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THE ROYAL MARINE
Fn Tdyl of Warragansett Pier
BY
BRANDER MATTHEWS
AUTHOR OF
‘THE STORY OF A STORY, AND OTHER STORIES”
“VIGNETTES OF MANHATTAN” ETO,
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
1894
oy
-
CONTENTS
CHAP, PAGE
I. JUDGE GILLESPIE’S LUNCHEON. . a
Il LITTLE MAT HITCHCOCK’S CRAB-
BING-PARTY ° . e . ° ° . 30
III. THE HOP AT THE CASINO Re a ci
IV. THE MORNING SERVICE AT THE
CEReEEE OES oe” "+ gs eee ee
V. MISS MARLENSPUYK’S READING-
LITE, os Re a eee” Mamie ate eS 3)
VI. THE CONCERT AT THE CASINO. . 116
S815
ILLUSTRATIONS
“HE HAD A SUDDEN INSPIRATION”. . . . Frontispiece
“<HOW’S THE WATER THIS MORNING?’”?, Facingp. 6
«(ST RECKON SO,’ SHE REPLIED” . . . . “ 26
“WHENEVER ANY OF THE OTHER MEN WENT
OFF WITH HER FORA WALK” . .. “ 32
“TITTLE MAT HITCHCOCK”. . . .... “ 44
Deceerenitc =... a eae 62
ots! RS SN a 74
“¢sHE DIDN’T ACCEPT ME—NO,’ HE AN-
0 EEL SS SRG a a age a 108
ee Pe
“nt
THE ROYAL MARINE;
AN IDYL OF NARRAGANSETT PIER
CHAPTER I
JUDGE GILLESPIE’S LUNCHEON
Ir was not yet half-past eleven o’clock
of a bright, warm morning towards the
end of July when Mr. Joshua Hoff-
man’s steam-yacht Lhadamanthus an-
nounced her arrival at Narragansett
Pier and dropped anchor off the beach. |
A few minutes later an electric launch
sped alongside the little float just
within the breakwater before the Ca-
sino, and the aged owner of the yacht
stepped ashore, accompanied by one of
4
his guests, a young man of barely thir. 7
ty. Under the arch of the Casino thes
old gentleman found a carriage, and af-
ter making a bargain with the driver,
he got in.
“T shall be back about four o’clock,”
he said to his young friend.
“You will find me here in good
time, sir,’ was the reply. Then the
carriage drove off with the owner of
the yacht, and the younger man was
left standing. Before him was the open
door of the Casino, but a single glance
told him that the hour had not yet ar-
rived when the veranda and the terrace
filled up with guests.
He turned to the right, and in two
minutes he found himself tramping
along a covered plank walk which ran
in front of the line of low wooden bath-
ing-houses. Striped awnings protected
from the glare of the sun the gayly |
5
dressed women who sat on the platforms
which projected from every bathing-
house. Beyond these platforms there
were slight white tents, under the shel-
ter of which little children played in
the sand and were happy. In front of
the tents was the broad beach, whereon
the surf was breaking sturdily.
A throng of women, young and old,
with here and there a man, or more of-
ten a boy, floated leisurely down the
plank walk, and filled the platforms,
and spread out over the beach, exchang-
ing frequent greetings with one another.
The passenger who had just landed
from the Lhadamanthus heard cheerful
young voices on all sides of him asking
each other, ‘ How’s the water this morn-
ing?’ “Are you going in?” “Whose
yacht is that?” with other questions of
like importance. Although he had not
yet recognized a single acquaintance in
6
the crowd which surged about him, the
young man did not feel lonely. He
gazed around placidly, interested by the
sight and moving forward slowly.
When he had gone to the end of the
plank walk and had turned back again,
two small boys in their bathing-suits,
just out of the water and dripping wet,
rushed past him in high glee; and in
seeking to keep out of their way as they
turned and twisted at his side, he care-
lessly trod on the dress of the lady in
front of him. He heard the skirt rip
before the weight of his foot checked
the progress of the owner of the dress.
“T beg your pardon!” he cried, tak-
ing off his hat hastily, as he heard her
say “Oh!” in a tone of annoyance.
Catching his apology, she turned and
smiled sweetly, and said: “ It don’t mat-
ter. It isn’t torn, I reckon.”
The accent was Southern. So per-
“6 How’s THE WATER THIS MORNING ?’”
7
haps was the face of the speaker. She
was a girl of scant twenty, a little short,
and almost plump. She had light brown
hair which curled easily under a stiff sail-
or hat. Her eyes were dark gray. She
wore a white yachting-dress trimmed
with blue; on the sleeve were the stripes
and the crowned V.R. of a boatswain in
the navy of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
At her right walked a handsome boy
of six, strikingly like his sister. He,
too, wore a sailor suit of British manu-
facture ; his straw hat had a black band,
whereon was stamped, in gold letters,
Pb, 9. Victory.”
As she turned away and passed on
again, the young man who had trod on
her gown caught sight of the man who
was walking with her on the left.
“Why, that’s little Mat Hitchcock,”
he said to himself. As he had no great
liking for Mr. Mather Hitchcock, he
8
dismissed the young lady’s companion
from his mind.
Leaving the bathing-houses, he went
down on the beach and strolled along,
looking for the strange and peculiar cos-
tumes that were to be seen at Narragan-
sett Pier, if the comic papers could be
believed; but in less than ten minutes
he was forced to the conclusion that the
humorous artists were not credible, for —
the bathing-dresses he saw before him
then were as decorous as he had seen
at any other American watering-place.
Wherein Narragansett Pier differed
from other watering-places was not in
the costumes of its bathers, but in the
beauty of its beach, which sloped slowly
away, and on which the waves rolled in
and curled over and fell forward with
most enticing freshness.
Their appeal was irresistible at last,
and when the clock of the Casino doubt-
“
Dee os
* oP
4% Sue narttigte.
Cs A
ee
“he=* =
9
fully chimed forth the hour of noon,
the young man who had arrived on the
Rhadamanthus was in the surf. The
sand was fine and firm, and free from
stones and shells. The waves fell for-
ward sharply, and the surf tingled the
blood of the bathers and refreshed them.
There was no undertow, and so there
‘was no need of a life-line; even little
children splashed about safely in water
up to their armpits. To rescue any one
who might stand in sudden need of help,
there was a row-boat bobbing up and
down just outside the breakers. Three
small rafts, anchored one beyond the
other, afforded resting-places for advent-
urous swimmers; and the farthest of
the three was furnished with a spring-
board for diving.
The young man who had landed from
the yacht plunged head foremost into
the first breaker he met, and then swam
10
briskly to the nearest raft. Having
thus wet and warmed himself, he came
inshore, that he might have the full
benefit of the surf. When he touched
bottom again and stood firm that a
breaker larger than usual should curve
over him, he found himself near a little
group of bathers, and he could not help
but hear their conversation. Two stal-
wart young men, one with a white shirt
having a light-blue C on it, and the
other in a white shirt having a dark-red
H on it, were begging a young lady to
let them tow her out to the nearest raft.
“But I can’t swim a stroke, and you
know I mustn’t get my hair wet,” said
the:girl, “if you want to see me at the
hop to-night.”
At the sound of her voice the passen-
ger from the Lhadamanthus looked
around, and he identified her at once as
the young lady whose dress he had trod-
11
den upon nearly half an hour earlier.
Her bathing-costume was of black, and
her light-brown hair was coiled tightly
about her shapely head, two or three
stray locks curling prettily over her fore-
head. In the full light of the mid-day
sun there was a glint of gold in some of
the braids) The water and the wind
had heightened the fresh color in her
cheeks. Apparently she had not recog-
nized him again, and the young man,
remarking her beauty, hoped that he
had not torn her gown badly.
At last she suffered herself to be per-
suaded, and the two young athletes from
Columbia College and Harvard stood
before her side by side, and she rested
a sunburnt hand lightly on the shoulder
of each, and then they struck out to-
gether, swimming high out of the water,
so as to support her, while little Mat
Hitchcock went on ahead as a pilot to
12
clear the way; and thus she was con-
voyed safely to her destination, the ca-
pricious surf sparing her hair.
The young man watched while the
girl was towed to the raft and helped
up to a seat upon it. Then, with a
half-sigh of regret that he did not
have the pleasure of her acquaintance,
he dived again into a big wave, and
swam out steadily and sturdily beyond
the life boat and around it and back
again. !
Half an hour later he walked up the
steps of the Casino, and found himself
face to face with an old friend.
“ Miss Marlenspuyk!” he cried.
“Warren Payn, I declare!” was her
response. “I am really glad to see
you. Come and get me a chair, and
sit down beside me and tell me all you
know.”
“Tm afraid that won’t take me long,”
“LITTLE MAT HITCHCOCK”?
Sr OS da
es a)
V<. ¥
<
Ce}
_— ™
*
13
he answered, as he followed the cheery
old maid out on the terrace.
The sight of her wrinkled face, with
its crown of silver-gray hair and its
wonderful blue eyes twinkling with
good-humor, made the young man feel
at home at once. He got her a com-
fortable arm-chair, and he put another
before her to serve as a footstool, and
then he sat down beside her.
‘And how are you?” he began.
“1? she returned, briskly. “I’m
as well as any old woman of seventy
has a right to be: ve my hair and my
teeth and my eyes still, and I can sleep
nights. What more can I expect? But
you— you look run down. Are you
here for the summer?”
“No,” he responded; “I’m going to
spend my vacation in the Adirondacks.
I’m here only for the day—or for part
of the day really. Mr. Hoffman—”
14
“JT thought that was his yacht!” she
interjected.
“The Jehadamanthus — yes,” Mr.
Payn went on. “ Mr. Hoffman — he’s
one of our vestrymen, you know—he
met me in the street yesterday morning,
and he said I looked tired, and that salt
water was what I needed. So he ecar-
ried me off. We were at New London
last night, we are here now, and we go
over to Newport at four o’clock; and I
take the night boat back this evening,
so as to be in time for my choir rehears-
al to-morrow evening.”
“You are still organist of St. Mar-
tha’s?”’ she asked. .
He nodded. “And our new rector
is a hard worker. He keeps the church
open all summer, and he has asked me
to give special Sunday-night choral ser- —
vices to attract the floating summer
population of the city.”
15
“Well,” she said, laughing lightly,
“if you haven’t changed of late, you are
glad of the hard work.”
He smiled. “I don’t run away from
it, I hope,” he admitted. “And [ve
composed a new Te Deum since you
were at St. Martha’s last. When you
get back to town you must let me know
what morning you can come, and I'll do
it for you. It has been quite a suc-
cess. ve published it, and it is being
done in many of the best churches out
West.”
“ Let’s see,” she said, looking at him,
“how long is it since I had a chat with
you last?”
“It’s nearly a year,” he answered.
“T haven’t seen you since Mr. Hoffman
gave that reception to the Bishop of
Tuxedo.”
“Dear me!” said the old lady, “how
time flies nowadays! A year, is it?
16
Well, well! And you must be twenty-
seven or twenty-eight now ?” 7
“Tm just thirty,” he returned.
“Thirty!” she echoed; “and not
married yet? Of course not, or I should
have heard of it. Not engaged either?”
“Not yet,” he replied, “and Pm in
no hurry to be married.”
“Then you had better not stay here
long,” she retorted; ‘this place is just
full of pretty girls, and nice girls
too.” :
“T saw a pretty girl on the beach,”
he said; “a charming girl; a South-
erner, I should think, by her accent. I
trod on her dress, and she forgave me
very sweetly. I almost wish I was go-
ing to stay here long enough to make
her acquaintance.”
“ Describe her to me,” Miss Marlen-
spuyk commanded.
“Well,” he began, “she was rather
a
short, I think, with light-brown hair and
a good figure—”
“JT suppose that means she- was
plump?” the old maid interrupted.
“You men somehow seem to detest
slim women.”
Mr. Payn laughed. “ Yes,” he ad-
mitted, “I think you might fairly call
this girl plump. But she was so young
and fresh and wholesome—oh, I wish I
could describe her properly! but I can’t.”
He paused for a second, and suddenly
his face lighted up. “But I can do
better than describe her—I can show
her to you.”
“Where?” asked the old maid, sharp-
ly, raising her glasses.
“There,” the young man answered,
“in the window on the stairs, looking
down onus. Don’t you see? Up there
—with that little Mat Hitchcock by her
side.”
2
18
Miss Marlenspuyk lifted her eyes lei-
surely, and caught sight of the young
lady whose dress Mr. Warren Payn had
torn that morning. The girl was framed
in the broad window, on the edge of
which she was sitting. By her side her
young brother leaned forward, peering
down on the crowd below. Just behind
her stood Mr. Mather Hitchcock.
“Ts that the girl you mean?’ Miss
Marlenspuyk asked. ‘The one in the
white sailor suit ?” |
“That’s the one,” he responded, ea-
gerly. “Whoisshe? I know you know
everybody.”
“JT know her—and I knew her great-
grandfather,” the old maid answered,
lowering her glasses. ‘ She’s the Royal
Marine.”
For a moment the young man looked
at his companion in mute astonish-
ment.
19
“The Royal Marine?” he repeated at
last. i
“Yes,” said Miss Marlenspnyk, “ that’s
what Ieall her. Didn’t you see the V.R.
and the British crown on her sleeve?” _
“JT noticed it,’ Mr. Payn acknowl-
edged. ‘But I supposed she was wear-
ing an imported dress, and—”
“But what business has any Ameri-
can girl got with Queen Victoria’s mon-
ogram ?’ asked Miss Marlenspuyk, ener-
getically. ‘If American girls are going
to wear british crowns on their arms,
what was the good of Bunker Hill and
the Fourth of July and the Surrender
of Cornwallis.”
“ Really I don’t know,” said the mu-
sician, smiling at her intensity.
“ That’s why I call her the Royal Ma-
rine,” the old maid declared. ‘‘She’s a
dear good girl, and I’m very fond of her
—but she’s a Royal Marine for all that!”
20
®
“And what do you call her little
brother —for I saw he had ‘H. M.S.
Victory’ on his hat?”
“ Disousting, isn’t it?’ Miss Marlen-
spuyk replied. ‘I suppose I must call
him Her Majesty’s Midshipmite.”
“Royal Marine or not,” said the
young man, looking up at the window,
“she’s just as pretty as she can be.” .
“That’s nothing to her credit,” the
old maid declared. “Tm just as pretty
as I can be, too—so we all are—but it
doesn’t do us much good, does it? The
Royal Marine is pretty because she can’t
help it; she was born so. So was her
mother before her—and at the same age
her grandmother was the best-looking
of the three. That’s her grandmother
over there talking to Judge Gillespie,”
and with a gesture she indicated a hand-
some old lady, over whose chair an old
beau was bent in conversation.
21
“J know Judge Gillespie, of course,”
Mr. Payn responded. “He’s one of
our vestrymen too. But I don’t know
Grandma—lI don’t even know her name
—or her granddaughter’s name, for that
matter.”
“Wer granddaughter’s name is Carroll
—Hectorina Carroll,” said Miss Marlen-
spuyk.
“ Hectorina?’ Mr. Payn repeated.
“ Hectorina,” she returned. ‘It isan
odd name, I admit—Hectorina Carroll.
She’s no kin to Charles Carroll of Car-
rollton, but for all that she’s a terrapin
girl.”
“ A terrapin girl?’ echoed the young
man, helplessly.
‘A Baltimorean, I mean,” she ex-
plained. ‘I call all these Marylanders
terrapin girls—and they are a very good-
looking lot, the terrapin girls here this
year.”
22
“Tf Iam to judge by that specimen,”
Payn assented, “ ve no doubt you are
justified.”
“ Hectorina is one of the prettiest
of them, of course,” said Miss Marlen-
spuyk, “but she is one of the nicest of
them too. Some of them are mere
fashion plates—‘ Casino costume from
Worth, hat from Virot’—you know
what I mean.”
Payn smiled, and acknowledged that
he had met that kind of young woman.
« And some girls intended by nature
to be pretty,’ Miss Marlenspuyk con-
tinued, “come out here in the sunlight
with hand-painted faces that wouldn’t
deceive a blind man. No doubt these
are not the nice girls; they are body-
snatchers, mostly.”
“What?” cried the young man, again -
astonished. ‘ Body-snatchers ?”
“You know what I mean—girls who
23
can’t let a man go by without reaching
out for him. That’s what I call them—
body-snatchers,” the old maid explained.
Mr. Warren Payn laughed pleasantly.
“T must study your private vocabu-
lary,” he said; “you have a nice de-
rangement of epitaphs. The ‘ Royal
Marine’ is a ‘terrapin girl,’ I see, but
she is not a ‘body-snatcher.’ Tm glad
of that, I confess.”’
While Miss Marlenspuyk and Mr.
Warren Payn had been discussing the
different classes of terrapin girls, the
Royal Marine and Her Majesty’s Mid-
shipmite and Mr. C. Mather Hitchcock
had disappeared suddenly. They were
now seen threading their way through the
throng of chairs on the veranda, mak-
ing for the spot where Mrs. Carroll sat
chatting with Judge Gillespie. |
As the Royal Marine took a chair by
the side of her grandmother, while little
24
Mat Hitchcock broke into a hasty con-
versation with Judge Gillespie, Miss
Marlenspuyk caught sight of them.
‘“‘T suppose they are getting together
to go into the dining-room,” she said,
rising. “Judge Gillespie is giving a
luncheon to Mrs. Carroll this morning.”
“JT wish I were going to take in Miss
Carroll,” the composer declared.
“Mr. Hitcheock will do that, proba-
bly; he has been asked, I know,” the
old maid returned, moving towards the
veranda. ‘Come, and I will introduce
you to her.”
As they drew near to the group Payn
overheard Hitchcock say, “Vm very
sorry indeed, but I don’t see what I
can do.”
The Judge’s response was inaudible,
but obviously he was annoyed. He
bowed to Miss Marlenspuyk as he
stepped up on the veranda, and he
25
stared at her companion, and then sud-
denly recognizing him, shook him heart-
ily by the hand.
“Mr. Warren Payn it is, isn’t it?’ he
cried. ‘I’m very glad to see you, very
glad indeed.” Then he turned to Hitch-
cock again, and said, “ Well, if you must
go, of course there’s no help for it.”
Miss Marlenspuyk presented Mr. War-
ren Payn to Mrs. Carroll and to Miss
Carroll. The girl had risen to give Miss
Marlenspuyk her chair. The old maid
took it, leaving the two young people
standing side by side on the edge of the
veranda.
“JT hope I did not tear your dress
very badly, Miss Carroll,” said the young
man.
“Oh dear no,” she answered, smiling.
“T can fix it in ten minutes.”
He noticed that her accent was Bal-
timorean, but her voice was not s0
26
shrill as that of the average Maryland
girl.
‘Are you here for the whole sea-
son ?” he asked, after a pause.
“T reckon so,” she replied. ‘“ Grand-
ma likes it here.”
“T don’t wonder,” he responded.
“This is my first visit to Narragansett
Pier, and it strikes me as a very pleas-
ant place. The bathing is delight-
fai:
“T saw you swimming round the
boat,” she said. “I wish I could swim;
but I don’t like to get my hair wet.”
“You don’t need to swim,” he re-
turned, “if you are always as well cared
for as this morning.”
“Did you see me towed out?’ she
laughed. “It was very good of them,
wasn't it? I did so want to see how
the beach looked from the raft. Mr.
Hitchcock suggested it.”
27
Mr. Hitchcock and Mr. Payn there-
upon exchanged perfunctory nods.
Warren Payn had known little Mat —
Hitcheock for years, and had never been
able to discover why he detested the
fellow; he began now to have a reason.
There was an interval of silence,
and then Miss Carroll turned to Payn
again.
“Have you come , for the season, Mr.
Payn ?”’ she asked.
“Only for the afternoon, I’m sorry
to say,” he answered. “I’m here on
Mr. Hoffman’s yacht. My real vacation
doesn’t begin till next month.”
“Tm so sorry,” she said, simply. “Id
hoped you were going to stay. You see,
there are so few men at the Pier yet.”
After a second’s hesitation the young
man answered: ‘‘ My plans are all un-
settled now. I was going to the Adi-
rondacks, but I really don’t know what
28
I shall do. Perhaps I may be able to
come here, after all.”
“Mr. Payn,” called the Judge, “can
I have a moment with you?’
He led the young man aside, and
said: “JI want you to do me a favor—
if you will? Mrs. Carroll has kindly
consented to honor me with her com-
pany at luncheon to-day, and so has
Miss Marlenspuyk, and also Miss Car-
roll. I’m expecting Dr. Pennington, of
St. Boniface’s—Philadelphia, you know;
he will be here in a moment; and now
Mr. Hitchcock, who was to have taken
the sixth place, is suddenly summoned
to see Mr. Hoffman on business. I
know I have no right to ask you now,
but you will put me under an obligation
if you will join us.”
The young man smiled, and respond-
ed, “If I can be of any service to you,
Judge, you may command me.”
29
“Thank you,” said Judge Gillespie.
“T am delighted that you can make one
of us.”
And so it was that, after all, Mr. War-
ren Payn, and not Mr. Mather Hitch-
cock, took the Royal Marine in to lunch-
eon that day.
CHAPTER II
LITTLE MAT HITCHCOCK’S CRABBING - PARTY
Wuen Mr. Warren Payn gave up his
trip to the Adirondacks and went to Nar-
ragansett Pier to spend the month of his
vacation he was quite honest with him-
self; he confessed frankly that it was
the Royal Marine that attracted him.
He suspected that he loved her. More
than once before, in other summers, had
he thought that he was in love with
some other pretty girl, and always be-
fore the end of the summer he had dis-
covered that though he might like the
young lady very well indeed, he did not
really love her. This time the symptoms
were different, and they seemed to indi-
cate that the heart was actually affected
31
at last. For one thing, he developed an
acute jealousy whenever any of the other
young men who were summering at
Narragansett Pier came near Miss Hec-
torina Carroll, going off with her for a
walk to the Rocks, or taking her for a
drive to Point Judith, or making up a
party for a sail across the bay. He de-
voted himself to her absolutely, and so
far as possible he prevented the approach
of Mr. Mather Hitchcock, for example,
or any other of the sparse male popula-
tion of the Pier.
It was only when they were all in
bathing together that Mr. Hill-Bunker,
the young man with the crimson H on
his bathing-shirt, or Mr. Beeckman
Bleecker, the young man with the light
blue C, was able to get within arm’s-
length of the young lady from Balti-
more, and even then Mr. Warren Payn
was within arm’s-length also. If two
32
pairs of mixed doubles were arranged at
tennis, he manceuvred openly to be her
partner, and if he was forced to play
against her, his side was certain not to
win a set, no matter how skilful or how
determined his fair ally might be. On
the rainy days he would lure her over to
the bowling-alley, choosing her balls for
her and advising her on every doubtful
roll. On the two nights a week when
there were hops at the Casino he came
with her, carrying Grandma’s cloak ; and
he managed generally to get the first
dance and the last, and more than his
share of those intervening.
They danced together very well. She
was short, and he was not tall. Perhaps
it should have been recorded earlier that
he had dark eyes and dark hair, and that
he wore a full dark mustache. He was
not a handsome man exactly, but he was
not ill-looking, and he carried himself
33
well. As it happened, he danced very
well, and the Royal Marine was very
fond of dancing, and this it was which
gave him his first advantage with her,
and led them to an earlier intimacy than
would have been brought about other-
wise.
But although she was always willing
to dance with him, she treated him very
much as she treated all the other young
men. She did not encourage him at all;
she did not seem even to be conscious of
his attentions. She was glad to see him
when he joined her on the veranda of
the Casino in the evening to listen to the
music, or on the lawn of the little church
after service on Sunday; she greeted
him cordially always; but then her man-
ner was just as frank and just as hearty
towards Judge Gillespie, towards little
Mat Hitcheock, towards Mr. Hill-Bunk-
er, and towards Mr. Beeckman Bleecker.
3
34
Whenever he was foiled in his effort to
monopolize the Royal Marine’s society,
he failed to enjoy even the full share of
it which fell to him when she had two
or three other young men dancing at-
tendance on her. Unless he had her all
to himself he was not happy. He was
not disagreeable under these circum-
stances ; he was not sulky; but he talked
little, and took only the slightest part in
the dialogue. It seemed as though it
was only in a duet that his vocal or-
gans could be heard to advantage, their
strains being too delicate and evasive to
hold their own in the concerted pieces
of general conversation.
Whenever he was wholly deprived of
the privilege of her company—that is to
say, whenever she was invited to a little
dinner at the Casino and he was not;
whenever she went off for a day’s sail in
a yacht belonging to a man he did not
~
_.
\ ns
35
know; whenever she accepted one or an-
other of the invitations that came to her -
now and again to go over to Newport toa
luncheon or a dance—whenever anything
of this kind bore her temporarily be-
yond his reach, he was disconsolate. He
wandered melancholy along the Rocks,
or he sat solitary on a chair on the ve-
randa of the Casino, sunk in moody
meditation.
Of course the Royal Marine herself
did not know the state to which he was
reduced by her absence, but now and
then one of the other girls would notice.
Sometimes they would tease him about
it unobtrusively. Once one of them
was kind-hearted enough to tell ’Rina
when she came back from Newport how
much Mr. Payn had evidently missed
her. That evening at the hop she re-
ceived him more coldly than ever be-
fore; it was indeed the very first time
36
that she had made any distinction of any
kind between him and her other admir-
ers. Perhaps if he had been an observer
only, and not a lover wholly, he might
have interpreted aright this sudden chill-
ing of her manner, and he might have
been elated rather than cast down that
she allowed little Mat Hitchcock to
carry Grandma’s shawl that evening,
and to eseort them back to the hotel
when at last the music ceased and the
lights in the ball-room were lowered.
For a dozen or more years Mr. Math-
er Hitchcock had made it a point to be
very attentive to the two or three pret-
tiest girls at the Pier. It was surmised
that every year he had proposed to two
of them at least, and that if he was still
a bachelor it was not his fault, but the
fault of the score or more of lovely spin-
sters who had refused to marry him. To
none of the young ladies to whom he
37
had been devoted had he ever been
more devoted than to the Royal Marine.
To none of their other admirers had he
ever felt as he felt towards Mr. Warren
Payn. For one thing, he had never for-
given the new-comer for having arrived
just in time to take his place at Judge
Gillespie’s little luncheon. More than
once was Mr. Hitchcock annoyed to see
Mr. Payn sitting next to Miss Carroll
at some impromptu dinner or supper to
whieh he (little Mat) was not invited.
More often still—for he was known to
all the cottagers and to all the regular
visitors to the Pier—he had himself the
satisfaction of sitting opposite to Miss
Carroll at some such feast, while the
new-comer, not so well known, was left
out of the list of guests. Once when,
as it chanced, they were neither of them
asked on a certain yachting trip which
was to take all day, little Mat saw how
38
desolate the organist looked, how for-
lorn, how deserted, and in the contem-
plation of his rival’s misery he forgot
his own disappointment. Towards the
end of August, Hitchcock was even
moved to get up a crabbing expedition,
carefully arranging that Payn should
not be included ; and as the merry party
drove past in two elongated buckboards,
he had the malign pleasure of seeing the
composer smoking a solitary cigar on the
terrace of the Casino.
That solitary cigar lasted Warren
Payn nearly two hours. Often as he
relighted it his thoughts wandered five
minutes later, and the neglected cigar
revenged itself by going out. The
musician had always been given to day-
dreaming. Perhaps a certain introspec-
tive absent- mindedness is one mani-
festation of the artistic temperament.
Perhaps no man is really an artist—
39
painter or composer or what not—who
has not the power of isolating himself
and of becoming wholly oblivious of
his surroundings, of being swept along,
as it were, on the current of his own
thoughts. These periods of mental hiber-
nation, so to speak, the young musician
had found to be the necessary concomi-
tants of his periods of artistic productive-
ness. During these hours of apparent
sloth his mind was often most active.
On the day of little Mat Hitchcock’s —
crabbing party, for example, he sat on
the terrace of the Casino for three hours,
speaking to no one, lighting his cigar
every quarter of an hour, and looking
steadily out to sea. His body was still,
but his mind was active. Though his
feet did not move, his thoughts had put
“on seven-league boots and were striding
across the world. When he was tired
of thinking of her he thought of him-
40 §
self, and he wished he were a Prince
Charming, young and beautiful and
mighty, that he could come before her
as a conqueror and lay himself at her
feet. He built many an Aladdin’s pal-
ace that he might beseech her to share
it with him, planning it in accordance
with what he knew of her tastes in
house-keeping. Possibly Alnaschar was
also a composer of music—one does not
know, although one does know that he
was never able to produce his greatest
composition.
When Warren Payn had made an
end of his day-dreams at last, and had
thrown away his cigar, not yet half
smoked, he got up from the chair and
started to return to his hotel. As he
passed the door of the ladies’ room of
the Casino he found himself walking by
the side of Miss Marlenspuyk.
“Well,” she said, smiling, “do you
41
think that I look like Ariadne, that you
have deserted me so long ?”
For a moment he stood stock - still,
not yet awake to the world about him;
then he recovered himself and knew
where he was.
“Do I look like Bacchus?” he re-
turned. “If I look as I feel, I must
look even soberer than usual.”
“ Oh, I don’t object to sobriety,” she
responded, as they passed down under
the broad bridge into the road, and
turned towards the long line of ho-
tels. “I shouldn’t like the Pier if it
were a brandy-and-watering place, as
Saratoga is. But perhaps you are car-
rying austerity to the very verge of
boastfulness. Does the Royal Marine
like you to be as serious as you are
~ now?”
“I wish I could be sure that the Royal
Marine liked me even a little,’ he an-
-
42
swered, “and I’d be as serious as she
chose.”
““T don’t know whether she likes you
or not, and of course I shouldn’t tell
you if I did,” the old maid replied.
“But I do know that she is not a girl
to take gray views of life. At her age
and with her looks she has no use for
sad-colored garments. Mr. Hitchcock
said yesterday that her smile was like
the Moonlight Concerto, and her laugh
was like a wedding-march.”
“Oh, he said that, did he?” the com-
poser inquired. ‘ What does he know
about concertos, I should like to know 2”
“T don’t like Mr. Hitchcock any
better than you do,” said Miss Marlen-
spuyk, “and yet I don’t know why.
Perhaps because I am not one of the
girls he has asked to marry him; so I
feel assured of his bad taste. And of
his ignorance of music, and of most
#
43
other things, [ have nodoubt. Indeed,
if ignorance is bliss, I don’t know any
one who has better right to be happy
than Mr. Mather Hitchcock.”
“Yes,” the composer returned, with
a little laugh, partly at her joke and
partly at his own; “a fellow has no
right to be as ignorant of anything as
that little Mat Hitchcock is of every-
thing. He must have spent four years
at some college conscientiously acquir-
ing ignorance —for no man was ever
born knowing so little as he does.”
' “What has he been doing to you to-
day ?’ asked the old maid, her wonder-
ful eyes twinkling humorously as she
looked the composer in the face.
“What has he been doing to me?”
repeated the young man. “ He has been
getting up a crabbing- party for Miss
Carroll, and he didn’t let me in.”
“Dutch treat, I suppose?” she in-
44
quired, Mat Hitchcock’s frugality being
familiar to all his friends.
“¢ Oh, of course,” he answered ; “ little
Mat isn’t giving parties at his own ex-
pense. He doesn’t care for a dollar any
more than he does for his life.”
Miss Marlenspuyk laughed. “I’ve
known him generous enough to give
himself away,” she said. “And ’m
afraid you are giving yourself away now
by your warmth. It’s none of my busi-
ness, of course, but I’m old enough to
be your grandmother, and you can con-
fide in me if you think it would relieve
your feelings. Are you really in love
with my young friend, the Royal Ma-
rine ?”’
When Miss Marlenspuyk made this
kindly suggestion she did not know
what it was she had exposed herself to,
for the young lover saw his opportunity
to talk of the woman he loved and of
45
himself and of his hopes and fears and
his doubts and his despairs. She lis-
tened in sympathetic silence while he
poured out his feelings.
When at last he paused, ashamed that
he had talked so freely, and yet relievéd
that he had found some one to whom he
could express himself without reserve,
Miss Marlenspuyk said: “ Well, you are
in love. There’s no doubt of that, is
there ?”’
“Sure,” he answered. ‘ There’s no
doubt at all.”
“Do you want to marry her?’ asked
the old maid.
“Don’t I, just?” returned the young
man. “ Why, I’m dying to—”
“Well,” interrupted Miss Marlen-
spuyk, “if you want her to marry you,
why don’t you ask her? You have
known her nearly a month, and the
days at the sea-side in summer are twice
46
as long as they are in town in winter,
and so we get to know people twice
as fast. Besides, this is the last week
of August, and to-night is the last hop
of the season, and next week everybody
will be packing up.”
“T know,” he returned, sadly. “ My
own vacation will be up next week.”
“ And I heard Mrs. Carroll say to-
day they were soon going to the White
Mountains for a fortnight,” the old lady
continued.
“She isn’t going to take her grand-
daughter with her, is she ?” asked Payn,
hurriedly.
“ She isn’t going to leave her behind,” |
Miss Marlenspuyk replied. ‘“ You may
be sure of that. No, there is no use
waiting, it seems to me. Now is your
time. You are going to play your Te
Deum to-morrow, I hear—though you
didn’t tell me—”
47
“ Oh, Miss Marlenspnyk, forgive me,”
he cried, piteously. ‘I meant to let you
know in time—indeed I did.”
“Well, I do know in time,” she re-
sponded, smiling gently, “and I shall be
there to hear it. And so will the Royal
Marine. Why not walk home with
her ?—I will take charge of Mrs. Car-
roll—and you can ask her to be your
wife half a dozen times between the
church and the hotel.”
“Once will be enough, I’m afraid,” he
answered. “I know I’m so unworthy
of her, and—and, oh, I don’t believe she
cares for me at all!”
“Tf that’s your state of mind,” the
old maid declared, “I wouldn’t put it
off till to-morrow. [dask her to-night
at the hop. Take her out on the end
of the bridge just before the last dance.
Then you can know your fate before
you sleep again.”
48
“Tf she were to accept me,” he said,
“JT should be too happy to sleep for a
week. But she won’t accept me; I
know she won’t—she doesn’t care for
me at all, does she 2?’
“ How should I know?” asked Miss
Marlenspuyk. “If you want an an-
swer to that question, you had best
put it to the one person who really
knows.”
“TJ will!” the young man declared, for-
cibly. ‘I will! Pll take your advice,
and I’m ever so much obliged to you
for making me see what’s best for me
to do. You are a true friend, Miss
Marlenspuyk. Tl] ask her to-night at
the hop—or else to-morrow after
church.”
At this last evidence of his irreso-
lution Miss Marlenspuyk smiled again.
They had now come to her hotel, and
she held out her hand.
49
‘Thank you for seeing an old woman
safely home,” she said.
He grasped her hand and cried, “ Oh,
you don’t know how much I love her!”
“ Don’t tell methat,”’ shesaid. ‘I?m
a woman myself, and I don’t like to
hear any other woman so belauded.
Tell that to her. Tell that to the Royal
Marine !”
With another smile of encourage-
ment she left him and went up the
short asphalt walk to her hotel.
4
CHAPTER III
THE HOP AT THE CASINO
Tue architects of the Casino at Nar-
ragansett Pier fully understood the
great principle that when a ball-room is
built for use In summer it is not the
ball-room itself which is important, but
the covered promenades connected with
it, since dancing in July and August
is scarcely more than an excuse for a
walk in the moonlight and the open air
immediately before and after every
waltz. The ball-room of the Narragan-
sett Casino is not strikingly beautiful,
it is not well ventilated, and its entrance
is poor and stunted, but in its series of
galleries and verandas it is unsurpass-
able. A broad covered gallery, a sort
51
of second-story veranda, too long and
too imposing to be called a loggia,
stretches from the door of the ball-room
along the full length of the building,
and communicates with the unrivalled
promenade afforded by the top of the
arch across the road—a promenade
which extends out even a little beyond
the tower that rises almost from the
edge of the water. This spacious prom-
enade over the bridge and beyond, open
to every breeze, and illuminated only
by an occasional red-bulb electric light,
has seats here and there along its sides
and in its many odd corners.
When Mr. Warren Payn came ont on
the bridge promenade before the hop
began on this last Saturday in August,
and saw the broad face of the moon ris-
ing red from the waters of the bay be-
fore him, he felt the charm of the place ;
and as he listened to the silvery plash
52
of the waves in the little cove below;
he had to confess to himself that no bet-
ter spot for a proposal could be found
anywhere. It was a warm night, and
the breeze which swept languidly across
the bay was mild and balmy, but at the
thought of the question he had deter-
mined to put to Miss Hectorina Carroll
that evening the young man shivered. :
He looked at his watch. It was not
yet half-past eight, and the music would
not begin till nine. As the Pier was
overcrowded that week, those who want-
ed the best seats in the ball-room had
already begun to arrive. He could see
them passing along the upper gallery ~
in groups of three and four. He knew
that Mrs. Carroll liked a special corner
out of the draught, and he guessed that
the Royal Marine would therefore be
among the first to arrive. He threw his
cigar far out on the rocks below him,
53
and walked back across the bridge.
Once inside the building he took his
position at the head of the stairs, that
he might catch sight of her as soon as
she should appear. He stood near the
window in which he had seen her framed
the first day they met, now more than
a month ago. Only a month had he
been at the Pier, and it had gone very
swiftly, and yet he felt as if he had
known her for years—indeed, as if he
had always known her. He remem-
bered his astonishment that first day
when Miss Marlenspuyk had told him
that the girl whose dress he had trod-
den upon. was the Royal Marine, and
he recalled Judge Gillespie’s delightful
luncheon that afternoon when he sat
beside her for two hours, and he smiled
when he recollected the alacrity with
which he had given up his camping-out
in the Adirondacks to spend his vacation
54
cooped up in a single absurd little room
just under the roof of a hotel at the Pier.
Mrs. Carroll and ’Rina were at one
of the smaller and older hotels, where
the wretched rooms were reserved for
the same people year after year; and so
the composer had found it impossible to
get in at that house. For the first fort-
night after his arrival he went to her
hotel every day, and often twice a day ;
but when he saw that the other young
ladies from Baltimore—and the house
was filled with “terrapin girls,” as Miss
Marlenspuyk had called them—when he
saw that others noticed the frequency
of his calls, a sense of delicacy kept
him away. He met her quite as often,
perhaps, on the beach and at the Casino;
but he came to the house more rarely,
for it seemed to him almost vulgar to
parade his love before the groups of gos-
sipers—old maids and wives and widows
55
—who rocked all day on the verandas
of the hotel.
He chanced to know that Judge Gil-
lespie was to escort the Royal Marine
and her grandmother to the Casino that
evening, and so he had kept away. He
had sent her a simple little bunch of
sweet-pea blossoms, of the pale and gen-
tle hues which she liked, and which har-
monized most becomingly with her fresh
complexion. After his modest nosegay
had been delivered he had happened to
see little Mat Hitchcock buying a large
bouquet of roses. As he stood there at
the head of the Casino stairs waiting
for her to come he wondered whether
she would wear his flowers or Hitch-
cock’s. He wondered also how it was
that so nice a girl could tolerate a fel-
low like Hitchcock.
When at last he caught sight of her
his heart sank, for he saw that she was
56
carrying the roses in her hand. But
when she and her grandmother came to-
the top of the stairs and she greeted him
with her sweetest smile, and thanked
him for the lovely flowers he had sent
her, and showed them to him pinned to
her dress in a fragrant bunch, then his
spirits rose again, and little Mat Hitch-
cock’s big bouquet ceased to have any
significance for him, even though she
should carry it in her hand all the even-
ing.
They were in time to secure Mrs.
Carroll the seat she preferred, and to
see the dancers arrive and fill up the
three rows of chairs, while the shallow
balconies above were crowded with mere
spectators. Narragansett Pier is like
many another watering-place in that it
is passing through a period of change.
Once upon a time it was rather free
and easy in its ways; and its gayety was
57
perhaps even a little noisy, though harm-
less enough. Now it has become staider
and more dignified, and yet a memory
lingers of the former freedom. Time
was, for example, when a dress-coat was
unknown at the Pier, and when a man
who might dare to don such a garment
would have been made to feel that he
was unsuitably attired. Even now there
were a few men in sacks and cut-aways 5
but the most of them had dressed for
the occasion, some with the white tie
and the clawhammer, and some with
the black cravat and the hybrid jacket
which is known as a “ Tuxedo coat.”
This was the garment Mr. Warren Payn
wore.
Among the girls there was a like di-
versity of costume. Two or three ma-
ture dames wore the full evening dress
of modern society ; ten or a dozen girls
came in their hats; the most of the
58
young ladies were clad in the simple
light dresses in which the American
woman looks most charming. Among
these was the Royal Marine, who wore
a white muslin gown, with broad blue
ribbons floating out behind as she walked
briskly into the ball-room. The dress
was neat and becoming. The young
man who loved her thought that he had
never seen her look more beautiful. It
even seemed to him that he detected an
unusual animation about her. Perhaps,
however, this was nothing more than the
high spirits proper to a popular young
woman at the last hop of the season,
when she knew she looked at her best,
and when she was certain of a good
time.
After the seats were all taken, and
after the cloud of young men gathered
about the door began to thicken, one by
one the musicians appeared upon the
59
stage, the scenery on which was supposed
to represent a garden in some: hitherto
undiscovered country ; leisurely they ar-
ranged the stands for their music, re-
gardless of the impatience of the expect-
ant young ladies. Finally, as the clock
of the Casino struck nine in irregular
cadence, the leader waved his bow and
began the first waltz of the last hop of
the season.
Mr. Warren Payn and Miss Hectorina
Carroll were almost the earliest couple
on the floor, and they would have danced
through the whole waltz if the Royal
Marine had not remembered that she
had promised a turn to Judge Gillespie.
For the next dance little Mat Hitchcock
claimed her.
“As soon as I saw those flowers I
knew Mr. Hitchcock would come early
to be thanked,” said Miss Marlenspuyk,
who had arrived a little late, and who
—.-
60
now occupied a chair Mrs. Carroll had
reserved for her. “I suppose you gave
her the sweet-peas ?”
The musician admitted it.
“Are you going to speak to her to-
night ?’ she asked, lowering her voice.
“If I get a chance I will,” he an-
swered. ,
“Tf you don’t get a chance to-night,”
she returned, “you had better make
one to-morrow. I sha’n’t forget my
promise to carry off Grandma. But I
suppose you could play your Te Deum
with much more fervor to-morrow if
to-night the Royal Marine promises to
marry you.”
He was about to reply when he saw
little Mat Hitchcock and Miss Carroll
drop out of the dance. “ Excuse me,”
he cried hurriedly to Miss Marlenspuyk,
as he sprang forward and asked her for
a turn. Then he whirled her to the
61
other end of the ball-room almost be-
fore little Mat could drop into the seat
beside Mrs. Carroll, to receive that
lady’s compliments on the taste with
which he had chosen ’Rina’s bouquet.
The next dance the Royal Marine
divided between Mr. Hill-Bunker and
Mr. Beeckman Bleecker; and the com-
poser did not get his share. He sat
through the waltz by the side of Miss
Marlenspuyk.
“Are you invited to the supper to-
night ?” she asked.
“No,” he answered. ‘Is Miss Car-
roll going ?”
“JT believe she is. It has been got
up inahurry. Mr. Dexter—that Chi-
cago widower, you know— he is giving
it to La Marguerite.”
“Now who is La Marguerite?” he
laughingly inquired.
“Don’t you know Virgie Chubb ?”
62
was Miss Marlenspuyk’s question in re-
sponse. ‘“ She’s dancing now witlr Mr.
Hitcheock.”’ |
Payn looked across the floor and saw
that little Mat’s partner was a tall, thin
girl, blue-eyed and red-haired, with a
large mouth and a long upper lip.
“Pve met her,” he acknowledged.
“Well, I heard one of you young men
say she was ‘a daisy,’ and so, of course,
I called her La Marguerite.”
The musician smiled, and asked, “I
wonder what nickname you will have
for me next ?”
“When I find one that fits you as
well as La Marguerite fits Virgie Chubb
I will cap you with it,’ Miss Marlen-
spuyk responded. ‘I confess I do not
understand her success this year here,
for she is nobody in particular, and she
is inclined to be rather rapid. Now,
generally, at Narragansett a girl has to
“LA MARGUERITE ”
nee
Bs
|
a
.:
63
have a very good social standing before
she can afford to be at all fast.”
“T saw her out with a pair-of ponies
and a buckboard this afternoon,” said
Payn, “and if that is her ordinary gait
she is very rapid indeed. I thought
is the heavy man with her would be thrown
out as they turned the corner of the Ca-
sino.” |
_) “Yes, she drives well,” admitted the
old maid. “So did her father, if what
Tam told is true.”
“Did he drive a T-cart too?’ Payn
asked.
_ “No,” Miss Marlinspuyk gravely re-
plied ; “he used to drive a milk-cart.”
The musician laughed, and then the
old maid laughed with him.
“I suppose,” said the young man,
“that the father’s former calling is the
reason the daughter is now trying to
get into the créme de la créme of society.”
64
Just then the music ceased, and Payn
saw Beeckman Bleecker returning the
Royal Marine to Grandma. Hastily
begging Miss Marlenspuyk to excuse
him again, the musician sprang up and
asked Miss Hectorina if she would like
to take a little walk out on the bridge
to see the moonlight on the bay. Mrs.
Carroll threw a shawl over her grand-
daughter’s shoulders as the girl took the
arm of the man who was desperately in
love with her.
“?Rina,’ said Grandma, “don’t sit
down, for it is damp out there; and
don’t be long, or I shall have to send
some one after you; {’m so nervous
about your having rheumatism, like
your poor father had.”
““T won’t be jong; Grandma,” the girl
promised.
As the young couple went up the
steps at the entrance and out on the up-
65
per veranda, Payn asked her if she was
going to the supper after the hop.
“Yes,” she answered. “I’m going,
even if it is given to Virgie Chubb.
But I don’t like her—that is, I don’t
like her right much. She used to go to
school with me in Baltimaw’, and she
said my nose was like eternity —it had
no end.” |
Payn resented this assertion indig-
nantly.
“Oh, I didn’t mind,” the Royal Ma-
rine interrupted. “ Virgie Chubb would
say anything if she thought it was clev-
er. She’s very clever, if she is o’nery.
Miss Ma’lensptiyk says that the Chubbs
were poor white trash.”
Her little Southern accent filled him
with delight, and her local locutions fell
on his ears as though they were the
words of a charm.
“She isn’t any older than I am,” Miss
Bae!
66
Hectorina continued, “and they say she’s
going to marry that Mr. Dexter, who is
a widower with six children. Now I
couldn’t do that—could you? Id feel
like I was marrying an orphan asylum.”
It seemed to Warren Payn as if the
occasion he was seeking was perhaps
within his grasp.
“Of course I shouldn’t want you to
marry a widower, either with six chil-
dren or without any,” he began. “I
think a widower should always marry a
widow; don’t you?”
“‘T suppose that would be fairer,” she
responded. ;
“ What kind of a man do you expect
your husband to be?” he asked, trying
to lead up somehow to the avowal he
wished to make.
‘Oh—I don’t know, really,” she re-
turned. “I’m afraid I should be very
exacting.”
67
“ Well—” he began again, seeing his
opportunity at last.
But just at that moment the Royal
Marine was hailed by another young
woman promenading on the arm of an-
other young man.
“Oh, ’Rina!” cried the other young
woman, whom a dim electric light en-
abled Payn to identify vaguely as La
Marguerite —“’ Rina, you are coming
to my supper after the ball, ain’t you?”
“Yes, indeed,” answered Miss Hecto-
rina, heartily.
“Tm so glad,” continued Miss Virgie
Chubb, “because Mr. Dexter was so anx-
ious to have you come. He declared
that everybody said you and I were the
belles of the Pier this season !”
And with that Miss Virgie left them.
“The spiteful thing!” said Miss Hec-
torina.
And the young man who was seeking
68
a chance to tell her he loved her and to
ask her to be his wife recognized at once
that the propitious moment had passed.
They crossed the bridge, and stood
out on the balcony which projects over
the rocks. A moonglade silvered the
broad waters of the bay. Between Nar-
ragansett and Newport could be seen
the knotted string of faint electric lights
which revealed the passing of the night
boat on its voyage from Providence to
New York. Just as the young people
stepped out on the balcony the red-fire
was ignited on the rocks before them,
and then the distant steamboat blew her
whistle three times in strident acknowl-
edgment of the salute.
‘“‘TIsn’t it like a splendid scene at the
theatre?” said the Royal Marine at last.
“Tt is too romantic to be real !”
“It is somewhat theatrical, I admit,” _
responded the composer. “But this
69
baleony would be a little too lofty for
Romeo to climb, even if he had love’s
light wings.”
“T don’t like ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ do
you ?” she asked.
“Don’t you?” he replied, beginning
. to see another opening in the distance
before him. “ Why not? Isn’t Romeo
the very type of an ardent lover? Isn’t
Juliet—”
“But it’s Juliet I don’t like,” inter-
rupted the young lady. ‘She was too
forward, I think. I don’t know any-
body who’d behave like she did, do you?
Why, she didn’t wait half long enough.
She told him she loved him really before
he had proposed, didn’t she? Juliet’s a
leap-year girl—that’s what I call her.”
“T don’t want to defend Juliet,” he
responded. ‘ You see, I’m not Romeo,
and it’s not Juliet I’m in love with—you
must know that!”
40
There was no mistaking the meaning
of this last sentence.
They had been leaning over the railing
of the balcony. Now when Mr. Payn
spoke these last words, Miss Carroll stood
upright suddenly.
“It’s getting chilly here, isn’t it?” she
asked, very hurriedly, and in obvious
perturbation.
“Don’t go yet, ’Rina—I may eall you
Rina?’ he urged. “I have something
I must say to you. [—”
“Miss Hectorina,” said little Mat
Hitcheock, still ten feet away from
them, but eagerly advancing, ‘“ your
grandmother is very anxious about you.
She sent me to bring you in.”
“T’m coming at once,” she answered.
Little Mat was about to offer his arm,
when Payn said: “I brought Miss Car-
roll out, and I will take her back. We
need not trouble you, Hitchcock.”
Mt
“ Tt’s no trouble, I assure you,” Hitch-
cock explained.
And the young lady walked back to
the ball-room escorted by both men. So
Payn saw a second opportunity slip out
of his hands without any fault of his
own.
And Mrs. Carroll would not hear of
her granddaughter’s going out on the
bridge again all that evening. Payn
danced with her more than once; but
no man can propose while waltzing ata .
hop.
When eleven o’clock came and the
music ceased, the Royal Marine said
good-night to Mr. Payn and went down
to Mr. Dexter’ssupper. Payn gave Mrs.
Carroll his arm to her hotel. Then he
came back to the Casino, and strolled out
on the bridge again. He found a chair
in a corner, and he lighted a cigar and
sat down to think over the events of the
72
evening and to plan his campaign for
the next day. .
As he had passed the dining-room of
the Casino he had heard Virgie Chubb’s
loud laughter ring out sharply, and he
was grieved that the woman he loved
should be in company he did not ap-
prove of. La Marguerite was not the
associate he would have chosen for her,
nor was Mr. Dexter the man he would
have selected as her host. The young
New-Yorker did not like Dexter, who
had been a lawyer somewhere in Cali-
fornia before he blossomed out in Chi-
cago as one of the boldest operators
in the wheat-pit. There was a coarse
heartiness about the Westerner which
was attractive to many, and which prob-
ably accounted for the success Dexter
had met with in the smart set of London,
where he had been received with open
arms two or three years before; but to
73
Warren Payn the man was most distaste-
ful. In the musician’s fastidious eyes
Miss Virginia Chubb and Mr. Cable J.
Dexter were well matched when they
were together. But Miss Hectorina
Carroll was made of a different clay,
more delicate and a finer quality; and
she had no business to be in their society
more often than mere chance might ar-
range it.
Miss Hectorina Carroll was the centre.
of his thought as he sat on the bridge
of the Casino, with the single eye of
the Beavertail light gazing at him, and
with the double stare of the Brenton’s
Reef lightship fixed upon him. He re-
proached himself with timidity, with
procrastination, with insufferable irreso-
lution. It was not his fault that Virgie
Chubb had interrupted him once and
that little Mat Hitchcock had interfered
a second time; but it was his fault that
74
he had not made a third opportunity,
and a fourth, and a fifth, if need had
been. He knew now that he should
have forced fortune to aid him. He re-
solved that when another chance should
come within his reach he would seize it
swiftly.
He heard the hour of midnight tolled
with pleasing irregularity by the mellow
bell of the Casino, and he was still re-
solved never again to be irresolute. How
long he sat there he did not know, for
finally he dropped off to sleep in the
middle of his rearrangement of the past
and of his dreams for the future.
Then suddenly it seemed to him that
he was wide-awake again, and that the
supper was over, and some of the party
were coming out on the bridge for a final
glimpse of the moonlit bay. The loud
voices of Virgie Chubb and Dexter were
unmistakable; and then Payn thought
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he caught the girlish langh of the wom-
an he loved. He started back into the
shadow as some of the party stepped
out on the baleony. He recognized the
slight figure of a married sister of Mr.
Beeckman Bleecker’s, who had been ma-
tronizing the young ladies Mr. Cable J.
Dexter had entertained at supper. Be-
hind the matron of the party Payn saw
Miss Hectorina Carroll. He stepped
forward and said that he was very glad
to see her once more. She did not seem
surprised to meet him again at that hour.
Leading her to a corner of the broad
promenade away from the others, he de-
clared that he had been trying all the
evening to tell her that he loved her,
and that he would be a most miserable
man unless she would marry him. It
seemed to him that she was taken wholly
by surprise, and that she hesitated for
a moment, and that finally she told him
76
that she really did not know what to
say, for she was wholly unprepared for
his proposal, and although she liked him
very well, she did not know whether she
loved him at all. Payn was encouraged
that she did not reject him absolutely,
and he urged his suit ardently. Finally
she agreed to give him his answer on Mon-
day evening, and during the two inter-
vening days she promised to investigate
her feelings, and to discover whether she
did not really love him a little already.
Then she bade him to go back to his
dark corner, for she would not have Vir-
gie Chubb guess what had been going
on —no, not for worlds! She did not
forbid him to come to see her during
the two days of her self-examination,
and finally she permitted him to kiss
her hand. Then she left him and went
back to the others. Payn sat silently
in the shadow, listening to the laughter
77
of the young ladies at the outbreaks of
Dexter’s easy humor. At last the ma-
tron declared that it was time for girls
to go to bed; and then they went down-
stairs, all in high spirits as becomes a
supper-party—all except the Royal Ma-
rine, to whose silence Virgie Chubb
made a jocular allusion as they were
passing out of hearing.
Every word of this brief conversation
of his with the woman he loved was
present to Payn’s memory as he sat in
his chair in the corner, with his cigar in
his hand—a cigar extinct and only half
smoked. When the clock of the Casino
struck one he roused himself with an
effort. He had been asleep again.
Then all at once he found himself
wide-awake, and wondering whether he
had been to sleep more than once—
whether he had not been dreaming when
he thought he saw her return, and when
78
he told her that he loved her, and when
she promised to give him a final answer
in forty-eight hours. Had the Royal
Marine really stood before him after the
Supper was over? Had he really pro-
posed? Or was it all an hallucination on
his part? Before now, more than once,
his visions had taken on the sharpness
of reality ; and he had long lingered in
doubt as to whether some of them were
actual occurrences or mere phantasms
of the fancy. None had been more
vivid than this; none had ever had the
importance of this; and none had ever —
puzzled him as this did.
It was very late when at last he went
to bed, worn out with perplexity and
vexed by a problem he found insoluble.
Finally he recalled the well-known habit
of dreams to repeat themselves, and he
determined to submit the question to this
test, and to abide by the result. If he
The
79
should dream again the whole interview
with Hectorina, his proposal and her
promise of a decision on Monday, then
it had been but a dream the first time;
it was untrue; it had not happened. If,
on the other hand, he did not dream it
again, then it was true; it had happened;
she knew that he loved her; and she
would give him his answer in forty-
eight hours.
Having thus resolved, he tumbled into
bed. But he did not dream, as he was
not able to sleep.
CHAPTER IV
THE MORNING SERVICE AT THE CHURCH
Tue next morning, at a quarter before
eleven, when the bell ceased to ring in
the unfinished tower, the little stone
church at Narragansett Pier was crowd-
ed to the doors, as it always is in the
month of Angust. The day was hot
with a mellow summer heat, but an oc-
casional breeze which blew lazily from
behind Point Judith rustled the branch-
es of the young maples beside the church,
and rippled the varying greenness of the
ivy which clad the rough stone walls of
the sacred edifice. Within the building
there was an increasing fluttér of fans.
Miss Hectorina Carroll sat with her
brother and her grandmother in a pow
81
on the centre aisle, almost exactly ona
line with the organ, in front of which’
Mr. Warren Payn had taken his place
long before the congregation began to
arrive. In the pew behind her were
Miss Marlenspuyk and Judge Gillespie,
and also Mr. Mather Hitchcock and his
mother. On the other side of the aisle
Miss Virgie Chubb occupied the fore-
most pew, having next to her, and to re-
lieve the flippant levity of her floating
draperies, the solid figure of Mr. Cable
J. Dexter. Not far from these were Mr.
Hill-Bunker with Mr. Beeckman Bleeck-
er’s married sister, and Mr. Beeckman
Bleecker with the unmarried sister
of Mr. Hill-Bunker. Here and there
throughout the church were scattered
most of the girls whose acquaintance
Warren Payn had made during his four
weeks’ stay at the Pier. But he was not
conscious of them. The Royal Marine
6
82
had been one of the first to arrive, and
as the musician had seen her enter the
door he had turned to the organ, reso-
lutely refusing to meet her eye. In the
state of doubt in which he found him-
self he simply did not dare to look her in —
the face. He did not know whether he
had told her that he loved her or not;
he did not know whether she had lis-
tened to him or not; he did not know on
what footing he stood; indeed, he seemed
to walk in slippery places and to go in
danger of an irreparable fall; he felt
himself to be tied in a tangle of doubt
and difficulty.
As the service advanced he became
calmer. Though he did not look at the
Royal Marine, he asked himself whether
or not she had seen him, half hidden as
he was at the side of the church. When
the time came at last for his Te Deum,
and the organist slipped out from before
83
the instrument and offered the place to
him, he wondered whether she had no-
ticed the substitution. Of course he
had told her about his Te Deum—what
can young men talk about but their own
deeds?—and she had been kept informed
of the difficulties which had arisen to
delay its performance. She had been
enlightened as to all the peculiarities of
all the singers of the amateur quartet
who were to render it. She was familiar
with the conceit of the tenor, with the
selfishness of the soprano, with the jeal-
ousy of the contralto, and with the stu-
pidity of the bass. She had been indig-
nant at their want of appreciation for
his music, and she had laughed heart-
ily at his account of the wiles whereby
he had soothed the vanity and suscepti-
bility of the singers.
As the quartet stood up beside him he
put her out of his thoughts for the mo-
84
ment, and concentrated his attention on
the execution of his composition. As
often happens, the singers did better
than he had expected; even the bass
remembered for once the suggestions
which he had forgotten regularly at
every rehearsal. And the composer’s
share of the work was excellent; his
music was fresh and firm; it was scholar-
ly and yet modern; it was truly dramat-
ic, asa Te Deum ought to be, without
being in any way operatic and theatri-
cal, as so many Te Deums are; it was
not great, for Warren Payn was not a
great composer, but it was not common-
place; it had a certain individuality, not
to call it originality. It had also what
much modern music composed for the
services of the church lacks absolutely—
it had fervor; and while the singers were
rendering it far better than the compos-
er had hoped, he felt relieved of all his
85
own worries and anxieties. For the mo-
ment at least he was lifted out of him-
self.
But after the Te Deum was ended,
when he had given up the seat at the
instrument tothe organist, and when the
service went on, the artistic excitement
which had buoyed him up faded away,
and he was reduced again to a condition
of miserable doubt. Even when the good
old bishop went into the pulpit and gave
out his text, “‘ Love one another,” and
began to deliver the sermon, Warren
Payn was not able to concentrate his
attention on the wise words of the prel-
ate, who was addressing himself directly
to the modern men and women he saw
before him, and who set forth a lofty
ideal in the plainest and most common-
sense manner. The composer had a seat
by the organ, and he had right before
him and not twenty feet away the pro-
86
file of the woman he loved. At first he
scarcely ventured to glance at her, but
when he saw that she was intent on the
preacher, and unconscious of anybody
else, he was emboldened to let his eyes
rest on her longingly. She was listen-
ing to the sermon, gazing steadily at the
bishop. Her lover gazed steadily at her,
listening but little.
As she sat there before him, while the
summer sunlight filled the church, he
thought that he had never seen her look-
ing more lovely or more lovable. She
sat erect in the pew, her firm, full figure
carrying her head vigorously and grace-
fully. Her large eyes were fixed on the
bishop, and her color came and went in
response to the simple eloquence of the
sermon. Her dress—of which her lover
took but little note, save that he had
a confused impression of a medley of
green and brown and white, one tender
87
tint melting into another and mingling
with it inextricably—set off the fresh-
ness of her young complexion. The
delicate tones of her attire made him
see a sudden likeness to a flower, the
calyx being her broad white straw hat
with its warped and flaring brim. To
the man whose eyes were fixed upon
her with loving devotion she seemed as
pure as the blossom of a vine in the
spring-time, and he noted with delight
the tiny tendrils of hair which escaped
from her broad braids, and curled care-
lessly about her neck here and there and
down over her forehead.
When he had made an end of staring
—that is, when he was suddenly strick-
en with remorse at the rudeness of
which he had been guilty—he glanced
about, wondering how it was that every
one in the church was not also looking
at her, The young musician flushed
88
with indignation when he discovered
that Mr. Dexter had settled himself
sideways so that he could see Miss Car-
roll without the trouble of turning his
neck, and that the Westerner was taking
advantage of this attitude most of the
time. Farther back and on one side
Warren Payn saw Mr. Hill-Bunker and
Mr. Beeckman Bleecker, and he saw
that they were both looking at the Roy-
al Marine as often as they dared. Lit-
tle Mat Hitchcock, too, rarely took his
eye off her. When Payn detected these
things he was annoyed that he had to
share the sight of her with others. He
wished that he had the right to tell
them all that she belonged to him, and
that if they wished to gaze at her bean-
ty they must ask his permission ; and he
did not know whether he would grant
the privilege or refuse it. .
The sermon drew to its conclusion.
89
The Royal Marine was still listening
with unflagging interest, only now and
again taking her attention from the
preacher to keep Her Majesty’s Mid-
shipmite in order, and to remind him of
the sanctity of the edifice wherein they
were. Perhaps she was not wholly un-
conscious of the admiring glances cast
upon her, for she was aware that her
gown and her hat were both becoming
to her; but she did not pay these tokens
of admiration the return compliment of
seeming to see them. She kept her
eyes fixed on the bishop; not once did
they wander towards the organ, where
the man who loved her was sitting in
self-torment. He dreaded to meet her
eye, and yet he could not understand
how it was that she never once glanced
in his direction all that morning. He
wished that he could go to her boldly
and demand her reasons for refusing to
90
look at him. Then he remembered the
meeting on the bridge of the Casino the
night before—if, indeed, there had real-
ly been any meeting—and all his doubts
came back upon him again with redoub-
led force. He did not know how to ap-
proach her, and therefore he did not
dare make an effort to speak to her. He
was sure, in fact, that he ought to avoid
speaking to her. A shiver of fear seized
him, and he resolved to keep away from
her until he could find out just what
had happened the night before.
Then the bishop brought his sermon
to an end at last, and the rector gave —
out a hymn. While this was being sung
Warren Payn saw Miss Marlenspuyk
looking at him intently. She was close
behind the Royal Marine. He under-
stood at once what she meant. She had
promised to help him to a quiet talk
with the woman he loved. She had
91
agreed to lure away Grandma, so that
he could walk home from church with
’Rina, and propose to her then and there.
But this agreement was made before he
had gone to sleep on the bridge of the
Casino. When he had made it he want-
ed to be left alone with the Royal Ma-
rine; now there was nothing he was
more afraid of. Unfortunately it was
impossible to convey to Miss Marlen-
spuyk across the crowded pews of the
church any information as to this com-
plete change of his wishes. She was
firmly convinced, of course, that he still
desired a chance to tell the young lady
that he loved her. Being so convinced,
she would surely so manceuvre as to ac-
complish her purpose. She was arbi-
trary, as the lover knew; and she was
adroit ; and what she had determined to
do was likely to be done. She would
certainly arrange an interview between
92
him and the Royal Marine, despite his
utmost endeavor. If he came within
her reach after service it would be im-
possible for him to escape her. She
would carry out his supposed desires
unfailingly and unflinchingly, no. mat-
ter how he might struggle to prevent
it.
While the congregation were singing
the doxology he came to a resolution.
He dared not face ’Rina then, and as the
only way to prevent Miss Marlenspuyk
from bringing about a meeting he made
up his mind to remain in church until
the congregation had dispersed. He
determined not to leave his harbor of
refuge near the organ until he was as-
sured that the coast was clear. There-
fore when there was a general move-
ment after the benediction he sat still.
He refused to catch Miss Marlenspuyk’s
eye, or to accept the invitation it con-
en
95
veyed. He was glad that the old maid
and Judge Gillespie and the Royal Ma-
rine and Her Majesty’s Midshipmite and
Grandma all made ready to move down
the centre aisle together. If Miss Mar-
Jenspuyk had been nearer to him he
knew he would have been unable to re-
sist her. As it was, she seemed sur-
prised that he did not come forward at
once to join them, and she made excuses
for delay, so as to give him ample op-
portunity. Then, when at last the little
group started towards the door of the
church, Miss Marlenspuyk put up her
glasses for a final glance in his direction.
To all these mute but obvious entreaties
he remained insensible, and the party
passed down the aisle, and left him still
at the organ in apparent unconscious-
ness of their presence. It seemed to
him that there was an expression of sur-
_ prise which flitted for a moment across
94
the face of the woman he loved as she
saw that he failed to come forward to
join her.
As Cable J. Dexter and Virgie Chubb
passed before the organ they both looked
at the musician and smiled quizzically.
That smile puzzled him. What did it
mean? What did they know? They
had been at the.Casino the night before,
and perhaps they had overheard his pro-
posal—that is,if he had proposed. Their
smile could not mean that they sus-
pected the strange dilemma in which he
was placed. That was impossible, of
course; and yet there was something in
their expression which he could not ex- -
plain. In his perplexity he turned and
looked after them, and framed in the
stone doorway, standing in front of the
broad wooden doors decorated with iron
anchors, recalling those on the skirt of
the yachting-dress in which he had first
95
seen her, was the Royal Marine, who
had paused to say good-morning to La
Marguerite.
In haste he turned his back to the
door, and addressed himself to the quar-
tet, who had also lingered. He thanked
them for the trouble they had taken
with his Te Deum ; and he listened po-
litely to the suggestion of the soprano
that if she ever sung it again there were
two bars of her solo that she hoped he
would transpose for her, as she at least
was not afraid of taking a high note.
Then, when they also were gone, so-
prano and tenor, contralto and bass, the
composer delayed the organist in need-
less talk for ten minutes longer, for fear
that Miss Marlenspuyk might have de-
vised some means of detaining the Roy-
al Marine.
When at last he ventured forth, and
was walking swiftly towards his hotel,
96
looking neither to the right nor to the
left, he almost stumbled over Her Maj-
esty’s Midshipmite.
“Excuse me,” he stammered out,
scarcely daring to raise his eyes for fear
that the boy’s sister might be near at
hand.
“Oh, it’s Mr. Payn!” said the boy.
“ How are you?”
“Tm very well, thank you,” he re-
sponded.
“You don’t look well,” the boy re-
turned. “ You look scared.” |
“Do I?” he asked, helplessly.
“?Deed you do,” was the response of
Her Majesty’s Midshipmite, who had on
the sailor suit in which Payn had first
seen him, and the same sailor hat, with
H. M.S. Victory stamped in gold on its
band.
“T’m ina hurry,” explained the young
man.
iy Bt x
Treo aney,
97
“Oh, I say, Mr. Payn,” the boy con-
tinned, “Sister “Rina was asking about
you this morning.”
“About me?” echoed the composer,
stopping abruptly in his walk. ‘ What
—what did she say ?”
“She was talking to Miss Chubb—
Virgie Chubb, you know—”
“Yes, I know, I know,” the young
man repeated.
“ And she said,” the boy went on—
“she said she wanted to know whether
you were awake yet. Had you been
getting up late, Mr. Payn ?”
But the boy got no answer to his ques-
tion, for Mr. Payn was striding away
impatiently.
7
CHAPTER V
MISS MARLENSPUYK’S READING-HOUR
Warren Payn freed himself from
Her Majesty’s Midshipmite as swiftly
as he could, and as courteously, for he
remembered always that the boy was
her brother. Then he walked rapidly
towards the beach. He knew that the
Royal Marine never “ went in” on Sun-
day, and a glimpse of the Casino clock
told him that the bathing-hour was al-
most past. On his way to the water he -
met the bathers swarming back to their
hotels for the early Sunday dinner. By
the time he was ready for his swim the
beach was almost deserted, save for a
few belated excursionists. The surf was
high and fierce, just what he would have
99
wished it to be, and after he had bat-
tled with it for nearly half an hour he
felt as though he had washed himself
free of many doubts. Refreshed by
his watery exercise, he was able to take
a dispassionate view of his strange posi-
tion.
While he was dressing he made up his
mind to go and tell the whole story to
Miss Marlenspuyk. He was in dire want
of advice, and he felt also the irresistible
pressure of a desire to have a confidant.
And he knew no one to whom he could
go but the old maid, who had always
befriended him, and who, indeed, had
introduced him to the woman he loved.
Besides, Miss Marlenspuyk was a very
clever woman, and her advice was likely
to be worth taking. Having determined
to consult her and to act according to
her suggestions, the composer finished
his toilet and walked to the Casino. In
100
his present frame of mind he was not
willing to sit through the long hotel
dinner, and to talk to his neighbors at
table on the usual personal topics, so he
went into the Casino and dined by him-
self. Then he smoked a cigar on one of
the rear verandas, undisturbed by any
one. At last the time came when he
knew that Miss Marlenspuyk, having
finished her dinner also, would have set-
tled down to read the Sunday papers,
which she used to call her Half-Hour
with the Worst Authors.
He found her alone in her favorite
corner at one end of the veranda of: her
hotel. She was seated in a little rock-
ing-chair ; she had on her neat little gold
spectacles; she held in her hand one
sheet of a Sunday newspaper, and the
other sheets lay in waves about her feet.
It was obvious that she had been read-
ing the latest news from Europe, and
101
that some princeling or kinglet had been
getting himself into trouble.
“TJ don’t see,” she began, as the mu-
sician drew up a chair and took his seat
beside her—‘ I don’t see why the people
of Europe should be bothered with the
personal peculiarities of their royal fami-
lies. I never could understand why
one of the higher anthropoid apes could
not be trained to discharge all the func-
tions of a constitutional monarch—could
you ?”
He looked at her as though he did not
apprehend what she was saying. He
was so engrossed with his own perplex-
ity that he could not listen to anything
else.
“Miss Marlenspuyk,” he began, draw-
ing his chair a little closer, and speak-
ing in subdued tones, “can I tell you a
story ?”
Wait till ve taken my glasses off,”
102
the old maid responded, ‘‘and then you
can tell me anything.”
“Thank you,” he began.
“ Indeed,” she interrupted, “ there are
several things I want you to tell me very
much. Why did you avoid me this
morning when I was keeping my prom-
ise to you—when I had Grandma under
_ control, so that you could walk with
Rina and ask her to marry you? Id
like to know what explanation you have
to offer of your extraordinary conduct.
Even before I hear it, I want to tell you
that I think you are a most negligent
and dilatory wooer. Perhaps you can
explain your strange behavior. I hope -
you can; but I assure you I shall be
very exacting and hard to please. Giv-
ing you this solemn warning, by way
of encouragement, I'll let you have
the floor—as they say in Washing-
ton.”
3
103
Having said this, she took off her
spectacles, and put them into a little
leather case marked with her monogram.
Then she folded the portion of the news-
paper she had on her lap, and laid it on
the chair which supported her feet.
Picking up the other sheets of the paper
from the floor of the veranda, she folded
them also, one by one, and placed them
on top of the first portion. When she
had made an end of this she looked up
at the young man who was waiting
silent beside her.
“Well?” she said at last, with a rising
inflection.
Well,” he echoed, hesitating,“ I don’t
really know where to begin—”
“So I perceive,” she interrupted.
“But I suppose,” he gained courage
to say—“ I suppose I had best begin at
the beginning—”
“You had best begin somewhere,”
104
she declared, “or you will never be able
to end at the end.”
“The real beginning is this, I think,”
he responded. “I’m absent - minded,
and I’m given to day-dreams, and so
sometimes I don’t really know whether
I’ve done something or whether Pve
only dreamed it.”
“As a girl, I used to dream that I
could fly,” said the old maid; “but when
I waked up I always knew I couldn’t.
dn fact, ’ve never been in doubt about
any of my dreams. But what have you
been dreaming about now, and how did
any dream prevent your proposing to
the Royal Marine this morning when I
had cleared the way for you?”
“That’s just it,” he explained, pite-
ously. ‘ve dreamed that Pve pro-
posed to her—or at least I may have
dreamed it, or I may have done it; I
don’t know.”
oe eee
105
Miss Marlenspuyk turned and faced
him, and looked him full in the eye.
“ Well,’ she said at last, “I think you
had best begin at the very beginning
and tell me the whole story.”
So he told her the whole story, and
she listened intently, not interrupting
him once. When he had made an end
of his tale she drew a long breath.
“Do you mean to tell me,” she asked,
“that you really don’t know whether
you have proposed marriage to Miss
Hectorina Carroll or not?”
= That’s just it,” he urged. “I was
so dazed from dozing that ’m uncer-
tain whether I was asleep or awake at
the time when [ thought I was propos-
ing to her.”
“Why, [never heard of such a thing
in all my life!” she declared.
“No,” he admitted, with a pitiful pride.
“ I suppose it is a unique experience.”
106
“ Unique?” she repeated. “I should
think so! Of course I know that every
man is the HOae of his own dreams, but
then—”
Apparently wor eh failed her, for she
broke off abruptly.
He sat silent, not knowing what to
say.
“Well,” she began again at last, “they
say it’s impossible to have both tact and
truth, and I’ve prided myself that I had
at least tact; but I must say that you
have put yourself into a most puzzling
predicament. What are you going to
do?” :
“That’s just what I came to you to
find out,” he said, imploringly. “ You
are my only friend, and you are so
clever, and I will do exactly what you
tell me.”
“But I don’t know what to tell you,”
she responded.
107
“Perhaps I had best go straight to
Rina,” he suggested, “and throw my-
self on her mercy, and ask her whether
I have proposed to her—”
“ Certainly not!” declared Miss Mar-
lenspuyk—“ that is, if you do want to
marry her.”
“Of course I do!” he assured her.
“No girl would marry you,” the old
maid returned, “after you had confessed
to her that you really didn’t know
whether you had proposed to her or
not. You can see that for yourself.
You must not ask her. Indeed, you
mustn’t see her—you must keep out of
her sight until we can find out whether
you have asked her to marry you or
not. You say she didn’t accept you?”
“She didn’t accept me—no,” he an-
swered ; “but she didn’t reject me either.
She asked for time—and if I have time
too, I’m sure I can persuade her to love
108
me, can’t 1? But I can’t if you won't
let me see her.”
“Do you suppose she would consult
Grandma?” asked Miss Marlenspuyk.
“T don’t know,” he replied. “She’s
very independent, you see. She does
her own thinking. But then she may
have told her grandmother, perhaps.”
“Tf she has told Grandma,” the old
maid declared, “I can find out, for Mrs.
Carroll won’t keep a secret from me—
that is, if I really want to know it. If
she has told Grandma, then we are all
right, because you will know that you
were awake when you proposed to her,
and that she is to give you an answer
to-morrow, and you can put forth all
your powers of persuasion in the mean-
time. But if she hasn’t told Grandma,
then we are no better off, because we
don’t know whether she is merely keep-
ing her own counsel, or whether you
109
did propose in your sleep, after all.
Still, we have a chance, and I will seek
out Mrs. Carroll at once.”
“Thank you,” said the young man,
deeply grateful.
“ But we must not count on that; for,
as you said, the Royal Marine is very
independent,” Miss Marlenspuyk went
on. “And there really isn’t anybody
else to help us out; for when you pro-
posed—that is, if you did propose at all
—nobody heard you but ’Rina, and we
can’t ask her. Who else was at the sup-
per ?”
Payn gave her the name of Mr. Dex-
ter’s guests.
“ Virgie Chubb —I don’t like her ;
she has no manners at all,” said Miss
Marlenspuyk. “ But she is fond of hear-
ing herself talk. Perhaps I could cross-
question her without getting a crooked
answer.”
110
“Do you think she overheard me pro-
pose?” asked the young man, recalling
the quizzical expression in the faces of
Mr. Dexter and Miss Chubb as they
had passed him in church that morning.
He flushed red at the thought of his
conversation with the woman he loved
having been heard by La Marguerite.
And yet at the same time he would have
been glad if he were absolutely sure
that she had overheard, for it would
release him from his uncomfortable un-
certainty.
“T think she is quite capable of lis-
tening,” said the old maid, “ whether
she heard anything of importance or not.
So is that Dexter man—though he is a
man, after all, and twice too good for
her. I will say for her, however, that
she has the grace to be a little afraid of
me. She knows who I am, of course,
and she will be greatly complimented if
111
I stop and speak to her this evening
after tea. So if she knows anything I
ean find that out. And perhaps, as you
say, she did overhear your proposal—
that is, of course, if you did propose at
all, which is what we want to discover.”
Warren Payn could not but wince a
little every time Miss Marlenspuyk im-
paled him on the horns of his dilemma.
“ You are very good to me,” he said,
dolefully.
‘Tm really very much interested in
your case,” she replied ; “ it is so extraor-
dinary that I want to know the end of
it, just as if it were a sensational novel.”
He looked at her plaintively.
“What am I to do,” he asked at last,
“while you are doing all these things for
me ?”
“Do? she answered. “You must
keep out of the way of the Royal Ma-
rine, for one thing.”
112
“But Pve an engagement with her
for this afternoon,” he cried, sorrowful-
ly. “We are all going to the Rocks
together at five o’clock—she and I and
half a dozen more.”
“You had best let her and half a
dozen more go to the Rocks without you
for once,” Miss Marlenspuyk replied.
“In fact, you had best go way for
twenty-four hours.”
“Leave the Pier?’ he said, sadly.
‘Where must I go?”
The old maid was touched by his will-
ingness to obey her.
“You need not go far,” she answered ;
“oo to Newport. And you need not
stay long; come back to-morrow after-
noon.”
“ But what reason can I give for go-
ing, and for breaking my engagement
to walk on the Rocks?” he asked.
She reached forward and picked up
113
the folded Sunday newspaper on the
chair before her.
“Didn’t you tell me that you had
promised to explain to Mr. Joshua Hoff-
man all about the new organ you want
for St. Martha’s ?” she inquired.
“ Yes,” he answered. “ What of it ?”
“T suppose you haven’t read any of
the papers this morning?” she queried.
“Jf you had, you would have seen that
Mr. Joshua Hoffman is now at New-
port, and that he leaves there to-mor-
row, and that he starts on Tuesday for
Kurope, to be gone all winter. Now, go
back to your hotel, and write a non-
committal note to the Royal Marine,
telling her that you have to go over to
Newport at once to see Mr. Hoffman,
but that you will return in the morn-
ing, and that you hope to see her to-
morrow evening. So it will be all
right, whether you have proposed or
8
114
not, and whether she has promised to
give you an answer to-morrow evening
or not.”
“T see,” he said, with a flash of re-
viving hope.
“Then,” she went on, “after you
have sent that note, you take a horse
and go over to Newport. I suppose you
had best see Mr. Hoffman if you can,
and tell him what he wants to know.
But go to the Ocean House, and as soon
as I have had a chat with Grandma and
a talk with La Marguerite I will tele-
graph you. Perhaps the telegram will
put you out of your misery, and per-
haps it won’t. But I will do my best
for you. Now be off with you!”
“J will go at once,” he said, rising
with alacrity. “Iwill do anything you
tell me. And how can I ever thank
you for all the trouble you are taking
for me ?” | .
\ >
Reds eed a .
Siete) er eee
115
“ Well,’ the old maid answered,
“vou can repay me easily. If you ever
do propose to ’Rina, and she accepts
you, and you are married, you must
make her happy, and I shall be doubly
paid. She is a dear girl, and I am very
fond of her.”
CHAPTER VI
THE CONCERT AT THE CASINO
Tue vast verandas of the Ocean House
at Newport were almost deserted at ten
o’clock that Sunday night, when War-
ren Payn returned from a_ prolonged
and ineffectual endeavor to find Mr.
Joshua Hoffman. The musician went
to the office of the hotel for the key
of his room, resolved to go to bed and
try to sleep. With the key the clerk
handed him a telegram, which he tore.
open with feverish haste, hoping that
it would put him out of his misery at
last.
The telegram was from Miss Marlen-
spuyk, and it read as follows:
‘Grandma knows nothing. The Daisy
117
_——
says she heard you snore. Don’t think
she heard anything else.”
Unconscious of his acts, Payn dropped
the flimsy paper on the desk of the ho-
tel office, and stared the hotel clerk
straight in the eye. Then he recovered
himself, and picked up the telegram
and read it again. It gave him no cer-
tain information, and it left him in
darkness and in doubt as before. Ap-
parently there was absolutely no one
who knew whether or not he had asked
the Royal Marine to marry him except
that young lady herself, and she was
evidently resolved to keep her own
counsel.
In disgust at the absurd situation in
whieh he still found himself, the young
man crushed the telegram in his hand
and flung it into the waste-basket. Then
he stooped and picked it up, and read
it a third time. As he did so a faint
118
ray of hope appeared. Miss Marlen-
spuyk was not sure that Virgie Chubb
had not overheard his proposal. The
telegram declared, “Don’t think she
heard anything else.” But this was only »
the old maid’s opinion. Perhaps she
was in error. Perhaps The Daisy knew
more than she was willing to let Miss
Marlenspuyk guess. There was a dim
and remote chance here, and, feeble as
it was, the composer clung to it eagerly.
He looked at his watch, and found that
it was nearly a quarter after ten; and
he knew that it was hopeless for him to
attempt to return to the Pier at that
hour on a Sunday night.
So he possessed his soul in patience,
and went to his room and to bed, and
after a while to sleep. His- slumber
was broken and fitful, yet it was solid
enough in its fragments to allow a troop
of nightmares to ride rough-shod over
119
him, one after the other, each swifter
of pace than the other, and more terrible
of aspect. :
Towards morning he fell into a deeper
sleep, and he had a strange dream. He
dreamed that he saw Miss Virgie Chubb
growing out of the sands of the sea-
shore, an actual daisy, and that Miss
Marlenspuyk stood over her, plucking
the petals one by one, and saying, “ He
did—he didn’t.” Payn knew at once
that the old maid was trying to discover
whether or not he had proposed to the
Royal Marine, and in his dream he
thought it a most excellent device, and
he wondered why it had not occurred
to him before. With a lively desire to
learn whether he did or he didn’t, he
watched the fatal operation upon La
Marguerite ; but, of course, before any
final decision was reached he waked out
of his sleep, still in uncertainty.
120
After breakfast he attempted again
to find Mr. Hoffman, and this time he
succeeded. When he had made an end
of the business which was his excuse for
being in Newport, the morning was
wellnigh gone. Payn rode back to
Narragansett Pier, arriving at his own
hotel just as the dinner-bell rang. He
had been gone a little less than twenty-
four hours, and his trip across the bay
had given him a sufficient excuse, for
keeping away from the woman he loved.
But now he was back at the Pier, and
he was bare of excuses, and he did not
know what it was best for him to do
next.
Naturally he went again to see Miss
Marlenspuyk, entering her hotel by the
side door, and peering about the veran-
da to make sure that neither Mrs. Car-
roll nor her granddaughter was with
the old maid.
121
When at last he approached Miss
Marlenspuyk her first words encouraged .
him.
“You needn’t look so scared,” she
said; “the Royal Marine isn’t here.
Really I feel sorry for you—but I sup-
pose people with the artistic tempera-
ment are always more emotional. Some-
times I find myself doubting whether
the game of life is worth the candle—
and I’m sure it isn’t, if you burn the
candle at both ends, as you are doing
now. You look as white as a ghost
with the dyspepsia.”
“ How is she?” he asked; “‘and where
is she ?” |
“She is very well,” Miss Marlenspuyk
answered, “and she has gone with Grand-
ma to spend the day with a Southern
friend who has a house half-way down
to Point Judith—so you can’t see her
till to-morrow.”
122
“Then I don’t believe I proposed to
her,” he returned, promptly. ‘ Because,
if I did, she agreed to give me an an-
swer to-night, and if she had made that
agreement I’m sure she wouldn’t break
it by going away for the evening.”
“JT thought you didn’t want to see
her till you had found out absolutely
whether you had spoken or not,” Miss
Marlenspuyk retorted. |
“T don’t know what I want,” he an-
swered. ‘Of course I want to see her,
for ’m not happy out of her sight.
And then, again, while I’m in this un-
certainty I’m afraid to go near her, for
fear some stupid blunder of mine may
spoil all my chances. It’s a very em-
barrassing situation, isn’t it?”
“It is indeed,” she responded, sym-
pathetically. “I wish I had been able
to help you out of it. But Grandma
didn’t know anything—that I’m sure
123
of—and La Marguerite wouldn’t tell
me anything, if she knows it—and [’m
sure I don’t know whether she does or
not.”
“T’ll talk to her myself,” the musician
declared. “I'll get it ont of her some-
how. I think she will be so glad to
tease me that if she knows anything
she will be quite incapable of keeping
it to herself.”
“Yes,” said Miss Marlenspuyk, re-
flectively, “I suppose you could coax
an underbred girl like that to talk about
anything—even about her own eaves-
dropping.”
‘And then, even if I don’t learn any-
thing from her, ?m going to make an
end of this suspense,” he went on. “I
can’t stand it any longer. I’ve got to
do something. I’ve got to know the
truth—I don’t mean about my proposal
—I mean about ’Rina. LTve got to
124
know whether she loves me or not.
I’m so worried now that m getting
desperate.”
“IT can understand that, you poor
boy,” she said, commiseratingly. “ Yet
they say that eels get used to being
skinned, and that the lobsters no longer
mind being boiled to death. You have
been in hot water so long now that I
thought perhaps—”
She caught his eyes fixed on Bie. re-
proachfully, and so she broke off.
“Tf she refuses me now,” he declared,
“after all this, I don’t know what I
shall do!”
“T can tell you what to do this after-
noon,” the old maid responded. ‘Go
and play tennis—play hard—play until
it is too dark to see the balls. That’s
where you men have the advantage of
us poor women. You can take violent
exercise and drive away care, while all
125
we can do is to sew—and sewing is so
insipid. Tve seen the time when I
felt like running the needle into my
heart.”’
It was a relief for him to laugh lightly
at her vehemence, as he rose from the
chair beside her.
“Your advice is good,” he returned,
“Cas it always is; and I’ll take it, and take
the exercise. I wish I could get little
Mat Hitchcock to play with me. Id
make it uncomfortable for him to-day ;
and he fancies himself at tennis too!”
She smiled in her turn. ‘ There,”
she said, “run along now and _ play.
And if you get any information out of
La Marguerite, let me know at once,
won't you?” :
“Of course I will,’ he responded,
taking his leave.
She watched him as he walked away
with the springing step of youth. She
126
smoothed her white hair, and sighed
gently; then she adjusted her glasses,
and took up her sewing again.
As it happened, the first man whom
Warren Payn met as he came out on
the tennis-grounds of the Casino was
little Mat Hitchcock, who promptly ac-
cepted his challenge. They were both
good average players, neither of them
of tournament rank, but that afternoon
they played the best tennis of their
lives. The first set was the hardest
fought, and Payn won it finally, 10-8,
and he won all the others—7—5, 6-4,
6-8, 6-8, 6-0. This love-set was too
much for little Mat; he lost his temper,
and threw his racket on the court indig-
_nantly, and said that he had never seen a
such luck in his life, and that it was
simply disgusting. So the musician
went to his hotel tired, of course, but
in a far happier frame of mind. He
M
127
took a bath, and had a sharp appetite
for his supper.
After the usual evening repast in Au-
gust at the Pier—bluefish and black-
berries—he lighted a cigarette, and
strolled leisurely back to the Casino.
He wished to be there early, because
the leader of the little orchestra had
asked his permission to include in the
programme of that evening a selection
from Dontezwma, Warren Payn’s only
comic opera, which had been sung dur-
ing a brief season at one of the New
York theatres three or four years before.
At the very moment when the com-
poser was lighting a second cigarette,
Miss Marlenspuyk, in the parlor of her
__ hotel, was surprised by a visit from the
Royal Marine.
“But I thought you were not going
to be back till late to-night !” she cried,
in astonishment.
128
“Tt looked a little like it was going
to rain after supper,” the young lady an-
swered, “and Grandma reckoned she’d
rather be back here. But now we are
here, Grandma allows it won’t rain, and
she wants to know if you’ll go over to
the Casino with us this evening.”
Miss Marlenspuyk hesitated for a mo-
ment, wishing that she could devise some
indirect means of ascertaining just how
the composer stood in the Royal Ma-
rine’s opinion.
“Do come,” the girl went on, laying
her hand affectionately on the old maid’s
arm. ‘Id love to have you, and Grand- ©
ma is always chirped up after she’s been
talking to you about your old friends in
the So’th.”
“T shall be delighted to come, my
dear,” Miss Marlenspuyk responded,
rising. ‘Jl send for my shawl.”
While they were waiting for this the
ag
129
young woman and the old walked up
and down the long veranda on one side
of the hotel. And suddenly Miss Mar-
lenspuyk had an inspiration.
“Excuse my asking such a question,
Rina, my dear,” she began, linking her
arm in the girl’s, “but have you and
Mr. Payn quarrelled ?”
“ Quaw’led !” echoed ’Rina. ‘“ The
idea! Why, I haven’t seen him for two
days.”
“ Ah!’ Miss Marlenspuyk responded.
“Not since the hop at the Casino on
Saturday night ?”
“Not since the hop,” the young ane
repeated. Then she checked herself.
and smiled. “ That is to say,” she went
on, “I haven’t spoken.to him since the
hop, but [ve seen him since. I saw
him in church yesterday, of cou’se, and
I saw him Saturday night after the hop,
out on the bridge, where we all went
9
130
for a breath of fresh air after that sup-
per.”
Miss Marlenspuyk had become so in-
terested in the composer’s extraordinary
dilemma that it was with an almost per-
ceptible shade of anxiety that she asked,
“ Didn’t he speak to you then ?”
The girl laughed out, and hers was a
silvery, happy laugh.
“Why, Miss Ma’lenspuyk,” she cried,
“how could he? He was fast asleep—
and, do you know, I thought I almost
heard him snaw!”
Miss Marlenspuyk laughed also. She
had the answer to the enigma now.
There was only one person in the world
who knew whether Warren Payn was
asleep or awake when he thought he
had asked ’Rina Carroll to marry him,
and that one person had declared that
he was asleep when she had seen him
last. ;
131
“But what made you think we had
quaw’led, Miss Ma’lenspnyk ?”’ the girl
began.
The bell-boy brought her shawl to
the old maid, who took it and thanked
him graciously. Then turning to the
Royal Marine, and ignoring altogether
the girl’s question, she said: “Can you
excuse me a moment, my dear? I must
write a note before I go.”
“T’ll wait for you out here on the
po’ch,” the young lady answered.
Miss Marlenspuyk bade the bell-boy
follow her. She went into the office of
the hotel, and taking out one of her
visiting-cards, she wrote on it, hastily:
“TY have seen the lady. It is all right.
You were dreaming.” :
Sealing this in an envelope, she di-
rected it to Mr. Warren Payn, and told
the bell-boy to take it at once to the
-musician’s hotel.
132
As the boy sped down the steps, glad
to run an errand for her, the old maid
joined the Royal Marine on the veran-
da, and they started to get Grandma
and to go together to the Casino.
But of course Miss Marlenspuyk’s
reassuring message did not find Warren
Payn at his hotel, and, in fact, it did
not come into his hands until near mid-
night, when he returned to his room
after a most exciting and memorable
evening.
When the bell-boy left the envelope
at the hotel, the musician had been for
ten minutes in the billiard-room of the
Casino, perched on a high chair near
one of the windows which opened on
the broad upper gallery. Thus placed
he could hear the music distinctly, and
he could watch a billiard mateh between
two of the best players at the Pier that
summer.
153
While one of the players was chalk-
ing his cue preparatory to a most difh-
cult carom, Payn heard the long laugh
of Miss Virgie Chubb. Gazing hastily
out of the window, he saw that La
Marguerite was promenading with two
other girls. He resolved to seize the
opportunity.
To the great surprise of Miss Chubb,
whom the composer had hitherto rather
avoided than sought, he joined the three
girls and insisted upon talking to her,
succeeding at last in cutting loose from .
her companions and in bearing La
Marguerite off for a promenade with
him alone. He was in good spirits ; he
felt as though the hour was favorable,
and as though the end of his perplexity
was at hand. So he rattled along, lead-
ing Virgie on further and further, and
briskly keeping up his end of the con-
versation. All the while he was seek-
134
ing how he should begin his inquisition
into her knowledge of his acts two
nights before.
Before he could plan an attack,
chance gave him an opening.
“Last time I saw you up here on this
floor of the Casino you weren’t so talk-
ative,” said La Marguerite, with one of
her loud laughs.
“That was the night before last,
wasn’t it ?” he returned, eagerly.
She nodded, still langhing.
“ Well,’ he pursued, “if I wasn’t
talking, what was I doing?”
“You were snoring!” she cried.
“That’s what you were doing. You
were asleep in the moonlight, out there
over the bridge. Come along now, and
I'll show you the place.” She took his
arm, and he suffered himself to be led.
But when they came to the top of the
stairs they found themselves face to face
135
with another couple, Mr. Cable J. Dex-
ter and Miss Hectorina Carroll. Fol-
lowing behind them half-way down the
stairs were Mrs. Carroll and Miss Mar-
lenspuyk.
Payn stepped back in astonishment.
Over the Royal Marine’s shoulder he
could see Miss Marlenspuyk nodding
and smiling and making strange signs.
He felt sure that she was trying to con-
vey to him some important information,
although he could not make out what it
was. He watched her lips closely as
they moved in silent speech, but his
eyes did not help him to her meaning
any better than his ears.
And while he was thus engaged the
Royal Marine stood before him, won-
dering at the extraordinary contortions
of his visage, as he unconsciously imi-
tated the movement of Miss Marlen-
spuyk’s mouth. She wore the same*
136
yachting costume in which he had first
seen her, with the V. R. and the crown
on her sleeve; but as he did not see her
at all he did not remark her costume.
She stood alone, for when the two
couples had come together Virgie
Chubb had abandoned Payn promptly,
and had immediately taken possession
of Dexter. The Chicago grain-operator
looked at the musician with an amused
smile ; then he winked; then he offered —
his arm to La Marguerite, and they
walked off together, leaving Payn stand-
ing helpless by the side of the woman
whom he loved, and to whom he longed
to speak.
On the landing below Mra Carroll |
and Miss Marlenspnyk had been de-
-tained by three old ladies who were go-
ing down-stairs, and who broke at once
into a most animated conversation, from
which the old maid tried vainly to de-
137
tach herself. At last she made a final
and despairing gesture to the musician,
and began to answer the questions
which two of the old ladies poured out
upon her.
Then Warren Payn saw that he
should have to rely wholly on himself.
“Shall we take a little walk too?” he
asked.
“JT began to think you were never
going to speak to me again,” she said,
as they moved away towards the bridge
side by side, and keeping step to the
music of a march which was floating
out from the orchestra on the lower
veranda—the first notes of the selection
from his opera of AZontezuma.
“T—[—lJI was so surprised, you
know,” he stammered — “so surprised
to see you here. I thought you were
not going to be back this evening.”
“Oh, I meant to be back all the
138
time, you know,” she returned, quickly
—‘“as soon as I heard that they were
going to play the tunes from your
opera.” Then, as though afraid that
she might have said more than she had
intended, she added, with even greater
rapidity, ‘‘ Besides, Grandma wanted
to come back herself; she thought it
looked like it was going to rain.”
“Tt was very good of you to want to
listen to my music,” he responded, ex-
panding joyously, as he always did in
her presence. “But who told you
about it? I meant to take you by sur-
prise.”
“Oh,” she laughed, merrily, “a little
bird told me—a little bird that is ve’y
fond of music.”
By this time they had come out on
the broad bridge, and the waters of the
bay lay spread out before them bathed
in the molten moonlight.
139
“YT don’t think Grandma is a ve’y
good judge of the weather—do you?”
she went on, “if she was afraid of a
sto’m to-night.”
“If your being here is the result of
her miscalculation,’ he said, “I will
recommend her for Old Probabilities’
place whenever she wants it.”
The splendid upper promenade was
almost deserted, and when they came
to the balcony at the end there was no-
body at all within sound of their voices.
The young man knew that the time had
come, and at the moment of need he
had a sudden inspiration.
“Tt would be nice,” she declared, “ to
have Grandma for the Clerk of the
Weather if she could give us nights as
lovely as this whenever she pleased.”
The orchestra on the ground-floor of
the Casino was still playing the arrange-
ment from Montezuma, and the players
140
now began the serenade from that opera
—the tenor love-song which had almost
carried the piece into popularity, and
which still survived the oblivion of the
rest of the score.
So it was to the accompaniment of
his own music that the composer spoke
again.
“Miss ’Rina,” he said, and the tone
in which he spoke betrayed his purpose
to the girl who was listening, “did you
ever have the feeling that something
you think you are seeing or saying or
doing for the first time has happened
to you before ?”
“Often and often,” she answered,
with an effort to seem unconcerned.
‘And [Ive heard people say it’s because
our brain had two halves — just like it
was a silver dollar.”
“JT have a feeling now,’ he went
on, gravely, “as though I had said al-
141
ready what I am going to say to you
now.”
She knew then that the proposal was
inevitable, and although he had hesitated
for a moment, she said nothing.
“T feel as though I had already told
you that I love you.” Then he paused
again, and the clear sweet notes of his
song rang out on the silvery air from
the orchestra beneath them. “Itseems
as though I had always loved you, and
that I must have told you of it many
times.” Still she kept silent. “’ Rina,”
he continued, steadily, “ will you be my
wife ?”
“T don’t know what to say,” the girl
answered at last. “I didn’t think you
were going to talk this way — at least,
not yet awhile.”
But you are going away so soon,”
he urged, “and I must have your an-
swer now.”
142
“YT can’t make up my mind all at
once,” she said; ‘‘ you must give me
time.”
Then he wondered whether this too
were also a dream.
“TI can’t wait!’ he replied. “Ive
been waiting all summer, for my
mind was made up as soon as I saw
you. 9)
“Tet me have a week. On, you
must!” she cried. ‘Give me two or
three days, anyhow.”
And again he doubted whether he
were awake or asleep.
“T don’t see why you can’t decide
now,” he declared. “What do you
need two days for? You don’t hate
me now, do you ?”
“ Oh no,” she answered, frankly. “I
couldn’t do that.”
“Then you do love me a little, don’t
you?” he urged.
143
She did not reply. But when he
promptly put his arm about her she
yielded, and let him kiss her, just as the
music came to an end.
Half an hour later he took his prom-
ised bride back to her grandmother.
She found Miss Marlenspuyk sitting
with Mrs. Carroll in a sheltered nook
of the lower veranda.
By the faces of the young couple the
old maid saw what had happened, and,
greatly to the surprise of Grandma, she
drew the girl to her and kissed her on
the forehead.
“ And you thought we had quaw’led,”
said the Royal Marine, while her grand-
mother wondered at what was going on
under her eyes but beyond her compre-
hension.
And while the granddaughter was
explaining, Miss Marlenspuyk was con-
gratulating Warren Payn.
144
“T see,” she said, “it was Lomeo and
Juliet, after all, and not a /idswmmer-
Nights Dream.”
THE END
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA
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