be assured that you yourself could not 
 deal with her more gently, more lovingly than I will. 
 Our marriage would mean that not you alone, but you 
 and I together, would live for her and do all we could 
 to perfect her life, making it " 
 
 A light tap sounded on the door, and Marita's voice 
 came to them, saying: 
 
 " Are you two going to talk all day? " 
 
 Hamilton looked at the Judge, wondering what he 
 would do. He hesitated an instant, and then, in an 
 unsteady voice, he said: 
 
 " Come in." 
 
 Marita opened the door and stood just within the
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 107 
 
 room, looking from one to the other. She knew it 
 would be a hard talk for her father, but she was not 
 prepared for the look she saw in his face. 
 
 " Marita," he said, and it seemed to Hamilton that 
 all the pent-up agony in the father's life echoed in 
 that one word. He was not ashamed of the moisture 
 gathering in his eyes as he turned them away from the 
 gray hair touching the brown. 
 
 When the Judge lifted his head, he looked at Ham- 
 ilton as if charging him to remember. Then he said 
 brokenly : 
 
 " Now, Marita, go to your husband."
 
 CHAPTEE X 
 
 " TV/TAKITA," said Mrs. Burton, looking up from 
 her hem-stitching, " do you think your father 
 seems quite well? " 
 
 Mrs. Burton sat in her favorite low chair in the li- 
 brary, finishing a cobweb-like handkerchief for Ma- 
 rita's trousseau. That young lady, who would never 
 have possessed a hand-made handkerchief if she had 
 been obliged to make it herself, was perched upon the 
 arm of a big chair, twirling a felt walking hat in her 
 hand. She had just come in from a long walk in the 
 October sunshine. A wayward breeze had reduced her 
 hair to a charming state of disorder, while every look 
 and move expressed her magnificent vitality now height- 
 ened by the crisp autumn air. 
 
 Mrs. Burton thought she had never seen Marita look- 
 ing so well. Surely happiness was doing much for the 
 girl. It had graced her personality with a charm, deli- 
 cate as the bloom on a peach and like it, softening and 
 enhancing other beauties. 
 
 When the Judge had told his wife of Hamil-
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 109 
 
 ton's decision she had expressed the strongest disap- 
 proval. 
 
 " Marita ought never to marry," she said; and 
 though the Judge repeated all of Hamilton's argu- 
 ments, he could not convince her that the marriage 
 should occur. However, since her husband had con- 
 sented, she regarded the matter as settled, and imme- 
 diately began to busy her fingers with dainty finery 
 for Marita. During the September days she had 
 stitched and pondered. Often her work would fall in 
 her lap, and she would look down into the valley or up 
 at the mountains, as if seeking to find there the answer 
 to the queries that constantly rose in her mind. What 
 did the future hold for Marita ? Would the time come 
 when Hamilton would regret his decision? Did she 
 possess enough of her father's self-control to restrain 
 the passionate nature inherited from her Italian 
 mother? These questions troubled Mrs. Burton until 
 she was nervously weary of the whole matter and thank- 
 ful when Saturday came and Hamilton, by his strong 
 presence, seemed to straighten everything out. She 
 had grown to be very fond of him. " He is noble," 
 she often said to herself. Perhaps, way down in her 
 heart, she thought he was too noble for Marita. There
 
 no BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 were certain phases of the girl's character which Mrs. 
 Burton did not and could not understand. They were 
 the very phases that she dreaded because, being so 
 foreign to her cool Puritan blood, she could not com- 
 prehend them, and the unknown evil is always feared 
 the most. 
 
 This morning, however, it was the Judge for whom 
 she was concerned, and the question she asked of Ma- 
 rita was accompanied by a very anxious look. 
 
 " No, mother, I don't," said Marita, her bright face 
 clouding a little as she thought of how unlike himself 
 the Judge looked as he rode away that morning. 
 " Father hasn't seemed quite natural since I came back 
 from Tuxedo ; I have thought it was on account of this 
 the Judge had looked as he rode away that morning, 
 two, though, he has looked almost ill; don't you think 
 so?" 
 
 " I do," said Mrs. Burton. " I am very much wor- 
 ried about him. His eyes were so dull this morning 
 and his hands were like flatirons." 
 
 " He needs a vacation," returned Marita. " If he 
 could get away I think it would be fine for us to take 
 a little trip this fall, say up to Canada, or perhaps a 
 little later, down to New Orleans"
 
 BECAUSE of POWER in 
 
 "It would be pleasant; but how about Grant?" 
 
 " Oh, he would go with us; I'm sure he would." 
 
 "And if he couldn't?" 
 
 " Well, you and father could take the trip any way. 
 I could easily find some one to chaperone me here, or 
 could make Mrs. Chester the promised visit in ISTew 
 York." 
 
 " That would suit you to perfection, wouldn't it ? " 
 
 " I fear it would," said Marita with a conscious flush. 
 
 " You are very happy, dear? " 
 
 " Oh, mother, so happy ! I can't begin to tell you ! 
 I'm almost afraid of my happiness. It seems too ideal 
 to last." 
 
 Mrs. Burton replied with gentle seriousness. 
 
 " Try to deserve your happiness and it will last." 
 
 " Does that always follow ? " Marita asked thought- 
 fully. 
 
 Mrs. Burton threaded her needle before she said: 
 
 " I fear that's too deep a question for me to answer." 
 
 " I'll ask Grant," affirmed Marita, as if he were un- 
 questionable authority. " He deserves happiness if any 
 one does. He is so good " 
 
 " And so good to you." 
 
 " Ah, yes ! No one knows," said Marita, a soft light
 
 ii2 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 shining in her eyes as she gazed out at the brilliant 
 autumn foliage. Strange that the crimson heights of 
 the maples, the yellow slenderness of the birches, the 
 brown fullness of the elms, even the depths of the 
 evergreens, should all enshrine the same manly face. 
 
 "You trust him, too, don't you, Marita?" 
 
 " Absolutely ! I cannot conceive of a love not 
 founded on trust." 
 
 " NOT can I. No woman can find happiness with a 
 man whom she does not trust." After stitching in si- 
 lence a few moments, Mrs. Burton continued : " There 
 is one thing I have wondered about, Marita. What are 
 you going to do with all the leisure that will come to 
 you when you are married and living in New York? 
 You cannot spend whole days on horseback there, 
 nor mornings in the woods, nor afternoons on the 
 river." 
 
 " I know it; and the shopping is always intolerable, 
 as are most of the social functions; but, mother dear, 
 you forget my music. I hope to do great things with 
 that; perhaps to study some, if Grant approves." 
 
 " He surely could have no objection," said Mrs. Bur- 
 ton, smiling at Marita's willingness to be guided by his 
 judgment. It seemed a little odd to see the girl who'
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 113 
 
 had always been so headstrong transformed into such 
 an amenable creature. 
 
 " The power of love is incalculable," she thought. 
 " Perhaps everything will come out all right after all," 
 and she held up the handkerchief to study the effect 
 of the monogram in the hem-stitched corner. " Marita, 
 would you like to have lace on the edge of this; or do 
 you think it would be prettier without ? " 
 
 Marita did not answer. She was looking out of the 
 window, and presently when she did speak, it was in 
 a startled tone. 
 
 " Mother, Doctor Earle is driving up the hill and, 
 I think, father is in the carriage with him." 
 
 " That can't be," said Mrs. Burton, hastily laying 
 down her work and looking out over Marita's shoul- 
 der. With anxious eyes she saw that it was the Judge; 
 he was leaning back, his relaxed form supported by the 
 Doctor's arm. 
 
 " Marita," she cried, " he is ill." 
 
 And he was. 
 8
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 . Grant, you are such a comfort! " 
 Hamilton had just closed the front door be- 
 hind them, and Marita, seeing that there was no one 
 in the hall, impulsively clasped her arms around his 
 neck as she spoke. 
 
 " You needed the fresh air, dear. That is why I 
 insisted upon your leaving the sick room long enough 
 to take a walk." 
 
 " No one else would have known exactly what I 
 needed. Not even my blessed father understands me 
 as you do." 
 
 Hamilton did not reply in words, yet she was satis- 
 fied with his answer. 
 
 " I must go back to him now," said Marita, reluc- 
 tantly drawing herself away. " I hope father hasn't 
 missed me." 
 
 " You will be a better nurse for your outing," Ham- 
 ilton assured her. " Let me know soon how you find 
 him, and if you need me 
 
 " I shall call you," she said, hurrying up the stairs.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 115 
 
 After she had disappeared Hamilton paced up and 
 down the hall. He was too restless to remain quiet, 
 and if he was wanted they would find him immediately. 
 
 Since Thursday night, when he received Marita's 
 telegram telling of her father's illness, Hamilton had 
 been filled with a foreboding greater than he would 
 acknowledge. He had taken the first train on Friday 
 morning, and found the Judge a desperately sick man. 
 The Doctor pronounced it a case of extreme nervous 
 exhaustion, and Hamilton shuddered as he thought of 
 all the man had endured. It was no wonder he was 
 prostrated. Such a grief as his slowly weakens the 
 vital powers, and now that a complete collapse had 
 come, Hamilton felt very doubtful of the Judge's re- 
 covery. Supposing he was not restored to health? 
 Then the secret of Marita's birth would rest with Mrs. 
 Burton and himself. He knew that she would never 
 have the courage to tell Marita. If it should ever 
 become necesary for her to know the truth, he would 
 be the one to disclose it. Sometimes he felt that it 
 would be better for her to know, that it was her right 
 to know. Was it fair for him to marry her when she 
 did not know? Would it not be wiser to tell her every- 
 thing? He had even urged this upon the Judge, but
 
 n6 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 the father objected so strongly that Hamilton could 
 only abide by his wishes, and would respect them in 
 case of his death; yet the time might come when she 
 ought to know, when it would be a crime to keep her 
 in ignorance of her birth. Then he would have to tell 
 her, and Hamilton knew she would blame him for not 
 having told her before. He could almost see the 
 grieved look in her eyes as she reproached him. A 
 great longing to make a clean breast of it all and have 
 nothing between them, swept over him now, as it often 
 had before. He was not afraid of the refusal to marry 
 him which he knew would come. She was proud, but 
 she was also broad-minded, and he was sure of his 
 power to level the barriers she would raise, by show- 
 ing her that they were false ones. Still, think as he 
 might, what could he do? To take matters into his 
 own hands would be to break faith with the Judge, 
 and Grant Hamilton was incapable of doing that. So, 
 like the lost man who travels in a circle, he came back 
 to the same point he started from, keenly feeling his 
 helplessness. 
 
 Stopping in his walk, he looked out of the window, 
 wondering if he had ever seen the sky such a leaden 
 gray. The wind had almost bared the trees, drift-
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 117 
 
 ing the leaves in heaps along the garden paths. Frost 
 had browned the last few chrysanthemums still holding 
 their heads above the other withered flowers, waiting 
 for the snow to hide their shrivelled forms. It was 
 a dreary outlook, and Hamilton was glad to turn his 
 attention to the crackling fire in the library. He 
 stood in the doorway watching its cheery blaze, when 
 Mrs. Burton came down the stairs. 
 
 "How is he now?" asked Hamilton, knowing from 
 her face that there was no improvement. 
 
 " There has been a change," she answered, " and, oh, 
 Grant, I am so afraid! " 
 
 " You think " 
 
 " No no, I don't fear the end only he's lost his 
 grip on himself, and I tremble every time he speaks." 
 
 " I see. You fear he will say something before 
 Marita that will arouse her suspicions, if not reveal the 
 whole truth." 
 
 " Exactly. You see, she has been the only one he's 
 recognized, and in all his delirium he's never referred to 
 her, seeming to realize the necessity of silence on that 
 subject; but while Marita was out walking with you 
 I noticed a difference. He hasn't betrayed anything 
 yet, though he's been talking of Italy and the old days.
 
 n8 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 While he is sleeping I'm going to dine; then I can 
 send Marita down to eat with you, and we must keep 
 her away from her father as much as we possibly can. 
 It would be horrible to have her learn the truth like 
 that! " 
 
 " Indeed it would. I'll do the best I can to keep 
 her down here." 
 
 " You can keep her if any one can," said Mrs. Bur- 
 ton with a wan smile. 
 
 Hamilton held out his hand to the brave little woman 
 he admired so much. 
 
 " Your goodness to Marita is divine," he said in a 
 broken voice. 
 
 She made no reply, tears filling her eyes as she with- 
 drew her hand from his clasp and passed on into the 
 dining-room. 
 
 A maid came to light the lamps in the library, and 
 Hamilton sat down with a book, which he didn't read. 
 He looked into the fire, marvelling at the heroic fibre 
 that is woven into the frail bodies of some women. 
 
 After dining, Mrs. Burton made definite arrange- 
 ments with Hamilton for the night, and then went up- 
 stairs to resume her duties there. When Marita came 
 down to him, Hamilton was really worried, she looked
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 119 
 
 so pale and worn. All through dinner he devoted 
 himself to leading her thoughts away from the Judge. 
 
 " We'll have coffee in the library," Hamilton said 
 to the maid as he rose and went around the table to 
 Marita. " Come, dear; you're a weary girl to-night, 
 and I want you to obey me and let me take care of 
 you." 
 
 With her great brown eyes resting lovingly on Ham- 
 ilton, Marita shook her head. 
 
 " You must remember that I have some one to care 
 for." 
 
 " And you must remember that your first duty is to 
 care for yourself so you'll be able to care for your 
 father. Be reasonable, dear heart, and rest; you've 
 only slept a few hours since he was taken ill." 
 
 " I cannot rest, and I can't bear to have father ask 
 for me when I'm not there." 
 
 " You can rest, and I promise you that if your 
 father asks for you, I will call you. I intend to take 
 care of him myself to-night." 
 
 " Oh, my dear, I can't let you do that! " 
 
 " You have nothing to say about it. Your mother 
 and I settled the matter before dinner; she will watch 
 until ten o'clock, then I go on duty till morning."
 
 I2O BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " "What a tyrant you are! " she said, looking as if she 
 liked such tyranny. 
 
 " Put yourself in my hands and learn how gentle a 
 tyrant can be," urged Hamilton. 
 
 " You always do have your own way," said Marita, 
 rising and slipping her arm through his as they left 
 the dining-room. 
 
 " I wouldn't be a Hamilton if I didn't," he returned, 
 closing his hand over hers. 
 
 " Do you know, I discovered something long ago." 
 
 " What did you discover? " 
 
 " That your way is pretty sure to be the best way 
 there is." 
 
 He turned and looked into her eyes. Then there 
 was a sweet, silent moment. 
 
 When the coffee tray had been carried out, Hamil- 
 ton persuaded Marita to lie down on the sofa, since 
 he could not induce her to leave him until ten. He 
 covered her with a warm slumber robe, and drawing 
 up a chair, sat down beside her to read aloud. The 
 rise and fall of his voice acted as a lullaby. It was 
 not long before her eyelids drooped and sleep con- 
 quered. Grant drew the cover closer around her 
 shoulders, and turning out the lights, remained by her
 
 121 
 
 side for over an hour. Many precious thoughts min- 
 gled with the troubled ones. Occasionally a flame 
 leaping high out of the open fire would reveal every 
 line of Marita's face. During the days that followed 
 Hamilton often saw her again as he saw her that night, 
 pale and sweet in her unconsciousness, the brown hair 
 lying in soft waves against the crimson silk of the pil- 
 low, the well-marked eyebrows tapering into the tem- 
 ples and arching over the closed eyes, under which 
 dark circles had been traced by the care and anxiety 
 of the past few days. 
 
 At ten o'clock Hamilton left her still sleeping 
 soundly. He went up to the sick-room, where Mrs. 
 Burton gave him directions for the night. They 
 agreed that it would be best to leave Marita undis- 
 turbed; if she was aroused and sent to bed she might 
 not go to sleep again. 
 
 After arranging everything needful Mrs. Burton 
 left Hamilton, telling him to touch the bell button 
 twice if she was wanted. Tow he watched the father 
 as he had just watched the daughter. The Judge was 
 very restless, turning often and sometimes opening his 
 eyes; he had not recognized Hamilton at any time, 
 and did not appear to know whose hand admin-
 
 122 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 istered that draught that quieted him for an hour or 
 more. 
 
 Hamilton was beginning to grow sleepy himself. 
 There was nothing to do for the sick man, and it was 
 so still; only the ticking of a clock broke the silence. 
 He rose from his chair, thinking he could shake off 
 his drowsiness if he took a turn across the room. As 
 he was about to leave the bedside, the Judge suddenly 
 opened his eyes, looking full at him with a half-in- 
 telligent gaze. At the same instant Hamilton heard 
 a light step and Marita stood beside him. The 
 Judge looked at them a moment, and then said slowly, 
 distinctly, and with strong emphasis: 
 
 "Don't tell her, Hamilton, don't tell her. She'll 
 never marry you if you do." 
 
 Hamilton's heart stood still. His eyes were fairly 
 glued to the lips that had uttered those terrible words. 
 
 The Judge stirred uneasily, and his mouth twitched 
 as if he were trying to speak again. Never had Ham- 
 ilton longed for anything as he longed for him to tell 
 the whole wretched secret. The agonizing minutes 
 passed; no words came, only a few unintelligible mut- 
 terings. 
 
 Marita stood motionless, watching her father as he
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 123 
 
 gradually sank into a deep sleep. Then slowly, as if 
 every move was an effort, she went to the head of the 
 bed and touched the bell button twice. 
 
 Without once looking at Hamilton she passed 
 through the door, saying: 
 
 " Come." 
 
 The metallic tone of her voice rang like a knell in 
 Hamilton's ears. He knew that Fate had thrown 
 down the gauntlet with a cruel challenge.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 T T AMILTON had never been near drowning, though 
 he had once heard an old sea captain corrobo- 
 rate the statement that when a man feels the water 
 closing over him, his life seems to pass before him in 
 one great flash. As Hamilton followed Marita to the 
 library, the future the outcome of the Judge's speech 
 was as plain to him as the vision of the past to the 
 drowning man. He knew what interpretation she 
 would put upon those fatal words; he knew that he was 
 powerless to clear himself without implicating the 
 Judge, and that he would never do. 
 
 Marita went to the hearth and stirred the fire. She 
 appeared to be half paralyzed; every move she made 
 was mechanical. A burning log broke and dropped 
 into the ashes. It seemed to break the spell that 
 bound her so unnaturally, and with an impulsive turn 
 towards Hamilton, she exclaimed: 
 
 " Oh, Grant, tell me everything! I must know it 
 all all do you understand? " 
 
 Hamilton knew that his answer would seal his doom.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 125 
 
 " Marita," he said, growing cold as he spoke, " I can 
 tell you nothing." 
 
 For an instant she looked at him incredulously. 
 Then a passion of indignation swept over Marita, blaz- 
 ing out of her eyes and burning in her words. 
 
 " You can tell me nothing! There is some secret 
 in your life that you cannot, will not trust with me. 
 A secret so terrible that if you told it I would never 
 marry you; that is what my father said. How dare 
 you win my love and my promise when you know your 
 life holds something that would keep me from marry- 
 ing you if I knew it? What can there be that I would 
 not forgive? You know that my love is no girlish 
 fancy. It is the love of a woman who would follow 
 you to prison if need be; who would stand by you in 
 any disgrace, loyal and true and ready to comfort 
 through every kind of trouble; yet you deceive this 
 love, you withhold from it the privilege of proving it- 
 self worthy of trust. You tell my father, and to me 
 you are silent. Together you plot to keep this from 
 me this secret which it is my right to know. How 
 could you treat me so; oh, how could you? " 
 
 Each word had been a stab to Hamilton, and now, 
 as Marita uttered this cry of reproach, it seemed to
 
 126 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 him that he should never find the strength to remain 
 silent. He could not trust himself to speak, and turn- 
 ing away from her, leaned his forehead on the window 
 pane, finding its cold hardness grateful. 
 
 Marita went over to him, laying her hand on his 
 arm. 
 
 " Grant," she said beseechingly, " I thought our 
 love was founded on trust. You said you had told 
 me all of your follies as I told you mine. I could not 
 be guilty of any wrong that I would not confide to 
 you, trusting in your forgiveness, and believing that 
 you would help me to atone. Why, there is no sin I 
 could commit that I would not trust to your mercy. 
 Don't you think my mercy can be trusted also? Any- 
 thing is better than deception. Grant, speak to me 
 don't be afraid my love will bear any test! " 
 
 " Oh," he groaned, drawing her to him as if he would 
 never let her go, " if I could speak I should be almost 
 happy! I cannot speak, Marita, I cannot speak! " 
 
 His words came like the cry of a forest creature 
 trapped and powerless to move. 
 
 " You cannot speak? " 
 
 "No, no, I cannot; but you must believe in me 
 you must trust me. You said your love would bear
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 127 
 
 any test; now prove your words! I ask you to trust 
 me in my silence, knowing that I would speak if I 
 could, and believing that I would not ask this if I did 
 not trust you as I would have you trust me." 
 
 Hamilton spoke with such power in look and tone 
 that, if the Judge had only said, " Don't tell her/' 
 Marita would, perhaps, have forgiven Hamilton's per- 
 sistent silence. Unfortunately, he had said more than 
 that. 
 
 Slowly she drew herself away from Hamilton's arms 
 and stood aloof, speaking with much dignity. 
 
 " Your secret may involve others, and your refusal 
 to speak may be honorable; yet since that secret is of 
 such importance that my father says I would never 
 marry you if I knew it, I must refuse to trust you 
 blindly, and without trust there can be no marriage." 
 
 Marita's voice was steady as she spoke the hardest 
 words she had ever uttered, but the room swam, and 
 she was thankful her groping hand found the back of 
 the chair. 
 
 Though Hamilton had expected this, he started as 
 if he had been struck. 
 
 " Don't, Marita, don't say that ! You will not ruin 
 our lives."
 
 128 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Is it I who have wrought the ruin? " she asked 
 sadly. 
 
 " IsTo, poor child, it is not you." 
 
 Hamilton's heart swelled with pity as he thought 
 of how she must suffer for her father's sin. The bit- 
 terness of it all overwhelmed him. Why should they 
 endure so much through the wrong-doing of another? 
 Did he not have a right to dispel this cloud, to put 
 everything straight between them? He felt that the 
 secret of her birth would be easier for her to bear than 
 this distrust. The spirit of rebellion rose high within 
 him. It was unjust that he, whose honor was stain- 
 less, should be so condemned. He would tell her. 
 The words of his justification rose to his lips, but 
 there they died. He shut his teeth hard. A Hamil- 
 ton break his word? Ah, no! Far better that Ma- 
 rita should think his honor stained than that it should 
 really be. He had promised the Judge never to tell 
 her. 
 
 " That is my right as long as I live; and, remember, 
 it has been the care of my life that she should not 
 know." 
 
 Those were the Judge's words, uttered in this very 
 room. However extenuating the present circum-
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 129 
 
 stances might seem, Hamilton knew that it would be 
 cowardly to break his word. If he cleared himself 
 he must sacrifice the Judge. Hamilton hated him- 
 self for even thinking that he would tell Marita; yet 
 being very human, he resolved not to let her go out of 
 his life until he had made one last effort to keep her. 
 
 " You are not responsible," he resumed, " though 
 you will be, perhaps, the greatest sufferer. Think, 
 dear; can you not trust me in spite of your father's 
 words? I might tell you that they were the idle 
 words of delirium. They are not, Marita. There is 
 something known to your father and myself which you 
 do not know. If I do not deny this, as I might very 
 easily, will you not believe me when I say that I am 
 sure you would marry me if you knew all there is to 
 know? " 
 
 " I know that if I married you without knowing 
 all, ugly doubt would poison every joy, would lurk in 
 every corner, would overshadow our whole existence. 
 Oh, why why don't you tell me? Surely you know 
 that actual trouble is easier to grapple with than mis- 
 trust." 
 
 Ah, yes, he knew that! Yet he could not change 
 her burden. He could not even say anything that
 
 130 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 would thrust the necessity of disclosure upon the 
 Judge. 
 
 " Marita, you know I would willingly bear all your 
 troubles if I could. Forget this awful nightmare! 
 Don't let such a thing part us forever. It cannot 
 it sliall not part us. You are mine; you belong to me; 
 you were made for me. Every word you have uttered 
 to-night has proved it over and over " 
 
 " You were not made for me." 
 
 Could that be Marita's voice? Those cold, hard 
 tones? They were maddening to Hamilton. 
 
 "I was made for you! In the sight of God I am 
 worthy of you. I have told you that I could not 
 speak. I have asked you to trust me. You refuse 
 to do so. You say that there can be no marriage 
 without trust, and I agree with you. If you cannot 
 believe in me, then it is better that all should end." 
 
 " It is," said Marita, feeling as if she were screwing 
 down the lid of her own coffin. 
 
 " Is that final? " Hamilton asked, his voice shaking 
 with the wrath of a man unjustly accused. 
 
 " Yes," answered Marita, holding to her resolution 
 with her father's spirit, though her mother's blood 
 plead for love.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 131 
 
 " You cannot mean it! " he cried, unable to believe 
 that the blow had really fallen. 
 
 " I do mean it," she said decidedly. 
 
 " My God! " exclaimed Hamilton, striding up and 
 down the room. " You don't know what you're doing ! 
 Think of our love, of all the sweetness and richness 
 you take out of life. You are condemning yourself 
 as well as me. What happiness, what joy do you ex- 
 pect to find in the future? " 
 
 " None, since my trust in you is gone." 
 
 " And what is to become of me ? " he went on pas- 
 sionately. " I have woven all my thoughts and hopes 
 about you. My whole future is destroyed. Marita, 
 you cannot know how much you are to me. I have 
 grown to look upon you as a part of myself." 
 
 " Yet I am beyond the pale of your confidence." 
 
 With all his anguish Hamilton had never been so 
 proud of Marita as he was at that moment. For a 
 woman to love as he knew she loved, and resist a lover 
 as she had resisted, that was power though the very 
 power he reverenced made his pleading hopeless. 
 
 " Oh," he said despairingly, " it is useless! " 
 
 Marita looked at him gravely. 
 
 " You are only prolonging the torture."
 
 132 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Hamilton took a step towards her and grasped her 
 arms. 
 
 " I'd almost rather crush the life out of you than 
 leave you. Remember it is your wish since you 
 wish it I will go I " the words choked in his throat. 
 
 Marita dared not look at Hamilton. She heard him 
 move towards the door; she wanted to cry out. The 
 pain in her heart grew and grew until it seemed as if 
 she could not bear the agony in silence. 
 
 Hamilton stopped with his hand on the door. 
 
 " Marita, promise to send for me if I can ever help 
 you." 
 
 " I shall never need help from one whom I cannot 
 trust." 
 
 Afterwards Marita wondered how she could have let 
 him go with those cruel words; at the time she knew 
 that she could not hold out much longer; she felt that 
 she must say something to end it all. She said the 
 right thing, for the door closed. 
 
 Marita was alone. 
 
 When the maid knocked at Hamilton's door in the 
 morning, he was gone. 
 
 Later that day the Judge asked for music. Marita
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 133 
 
 went to the library to get her violin. She found it 
 on the piano, uncased, and resting upon a sheet of 
 music Mendelssohn's " Consolation." 
 
 Through the night she had lain with wide-open eyes, 
 staring into the darkness; no tears came to relieve the 
 tenseness of her suffering; but this last good-by of his 
 this loving thought of her pain and the surest way 
 to ease it this was too much. It was so like him 
 he was always thinking of others. She pictured him 
 coming into that room in the dreary dawn and leaving 
 this reminder of his watchful love. It must have been 
 so lonely to go away like that, and she missed him so 
 much and wanted him. The tears came with a rush, 
 and bending over the violin, Marita sobbed as she had 
 never sobbed in all her life.
 
 CHAPTER XHI 
 
 / "T" S O get away from Lindenhurst was the essential 
 thing for Hamilton. Walking down to the 
 village, taking the first train for Jersey City, and 
 boarding a ferry-boat for New York, were automatic 
 actions carrying out his aim. He felt as if he him- 
 self were far away while his body went on performing 
 the necessary motions. 
 
 As he walked up Chambers Street, the silence of 
 the grim warehouses and the absence of trucks im- 
 pressed him as something strange. He stopped and 
 looked about, yet he didn't realize that it was Sunday 
 morning until he heard a boy calling, " Sun-day 
 ' Journ-al.' ' Hamilton went on up to Broadway and 
 stood a moment on the corner. He couldn't bear the 
 thought of going home in his present state, and the 
 club was still more impossible. 
 
 With hesitating steps he turned down Broadway, 
 passing the great buildings all shrouded in a quietude so 
 unusual to one accustomed to see them teeming with 
 energetic life. Nothing seemed natural. Hamilton
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 135 
 
 missed the hurrying throng, the shouts of drivers and 
 the clanging bells of the cars that ran so quietly to-day ; 
 he missed the curbstone sellers with their piles of bone 
 collar buttons and bunches of shoe strings; even the 
 street corners seemed desolate without the stands 
 heaped with polished fruit. 
 
 On he went until the tall graceful spire of old Trin- 
 ity towered above him like a great finger raised to the 
 multitude as if some invisible power said, " Hark! 
 Listen to the throb of life! " It had always seemed 
 to Hamilton that the pulse of New York could be felt 
 at this point, where Wall Street joins Broadway. He 
 had chosen an office in this locality, partly because he 
 liked to be near so vital a part of the city, and 
 partly because from his windows he could look down 
 upon the burying-ground of Trinity Church, where a 
 solid gray stone marks the resting-place of Alexander 
 Hamilton. 
 
 On this morning, though, the same unnaturalness 
 pervaded even the familiar office building. No quick 
 footsteps echoed in the marble corridors, no elevators 
 were running. Even after Hamilton had climbed the 
 stairs and unlocked his own rooms, everything still was 
 strange. In the outer room, where his clerks and
 
 136 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 stenographer worked, things were in painfully perfect 
 order. The desks were closed, the waste-baskets were 
 empty, the typewriter was carefully covered. 
 
 Hamilton threw open the door and entered his pri- 
 vate office. The same leather chairs stood on the 
 same rich Turkish rug; the same bookcases held the 
 same law library of which he was justly proud; the same 
 bronze clock ticked away the hours under the gaze of 
 the same portraits of Daniel Webster, Rufus Choate, 
 and Alexander Hamilton; the same desk awaited him 
 with the same papers and letters, yet Hamilton knew 
 that nothing was the same to him, and that nothing 
 ever would be the same to him again. He knew that 
 it was not the Sunday strangeness as much as it was 
 the strangeness of his own heart. No soul can be 
 deeply wounded without bearing a scar. 
 
 Sitting down before his desk, Hamilton leaned back 
 in his chair and tried to collect himself. He had been 
 so stunned by the occurrences at Lindenhurst that con- 
 nected thought had been impossible. Making an ef- 
 fort to think clearly, he endeavored to unravel the 
 tangled threads, though with all his twisting and turn- 
 ing he could not straighten them out. He considered 
 the situation from every standpoint, but no view
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 137 
 
 showed any opening in the maze. Many life prob- 
 lems he had solved for others in that very room, but 
 his own baffled him. 
 
 " Of course/' thought Hamilton, " the Judge may 
 recover, and if he learns the reason of my absence, 
 may tell Marita everything; but even if she knows the 
 truth, I doubt if she will let me know. What am I 
 to do? Nothing! That's the worst of it do noth- 
 ing. By heavens! " bringing his clenched hand down 
 
 
 
 on the desk with such force that the inkstand rattled. 
 " I don't know of any greater hell! To plant a great 
 strong passion in the heart of a man, to separate him 
 from the woman he loves, to chain him so he must lie 
 passive while he suffers, to add to his own torture the 
 knowledge that he is powerless to help her it's 
 damnation! " 
 
 Hamilton sprang to his feet and paced the floor like 
 a caged lion. 
 
 " If there were only something to fight, something 
 to overcome. There's a certain satisfaction in battling, 
 even if it is a hopeless struggle. It's fearful to be 
 bound like this when you have the strength and will 
 to dare anything. This wretched business is another 
 proof of a truth I learned long ago, and that is, that the
 
 138 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Almighty doesn't allow us to choose our own burdens. 
 All I have to say is, it will take all the grit I've got to 
 bear the one he has selected for me. How can I live 
 through the long days with no word, no sign, no sight 
 of those glorious eyes, no touch of those lips. Think 
 of it I, whose every fibre thrills and throbs in her 
 presence, to have nothing nothing! To just wait, 
 wait, wait, knowing that I may never have anything. 
 It's enough to drive a man mad ! " 
 
 Several hours passed into eternity while Hamilton 
 struggled with whirling brain and aching heart; but his 
 spirit was that of the conqueror, and in those hours 
 he gained the greatest of all victories the victory over 
 self. When he rose from the battle, he was master. 
 He saw that he must endure a separation, and he was 
 prepared to bravely face the inevitable. There was 
 little hope; yet that little he cherished, resolved to 
 keep an untiring watch for opportunity, and if it ever 
 came, to seize it with all the force of his being and 
 carry everything before him. 
 
 When Hamilton locked the office door behind him, 
 his face wore a look that some of his clients had seen. 
 It was the look that came when he had lost a case, 
 and had determined to carry it into the Supreme Court.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 139 
 
 He walked slowly through the empty hall, down 
 the stairs, and out through the wide entrance. Cross- 
 ing Broadway and entering Rector Street, a few steps 
 brought him before the grave of Alexander Hamil- 
 ton. Only an iron paling separated him from the 
 monument standing so near the sidewalk. 
 
 " It is well," thought Hamilton, " that he, who lived 
 for the people should rest in a place like this, where 
 many footfalls echo above his ashes. They are a fit- 
 ting and never-dying requiem for one whose national 
 influence was so vital. I wish he were alive I'd like 
 to grasp his hand. He would understand how hard 
 this waiting is, he would have chafed, as I do, under 
 such forced inactivity; but there's no comfort in that 
 stone," and turning away with a chill in his heart, he 
 went on to the Elevated station. 
 
 On the way uptown Hamilton tried to think how he 
 was going to adjust himself to the routine of daily life 
 minus hope of Marita. He had not realized until 
 now how the thought of her had woven itself into every- 
 thing. Of one thing he was thankful, there would 
 be no breaking the news to his friends, because he had 
 told no one of his engagement not even his mother. 
 He had talked it over with Marita, and they had pre-
 
 140 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 ferred not to make an announcement until the wed- 
 ding was near; at least he was spared the painful task 
 of telling any one that his happy hopes were gone. 
 
 Perhaps if Hamilton's mother had been to him what 
 some mothers are, he would have been glad to speak 
 of his trouble; unfortunately she did not have one of 
 those responsive natures that create an atmosphere of 
 sympathy. She was a clear-headed, cool-tempered 
 patrician, entirely lacking the divine spark which leaps 
 from the eye and claims kinship with other souls. 
 Sometimes it seemed to Hamilton that his mother was 
 a greater stranger to him than many whom he passed 
 on the street and whose names he did not know. She 
 had always been watchful of his health and comfort, 
 mindful of his manners and morals; knowing that he 
 was noble in his life and successful in his profession, 
 she knew nothing of the temptations and trials that 
 had made him the man he was. Her disposition was 
 such that she could appreciate the achievements of 
 Alexander Hamilton much better than she could sym- 
 pathize with the struggles of her own son, who always 
 felt that his chief value, in the eyes of his mother, lay 
 in his ancestry. 
 
 Because of this lack in his mother, Hamilton found
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 141 
 
 Marita's ready sympathy all the more precious. It 
 had meant so much to him to look into eyes that read 
 his soul and loved him because of what they read. 
 She had such a sweet way of saying: 
 
 " It's the you I love." 
 
 And now, he would never hear her say it again 
 never delight in any of the winning ways with which 
 she had bound his heart so fast. 
 
 " Heavens! " he muttered to himself, as he rounded 
 the corner of One Hundred and Forty-first Street, 
 and started up the long hill on his way to Convent 
 Avenue, " if I were a drinking man, wouldn't I drink 
 to-night! " 
 
 Never had that hill seemed so long to Hamilton. 
 Surely every flagstone had been doubled. It was a 
 weary climb to the heartsick man, and when he finally 
 reached the old house, he felt as if he had walked 
 many miles instead of a few blocks. 
 
 No lamps were burning within, but the open fire 
 in the library shed a mellow light into the hall, bring- 
 ing out in strong relief the winding stair rail, which 
 was a polished copy of the Colonial piazza rail out- 
 side. High up, where the stairs turned, was a charm- 
 ing old arched window, and near it hung a steel en-
 
 142 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 graving of the members of the first Congress of the 
 United States. 
 
 While Hamilton was hanging his hat and coat on 
 the antlers of a large deer head, a maid opened a door 
 at the back of the hall. 
 
 " Mrs. Hamilton didn't expect you to-night, sir," 
 she said. " She's gone out to supper." 
 
 " I'll have something in the library," replied Ham- 
 ilton, thankful that his mother was not at home. 
 
 He went into the spacious front room, which was 
 probably the " living room " in Alexander Hamilton's 
 day. Since then it had been turned into a library. 
 The high walls, the broad windows and doorways had 
 a dignity all their own. One of Hamilton's college 
 mates once said that " it was just the room to read 
 Homer in," and so it was. You felt that, as the book- 
 cases held not only volumes, but the thought of the 
 ages, so the room held not only furniture, but the spirit 
 of the past. When you looked at the tall clock be- 
 side the fireplace you thought of all the lives it had 
 ticked away. The spinning-wheel in the corner re- 
 minded you of busy hands and feet forever stilled. 
 Near one of the windows stood a writing-table where 
 you might easily fancy Alexander Hamilton sitting,
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 143 
 
 drafting some of his famous papers. His quill pen 
 would move steadily back and forth across the paper, 
 pausing occasionally while a thought was formulated, 
 but when it once began to write there would be no 
 hesitating, no interlining. 
 
 The few lines of the chair he used, as indeed of all 
 the old mahogany, bespoke the good taste of Hamil- 
 ton's aristocratic wife, Elizabeth Schuyler. Perhaps 
 in no place was this more evident than in the octagonal 
 dining-room adjoining the library. Here everything 
 from the carved chairs and table to the " dressers " 
 shining with rich silver, was in perfect harmony. 
 
 " I'm very sure of one thing," said a friend of 
 Grant's the first time he dined at The Grange; " and 
 that is, Alexander Hamilton never had dyspepsia. He 
 couldn't have had when his meals were served in such 
 a room as this! " 
 
 Hamilton was not eating there in state to-night. 
 He had what he wanted in front of the library hearth, 
 and when the tea-tray had been removed, he stretched 
 out his long limbs and lifted his eyes to the portrait 
 above the mantel. This picture had always seemed 
 half alive to him, and now, in the fitful firelight, it 
 was more lifelike than ever.
 
 144- BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Hamilton looked at the slender man endowed with 
 such mighty power, and thought of Daniel Webster's 
 words : " He smote the rock of the national resources, 
 and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He 
 touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and it 
 sprung upon its feet." 
 
 " Well," thought Hamilton, " you were lucky to 
 have a rock to smite and a corpse to touch. If this 
 unhappy affair of mine afforded me something to strike 
 at, I should be more contented." 
 
 A flame leapt up, giving a warm tone to the face 
 of the great statesman, and as Hamilton gazed he felt 
 as if a friend were with him a friend who understood 
 and sympathized, who comforted him with the assur- 
 ance that the patient siege is often more heroic than 
 the desperate battle. 
 
 Hamilton sat there, dizzy with thinking, until, worn 
 out with the strain of the last twenty-four hours, he 
 lost consciousness in merciful sleep. 
 
 His mother came in and found him, kindly leaving 
 him undisturbed. The maid locked up the house and 
 extinguished the lights. Still he slept. 
 
 When Hamilton awoke it was far into the night. 
 Only a few embers glowed out of the still darkness.
 
 1 
 
 Hamilton sat there, dizzy with thinking. 
 
 Page 144.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 145 
 
 He had gone to sleep with the image of Alexander 
 Hamilton before him, he had dreamed of Marita, and 
 now, as he opened his eyes, it seemed to him that they 
 stood side by side, both smiling down at him, and say- 
 ing together, " Courage ! " 
 
 He rose and went up to his room. A fire had been 
 kindled here for him, and was still burning brightly 
 under the Colonial wreaths carved in the mantel fram- 
 ing the slate fireplace. It cast a cheery glow upon 
 the green and white striped wall-paper, it gave an in- 
 viting air to the quaint four-posted bed, it almost lent 
 a sparkle to the glass handles of the claw-footed bu- 
 reau. Hamilton was vaguely glad that the fire had 
 been lighted; yet he turned from it and crossing over 
 to the window, opened the solid wood shutters. It 
 was a glorious night. Every star that had a right to 
 show its face was visible. High above the thirteen 
 trees planted by Alexander Hamilton's own hand one 
 for each of the original colonies sailed the moon, shed- 
 ding her silver light over the earth. Hamilton looked 
 at these now leafless trees, so often shaken by storms, 
 thinking that perhaps they were as grateful for the 
 luster shining upon their barrenness as he was for the 
 
 hope which was all that made his loneliness bearable. 
 10
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 JUDGE BURTON'S convalescence was a long one. 
 All his powers had been so weakened that time, 
 as well as care, was necessary to restore them. He 
 was like one who had almost entered the land of peace, 
 and was being reluctantly coaxed back again. It 
 seemed enough for him just to lie in the sunlight, to 
 idly gaze at the flowers sent in, or to dream away 
 any number of hours under the spell of Marita's 
 music. His mind, while in a sound condition, had 
 not yet recovered its usual activity. He accepted 
 everything without a question, even Hamilton's 
 absence. 
 
 Marita was very thankful for this. Just now she 
 could not have borne any explanations. On the morn- 
 ing after Hamilton's departure she had said to Mrs. 
 Burton: 
 
 "Everything is over; it is better so; and please, 
 mother, I don't want to talk about it." 
 
 Naturally Mrs. Burton was mystified. She felt 
 felt sure that Marita would not have called her
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 147 
 
 " mother " if the Judge had betrayed his secret, and 
 as the days passed, she knew that Marita was still 
 ignorant of her parentage. What could have sepa- 
 rated those two who loved so deeply? She could not 
 fathom the situation; she could only wonder, and be 
 sorry for Hamilton while her heart ached for Marita. 
 She saw that the girl was passing through fire. 
 
 The color left Marita's cheeks, and the light died 
 out of her eyes. She looked like one from whom the 
 joy of life has been taken. It is a fearful thing to 
 read this in the face of one who has always found that 
 joy keen. Something so vital must cause the change, 
 something so bitter. 
 
 Marita struggled against the feeling that everything 
 was a mockery. She hated pessimism; yet, since her 
 faith in Hamilton had been so rudely shaken, it was 
 hard to believe in anything. Many an hour she spent 
 in the woods, and when she came home, the fragments 
 of dried leaves on her garments told the story of a 
 woman lying prone on the ground in her anguish. 
 There were times when it seemed as if she must call 
 him back, whether she trusted him or not. She 
 longed for his thoughtful care, and when she thought 
 of the love in his eyes, of the touch of his hand and
 
 148 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 lips ah, it was then that she flung herself down on 
 the fallen leaves! When these moods passed she al- 
 ways came back to the same dreary question, if she 
 could not trust him, who and what could she trust? 
 This doubt was awful to Marita; it meant the loss of 
 many ideals, the wreckage of many beliefs. 
 
 " Is it possible," she asked herself, " that I am the 
 same creature who once believed that a golden spot 
 lay in the blackest heart? Now I wonder if a black 
 spot does not lie on the whitest soul." 
 
 During those bitter weeks Marita's life was like a 
 stream turned back from its usual channel, forced to 
 make its way through rough fields. Music was her 
 only comfort. If she had not had this outlet Marita 
 might have done something desperate. Hers was not 
 the cool blood that accepts the inevitable and becomes 
 resigned. She had in her veins that fire that leads to 
 rash acts. Sometimes the river lapped so invitingly, 
 its coolness was alluring; sometimes she lingered on 
 the edge of a precipice until the depths below beckoned 
 dangerously. More than once she caught her breath 
 with a shudder, and turning her back upon these temp- 
 tations, hurried back to her violin and poured forth a 
 torrent of pent-up passion.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 149 
 
 Marita often wondered if other women suffered as 
 she did. 
 
 " Oh," she thought, " do their arms ache with the 
 emptiness, are their lips parched for one kiss, are they 
 always hungering for the sound of one voice, starved 
 for the lovelight in certain eyes? " 
 
 Day and night she struggled and questioned, tried 
 to believe and doubted. The outcome of Marita's 
 strife was a determination to ask her father to explain 
 matters when he was stronger. She knew it would 
 wound him terribly to know that any words of his 
 should cause so much unhappiness; but after careful 
 consideration she decided that it was only fair to 
 Hamilton to make this request of her father. If he 
 could help her out of this trouble, she knew he would, 
 and resolving to tell him everything as soon as his 
 strength would permit, she summoned all the patience 
 she could and waited. 
 
 One day in December Marita sat by the window in 
 her father's room, watching the first snow whiten the 
 ground. Enough had fallen so that when Sam drove 
 up the hill, returning from his daily trip to the village, 
 the road was marked with wheel tracks. She was list- 
 lessly looking at these, wondering how soon they would
 
 150 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 disappear, when a maid entered the room with the let- 
 ters Sam had brought. There was one from Mrs. 
 Chester, and one from a college mate now in Califor- 
 nia. The third one caused her lips to blanch. 
 
 Even if Marita had stopped to think that she ought 
 to read this letter alone, she would not have had the 
 strength to move. She was utterly unnerved at sight 
 of Hamilton's writing. All thought of time and place 
 and consequences was swept away. The torn envelope 
 fell to the floor, and Marita read these lines: 
 
 " On Board S. S. ' Augusta Victoria,' 
 " I cannot leave America without letting you know 
 that you can always reach me by addressing 
 " c|o Credit Lyonnaise, 
 
 " 19 Boulevard des Italiens, 
 
 " Paris, France." 
 
 Marita dropped the paper in her lap and looked out 
 of the window. She was dimly conscious that the 
 wheel tracks were rapidly disappearing; she noticed, 
 in a dreamy way, how the snow was lodging on the 
 boxwood. 
 
 Meanwhile the Judge was watching her closely. 
 The envelope had fallen where he could see the hand- 
 writing.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 151 
 
 " Marita." 
 
 She started as if she had been roused from a sound 
 sleep. 
 
 " What does Hamilton have to say? When is he 
 coming up? " 
 
 " He has gone abroad," she said in a dull tone, 
 thinking of nothing save that the ocean rolled between 
 them. 
 
 " He has ! " exclaimed the Judge, sitting upright on 
 'the lounge. 
 
 Marita was stirred now and thoroughly frightened 
 by her father's exclamation. She knew the danger of 
 a shock in his present condition. 
 
 " Yes, father dear, it's a business trip, you know. 
 This is a farewell sent back from Sandy Hook." 
 
 Marita rearranged his pillows, and asked him if he 
 wouldn't like some music; yet notwithstanding her 
 diverting attentions, while she played and afterwards, 
 the Judge did something he had not done for weeks. 
 He thought.
 
 CHAPTEK XV 
 
 "TV/TAKITA, I'm tired of this. I'm going down- 
 stairs/' said the Judge on the following 
 morning. 
 
 " Why, father, you can't. You haven't even walked 
 around on this floor." 
 
 " That doesn't make any difference. I'm going 
 down to the library now. Let me lean on you, and 
 we'll surprise your mother." 
 
 The Judge spoke with his old-time energy, and it 
 did Marita's heart good to hear the ring in his voice. 
 Still she felt that it was not wise for him to attempt 
 so much at once; but he couldn't be dissuaded. 
 
 When he was comfortably settled in the library 
 Marita called Mrs. Burton. Her surprise and delight 
 afforded the Judge much pleasure. He seemed so 
 natural again that Marita felt as if there were a break 
 in the clouds. 
 
 "Now," said the Judge briskly, "I want all the news. 
 I expect you two women to give me a summary of what 
 has occurred since I've been lazing away upstairs."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 153 
 
 He looked at Marita as lie spoke. She rose and be- 
 gan to straighten a pile of music. 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Burton, watching Marita un- 
 easily. " I don't know that there is much news to 
 tell. There have been some changes in the village 
 school. The Board accepted Miss Stone's resignation, 
 and elected a new teacher. She called here one after- 
 noon to interview the chairman, but you weren't re- 
 ceiving people then. I didn't see her, Marita enter- 
 tained the young lady." 
 
 " She gave me a lively half hour," remarked Ma- 
 rita. " I couldn't quite make out whether she was 
 really vivacious and bright or nervous and trying to 
 make an impression. Any way, she told one school 
 experience that bears repeating. She said she was 
 making out a vaccination list. Coming up to a red- 
 headed boy, she asked him if he had been vaccinated. 
 1 Please, ma'am, wouldn't havin' the smallpox do just 
 as well? ' " 
 
 The Judge laughed heartily. Like all men of strong 
 character, he thoroughly enjoyed a joke. 
 
 " Then she told me about the last time she had ever 
 struck a child." 
 
 " Why," interrupted the Judge, " do you mean to
 
 154 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 say that teachers still employ that method of disci- 
 pline? " 
 
 " Of course they do, not only in country schools, 
 but in some city schools also." 
 
 " Well, I'm surprised. I thought that modern en- 
 lightenment was greater than that." 
 
 " It doesn't seem to be. I suppose it's easier to 
 strike than to use moral suasion. This young woman 
 said that she struck a boy for some wrong-doing, and 
 he sprang to his feet, exclaiming, ' If you weren't a 
 woman I'd strike back! ' The boy's indignation im- 
 pressed her; she thought about it, and she said she 
 had never struck a child since then." 
 
 " Must be good stuff in that girl," the Judge re- 
 marked. 
 
 " I don't know," said Marita hesitatingly; " I'm not 
 sure of that." 
 
 " Why, what has come over you? " asked the Judge, 
 giving her a searching glance. " You used to believe 
 that people were genuine until they had been proven 
 frauds." 
 
 " Don't you thing it's just as well to take everybody 
 on suspicion, and let them prove themselves genuine? " 
 
 " That point of view may do for a man who has to
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 155 
 
 knock up against the world, but I can tell you it takes 
 a mighty level-headed man to keep in focus if he goes 
 on that principle. For a woman it's an abominable 
 standpoint, and I want to know who or what has been 
 putting such nonsense into your head." 
 
 The Judge seldom spoke to Marita in this authorita- 
 tive way, and Mrs. Burton wondered how Marita would 
 answer him. 
 
 " Dear father," she said, coming up to him and rest- 
 ing her hand on his head, " don't you know the whole 
 world was turned topsy-turvy when you were lying ill? " 
 
 Mrs. Burton thought it was time she came to Ma- 
 rita's rescue. 
 
 " Now that you are well again and downstairs, I 
 think we ought to have some music to celebrate." 
 
 Marita gave her a grateful look as she went towards 
 the piano. 
 
 " What is it that you have on the rack? " she con- 
 tinued. " Something festive ? " 
 
 " Mendelssohn's * Consolation,' ' replied Marita, 
 with a slight shiver. 
 
 She placed another sheet of music over it, and was 
 taking up her violin, when they heard the sound of 
 sleigh-bells drawing near.
 
 156 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " It's Doctor Earle," said Mrs. Burton, rising to 
 stir up the fire. " He'll be surprised to find his pa- 
 tient down here." 
 
 Marita was much relieved. She did not feel like 
 playing, but it had seemed the only thing to do just 
 then. 
 
 " Well, well! " exclaimed the Doctor, bringing in 
 with him the crispness of frosty air. " You are pro- 
 gressing." 
 
 He greeted them all cordially, and sitting down in 
 front of the fire, held out his hands to the blaze. 
 
 " Pretty cold outside good sleighing." 
 
 " How's New York? " the Judge asked of the Doc- 
 tor, who had been in town a few days. 
 
 " Fine! Everything is in full swing." 
 
 " Did you go to the opera? " inquired Marita. 
 
 " Indeed, I did. Heard ' Tannhauser ' and t Lohen- 
 grin.' Nordica is in splendid voice this winter." 
 
 " And Jean de Reszke? " 
 
 " He's always superb. I think his voice even im- 
 proves with time. Nobody else can touch him." 
 
 " You enjoy Grand Opera, I judge," remarked Mrs. 
 Burton. 
 
 "Very much. I know of nothing that lifts you
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 157 
 
 out of yourself carries you into another world 
 more than that does. It is really a wonderful sight to 
 see that great opera house filled with a throng held 
 spellbound by the most magnificent voices in the 
 world." 
 
 " Is the throng spellbound? " asked the Judge. 
 
 " Yes, it is," returned the Doctor. " The audience 
 is not nearly so conversational as the critics try to 
 make out." 
 
 " Those critics! " said the Judge, shaking his head. 
 " They seem to delight in extracting the joy out of 
 life." 
 
 Mrs. Burton looked up from her needlework, asking 
 gently: " Don't you feel sorry for them, though? 
 Theirs is such a thankless profession." 
 
 " That depends upon the spirit they carry into it," 
 Marita remarked. " I think if more of them felt as 
 Goethe did, that sympathy is the most essential quality 
 in critics, they would not find their profession so 
 thankless." 
 
 " You have a remarkable way of hitting the nail 
 on the head," said the Doctor, with a look of ad- 
 miration. 
 
 The Judge laughed.
 
 158 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " That's a great compliment, Harita. You know 
 women are proverbially bad at driving nails." 
 
 " The Judge has certainly recovered," exclaimed 
 the Doctor. " Speaking of critics, reminds me of a 
 remark I heard a thinker make not long ago. He 
 said that ' criticism is a good brake, but a very poor 
 propelling power.' ' 
 
 " Capital " cried the Judge. 
 
 " That's an excellent thought," said Marita, with an 
 emphatic nod of her head. 
 
 " So it impressed me," returned the Doctor. Then 
 he spoke of the theatres, and told of an art exhibit he 
 had attended. Indeed, he was really delightful this 
 morning; there was something unusually buoyant in 
 his manner. 
 
 When Doctor Earle rose to go, he turned to the 
 Judge and said in an off-hand way: 
 
 "I didn't tell you that I saw your friend Hamil- 
 ton." 
 
 "No, you didn't." 
 
 " Why, I went down to see a friend sail on the ' Au- 
 gusta Victoria, and I met him on board." 
 
 " Yes," replied the Judge, " he's gone over on a 
 business trip."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 159 
 
 "Business? Well, perhaps he calls it that, but I 
 shouldn't call it business to go abroad for an indefinite 
 length of time, just to travel where fancy led." 
 
 " I don't think I should either," the Judge said 
 slowly, looking at the two red spots burning in Ma- 
 rita's cheeks. 
 
 The Doctor saw them, too. He said good-by quietly, 
 but his eyes beamed as Mrs. Burton accompanied him 
 to the front door. 
 
 The moment they were alone the Judge turned to 
 his daughter, saying: 
 
 " Come now, Marita, out with it. Why has Hamil- 
 ton gone to Europe? "
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 u T T 711 Y has he gone?" Marita asked in a dazed 
 way. 
 
 " Yes," said the Judge with his old-time determina- 
 tion. " You told me Hamilton had gone on business 
 the Doctor says he has gone for pleasure. Now I 
 want the real reason." 
 
 These words quickly dispelled Marita's bewilder- 
 ment. Her father was thoroughly roused, and ehe 
 knew that the sooner she spoke the better. 
 
 " The truth is, I don't know why he has gone, un- 
 less it is to forget." 
 
 "Forget what?" demanded the Judge, drawing his 
 heavy eyebrows together. 
 
 " Oh, father," she cried, " it's all over all ended! " 
 Her voice broke; she sank to the floor, clasping his 
 knees and shuddering like a wounded bird. 
 
 It was in such moments as these that the Judge saw 
 the mother live again in the daughter. There was 
 the same passion, the same abandon. How often 
 in that old Roman garden had Anita thrown herself
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 161 
 
 at his feet, and clung to him as their child was clinging 
 now. Taking Marita's face between his hands, he 
 looked long into the eyes that seemed to mirror his 
 past in their troubled depths. Something he saw 
 there swept away everything save remorse. The 
 Judge drew Marita into his arms and held her close, 
 feeling that no sacrifice was too great if it would only 
 bring her peace. 
 
 Neither one of them spoke, but while Marita was find- 
 ing untold comfort in her father's love, he was thinking 
 that of all the cowards he ever knew, Hamilton was 
 the greatest. After accepting the situation as he had 
 when he first learned the secret of Marita's birth, 
 then to reconsider, as he apparently had, and leave 
 her during her father's illness could anything be 
 more contemptible? In the midst of his wrath, 
 though, the Judge felt that there must be a mis- 
 take somewhere. This feeling, indefinite at first, grew 
 stronger, and he resolved to question Marita and find 
 out why they had parted. 
 
 " Now tell me everything, dear," he said, touching 
 her forehead with his lips. " Surely you are not 
 afraid to speak freely to your father? " 
 
 " Oh, no! I am glad to speak, I want to. I would 
 11
 
 1 62 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 have spoken long before if you had been stronger. 
 That is why I said he had gone over on a business trip. 
 I thought it better not to explain until you were well 
 again." 
 
 " I see," said the Judge, stroking her hair. " How 
 long is it since you saw Hamilton? " 
 
 " Not since the first days of your illness." 
 
 " He was up here then? " 
 
 " Yes, he was here. It was then that I sent him 
 away." 
 
 " You sent him away? " This didn't look as if Ham- 
 ilton had played the coward. The Judge was puzzled. 
 " Why, Marita, why did you send him away? " 
 
 " Because I found that I couldn't trust him. He 
 would not give me his confidence in a vital matter, and 
 I could not marry him after he refused it." 
 
 The Judge looked at Marita thoughtfully. 
 
 " What was this vital matter? " he asked earnestly. 
 
 " I learned that there was something in his life 
 which would prevent me from marrying him if I knew 
 it." 
 
 " Something in his life? " said the Judge, so much 
 astonished that he could not believe he had heard aright. 
 
 " Yes," Marita answered, with increasing agitation.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 163 
 
 " I asked him to tell me what it was; I begged him to 
 be frank, but he persisted in silence, so I sent him 
 away. How could I do otherwise ? And yet oh, how 
 could I have told him to go for any reason? Father, 
 you don't know how hard it is, you don't know how I 
 love him! " 
 
 " Poor child," murmured the Judge, trying to soothe 
 her distress. He was completely mystified at this new 
 turn of affairs. What could there be in Hamilton's 
 life, and 
 
 " Marita, how did you learn of this thing? " 
 
 She had dreaded this question, and now that it had 
 been asked Marita could not summon the courage to 
 answer it fully. After a moment's hesitation, she said : 
 
 " It came to me accidentally." 
 
 " You're very sure there is something? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "You're convinced that there is no mistake?" 
 
 Marita could not stand this any longer. She sprang 
 to her feet, exclaiming: 
 
 " Father, how can you ask all these questions when 
 you know there is something in his life! " 
 
 "I know?" 
 
 " Of course you do; you told me yourself."
 
 164. BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 "I told you?" 
 
 " Certainly; one night when Grant and I were tak- 
 ing care of you." 
 
 "What what did I say?" 
 
 " You said, * Don't tell her, Hamilton, don't tell her. 
 She'll never marry you if you do.' ' 
 
 " Did I say that? " he asked faintly, feeling as if he 
 had signed his own death warrant. 
 
 " Yes, father, you did, and now you are the only 
 one who can help me. Tell me tell me what it is, 
 this awful thing that you think would keep me from 
 marrying him. Don't you know there is almost noth- 
 ing a woman will not forgive when she loves as I do? 
 But she must know what she forgives. Grant is not 
 capable of a meanness. If he has done a great wrong, 
 there must have been great provocation; if he has com- 
 mitted a crime, it was done in the heat of passion. 
 Whatever it is, don't you see that I cannot pardon 
 blindly? Surely you understand, you always have 
 understood me so well. And you will lift this load; 
 oh, father, you will tell me what shadows his life." 
 
 Marita had spoken so rapidly that she had not ob- 
 served the effect of her words. As she uttered her last 
 appeal, however, she noticed the Judge's pallor, and
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 165 
 
 adding in her impulsive way, "Not now not now! 
 I'm going to get you some brandy," she hastened from 
 the room. 
 
 The Judge leaned back in his chair more stunned 
 than exhausted. The situation was appalling to him. 
 He saw how Marita had interpreted those fateful 
 words; he marvelled at Hamilton's heroic silence; he 
 understood how, after waiting weeks without hearing 
 that the Judge had spoken, Grant had been unable 
 to bear it longer and had gone abroad. 
 
 At first it seemed to the Judge that there was only 
 one thing for him to do, and that was to tell Marita 
 the whole truth; but after a little he began to won- 
 der what good that would do. He knew that she would 
 never marry if he told her, and gradually he came to 
 believe that she might as well think Hamilton un- 
 worthy as to feel herself unfit. True, the Judge 
 winced when he remembered how Hamilton had kept 
 his word under such trying circumstances. He was 
 not treating squarely a man who had sacrificed so much 
 for him, but the Judge had long been accustomed to 
 consider Marita before all other people, and he chose 
 what he thought would be the easiest course for his 
 daughter.
 
 1 66 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 When Marita returned with the brandy, her father 
 drained the glass, and then, before she could remon- 
 strate, he said: 
 
 " You want me to explain the words I spoke in my 
 delirium; but, Marita, I cannot feel that it is best to 
 explain them." His heart sank when he saw the look 
 on her face. " I have carefully considered the matter, 
 and you know, dear, that I could only decide upon what 
 I believe to be best for you." 
 
 Marita scarcely heard his last words. She knew 
 that he would not explain. That was enough. Her 
 only hope was gone. 
 
 " I was afraid of this," she said, speaking with the 
 calmness which is so much more terrible than excite- 
 ment. " I felt sure that since he did not speak, you 
 would not; but I hoped " 
 
 " Marita," cried the Judge, cut to the quick when 
 she attributed his silence to Hamilton's, " you must 
 forget it all; you are young; you have so much of life 
 before you. I will take you away; I will be every- 
 thing to you. Oh, my child," and he opened his arms, 
 " no one can ever love you as your father does."
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 f I V HE north had been left so far behind that the 
 sleeper was uncomfortably warm. Ringing for 
 the porter, Marita asked him to raise the window. 
 With the first breath of balmy southern air, she had 
 that peculiar sense of being familiar with something 
 she knew to be utterly strange. It seemed to Marita 
 that she had always lived in this atmosphere. She 
 thought of how the frosty air tingled on the morning 
 they left Lindenhurst as one might think of something 
 entirely foreign. Could it be that she had ever gloried 
 in the snow, had walked miles in it because she loved to 
 step into its cold whiteness, and delighted in feeling it 
 light upon her face? Thinking of the ice-hung ever- 
 greens guarding the hills at home, Marita shivered a 
 little, gladly resting her eyes on the sunlit palms. Oh, 
 that southern sun! It had such a penetrating quality; 
 it entered her very bones and instilled its fire into every 
 drop of blood. She longed to get out into it, lie in it, 
 bathe in it, revel in it for hours; reaching her hand
 
 1 68 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 out of the car window, Marita smiled as the rays 
 warmed her fingers. 
 
 Her father, sitting opposite, watched her closely, 
 observing a dreamy look in her eyes, which he never 
 remembered having seen there before. When Marita 
 stretched out her hand in the sunlight, the gesture al- 
 most startled the Judge, it was so like her mother. 
 Often had he seen Anita Mondello extend her arms 
 to the burning sun of Italy in the mere ecstasy of 
 luxuriating in its warmth. In some ways Marita re- 
 sembled her mother so much that at times the Judge 
 was weighted with fear. 
 
 " Perhaps I have made a mistake in bringing her 
 South," thought the Judge. " It might have been 
 wiser to have kept her North. Still, the girl must 
 fight her battles, I cannot always shield her." 
 
 He knew the impossibility of protecting his daughter 
 from the dangers so likely to beset a woman of her 
 temperament. This always worried him; and now he 
 was doubly disturbed by Marita's shaken faith in hu- 
 manity. She had always been so trustful, it hurt the 
 Judge cruelly to see her doubting rather than believ- 
 ing; yet what else could he expect? Sometimes he 
 thought she must even distrust him, thinking that he
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 169 
 
 had given her to a man whose life held something in- 
 explainable to her; he knew, though, that she attrib- 
 uted his action to a desire for her happiness. Still, 
 though she never seemed to doubt her father, it was 
 easy to see that Marita felt as if nothing was on a firm 
 basis, and this grieved the Judge inexpressibly. 
 
 " My dear," he said, leaning towards her anxiously, 
 " do you like the South? " 
 
 " Oh yes, father, it's glorious! " 
 
 " Why do you find it so attractive? Surely this 
 country we are passing through is prosaic enough 
 with its stretches of dry grass and forlorn-looking 
 palms." 
 
 " It isn't the scenery; it's the air and the sun. In 
 the North you never feel this delicious warmth in 
 every vein; up there the sun shines on you, here it 
 shines into you." 
 
 " I'm glad you enjoy it, dear," said the Judge, 
 though he didn't like to see Marita hold her hand in 
 the sunlight again. 
 
 The journey was soon over now, and after they ar- 
 rived at Palm Beach Marita was more like herself than 
 at any time since that bitter night when Hamilton left 
 Lindenhurst. Here was something new to enjoy, and
 
 170 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 she enjoyed it with all the intensity of her nature. 
 From the windows of Marita's room at The Breakers 
 she could feast her eyes upon masses of tropical foliage 
 stirred by breezes from the ocean lazily lapping the 
 shore. Nothing, however, delighted her as much as 
 the dreamy lake, so different from the river at home! 
 Marita was accustomed to think of water as lively, rip- 
 pling, sparkling; therefore this languorous lake was a 
 revelation to her. She would drift for hours, never 
 caring to row, as she once did, just for the joy of the 
 motion. Sometimes as she lay in her boat, basking 
 in the sun and trailing her hand in the tepid water, 
 Marita's thoughts went back to the woody dell by the 
 spring which she and Hamilton had visited on that 
 happy morning when love lay in their hearts, unawak- 
 ened, though stirring. She could see his face as he 
 reclined at her feet, looking up into her eyes while she 
 told of the part that nook had played in her life. How 
 interested he had been, and how quick to shield her 
 from reproof when they returned to Lindenhurst and 
 Mrs. Burton had suspected Marita of a wild run. Ma- 
 rita thought, too, of the " uncheckable something," 
 and wondered if it had been crushed out of her; not 
 feeling the energetic impulses of those days, she did
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 171 
 
 not realize that it was smouldering within her in a far 
 more dangerous form. 
 
 Then, again, Marita lived through that day at 
 Farno's, when Hamilton had taken the Doctor's in- 
 sult with such dignity, and later had saved her life; 
 that throbbing night at Tuxedo, when their hearts had 
 leapt out so passionately; that first radiant day as 
 lovers, and all the happy days that followed until her 
 father's illness came and joy went out of her life. 
 
 Hamilton's face always came before Marita with 
 painful distinctness. She wished the vision would 
 grow dim; it was maddening to see those features so 
 clearly, to catch the lovelight in the eyes, the tender 
 smile around the mouth, and when the noble head bent 
 towards her, then it was that drifting became intoler- 
 able, and seizing the oars she would pull ashore and 
 walk for hours up and down the avenues of palms and 
 big-leaved plants.
 
 CHAPTER XVIH 
 
 "1%/TARITA has changed since we came here," re- 
 marked Mrs. Burton as she strolled along the 
 bank of the lake with her husband. 
 
 " In what way? " asked the Judge, anxiously. 
 
 " Surely you must have noticed her unnatural lassi- 
 tude. She seems to have lost all desire for action, and 
 cares only to lie in the sunlight or drift about in a boat." 
 
 " I see her walking quite often," he said, trying to 
 reassure himself. 
 
 " She never walks with her former vim; her steps 
 are measured where they used to be brisk." 
 
 " Well, my dear, you must remember that Marita 
 is wading in deep waters. Love means much to her, 
 and the whole course of her being has been turned 
 back from its natural direction." 
 
 " I appreciate that, but I don't see why it should 
 affect her so differently. At home she couldn't do 
 enough; from dawn to dark she was tramping the 
 woods, or rowing, or galloping over the hills on a 
 horse."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 173 
 
 The Judge made no reply; he contented himself with 
 thinking that Mrs. Burton might understand if she 
 had ever seen Anita Mondello in Italy. His eyes 
 wandered absent-mindedly over the lake, seeking Ma- 
 rita's boat. It was there, floating aimlessly about, 
 while Marita lay on the cushions, her veins throbbing 
 with the intoxication of the southern air. During the 
 long afternoon she drifted to and fro, while her father 
 sat on the shore, reading aloud to Mrs. Burton, who 
 occasionally looked up from her embroidery to see 
 how far the capricious breeze had carried the boat from 
 the point where she saw it last. 
 
 Marita lingered on the water until the sun sank 
 so low that the Judge had to signal for her to come 
 ashore. 
 
 " Now look at that," said Mrs. Burton. " Do you 
 see how she's pulling in, first one oar and then the 
 other? She never rowed like that in the North; she 
 was only too glad to use both oars and pull with all her 
 might, especially since her trouble came. Why, I've 
 seen her rowing on the river at racing speed; she would 
 come in too tired to dress for dinner." 
 
 " She's almost too late to dress for it now." 
 
 " Marita won't care."
 
 174 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " That's the trouble," said the Judge, his face dark- 
 ening. " She doesn't care." 
 
 When the boat touched land, Marita didn't spring 
 out as she used to in the old days; she leisurely stepped 
 from the boat to the shore, and as she did so the Judge 
 saw a new grace in every move. It was an indescrib- 
 able charm which had blossomed out in this sunny 
 clime, and the Judge would rather have lost his right 
 hand than to have found this charm in his daughter. 
 
 " You are late, my dear," he said, fastening the boat. 
 
 " Time doesn't matter," returned Marita, listlessly. 
 
 " You forget that you have a toilet to make," Mrs. 
 Burton mildly suggested. 
 
 "Bother toilets! Who cares whether one dresses 
 or not? " 
 
 " I care, Marita," and the Judge looked at her re- 
 proachfully. 
 
 " You dear father, of course you care," she said, in- 
 stantly repentant. " To please you I'll make myself 
 gorgeous to behold." 
 
 Marita kept her word, creating quite a sensation 
 when she entered the dining-hall, radiant in a gown of 
 deep crimson crepe. The whiteness of her superbly 
 moulded shoulders was enhanced by a large corsage
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 175 
 
 knot of black velvet, and she carried an exquisite fan 
 of black lace. 
 
 After a late dinner Marita went with Mrs. Burton 
 to the writing-room, while the Judge smoked his eve- 
 ning cigar. She was just finishing a letter when some 
 one paused behind her chair and she heard a familiar 
 voice saying : 
 
 " Palm Beach seems to agree with you." 
 
 " Why, Doctor Earle ! " Marita exclaimed in aston- 
 ishment, looking around to find the Doctor and his 
 sister, Virginia, smiling at her surprise. 
 
 " I'm awfully glad to find you here," said Virginia, 
 who had the great admiration for Marita that a young- 
 girl often has for an attractive woman. " We were 
 afraid you might have gone on to some other place." 
 
 " How did you come to wander down here ? " asked 
 Marita, not altogether pleased at the Doctor's arrival. 
 
 " Virginia had an attack of bronchitis," the Doctor 
 replied, " and I thought a southern trip would do her 
 good. Of course we came to Palm Beach, no other 
 place had so much attraction." 
 
 Marita was annoyed. The Doctor had known her 
 long enough, she thought, to find out that she hated 
 such speeches.
 
 176 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " It's delightful here," was all she said. 
 
 " I hope you're not sorry we came ? " asked the Doc- 
 tor. 
 
 " I'm very glad to see you, especially Virginia," said 
 Marita, smiling at the large-eyed girl. 
 
 " You are not exactly complimentary," said the Doc- 
 tor, rather amused at her frankness. 
 
 " I never am. I'm quite fond of being a miser in 
 that respect." 
 
 " That's true, Miss Burton. Any one who wins a 
 compliment from you deserves it." 
 
 " I think it's lovely to be like that," said Virginia, 
 her face full of adoring enthusiasm. 
 
 " You're looking very well," remarked the Doctor, 
 conscious of the new charm the Judge had noticed. 
 " How is your father? " 
 
 " Much improved; the South has done wonders for 
 him. Come over here where mother is; she'll be so 
 surprised." 
 
 As Marita led the way down the long room, Virginia 
 whispered to her brother: 
 
 " Isn't she glorious to-night? " 
 
 The Doctor smiled and nodded, saying to himself: 
 " She's more than that, she's maddening."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 177 
 
 They had scarcely exchanged greetings with Mrs. 
 Burton when the Judge appeared in the doorway, and 
 seeing them, hastened forward. 
 
 " Well, I declare ! Where'd you hail from, Doc- 
 tor?" 
 
 " T$ew York City and a snowstorm that's almost a 
 blizzard," said the Doctor, shaking hands with the 
 Judge. 
 
 " You don't say so ! Virginia, how ido you do, my 
 dear." 
 
 " I'm better, thank you; came down here to get 
 well." 
 
 " You selected a mighty good place, and I'm glad 
 to see you both. We needed a little enlivening. I 
 suspect that girl of mine was getting lonely, especially 
 evenings when the dancing's going on." 
 
 " That's a figment of father's imagination," said 
 Marita. 
 
 " I hope it isn't," replied the Doctor. 
 
 " Suppose we go over to The Poinciana now," sug- 
 gested the Judge. " It's a pleasant walk, and they'll 
 be dancing there; perhaps you'd like to take a turn." 
 
 " I wouldn't like anything better," said the Bo'ctor, 
 
 hoping Marita would express a desire to go. 
 12
 
 178 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " What do you say, Marita? " asked her father. 
 
 " I'll go if the rest of you care to," she an- 
 swered. 
 
 Mrs. Burton looked at Marita sorrowfully, thinking 
 of the days when she would have accepted the sugges- 
 tion with enthusiasm. 
 
 " Let us go, then," said the Judge, hoping a dance 
 would arouse Marita. 
 
 " You girls must have some light wraps," insisted 
 the Doctor. 
 
 They went after those filmy nothings which women 
 wear with evening gowns, though they found it too 
 warm outside for even a covering of liberty silk. 
 
 " Isn't this a wonderful walk? " asked Marita of the 
 Doctor, as they went on ahead of the others, passing 
 between the rows of stately palmettos. 
 
 " Wonderful," he replied, looking at her shoulders 
 gleaming like marble in the moonlight. 
 
 " I never tire of this promenade between the two 
 hotels. It's always fascinating at any hour. I can't 
 tell whether it is more witching in the heat of the sun 
 or the light of the moon." 
 
 " Quite like some people," said the Doctor, his voice 
 a little unsteady.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 179 
 
 " Did you leave things prospering at home? " asked 
 Marita, seeing that she must keep the Doctor to com- 
 monplaces. 
 
 " The town is absolutely dead this winter; I couldn't 
 stand it any longer, you see." 
 
 " How about your work; could you come away and 
 leave all your patients? " 
 
 " Turned them over to another man." 
 
 " Weren't you sorry to do that? Don't you get in- 
 terested in cases, and want to carry them through? " 
 
 " Oh yes, sometimes; still they're only cases, they're 
 not people to us, you know." 
 
 " Surely all doctors don't feel that way." 
 
 " How can they do good work if they allow their 
 sympathies to become involved? " 
 
 " It seems to me," said Marita thoughtfully, " that 
 a physician should have the keenest sympathy, because 
 it is through sympathy that we understand many 
 things that without it would remain unknown to the 
 end of the chapter." 
 
 " I fail to see how sympathy is going to help you 
 diagnose a case." 
 
 " A physician's province doesn't lie entirely within 
 the bounds of medical science. Perhaps sympathy
 
 180 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 wouldn't help you diagnose a case, but it might help 
 you vastly in the treatment of it." 
 
 " Don't you know that if a doctor allows himself to 
 become personally interested, his treatment may not 
 be as severe as the case demands? " 
 
 " It always makes me cross to hear any one say 
 that," said Marita, with an energy that would have de- 
 lighted her father. " Why should a doctor allow his 
 sympathies to interfere with what his judgment de- 
 clares to be the right treatment? I've no patience with 
 a man who can't do the right thing for a patient be- 
 cause he is sorry for the pain or discomfort it may 
 bring." 
 
 " You think, then, that a physician should have 
 keen sympathies under perfect control? " 
 
 " That's exactly what I think." 
 
 " Miss Burton, you ought to be a doctor's wife." 
 
 " Oh, no indeed! I'd have something to say about 
 his business, and that he wouldn't like at all." 
 
 " He'd like anything you said," remarked the Doc- 
 tor, wishing they had not reached the ballroom. 
 
 Now that Marita saw the polished floor and heard 
 the tempting strains of a waltz, she wanted to dance, 
 though it was not the lively longing she used to have,
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 181 
 
 it was rather a languorous desire just to sway her body 
 and move her feet with the music. 
 
 The Doctor didn't ask her to dance; he merely 
 slipped his arm about her, and they glided off, slowly, 
 dreamily, circling gracefully around and around. A 
 woman is never more attractive than when she is danc- 
 ing. Her color deepens, her eyes brighten, her lips 
 part, her hair fluffs, her whole figure expresses every 
 physical grace she has. 
 
 The Judge and Mrs. Burton and Virginia were not 
 the only ones absorbed in watching Marita dance. As 
 they glided in and out among the dancers, Marita was 
 conscious of the intent gaze of a man who stood near 
 her father. Once her eyes met his directly, and it 
 seemed to her that she had never seen a more com- 
 pelling look. Personal magnetism is a mysterious 
 force. It arises from so many different causes, and is 
 manifested in such various ways. Whatever magnetic 
 power this man possessed was of the kind which at 
 once attracts and repels. He was very handsome, his 
 large, speaking eyes overarched with heavy brows, his 
 full lips partly covered by an unusually well-shaped 
 mustache. Though his chin was somewhat irreso- 
 lute, there were lines in his face which made one feel
 
 1 82 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 that his determination was strong enough to make it 
 most unpleasant for any one who opposed his will. He 
 was tall and so splendidly proportioned that many a 
 sculptor longed to model his figure. 
 
 With a woman's quick eye, Marita noticed these 
 things when the dance was over and he chanced to be 
 looking away from her as she passed him with the 
 Doctor. Just as she thought they had left him be- 
 hind, the stranger stepped up to them, saying : 
 
 " Earle Henry Earle, don't you remember me? " 
 
 The Doctor looked blank for an instant, then a smile 
 broke over his face, and he held out his hand in cordial 
 greeting. 
 
 " Of course I remember you. How are you, and 
 how've you been all this time? " 
 
 " Well enough to keep on earth." 
 
 " Not commonplace," thought Marita. 
 
 " Miss Burton, allow me to present an old college 
 friend, Mr. Channing." 
 
 Again their eyes met, this closer contact bringing 
 to Marita a still greater sense of his magnetic power. 
 She could scarcely withdraw her gaze, yet she wanted 
 to; and afterwards, though she tried to evade his look, 
 several tunes her eyes were irresistibly drawn to his.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 183 
 
 When the orchestra played the first strains of an- 
 other waltz Marita wanted to pick up her skirts and run 
 away. She knew Mr. Channing would ask her to 
 dance she knew it would be discourteous to refuse, yet 
 the thought of dancing with him sent a little cold 
 shiver down her spine. 
 
 The music swelled louder, and Mr. Channing looked 
 at Marita opening his lips to speak, when the Judge 
 touched her arm. 
 
 " Marita, your mother and I are going back now, 
 and " 
 
 " Very well, I am ready," she answered quickly, not 
 giving him a chance to tell her that she could remain 
 and return later with Virginia and the Doctor. 
 
 The Judge was about to urge her to stay longer, 
 but her eyes told him that she wanted to go, and since 
 her wish was always his law, he said nothing. After 
 the Judge exchanged a few words with Mr. Channing, 
 whom the Doctor presented, they all crossed over to 
 where Mrs. Burton and Virginia were sitting. As they 
 threaded their way in and out among those who were 
 watching the dancers, Marita went first with her father. 
 She knew Mr. Channing never lost sight of her for a 
 moment; she felt that his eyes followed every move;
 
 184 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 she longed to get out into the air; it was stifling in the 
 ballroom; the perfume something was suffocating. 
 
 Marita didn't know quite how it happened, but when 
 she looked about for her wrap, she saw it on Mr. Chan- 
 ning's arm. Instinct seemed to have told him which 
 one belonged to her. 
 
 " You are looking for this? " he asked, laying it over 
 her shoulders, and leaving a burning spot where his 
 hand touched her skin. Then he bent his lips close 
 to her ear, saying: " We shall dance together some 
 other night."
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 TV/TARITA came down the next morning feeling con- 
 fident that she had shaken off the spell of the 
 previous night. She was dressed in a dark blue walking 
 skirt, a white shirt waist of the simplest style and a 
 perfectly plain sailor hat. 
 
 " There's no glamour about such a costume," she 
 said to herself as she stood before the mirror adjust- 
 ing her linen collar, " and a sailor is the most unbe- 
 coming thing I can wear." 
 
 On entering the dining-hall Marita was not surprised 
 to see Mr. Channing breakfasting at the Doctor's table. 
 She didn't know how long he had been at Palm Beach 
 nor where he was staying, but something told her that 
 he would be at The Breakers this morning. Though 
 Marita felt so sure of herself, when Mr. Channing 
 looked up with a smile of recognition, she quivered like 
 a bird under the gaze of a snake. 
 
 " I'm thankful their table isn't near ours," she 
 thought. " I hate that man, and I won't have any- 
 thing to do with him."
 
 1 86 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Yet after breakfast, when Mr. Charming approached 
 Marita on the veranda, she didn't retreat as she might 
 have done ; she lingered there, talking with him until the 
 Doctor came up and suggested a morning on the lake. 
 
 " I know Miss Burton is fond of the water," said the 
 Doctor. " I have seen her at home rowing as if she 
 were training for the Harvard crew." 
 
 " You won't see me doing that down here," returned 
 Marita. " I enjoy this lake as much as I did our 
 river " she hesitated an instant " though in quite a 
 different way." 
 
 " How different ? " inquired Mr. Channing. 
 
 " Why, up home I always had an objective point 
 and was intent on getting there. Here I only want to 
 drift; I don't care where the breeze takes me, seldom 
 using my oars. Perhaps it's dormant laziness cropping 
 out, though it may be the climate, which is certainly 
 enervating." 
 
 " And delicious," added Mr. Channing with a rap- 
 turous droop of the eyelids. 
 
 Marita turned her head away, conscious of a peculiar 
 sinking sensation. 
 
 "Now," said the Doctor, "I'll find Virginia, and 
 we'll get a boat for four."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 187 
 
 " Oh, I can't go with you," Marita hastened to say. 
 " Father has already engaged our bicycle chairs for the 
 morning." She didn't add that she had purposely 
 planned the expedition to avoid being with them. 
 
 " You can't go ! " exclaimed the Doctor, with evident 
 disappointment. 
 
 Mr. Channing said nothing, he only smiled. 
 
 Marita saw that smile, and was ready to stamp her 
 foot in vexation. 
 
 " Not this time," she said, speaking abruptly and 
 turning to go. 
 
 The Doctor would have gladly changed the boat trip 
 for one in the bicycle chairs, had he received any en- 
 couragement from Marita; but her manner was rather 
 forbidding, and he felt that it would not be wise to 
 suggest such an arrangement. 
 
 Mr. Channing merely remarked: " Since Miss Bur- 
 ton cannot go with us to-day, of course she will go to- 
 morrow." 
 
 " Certainly," she said, speaking over her shoulder 
 as she walked away. Marita hoped this ready consent 
 would relieve Mr. Channing of the impression that she 
 wished to avoid him. It was most disconcerting to 
 feel that this man read her like print; that he knew
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 her desire to evade his presence, could even smile over 
 this proof of his power. " He is common clay," she 
 thought, as she closed the door of her room, " and I'm 
 worse than clay to feel his influence. Why did he 
 come into my life ? Weren't my heartstrings stretched 
 to their utmost? Wasn't it hard enough to live with- 
 out Grant? Didn't I know that men were unworthy 
 of trust? I knew the hurt of love turned back upon 
 itself. Why do I have to feel the smart of such a 
 thing as this? I despise the man, yet I'm drawn to him 
 like a needle to the magnet. It's disgraceful, but it's 
 true, and there's no use denying it." 
 
 It was not surprising that Marita was somewhat ab- 
 sent-minded during her morning ride. She felt, in 
 an indefinite sort of way, that it was to be a battle to 
 the end; yet while she shuddered at the thought of what 
 the end might be, a dreamy look stole into her eyes 
 a look such as the Judge had seen in the eyes of Anita 
 Mondello when the sunny days drew to a close and the 
 air was heavy with perfume. 
 
 Always keenly alive to anything that concerned Ma- 
 rita, the Judge scented some kind of disturbance when 
 Marita insisted on lunching at The Poinciana, and not 
 returning to The Breakers until late in the afternoon.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 189 
 
 " What's the matter, honey? Which man bothers 
 you, or is it both?" 
 
 " Both of them, father, all of them everybody but 
 you." 
 
 The Judge was deeply pained. 
 
 " Poor child," he thought, " must she go through 
 life questioning every man's truth? Will she never 
 trust again, but always doubt? How her outlook has 
 changed once so bright, and now so dark." The 
 Judge looked at Marita, thinking of how a few words 
 from him would restore her belief in Hamilton. If 
 lie had known how she stood on the verge of an awful 
 abyss, he would have told her everything, realizing 
 that the thought of Hamilton, true and blameless, 
 would be her greatest safeguard; but he did not know, 
 and he did not speak. 
 
 When they reached The Breakers it was near the 
 dinner hour, and Marita went directly to her room, 
 where she dressed herself all in black. A day out-of- 
 doors usually heightened her color, but Marita was 
 pale to-night, her eyes shining with unnatural bright- 
 ness as she hooked the low-cut gown and pulled the 
 long black lace sleeves well over the hands. 
 
 " Black is very becoming to you."
 
 190 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 It was after dinner, and Mr. Channing was sitting 
 beside Marita in the drawing-room. His voice vi- 
 brated in her ears, stirring every fibre in her body; it 
 required an effort to carelessly remark: 
 
 " Most people think differently." 
 
 " Probably because you look so patrician and unap- 
 proachable in black." 
 
 " You like to have people look unapproachable, 
 then? " 
 
 " Decidedly; I find more pleasure in approaching 
 them when barriers must be levelled." 
 
 " Suppose you are not allowed to approach? " 
 
 " I seldom fail when I try." 
 
 Though these words were uttered in a low tone, 
 Marita felt as if they had been shouted out to the 
 world. She seemed to hear them on all sides, every 
 mouth in the room seemed to open, saying, " He seldom 
 fails when he tries." Marita couldn't sit still, she arose 
 and walked over to the piano. " He shall fail this 
 time," she said through shut teeth, trying to keep her 
 hand from trembling as she took up a sheet of music. 
 
 Mr. Channing deliberately followed her. 
 
 " Are you going to give me the dance to-night that 
 I should have had last night? "
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 191 
 
 " No," said Marita, looking him straight in the face, 
 " I am not going to dance to-night." 
 
 Again she saw the exasperating smile of the morning 
 hovering around his lips. 
 
 " The dance will keep," Mr. Channing replied. He 
 spoke quietly, but Marita knew that his calmness was 
 dangerous. She thought of the lull before the storm, 
 of how often she had waited beneath the mountain 
 during that ominous pause when all Nature is still, 
 gathering her forces for an outbreak. She thought, 
 too, of how the mountain had shielded her, of how the 
 storm had raged in its wild fury, and left her un- 
 harmed. Where, now, was the mountain? The lull 
 was here, the storm was coming and she saw no pro- 
 tecting mountain. 
 
 " Miss Burton," said the Doctor, coming up with 
 Virginia, " Do you never delight these people with 
 your music? " 
 
 " Oh, no," answered Marita, " it is altogether too 
 public." 
 
 " You ought to hear her play, Mr. Channing," said 
 Virginia, ever ready to sing Marita's praises. " She 
 can make a violin talk." 
 
 " I can imagine she might."
 
 1 92 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " If you could only play for us," continued Virginia, 
 addressing Marita with great earnestness, " it would be 
 so heavenly! " 
 
 " I'm very sorry," Marita replied, " but surely you 
 can understand my reluctance to play here with so 
 many strangers around." 
 
 "Then why not play outside, down by the lake?" 
 suggested Mr. Channing. 
 
 " Just the thing ! " exclaimed Virginia. " You will, 
 won't you? " 
 
 "Do," urged the Doctor. "It would be delight- 
 ful." 
 
 Marita didn't want to play, yet it would be ungra- 
 cious to refuse, and she dreaded seeing Mr. Channing's 
 lips curl with the smile she had seen twice to-day. 
 
 " If you really care so much about it, I'll go for the 
 violin." 
 
 " Thank you very much," said the Doctor, with an 
 eloquent look. " We'll wait for you on the veranda." 
 
 Marita soon appeared, carrying her violin and ac- 
 companied by the Judge and Mrs. Burton. They 
 joined the others, and after passing through the 
 palmetto walk, wound in and out among the palms 
 following a path so figured by the moonlight that
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 193 
 
 Marita said " it resembled a strip of black and white 
 brocade." 
 
 By the time they had reached the lake, almost 
 motionless in the silver radiance, Marita felt like re- 
 signing herself to its coolness. Her cheeks burned, 
 the tropical fragrance was stifling, the atmosphere 
 seemed charged with a choking quality. The moon 
 touched all things with a languorous charm, and Ma- 
 rita thought she had never seen nature so weirdly 
 beautiful. 
 
 Marita stood a moment, gazing out over the water. 
 For the first time in her life she dreaded to take up 
 her violin. How could she touch those strings when 
 her heart was so weighted with fear? Her fingers 
 tightened on the graceful neck as Mr. Channing came 
 close to her side and almost whispered: 
 
 " Now come ; play. Let your violin speak your 
 thoughts; let it voice all the dreams behind those 
 eyes; let every note tell of your glorious fire. I long 
 to listen. Play." 
 
 His passionate tones held Marita spellbound. She 
 stood motionless, unable to raise her hand. It was as if 
 she had been hypnotized, entirely deprived of volition. 
 
 " Play," he said again, " play for me" 
 13
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Mechanically she lifted her violin, placed it under 
 her chin and drew the bow across the strings. "With 
 the sound of the first note the charm was broken. Ma- 
 rita drew away from Mr. Channing as she played, a 
 flood of indignation sweeping aside every other feel- 
 ing. How dared he speak to her like that? No man 
 had ever approached her in that way before, and if he 
 thought to hear an outpouring, he was very much mis- 
 taken. Then the realization of her own weakness 
 came to her so clearly that everything else was lost in 
 a wave of remorse. Strains of such sadness filled the 
 night that the Judge's heart sank, the Doctor's brow 
 wrinkled and Mr. Channing ground his teeth. Marita 
 played on and on, not stopping at all, blending one 
 thing into another. Once more she breathed freely; 
 for the time at least she had shaken off the fascination 
 of this man; yet there was no light joy in her libera- 
 tion, there was only regret that such a power could in- 
 fluence her so deeply. 
 
 " You're not in the mood for music to-night," said 
 the Judge, when at last Marita paused. 
 
 " Yes, I am," she replied decidedly. 
 
 "Your music is so sad," said the Doctor. "It is 
 strangely unlike yourself."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 195 
 
 " Music is always an expression of one's inner self," 
 answered Marita. 
 
 " Suppose you play something more in harmony 
 with this southern night," Mr. Channing remarked. It 
 was well that Marita did not see the expression of his 
 face. 
 
 " I know of nothing more appropriate than this," she 
 retorted, beginning an exquisite rendition of the " Ave 
 Maria." 
 
 " She's punishing some one," thought the Judge, 
 wondering and worrying a little. 
 
 As soon as the last note sounded the Judge arose, 
 and no one demurred when he led the way back to the 
 hotel, walking beside his daughter. They stopped a 
 moment at the foot of the stairs before leaving the 
 others. 
 
 " Good-night," said Mr. Channing, speaking so low 
 that only Marita heard his words. " I shall never ask 
 you to play again."
 
 CHAPTEK XX 
 
 A LL through the night Marita battled with herself. 
 She was wrought up to such a pitch that sleep 
 was impossible. It never occurred to her to undress; 
 she walked the floor in her black gown, questioning, 
 blaming, accusing herself. The situation was perfectly 
 clear to her. She realized the danger of Mr. Chan- 
 ning's presence ; she knew he might influence her again, 
 and perhaps another time music would not come to the 
 rescue. Marita understood his power; she knew her 
 own weakness, though never dreaming that she had to 
 contend against the blood of Italy. 
 
 Standing by the window she drew in long breaths 
 of the wonderful air, gazing wistfully into the luxuri- 
 ant moonlit f oliage. 
 
 " Why are we put in this beautiful world," she 
 thought, " only to wear ourselves out in struggle? Is 
 it not enough to wreck a girl's life ; might not the wreck 
 be allowed to drift without sinking into the depths? 
 Oh, it is cruel! First to lose faith in the man you love, 
 and then to lose faith in yourself. It was bad enough
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 197 
 
 to know that Grant isn't worthy of trust; it's worse to 
 know that I can be swayed like this. I won't be 
 swayed; I'll turn my back on this place to-morrow! 
 Father will gladly take me away if he knows I want 
 to go." 
 
 Marita was so taken with this idea of leaving that 
 she wanted to pack her trunk at once. For a time she 
 thought only of the relief of getting away from Mr. 
 Channing. It was such an easy way of escaping, and 
 seemed to her the only thing to do. Then she fell to 
 thinking of the actual going, the final good-by, and Mr. 
 Channing's face rose before her with that smile. 
 Heavens! What an admission departure would be; 
 how well he would know why she went. Should she 
 give him such proof of his power? Never! What was 
 she made of any way? Was she to turn coward and 
 run away from the fight? Where was the spirit that 
 had always characterized her every action? Was it to 
 be drugged by the climate, steeped in fascination, sub- 
 dued like some nerveless thing? No, it should rise up 
 and sustain her. She would not go; she would stay; she 
 would brave every advance; she would float the flag 
 of defiance, hoping for strength to conquer. 
 
 While Marita was reaching this decision clouds had
 
 198 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 frequently darkened the moon. Gradually they gath- 
 ered into a great black mass, and as the first grayness 
 of dawn appeared, the rain dashed against the window 
 panes. 
 
 Exhausted by her long vigil, Marita threw herself 
 upon the bed, sick at heart and discouraged, yet grap- 
 pling her determination to win the struggle. Her last 
 conscious thought was, " I hope it keeps on raining, 
 then there'll be no boating." 
 
 Maritas wish was not granted; it stopped raining 
 long before she was awakened by a tap on the door. 
 
 " Marita, aren't you coming to breakfast? " 
 
 " Yes, mother, in just a few minutes/' she said, 
 springing to her feet. 
 
 Marita felt as if her clothing had grown fast to her 
 body. 
 
 " What would mother think if she could see me like 
 this! How foolish not to undress, and I've slept so 
 late that a bath before breakfast is out of the question. 
 I wonder if hot water will remove that darkness under 
 my eyes? " 
 
 Dressing hurriedly, Marita reached the table just as 
 the Judge and Mrs. Burton were finishing their morn- 
 ing meal.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 199 
 
 " Her late sleep hasn't rested her much," thought 
 the Judge. " What's the matter with the child any- 
 way? There's something wrong, I know." 
 
 Marita saw that her father was watching her closely. 
 " Dear father, if he only knew, how grieved he would 
 be," she thought. Yes, and if he knew, how well he 
 would understand. 
 
 " My dear," said the Judge, leaning towards Marita, 
 " are you tired of Palm Beach? Would you like to go 
 to some other place? " 
 
 Marita's heart leaped. Oh, how she longed to go 
 away! For a moment her plate received close at- 
 tention; then she straightened up a little, replying: 
 
 " No, father, I think it is best to remain here." 
 
 " You know that whenever you want a change, you 
 have only to say the word." 
 
 " I know that you are the most indulgent of fathers," 
 Marita replied, smiling into the Judge's anxious eyes. 
 
 While she was still at the breakfast-table the Doc- 
 tor came to ask when she'd be ready to go on the 
 lake. 
 
 " I'm ready now," she said, rising and going with 
 him. 
 
 It was a perfect morning. The rain had swept
 
 2OO BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 away every cloud, and the water was so still that the 
 lake seemed like a great mirror. 
 
 " I wish there were a few light clouds to be seen," 
 said Marita. " Such a clear sky is almost painful to 
 the eye." 
 
 " There is an intensity, though, in that unclouded 
 blue such as you never have when it's flecked with 
 white." 
 
 Mr. Channing looked straight into Marita's eyes 
 as he spoke, and she knew that the battle had com- 
 menced. 
 
 " I prefer it with the clouds," answered Marita. 
 " It is so easy to imagine that they are visible spirits. 
 Their fleecy forms are suggestive of fine souls as their 
 dark masses are of strong ones." 
 
 " I venture to say that you like the dark masses 
 best," Mr. Channing remarked. 
 
 "Not unless they are touched with the whiteness 
 which, to me, is typical of nobility." 
 
 " You see, Channing," said the Doctor, " Miss Bur- 
 ton is something of a poet." 
 
 " I wonder if she has ever gone so far as to identify 
 any of these spirits in cloudland." 
 
 "Indeed I have," replied Marita. "I have often
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 201 
 
 seen Napoleon's cloud gathering others about it, and 
 then sweeping across the heavens obscuring every thing 
 else. This cloud never fades away gradually, as some 
 of them do; it keeps on its majestic way and suddenly 
 disappears, leaving only a gray sky." 
 
 " I don't see how you ever think of such things," 
 said Virginia, devouring Marita with wondering eyes. 
 "I never know there are any clouds, except when I 
 have to carry an umbrella because it looks like rain." 
 
 Mr. Channing pulled his hat over his eyes, and 
 stretched himself out in the bow of the boat, deign- 
 ing no further remarks on the subject. Marita was 
 well satisfied with the outcome of this skirmish, and de- 
 voted herself to the Doctor's conversation with her 
 old-time vivacity. 
 
 Mr. Channing remained silent until the Doctor 
 turned around, calling out: 
 
 "Hello, there, Channing! Are you asleep?" 
 
 " !No," he replied, without lifting his hat or stirring. 
 " Only dreaming." 
 
 " Day dreams are seldom realized," said the Doctor. 
 
 " This one will be." The words came in a deter- 
 mined voice from under the hat, and Marita looked 
 down into the cool depths of the lake.
 
 2O2 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " I think it must be near luncheon time," ventured 
 Virginia. " Most of the people are leaving the 
 water." 
 
 " Which means that the Secretary of the Interior 
 orders you to go, too, I suppose," replied her indulgent 
 brother." 
 
 " Aren't the rest of you hungry? " asked Virginia. 
 
 " Oh, yes, indeed! " exclaimed Marita, thankful for 
 any excuse to get out of the boat. Mr. Channing sat 
 up and put on his hat. He made no remark, he didn't 
 even look at Marita, yet somehow his expression made 
 her uneasy. She thought again of the lull before the 
 storm, and wished he wouldn't be so calm. 
 
 All the way back to the hotel and during luncheon 
 Marita's disquietude increased. She really had no rea- 
 son to be disturbed; the morning had been much easier 
 than she had anticipated, yet the air was electrified 
 with something which made her restless and suspicious 
 of the apparent indifference Mr. Channing had shown. 
 
 After luncheon Marita slipped away to her room, 
 soon forgetting her troubles in sleep. When she awoke 
 the sun hung low, a great ball of fire lighting the 
 heavens with the flaming farewell of daylight. Al- 
 ready the moon was climbing up, her silvery circle
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 203 
 
 scarcely visible in the paleness beyond the brilliant 
 glory. 
 
 Marita lingered at the window, loth to leave so much 
 beauty for the prosaic task of dressing; but it was grow- 
 ing late, and if she was to bathe before dinner, she 
 must be stirring. Her long sleep had greatly refreshed 
 her, and when Marita's toilet was completed the mir- 
 ror reflected a white-robed figure glowing with anima- 
 tion. The uneasiness of the morning had vanished, 
 and as Marita passed down the long corridor, her step 
 was buoyant and her spirit strong. 
 
 At the foot of the stairs she encountered Mr. Chan- 
 ning, not yet dressed in his evening clothes. 
 
 " I'm glad I met you," he said, distantly. " I re- 
 ceived a telegram calling me north, and I leave in 
 about an hour." 
 
 "Indeed!" 
 
 Marita tried her best not to show the relief she felt. 
 
 " I'll bid you good-by," he said formally, " it has 
 been a pleasure to meet you." 
 
 " Thank you," she replied, " I hope you will reach 
 your destination safely." 
 
 "I'd like to reach it without taking the tiresome 
 trip, but since that's impossible, I must go and prepare
 
 204 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 for it. Good-by," Mr. Charming held out his hand, 
 clasping the fingers Marita gave him while he looked 
 into her eyes and said, in a husky voice : " You're 
 intoxicating to-night." The next instant he was half- 
 way up the stairs. 
 
 Marita's face burned all through the dinner hour, 
 and her fingers still tingled when the evening train 
 whistled. Later, she was very restless in the drawing- 
 room, accepting as a welcome diversion the Doctor's 
 proposition to go over to The Poinciana for a dance, 
 though half inclined to remain with her father when 
 she found that he preferred to stay at The Breakers; 
 it required some urging from him to induce her to go 
 with the others. 
 
 As they strolled down the palmetto path Marita 
 thought of that other night when she had passed 
 through here with the Doctor, while within the ball- 
 room she was approaching there stood a man, like some 
 eagle, ready to swoop down upon her as his prey. Ma- 
 rita recalled his ardent gaze following her as she 
 danced, and dwelling upon her after they had been pre- 
 sented. She thought of his audacious seizure of her 
 wrap, and seemed to hear his words again, " We shall 
 dance together some other night." Marita was more
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 205 
 
 than thankful that the " other night " had not come. 
 Intuition had told her that to dance with Mr. Chan- 
 ning would be a dangerous proceeding. To most 
 women it would mean nothing, to her it meant close 
 contact with a magnetism which might become over- 
 powering. Surely, it was most fortunate that he had 
 been called away. Now she could enjoy the evening, 
 and then, after a long sleep, she felt sure this haunting 
 nightmare would leave her, and she could again revel 
 quietly in the luxury of the climate. 
 
 After dancing with the Doctor, Marita stood watch- 
 ing him guide Virginia through the next waltz. The 
 music was of the kind that becomes a motive power, 
 so completely does it enter and animate soul and body. 
 Marita could scarcely control her feet, they were so 
 eager to glide with those inspiring strains. Suddenly 
 a hand was laid on her arm, and her blood seemed to 
 freeze as she heard the words: 
 
 " This is the night we shall dance together." 
 For a moment Marita couldn't speak. She could 
 only gaze, not believing that she actually saw Mr. 
 Channing, immaculate in evening dress, his eyes bril- 
 liant with their terrifying power. He smiled, and with 
 an effort Marita collected herself enough to say:
 
 206 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Why, I thought you were far away." 
 
 " I am here," he said. His tone went through her 
 like an electric shock. " I never meant to go. I meant 
 to have this dance and it's mine, isn't it? " 
 
 He bent his head; his eyes held hers; his arm 
 drooped around her; he clasped her hand, and they 
 glided off, close to each other. The music throbbed 
 through the perfumed air, reaching Marita as a strain 
 from another world. Everything seemed far away 
 and unreal. Forgetting all that she should have re- 
 membered, Marita only knew that a potent charm con- 
 trolled her. She made no effort to resist; it was too 
 delightful to yield. As they swayed to and fro with 
 sliding steps, a strand of hair brushed his cheek, and 
 their lips could almost have touched, so near was his 
 face to hers. 
 
 Then the music grew fainter, and Marita was swept 
 outside where she dimly saw the moonlight shining 
 through the palms. Without a word he wound his 
 arms around her, crushing his lips down upon hers. 
 Everything swam; the soft night enveloped their pas- 
 sion; he pressed his kiss closer, bending her head far- 
 ther back, until, in the midst of this delirium, Marita 
 raised her eyes in ecstasy, and saw the stars. They
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 207 
 
 shone out like beacon lights, high and clear, set in 
 majestic vastness. As she gazed a voice came to her 
 out of the past, saying, " Look up." With a great 
 rush came the thought of Hamilton, of the night when 
 they, too, had danced, and afterwards plighted their 
 troth so sacredly. How different it had been from this 
 this! Disgust, horror, repulsion swept over her. 
 With a supreme effort Marita wrenched herself free, 
 trembling in every limb, yet released from the evil 
 spell. 
 
 Channing was so surprised that he stood as if para- 
 lyzed, but Marita turned and walked rapidly back to 
 The Poinciana.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 "JV/TARITA slept like a child that night, so great was 
 the peace after the storm. Serene in the con- 
 sciousness that she had conquered herself, with no 
 gnawing dread, Marita took up the threads of life in 
 the morning, feeling only a sorrowing wonder why 
 doubt must shadow Hamilton. He was such a vital 
 power in her life; why couldn't she trust where she 
 loved? 
 
 During the days that followed Mr. Channing made 
 many advances, seeming never to weary of trying to 
 regain his influence. All his attempts were useless, 
 and at the end of a week he really departed, saying to 
 Marita as he left her, " You're a wonderful woman 
 wonderful! " 
 
 The Doctor thought so also. It had long been his 
 ambition to marry Marita, and surmising some trouble 
 when Hamilton went abroad, he had gone South, hop- 
 ing to win her there. Being a wideawake man, the 
 more the Doctor saw of Marita, the better he realized 
 that his asking would be in vain. There was some-
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 209 
 
 thing about her beyond his comprehension. He could 
 appreciate her mental and physical development; he 
 could give her all the love he was capable of, yet he 
 failed to understand her, and he knew that she would 
 never marry a man whose sympathy was incomplete. 
 After long consideration he went away with the words 
 unspoken, much to Marita's relief. 
 
 While she seemed to be contented, the Judge knew 
 she was possessed by the spirit of unrest. He had ob- 
 served Marita's evident desire to avoid Mr. Channing, 
 and the Doctor, too, for that matter, since she had no 
 ambition to number rejected hearts as Indians count 
 scalps. Naturally, the Judge thought this aversion 
 was due to her general distrust of humanity which was 
 plainly evinced in many ways. 
 
 One morning, not long after the Doctor's departure, 
 Marita started out with her father for a long walk. 
 They avoided the customary paths through the tropical 
 woods, branching off into the unbeaten tracks, ram- 
 bling about the country, until, warm and thirsty, they 
 stopped at a cottage to ask for water. 
 
 A young girl answered their knock. 
 
 "Ma's out washin'," she stated, "but I'll get y* a 
 
 drink." 
 
 14
 
 2io BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 She vanished to interview the pump, and during her 
 absence a small audience of inquisitive children gath- 
 ered as near as they dared to the doorstep where the 
 Judge and Marita were sitting. 
 
 " How old are you? " Marita asked of an impish girl 
 with a shock of black hair and dancing eyes. 
 
 " How old is you? " she retorted, beaming with mis- 
 chief. 
 
 " Well," said Marita, laughing, " I'm old enough to 
 have some sense." 
 
 " I's old enough to have some fun," replied the little 
 witch. 
 
 " I guess you know how to have it all right," said the 
 Judge, much amused. 
 
 " Do you live here ? " asked Marita. 
 
 " Yep, all of us lives here." 
 
 " Are these your brothers ? " 
 
 " Reckon they are." 
 
 Here the girl returned with a pitcher of water, and 
 the Judge and Marita drank while the children stood 
 around, digging their bare toes into the sand in the con- 
 fusion of their bashful curiosity. 
 
 " Now," said Marita, turning again to the lively girl, 
 " tell me what you like to do best."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 211 
 
 " Tear things," was the prompt reply. 
 
 " Why do you like to tear things? " 
 
 " I like to see 'em go I " 
 
 " Ruth's dreadful naughty," put in the older girl. 
 " She tears up lots of our things." 
 
 " Does she tear up her own things, too? " asked the 
 Judge, his eyes twinkling. 
 
 " Not unless she hates 'em." 
 
 " Ruth," said Marita, trying to look sober. " Don't 
 you know it's very wrong to tear things? " 
 
 " Yep, I know it." 
 
 " Then why do you do it? " 
 
 " 'Cause it's more fun than doin' right things." 
 
 " She's terrible bad," said her sister. " Ma gets 
 tired lickin' her." 
 
 It was all the Judge and Marita could do to keep 
 their faces straight. 
 
 " And how about the boys," Marita inquired, 
 turning to the two little shavers in ragged trou- 
 sers. 
 
 " "We're all right," replied the eldest, with an air of 
 importance. 
 
 " Masculine superiority," said Marita, smiling at the 
 Judge.
 
 212 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " They don't tear things," Ruth was quick to say, 
 " they only steal what goodies we have." 
 
 The boys looked rather shamefaced; finally the little 
 fellow plucked up courage to say, " We wouldn't get 
 our share if we didn't hook 'em when we got a chance." 
 By the gleam in the taller boy's eye Marita judged 
 that he'd like the chance to " hook 'em " oftener than 
 he got it. 
 
 After a short rest the Judge dispensed coins among 
 the children with his usual generosity, leaving them 
 overwhelmed with the sense of riches possessed. 
 
 " I wonder," said Marita to her father as they wended 
 their way back to The Breakers, " what kind of men 
 and women those children will make when they grow 
 up." 
 
 "Probably as good as the average," replied the 
 Judge. 
 
 " Which is decidedly low." 
 
 " Oh, no. The average human being is a fairly good 
 sort of a creature." 
 
 " Do you really think so, father? " 
 
 " Of course I do. Why, my dear girl, what do you 
 think of those poor women whose husbands are lodged 
 in jail, who take up the burden of supporting a family,
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 213 
 
 who love and encourage and help their prisoners so 
 much that they sometimes redeem them? " 
 
 " I think the goodness of those women offsets the 
 badness of those men, and still leaves your average 
 low." 
 
 " Marita," said the Judge, gently yet firmly, " I 
 don't like your point of view. It is a new one for you, 
 and it grieves me to see it growing upon you." 
 
 " I don't like it any better than you do, father, but 
 I can't seem to see things as I used to. My faith in 
 humanity has been shaken to the roots, and it's very 
 hard to trust again. A man like Grant Hamilton can 
 mean so much to a girl. He represents all that is best 
 in life, and when the representation is so disappoint- 
 ing, it's quite natural to doubt that which is repre- 
 sented." 
 
 " True, my dear," said the Judge sadly. Then, with 
 an appeal in his voice, he continued: " And yet, I've 
 been hoping all along that my girl would soon right 
 herself with the world." 
 
 " Your girl has tried, but she's a very human girl, 
 and she hasn't been able to right herself yet." 
 
 " Well, honey, keep on trying, and bank on your old 
 father when you need help."
 
 214 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " I don't know what I'd do if it wasn't for you," 
 returned Marita, her great love for her father shining 
 out of the eyes aching with unshed tears. 
 
 The Judge wondered if he could ever disclose that 
 which might cause those eyes to turn from him rather 
 than to him. He despised himself for not clearing 
 Hamilton, yet the thought of doing so at the risk of 
 losing Marita's respect was the cause of many a sleep- 
 less hour. If the knowledge of her irregular birth 
 would in any way promote Marita's happiness, the 
 Judge would have gladly sacrificed his personal feel- 
 ing; thinking that such knowledge would only increase 
 her burden, and not being sure of the wisest course 
 to follow, he remained silent, continuing to wonder 
 and question. Truly, Marita was not the only one 
 battling with self through the long, sunny days in the 
 south.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 f l^HE trees at Lindenhurst had burst out into their 
 spring freshness, and lived through their sum- 
 mer glory; they were glowing with autumn tints when 
 gentle Mrs. Burton passed into the great unknown. 
 As she had lived, so she died, quietly, peacefully, leav- 
 ing her dear ones a beautiful memory unmarred by any 
 struggle. 
 
 Marita feared that this loss would affect her father's 
 health, which had been unusually good since their re- 
 turn from the South. As time passed, however, she saw 
 that his grief was not a destroying anguish; it was an 
 abiding sorrow, purifying rather than blighting. Per- 
 haps this influence had something to do with the feel- 
 ing which was growing upon the Judge the feeling 
 that something must be done to clear Marita's horizon 
 of the clouds of doubt which did not disperse as he 
 had hoped. All his efforts to reestablish her faith in 
 mankind were unavailing; she believed in nothing and 
 no one. 
 
 One evening they were sitting in the library watch-
 
 216 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 ing the big logs give their woodland life to the 
 flames. 
 
 " Marita, dear, you forgot to draw the shades," said 
 the Judge, who never liked to think that outsiders 
 could look in upon the privacy of his hearth. 
 
 Rising at once, Marita went to the nearest window; 
 instead of drawing the shade, she stood a moment, 
 gazing wistfully out into the frosty October night. 
 The wind that rattled the wistaria branches against 
 the glass had swept every cloud from the sky, leaving 
 undimmed the autumn brilliancy of myriad stars. Ma- 
 rita looked up, wondering where Hamilton was to- 
 night, and if he was thinking of her. Why did he 
 stay over there so long or perhaps he was home, she 
 didn't know. Would she ever know, would she ever 
 hear from him, ever see him again? 
 
 The Judge heard her sigh as she pulled down the 
 shade; guessing that her thoughts were with Hamilton, 
 his heart ached as it never had when death entered his 
 home. 
 
 " My God," he thought, bowing his head, " if men 
 only knew what the harvest is when the wild oats are 
 ripe!" 
 
 " I'm going to pile up these cushions and sit at
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 217 
 
 your feet," said Marita, suiting the action to the 
 word. 
 
 " Dear child," the Judge's voice trembled as he 
 rested his hand on her head, " are you lonely to- 
 night? " 
 
 " I am never lonely when I have you, father; yet 
 there must always be a void for both of us, now." 
 
 " The void in my life is not like yours. My wife 
 seems only to have gone into the next room and closed 
 the door; when the door is opened to me, I shall find 
 her there." 
 
 " I'm glad you feel that way, father; it is so beauti- 
 ful." 
 
 " Don't you feel the same way, dear? " 
 
 " !No," Marita answered, regretfully, " I don't. If 
 life can be such a shallow thing here, why should it 
 be continued hereafter? " 
 
 " Marita," said the Judge, suddenly bending for- 
 ward and looking straight into her eyes, " what if you 
 knew that Hamilton was blameless? " 
 
 " What if I knew he was blameless? " She caught 
 her breath. " Oh, father, if I could know that, all 
 this dreadful weight would roll away." 
 
 The Judge shut his teeth hard.
 
 218 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Hamilton is blameless." 
 
 Marita's whole frame stiffened, every fibre strained 
 with intensity. 
 
 "Do you mean that?" 
 
 The Judge scarce heard her words; he only heard 
 the unnatural tone of her voice. It pierced his heart 
 like a knife; his lifeblood seemed to ooze through the 
 wound. 
 
 " Do you mean it? " she repeated vehemently. 
 
 " I do, Marita; I mean it." 
 
 The Judge's lips grew whiter with every word. 
 
 Marita sprang to her feet 
 
 " You mean it ! You mean that Hamilton is blame- 
 less; and you have let me go on thinking him un- 
 worthy. You have seen my life poisoned by doubt, 
 and have never spoken. Father, why have you done 
 this thing? Why didn't you speak long ago? " 
 
 The Judge rose and stood before Marita with folded 
 arms. Her torrent of reproach was checked by his 
 sorrowful dignity. 
 
 " Before you censure me for my silence, think what 
 it has been for your father to watch the venom corrod- 
 ing your life. Do you think it has been easy to see 
 you lose all your ideals, all your hopes, all your faith?
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 219 
 
 Hasn't some powerful reason restrained me from speak- 
 ing, when I saw the ruin being wrought? God is my 
 witness that I've remained silent for your own good. 
 I did not speak because I thought it better for you to 
 doubt Hamilton than to know what you must know 
 now." His voice sank to a whisper, then rose again 
 clear and firm. " I thought you would outgrow the 
 bitterness, but you did not ; I thought your faith would 
 be restored, and it was not. I have seen the cloud 
 spread until your horizon is completely darkened; I 
 can bear it no longer. You must know that the man 
 you love is above reproach. Why, child, his refusal 
 to explain the words of my delirium was one of the 
 noblest things a man ever did." 
 
 " Yes, yes," cried Marita, her eyes glittering with 
 excitement. "Go on; tell me more!" 
 
 " By his silence he shielded you at the cost of con- 
 demning himself." 
 
 "Shielded me?" 
 
 " Yes, from the truth that lay at the root of the 
 delirious words I spoke ; from the truth that has cursed 
 my life for years; from the truth that will curse your 
 life from this hour the truth that your only name is 
 Marita."
 
 22O BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 An occasional snap of the fire was all that broke the 
 stillness. The Judge waited, his heart leaping with 
 suffocating bounds, great beads of perspiration break- 
 ing out on his forehead as he watched the girl who 
 seemed turned to stone. Marita looked straight ahead 
 with eyes that saw nothing. Her arms hung nerve- 
 lessly, her hands were stiff with cold. No word came, 
 no cry; there was just that white, mute anguish, tell- 
 ing better than words how well she understood. She 
 was only Marita; she had no other name. So many 
 things she didn't understand, but that was plain. No 
 name, no place in the world; everybody would shun 
 her if they knew. Yet Hamilton knew, and he had 
 not shunned her. How was it? How did he know? 
 Her father must have told him her father! He was 
 the author of it all; he had ruined her life; placed love 
 beyond her reach; shut the doors of happiness in her 
 face; closed every path that a woman longs to tread. 
 A wave of bitterness swept over the girl, and then 
 through the gall she saw the drawn features before 
 her. As if a great light had been flashed upon them, 
 the suffering of a lifetime was revealed. Something 
 keen broke her icy bonds; with a quick step she threw 
 her arms around her father's neck, sobbing out:
 
 Oh, father my father." 
 
 Page Z2i.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 221 
 
 " Oh, father my father! " 
 
 That yearning cry was the sweetest sound the Judge 
 had ever heard. Fraught with unswerving love, it 
 Lanished his fear of estrangement, and though it wrung 
 the tears from his aching eyes, yet even as they fell a 
 great peace stole into his heart.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 T?AR into the night their voices rose and fell. The 
 Judge was determined that nothing should be 
 unknown to Marita now. He went back to the time 
 of his youthful folly, telling her of Anita Mondello 
 and the burning days in Rome. When he told of how 
 he returned there after his marriage and found his 
 nameless baby girl lying in the sunlight, then Marita 
 stopped his words with a kiss, and the Judge thanked 
 God he had found her. 
 
 He spoke humbly of his sin and reverently of his 
 wife's pardon. There was no need of explaining how 
 remorse had shadowed the joy of watching his daughter 
 grow from childhood to girlhood, from girlhood to 
 womanhood; she knew that by the God-given power 
 men call intuition. Yet he told it all, and she listened, 
 nestling beside him in the big armchair, growing rest- 
 less only when the Judge spoke of his interview with 
 Hamilton. Then the color stole back to her lips, her 
 eyes shone, and the strained tone of agitation sounded 
 in her voice as she said:
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 223 
 
 " Now, father, tell me all that passed between 
 you." 
 
 "You shall know everything, dear; there must be 
 no more concealments. Hamilton asked for my 
 daughter, and I told him why I couldn't consent to the 
 marriage." Marita shivered a little, and the Judge's 
 hand tightened over hers. " At first he was stunned, 
 as you were; after a little he regained his poise and 
 spoke as few men would speak. He said that charac- 
 ter was more to him than birth; that he believed in you, 
 and wanted to marry you just the same." Marita 
 closed her eyes. She could not bear to have even her 
 father see all that might be shining there. " He 
 plead so well that I finally yielded, with the under- 
 standing that he was never to tell you the secret of 
 your birth." 
 
 " Then he was bound by his word to you not to 
 speak? " 
 
 " Yes, but few men would have kept their word, as 
 he did, under such circumstances." 
 
 Marita's mind ached with the pain of her thoughts. 
 "How my unjust reproaches must have hurt! How 
 my words must have tortured him! I was so cruel, 
 and he sacrificed himself for me."
 
 224 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Comfort yourself by thinking that your firmness 
 under existing conditions must have strengthened his 
 belief in you." 
 
 " Oh, I hope it did I hope so! " 
 
 " Marita," said the Judge, studying her closely from 
 under his shaggy eyebrows, " could anything induce 
 you to marry Hamilton now? " 
 
 Marita shook her head slowly, a shadowy smile sad- 
 dening her lips as she said: 
 
 " Marriage is not for me." 
 
 " I thought you would feel that way, and being sure 
 that my revelation would not promote your happiness, 
 I decided to let you think Hamilton unworthy. It was 
 a cowardly decision, I know, but I thought it would be 
 easier for you, and I fear I would do more than sacri- 
 fice honor to win peace for my child." 
 
 Marita pressed her face close to her father's, and 
 held it there in silence. After a pause she asked: 
 " "Was it my horrid pessimism that finally led you to 
 speak? " 
 
 "Yes, dear; I could not bear to see you slip any 
 further into the mire of unbelief." 
 
 "Father, I never can tell you how thankful I am 
 that you told me! "
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 225 
 
 " Are you really? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! It was so dreadful to think of Grant as 
 a fallen idol." 
 
 " I know, I know; but I fear you don't realize the 
 weight of this new burden." 
 
 "I think I do," she said thoughtfully. "It is a 
 burden crushing love and marriage and much that is 
 beautiful out of my life. Yet it is easier to lose them 
 for my unworthiness than for his." 
 
 " There's the wrench of the pang you are not un- 
 worthy." 
 
 " Perhaps not unworthy, rather unfit. However 
 that may be, I'm on my feet again. I know that 
 Grant is what I thought him, and that knowledge has 
 taken all the sting out of this other trial. I don't be- 
 lieve you men understand what it means to a woman 
 to lose faith in a man she loves. You see, he personi- 
 fies nobility, and when he seems false, then nothing 
 seems true." 
 
 " You say you're on your feet again, and God only 
 knows how glad I am to hear you say so. There have 
 been many fears haunting me, but none more dread- 
 ful than the fear that the knowledge of your father's 
 sin would be as great a cloud as the thought of Hamil-
 
 226 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 ton's failing, and you would also have this wretched 
 secret to bear." 
 
 " Just let that fear go forever." 
 
 " Tell me how you feel about it." 
 
 " Why, father, your sin was so human. I can under- 
 stand it " as Marita looked into the fire the logs 
 seemed to rise out of the embers, and the burnt ends 
 became widespread palms bathed in moonlight " and 
 I can pardon it. I would have forgiven Grant such 
 a sin as that; indeed, I would have forgiven him almost 
 any sin. The thing I could not forgive was his refusal 
 to confide to me anything so important that you 
 thought I wouldn't marry him if I knew." 
 
 " Oh," sighed the Judge, wearily leaning back " it 
 was all such a miserable mistake. ( Visiting the iniq- 
 uity of the fathers upon the children,' that, dear, is 
 the thing that wrings my heart. The acme of pen- 
 ance is reached when you must see a loved one suffer 
 for your own sin." 
 
 " I'm not going to suffer," said Marita bravely, 
 though her lip quivered. " It has all been told and 
 forgiven and everything straightened out. We have 
 each other and work." 
 
 " What work? "
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 227 
 
 " Oh, I don't know; I haven't thought as far as 
 that; only, somehow, it seems as if work would be such 
 a help." 
 
 " Don't think about anything now, you're worn out; 
 you must rest, dear child." The Judge folded her 
 close in his arms, feeling that the new bond had united 
 their hearts in a very precious way. 
 
 Slowly they mounted the stairs, side by side. "When 
 they stopped at Marita's door the Judge took her face 
 between his hands, searching the deep brown eyes, and 
 saying hungrily: 
 
 " So you really can forgive me." 
 
 " Yes, father." 
 
 " And you love me, dear? " 
 
 "Oh, so much!" 
 
 He touched his lips to her forehead, and then spoke 
 hesitatingly: 
 
 " Marita, shall you let Hamilton know that you 
 know? " 
 
 A distressed look shaded her face. 
 
 " Let's not talk about that to-night," she said wearily. 
 " There are so many things to think of."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 is harder than the adjustment of life 
 after one has received a vital blow. Strength 
 comes with the hour of trial, the days and weeks that 
 follow are the true test of courage. When a soul is 
 tried as Marita's was, there are times when the spirit 
 rebels, growing desperate under its weight. Again, 
 it becomes overwhelmed with sadness, paralyzed by the 
 apparent uselessness of the struggle. After it has 
 passed through the gorge of despair after it has risen 
 above the vale of despondency after it has reached the 
 heights of serenity then it has gathered unto itself 
 the hope that is born of conquering self. 
 
 At first it seemed to Marita that life was a desert, 
 her father's love the only oasis in all its dreariness; 
 as the days crept along she began to see beauty in the 
 stretch of sand, and at last a definite form arose in the 
 lightening horizon. 
 
 "With this definite form in full view, Marita ap- 
 proached the Judge in the library on a sunny morning 
 early in November.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 229 
 
 " Father, dear, I want your close attention." 
 
 " You always have that," he said, smiling fondly at 
 the girl whose bravery was to him a never-ending 
 source of wonder. 
 
 " I have been thinking about the future, and I know 
 what I want to do." 
 
 " Tell me about it," he said, his lively interest a 
 little tinged with anxiety. 
 
 " You see, father, under the circumstances I cannot 
 live on like this. The things that fill the lives of other 
 women are not for me, yet I must have something. 
 I have thought and thought until I am dizzy with think- 
 ing, and it seems to me there is only one thing to do, 
 and that is to work. I need work more than the woman 
 who must earn her bread. It means nothing less than 
 salvation to me. Don't you understand? " 
 
 " Yes," said the Judge slowly, " I understand; but, 
 my dear, what work can you do ? " 
 
 " Can't you guess? " cried Marita, and taking a step 
 towards the piano, she held up her violin. 
 
 "What, music?" 
 
 "Yes, music; teaching and playing." 
 
 " Playing where? " The Judge looked sober. 
 
 " Oh, in churches, at concerts, receptions any-
 
 230 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 where. Now take that worried pucker right out of 
 your forehead, because I've thought it all out very 
 carefully, and I'm sure it's the best thing to do. We'll 
 close Lindenhurst for the winter and go to New York, 
 where we'll have a cosy apartment together. You're 
 ready to retire from active work anyway, and you'll 
 revel in books while I'm growing famous." 
 
 "My dear child, I don't mind going to New York 
 for the winter, or any other place you may choose; 
 the only thing I object to is your becoming a public 
 artist. It's a slave's life, and you'd be subjected to 
 all kinds of unpleasantness." 
 
 " Why don't you say temptations? You know that's 
 what you mean. Between us, father, there's no use 
 in calling a spade an agricultural implement. I know 
 how you feel about such a career, yet it's the only 
 thing that would fill my life as it must be filled. The 
 path is hard, that is why I long to follow it; there are 
 many temptations by the way, but I'm not afraid to face 
 them. Can't you trust me, father, to overcome such 
 things? " 
 
 " You don't know what temptation is, Marita." 
 
 She smiled as she said: "I don't know what temp- 
 tation is? Listen, father. Do you remember Mr.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 231 
 
 Channing at Palm Beach? Well, that man stirred 
 every drop of Italian blood in my veins. I despised 
 him; yet he fascinated me, attracted me irresistibly. 
 I was like a boat swept along by the tide, until the 
 mad course was stopped by a rock against which the 
 current dashed in vain. Do you know what the rock 
 was? It was the thought of Grant Hamilton the 
 realization of the difference between his love and the 
 other man's passion. That was when I thought him 
 lacking, too. !Now that I know of his self -suppression, 
 of his belief in me and his willingness to marry me, 
 do you think any power on earth could lead me astray? 
 Why, father, I'm hedged in, protected, guarded by the 
 great, true love of that man. Whatever my nature 
 may be, Grant knew it, and he trusted me entirely. 
 Can't you do as much? " 
 
 The Judge looked at Marita with an expression 
 such as illumines the face of a devout Catholic kneel- 
 ing before the Virgin. 
 
 " God knows I don't deserve such a daughter. Fol- 
 low any course you choose; I'll stand by my girl in 
 everything she undertakes." 
 
 " I was sure you would," said Marita delightedly, 
 " and you can't think how much an active life will
 
 232 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 mean to me. I can scarcely wait for the time to come, 
 and, of course, the sooner we go the better profes- 
 sionally, I mean." 
 
 It was a long time since the Judge had seen Marita's 
 eyes twinkle like that. 
 
 " Yes, dear," he answered, " the sooner we go the 
 better." 
 
 " I'm so glad you think as I do," she replied, play- 
 fully; her face sobered, however, as she continued: 
 " I wonder if you'll agree with me about another mat- 
 ter. You asked me once if I should let Grant know 
 that I knew. I've thought it all over, and have finally 
 concluded to let matters rest as they are. Perhaps 
 time has healed his wound, and it would only be a use- 
 less tearing open. Through a sense of obligation or 
 through his own desire, he would probably urge mar- 
 riage, which is utterly impossible. It would be a 
 struggle for both of us, painful and unavailing. Don't 
 you think it is best to say nothing? " 
 
 "Possibly, I don't know. That is something you 
 must decide for yourself." 
 
 " Then I shall not tell him," said Marita promptly. 
 " I shall only think of him as a strong, helpful force 
 in my life. His memory will not be a troublous
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 233 
 
 shadow; it shall be a beautiful light softening the barre 
 sinister on my shield." 
 
 " What do you know of the barre sinister? " asked 
 the Judge, regarding her with surprise. 
 
 " I know it is the barre which heraldry gives to such 
 as I am. I adopt it without shame, accepting it as a 
 constant reminder that I am pitted against the world, 
 and can only conquer by exerting every power I have." 
 
 " Come here," said the Judge, his eyes beaming with 
 pride, " I want to shake hands with you."
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 - TRUMAN is busy this afternoon, and begs 
 to be excused." 
 
 If Marita had any heart at all, it was way down in 
 the box toes of her walking boots. This was the third 
 time she had been politely turned out of the manager's 
 office, and so much depended upon an interview with 
 Mr. Truman that these repeated disappointments 
 severely tried her courage. She felt like going home 
 to indulge in a good hard cry, but instead of doing so, 
 when she reached the elevator, Marita turned and went 
 back to the office. Taking out one of her cards, she 
 wrote upon it, " Will Mr. Truman kindly appoint a 
 time when Miss Burton may talk business with him? " 
 The liveried office boy took the card with the superior 
 air which the servants of those in power often assume 
 towards applicants. Slight as it was, the circumstance 
 nettled Marita, making her all the more determined to 
 secure an audience with that manager. 
 
 The boy soon returned, saying in a condescending 
 tone:
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 235 
 
 " Mr. Truman may have time to see you to-morrow 
 morning; he couldn't appoint any hour." 
 
 " Very well," said Marita, leaving the room with a 
 vague impression that gilt-buttoned youths are masters 
 of fate. 
 
 Marita walked rapidly down Broadway, her nostrils 
 dilating like those of a thoroughbred scenting powder. 
 " Evidently Mr. Truman is a man with whom you must 
 use strong measures," she thought, " and since he is the 
 only manager who can give me just the engagements 
 I want, I propose to use them." 
 
 Everything seemed to be against Marita the next 
 morning. The rain poured down as if the sluices of 
 heaven were opened for the occasion. This was par- 
 ticularly annoying, since it necessitated the wearing of 
 a rainy-day suit in place of an extremely becoming 
 tailor gown. Marita knew that personal appearance 
 goes a long way with managers, and naturally wished 
 to look her very best. 
 
 " Who says that circumstance doesn't rule for- 
 tune! " she exclaimed, impatiently snapping the fasten- 
 ings on her short skirt. " I say it does! Look at me, 
 obliged to tramp into Truman's august presence in 
 this abbreviated costume, when I might sweep in ma-
 
 236 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 jestically with that lovely castor gown, all because of 
 the weather nothing but circumstance! Why, that 
 other suit might just tip the scale the right way," and 
 Marita pulled on her eton jacket, trying to console 
 herself with the thought that at least it was very well 
 cut. 
 
 Armed with umbrella and violin, she set out on her 
 watery way, reaching the manager's office in no amiable 
 frame of mind. Her reception did not tend to raise 
 her spirits, the gilt-buttoned arbiter of fate informing 
 her that Mr. Truman was too busy to see her then; 
 she could wait if she chose. She did choose, settling 
 herself in a chair by the window, determined to wait 
 all day if necessary. It was a dreary outlook; even 
 the entertainment of watching the people pass was 
 denied to Marita, since from the third story window 
 she could see only dripping umbrellas in the street be- 
 low. 
 
 Slowly the hours passed. A few men and two mes- 
 senger boys came into the office, executed their er- 
 rands, and hurried out. They all stared at Marita; 
 even the lordly office boy began to regard her as a 
 curiosity worthy of an occasional sidelong glance. 
 
 Suddenly the door marked " Private " flew open,
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 237 
 
 and a big, heavy-mustached man appeared with his 
 storm coat buttoned and hat in hand. He laid a roll 
 of papers on the boy's desk, casting an inquiring glance 
 in Marita's direction. 
 
 " Now's the time to strike," she thought, and with 
 shaking knees she arose. " I beg your pardon, is this 
 Mr. Truman?" 
 
 " Yes." His keen eye scanned her from hat to boot, 
 and oh, how she longed for the castor gown! 
 
 " I am Miss Burton," she continued. " I've been 
 waiting a long time to see you." 
 
 " I should think so," he replied, the suspicion of a 
 smile lurking in the corners of his mouth. " I had no 
 idea you would wait like this. Just step inside, and 
 I'll see you before I go out." 
 
 Ushering Marita into his room, Mr Truman laid 
 down his hat and seated himself, without removing his 
 storm coat, however. 
 
 " I'm sorry to detain you," said Marita, feeling that 
 the situation was most inauspicious. 
 
 " What did you want to see me about? " asked Mr. 
 Truman, in a tone which plainly told how bored he was. 
 
 " About making engagements for me to play at con- 
 certs and social affairs."
 
 238 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " My dear young lady, don't you know that I only 
 book stars? " 
 
 " That's the reason I came to you." 
 
 " Pardon me," said Mr. Truman with an aggravat- 
 ing smile, " I don't recall any of your triumphs." 
 
 " Because I never had any. I mean to begin with 
 one, and I want you to help me. I only ask one thing, 
 let me play for you." 
 
 " You can't play here there's no piano." 
 
 " I can play here, my violin is in the outer office." 
 
 Before he could remonstrate Marita was into the 
 other room and back again with her violin. 
 
 " Well, you came prepared," he said, rather amused 
 at the way she proceeded. 
 
 " It was all I could do, since I had no triumphs for 
 you to recall," and taking up her violin, Marita drew 
 forth the first notes of the music which would make 
 or mar her future. Never in her life had she felt 
 less sure of herself; she was disheartened, her courage 
 was nearly exhausted, and she knew that her audience 
 was not only critical, but predisposed against her. 
 Summoning all the strength she had left, Marita swept 
 at once into a brilliant movement. She need not have 
 feared for herself; as usual, music broke the shackles
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 239 
 
 and set her free. It was as if her spirit defied fate 
 and rose victorious by the might of its own power. If 
 ever genius spoke from a soul through an instrument, 
 it did when Marita filled that dingy office with music 
 such as Truman, with all his experience, had seldom 
 heard. He could scarcely wait for her to stop play- 
 ing, and the last note had barely left the strings when 
 he sprang up and held out his hand, crying: 
 
 " By Jove, I'm glad you came to me ! " 
 
 Marita dropped into the nearest chair, unable to 
 stand. Mr. Truman threw aside his storm coat, and 
 began talking business at once. Somewhat later, when 
 she rose to go, arrangements had been made for Ma- 
 rita to play at a Sunday night concert in the Metropoli- 
 tan Opera House. 
 
 " I think that will give you an opportunity to begin 
 with a triumph," said Truman, smiling kindly. 
 
 " I hope so," replied Marita, bidding him good-by, 
 and starting off with a longing to skip instead of walk. 
 
 As she opened her umbrella and stepped out into the 
 rain, Marita smiled happily, saying to herself: " Cir- 
 cumstance didn't rule fortune this time ! "
 
 CHAPTEK XXVI 
 
 ' I X HE crucial hour had come. Marita stood upon 
 the stage, a great audience waiting for her music. 
 She was perfectly calm and self-possessed. The sea of 
 faces represented only a mass of humanity for her to 
 sway; no individuality distracted her attention. Her 
 father was there with the Chesters, but Marita had 
 purposely avoided knowing the location of their box. 
 She realized that every personal thought must be ban- 
 ished, that triumph would only come with complete 
 abandon to music. 
 
 As Marita raised her violin, she turned her head to 
 the right, and there, in a box near the stage, sat Mr. 
 Channing. He was gazing at her with a look that 
 stung like a poisoned arrow. She knew that the success 
 of the woman who had baffled his advances was the last 
 thing he would care to witness, and though she had 
 no thought of failing, still her hand seemed weighted, 
 and it was with difficulty that she remembered what 
 she was to play. The curse of the artist had fallen 
 upon Marita; she was self-conscious. She played with
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 241 
 
 magnificent technique, and no more soul than a pianola. 
 Her success and not her art was uppermost in her mind. 
 The listeners admired her skill, but not a single heart 
 was touched. The applause that greeted her was such 
 as might be given to a fairly good pianist. 
 
 Marita left the stage, knowing that the music had 
 meant nothing to her, fearing it had meant nothing to 
 others. One look at Mr. Truman's face told her the 
 truth. 
 
 " I have failed! " she gasped. 
 
 "Well, it wasn't exactly a triumph," he said, his 
 expression not pleasant to see. 
 
 The time that intervened between that awful mo- 
 ment and her next selection was almost a blank to 
 Marita. She sat motionless, every thought and feel- 
 ing so numb that the call-boy had to speak to her twice. 
 When she realized that she must go on the stage again, 
 must face an audience prepared to tolerate her music, 
 it seemed too great a trial to be borne. She rose from 
 her seat, trembling in every limb. No one spoke to 
 her as she passed, not even Mr. Truman. 
 
 Once more she appeared on the scene of her failure. 
 Mr. Channing was leaning forward, his face full of 
 cold satisfaction. That expression burnt through Ma- 
 le
 
 242 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 rita's numbness. She hastened to the front of the 
 stage, and without any pause or even inclination of the 
 head, she dashed into such an outburst of music that 
 the great auditorium fairly rang. Making no attempt 
 to render the selection on the programme, Marita 
 launched herself on a wave of music, letting it bear 
 her whither it would. With majestic roll it swept 
 her beyond the limits of self, out into the inspired 
 realm where pride and ambition are as vapors. She 
 played without thought of time or place, swaying every 
 heart under the roof. Forgetting the musician in the 
 music, each listener drifted on the sea of his own 
 imagination, pausing under the beacon lights of the 
 past or carried on to those of the future. 
 
 At last the bow ceased to move, the magic strings 
 were hushed. A moment of breathless silence ensued; 
 no one cared to break the spell. 
 
 Marita was conscious of leaving the glare of the 
 footlights with an increasing roar in her ears. By the 
 time she had reached the wings, the house thundered 
 with applause. All the artists gathered around her 
 with congratulations, and Mr. Truman nearly shook off 
 her hand while he exclaimed enthusiastically: 
 
 " You've done it this time; you've done it."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 243 
 
 " Have I? " said Marita, half dazed with it all. 
 
 " I should think you had ! Just listen to that ! " he 
 cried, waving his hand in the direction of the deafen- 
 ing noise. " Go on again; you'll have to show your- 
 self." 
 
 Marita acknowledged the ovation several times, and 
 still the great throng clamored. 
 
 " What shall I do ? " she asked of Mr. Truman. 
 " They won't stop." 
 
 " I'll settle it for you," he said, and going out on the 
 stage he explained to the audience that though their 
 appreciation was overwhelming, the rule of no encores 
 must be observed. 
 
 " Break the rule," called some one. 
 
 " Encore ! " cried some one else, and the word echoed 
 from every part of the house. 
 
 " This beats me," said Truman, as he went behind 
 the scenes, his face flushed with excitement. " I guess 
 you'll have to give an encore." 
 
 " I'm willing," said Marita, and taking up her violin 
 with an ecstatic feeling of adoration for it, she stepped 
 out, smiling radiantly. Involuntarily her glance sought 
 Mr. Channing's box. She wondered how he would 
 look now, but he was gone.
 
 244 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 This time the music was a great thanksgiving, so 
 sweet and full of grace. It soothed and strengthened 
 many a world-worn heart, leaving the sense of a bless- 
 ing hovering near. 
 
 The last note was still echoing when an exquisite 
 cluster of orchids fell at Marita's feet. She glanced 
 up quickly. Mr. Channing stood in the front of his 
 box watching her intently. Regardless of rules and 
 propriety, thinking of nothing but the necessity of 
 showing him at once that the artist was as far beyond 
 his attentions as the woman had been, Marita set her 
 foot on the costly flowers, and lifting her bow played 
 the " Ave Maria " as no one there had ever heard it 
 played before.
 
 CHAPTER XXVH 
 
 4 ' T T 7ELL," said Lawrence Chester, toasting his back 
 before the drawing-room fire while he and 
 his wife awaited their dinner guests, " are you satisfied 
 with Marita's season? " 
 
 " Indeed I am," replied Mrs. Chester, emphatically. 
 " She's surpassed all artists, won the critics, and capti- 
 vated society. What more could one ask? " 
 
 " Do you think she's happy? " 
 
 " Now, why do you ask that? You know she de- 
 lights in her work." 
 
 " Work isn't everything to a woman, and sometimes 
 I've thought that a wistful look, not indicative of hap- 
 piness, was settling on Marita's face." 
 
 " Have you noticed that, too," said Mrs. Chester, 
 anxiously. " I hoped it was only my fancy. To be per- 
 fectly frank, I don't understand Marita, I never did, and 
 I doubt if any one does. She's a puzzle to everybody." 
 
 Chester studied the pattern of the Persian rug he 
 was standing on. Suddenly he looked up from the in- 
 tricate figures:
 
 24-6 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " Did you ever find out why she took the name of 
 , Anita Mondello?" 
 
 " No, I haven't yet had the courage to ask her." 
 
 " Such a queer name for her to select," he said, 
 meditatively. 
 
 " Marita's always doing odd things. She was differ- 
 ent from other girls at Vassar, and she's been different 
 ever since." 
 
 " I wonder why she's never married? " mused Ches- 
 ter, studying the rug again. 
 
 " Surely not for lack of offers. Possibly " Mrs. 
 Chester broke off in the aggravating way some women 
 have. 
 
 " Well what? " demanded Chester, lifting his eyes 
 with a slight frown. 
 
 " I used to think that perhaps Grant Hamilton." 
 
 Chester gave vent to a long, low whistle. " The 
 wind sets that way, does it? By Jove, what a couple 
 they'd make!" 
 
 "Wouldn't they, though? And don't you remem- 
 ber how devoted he was at our house party last 
 year? " 
 
 " Indeed, I do; that was when I told her she be- 
 longed to the aristocracy of genius."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 247 
 
 " And so she does. Shall you ever forget her first 
 night?" 
 
 " Never," said Chester forcibly, and before him 
 rose a picture of the tall, white-robed woman thrilling 
 the multitude with every bend of her bow. " And 
 I've never forgotten the way she crushed those or- 
 chids." 
 
 " Nobody else would have done such a thing, but as 
 I said before, Marita never does act like other people." 
 
 " I'll wager the man of the orchids has never both- 
 ered her since," and Chester chuckled with satisfac- 
 tion. 
 
 " I guess not," said Mrs. Chester, in her most de- 
 cided manner. " He's only one of many, though. 
 She's often greatly annoyed. Why, yesterday after- 
 noon I stopped for her on my way up to Mrs. Schuyler's 
 reception. While she was rolling up her music the 
 maid brought in a package from Tiffany's. Marita's 
 lip curled as she took it. ' Now, I wonder if that's 
 more bait,' she said. * More what ? ' I asked. ' Bait,' 
 she answered. ( That's what I call the jewels I re- 
 ceive.' ' You don't mean ' I began. ' Yes, I do,' she 
 interrupted. ' Open that package yourself. It needs 
 no explanation.' I broke the seals, and inside the case
 
 248 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 was a costly diamond star. A well-known clubman 
 had sent it, enclosing a note, of course. I was furious. 
 I stormed around there, abusing that man and all men 
 in general, except you," with an arch glance. " Marita 
 took it very calmly. While I was fuming, she did up 
 the package again, directing it to that villain. ' It 
 used to disturb me/ she said patiently. l Now I'm 
 used to such things. I suppose one can become ac- 
 customed to almost anything, even insults.' Lawrence, 
 my heart aches yet when I think of the way she looked 
 as she spoke." 
 
 " It's a beastly shame ! " cried Chester, bristling 
 with indignation. " She's too attractive a woman to 
 be in public life anyway. If Hamilton cares for Ma- 
 rita, why in the name of Common sense doesn't he come 
 home?" 
 
 The words were still on his lips when the butler 
 entered, announcing Judge and Miss Burton. 
 
 " I believe she's grown taller," thought Chester, 
 watching Marita as she came down the long room. 
 " Or is it only the queenly lift of her head that makes 
 her seem so? She's so self-reliant, yet I never knew a 
 woman who appealed more strongly to a man's protec- 
 tive instinct."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 249 
 
 Chester sighed a little as he stepped forward to 
 greet Marita, observing that the wistful look was be- 
 coming strongly marked. 
 
 On the same evening, while the Judge and Marita 
 were enjoying the hospitality of the Chesters, far 
 across the sea Hamilton was dining at The Carlton, 
 in London. He had just returned from an extended 
 trip through Egypt, and one of his first thoughts was 
 that now he could get the home news. Having dressed 
 for dinner, he left his chamber, intending to get a 
 Paris " Herald " to read while he waited in the ante- 
 room for a vacant table in that busiest of eating places, 
 the grill-room. Hamilton knew he'd have to wait; he 
 had been at The Carlton before. Passing down the long 
 corridor, he met an eminent English barrister with 
 whom he was well acquainted. Being urged to join 
 Lyndsay's party in the restaurant, Hamilton accepted 
 the invitation, thinking that dining with friends in the 
 brilliant restaurant would be much pleasanter than 
 eating alone in the grill-room. 
 
 It was long since Hamilton had seen anything like 
 home, and as he sat down among the distinguished 
 men in familiar dress suits, and women resplendent with 
 jewels, he was glad to be in the mother-country again.
 
 250 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " I'm tired of knocking about," thought Hamilton, 
 not listening to the conversation. " I've about reached 
 the conclusion that when you've a thorn in your side, 
 the hurt isn't eased by hopping around. I wonder 
 how it would have been if I'd stayed in the traces at 
 home? It seemed beyond human endurance; it was 
 beyond me." 
 
 Here some one addressed a remark to Hamilton, in- 
 terrupting his retrospections. Fortunately, he was able 
 to reply intelligently, but during the remainder of the 
 dinner he wisely gave his attention to his companions. 
 By the time coffee had been served in the palm- 
 room the hour was late, and Hamilton bade his friends 
 good-night; yet before going upstairs he stopped to 
 inquire of the newsboy if he had a Paris " Herald " 
 left. Tired as he was, he couldn't sleep until he had 
 looked up affairs in America. Dropping down on a 
 settee near the lift he read the political news; then, 
 turning to the page devoted to social, dramatic, and 
 musical notes, his attention was drawn to an article 
 headed " The New Star." Always interested in high 
 art of any kind, Hamilton folded over the paper and 
 began to read. Suddenly his heart gave a great leap. 
 He was choked, breathless, dizzy. The lines of print
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 251 
 
 waved up and down, yet those words stood out as if 
 stamped in red, " The wonderful violinist, Anita Mon- 
 dello." For some minutes he clutched the pages, 
 mutely staring at the words so freighted with mean- 
 ing. At last he lowered the paper, gazing down the 
 hall wonderingly. Where was he, anyway? A much 
 bewigged flunkey passed before him. Oh, the Carlton 
 London yes, certainly. What had happened? 
 Something had burst upon him and dazed him. He was 
 reading yes; what did he read words a name that 
 was it! A name. Hamilton raised the paper again; 
 there it was Anita Mondello Marita! Confusion 
 vanished now, everything was clear. He didn't need 
 to reason it out; he knew in an instant why Marita had 
 taken her mother's name, and why she had chosen a 
 public career. ~No hesitation now; he was already on 
 his feet, repeating thankfully, " She knows, she knows 
 it all! " 
 
 Going straight to the office Hamilton leaned over 
 the desk, saying to the clerk, " Tell me, when does the 
 first steamer sail for New York? "
 
 CHAPTEK XXYIH 
 
 '"TT^HE homeward trip was a period of torture for 
 Hamilton. Those eight days of deck-pacing 
 seemed interminable; as for the nights, they were rest- 
 less ages. When he could distinguish the outline of 
 New York harbor he almost shouted, and as they drew 
 nearer he did take off his hat. 
 
 Hamilton landed at ten o'clock in the morning, 
 and rushing his luggage through the Custom House, 
 reached home in time to lunch with his mother. He 
 spent the afternoon with her, recounting his travels 
 and experiences; then, after dressing carefully, he 
 went down to the Union League Club to dine. 
 
 Though Hamilton thoroughly searched all the news- 
 papers, he failed to find any announcement concerning 
 Anita Mondello. Of course it was late in the season, 
 the first of May; but still, he had hoped to find a notice. 
 Well, perhaps it was better so, he would see her at 
 home. 
 
 Purposely selecting a quiet corner, Hamilton sat 
 down with his back to the other tables. He didn't
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 253 
 
 want a crowd of the boys around him to-night; he pre- 
 ferred to dine undisturbed. He had chosen an attrac- 
 tive place, though, and the table next to his was soon 
 occupied. Four men were sitting there, and being so 
 near, Hamilton couldn't help hearing their conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 As the dinner progressed, one of his neighbors 
 asked, " Does any one know where Mondello plays 
 to-night? " 
 
 Hamilton strained his ears now. 
 
 " She doesn't play," answered one of the men. 
 " It's too late in the season for stars to appear." 
 
 " Tell me about her. I've been away so long that I 
 don't know what's going on in town." 
 
 The tone of this last voice was peculiar. Hamilton 
 turned his head, and saw a man whose most striking 
 characteristic was the magnetism apparent in every 
 line of his face. 
 
 " Why, Mondello has been the musical sensation of 
 the year. She dropped down on us from heaven knows 
 where, and carried New York by a large majority. 
 Truman launched her; nobody knows where he found 
 her. She's been the one necessary feature of all the 
 swell entertainments."
 
 254- BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " What's the reason of her success? " asked the man 
 of magnetic power. 
 
 " A combination of genius, personality, and mys- 
 tery." 
 
 " Mystery? " 
 
 " Yes; no one seems to know anything about her, 
 and nothing can be discovered." 
 
 "Indeed!" 
 
 " The boys call her ' The Impossible/ She seems 
 to be absolutely invulnerable. Not a man in town 
 has won even the privilege of calling upon her. To 
 each and every one she turns a deaf ear. Then, too, 
 she's unique, decidedly so." 
 
 " Scorched a little yourself," thought Hamilton, 
 longing to strangle the man. 
 
 " Just what do you mean? " asked one of the party. 
 
 " Well, for one thing, Mondello sends all her floral 
 offerings to the hospitals; not many stars do that. 
 Then, she's never been known to answer a note, and 
 jewels are returned the same day they're sent." 
 
 "More than scorched, burnt," decided Hamilton, 
 wrathfully gritting his teeth. 
 
 " Speaking from experience? " some one asked. 
 
 "Never mind whether I am or not. One thing I
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 255 
 
 will say, though, I'd like to see the man who can win 
 any favors from that woman! " 
 
 " So would I! " exclaimed the man whom Hamilton 
 had noticed. " I knew her before she began her 
 career." 
 
 " You did? " inquired the man who had said so 
 much, listening with interest. 
 
 Channing, for it was he, nodded, fingering an empty 
 wine glass as he spoke. " Before I went away I hap- 
 pened to witness her triumph at the Metropolitan, 
 recognizing in the violinist a Miss Burton whom I met 
 at Palm Beach last winter. She's a very attractive 
 woman with a stunning-looking father, who seems to 
 be the only person she really cares for, so far as I could 
 find out." 
 
 " "Well, Channing, if you found her impossible, it's 
 no wonder the rest of us failed." 
 
 " I'm willing to own she was too much for me. I 
 tried to win her favor, tried hard, and I thought I'd 
 almost succeeded; but something held the girl back, 
 and she turned me down so completely that I was glad 
 enough to leave her." 
 
 " She's an adept at turning people down; more than 
 one New Yorker knows that."
 
 256 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " I've been wondering why she chose an Italian 
 name," said Channing, curiously. 
 
 " If you find out anything about that woman 
 you'll be doing well. Mondello is absolutely inac- 
 cessible herself, and Truman's lips are glued together 
 when your questions concern his favorite star. As 
 for the name, I suppose it's only a freak; most 
 women take fancy names when they enter public 
 life." 
 
 " Whatever the name may be, she's no freak; I never 
 saw handsomer shoulders." 
 
 " I'd like to see them veiled with that beautiful hair 
 of hers." 
 
 This was more than Hamilton could bear. He rose 
 hastily, to the astonishment of the waiter, who won- 
 dered why such a healthy-looking man should send 
 away plate after plate untouched. 
 
 Walking hurriedly out of the dining-room, Hamil- 
 ton went at once to the directory and searched for 
 Truman's address. He found it, and calling a han- 
 som, was soon on his way to Seventy-second Street. 
 Seldom had Hamilton been so stirred by conflicting 
 emotions one moment full of anger, the next exult- 
 ant. Baring his head to the warm night air of spring,
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 257 
 
 Hamilton braced himself against the broadcloth cush- 
 ions, thinking : 
 
 " How dared those men speak of her like that ! In- 
 famous ! The scoundrels ought to be thrashed. Noth- 
 ing would suit me better than to horsewhip every one 
 of them. Talking of Marita Marita in that way! 
 Poor girl, how she has been heaped with trials; and 
 hasn't she borne them just as I knew she would. If 
 ever a woman proved herself, Marita has. Dear heart, 
 I know how you must have suffered, how the struggle 
 has wrenched your heart. It would be like you to 
 hide all your anguish, too. I don't believe even your 
 father knows how hard it has been. Yet, knowing 
 yourself nameless, and thinking that joy was crushed 
 out of your life, you took up this work; you met these 
 temptations, you conquered the world and yourself! 
 It was a brave thing to do, and not one woman in a 
 thousand could have done it. Oh, my love, I am so 
 proud of you; and to think that men should speak of 
 you as those villains did to-night! " Hamilton sat up 
 straighter and jammed his hat down on his head. " I 
 don't know how I kept my temper. It's a wonder I 
 knew enough to get out when they began discussing 
 
 Marita's fine points as they would those of a horse. 
 17
 
 258 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 The rottenness in this world is enough to sicken a man, 
 were it not balanced by sterling worth, like Marita's. 
 Oh, isn't she made of good stuff! Confound that 
 horse, it's the slowest beast on the avenue." 
 
 When Hamilton reached Mr. Truman's residence, 
 he lost no time in sending up his card. In his present 
 frame of mind waiting was intolerable, and he was 
 truly grateful for Truman's prompt appearance. Giv- 
 ing him a rapid, gauging glance, Hamilton introduced 
 himself and then explained his errand. 
 
 " I'm an old friend of Judge Burton's," he said, 
 " and having just returned from Europe, I do not know 
 his address. I understand his daughter has been star- 
 ring under your management this winter, and I thought 
 you could tell me where to find them." 
 
 " I'd be very glad to oblige you, Mr. Hamilton, but 
 I'm under the strictest orders not to give their address 
 to any one man, woman, or child." 
 
 " I understand; that's what I should expect of Miss 
 Burton; she knows how to conduct herself." 
 
 "Well, I guess she does. E"o star has been more 
 sought after, and never, in all my experience, have I 
 seen a young woman carry herself with such dignity."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 259 
 
 More balm for Hamilton, but he was intent on Ma- 
 rita's address. 
 
 " I presume," he said, after a moment's thought, 
 " that they can be reached by telephone. Do you mind 
 calling up the Judge, and asking him if he'll receive 
 me?" 
 
 " Keally, I couldn't, because I might as well tell 
 you they're not in town." 
 
 " Thank you," said Hamilton, his face lighting up. 
 " That's all I want to know. If they're not in New 
 York, they will surely be at Lindenhurst."
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 TT was one of those days when buds that have long 
 been ripening burst into bloom; when leaves un- 
 fold and grass springs high and feathered nest-builders 
 fill the fragrant air with song. 
 
 For the first time since their return to Lindenhurst, 
 the Judge and Marita breakfasted with all the win- 
 dows open. 
 
 "Just look at the apple orchard, father; it has 
 whitened in a single night." 
 
 " That's so," said the Judge, proudly surveying the 
 sweep of his land, fresh with the glories of spring. 
 " This place is too lovely to leave. If you weren't so 
 anxious to go away " 
 
 " You'd stay at home and not be half so well off in 
 the autumn as you will be after such a trip as your 
 willful daughter is going to insist upon." 
 
 "What a slave I am," said the Judge, looking at 
 Marita fondly, " and how sweet the bondage! " 
 
 "Lucky you think so," returned Marita, saucily, "for 
 you have need of your most humble mood this morning."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 261 
 
 " What awful thing is the tyrant contemplating 
 now? " 
 
 " Nothing less than a morning ride for you alone." 
 
 " Pray, why are you not going with me? " 
 
 " Slaves should never be inquisitive; I don't mind 
 telling you, though, that young ladies who are prepar- 
 ing to take their fathers away have various affairs on 
 hand which need attention." 
 
 " Really, dear, you're not going to stay in the house 
 this glorious morning? " 
 
 " Yes, father, I really am; you see I've been away 
 from home so long that there are lots of things to be 
 done, both for the house and myself." 
 
 The Judge shook his head. 
 
 " You ought to be out in the air." 
 
 "Don't worry about that; I was on the river over 
 an hour before breakfast." 
 
 " Well, now," said the Judge, delightedly, " it does 
 me good to hear that; and if you began the day by 
 being so like your old self, I'll do anything you ask." 
 
 Marita smiled, and her father never guessed what a 
 heavy heart she had carried on her pilgrimage to the 
 spring in the woodland dell; he couldn't know how con- 
 tinually she lived over the past with Hamilton, how
 
 262 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 Lindenhurst was haunted with painful associations; he 
 thought she was becoming quite contented, and she 
 let him think so. 
 
 With this thought uppermost in his mind, the Judge 
 ordered his horse, and cantered over the hills while 
 Marita went about the house, occupied with various 
 duties. Concluding that it would be well to change 
 her dainty white morning gown for a more suitable 
 working dress, she left the maid to finish the china 
 closet, and passing through the dining-room, stepped 
 into the hall. The front door stood wide open, and as 
 Marita went towards it on her way upstairs, every- 
 thing suddenly whirled around. It couldn't be! She 
 had so often seen Hamilton in her imagination that 
 she could not believe she really saw him now, coming 
 up the steps, across the veranda. Oh, it was he! 
 This was no fancied figure, vanishing in shadows; it 
 was a moving, breathing man, swiftly advancing, with 
 eyes aglow. A great rush of gladness swept away 
 every restraining thought, and how could she help 
 that joyous step into his arms? Then the world was 
 forgotten in one of those moments only known to the 
 hearts that have loved and suffered.
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 TT 7" HEN Hamilton bent his head to touch Marita's 
 lips he broke the spell; with a quick move she 
 drew herself away. He caught both her hands, whis- 
 pering : 
 
 " Why not? " 
 
 " Don't," she pleaded, seeing he was about to in- 
 sist, "please don't." Then, looking up into his face, 
 her eyes eloquent with love, Marita said : " If you only 
 knew how hard it is to refuse ! " 
 
 Hamilton met her look with a gaze that was one long 
 caress; then he pressed his lips to her forehead, saying 
 gently, " Come and talk it over, dear." 
 
 Together they passed into the library, each thinking 
 of that dreadful night when she had sent him away. 
 
 " I'm sorry you came," Marita began. 
 
 " You didn't act sorry to see me," interrupted Ham- 
 ilton, smiling into the eyes he had hungered for so 
 long. 
 
 A wave of red flushed Marita's face as she gave him 
 one of those looks that lovers feed upon.
 
 264 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 " I'm sorry you came, though," she repeated. " Our 
 meeting can only bring you suffering, and I think you've 
 had enough." 
 
 " So do I," said Hamilton, emphatically, " and I 
 don't propose that either one of us shall have any 
 more; that's why I came home, to straighten every- 
 thing out." 
 
 Hamilton spoke with much more confidence than he 
 really felt. 
 
 " If you came back for that," she said slowly, " your 
 trip is useless." 
 
 " Marita," said Hamilton, knowing that determined 
 tone only too well, " I cannot believe that you will 
 wrench my heart again as you did the last time we 
 were together in this room. If you knew how I after- 
 wards tried to work, and failed; how I confused cases 
 and mislaid papers until I locked up my desk in de- 
 spair; how I travelled from place to place in search 
 of peace that never came; how I finally landed in 
 England, learned that you knew the secret I couldn't 
 unfold " 
 
 " How did you learn that I knew? " asked Marita, 
 speaking so low that her words were scarcely audible. 
 
 Hamilton's face and voice were full of tenderness.
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 265 
 
 " I learned it, dear, in this way. You see, I had just 
 returned from a long trip through Egypt, and on the 
 night of my arrival in London I purchased a Paris 
 "Herald"; eagerly seeking for home news, I found 
 an account of Anita Mondello." 
 
 " Oh! " cried Marita, feeling as if something struck 
 her when Hamilton spoke that name. He took a step 
 forward, longing to comfort her, but she motioned 
 him back, saying faintly, " Go on, go on." 
 
 "I understood; I knew you had learned the truth; 
 I sailed on the first steamer bound for home; I crossed 
 the ocean, Marita, to claim my wife." She impul- 
 sively stretched out both hands, and Hamilton seized 
 them in his. " How brave you've been, and so much 
 to bear! 'Twill be easier now, dear heart, with me 
 to help you. Why didn't you send me word that you 
 knew? " 
 
 "I I couldn't," she said, slowly withdrawing her 
 hands from his clasp. 
 
 " Too proud," said Hamilton, shaking his head re- 
 proachfully; " but now, when I have sought you, when 
 everything is known to both of us, there is nothing to 
 prevent our marriage; nothing to keep you out of my 
 arms; nothing to make you stand there looking like
 
 266 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 that. Marita, for God's sake, smile; are you not glad 
 to be my wife? " 
 
 " You know I can never be your wife," answered 
 Marita, strength coming with her need. 
 
 " I don't know any such thing! " exclaimed Hamil- 
 ton. 
 
 " Do you think I, who have no name, would take 
 one of the proudest names in America? A Hamilton 
 and a nameless woman, aristocracy and illegitimacy." 
 
 " Stop ! " cried Hamilton, looking dangerous. " You 
 forget that Alexander Hamilton himself is charged 
 with uncertain parentage; you forget the day at Farno's 
 when I said that birth is the one thing for which no 
 man is responsible; you forget the night at Tuxedo, 
 when Chester and I agreed that individual worth is the 
 only true standard in a world of shams; you forget 
 that I've always placed character first." 
 
 " I do not forget my own birth." 
 
 "No, you don't; it's the first selfish thing I have 
 ever known you to do." 
 
 " Selfish? " Marita questioned in surprise. 
 
 "Yes, selfish," repeated Hamilton. "Think now, 
 how it is. I know you are worthy in the sight of God, 
 therefore the laws of man do not trouble me. I come
 
 BECAUSE of POWER 267 
 
 to you and ask you to be my wife; I bring to you all 
 the burning hopes of a man's heart, and you refuse me 
 everything because no priest said a few words to your 
 mother and father." 
 
 " Those few words mean law and order, the sanction 
 of the church, the consecration of God." 
 
 " Very true; but, Marita, would they have made 
 you any different? Would they have changed your 
 soul, given you another heart? If you could only 
 understand how character outweighs the circumstance 
 of birth, then you would stop thinking of your own 
 pride and marry me." 
 
 "Don't, oh, don't say any more! All this talk is 
 useless torture." 
 
 " It may be torture, but it isn't useless." 
 
 Hamilton's eyes blazed with determination; it was 
 wellfthat Marita had plenty of courage. 
 
 " It is useless," she persisted, pressing her finger 
 nails into her palms. " You wouldn't want to marry 
 me if " 
 
 " What? " demanded Hamilton. 
 
 Every atom of color left Marita's face. 
 
 " If you remembered my mother's blood; if you 
 knew how it had asserted itself; how it nearly conquered
 
 268 BECAUSE of POWER 
 
 me in the south. There was a man, Grant, a man down 
 there " 
 
 " I know all that." 
 
 " You know that? " Marita gasped, breathless with 
 astonishment. 
 
 " Yes, I do, never mind how, but I know it; I know, 
 too, how you repulsed that man and all other men 
 who have sought you during the winter. Don't you 
 see how this knowledge only confirms my belief and 
 strengthens my trust? You have stood many tests." 
 
 " Surely you cannot know all; you cannot know how 
 far I went. Grant," she met his questioning gaze 
 steadily, " I allowed that man to take me in his arms 
 and kiss me." 
 
 Hamilton never flinched. 
 
 " What saved you? " he asked with white lips. 
 
 " The thought of you," she cried, glorying in the 
 confession. " I lifted my eyes and saw the stars; I 
 remembered the night when we stood out there by the 
 gate and you told me to look up; the greatness of your 
 love saved me from the littleness of his passion. 
 
 Hamilton drew a sharp breath. 
 
 " Is there anything more? " he asked, unsteadily. 
 
 " No, that is all; I've told you the worst."
 
 BECAUSE of POWER . 269 
 
 "You've told me the best!" he cried joyfully. 
 " The blood that led you astray was inherited; the spirit 
 that conquered it was your own. Do you think any 
 man would fear to trust his future to such a woman? " 
 
 Marita's eyes burned in their sockets; her throat 
 was dry; she said huskily, " Knowing all, you still " 
 
 " Yes," he whispered, opening his arms. 
 
 " Oh," she cried, with glorious self -abandon, " take 
 me; I'm yours, body and soul, your wife, forever." 
 
 A rapturous move, and their lips met as if never to 
 part. 
 
 Half an hour later, when tEe JuHge rode up the 
 driveway, he saw Marita and Hamilton standing on 
 the veranda waiting for him. The first glance told 
 him that everything was settled; he could read their 
 happiness in the very way they stood side by side. 
 Quickening his pace he soon reached the house, and 
 springing to the ground the Judge went up the sunlit 
 steps, holding out a hand to each, his heart filled with 
 thanksgiving.
 
 000120065 8