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1The Project Gutenberg eBook of The King in Yellow
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11Title: The King in Yellow
12
13Author: Robert W. Chambers
14
15Release date: July 1, 2005 [eBook #8492]
16 Most recently updated: August 23, 2017
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18Language: English
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20Credits: Produced by Suzanne Shell, Beth Trapaga, Charles Franks,
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25*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING IN YELLOW ***
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30Produced by Suzanne Shell, Beth Trapaga, Charles Franks,
31and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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43THE KING IN YELLOW
44
45BY
46
47ROBERT W. CHAMBERS
48
49
50
51
52
53
54Original publication date: 1895
55
56
57THE KING IN YELLOW
58IS DEDICATED
59TO
60MY BROTHER
61
62 Along the shore the cloud waves break,
63 The twin suns sink behind the lake,
64 The shadows lengthen
65 In Carcosa.
66
67 Strange is the night where black stars rise,
68 And strange moons circle through the skies
69 But stranger still is
70 Lost Carcosa.
71
72 Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
73 Where flap the tatters of the King,
74 Must die unheard in
75 Dim Carcosa.
76
77 Song of my soul, my voice is dead;
78 Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
79 Shall dry and die in
80 Lost Carcosa.
81
82Cassilda's Song in "The King in Yellow," Act i, Scene 2.
83
84
85
86
87THE REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS
88
89
90I
91
92"Ne raillons pas les fous; leur folie dure plus longtemps que
93la nôtre.... Voila toute la différence."
94
95Toward the end of the year 1920 the Government of the United States had
96practically completed the programme, adopted during the last months of
97President Winthrop's administration. The country was apparently tranquil.
98Everybody knows how the Tariff and Labour questions were settled. The war
99with Germany, incident on that country's seizure of the Samoan Islands,
100had left no visible scars upon the republic, and the temporary occupation
101of Norfolk by the invading army had been forgotten in the joy over
102repeated naval victories, and the subsequent ridiculous plight of General
103Von Gartenlaube's forces in the State of New Jersey. The Cuban and
104Hawaiian investments had paid one hundred per cent and the territory of
105Samoa was well worth its cost as a coaling station. The country was in a
106superb state of defence. Every coast city had been well supplied with land
107fortifications; the army under the parental eye of the General Staff,
108organized according to the Prussian system, had been increased to 300,000
109men, with a territorial reserve of a million; and six magnificent
110squadrons of cruisers and battle-ships patrolled the six stations of the
111navigable seas, leaving a steam reserve amply fitted to control home
112waters. The gentlemen from the West had at last been constrained to
113acknowledge that a college for the training of diplomats was as necessary
114as law schools are for the training of barristers; consequently we were no
115longer represented abroad by incompetent patriots. The nation was
116prosperous; Chicago, for a moment paralyzed after a second great fire, had
117risen from its ruins, white and imperial, and more beautiful than the white
118city which had been built for its plaything in 1893. Everywhere good
119architecture was replacing bad, and even in New York, a sudden craving for
120decency had swept away a great portion of the existing horrors. Streets
121had been widened, properly paved and lighted, trees had been planted,
122squares laid out, elevated structures demolished and underground roads
123built to replace them. The new government buildings and barracks were fine
124bits of architecture, and the long system of stone quays which completely
125surrounded the island had been turned into parks which proved a god-send
126to the population. The subsidizing of the state theatre and state opera
127brought its own reward. The United States National Academy of Design was
128much like European institutions of the same kind. Nobody envied the
129Secretary of Fine Arts, either his cabinet position or his portfolio. The
130Secretary of Forestry and Game Preservation had a much easier time, thanks
131to the new system of National Mounted Police. We had profited well by the
132latest treaties with France and England; the exclusion of foreign-born
133Jews as a measure of self-preservation, the settlement of the new
134independent negro state of Suanee, the checking of immigration, the new
135laws concerning naturalization, and the gradual centralization of power in
136the executive all contributed to national calm and prosperity. When the
137Government solved the Indian problem and squadrons of Indian cavalry
138scouts in native costume were substituted for the pitiable organizations
139tacked on to the tail of skeletonized regiments by a former Secretary of
140War, the nation drew a long sigh of relief. When, after the colossal
141Congress of Religions, bigotry and intolerance were laid in their graves
142and kindness and charity began to draw warring sects together, many
143thought the millennium had arrived, at least in the new world which after
144all is a world by itself.
145
146But self-preservation is the first law, and the United States had to look
147on in helpless sorrow as Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium writhed in the
148throes of Anarchy, while Russia, watching from the Caucasus, stooped and
149bound them one by one.
150
151In the city of New York the summer of 1899 was signalized by the
152dismantling of the Elevated Railroads. The summer of 1900 will live in
153the memories of New York people for many a cycle; the Dodge Statue was
154removed in that year. In the following winter began that agitation for
155the repeal of the laws prohibiting suicide which bore its final fruit in
156the month of April, 1920, when the first Government Lethal Chamber was
157opened on Washington Square.
158
159I had walked down that day from Dr. Archer's house on Madison Avenue,
160where I had been as a mere formality. Ever since that fall from my horse,
161four years before, I had been troubled at times with pains in the back of
162my head and neck, but now for months they had been absent, and the doctor
163sent me away that day saying there was nothing more to be cured in me. It
164was hardly worth his fee to be told that; I knew it myself. Still I did
165not grudge him the money. What I minded was the mistake which he made at
166first. When they picked me up from the pavement where I lay unconscious,
167and somebody had mercifully sent a bullet through my horse's head, I was
168carried to Dr. Archer, and he, pronouncing my brain affected, placed me
169in his private asylum where I was obliged to endure treatment for
170insanity. At last he decided that I was well, and I, knowing that my mind
171had always been as sound as his, if not sounder, "paid my tuition" as he
172jokingly called it, and left. I told him, smiling, that I would get even
173with him for his mistake, and he laughed heartily, and asked me to call
174once in a while. I did so, hoping for a chance to even up accounts, but
175he gave me none, and I told him I would wait.
176
177The fall from my horse had fortunately left no evil results; on the
178contrary it had changed my whole character for the better. From a lazy
179young man about town, I had become active, energetic, temperate, and
180above all--oh, above all else--ambitious. There was only one thing which
181troubled me, I laughed at my own uneasiness, and yet it troubled me.
182
183During my convalescence I had bought and read for the first time, _The
184King in Yellow_. I remember after finishing the first act that it
185occurred to me that I had better stop. I started up and flung the book
186into the fireplace; the volume struck the barred grate and fell open on
187the hearth in the firelight. If I had not caught a glimpse of the opening
188words in the second act I should never have finished it, but as I stooped
189to pick it up, my eyes became riveted to the open page, and with a cry of
190terror, or perhaps it was of joy so poignant that I suffered in every
191nerve, I snatched the thing out of the coals and crept shaking to my
192bedroom, where I read it and reread it, and wept and laughed and trembled
193with a horror which at times assails me yet. This is the thing that
194troubles me, for I cannot forget Carcosa where black stars hang in the
195heavens; where the shadows of men's thoughts lengthen in the afternoon,
196when the twin suns sink into the lake of Hali; and my mind will bear for
197ever the memory of the Pallid Mask. I pray God will curse the writer, as
198the writer has cursed the world with this beautiful, stupendous creation,
199terrible in its simplicity, irresistible in its truth--a world which now
200trembles before the King in Yellow. When the French Government seized the
201translated copies which had just arrived in Paris, London, of course,
202became eager to read it. It is well known how the book spread like an
203infectious disease, from city to city, from continent to continent,
204barred out here, confiscated there, denounced by Press and pulpit,
205censured even by the most advanced of literary anarchists. No definite
206principles had been violated in those wicked pages, no doctrine
207promulgated, no convictions outraged. It could not be judged by any known
208standard, yet, although it was acknowledged that the supreme note of art
209had been struck in _The King in Yellow_, all felt that human nature
210could not bear the strain, nor thrive on words in which the essence of
211purest poison lurked. The very banality and innocence of the first act
212only allowed the blow to fall afterward with more awful effect.
213
214It was, I remember, the 13th day of April, 1920, that the first
215Government Lethal Chamber was established on the south side of Washington
216Square, between Wooster Street and South Fifth Avenue. The block which
217had formerly consisted of a lot of shabby old buildings, used as cafés
218and restaurants for foreigners, had been acquired by the Government in
219the winter of 1898. The French and Italian cafés and restaurants were
220torn down; the whole block was enclosed by a gilded iron railing, and
221converted into a lovely garden with lawns, flowers and fountains. In the
222centre of the garden stood a small, white building, severely classical in
223architecture, and surrounded by thickets of flowers. Six Ionic columns
224supported the roof, and the single door was of bronze. A splendid marble
225group of the "Fates" stood before the door, the work of a young American
226sculptor, Boris Yvain, who had died in Paris when only twenty-three years
227old.
228
229The inauguration ceremonies were in progress as I crossed University
230Place and entered the square. I threaded my way through the silent throng
231of spectators, but was stopped at Fourth Street by a cordon of police. A
232regiment of United States lancers were drawn up in a hollow square round
233the Lethal Chamber. On a raised tribune facing Washington Park stood the
234Governor of New York, and behind him were grouped the Mayor of New
235York and Brooklyn, the Inspector-General of Police, the Commandant of
236the state troops, Colonel Livingston, military aid to the President of the
237United States, General Blount, commanding at Governor's Island,
238Major-General Hamilton, commanding the garrison of New York and Brooklyn,
239Admiral Buffby of the fleet in the North River, Surgeon-General
240Lanceford, the staff of the National Free Hospital, Senators Wyse and
241Franklin of New York, and the Commissioner of Public Works. The tribune
242was surrounded by a squadron of hussars of the National Guard.
243
244The Governor was finishing his reply to the short speech of the
245Surgeon-General. I heard him say: "The laws prohibiting suicide and
246providing punishment for any attempt at self-destruction have been
247repealed. The Government has seen fit to acknowledge the right of man to
248end an existence which may have become intolerable to him, through
249physical suffering or mental despair. It is believed that the community
250will be benefited by the removal of such people from their midst. Since
251the passage of this law, the number of suicides in the United States has
252not increased. Now the Government has determined to establish a Lethal
253Chamber in every city, town and village in the country, it remains to be
254seen whether or not that class of human creatures from whose desponding
255ranks new victims of self-destruction fall daily will accept the relief
256thus provided." He paused, and turned to the white Lethal Chamber. The
257silence in the street was absolute. "There a painless death awaits him
258who can no longer bear the sorrows of this life. If death is welcome let
259him seek it there." Then quickly turning to the military aid of the
260President's household, he said, "I declare the Lethal Chamber open," and
261again facing the vast crowd he cried in a clear voice: "Citizens of New
262York and of the United States of America, through me the Government
263declares the Lethal Chamber to be open."
264
265The solemn hush was broken by a sharp cry of command, the squadron of
266hussars filed after the Governor's carriage, the lancers wheeled and
267formed along Fifth Avenue to wait for the commandant of the garrison, and
268the mounted police followed them. I left the crowd to gape and stare at
269the white marble Death Chamber, and, crossing South Fifth Avenue, walked
270along the western side of that thoroughfare to Bleecker Street. Then I
271turned to the right and stopped before a dingy shop which bore the sign:
272
273HAWBERK, ARMOURER.
274
275I glanced in at the doorway and saw Hawberk busy in his little shop at
276the end of the hall. He looked up, and catching sight of me cried in his
277deep, hearty voice, "Come in, Mr. Castaigne!" Constance, his daughter,
278rose to meet me as I crossed the threshold, and held out her pretty
279hand, but I saw the blush of disappointment on her cheeks, and knew
280that it was another Castaigne she had expected, my cousin Louis. I
281smiled at her confusion and complimented her on the banner she was
282embroidering from a coloured plate. Old Hawberk sat riveting the worn
283greaves of some ancient suit of armour, and the ting! ting! ting! of his
284little hammer sounded pleasantly in the quaint shop. Presently he
285dropped his hammer, and fussed about for a moment with a tiny wrench.
286The soft clash of the mail sent a thrill of pleasure through me. I
287loved to hear the music of steel brushing against steel, the mellow
288shock of the mallet on thigh pieces, and the jingle of chain armour.
289That was the only reason I went to see Hawberk. He had never interested
290me personally, nor did Constance, except for the fact of her being in
291love with Louis. This did occupy my attention, and sometimes even kept
292me awake at night. But I knew in my heart that all would come right,
293and that I should arrange their future as I expected to arrange that of
294my kind doctor, John Archer. However, I should never have troubled
295myself about visiting them just then, had it not been, as I say, that
296the music of the tinkling hammer had for me this strong fascination. I
297would sit for hours, listening and listening, and when a stray sunbeam
298struck the inlaid steel, the sensation it gave me was almost too keen
299to endure. My eyes would become fixed, dilating with a pleasure that
300stretched every nerve almost to breaking, until some movement of the
301old armourer cut off the ray of sunlight, then, still thrilling
302secretly, I leaned back and listened again to the sound of the
303polishing rag, swish! swish! rubbing rust from the rivets.
304
305Constance worked with the embroidery over her knees, now and then pausing
306to examine more closely the pattern in the coloured plate from the
307Metropolitan Museum.
308
309"Who is this for?" I asked.
310
311Hawberk explained, that in addition to the treasures of armour in the
312Metropolitan Museum of which he had been appointed armourer, he also
313had charge of several collections belonging to rich amateurs. This was the
314missing greave of a famous suit which a client of his had traced to a
315little shop in Paris on the Quai d'Orsay. He, Hawberk, had negotiated for
316and secured the greave, and now the suit was complete. He laid down his
317hammer and read me the history of the suit, traced since 1450 from owner
318to owner until it was acquired by Thomas Stainbridge. When his superb
319collection was sold, this client of Hawberk's bought the suit, and since
320then the search for the missing greave had been pushed until it was,
321almost by accident, located in Paris.
322
323"Did you continue the search so persistently without any certainty of the
324greave being still in existence?" I demanded.
325
326"Of course," he replied coolly.
327
328Then for the first time I took a personal interest in Hawberk.
329
330"It was worth something to you," I ventured.
331
332"No," he replied, laughing, "my pleasure in finding it was my reward."
333
334"Have you no ambition to be rich?" I asked, smiling.
335
336"My one ambition is to be the best armourer in the world," he answered
337gravely.
338
339Constance asked me if I had seen the ceremonies at the Lethal Chamber.
340She herself had noticed cavalry passing up Broadway that morning, and had
341wished to see the inauguration, but her father wanted the banner
342finished, and she had stayed at his request.
343
344"Did you see your cousin, Mr. Castaigne, there?" she asked, with the
345slightest tremor of her soft eyelashes.
346
347"No," I replied carelessly. "Louis' regiment is manoeuvring out in
348Westchester County." I rose and picked up my hat and cane.
349
350"Are you going upstairs to see the lunatic again?" laughed old Hawberk.
351If Hawberk knew how I loathe that word "lunatic," he would never use it
352in my presence. It rouses certain feelings within me which I do not care
353to explain. However, I answered him quietly: "I think I shall drop in and
354see Mr. Wilde for a moment or two."
355
356"Poor fellow," said Constance, with a shake of the head, "it must be hard
357to live alone year after year poor, crippled and almost demented. It is
358very good of you, Mr. Castaigne, to visit him as often as you do."
359
360"I think he is vicious," observed Hawberk, beginning again with his
361hammer. I listened to the golden tinkle on the greave plates; when he had
362finished I replied:
363
364"No, he is not vicious, nor is he in the least demented. His mind is a
365wonder chamber, from which he can extract treasures that you and I would
366give years of our life to acquire."'
367
368Hawberk laughed.
369
370I continued a little impatiently: "He knows history as no one else could
371know it. Nothing, however trivial, escapes his search, and his memory is
372so absolute, so precise in details, that were it known in New York that
373such a man existed, the people could not honour him enough."
374
375"Nonsense," muttered Hawberk, searching on the floor for a fallen rivet.
376
377"Is it nonsense," I asked, managing to suppress what I felt, "is it
378nonsense when he says that the tassets and cuissards of the enamelled
379suit of armour commonly known as the 'Prince's Emblazoned' can be found
380among a mass of rusty theatrical properties, broken stoves and
381ragpicker's refuse in a garret in Pell Street?"
382
383Hawberk's hammer fell to the ground, but he picked it up and asked, with
384a great deal of calm, how I knew that the tassets and left cuissard were
385missing from the "Prince's Emblazoned."
386
387"I did not know until Mr. Wilde mentioned it to me the other day. He said
388they were in the garret of 998 Pell Street."
389
390"Nonsense," he cried, but I noticed his hand trembling under his leathern
391apron.
392
393"Is this nonsense too?" I asked pleasantly, "is it nonsense when Mr.
394Wilde continually speaks of you as the Marquis of Avonshire and of Miss
395Constance--"
396
397I did not finish, for Constance had started to her feet with terror
398written on every feature. Hawberk looked at me and slowly smoothed his
399leathern apron.
400
401"That is impossible," he observed, "Mr. Wilde may know a great many
402things--"
403
404"About armour, for instance, and the 'Prince's Emblazoned,'" I
405interposed, smiling.
406
407"Yes," he continued, slowly, "about armour also--may be--but he is wrong
408in regard to the Marquis of Avonshire, who, as you know, killed his
409wife's traducer years ago, and went to Australia where he did not long
410survive his wife."
411
412"Mr. Wilde is wrong," murmured Constance. Her lips were blanched, but her
413voice was sweet and calm.
414
415"Let us agree, if you please, that in this one circumstance Mr. Wilde is
416wrong," I said.
417
418
419
420
421II
422
423I climbed the three dilapidated flights of stairs, which I had so often
424climbed before, and knocked at a small door at the end of the corridor.
425Mr. Wilde opened the door and I walked in.
426
427When he had double-locked the door and pushed a heavy chest against it,
428he came and sat down beside me, peering up into my face with his little
429light-coloured eyes. Half a dozen new scratches covered his nose and
430cheeks, and the silver wires which supported his artificial ears had
431become displaced. I thought I had never seen him so hideously
432fascinating. He had no ears. The artificial ones, which now stood out at
433an angle from the fine wire, were his one weakness. They were made of wax
434and painted a shell pink, but the rest of his face was yellow. He might
435better have revelled in the luxury of some artificial fingers for his
436left hand, which was absolutely fingerless, but it seemed to cause him no
437inconvenience, and he was satisfied with his wax ears. He was very small,
438scarcely higher than a child of ten, but his arms were magnificently
439developed, and his thighs as thick as any athlete's. Still, the most
440remarkable thing about Mr. Wilde was that a man of his marvellous
441intelligence and knowledge should have such a head. It was flat and
442pointed, like the heads of many of those unfortunates whom people
443imprison in asylums for the weak-minded. Many called him insane, but I
444knew him to be as sane as I was.
445
446I do not deny that he was eccentric; the mania he had for keeping that
447cat and teasing her until she flew at his face like a demon, was
448certainly eccentric. I never could understand why he kept the creature,
449nor what pleasure he found in shutting himself up in his room with this
450surly, vicious beast. I remember once, glancing up from the manuscript I
451was studying by the light of some tallow dips, and seeing Mr. Wilde
452squatting motionless on his high chair, his eyes fairly blazing with
453excitement, while the cat, which had risen from her place before the
454stove, came creeping across the floor right at him. Before I could move
455she flattened her belly to the ground, crouched, trembled, and sprang
456into his face. Howling and foaming they rolled over and over on the
457floor, scratching and clawing, until the cat screamed and fled under the
458cabinet, and Mr. Wilde turned over on his back, his limbs contracting and
459curling up like the legs of a dying spider. He _was_ eccentric.
460
461Mr. Wilde had climbed into his high chair, and, after studying my face,
462picked up a dog's-eared ledger and opened it.
463
464"Henry B. Matthews," he read, "book-keeper with Whysot Whysot and
465Company, dealers in church ornaments. Called April 3rd. Reputation
466damaged on the race-track. Known as a welcher. Reputation to be repaired
467by August 1st. Retainer Five Dollars." He turned the page and ran his
468fingerless knuckles down the closely-written columns.
469
470"P. Greene Dusenberry, Minister of the Gospel, Fairbeach, New Jersey.
471Reputation damaged in the Bowery. To be repaired as soon as possible.
472Retainer $100."
473
474He coughed and added, "Called, April 6th."
475
476"Then you are not in need of money, Mr. Wilde," I inquired.
477
478"Listen," he coughed again.
479
480"Mrs. C. Hamilton Chester, of Chester Park, New York City. Called April
4817th. Reputation damaged at Dieppe, France. To be repaired by October 1st
482Retainer $500.
483
484"Note.--C. Hamilton Chester, Captain U.S.S. 'Avalanche', ordered home
485from South Sea Squadron October 1st."
486
487"Well," I said, "the profession of a Repairer of Reputations is
488lucrative."
489
490His colourless eyes sought mine, "I only wanted to demonstrate that I
491was correct. You said it was impossible to succeed as a Repairer of
492Reputations; that even if I did succeed in certain cases it would cost
493me more than I would gain by it. To-day I have five hundred men in my
494employ, who are poorly paid, but who pursue the work with an enthusiasm
495which possibly may be born of fear. These men enter every shade and grade
496of society; some even are pillars of the most exclusive social temples;
497others are the prop and pride of the financial world; still others, hold
498undisputed sway among the 'Fancy and the Talent.' I choose them at my
499leisure from those who reply to my advertisements. It is easy enough,
500they are all cowards. I could treble the number in twenty days if I
501wished. So you see, those who have in their keeping the reputations of
502their fellow-citizens, I have in my pay."
503
504"They may turn on you," I suggested.
505
506He rubbed his thumb over his cropped ears, and adjusted the wax
507substitutes. "I think not," he murmured thoughtfully, "I seldom have to
508apply the whip, and then only once. Besides they like their wages."
509
510"How do you apply the whip?" I demanded.
511
512His face for a moment was awful to look upon. His eyes dwindled to a pair
513of green sparks.
514
515"I invite them to come and have a little chat with me," he said in a soft
516voice.
517
518A knock at the door interrupted him, and his face resumed its amiable
519expression.
520
521"Who is it?" he inquired.
522
523"Mr. Steylette," was the answer.
524
525"Come to-morrow," replied Mr. Wilde.
526
527"Impossible," began the other, but was silenced by a sort of bark from
528Mr. Wilde.
529
530"Come to-morrow," he repeated.
531
532We heard somebody move away from the door and turn the corner by the
533stairway.
534
535"Who is that?" I asked.
536
537"Arnold Steylette, Owner and Editor in Chief of the great New York
538daily."
539
540He drummed on the ledger with his fingerless hand adding: "I pay him very
541badly, but he thinks it a good bargain."
542
543"Arnold Steylette!" I repeated amazed.
544
545"Yes," said Mr. Wilde, with a self-satisfied cough.
546
547The cat, which had entered the room as he spoke, hesitated, looked up at
548him and snarled. He climbed down from the chair and squatting on the
549floor, took the creature into his arms and caressed her. The cat ceased
550snarling and presently began a loud purring which seemed to increase in
551timbre as he stroked her. "Where are the notes?" I asked. He pointed to
552the table, and for the hundredth time I picked up the bundle of
553manuscript entitled--
554
555"THE IMPERIAL DYNASTY OF AMERICA."
556
557One by one I studied the well-worn pages, worn only by my own handling,
558and although I knew all by heart, from the beginning, "When from Carcosa,
559the Hyades, Hastur, and Aldebaran," to "Castaigne, Louis de Calvados,
560born December 19th, 1877," I read it with an eager, rapt attention,
561pausing to repeat parts of it aloud, and dwelling especially on "Hildred
562de Calvados, only son of Hildred Castaigne and Edythe Landes Castaigne,
563first in succession," etc., etc.
564
565When I finished, Mr. Wilde nodded and coughed.
566
567"Speaking of your legitimate ambition," he said, "how do Constance and
568Louis get along?"
569
570"She loves him," I replied simply.
571
572The cat on his knee suddenly turned and struck at his eyes, and he flung
573her off and climbed on to the chair opposite me.
574
575"And Dr. Archer! But that's a matter you can settle any time you wish,"
576he added.
577
578"Yes," I replied, "Dr. Archer can wait, but it is time I saw my cousin
579Louis."
580
581"It is time," he repeated. Then he took another ledger from the table and
582ran over the leaves rapidly. "We are now in communication with ten
583thousand men," he muttered. "We can count on one hundred thousand within
584the first twenty-eight hours, and in forty-eight hours the state will
585rise _en masse_. The country follows the state, and the portion that
586will not, I mean California and the Northwest, might better never have
587been inhabited. I shall not send them the Yellow Sign."
588
589The blood rushed to my head, but I only answered, "A new broom sweeps
590clean."
591
592"The ambition of Caesar and of Napoleon pales before that which could not
593rest until it had seized the minds of men and controlled even their
594unborn thoughts," said Mr. Wilde.
595
596"You are speaking of the King in Yellow," I groaned, with a shudder.
597
598"He is a king whom emperors have served."
599
600"I am content to serve him," I replied.
601
602Mr. Wilde sat rubbing his ears with his crippled hand. "Perhaps Constance
603does not love him," he suggested.
604
605I started to reply, but a sudden burst of military music from the street
606below drowned my voice. The twentieth dragoon regiment, formerly in
607garrison at Mount St. Vincent, was returning from the manoeuvres in
608Westchester County, to its new barracks on East Washington Square. It was
609my cousin's regiment. They were a fine lot of fellows, in their pale
610blue, tight-fitting jackets, jaunty busbys and white riding breeches with
611the double yellow stripe, into which their limbs seemed moulded. Every
612other squadron was armed with lances, from the metal points of which
613fluttered yellow and white pennons. The band passed, playing the
614regimental march, then came the colonel and staff, the horses crowding
615and trampling, while their heads bobbed in unison, and the pennons
616fluttered from their lance points. The troopers, who rode with the
617beautiful English seat, looked brown as berries from their bloodless
618campaign among the farms of Westchester, and the music of their sabres
619against the stirrups, and the jingle of spurs and carbines was delightful
620to me. I saw Louis riding with his squadron. He was as handsome an
621officer as I have ever seen. Mr. Wilde, who had mounted a chair by the
622window, saw him too, but said nothing. Louis turned and looked straight
623at Hawberk's shop as he passed, and I could see the flush on his brown
624cheeks. I think Constance must have been at the window. When the last
625troopers had clattered by, and the last pennons vanished into South Fifth
626Avenue, Mr. Wilde clambered out of his chair and dragged the chest away
627from the door.
628
629"Yes," he said, "it is time that you saw your cousin Louis."
630
631He unlocked the door and I picked up my hat and stick and stepped into
632the corridor. The stairs were dark. Groping about, I set my foot on
633something soft, which snarled and spit, and I aimed a murderous blow at
634the cat, but my cane shivered to splinters against the balustrade, and
635the beast scurried back into Mr. Wilde's room.
636
637Passing Hawberk's door again I saw him still at work on the armour, but
638I did not stop, and stepping out into Bleecker Street, I followed it to
639Wooster, skirted the grounds of the Lethal Chamber, and crossing
640Washington Park went straight to my rooms in the Benedick. Here I lunched
641comfortably, read the _Herald_ and the _Meteor_, and finally went
642to the steel safe in my bedroom and set the time combination. The
643three and three-quarter minutes which it is necessary to wait, while the
644time lock is opening, are to me golden moments. From the instant I set
645the combination to the moment when I grasp the knobs and swing back
646the solid steel doors, I live in an ecstasy of expectation. Those moments
647must be like moments passed in Paradise. I know what I am to find at
648the end of the time limit. I know what the massive safe holds secure for
649me, for me alone, and the exquisite pleasure of waiting is hardly enhanced
650when the safe opens and I lift, from its velvet crown, a diadem of purest
651gold, blazing with diamonds. I do this every day, and yet the joy of
652waiting and at last touching again the diadem, only seems to increase as
653the days pass. It is a diadem fit for a King among kings, an Emperor
654among emperors. The King in Yellow might scorn it, but it shall be worn
655by his royal servant.
656
657I held it in my arms until the alarm in the safe rang harshly, and then
658tenderly, proudly, I replaced it and shut the steel doors. I walked
659slowly back into my study, which faces Washington Square, and leaned on
660the window sill. The afternoon sun poured into my windows, and a gentle
661breeze stirred the branches of the elms and maples in the park, now
662covered with buds and tender foliage. A flock of pigeons circled about
663the tower of the Memorial Church; sometimes alighting on the purple tiled
664roof, sometimes wheeling downward to the lotos fountain in front of the
665marble arch. The gardeners were busy with the flower beds around the
666fountain, and the freshly turned earth smelled sweet and spicy. A lawn
667mower, drawn by a fat white horse, clinked across the green sward, and
668watering-carts poured showers of spray over the asphalt drives. Around
669the statue of Peter Stuyvesant, which in 1897 had replaced the
670monstrosity supposed to represent Garibaldi, children played in the
671spring sunshine, and nurse girls wheeled elaborate baby carriages with a
672reckless disregard for the pasty-faced occupants, which could probably be
673explained by the presence of half a dozen trim dragoon troopers languidly
674lolling on the benches. Through the trees, the Washington Memorial Arch
675glistened like silver in the sunshine, and beyond, on the eastern
676extremity of the square the grey stone barracks of the dragoons, and the
677white granite artillery stables were alive with colour and motion.
678
679I looked at the Lethal Chamber on the corner of the square opposite. A
680few curious people still lingered about the gilded iron railing, but
681inside the grounds the paths were deserted. I watched the fountains
682ripple and sparkle; the sparrows had already found this new bathing nook,
683and the basins were covered with the dusty-feathered little things. Two
684or three white peacocks picked their way across the lawns, and a drab
685coloured pigeon sat so motionless on the arm of one of the "Fates," that
686it seemed to be a part of the sculptured stone.
687
688As I was turning carelessly away, a slight commotion in the group of
689curious loiterers around the gates attracted my attention. A young man
690had entered, and was advancing with nervous strides along the gravel path
691which leads to the bronze doors of the Lethal Chamber. He paused a moment
692before the "Fates," and as he raised his head to those three mysterious
693faces, the pigeon rose from its sculptured perch, circled about for a
694moment and wheeled to the east. The young man pressed his hand to his
695face, and then with an undefinable gesture sprang up the marble steps,
696the bronze doors closed behind him, and half an hour later the loiterers
697slouched away, and the frightened pigeon returned to its perch in the
698arms of Fate.
699
700I put on my hat and went out into the park for a little walk before
701dinner. As I crossed the central driveway a group of officers passed, and
702one of them called out, "Hello, Hildred," and came back to shake hands
703with me. It was my cousin Louis, who stood smiling and tapping his
704spurred heels with his riding-whip.
705
706"Just back from Westchester," he said; "been doing the bucolic; milk and
707curds, you know, dairy-maids in sunbonnets, who say 'haeow' and 'I don't
708think' when you tell them they are pretty. I'm nearly dead for a square
709meal at Delmonico's. What's the news?"
710
711"There is none," I replied pleasantly. "I saw your regiment coming in this
712morning."
713
714"Did you? I didn't see you. Where were you?"
715
716"In Mr. Wilde's window."
717
718"Oh, hell!" he began impatiently, "that man is stark mad! I don't
719understand why you--"
720
721He saw how annoyed I felt by this outburst, and begged my pardon.
722
723"Really, old chap," he said, "I don't mean to run down a man you like,
724but for the life of me I can't see what the deuce you find in common with
725Mr. Wilde. He's not well bred, to put it generously; he is hideously
726deformed; his head is the head of a criminally insane person. You know
727yourself he's been in an asylum--"
728
729"So have I," I interrupted calmly.
730
731Louis looked startled and confused for a moment, but recovered and
732slapped me heartily on the shoulder. "You were completely cured," he
733began; but I stopped him again.
734
735"I suppose you mean that I was simply acknowledged never to have been
736insane."
737
738"Of course that--that's what I meant," he laughed.
739
740I disliked his laugh because I knew it was forced, but I nodded gaily and
741asked him where he was going. Louis looked after his brother officers who
742had now almost reached Broadway.
743
744"We had intended to sample a Brunswick cocktail, but to tell you the
745truth I was anxious for an excuse to go and see Hawberk instead. Come
746along, I'll make you my excuse."
747
748We found old Hawberk, neatly attired in a fresh spring suit, standing at
749the door of his shop and sniffing the air.
750
751"I had just decided to take Constance for a little stroll before dinner,"
752he replied to the impetuous volley of questions from Louis. "We thought
753of walking on the park terrace along the North River."
754
755At that moment Constance appeared and grew pale and rosy by turns as
756Louis bent over her small gloved fingers. I tried to excuse myself,
757alleging an engagement uptown, but Louis and Constance would not listen,
758and I saw I was expected to remain and engage old Hawberk's attention.
759After all it would be just as well if I kept my eye on Louis, I thought,
760and when they hailed a Spring Street horse-car, I got in after them and
761took my seat beside the armourer.
762
763The beautiful line of parks and granite terraces overlooking the wharves
764along the North River, which were built in 1910 and finished in the
765autumn of 1917, had become one of the most popular promenades in the
766metropolis. They extended from the battery to 190th Street, overlooking
767the noble river and affording a fine view of the Jersey shore and the
768Highlands opposite. Cafés and restaurants were scattered here and there
769among the trees, and twice a week military bands from the garrison played
770in the kiosques on the parapets.
771
772We sat down in the sunshine on the bench at the foot of the equestrian
773statue of General Sheridan. Constance tipped her sunshade to shield her
774eyes, and she and Louis began a murmuring conversation which was
775impossible to catch. Old Hawberk, leaning on his ivory headed cane,
776lighted an excellent cigar, the mate to which I politely refused, and
777smiled at vacancy. The sun hung low above the Staten Island woods, and
778the bay was dyed with golden hues reflected from the sun-warmed sails of
779the shipping in the harbour.
780
781Brigs, schooners, yachts, clumsy ferry-boats, their decks swarming with
782people, railroad transports carrying lines of brown, blue and white
783freight cars, stately sound steamers, déclassé tramp steamers, coasters,
784dredgers, scows, and everywhere pervading the entire bay impudent little
785tugs puffing and whistling officiously;--these were the craft which
786churned the sunlight waters as far as the eye could reach. In calm
787contrast to the hurry of sailing vessel and steamer a silent fleet of
788white warships lay motionless in midstream.
789
790Constance's merry laugh aroused me from my reverie.
791
792"What _are_ you staring at?" she inquired.
793
794"Nothing--the fleet," I smiled.
795
796Then Louis told us what the vessels were, pointing out each by its
797relative position to the old Red Fort on Governor's Island.
798
799"That little cigar shaped thing is a torpedo boat," he explained; "there
800are four more lying close together. They are the _Tarpon_, the _Falcon_,
801the _Sea Fox_, and the _Octopus_. The gun-boats just above are the
802_Princeton_, the _Champlain_, the _Still Water_ and the _Erie_. Next to
803them lie the cruisers _Faragut_ and _Los Angeles_, and above them the
804battle ships _California_, and _Dakota_, and the _Washington_ which is
805the flag ship. Those two squatty looking chunks of metal which are
806anchored there off Castle William are the double turreted monitors
807_Terrible_ and _Magnificent_; behind them lies the ram, _Osceola_."
808
809Constance looked at him with deep approval in her beautiful eyes. "What
810loads of things you know for a soldier," she said, and we all joined in
811the laugh which followed.
812
813Presently Louis rose with a nod to us and offered his arm to Constance,
814and they strolled away along the river wall. Hawberk watched them for a
815moment and then turned to me.
816
817"Mr. Wilde was right," he said. "I have found the missing tassets and
818left cuissard of the 'Prince's Emblazoned,' in a vile old junk garret in
819Pell Street."
820
821"998?" I inquired, with a smile.
822
823"Yes."
824
825"Mr. Wilde is a very intelligent man," I observed.
826
827"I want to give him the credit of this most important discovery,"
828continued Hawberk. "And I intend it shall be known that he is entitled
829to the fame of it."
830
831"He won't thank you for that," I answered sharply; "please say nothing
832about it."
833
834"Do you know what it is worth?" said Hawberk.
835
836"No, fifty dollars, perhaps."
837
838"It is valued at five hundred, but the owner of the 'Prince's Emblazoned'
839will give two thousand dollars to the person who completes his suit; that
840reward also belongs to Mr. Wilde."
841
842"He doesn't want it! He refuses it!" I answered angrily. "What do you
843know about Mr. Wilde? He doesn't need the money. He is rich--or will
844be--richer than any living man except myself. What will we care for money
845then--what will we care, he and I, when--when--"
846
847"When what?" demanded Hawberk, astonished.
848
849"You will see," I replied, on my guard again.
850
851He looked at me narrowly, much as Doctor Archer used to, and I knew he
852thought I was mentally unsound. Perhaps it was fortunate for him that he
853did not use the word lunatic just then.
854
855"No," I replied to his unspoken thought, "I am not mentally weak; my mind
856is as healthy as Mr. Wilde's. I do not care to explain just yet what I
857have on hand, but it is an investment which will pay more than mere gold,
858silver and precious stones. It will secure the happiness and prosperity
859of a continent--yes, a hemisphere!"
860
861"Oh," said Hawberk.
862
863"And eventually," I continued more quietly, "it will secure the happiness
864of the whole world."
865
866"And incidentally your own happiness and prosperity as well as Mr.
867Wilde's?"
868
869"Exactly," I smiled. But I could have throttled him for taking that tone.
870
871He looked at me in silence for a while and then said very gently, "Why
872don't you give up your books and studies, Mr. Castaigne, and take a tramp
873among the mountains somewhere or other? You used to be fond of fishing.
874Take a cast or two at the trout in the Rangelys."
875
876"I don't care for fishing any more," I answered, without a shade of
877annoyance in my voice.
878
879"You used to be fond of everything," he continued; "athletics, yachting,
880shooting, riding--"
881
882"I have never cared to ride since my fall," I said quietly.
883
884"Ah, yes, your fall," he repeated, looking away from me.
885
886I thought this nonsense had gone far enough, so I brought the
887conversation back to Mr. Wilde; but he was scanning my face again in a
888manner highly offensive to me.
889
890"Mr. Wilde," he repeated, "do you know what he did this afternoon? He
891came downstairs and nailed a sign over the hall door next to mine; it
892read:
893
894"MR. WILDE,
895REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS.
896Third Bell.
897
898"Do you know what a Repairer of Reputations can be?"
899
900"I do," I replied, suppressing the rage within.
901
902"Oh," he said again.
903
904Louis and Constance came strolling by and stopped to ask if we would join
905them. Hawberk looked at his watch. At the same moment a puff of smoke
906shot from the casemates of Castle William, and the boom of the sunset gun
907rolled across the water and was re-echoed from the Highlands opposite.
908The flag came running down from the flag-pole, the bugles sounded on the
909white decks of the warships, and the first electric light sparkled out
910from the Jersey shore.
911
912As I turned into the city with Hawberk I heard Constance murmur something
913to Louis which I did not understand; but Louis whispered "My darling," in
914reply; and again, walking ahead with Hawberk through the square I heard a
915murmur of "sweetheart," and "my own Constance," and I knew the time had
916nearly arrived when I should speak of important matters with my cousin
917Louis.
918
919
920
921
922III
923
924One morning early in May I stood before the steel safe in my bedroom,
925trying on the golden jewelled crown. The diamonds flashed fire as I
926turned to the mirror, and the heavy beaten gold burned like a halo about
927my head. I remembered Camilla's agonized scream and the awful words
928echoing through the dim streets of Carcosa. They were the last lines in
929the first act, and I dared not think of what followed--dared not, even
930in the spring sunshine, there in my own room, surrounded with familiar
931objects, reassured by the bustle from the street and the voices of the
932servants in the hallway outside. For those poisoned words had dropped
933slowly into my heart, as death-sweat drops upon a bed-sheet and is
934absorbed. Trembling, I put the diadem from my head and wiped my forehead,
935but I thought of Hastur and of my own rightful ambition, and I remembered
936Mr. Wilde as I had last left him, his face all torn and bloody from the
937claws of that devil's creature, and what he said--ah, what he said. The
938alarm bell in the safe began to whirr harshly, and I knew my time was up;
939but I would not heed it, and replacing the flashing circlet upon my head
940I turned defiantly to the mirror. I stood for a long time absorbed in the
941changing expression of my own eyes. The mirror reflected a face which was
942like my own, but whiter, and so thin that I hardly recognized it And all
943the time I kept repeating between my clenched teeth, "The day has come!
944the day has come!" while the alarm in the safe whirred and clamoured, and
945the diamonds sparkled and flamed above my brow. I heard a door open but
946did not heed it. It was only when I saw two faces in the mirror:--it was
947only when another face rose over my shoulder, and two other eyes met
948mine. I wheeled like a flash and seized a long knife from my
949dressing-table, and my cousin sprang back very pale, crying: "Hildred!
950for God's sake!" then as my hand fell, he said: "It is I, Louis, don't
951you know me?" I stood silent. I could not have spoken for my life. He
952walked up to me and took the knife from my hand.
953
954"What is all this?" he inquired, in a gentle voice. "Are you ill?"
955
956"No," I replied. But I doubt if he heard me.
957
958"Come, come, old fellow," he cried, "take off that brass crown and toddle
959into the study. Are you going to a masquerade? What's all this theatrical
960tinsel anyway?"
961
962I was glad he thought the crown was made of brass and paste, yet I didn't
963like him any the better for thinking so. I let him take it from my hand,
964knowing it was best to humour him. He tossed the splendid diadem in the
965air, and catching it, turned to me smiling.
966
967"It's dear at fifty cents," he said. "What's it for?"
968
969I did not answer, but took the circlet from his hands, and placing it in
970the safe shut the massive steel door. The alarm ceased its infernal din
971at once. He watched me curiously, but did not seem to notice the sudden
972ceasing of the alarm. He did, however, speak of the safe as a biscuit
973box. Fearing lest he might examine the combination I led the way into my
974study. Louis threw himself on the sofa and flicked at flies with his
975eternal riding-whip. He wore his fatigue uniform with the braided jacket
976and jaunty cap, and I noticed that his riding-boots were all splashed
977with red mud.
978
979"Where have you been?" I inquired.
980
981"Jumping mud creeks in Jersey," he said. "I haven't had time to change
982yet; I was rather in a hurry to see you. Haven't you got a glass of
983something? I'm dead tired; been in the saddle twenty-four hours."
984
985I gave him some brandy from my medicinal store, which he drank with a
986grimace.
987
988"Damned bad stuff," he observed. "I'll give you an address where they
989sell brandy that is brandy."
990
991"It's good enough for my needs," I said indifferently. "I use it to rub
992my chest with." He stared and flicked at another fly.
993
994"See here, old fellow," he began, "I've got something to suggest to you.
995It's four years now that you've shut yourself up here like an owl, never
996going anywhere, never taking any healthy exercise, never doing a damn
997thing but poring over those books up there on the mantelpiece."
998
999He glanced along the row of shelves. "Napoleon, Napoleon, Napoleon!" he
1000read. "For heaven's sake, have you nothing but Napoleons there?"
1001
1002"I wish they were bound in gold," I said. "But wait, yes, there is
1003another book, _The King in Yellow_." I looked him steadily in the
1004eye.
1005
1006"Have you never read it?" I asked.
1007
1008"I? No, thank God! I don't want to be driven crazy."
1009
1010I saw he regretted his speech as soon as he had uttered it. There is only
1011one word which I loathe more than I do lunatic and that word is crazy.
1012But I controlled myself and asked him why he thought _The King in
1013Yellow_ dangerous.
1014
1015"Oh, I don't know," he said, hastily. "I only remember the excitement it
1016created and the denunciations from pulpit and Press. I believe the author
1017shot himself after bringing forth this monstrosity, didn't he?"
1018
1019"I understand he is still alive," I answered.
1020
1021"That's probably true," he muttered; "bullets couldn't kill a fiend like
1022that."
1023
1024"It is a book of great truths," I said.
1025
1026"Yes," he replied, "of 'truths' which send men frantic and blast their
1027lives. I don't care if the thing is, as they say, the very supreme
1028essence of art. It's a crime to have written it, and I for one shall
1029never open its pages."
1030
1031"Is that what you have come to tell me?" I asked.
1032
1033"No," he said, "I came to tell you that I am going to be married."
1034
1035I believe for a moment my heart ceased to beat, but I kept my eyes on his
1036face.
1037
1038"Yes," he continued, smiling happily, "married to the sweetest girl on
1039earth."
1040
1041"Constance Hawberk," I said mechanically.
1042
1043"How did you know?" he cried, astonished. "I didn't know it myself until
1044that evening last April, when we strolled down to the embankment before
1045dinner."
1046
1047"When is it to be?" I asked.
1048
1049"It was to have been next September, but an hour ago a despatch came
1050ordering our regiment to the Presidio, San Francisco. We leave at noon
1051to-morrow. To-morrow," he repeated. "Just think, Hildred, to-morrow I
1052shall be the happiest fellow that ever drew breath in this jolly world,
1053for Constance will go with me."
1054
1055I offered him my hand in congratulation, and he seized and shook it like
1056the good-natured fool he was--or pretended to be.
1057
1058"I am going to get my squadron as a wedding present," he rattled on.
1059"Captain and Mrs. Louis Castaigne, eh, Hildred?"
1060
1061Then he told me where it was to be and who were to be there, and made me
1062promise to come and be best man. I set my teeth and listened to his
1063boyish chatter without showing what I felt, but--
1064
1065I was getting to the limit of my endurance, and when he jumped up, and,
1066switching his spurs till they jingled, said he must go, I did not detain
1067him.
1068
1069"There's one thing I want to ask of you," I said quietly.
1070
1071"Out with it, it's promised," he laughed.
1072
1073"I want you to meet me for a quarter of an hour's talk to-night."
1074
1075"Of course, if you wish," he said, somewhat puzzled. "Where?"
1076
1077"Anywhere, in the park there."
1078
1079"What time, Hildred?"
1080
1081"Midnight."
1082
1083"What in the name of--" he began, but checked himself and laughingly
1084assented. I watched him go down the stairs and hurry away, his sabre
1085banging at every stride. He turned into Bleecker Street, and I knew he
1086was going to see Constance. I gave him ten minutes to disappear and then
1087followed in his footsteps, taking with me the jewelled crown and the
1088silken robe embroidered with the Yellow Sign. When I turned into Bleecker
1089Street, and entered the doorway which bore the sign--
1090
1091MR. WILDE,
1092REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS.
1093Third Bell.
1094
1095I saw old Hawberk moving about in his shop, and imagined I heard
1096Constance's voice in the parlour; but I avoided them both and hurried up
1097the trembling stairways to Mr. Wilde's apartment. I knocked and entered
1098without ceremony. Mr. Wilde lay groaning on the floor, his face covered
1099with blood, his clothes torn to shreds. Drops of blood were scattered
1100about over the carpet, which had also been ripped and frayed in the
1101evidently recent struggle.
1102
1103"It's that cursed cat," he said, ceasing his groans, and turning his
1104colourless eyes to me; "she attacked me while I was asleep. I believe she
1105will kill me yet."
1106
1107This was too much, so I went into the kitchen, and, seizing a hatchet
1108from the pantry, started to find the infernal beast and settle her then
1109and there. My search was fruitless, and after a while I gave it up and
1110came back to find Mr. Wilde squatting on his high chair by the table. He
1111had washed his face and changed his clothes. The great furrows which the
1112cat's claws had ploughed up in his face he had filled with collodion, and
1113a rag hid the wound in his throat. I told him I should kill the cat when
1114I came across her, but he only shook his head and turned to the open
1115ledger before him. He read name after name of the people who had come to
1116him in regard to their reputation, and the sums he had amassed were
1117startling.
1118
1119"I put on the screws now and then," he explained.
1120
1121"One day or other some of these people will assassinate you," I insisted.
1122
1123"Do you think so?" he said, rubbing his mutilated ears.
1124
1125It was useless to argue with him, so I took down the manuscript entitled
1126Imperial Dynasty of America, for the last time I should ever take it down
1127in Mr. Wilde's study. I read it through, thrilling and trembling with
1128pleasure. When I had finished Mr. Wilde took the manuscript and, turning
1129to the dark passage which leads from his study to his bed-chamber,
1130called out in a loud voice, "Vance." Then for the first time, I noticed a
1131man crouching there in the shadow. How I had overlooked him during my
1132search for the cat, I cannot imagine.
1133
1134"Vance, come in," cried Mr. Wilde.
1135
1136The figure rose and crept towards us, and I shall never forget the face
1137that he raised to mine, as the light from the window illuminated it.
1138
1139"Vance, this is Mr. Castaigne," said Mr. Wilde. Before he had finished
1140speaking, the man threw himself on the ground before the table, crying
1141and grasping, "Oh, God! Oh, my God! Help me! Forgive me! Oh, Mr.
1142Castaigne, keep that man away. You cannot, you cannot mean it! You are
1143different--save me! I am broken down--I was in a madhouse and now--when
1144all was coming right--when I had forgotten the King--the King in Yellow
1145and--but I shall go mad again--I shall go mad--"
1146
1147His voice died into a choking rattle, for Mr. Wilde had leapt on him and
1148his right hand encircled the man's throat. When Vance fell in a heap on
1149the floor, Mr. Wilde clambered nimbly into his chair again, and rubbing
1150his mangled ears with the stump of his hand, turned to me and asked me
1151for the ledger. I reached it down from the shelf and he opened it. After
1152a moment's searching among the beautifully written pages, he coughed
1153complacently, and pointed to the name Vance.
1154
1155"Vance," he read aloud, "Osgood Oswald Vance." At the sound of his name,
1156the man on the floor raised his head and turned a convulsed face to Mr.
1157Wilde. His eyes were injected with blood, his lips tumefied. "Called
1158April 28th," continued Mr. Wilde. "Occupation, cashier in the Seaforth
1159National Bank; has served a term of forgery at Sing Sing, from whence he
1160was transferred to the Asylum for the Criminal Insane. Pardoned by the
1161Governor of New York, and discharged from the Asylum, January 19, 1918.
1162Reputation damaged at Sheepshead Bay. Rumours that he lives beyond his
1163income. Reputation to be repaired at once. Retainer $1,500.
1164
1165"Note.--Has embezzled sums amounting to $30,000 since March 20, 1919,
1166excellent family, and secured present position through uncle's influence.
1167Father, President of Seaforth Bank."
1168
1169I looked at the man on the floor.
1170
1171"Get up, Vance," said Mr. Wilde in a gentle voice. Vance rose as if
1172hypnotized. "He will do as we suggest now," observed Mr. Wilde, and
1173opening the manuscript, he read the entire history of the Imperial
1174Dynasty of America. Then in a kind and soothing murmur he ran over the
1175important points with Vance, who stood like one stunned. His eyes were so
1176blank and vacant that I imagined he had become half-witted, and remarked
1177it to Mr. Wilde who replied that it was of no consequence anyway. Very
1178patiently we pointed out to Vance what his share in the affair would be,
1179and he seemed to understand after a while. Mr. Wilde explained the
1180manuscript, using several volumes on Heraldry, to substantiate the result
1181of his researches. He mentioned the establishment of the Dynasty in
1182Carcosa, the lakes which connected Hastur, Aldebaran and the mystery of
1183the Hyades. He spoke of Cassilda and Camilla, and sounded the cloudy
1184depths of Demhe, and the Lake of Hali. "The scolloped tatters of the King
1185in Yellow must hide Yhtill forever," he muttered, but I do not believe
1186Vance heard him. Then by degrees he led Vance along the ramifications of
1187the Imperial family, to Uoht and Thale, from Naotalba and Phantom of
1188Truth, to Aldones, and then tossing aside his manuscript and notes, he
1189began the wonderful story of the Last King. Fascinated and thrilled I
1190watched him. He threw up his head, his long arms were stretched out in a
1191magnificent gesture of pride and power, and his eyes blazed deep in their
1192sockets like two emeralds. Vance listened stupefied. As for me, when at
1193last Mr. Wilde had finished, and pointing to me, cried, "The cousin of
1194the King!" my head swam with excitement.
1195
1196Controlling myself with a superhuman effort, I explained to Vance why I
1197alone was worthy of the crown and why my cousin must be exiled or die.
1198I made him understand that my cousin must never marry, even after
1199renouncing all his claims, and how that least of all he should marry the
1200daughter of the Marquis of Avonshire and bring England into the question.
1201I showed him a list of thousands of names which Mr. Wilde had drawn up;
1202every man whose name was there had received the Yellow Sign which no
1203living human being dared disregard. The city, the state, the whole land,
1204were ready to rise and tremble before the Pallid Mask.
1205
1206The time had come, the people should know the son of Hastur, and the
1207whole world bow to the black stars which hang in the sky over Carcosa.
1208
1209Vance leaned on the table, his head buried in his hands. Mr. Wilde drew
1210a rough sketch on the margin of yesterday's _Herald_ with a bit of
1211lead pencil. It was a plan of Hawberk's rooms. Then he wrote out the
1212order and affixed the seal, and shaking like a palsied man I signed my
1213first writ of execution with my name Hildred-Rex.
1214
1215Mr. Wilde clambered to the floor and unlocking the cabinet, took a long
1216square box from the first shelf. This he brought to the table and opened.
1217A new knife lay in the tissue paper inside and I picked it up and handed
1218it to Vance, along with the order and the plan of Hawberk's apartment.
1219Then Mr. Wilde told Vance he could go; and he went, shambling like an
1220outcast of the slums.
1221
1222I sat for a while watching the daylight fade behind the square tower of
1223the Judson Memorial Church, and finally, gathering up the manuscript and
1224notes, took my hat and started for the door.
1225
1226Mr. Wilde watched me in silence. When I had stepped into the hall I
1227looked back. Mr. Wilde's small eyes were still fixed on me. Behind him,
1228the shadows gathered in the fading light. Then I closed the door behind
1229me and went out into the darkening streets.
1230
1231I had eaten nothing since breakfast, but I was not hungry. A wretched,
1232half-starved creature, who stood looking across the street at the Lethal
1233Chamber, noticed me and came up to tell me a tale of misery. I gave him
1234money, I don't know why, and he went away without thanking me. An
1235hour later another outcast approached and whined his story. I had a blank
1236bit of paper in my pocket, on which was traced the Yellow Sign, and I
1237handed it to him. He looked at it stupidly for a moment, and then with an
1238uncertain glance at me, folded it with what seemed to me exaggerated care
1239and placed it in his bosom.
1240
1241The electric lights were sparkling among the trees, and the new moon
1242shone in the sky above the Lethal Chamber. It was tiresome waiting in the
1243square; I wandered from the Marble Arch to the artillery stables and back
1244again to the lotos fountain. The flowers and grass exhaled a fragrance
1245which troubled me. The jet of the fountain played in the moonlight, and
1246the musical splash of falling drops reminded me of the tinkle of chained
1247mail in Hawberk's shop. But it was not so fascinating, and the dull
1248sparkle of the moonlight on the water brought no such sensations of
1249exquisite pleasure, as when the sunshine played over the polished steel
1250of a corselet on Hawberk's knee. I watched the bats darting and turning
1251above the water plants in the fountain basin, but their rapid, jerky
1252flight set my nerves on edge, and I went away again to walk aimlessly to
1253and fro among the trees.
1254
1255The artillery stables were dark, but in the cavalry barracks the
1256officers' windows were brilliantly lighted, and the sallyport was
1257constantly filled with troopers in fatigue, carrying straw and harness
1258and baskets filled with tin dishes.
1259
1260Twice the mounted sentry at the gates was changed while I wandered up and
1261down the asphalt walk. I looked at my watch. It was nearly time. The
1262lights in the barracks went out one by one, the barred gate was closed,
1263and every minute or two an officer passed in through the side wicket,
1264leaving a rattle of accoutrements and a jingle of spurs on the night air.
1265The square had become very silent. The last homeless loiterer had been
1266driven away by the grey-coated park policeman, the car tracks along
1267Wooster Street were deserted, and the only sound which broke the
1268stillness was the stamping of the sentry's horse and the ring of his
1269sabre against the saddle pommel. In the barracks, the officers' quarters
1270were still lighted, and military servants passed and repassed before the
1271bay windows. Twelve o'clock sounded from the new spire of St. Francis
1272Xavier, and at the last stroke of the sad-toned bell a figure passed
1273through the wicket beside the portcullis, returned the salute of the
1274sentry, and crossing the street entered the square and advanced toward
1275the Benedick apartment house.
1276
1277"Louis," I called.
1278
1279The man pivoted on his spurred heels and came straight toward me.
1280
1281"Is that you, Hildred?"
1282
1283"Yes, you are on time."
1284
1285I took his offered hand, and we strolled toward the Lethal Chamber.
1286
1287He rattled on about his wedding and the graces of Constance, and their
1288future prospects, calling my attention to his captain's shoulder-straps,
1289and the triple gold arabesque on his sleeve and fatigue cap. I believe I
1290listened as much to the music of his spurs and sabre as I did to his
1291boyish babble, and at last we stood under the elms on the Fourth Street
1292corner of the square opposite the Lethal Chamber. Then he laughed and
1293asked me what I wanted with him. I motioned him to a seat on a bench
1294under the electric light, and sat down beside him. He looked at me
1295curiously, with that same searching glance which I hate and fear so in
1296doctors. I felt the insult of his look, but he did not know it, and I
1297carefully concealed my feelings.
1298
1299"Well, old chap," he inquired, "what can I do for you?"
1300
1301I drew from my pocket the manuscript and notes of the Imperial Dynasty
1302of America, and looking him in the eye said:
1303
1304"I will tell you. On your word as a soldier, promise me to read this
1305manuscript from beginning to end, without asking me a question. Promise
1306me to read these notes in the same way, and promise me to listen to what
1307I have to tell later."
1308
1309"I promise, if you wish it," he said pleasantly. "Give me the paper,
1310Hildred."
1311
1312He began to read, raising his eyebrows with a puzzled, whimsical air,
1313which made me tremble with suppressed anger. As he advanced his, eyebrows
1314contracted, and his lips seemed to form the word "rubbish."
1315
1316Then he looked slightly bored, but apparently for my sake read, with an
1317attempt at interest, which presently ceased to be an effort He started
1318when in the closely written pages he came to his own name, and when he
1319came to mine he lowered the paper, and looked sharply at me for a moment
1320But he kept his word, and resumed his reading, and I let the half-formed
1321question die on his lips unanswered. When he came to the end and read the
1322signature of Mr. Wilde, he folded the paper carefully and returned it to
1323me. I handed him the notes, and he settled back, pushing his fatigue cap
1324up to his forehead, with a boyish gesture, which I remembered so well in
1325school. I watched his face as he read, and when he finished I took the
1326notes with the manuscript, and placed them in my pocket. Then I unfolded
1327a scroll marked with the Yellow Sign. He saw the sign, but he did not
1328seem to recognize it, and I called his attention to it somewhat sharply.
1329
1330"Well," he said, "I see it. What is it?"
1331
1332"It is the Yellow Sign," I said angrily.
1333
1334"Oh, that's it, is it?" said Louis, in that flattering voice, which
1335Doctor Archer used to employ with me, and would probably have employed
1336again, had I not settled his affair for him.
1337
1338I kept my rage down and answered as steadily as possible, "Listen, you
1339have engaged your word?"
1340
1341"I am listening, old chap," he replied soothingly.
1342
1343I began to speak very calmly.
1344
1345"Dr. Archer, having by some means become possessed of the secret of the
1346Imperial Succession, attempted to deprive me of my right, alleging that
1347because of a fall from my horse four years ago, I had become mentally
1348deficient. He presumed to place me under restraint in his own house in
1349hopes of either driving me insane or poisoning me. I have not forgotten
1350it. I visited him last night and the interview was final."
1351
1352Louis turned quite pale, but did not move. I resumed triumphantly, "There
1353are yet three people to be interviewed in the interests of Mr. Wilde and
1354myself. They are my cousin Louis, Mr. Hawberk, and his daughter
1355Constance."
1356
1357Louis sprang to his feet and I arose also, and flung the paper marked
1358with the Yellow Sign to the ground.
1359
1360"Oh, I don't need that to tell you what I have to say," I cried, with a
1361laugh of triumph. "You must renounce the crown to me, do you hear, to
1362_me_."
1363
1364Louis looked at me with a startled air, but recovering himself said
1365kindly, "Of course I renounce the--what is it I must renounce?"
1366
1367"The crown," I said angrily.
1368
1369"Of course," he answered, "I renounce it. Come, old chap, I'll walk back
1370to your rooms with you."
1371
1372"Don't try any of your doctor's tricks on me," I cried, trembling with
1373fury. "Don't act as if you think I am insane."
1374
1375"What nonsense," he replied. "Come, it's getting late, Hildred."
1376
1377"No," I shouted, "you must listen. You cannot marry, I forbid it. Do you
1378hear? I forbid it. You shall renounce the crown, and in reward I grant
1379you exile, but if you refuse you shall die."
1380
1381He tried to calm me, but I was roused at last, and drawing my long knife
1382barred his way.
1383
1384Then I told him how they would find Dr. Archer in the cellar with his
1385throat open, and I laughed in his face when I thought of Vance and his
1386knife, and the order signed by me.
1387
1388"Ah, you are the King," I cried, "but I shall be King. Who are you to
1389keep me from Empire over all the habitable earth! I was born the cousin
1390of a king, but I shall be King!"
1391
1392Louis stood white and rigid before me. Suddenly a man came running up
1393Fourth Street, entered the gate of the Lethal Temple, traversed the path
1394to the bronze doors at full speed, and plunged into the death chamber
1395with the cry of one demented, and I laughed until I wept tears, for I had
1396recognized Vance, and knew that Hawberk and his daughter were no longer
1397in my way.
1398
1399"Go," I cried to Louis, "you have ceased to be a menace. You will never
1400marry Constance now, and if you marry any one else in your exile, I will
1401visit you as I did my doctor last night. Mr. Wilde takes charge of you
1402to-morrow." Then I turned and darted into South Fifth Avenue, and with a
1403cry of terror Louis dropped his belt and sabre and followed me like the
1404wind. I heard him close behind me at the corner of Bleecker Street, and I
1405dashed into the doorway under Hawberk's sign. He cried, "Halt, or I
1406fire!" but when he saw that I flew up the stairs leaving Hawberk's shop
1407below, he left me, and I heard him hammering and shouting at their door
1408as though it were possible to arouse the dead.
1409
1410Mr. Wilde's door was open, and I entered crying, "It is done, it is done!
1411Let the nations rise and look upon their King!" but I could not find Mr.
1412Wilde, so I went to the cabinet and took the splendid diadem from its
1413case. Then I drew on the white silk robe, embroidered with the Yellow
1414Sign, and placed the crown upon my head. At last I was King, King by my
1415right in Hastur, King because I knew the mystery of the Hyades, and my
1416mind had sounded the depths of the Lake of Hali. I was King! The first
1417grey pencillings of dawn would raise a tempest which would shake two
1418hemispheres. Then as I stood, my every nerve pitched to the highest
1419tension, faint with the joy and splendour of my thought, without, in the
1420dark passage, a man groaned.
1421
1422I seized the tallow dip and sprang to the door. The cat passed me like a
1423demon, and the tallow dip went out, but my long knife flew swifter than
1424she, and I heard her screech, and I knew that my knife had found her. For
1425a moment I listened to her tumbling and thumping about in the darkness,
1426and then when her frenzy ceased, I lighted a lamp and raised it over my
1427head. Mr. Wilde lay on the floor with his throat torn open. At first I
1428thought he was dead, but as I looked, a green sparkle came into his
1429sunken eyes, his mutilated hand trembled, and then a spasm stretched his
1430mouth from ear to ear. For a moment my terror and despair gave place to
1431hope, but as I bent over him his eyeballs rolled clean around in his
1432head, and he died. Then while I stood, transfixed with rage and despair,
1433seeing my crown, my empire, every hope and every ambition, my very life,
1434lying prostrate there with the dead master, _they_ came, seized me
1435from behind, and bound me until my veins stood out like cords, and my
1436voice failed with the paroxysms of my frenzied screams. But I still
1437raged, bleeding and infuriated among them, and more than one policeman
1438felt my sharp teeth. Then when I could no longer move they came nearer; I
1439saw old Hawberk, and behind him my cousin Louis' ghastly face, and
1440farther away, in the corner, a woman, Constance, weeping softly.
1441
1442"Ah! I see it now!" I shrieked. "You have seized the throne and the
1443empire. Woe! woe to you who are crowned with the crown of the King in
1444Yellow!"
1445
1446
1447[EDITOR'S NOTE.--Mr. Castaigne died yesterday in the Asylum for Criminal
1448Insane.]
1449
1450
1451
1452
1453THE MASK
1454
1455CAMILLA: You, sir, should unmask.
1456
1457STRANGER: Indeed?
1458
1459CASSILDA: Indeed it's time. We all have laid aside disguise but you.
1460
1461STRANGER: I wear no mask.
1462
1463CAMILLA: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!
1464
1465_The King in Yellow, Act I, Scene 2_.
1466
1467
1468I
1469
1470Although I knew nothing of chemistry, I listened fascinated. He picked up
1471an Easter lily which Geneviève had brought that morning from Notre Dame,
1472and dropped it into the basin. Instantly the liquid lost its crystalline
1473clearness. For a second the lily was enveloped in a milk-white foam,
1474which disappeared, leaving the fluid opalescent. Changing tints of orange
1475and crimson played over the surface, and then what seemed to be a ray of
1476pure sunlight struck through from the bottom where the lily was resting.
1477At the same instant he plunged his hand into the basin and drew out the
1478flower. "There is no danger," he explained, "if you choose the right
1479moment. That golden ray is the signal."
1480
1481He held the lily toward me, and I took it in my hand. It had turned to
1482stone, to the purest marble.
1483
1484"You see," he said, "it is without a flaw. What sculptor could reproduce
1485it?"
1486
1487The marble was white as snow, but in its depths the veins of the lily
1488were tinged with palest azure, and a faint flush lingered deep in its
1489heart.
1490
1491"Don't ask me the reason of that," he smiled, noticing my wonder. "I have
1492no idea why the veins and heart are tinted, but they always are.
1493Yesterday I tried one of Geneviève's gold-fish,--there it is."
1494
1495The fish looked as if sculptured in marble. But if you held it to the
1496light the stone was beautifully veined with a faint blue, and from
1497somewhere within came a rosy light like the tint which slumbers in an
1498opal. I looked into the basin. Once more it seemed filled with clearest
1499crystal.
1500
1501"If I should touch it now?" I demanded.
1502
1503"I don't know," he replied, "but you had better not try."
1504
1505"There is one thing I'm curious about," I said, "and that is where the
1506ray of sunlight came from."
1507
1508"It looked like a sunbeam true enough," he said. "I don't know, it always
1509comes when I immerse any living thing. Perhaps," he continued, smiling,
1510"perhaps it is the vital spark of the creature escaping to the source
1511from whence it came."
1512
1513I saw he was mocking, and threatened him with a mahl-stick, but he only
1514laughed and changed the subject.
1515
1516"Stay to lunch. Geneviève will be here directly."
1517
1518"I saw her going to early mass," I said, "and she looked as fresh and
1519sweet as that lily--before you destroyed it."
1520
1521"Do you think I destroyed it?" said Boris gravely.
1522
1523"Destroyed, preserved, how can we tell?"
1524
1525We sat in the corner of a studio near his unfinished group of the
1526"Fates." He leaned back on the sofa, twirling a sculptor's chisel and
1527squinting at his work.
1528
1529"By the way," he said, "I have finished pointing up that old academic
1530Ariadne, and I suppose it will have to go to the Salon. It's all I have
1531ready this year, but after the success the 'Madonna' brought me I feel
1532ashamed to send a thing like that."
1533
1534The "Madonna," an exquisite marble for which Geneviève had sat, had been
1535the sensation of last year's Salon. I looked at the Ariadne. It was a
1536magnificent piece of technical work, but I agreed with Boris that the
1537world would expect something better of him than that. Still, it was
1538impossible now to think of finishing in time for the Salon that splendid
1539terrible group half shrouded in the marble behind me. The "Fates" would
1540have to wait.
1541
1542We were proud of Boris Yvain. We claimed him and he claimed us on the
1543strength of his having been born in America, although his father was
1544French and his mother was a Russian. Every one in the Beaux Arts called
1545him Boris. And yet there were only two of us whom he addressed in the
1546same familiar way--Jack Scott and myself.
1547
1548Perhaps my being in love with Geneviève had something to do with his
1549affection for me. Not that it had ever been acknowledged between us. But
1550after all was settled, and she had told me with tears in her eyes that it
1551was Boris whom she loved, I went over to his house and congratulated him.
1552The perfect cordiality of that interview did not deceive either of us, I
1553always believed, although to one at least it was a great comfort. I do
1554not think he and Geneviève ever spoke of the matter together, but Boris
1555knew.
1556
1557Geneviève was lovely. The Madonna-like purity of her face might have been
1558inspired by the Sanctus in Gounod's Mass. But I was always glad when she
1559changed that mood for what we called her "April Manoeuvres." She was
1560often as variable as an April day. In the morning grave, dignified and
1561sweet, at noon laughing, capricious, at evening whatever one least
1562expected. I preferred her so rather than in that Madonna-like
1563tranquillity which stirred the depths of my heart. I was dreaming of
1564Geneviève when he spoke again.
1565
1566"What do you think of my discovery, Alec?"
1567
1568"I think it wonderful."
1569
1570"I shall make no use of it, you know, beyond satisfying my own curiosity
1571so far as may be, and the secret will die with me."
1572
1573"It would be rather a blow to sculpture, would it not? We painters lose
1574more than we ever gain by photography."
1575
1576Boris nodded, playing with the edge of the chisel.
1577
1578"This new vicious discovery would corrupt the world of art. No, I shall
1579never confide the secret to any one," he said slowly.
1580
1581It would be hard to find any one less informed about such phenomena than
1582myself; but of course I had heard of mineral springs so saturated with
1583silica that the leaves and twigs which fell into them were turned to
1584stone after a time. I dimly comprehended the process, how the silica
1585replaced the vegetable matter, atom by atom, and the result was a
1586duplicate of the object in stone. This, I confess, had never interested
1587me greatly, and as for the ancient fossils thus produced, they disgusted
1588me. Boris, it appeared, feeling curiosity instead of repugnance, had
1589investigated the subject, and had accidentally stumbled on a solution
1590which, attacking the immersed object with a ferocity unheard of, in a
1591second did the work of years. This was all I could make out of the
1592strange story he had just been telling me. He spoke again after a long
1593silence.
1594
1595"I am almost frightened when I think what I have found. Scientists would
1596go mad over the discovery. It was so simple too; it discovered itself.
1597When I think of that formula, and that new element precipitated in
1598metallic scales--"
1599
1600"What new element?"
1601
1602"Oh, I haven't thought of naming it, and I don't believe I ever shall.
1603There are enough precious metals now in the world to cut throats over."
1604
1605I pricked up my ears. "Have you struck gold, Boris?"
1606
1607"No, better;--but see here, Alec!" he laughed, starting up. "You and I
1608have all we need in this world. Ah! how sinister and covetous you look
1609already!" I laughed too, and told him I was devoured by the desire for
1610gold, and we had better talk of something else; so when Geneviève came in
1611shortly after, we had turned our backs on alchemy.
1612
1613Geneviève was dressed in silvery grey from head to foot. The light
1614glinted along the soft curves of her fair hair as she turned her cheek to
1615Boris; then she saw me and returned my greeting. She had never before
1616failed to blow me a kiss from the tips of her white fingers, and I
1617promptly complained of the omission. She smiled and held out her hand,
1618which dropped almost before it had touched mine; then she said, looking
1619at Boris--
1620
1621"You must ask Alec to stay for luncheon." This also was something new.
1622She had always asked me herself until to-day.
1623
1624"I did," said Boris shortly.
1625
1626"And you said yes, I hope?" She turned to me with a charming conventional
1627smile. I might have been an acquaintance of the day before yesterday. I
1628made her a low bow. "J'avais bien l'honneur, madame," but refusing to
1629take up our usual bantering tone, she murmured a hospitable commonplace
1630and disappeared. Boris and I looked at one another.
1631
1632"I had better go home, don't you think?" I asked.
1633
1634"Hanged if I know," he replied frankly.
1635
1636While we were discussing the advisability of my departure Geneviève
1637reappeared in the doorway without her bonnet. She was wonderfully
1638beautiful, but her colour was too deep and her lovely eyes were too
1639bright. She came straight up to me and took my arm.
1640
1641"Luncheon is ready. Was I cross, Alec? I thought I had a headache, but I
1642haven't. Come here, Boris;" and she slipped her other arm through his.
1643"Alec knows that after you there is no one in the world whom I like as
1644well as I like him, so if he sometimes feels snubbed it won't hurt him."
1645
1646"À la bonheur!" I cried, "who says there are no thunderstorms in April?"
1647
1648"Are you ready?" chanted Boris. "Aye ready;" and arm-in-arm we raced into
1649the dining-room, scandalizing the servants. After all we were not so much
1650to blame; Geneviève was eighteen, Boris was twenty-three, and I not quite
1651twenty-one.
1652
1653
1654
1655
1656II
1657
1658Some work that I was doing about this time on the decorations for
1659Geneviève's boudoir kept me constantly at the quaint little hotel in the
1660Rue Sainte-Cécile. Boris and I in those days laboured hard but as we
1661pleased, which was fitfully, and we all three, with Jack Scott, idled a
1662great deal together.
1663
1664One quiet afternoon I had been wandering alone over the house examining
1665curios, prying into odd corners, bringing out sweetmeats and cigars from
1666strange hiding-places, and at last I stopped in the bathing-room. Boris,
1667all over clay, stood there washing his hands.
1668
1669The room was built of rose-coloured marble excepting the floor, which was
1670tessellated in rose and grey. In the centre was a square pool sunken
1671below the surface of the floor; steps led down into it, sculptured
1672pillars supported a frescoed ceiling. A delicious marble Cupid appeared
1673to have just alighted on his pedestal at the upper end of the room. The
1674whole interior was Boris' work and mine. Boris, in his working-clothes of
1675white canvas, scraped the traces of clay and red modelling wax from his
1676handsome hands, and coquetted over his shoulder with the Cupid.
1677
1678"I see you," he insisted, "don't try to look the other way and pretend
1679not to see me. You know who made you, little humbug!"
1680
1681It was always my rôle to interpret Cupid's sentiments in these
1682conversations, and when my turn came I responded in such a manner, that
1683Boris seized my arm and dragged me toward the pool, declaring he would
1684duck me. Next instant he dropped my arm and turned pale. "Good God!" he
1685said, "I forgot the pool is full of the solution!"
1686
1687I shivered a little, and dryly advised him to remember better where he
1688had stored the precious liquid.
1689
1690"In Heaven's name, why do you keep a small lake of that gruesome stuff
1691here of all places?" I asked.
1692
1693"I want to experiment on something large," he replied.
1694
1695"On me, for instance?"
1696
1697"Ah! that came too close for jesting; but I do want to watch the action
1698of that solution on a more highly organized living body; there is that
1699big white rabbit," he said, following me into the studio.
1700
1701Jack Scott, wearing a paint-stained jacket, came wandering in,
1702appropriated all the Oriental sweetmeats he could lay his hands on,
1703looted the cigarette case, and finally he and Boris disappeared together
1704to visit the Luxembourg Gallery, where a new silver bronze by Rodin and a
1705landscape of Monet's were claiming the exclusive attention of artistic
1706France. I went back to the studio, and resumed my work. It was a
1707Renaissance screen, which Boris wanted me to paint for Geneviève's
1708boudoir. But the small boy who was unwillingly dawdling through a series
1709of poses for it, to-day refused all bribes to be good. He never rested an
1710instant in the same position, and inside of five minutes I had as many
1711different outlines of the little beggar.
1712
1713"Are you posing, or are you executing a song and dance, my friend?" I
1714inquired.
1715
1716"Whichever monsieur pleases," he replied, with an angelic smile.
1717
1718Of course I dismissed him for the day, and of course I paid him for the
1719full time, that being the way we spoil our models.
1720
1721After the young imp had gone, I made a few perfunctory daubs at my work,
1722but was so thoroughly out of humour, that it took me the rest of the
1723afternoon to undo the damage I had done, so at last I scraped my palette,
1724stuck my brushes in a bowl of black soap, and strolled into the
1725smoking-room. I really believe that, excepting Geneviève's apartments, no
1726room in the house was so free from the perfume of tobacco as this one. It
1727was a queer chaos of odds and ends, hung with threadbare tapestry. A
1728sweet-toned old spinet in good repair stood by the window. There were
1729stands of weapons, some old and dull, others bright and modern, festoons
1730of Indian and Turkish armour over the mantel, two or three good pictures,
1731and a pipe-rack. It was here that we used to come for new sensations in
1732smoking. I doubt if any type of pipe ever existed which was not
1733represented in that rack. When we had selected one, we immediately
1734carried it somewhere else and smoked it; for the place was, on the whole,
1735more gloomy and less inviting than any in the house. But this afternoon,
1736the twilight was very soothing, the rugs and skins on the floor looked
1737brown and soft and drowsy; the big couch was piled with cushions--I found
1738my pipe and curled up there for an unaccustomed smoke in the
1739smoking-room. I had chosen one with a long flexible stem, and lighting it
1740fell to dreaming. After a while it went out, but I did not stir. I
1741dreamed on and presently fell asleep.
1742
1743I awoke to the saddest music I had ever heard. The room was quite dark, I
1744had no idea what time it was. A ray of moonlight silvered one edge of the
1745old spinet, and the polished wood seemed to exhale the sounds as perfume
1746floats above a box of sandalwood. Some one rose in the darkness, and came
1747away weeping quietly, and I was fool enough to cry out "Geneviève!"
1748
1749She dropped at my voice, and, I had time to curse myself while I made a
1750light and tried to raise her from the floor. She shrank away with a
1751murmur of pain. She was very quiet, and asked for Boris. I carried her to
1752the divan, and went to look for him, but he was not in the house, and the
1753servants were gone to bed. Perplexed and anxious, I hurried back to
1754Geneviève. She lay where I had left her, looking very white.
1755
1756"I can't find Boris nor any of the servants," I said.
1757
1758"I know," she answered faintly, "Boris has gone to Ept with Mr. Scott. I
1759did not remember when I sent you for him just now."
1760
1761"But he can't get back in that case before to-morrow afternoon, and--are
1762you hurt? Did I frighten you into falling? What an awful fool I am, but I
1763was only half awake."
1764
1765"Boris thought you had gone home before dinner. Do please excuse us for
1766letting you stay here all this time."
1767
1768"I have had a long nap," I laughed, "so sound that I did not know whether
1769I was still asleep or not when I found myself staring at a figure that
1770was moving toward me, and called out your name. Have you been trying the
1771old spinet? You must have played very softly."
1772
1773I would tell a thousand more lies worse than that one to see the look of
1774relief that came into her face. She smiled adorably, and said in her
1775natural voice: "Alec, I tripped on that wolf's head, and I think my ankle
1776is sprained. Please call Marie, and then go home."
1777
1778I did as she bade me, and left her there when the maid came in.
1779
1780
1781
1782
1783III
1784
1785At noon next day when I called, I found Boris walking restlessly about
1786his studio.
1787
1788"Geneviève is asleep just now," he told me, "the sprain is nothing, but
1789why should she have such a high fever? The doctor can't account for it;
1790or else he will not," he muttered.
1791
1792"Geneviève has a fever?" I asked.
1793
1794"I should say so, and has actually been a little light-headed at
1795intervals all night. The idea! gay little Geneviève, without a care in
1796the world,--and she keeps saying her heart's broken, and she wants to
1797die!"
1798
1799My own heart stood still.
1800
1801Boris leaned against the door of his studio, looking down, his hands in
1802his pockets, his kind, keen eyes clouded, a new line of trouble drawn
1803"over the mouth's good mark, that made the smile." The maid had orders to
1804summon him the instant Geneviève opened her eyes. We waited and waited,
1805and Boris, growing restless, wandered about, fussing with modelling wax
1806and red clay. Suddenly he started for the next room. "Come and see my
1807rose-coloured bath full of death!" he cried.
1808
1809"Is it death?" I asked, to humour his mood.
1810
1811"You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose," he answered. As he
1812spoke he plucked a solitary goldfish squirming and twisting out of its
1813globe. "We'll send this one after the other--wherever that is," he said.
1814There was feverish excitement in his voice. A dull weight of fever lay on
1815my limbs and on my brain as I followed him to the fair crystal pool with
1816its pink-tinted sides; and he dropped the creature in. Falling, its
1817scales flashed with a hot orange gleam in its angry twistings and
1818contortions; the moment it struck the liquid it became rigid and sank
1819heavily to the bottom. Then came the milky foam, the splendid hues
1820radiating on the surface and then the shaft of pure serene light broke
1821through from seemingly infinite depths. Boris plunged in his hand and
1822drew out an exquisite marble thing, blue-veined, rose-tinted, and
1823glistening with opalescent drops.
1824
1825"Child's play," he muttered, and looked wearily, longingly at me,--as if
1826I could answer such questions! But Jack Scott came in and entered into
1827the "game," as he called it, with ardour. Nothing would do but to try the
1828experiment on the white rabbit then and there. I was willing that Boris
1829should find distraction from his cares, but I hated to see the life go
1830out of a warm, living creature and I declined to be present. Picking up a
1831book at random, I sat down in the studio to read. Alas! I had found
1832_The King in Yellow_. After a few moments, which seemed ages, I was
1833putting it away with a nervous shudder, when Boris and Jack came in
1834bringing their marble rabbit. At the same time the bell rang above, and a
1835cry came from the sick-room. Boris was gone like a flash, and the next
1836moment he called, "Jack, run for the doctor; bring him back with you.
1837Alec, come here."
1838
1839I went and stood at her door. A frightened maid came out in haste and ran
1840away to fetch some remedy. Geneviève, sitting bolt upright, with crimson
1841cheeks and glittering eyes, babbled incessantly and resisted Boris'
1842gentle restraint. He called me to help. At my first touch she sighed and
1843sank back, closing her eyes, and then--then--as we still bent above her,
1844she opened them again, looked straight into Boris' face--poor
1845fever-crazed girl!--and told her secret. At the same instant our three
1846lives turned into new channels; the bond that held us so long together
1847snapped for ever and a new bond was forged in its place, for she had
1848spoken my name, and as the fever tortured her, her heart poured out its
1849load of hidden sorrow. Amazed and dumb I bowed my head, while my face
1850burned like a live coal, and the blood surged in my ears, stupefying me
1851with its clamour. Incapable of movement, incapable of speech, I listened
1852to her feverish words in an agony of shame and sorrow. I could not
1853silence her, I could not look at Boris. Then I felt an arm upon my
1854shoulder, and Boris turned a bloodless face to mine.
1855
1856"It is not your fault, Alec; don't grieve so if she loves you--" but he
1857could not finish; and as the doctor stepped swiftly into the room,
1858saying--"Ah, the fever!" I seized Jack Scott and hurried him to the
1859street, saying, "Boris would rather be alone." We crossed the street to
1860our own apartments, and that night, seeing I was going to be ill too, he
1861went for the doctor again. The last thing I recollect with any
1862distinctness was hearing Jack say, "For Heaven's sake, doctor, what ails
1863him, to wear a face like that?" and I thought of _The King in
1864Yellow_ and the Pallid Mask.
1865
1866I was very ill, for the strain of two years which I had endured since
1867that fatal May morning when Geneviève murmured, "I love you, but I think
1868I love Boris best," told on me at last. I had never imagined that it
1869could become more than I could endure. Outwardly tranquil, I had deceived
1870myself. Although the inward battle raged night after night, and I, lying
1871alone in my room, cursed myself for rebellious thoughts unloyal to Boris
1872and unworthy of Geneviève, the morning always brought relief, and I
1873returned to Geneviève and to my dear Boris with a heart washed clean by
1874the tempests of the night.
1875
1876Never in word or deed or thought while with them had I betrayed my sorrow
1877even to myself.
1878
1879The mask of self-deception was no longer a mask for me, it was a part of
1880me. Night lifted it, laying bare the stifled truth below; but there was
1881no one to see except myself, and when the day broke the mask fell back
1882again of its own accord. These thoughts passed through my troubled mind
1883as I lay sick, but they were hopelessly entangled with visions of white
1884creatures, heavy as stone, crawling about in Boris' basin,--of the wolf's
1885head on the rug, foaming and snapping at Geneviève, who lay smiling
1886beside it. I thought, too, of the King in Yellow wrapped in the fantastic
1887colours of his tattered mantle, and that bitter cry of Cassilda, "Not
1888upon us, oh King, not upon us!" Feverishly I struggled to put it from me,
1889but I saw the lake of Hali, thin and blank, without a ripple or wind to
1890stir it, and I saw the towers of Carcosa behind the moon. Aldebaran, the
1891Hyades, Alar, Hastur, glided through the cloud-rifts which fluttered and
1892flapped as they passed like the scolloped tatters of the King in Yellow.
1893Among all these, one sane thought persisted. It never wavered, no matter
1894what else was going on in my disordered mind, that my chief reason for
1895existing was to meet some requirement of Boris and Geneviève. What this
1896obligation was, its nature, was never clear; sometimes it seemed to be
1897protection, sometimes support, through a great crisis. Whatever it seemed
1898to be for the time, its weight rested only on me, and I was never so ill
1899or so weak that I did not respond with my whole soul. There were always
1900crowds of faces about me, mostly strange, but a few I recognized, Boris
1901among them. Afterward they told me that this could not have been, but I
1902know that once at least he bent over me. It was only a touch, a faint
1903echo of his voice, then the clouds settled back on my senses, and I lost
1904him, but he _did_ stand there and bend over me _once_ at least.
1905
1906At last, one morning I awoke to find the sunlight falling across my bed,
1907and Jack Scott reading beside me. I had not strength enough to speak
1908aloud, neither could I think, much less remember, but I could smile
1909feebly, as Jack's eye met mine, and when he jumped up and asked eagerly
1910if I wanted anything, I could whisper, "Yes--Boris." Jack moved to the
1911head of my bed, and leaned down to arrange my pillow: I did not see his
1912face, but he answered heartily, "You must wait, Alec; you are too weak to
1913see even Boris."
1914
1915I waited and I grew strong; in a few days I was able to see whom I would,
1916but meanwhile I had thought and remembered. From the moment when all the
1917past grew clear again in my mind, I never doubted what I should do when
1918the time came, and I felt sure that Boris would have resolved upon the
1919same course so far as he was concerned; as for what pertained to me
1920alone, I knew he would see that also as I did. I no longer asked for any
1921one. I never inquired why no message came from them; why during the week
1922I lay there, waiting and growing stronger, I never heard their name
1923spoken. Preoccupied with my own searchings for the right way, and with my
1924feeble but determined fight against despair, I simply acquiesced in
1925Jack's reticence, taking for granted that he was afraid to speak of them,
1926lest I should turn unruly and insist on seeing them. Meanwhile I said
1927over and over to myself, how would it be when life began again for us
1928all? We would take up our relations exactly as they were before Geneviève
1929fell ill. Boris and I would look into each other's eyes, and there would
1930be neither rancour nor cowardice nor mistrust in that glance. I would be
1931with them again for a little while in the dear intimacy of their home,
1932and then, without pretext or explanation, I would disappear from their
1933lives for ever. Boris would know; Geneviève--the only comfort was that
1934she would never know. It seemed, as I thought it over, that I had found
1935the meaning of that sense of obligation which had persisted all through
1936my delirium, and the only possible answer to it. So, when I was quite
1937ready, I beckoned Jack to me one day, and said--
1938
1939"Jack, I want Boris at once; and take my dearest greeting to
1940Geneviève...."
1941
1942When at last he made me understand that they were both dead, I fell into
1943a wild rage that tore all my little convalescent strength to atoms. I
1944raved and cursed myself into a relapse, from which I crawled forth some
1945weeks afterward a boy of twenty-one who believed that his youth was gone
1946for ever. I seemed to be past the capability of further suffering, and
1947one day when Jack handed me a letter and the keys to Boris' house, I took
1948them without a tremor and asked him to tell me all. It was cruel of me to
1949ask him, but there was no help for it, and he leaned wearily on his thin
1950hands, to reopen the wound which could never entirely heal. He began very
1951quietly--
1952
1953"Alec, unless you have a clue that I know nothing about, you will not be
1954able to explain any more than I what has happened. I suspect that you
1955would rather not hear these details, but you must learn them, else I
1956would spare you the relation. God knows I wish I could be spared the
1957telling. I shall use few words.
1958
1959"That day when I left you in the doctor's care and came back to Boris, I
1960found him working on the 'Fates.' Geneviève, he said, was sleeping under
1961the influence of drugs. She had been quite out of her mind, he said. He
1962kept on working, not talking any more, and I watched him. Before long, I
1963saw that the third figure of the group--the one looking straight ahead,
1964out over the world--bore his face; not as you ever saw it, but as it
1965looked then and to the end. This is one thing for which I should like to
1966find an explanation, but I never shall.
1967
1968"Well, he worked and I watched him in silence, and we went on that way
1969until nearly midnight. Then we heard the door open and shut sharply, and
1970a swift rush in the next room. Boris sprang through the doorway and I
1971followed; but we were too late. She lay at the bottom of the pool, her
1972hands across her breast. Then Boris shot himself through the heart." Jack
1973stopped speaking, drops of sweat stood under his eyes, and his thin
1974cheeks twitched. "I carried Boris to his room. Then I went back and let
1975that hellish fluid out of the pool, and turning on all the water, washed
1976the marble clean of every drop. When at length I dared descend the steps,
1977I found her lying there as white as snow. At last, when I had decided
1978what was best to do, I went into the laboratory, and first emptied the
1979solution in the basin into the waste-pipe; then I poured the contents of
1980every jar and bottle after it. There was wood in the fire-place, so I
1981built a fire, and breaking the locks of Boris' cabinet I burnt every
1982paper, notebook and letter that I found there. With a mallet from the
1983studio I smashed to pieces all the empty bottles, then loading them into
1984a coal-scuttle, I carried them to the cellar and threw them over the
1985red-hot bed of the furnace. Six times I made the journey, and at last,
1986not a vestige remained of anything which might again aid in seeking for
1987the formula which Boris had found. Then at last I dared call the doctor.
1988He is a good man, and together we struggled to keep it from the public.
1989Without him I never could have succeeded. At last we got the servants
1990paid and sent away into the country, where old Rosier keeps them quiet
1991with stones of Boris' and Geneviève's travels in distant lands, from
1992whence they will not return for years. We buried Boris in the little
1993cemetery of Sèvres. The doctor is a good creature, and knows when to pity
1994a man who can bear no more. He gave his certificate of heart disease and
1995asked no questions of me."
1996
1997Then, lifting his head from his hands, he said, "Open the letter, Alec;
1998it is for us both."
1999
2000I tore it open. It was Boris' will dated a year before. He left
2001everything to Geneviève, and in case of her dying childless, I was to
2002take control of the house in the Rue Sainte-Cécile, and Jack Scott the
2003management at Ept. On our deaths the property reverted to his mother's
2004family in Russia, with the exception of the sculptured marbles executed
2005by himself. These he left to me.
2006
2007The page blurred under our eyes, and Jack got up and walked to the
2008window. Presently he returned and sat down again. I dreaded to hear what
2009he was going to say, but he spoke with the same simplicity and
2010gentleness.
2011
2012"Geneviève lies before the Madonna in the marble room. The Madonna bends
2013tenderly above her, and Geneviève smiles back into that calm face that
2014never would have been except for her."
2015
2016His voice broke, but he grasped my hand, saying, "Courage, Alec." Next
2017morning he left for Ept to fulfil his trust.
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022IV
2023
2024The same evening I took the keys and went into the house I had known so
2025well. Everything was in order, but the silence was terrible. Though I
2026went twice to the door of the marble room, I could not force myself to
2027enter. It was beyond my strength. I went into the smoking-room and sat
2028down before the spinet. A small lace handkerchief lay on the keys, and I
2029turned away, choking. It was plain I could not stay, so I locked every
2030door, every window, and the three front and back gates, and went away.
2031Next morning Alcide packed my valise, and leaving him in charge of my
2032apartments I took the Orient express for Constantinople. During the two
2033years that I wandered through the East, at first, in our letters, we
2034never mentioned Geneviève and Boris, but gradually their names crept in.
2035I recollect particularly a passage in one of Jack's letters replying to
2036one of mine--
2037
2038"What you tell me of seeing Boris bending over you while you lay ill, and
2039feeling his touch on your face, and hearing his voice, of course troubles
2040me. This that you describe must have happened a fortnight after he died.
2041I say to myself that you were dreaming, that it was part of your
2042delirium, but the explanation does not satisfy me, nor would it you."
2043
2044Toward the end of the second year a letter came from Jack to me in India
2045so unlike anything that I had ever known of him that I decided to return
2046at once to Paris. He wrote: "I am well, and sell all my pictures as
2047artists do who have no need of money. I have not a care of my own, but I
2048am more restless than if I had. I am unable to shake off a strange
2049anxiety about you. It is not apprehension, it is rather a breathless
2050expectancy--of what, God knows! I can only say it is wearing me out.
2051Nights I dream always of you and Boris. I can never recall anything
2052afterward, but I wake in the morning with my heart beating, and all day
2053the excitement increases until I fall asleep at night to recall the same
2054experience. I am quite exhausted by it, and have determined to break up
2055this morbid condition. I must see you. Shall I go to Bombay, or will you
2056come to Paris?"
2057
2058I telegraphed him to expect me by the next steamer.
2059
2060When we met I thought he had changed very little; I, he insisted, looked
2061in splendid health. It was good to hear his voice again, and as we sat
2062and chatted about what life still held for us, we felt that it was
2063pleasant to be alive in the bright spring weather.
2064
2065We stayed in Paris together a week, and then I went for a week to Ept
2066with him, but first of all we went to the cemetery at Sèvres, where Boris
2067lay.
2068
2069"Shall we place the 'Fates' in the little grove above him?" Jack asked,
2070and I answered--
2071
2072"I think only the 'Madonna' should watch over Boris' grave." But Jack was
2073none the better for my home-coming. The dreams of which he could not
2074retain even the least definite outline continued, and he said that at
2075times the sense of breathless expectancy was suffocating.
2076
2077"You see I do you harm and not good," I said. "Try a change without me."
2078So he started alone for a ramble among the Channel Islands, and I went
2079back to Paris. I had not yet entered Boris' house, now mine, since my
2080return, but I knew it must be done. It had been kept in order by Jack;
2081there were servants there, so I gave up my own apartment and went there
2082to live. Instead of the agitation I had feared, I found myself able to
2083paint there tranquilly. I visited all the rooms--all but one. I could not
2084bring myself to enter the marble room where Geneviève lay, and yet I felt
2085the longing growing daily to look upon her face, to kneel beside her.
2086
2087One April afternoon, I lay dreaming in the smoking-room, just as I had
2088lain two years before, and mechanically I looked among the tawny Eastern
2089rugs for the wolf-skin. At last I distinguished the pointed ears and flat
2090cruel head, and I thought of my dream where I saw Geneviève lying beside
2091it. The helmets still hung against the threadbare tapestry, among them
2092the old Spanish morion which I remembered Geneviève had once put on when
2093we were amusing ourselves with the ancient bits of mail. I turned my eyes
2094to the spinet; every yellow key seemed eloquent of her caressing hand,
2095and I rose, drawn by the strength of my life's passion to the sealed door
2096of the marble room. The heavy doors swung inward under my trembling
2097hands. Sunlight poured through the window, tipping with gold the wings of
2098Cupid, and lingered like a nimbus over the brows of the Madonna. Her
2099tender face bent in compassion over a marble form so exquisitely pure
2100that I knelt and signed myself. Geneviève lay in the shadow under the
2101Madonna, and yet, through her white arms, I saw the pale azure vein, and
2102beneath her softly clasped hands the folds of her dress were tinged with
2103rose, as if from some faint warm light within her breast.
2104
2105Bending, with a breaking heart, I touched the marble drapery with my
2106lips, then crept back into the silent house.
2107
2108A maid came and brought me a letter, and I sat down in the little
2109conservatory to read it; but as I was about to break the seal, seeing the
2110girl lingering, I asked her what she wanted.
2111
2112She stammered something about a white rabbit that had been caught in the
2113house, and asked what should be done with it I told her to let it loose
2114in the walled garden behind the house, and opened my letter. It was from
2115Jack, but so incoherent that I thought he must have lost his reason. It
2116was nothing but a series of prayers to me not to leave the house until he
2117could get back; he could not tell me why, there were the dreams, he
2118said--he could explain nothing, but he was sure that I must not leave the
2119house in the Rue Sainte-Cécile.
2120
2121As I finished reading I raised my eyes and saw the same maid-servant
2122standing in the doorway holding a glass dish in which two gold-fish were
2123swimming: "Put them back into the tank and tell me what you mean by
2124interrupting me," I said.
2125
2126With a half-suppressed whimper she emptied water and fish into an
2127aquarium at the end of the conservatory, and turning to me asked my
2128permission to leave my service. She said people were playing tricks on
2129her, evidently with a design of getting her into trouble; the marble
2130rabbit had been stolen and a live one had been brought into the house;
2131the two beautiful marble fish were gone, and she had just found those
2132common live things flopping on the dining-room floor. I reassured her and
2133sent her away, saying I would look about myself. I went into the studio;
2134there was nothing there but my canvases and some casts, except the marble
2135of the Easter lily. I saw it on a table across the room. Then I strode
2136angrily over to it. But the flower I lifted from the table was fresh and
2137fragile and filled the air with perfume.
2138
2139Then suddenly I comprehended, and sprang through the hall-way to the
2140marble room. The doors flew open, the sunlight streamed into my face, and
2141through it, in a heavenly glory, the Madonna smiled, as Geneviève lifted
2142her flushed face from her marble couch and opened her sleepy eyes.
2143
2144
2145
2146
2147IN THE COURT OF THE DRAGON
2148
2149
2150 "Oh, thou who burn'st in heart for those who burn
2151 In Hell, whose fires thyself shall feed in turn;
2152 How long be crying--'Mercy on them.' God!
2153 Why, who art thou to teach and He to learn?"
2154
2155In the Church of St. Barnabé vespers were over; the clergy left the
2156altar; the little choir-boys flocked across the chancel and settled in
2157the stalls. A Suisse in rich uniform marched down the south aisle,
2158sounding his staff at every fourth step on the stone pavement; behind him
2159came that eloquent preacher and good man, Monseigneur C----.
2160
2161My chair was near the chancel rail, I now turned toward the west end of
2162the church. The other people between the altar and the pulpit turned too.
2163There was a little scraping and rustling while the congregation seated
2164itself again; the preacher mounted the pulpit stairs, and the organ
2165voluntary ceased.
2166
2167I had always found the organ-playing at St. Barnabé highly interesting.
2168Learned and scientific it was, too much so for my small knowledge, but
2169expressing a vivid if cold intelligence. Moreover, it possessed the
2170French quality of taste: taste reigned supreme, self-controlled,
2171dignified and reticent.
2172
2173To-day, however, from the first chord I had felt a change for the worse,
2174a sinister change. During vespers it had been chiefly the chancel organ
2175which supported the beautiful choir, but now and again, quite wantonly as
2176it seemed, from the west gallery where the great organ stands, a heavy
2177hand had struck across the church at the serene peace of those clear
2178voices. It was something more than harsh and dissonant, and it betrayed
2179no lack of skill. As it recurred again and again, it set me thinking of
2180what my architect's books say about the custom in early times to
2181consecrate the choir as soon as it was built, and that the nave, being
2182finished sometimes half a century later, often did not get any blessing
2183at all: I wondered idly if that had been the case at St. Barnabé, and
2184whether something not usually supposed to be at home in a Christian
2185church might have entered undetected and taken possession of the west
2186gallery. I had read of such things happening, too, but not in works on
2187architecture.
2188
2189Then I remembered that St. Barnabé was not much more than a hundred years
2190old, and smiled at the incongruous association of mediaeval superstitions
2191with that cheerful little piece of eighteenth-century rococo.
2192
2193But now vespers were over, and there should have followed a few quiet
2194chords, fit to accompany meditation, while we waited for the sermon.
2195Instead of that, the discord at the lower end of the church broke out
2196with the departure of the clergy, as if now nothing could control it.
2197
2198I belong to those children of an older and simpler generation who do not
2199love to seek for psychological subtleties in art; and I have ever refused
2200to find in music anything more than melody and harmony, but I felt that
2201in the labyrinth of sounds now issuing from that instrument there was
2202something being hunted. Up and down the pedals chased him, while the
2203manuals blared approval. Poor devil! whoever he was, there seemed small
2204hope of escape!
2205
2206My nervous annoyance changed to anger. Who was doing this? How dare he
2207play like that in the midst of divine service? I glanced at the people
2208near me: not one appeared to be in the least disturbed. The placid brows
2209of the kneeling nuns, still turned towards the altar, lost none of their
2210devout abstraction under the pale shadow of their white head-dress. The
2211fashionable lady beside me was looking expectantly at Monseigneur C----.
2212For all her face betrayed, the organ might have been singing an Ave
2213Maria.
2214
2215But now, at last, the preacher had made the sign of the cross, and
2216commanded silence. I turned to him gladly. Thus far I had not found the
2217rest I had counted on when I entered St. Barnabé that afternoon.
2218
2219I was worn out by three nights of physical suffering and mental trouble:
2220the last had been the worst, and it was an exhausted body, and a mind
2221benumbed and yet acutely sensitive, which I had brought to my favourite
2222church for healing. For I had been reading _The King in Yellow_.
2223
2224"The sun ariseth; they gather themselves together and lay them down in
2225their dens." Monseigneur C---- delivered his text in a calm voice,
2226glancing quietly over the congregation. My eyes turned, I knew not why,
2227toward the lower end of the church. The organist was coming from behind
2228his pipes, and passing along the gallery on his way out, I saw him
2229disappear by a small door that leads to some stairs which descend
2230directly to the street. He was a slender man, and his face was as white
2231as his coat was black. "Good riddance!" I thought, "with your wicked
2232music! I hope your assistant will play the closing voluntary."
2233
2234With a feeling of relief--with a deep, calm feeling of relief, I turned
2235back to the mild face in the pulpit and settled myself to listen. Here,
2236at last, was the ease of mind I longed for.
2237
2238"My children," said the preacher, "one truth the human soul finds hardest
2239of all to learn: that it has nothing to fear. It can never be made to see
2240that nothing can really harm it."
2241
2242"Curious doctrine!" I thought, "for a Catholic priest. Let us see how he
2243will reconcile that with the Fathers."
2244
2245"Nothing can really harm the soul," he went on, in, his coolest, clearest
2246tones, "because----"
2247
2248But I never heard the rest; my eye left his face, I knew not for what
2249reason, and sought the lower end of the church. The same man was coming
2250out from behind the organ, and was passing along the gallery _the same
2251way_. But there had not been time for him to return, and if he had
2252returned, I must have seen him. I felt a faint chill, and my heart sank;
2253and yet, his going and coming were no affair of mine. I looked at him: I
2254could not look away from his black figure and his white face. When he was
2255exactly opposite to me, he turned and sent across the church straight
2256into my eyes, a look of hate, intense and deadly: I have never seen any
2257other like it; would to God I might never see it again! Then he
2258disappeared by the same door through which I had watched him depart less
2259than sixty seconds before.
2260
2261I sat and tried to collect my thoughts. My first sensation was like that
2262of a very young child badly hurt, when it catches its breath before
2263crying out.
2264
2265To suddenly find myself the object of such hatred was exquisitely
2266painful: and this man was an utter stranger. Why should he hate me
2267so?--me, whom he had never seen before? For the moment all other
2268sensation was merged in this one pang: even fear was subordinate to
2269grief, and for that moment I never doubted; but in the next I began to
2270reason, and a sense of the incongruous came to my aid.
2271
2272As I have said, St. Barnabé is a modern church. It is small and well
2273lighted; one sees all over it almost at a glance. The organ gallery gets
2274a strong white light from a row of long windows in the clerestory, which
2275have not even coloured glass.
2276
2277The pulpit being in the middle of the church, it followed that, when I
2278was turned toward it, whatever moved at the west end could not fail to
2279attract my eye. When the organist passed it was no wonder that I saw him:
2280I had simply miscalculated the interval between his first and his second
2281passing. He had come in that last time by the other side-door. As for the
2282look which had so upset me, there had been no such thing, and I was a
2283nervous fool.
2284
2285I looked about. This was a likely place to harbour supernatural horrors!
2286That clear-cut, reasonable face of Monseigneur C----, his collected
2287manner and easy, graceful gestures, were they not just a little
2288discouraging to the notion of a gruesome mystery? I glanced above his
2289head, and almost laughed. That flyaway lady supporting one corner of the
2290pulpit canopy, which looked like a fringed damask table-cloth in a high
2291wind, at the first attempt of a basilisk to pose up there in the organ
2292loft, she would point her gold trumpet at him, and puff him out of
2293existence! I laughed to myself over this conceit, which, at the time, I
2294thought very amusing, and sat and chaffed myself and everything else,
2295from the old harpy outside the railing, who had made me pay ten centimes
2296for my chair, before she would let me in (she was more like a basilisk, I
2297told myself, than was my organist with the anaemic complexion): from that
2298grim old dame, to, yes, alas! Monseigneur C---- himself. For all
2299devoutness had fled. I had never yet done such a thing in my life, but
2300now I felt a desire to mock.
2301
2302As for the sermon, I could not hear a word of it for the jingle in my
2303ears of
2304
2305 "The skirts of St. Paul has reached.
2306 Having preached us those six Lent lectures,
2307 More unctuous than ever he preached,"
2308
2309keeping time to the most fantastic and irreverent thoughts.
2310
2311It was no use to sit there any longer: I must get out of doors and shake
2312myself free from this hateful mood. I knew the rudeness I was committing,
2313but still I rose and left the church.
2314
2315A spring sun was shining on the Rue St. Honoré, as I ran down the church
2316steps. On one corner stood a barrow full of yellow jonquils, pale violets
2317from the Riviera, dark Russian violets, and white Roman hyacinths in a
2318golden cloud of mimosa. The street was full of Sunday pleasure-seekers. I
2319swung my cane and laughed with the rest. Some one overtook and passed me.
2320He never turned, but there was the same deadly malignity in his white
2321profile that there had been in his eyes. I watched him as long as I could
2322see him. His lithe back expressed the same menace; every step that
2323carried him away from me seemed to bear him on some errand connected with
2324my destruction.
2325
2326I was creeping along, my feet almost refusing to move. There began to
2327dawn in me a sense of responsibility for something long forgotten. It
2328began to seem as if I deserved that which he threatened: it reached a
2329long way back--a long, long way back. It had lain dormant all these
2330years: it was there, though, and presently it would rise and confront me.
2331But I would try to escape; and I stumbled as best I could into the Rue de
2332Rivoli, across the Place de la Concorde and on to the Quai. I looked with
2333sick eyes upon the sun, shining through the white foam of the fountain,
2334pouring over the backs of the dusky bronze river-gods, on the far-away
2335Arc, a structure of amethyst mist, on the countless vistas of grey stems
2336and bare branches faintly green. Then I saw him again coming down one of
2337the chestnut alleys of the Cours la Reine.
2338
2339I left the river-side, plunged blindly across to the Champs Elysées and
2340turned toward the Arc. The setting sun was sending its rays along the
2341green sward of the Rond-point: in the full glow he sat on a bench,
2342children and young mothers all about him. He was nothing but a Sunday
2343lounger, like the others, like myself. I said the words almost aloud, and
2344all the while I gazed on the malignant hatred of his face. But he was not
2345looking at me. I crept past and dragged my leaden feet up the Avenue. I
2346knew that every time I met him brought him nearer to the accomplishment
2347of his purpose and my fate. And still I tried to save myself.
2348
2349The last rays of sunset were pouring through the great Arc. I passed
2350under it, and met him face to face. I had left him far down the Champs
2351Elysées, and yet he came in with a stream of people who were returning
2352from the Bois de Boulogne. He came so close that he brushed me. His
2353slender frame felt like iron inside its loose black covering. He showed
2354no signs of haste, nor of fatigue, nor of any human feeling. His whole
2355being expressed one thing: the will, and the power to work me evil.
2356
2357In anguish I watched him where he went down the broad crowded Avenue,
2358that was all flashing with wheels and the trappings of horses and the
2359helmets of the Garde Republicaine.
2360
2361He was soon lost to sight; then I turned and fled. Into the Bois, and far
2362out beyond it--I know not where I went, but after a long while as it
2363seemed to me, night had fallen, and I found myself sitting at a table
2364before a small café. I had wandered back into the Bois. It was hours now
2365since I had seen him. Physical fatigue and mental suffering had left me
2366no power to think or feel. I was tired, so tired! I longed to hide away
2367in my own den. I resolved to go home. But that was a long way off.
2368
2369I live in the Court of the Dragon, a narrow passage that leads from the
2370Rue de Rennes to the Rue du Dragon.
2371
2372It is an "impasse"; traversable only for foot passengers. Over the
2373entrance on the Rue de Rennes is a balcony, supported by an iron dragon.
2374Within the court tall old houses rise on either side, and close the ends
2375that give on the two streets. Huge gates, swung back during the day into
2376the walls of the deep archways, close this court, after midnight, and one
2377must enter then by ringing at certain small doors on the side. The sunken
2378pavement collects unsavoury pools. Steep stairways pitch down to doors
2379that open on the court. The ground floors are occupied by shops of
2380second-hand dealers, and by iron workers. All day long the place rings
2381with the clink of hammers and the clang of metal bars.
2382
2383Unsavoury as it is below, there is cheerfulness, and comfort, and hard,
2384honest work above.
2385
2386Five flights up are the ateliers of architects and painters, and the
2387hiding-places of middle-aged students like myself who want to live alone.
2388When I first came here to live I was young, and not alone.
2389
2390I had to walk a while before any conveyance appeared, but at last, when I
2391had almost reached the Arc de Triomphe again, an empty cab came along and
2392I took it.
2393
2394From the Arc to the Rue de Rennes is a drive of more than half an hour,
2395especially when one is conveyed by a tired cab horse that has been at the
2396mercy of Sunday fete-makers.
2397
2398There had been time before I passed under the Dragon's wings to meet my
2399enemy over and over again, but I never saw him once, and now refuge was
2400close at hand.
2401
2402Before the wide gateway a small mob of children were playing. Our
2403concierge and his wife walked among them, with their black poodle,
2404keeping order; some couples were waltzing on the side-walk. I returned
2405their greetings and hurried in.
2406
2407All the inhabitants of the court had trooped out into the street. The
2408place was quite deserted, lighted by a few lanterns hung high up, in
2409which the gas burned dimly.
2410
2411My apartment was at the top of a house, halfway down the court, reached
2412by a staircase that descended almost into the street, with only a bit of
2413passage-way intervening, I set my foot on the threshold of the open door,
2414the friendly old ruinous stairs rose before me, leading up to rest and
2415shelter. Looking back over my right shoulder, I saw _him,_ ten paces
2416off. He must have entered the court with me.
2417
2418He was coming straight on, neither slowly, nor swiftly, but straight on
2419to me. And now he was looking at me. For the first time since our eyes
2420encountered across the church they met now again, and I knew that the
2421time had come.
2422
2423Retreating backward, down the court, I faced him. I meant to escape by
2424the entrance on the Rue du Dragon. His eyes told me that I never should
2425escape.
2426
2427It seemed ages while we were going, I retreating, he advancing, down the
2428court in perfect silence; but at last I felt the shadow of the archway,
2429and the next step brought me within it. I had meant to turn here and
2430spring through into the street. But the shadow was not that of an
2431archway; it was that of a vault. The great doors on the Rue du Dragon
2432were closed. I felt this by the blackness which surrounded me, and at the
2433same instant I read it in his face. How his face gleamed in the darkness,
2434drawing swiftly nearer! The deep vaults, the huge closed doors, their
2435cold iron clamps were all on his side. The thing which he had threatened
2436had arrived: it gathered and bore down on me from the fathomless shadows;
2437the point from which it would strike was his infernal eyes. Hopeless, I
2438set my back against the barred doors and defied him.
2439
2440
2441There was a scraping of chairs on the stone floor, and a rustling as the
2442congregation rose. I could hear the Suisse's staff in the south aisle,
2443preceding Monseigneur C---- to the sacristy.
2444
2445The kneeling nuns, roused from their devout abstraction, made their
2446reverence and went away. The fashionable lady, my neighbour, rose also,
2447with graceful reserve. As she departed her glance just flitted over my
2448face in disapproval.
2449
2450Half dead, or so it seemed to me, yet intensely alive to every trifle, I
2451sat among the leisurely moving crowd, then rose too and went toward the
2452door.
2453
2454I had slept through the sermon. Had I slept through the sermon? I looked
2455up and saw him passing along the gallery to his place. Only his side I
2456saw; the thin bent arm in its black covering looked like one of those
2457devilish, nameless instruments which lie in the disused torture-chambers
2458of mediaeval castles.
2459
2460But I had escaped him, though his eyes had said I should not. _Had_
2461I escaped him? That which gave him the power over me came back out of
2462oblivion, where I had hoped to keep it. For I knew him now. Death and the
2463awful abode of lost souls, whither my weakness long ago had sent
2464him--they had changed him for every other eye, but not for mine. I had
2465recognized him almost from the first; I had never doubted what he was
2466come to do; and now I knew while my body sat safe in the cheerful little
2467church, he had been hunting my soul in the Court of the Dragon.
2468
2469I crept to the door: the organ broke out overhead with a blare. A
2470dazzling light filled the church, blotting the altar from my eyes. The
2471people faded away, the arches, the vaulted roof vanished. I raised my
2472seared eyes to the fathomless glare, and I saw the black stars hanging in
2473the heavens: and the wet winds from the lake of Hali chilled my face.
2474
2475And now, far away, over leagues of tossing cloud-waves, I saw the moon
2476dripping with spray; and beyond, the towers of Carcosa rose behind the
2477moon.
2478
2479Death and the awful abode of lost souls, whither my weakness long ago had
2480sent him, had changed him for every other eye but mine. And now I heard
2481_his voice_, rising, swelling, thundering through the flaring light,
2482and as I fell, the radiance increasing, increasing, poured over me in
2483waves of flame. Then I sank into the depths, and I heard the King in
2484Yellow whispering to my soul: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the
2485hands of the living God!"
2486
2487
2488
2489
2490THE YELLOW SIGN
2491
2492 "Let the red dawn surmise
2493 What we shall do,
2494 When this blue starlight dies
2495 And all is through."
2496
2497
2498I
2499
2500There are so many things which are impossible to explain! Why should
2501certain chords in music make me think of the brown and golden tints of
2502autumn foliage? Why should the Mass of Sainte Cécile bend my thoughts
2503wandering among caverns whose walls blaze with ragged masses of virgin
2504silver? What was it in the roar and turmoil of Broadway at six o'clock
2505that flashed before my eyes the picture of a still Breton forest where
2506sunlight filtered through spring foliage and Sylvia bent, half curiously,
2507half tenderly, over a small green lizard, murmuring: "To think that this
2508also is a little ward of God!"
2509
2510When I first saw the watchman his back was toward me. I looked at him
2511indifferently until he went into the church. I paid no more attention to
2512him than I had to any other man who lounged through Washington Square
2513that morning, and when I shut my window and turned back into my studio I
2514had forgotten him. Late in the afternoon, the day being warm, I raised
2515the window again and leaned out to get a sniff of air. A man was standing
2516in the courtyard of the church, and I noticed him again with as little
2517interest as I had that morning. I looked across the square to where the
2518fountain was playing and then, with my mind filled with vague impressions
2519of trees, asphalt drives, and the moving groups of nursemaids and
2520holiday-makers, I started to walk back to my easel. As I turned, my
2521listless glance included the man below in the churchyard. His face was
2522toward me now, and with a perfectly involuntary movement I bent to see
2523it. At the same moment he raised his head and looked at me. Instantly I
2524thought of a coffin-worm. Whatever it was about the man that repelled me
2525I did not know, but the impression of a plump white grave-worm was so
2526intense and nauseating that I must have shown it in my expression, for he
2527turned his puffy face away with a movement which made me think of a
2528disturbed grub in a chestnut.
2529
2530I went back to my easel and motioned the model to resume her pose. After
2531working a while I was satisfied that I was spoiling what I had done as
2532rapidly as possible, and I took up a palette knife and scraped the colour
2533out again. The flesh tones were sallow and unhealthy, and I did not
2534understand how I could have painted such sickly colour into a study which
2535before that had glowed with healthy tones.
2536
2537I looked at Tessie. She had not changed, and the clear flush of health
2538dyed her neck and cheeks as I frowned.
2539
2540"Is it something I've done?" she said.
2541
2542"No,--I've made a mess of this arm, and for the life of me I can't see
2543how I came to paint such mud as that into the canvas," I replied.
2544
2545"Don't I pose well?" she insisted.
2546
2547"Of course, perfectly."
2548
2549"Then it's not my fault?"
2550
2551"No. It's my own."
2552
2553"I am very sorry," she said.
2554
2555I told her she could rest while I applied rag and turpentine to the
2556plague spot on my canvas, and she went off to smoke a cigarette and look
2557over the illustrations in the _Courrier Français_.
2558
2559I did not know whether it was something in the turpentine or a defect in
2560the canvas, but the more I scrubbed the more that gangrene seemed to
2561spread. I worked like a beaver to get it out, and yet the disease
2562appeared to creep from limb to limb of the study before me. Alarmed, I
2563strove to arrest it, but now the colour on the breast changed and the
2564whole figure seemed to absorb the infection as a sponge soaks up water.
2565Vigorously I plied palette-knife, turpentine, and scraper, thinking all
2566the time what a _séance_ I should hold with Duval who had sold me
2567the canvas; but soon I noticed that it was not the canvas which was
2568defective nor yet the colours of Edward. "It must be the turpentine," I
2569thought angrily, "or else my eyes have become so blurred and confused by
2570the afternoon light that I can't see straight." I called Tessie, the
2571model. She came and leaned over my chair blowing rings of smoke into the
2572air.
2573
2574"What _have_ you been doing to it?" she exclaimed
2575
2576"Nothing," I growled, "it must be this turpentine!"
2577
2578"What a horrible colour it is now," she continued. "Do you think my flesh
2579resembles green cheese?"
2580
2581"No, I don't," I said angrily; "did you ever know me to paint like that
2582before?"
2583
2584"No, indeed!"
2585
2586"Well, then!"
2587
2588"It must be the turpentine, or something," she admitted.
2589
2590She slipped on a Japanese robe and walked to the window. I scraped and
2591rubbed until I was tired, and finally picked up my brushes and hurled
2592them through the canvas with a forcible expression, the tone alone of
2593which reached Tessie's ears.
2594
2595Nevertheless she promptly began: "That's it! Swear and act silly and ruin
2596your brushes! You have been three weeks on that study, and now look!
2597What's the good of ripping the canvas? What creatures artists are!"
2598
2599I felt about as much ashamed as I usually did after such an outbreak, and
2600I turned the ruined canvas to the wall. Tessie helped me clean my
2601brushes, and then danced away to dress. From the screen she regaled me
2602with bits of advice concerning whole or partial loss of temper, until,
2603thinking, perhaps, I had been tormented sufficiently, she came out to
2604implore me to button her waist where she could not reach it on the
2605shoulder.
2606
2607"Everything went wrong from the time you came back from the window and
2608talked about that horrid-looking man you saw in the churchyard," she
2609announced.
2610
2611"Yes, he probably bewitched the picture," I said, yawning. I looked at my
2612watch.
2613
2614"It's after six, I know," said Tessie, adjusting her hat before the
2615mirror.
2616
2617"Yes," I replied, "I didn't mean to keep you so long." I leaned out of
2618the window but recoiled with disgust, for the young man with the pasty
2619face stood below in the churchyard. Tessie saw my gesture of disapproval
2620and leaned from the window.
2621
2622"Is that the man you don't like?" she whispered.
2623
2624I nodded.
2625
2626"I can't see his face, but he does look fat and soft. Someway or other,"
2627she continued, turning to look at me, "he reminds me of a dream,--an
2628awful dream I once had. Or," she mused, looking down at her shapely
2629shoes, "was it a dream after all?"
2630
2631"How should I know?" I smiled.
2632
2633Tessie smiled in reply.
2634
2635"You were in it," she said, "so perhaps you might know something about
2636it."
2637
2638"Tessie! Tessie!" I protested, "don't you dare flatter by saying that you
2639dream about me!"
2640
2641"But I did," she insisted; "shall I tell you about it?"
2642
2643"Go ahead," I replied, lighting a cigarette.
2644
2645Tessie leaned back on the open window-sill and began very seriously.
2646
2647"One night last winter I was lying in bed thinking about nothing at all
2648in particular. I had been posing for you and I was tired out, yet it
2649seemed impossible for me to sleep. I heard the bells in the city ring
2650ten, eleven, and midnight. I must have fallen asleep about midnight
2651because I don't remember hearing the bells after that. It seemed to me
2652that I had scarcely closed my eyes when I dreamed that something impelled
2653me to go to the window. I rose, and raising the sash leaned out.
2654Twenty-fifth Street was deserted as far as I could see. I began to be
2655afraid; everything outside seemed so--so black and uncomfortable. Then
2656the sound of wheels in the distance came to my ears, and it seemed to me
2657as though that was what I must wait for. Very slowly the wheels
2658approached, and, finally, I could make out a vehicle moving along the
2659street. It came nearer and nearer, and when it passed beneath my window I
2660saw it was a hearse. Then, as I trembled with fear, the driver turned and
2661looked straight at me. When I awoke I was standing by the open window
2662shivering with cold, but the black-plumed hearse and the driver were
2663gone. I dreamed this dream again in March last, and again awoke beside
2664the open window. Last night the dream came again. You remember how it was
2665raining; when I awoke, standing at the open window, my night-dress was
2666soaked."
2667
2668"But where did I come into the dream?" I asked.
2669
2670"You--you were in the coffin; but you were not dead."
2671
2672"In the coffin?"
2673
2674"Yes."
2675
2676"How did you know? Could you see me?"
2677
2678"No; I only knew you were there."
2679
2680"Had you been eating Welsh rarebits, or lobster salad?" I began,
2681laughing, but the girl interrupted me with a frightened cry.
2682
2683"Hello! What's up?" I said, as she shrank into the embrasure by the
2684window.
2685
2686"The--the man below in the churchyard;--he drove the hearse."
2687
2688"Nonsense," I said, but Tessie's eyes were wide with terror. I went to
2689the window and looked out. The man was gone. "Come, Tessie," I urged,
2690"don't be foolish. You have posed too long; you are nervous."
2691
2692"Do you think I could forget that face?" she murmured. "Three times I saw
2693the hearse pass below my window, and every time the driver turned and
2694looked up at me. Oh, his face was so white and--and soft? It looked
2695dead--it looked as if it had been dead a long time."
2696
2697I induced the girl to sit down and swallow a glass of Marsala. Then I sat
2698down beside her, and tried to give her some advice.
2699
2700"Look here, Tessie," I said, "you go to the country for a week or two,
2701and you'll have no more dreams about hearses. You pose all day, and when
2702night comes your nerves are upset. You can't keep this up. Then again,
2703instead of going to bed when your day's work is done, you run off to
2704picnics at Sulzer's Park, or go to the Eldorado or Coney Island, and when
2705you come down here next morning you are fagged out. There was no real
2706hearse. There was a soft-shell crab dream."
2707
2708She smiled faintly.
2709
2710"What about the man in the churchyard?"
2711
2712"Oh, he's only an ordinary unhealthy, everyday creature."
2713
2714"As true as my name is Tessie Reardon, I swear to you, Mr. Scott, that
2715the face of the man below in the churchyard is the face of the man who
2716drove the hearse!"
2717
2718"What of it?" I said. "It's an honest trade."
2719
2720"Then you think I _did_ see the hearse?"
2721
2722"Oh," I said diplomatically, "if you really did, it might not be unlikely
2723that the man below drove it. There is nothing in that."
2724
2725Tessie rose, unrolled her scented handkerchief, and taking a bit of gum
2726from a knot in the hem, placed it in her mouth. Then drawing on her
2727gloves she offered me her hand, with a frank, "Good-night, Mr. Scott,"
2728and walked out.
2729
2730
2731
2732
2733II
2734
2735The next morning, Thomas, the bell-boy, brought me the _Herald_ and
2736a bit of news. The church next door had been sold. I thanked Heaven for
2737it, not that being a Catholic I had any repugnance for the congregation
2738next door, but because my nerves were shattered by a blatant exhorter,
2739whose every word echoed through the aisle of the church as if it had been
2740my own rooms, and who insisted on his r's with a nasal persistence which
2741revolted my every instinct. Then, too, there was a fiend in human shape,
2742an organist, who reeled off some of the grand old hymns with an
2743interpretation of his own, and I longed for the blood of a creature who
2744could play the doxology with an amendment of minor chords which one hears
2745only in a quartet of very young undergraduates. I believe the minister
2746was a good man, but when he bellowed: "And the Lorrrrd said unto Moses,
2747the Lorrrd is a man of war; the Lorrrd is his name. My wrath shall wax
2748hot and I will kill you with the sworrrrd!" I wondered how many centuries
2749of purgatory it would take to atone for such a sin.
2750
2751"Who bought the property?" I asked Thomas.
2752
2753"Nobody that I knows, sir. They do say the gent wot owns this 'ere
2754'Amilton flats was lookin' at it. 'E might be a bildin' more studios."
2755
2756I walked to the window. The young man with the unhealthy face stood by
2757the churchyard gate, and at the mere sight of him the same overwhelming
2758repugnance took possession of me.
2759
2760"By the way, Thomas," I said, "who is that fellow down there?"
2761
2762Thomas sniffed. "That there worm, sir? 'Es night-watchman of the church,
2763sir. 'E maikes me tired a-sittin' out all night on them steps and lookin'
2764at you insultin' like. I'd a punched 'is 'ed, sir--beg pardon, sir--"
2765
2766"Go on, Thomas."
2767
2768"One night a comin' 'ome with Arry, the other English boy, I sees 'im a
2769sittin' there on them steps. We 'ad Molly and Jen with us, sir, the two
2770girls on the tray service, an' 'e looks so insultin' at us that I up and
2771sez: 'Wat you looking hat, you fat slug?'--beg pardon, sir, but that's
2772'ow I sez, sir. Then 'e don't say nothin' and I sez: 'Come out and I'll
2773punch that puddin' 'ed.' Then I hopens the gate an' goes in, but 'e don't
2774say nothin', only looks insultin' like. Then I 'its 'im one, but, ugh!
2775'is 'ed was that cold and mushy it ud sicken you to touch 'im."
2776
2777"What did he do then?" I asked curiously.
2778
2779"'Im? Nawthin'."
2780
2781"And you, Thomas?"
2782
2783The young fellow flushed with embarrassment and smiled uneasily.
2784
2785"Mr. Scott, sir, I ain't no coward, an' I can't make it out at all why I
2786run. I was in the 5th Lawncers, sir, bugler at Tel-el-Kebir, an' was shot
2787by the wells."
2788
2789"You don't mean to say you ran away?"
2790
2791"Yes, sir; I run."
2792
2793"Why?"
2794
2795"That's just what I want to know, sir. I grabbed Molly an' run, an' the
2796rest was as frightened as I."
2797
2798"But what were they frightened at?"
2799
2800Thomas refused to answer for a while, but now my curiosity was aroused
2801about the repulsive young man below and I pressed him. Three years'
2802sojourn in America had not only modified Thomas' cockney dialect but had
2803given him the American's fear of ridicule.
2804
2805"You won't believe me, Mr. Scott, sir?"
2806
2807"Yes, I will."
2808
2809"You will lawf at me, sir?"
2810
2811"Nonsense!"
2812
2813He hesitated. "Well, sir, it's Gawd's truth that when I 'it 'im 'e
2814grabbed me wrists, sir, and when I twisted 'is soft, mushy fist one of
2815'is fingers come off in me 'and."
2816
2817The utter loathing and horror of Thomas' face must have been reflected in
2818my own, for he added:
2819
2820"It's orful, an' now when I see 'im I just go away. 'E maikes me hill."
2821
2822When Thomas had gone I went to the window. The man stood beside the
2823church-railing with both hands on the gate, but I hastily retreated to my
2824easel again, sickened and horrified, for I saw that the middle finger of
2825his right hand was missing.
2826
2827At nine o'clock Tessie appeared and vanished behind the screen with a
2828merry "Good morning, Mr. Scott." When she had reappeared and taken her
2829pose upon the model-stand I started a new canvas, much to her delight.
2830She remained silent as long as I was on the drawing, but as soon as the
2831scrape of the charcoal ceased and I took up my fixative she began to
2832chatter.
2833
2834"Oh, I had such a lovely time last night. We went to Tony Pastor's."
2835
2836"Who are 'we'?" I demanded.
2837
2838"Oh, Maggie, you know, Mr. Whyte's model, and Pinkie McCormick--we call
2839her Pinkie because she's got that beautiful red hair you artists like so
2840much--and Lizzie Burke."
2841
2842I sent a shower of spray from the fixative over the canvas, and said:
2843"Well, go on."
2844
2845"We saw Kelly and Baby Barnes the skirt-dancer and--and all the rest. I
2846made a mash."
2847
2848"Then you have gone back on me, Tessie?"
2849
2850She laughed and shook her head.
2851
2852"He's Lizzie Burke's brother, Ed. He's a perfect gen'l'man."
2853
2854I felt constrained to give her some parental advice concerning mashing,
2855which she took with a bright smile.
2856
2857"Oh, I can take care of a strange mash," she said, examining her chewing
2858gum, "but Ed is different. Lizzie is my best friend."
2859
2860Then she related how Ed had come back from the stocking mill in Lowell,
2861Massachusetts, to find her and Lizzie grown up, and what an accomplished
2862young man he was, and how he thought nothing of squandering half-a-dollar
2863for ice-cream and oysters to celebrate his entry as clerk into the
2864woollen department of Macy's. Before she finished I began to paint, and
2865she resumed the pose, smiling and chattering like a sparrow. By noon I
2866had the study fairly well rubbed in and Tessie came to look at it.
2867
2868"That's better," she said.
2869
2870I thought so too, and ate my lunch with a satisfied feeling that all was
2871going well. Tessie spread her lunch on a drawing table opposite me and we
2872drank our claret from the same bottle and lighted our cigarettes from the
2873same match. I was very much attached to Tessie. I had watched her shoot
2874up into a slender but exquisitely formed woman from a frail, awkward
2875child. She had posed for me during the last three years, and among all my
2876models she was my favourite. It would have troubled me very much indeed
2877had she become "tough" or "fly," as the phrase goes, but I never noticed
2878any deterioration of her manner, and felt at heart that she was all
2879right. She and I never discussed morals at all, and I had no intention of
2880doing so, partly because I had none myself, and partly because I knew she
2881would do what she liked in spite of me. Still I did hope she would steer
2882clear of complications, because I wished her well, and then also I had a
2883selfish desire to retain the best model I had. I knew that mashing, as
2884she termed it, had no significance with girls like Tessie, and that such
2885things in America did not resemble in the least the same things in Paris.
2886Yet, having lived with my eyes open, I also knew that somebody would take
2887Tessie away some day, in one manner or another, and though I professed to
2888myself that marriage was nonsense, I sincerely hoped that, in this case,
2889there would be a priest at the end of the vista. I am a Catholic. When I
2890listen to high mass, when I sign myself, I feel that everything,
2891including myself, is more cheerful, and when I confess, it does me good.
2892A man who lives as much alone as I do, must confess to somebody. Then,
2893again, Sylvia was Catholic, and it was reason enough for me. But I was
2894speaking of Tessie, which is very different. Tessie also was Catholic and
2895much more devout than I, so, taking it all in all, I had little fear for
2896my pretty model until she should fall in love. But _then_ I knew
2897that fate alone would decide her future for her, and I prayed inwardly
2898that fate would keep her away from men like me and throw into her path
2899nothing but Ed Burkes and Jimmy McCormicks, bless her sweet face!
2900
2901Tessie sat blowing rings of smoke up to the ceiling and tinkling the ice
2902in her tumbler.
2903
2904"Do you know that I also had a dream last night?" I observed.
2905
2906"Not about that man," she laughed.
2907
2908"Exactly. A dream similar to yours, only much worse."
2909
2910It was foolish and thoughtless of me to say this, but you know how little
2911tact the average painter has. "I must have fallen asleep about ten
2912o'clock," I continued, "and after a while I dreamt that I awoke. So
2913plainly did I hear the midnight bells, the wind in the tree-branches, and
2914the whistle of steamers from the bay, that even now I can scarcely
2915believe I was not awake. I seemed to be lying in a box which had a glass
2916cover. Dimly I saw the street lamps as I passed, for I must tell you,
2917Tessie, the box in which I reclined appeared to lie in a cushioned wagon
2918which jolted me over a stony pavement. After a while I became impatient
2919and tried to move, but the box was too narrow. My hands were crossed on
2920my breast, so I could not raise them to help myself. I listened and then
2921tried to call. My voice was gone. I could hear the trample of the horses
2922attached to the wagon, and even the breathing of the driver. Then another
2923sound broke upon my ears like the raising of a window sash. I managed to
2924turn my head a little, and found I could look, not only through the glass
2925cover of my box, but also through the glass panes in the side of the
2926covered vehicle. I saw houses, empty and silent, with neither light nor
2927life about any of them excepting one. In that house a window was open on
2928the first floor, and a figure all in white stood looking down into the
2929street. It was you."
2930
2931Tessie had turned her face away from me and leaned on the table with her
2932elbow.
2933
2934"I could see your face," I resumed, "and it seemed to me to be very
2935sorrowful. Then we passed on and turned into a narrow black lane.
2936Presently the horses stopped. I waited and waited, closing my eyes with
2937ear and impatience, but all was silent as the grave. After what seemed to
2938me hours, I began to feel uncomfortable. A sense that somebody was close
2939to me made me unclose my eyes. Then I saw the white face of the
2940hearse-driver looking at me through the coffin-lid----"
2941
2942A sob from Tessie interrupted me. She was trembling like a leaf. I saw I
2943had made an ass of myself and attempted to repair the damage.
2944
2945"Why, Tess," I said, "I only told you this to show you what influence
2946your story might have on another person's dreams. You don't suppose I
2947really lay in a coffin, do you? What are you trembling for? Don't you see
2948that your dream and my unreasonable dislike for that inoffensive watchman
2949of the church simply set my brain working as soon as I fell asleep?"
2950
2951She laid her head between her arms, and sobbed as if her heart would
2952break. What a precious triple donkey I had made of myself! But I was
2953about to break my record. I went over and put my arm about her.
2954
2955"Tessie dear, forgive me," I said; "I had no business to frighten you
2956with such nonsense. You are too sensible a girl, too good a Catholic to
2957believe in dreams."
2958
2959Her hand tightened on mine and her head fell back upon my shoulder, but
2960she still trembled and I petted her and comforted her.
2961
2962"Come, Tess, open your eyes and smile."
2963
2964Her eyes opened with a slow languid movement and met mine, but their
2965expression was so queer that I hastened to reassure her again.
2966
2967"It's all humbug, Tessie; you surely are not afraid that any harm will
2968come to you because of that."
2969
2970"No," she said, but her scarlet lips quivered.
2971
2972"Then, what's the matter? Are you afraid?"
2973
2974"Yes. Not for myself."
2975
2976"For me, then?" I demanded gaily.
2977
2978"For you," she murmured in a voice almost inaudible. "I--I care for you."
2979
2980At first I started to laugh, but when I understood her, a shock passed
2981through me, and I sat like one turned to stone. This was the crowning bit
2982of idiocy I had committed. During the moment which elapsed between her
2983reply and my answer I thought of a thousand responses to that innocent
2984confession. I could pass it by with a laugh, I could misunderstand her
2985and assure her as to my health, I could simply point out that it was
2986impossible she could love me. But my reply was quicker than my thoughts,
2987and I might think and think now when it was too late, for I had kissed
2988her on the mouth.
2989
2990That evening I took my usual walk in Washington Park, pondering over the
2991occurrences of the day. I was thoroughly committed. There was no back out
2992now, and I stared the future straight in the face. I was not good, not
2993even scrupulous, but I had no idea of deceiving either myself or Tessie.
2994The one passion of my life lay buried in the sunlit forests of Brittany.
2995Was it buried for ever? Hope cried "No!" For three years I had been
2996listening to the voice of Hope, and for three years I had waited for a
2997footstep on my threshold. Had Sylvia forgotten? "No!" cried Hope.
2998
2999I said that I was no good. That is true, but still I was not exactly a
3000comic opera villain. I had led an easy-going reckless life, taking what
3001invited me of pleasure, deploring and sometimes bitterly regretting
3002consequences. In one thing alone, except my painting, was I serious, and
3003that was something which lay hidden if not lost in the Breton forests.
3004
3005It was too late for me to regret what had occurred during the day.
3006Whatever it had been, pity, a sudden tenderness for sorrow, or the more
3007brutal instinct of gratified vanity, it was all the same now, and unless
3008I wished to bruise an innocent heart, my path lay marked before me. The
3009fire and strength, the depth of passion of a love which I had never even
3010suspected, with all my imagined experience in the world, left me no
3011alternative but to respond or send her away. Whether because I am so
3012cowardly about giving pain to others, or whether it was that I have
3013little of the gloomy Puritan in me, I do not know, but I shrank from
3014disclaiming responsibility for that thoughtless kiss, and in fact had no
3015time to do so before the gates of her heart opened and the flood poured
3016forth. Others who habitually do their duty and find a sullen satisfaction
3017in making themselves and everybody else unhappy, might have withstood it.
3018I did not. I dared not. After the storm had abated I did tell her that
3019she might better have loved Ed Burke and worn a plain gold ring, but she
3020would not hear of it, and I thought perhaps as long as she had decided to
3021love somebody she could not marry, it had better be me. I, at least,
3022could treat her with an intelligent affection, and whenever she became
3023tired of her infatuation she could go none the worse for it. For I was
3024decided on that point although I knew how hard it would be. I remembered
3025the usual termination of Platonic liaisons, and thought how disgusted I
3026had been whenever I heard of one. I knew I was undertaking a great deal
3027for so unscrupulous a man as I was, and I dreamed the future, but never
3028for one moment did I doubt that she was safe with me. Had it been anybody
3029but Tessie I should not have bothered my head about scruples. For it did
3030not occur to me to sacrifice Tessie as I would have sacrificed a woman of
3031the world. I looked the future squarely in the face and saw the several
3032probable endings to the affair. She would either tire of the whole thing,
3033or become so unhappy that I should have either to marry her or go away.
3034If I married her we would be unhappy. I with a wife unsuited to me, and
3035she with a husband unsuitable for any woman. For my past life could
3036scarcely entitle me to marry. If I went away she might either fall ill,
3037recover, and marry some Eddie Burke, or she might recklessly or
3038deliberately go and do something foolish. On the other hand, if she tired
3039of me, then her whole life would be before her with beautiful vistas of
3040Eddie Burkes and marriage rings and twins and Harlem flats and Heaven
3041knows what. As I strolled along through the trees by the Washington Arch,
3042I decided that she should find a substantial friend in me, anyway, and
3043the future could take care of itself. Then I went into the house and put
3044on my evening dress, for the little faintly-perfumed note on my dresser
3045said, "Have a cab at the stage door at eleven," and the note was signed
3046"Edith Carmichel, Metropolitan Theatre."
3047
3048I took supper that night, or rather we took supper, Miss Carmichel and I,
3049at Solari's, and the dawn was just beginning to gild the cross on the
3050Memorial Church as I entered Washington Square after leaving Edith at the
3051Brunswick. There was not a soul in the park as I passed along the trees
3052and took the walk which leads from the Garibaldi statue to the Hamilton
3053Apartment House, but as I passed the churchyard I saw a figure sitting on
3054the stone steps. In spite of myself a chill crept over me at the sight of
3055the white puffy face, and I hastened to pass. Then he said something
3056which might have been addressed to me or might merely have been a mutter
3057to himself, but a sudden furious anger flamed up within me that such a
3058creature should address me. For an instant I felt like wheeling about and
3059smashing my stick over his head, but I walked on, and entering the
3060Hamilton went to my apartment. For some time I tossed about the bed
3061trying to get the sound of his voice out of my ears, but could not. It
3062filled my head, that muttering sound, like thick oily smoke from a
3063fat-rendering vat or an odour of noisome decay. And as I lay and tossed
3064about, the voice in my ears seemed more distinct, and I began to
3065understand the words he had muttered. They came to me slowly as if I had
3066forgotten them, and at last I could make some sense out of the sounds. It
3067was this:
3068
3069"Have you found the Yellow Sign?"
3070
3071"Have you found the Yellow Sign?"
3072
3073"Have you found the Yellow Sign?"
3074
3075I was furious. What did he mean by that? Then with a curse upon him and
3076his I rolled over and went to sleep, but when I awoke later I looked pale
3077and haggard, for I had dreamed the dream of the night before, and it
3078troubled me more than I cared to think.
3079
3080I dressed and went down into my studio. Tessie sat by the window, but as
3081I came in she rose and put both arms around my neck for an innocent kiss.
3082She looked so sweet and dainty that I kissed her again and then sat down
3083before the easel.
3084
3085"Hello! Where's the study I began yesterday?" I asked.
3086
3087Tessie looked conscious, but did not answer. I began to hunt among the
3088piles of canvases, saying, "Hurry up, Tess, and get ready; we must take
3089advantage of the morning light."
3090
3091When at last I gave up the search among the other canvases and turned to
3092look around the room for the missing study I noticed Tessie standing by
3093the screen with her clothes still on.
3094
3095"What's the matter," I asked, "don't you feel well?"
3096
3097"Yes."
3098
3099"Then hurry."
3100
3101"Do you want me to pose as--as I have always posed?"
3102
3103Then I understood. Here was a new complication. I had lost, of course,
3104the best nude model I had ever seen. I looked at Tessie. Her face was
3105scarlet. Alas! Alas! We had eaten of the tree of knowledge, and Eden and
3106native innocence were dreams of the past--I mean for her.
3107
3108I suppose she noticed the disappointment on my face, for she said: "I
3109will pose if you wish. The study is behind the screen here where I put
3110it."
3111
3112"No," I said, "we will begin something new;" and I went into my wardrobe
3113and picked out a Moorish costume which fairly blazed with tinsel. It was
3114a genuine costume, and Tessie retired to the screen with it enchanted.
3115When she came forth again I was astonished. Her long black hair was bound
3116above her forehead with a circlet of turquoises, and the ends, curled
3117about her glittering girdle. Her feet were encased in the embroidered
3118pointed slippers and the skirt of her costume, curiously wrought with
3119arabesques in silver, fell to her ankles. The deep metallic blue vest
3120embroidered with silver and the short Mauresque jacket spangled and sewn
3121with turquoises became her wonderfully. She came up to me and held up her
3122face smiling. I slipped my hand into my pocket, and drawing out a gold
3123chain with a cross attached, dropped it over her head.
3124
3125"It's yours, Tessie."
3126
3127"Mine?" she faltered.
3128
3129"Yours. Now go and pose," Then with a radiant smile she ran behind the
3130screen and presently reappeared with a little box on which was written my
3131name.
3132
3133"I had intended to give it to you when I went home to-night," she said,
3134"but I can't wait now."
3135
3136I opened the box. On the pink cotton inside lay a clasp of black onyx, on
3137which was inlaid a curious symbol or letter in gold. It was neither
3138Arabic nor Chinese, nor, as I found afterwards, did it belong to any
3139human script.
3140
3141"It's all I had to give you for a keepsake," she said timidly.
3142
3143I was annoyed, but I told her how much I should prize it, and promised to
3144wear it always. She fastened it on my coat beneath the lapel.
3145
3146"How foolish, Tess, to go and buy me such a beautiful thing as this," I
3147said.
3148
3149"I did not buy it," she laughed.
3150
3151"Where did you get it?"
3152
3153Then she told me how she had found it one day while coming from the
3154Aquarium in the Battery, how she had advertised it and watched the
3155papers, but at last gave up all hopes of finding the owner.
3156
3157"That was last winter," she said, "the very day I had the first horrid
3158dream about the hearse."
3159
3160I remembered my dream of the previous night but said nothing, and
3161presently my charcoal was flying over a new canvas, and Tessie stood
3162motionless on the model-stand.
3163
3164
3165
3166
3167III
3168
3169The day following was a disastrous one for me. While moving a framed
3170canvas from one easel to another my foot slipped on the polished floor,
3171and I fell heavily on both wrists. They were so badly sprained that it
3172was useless to attempt to hold a brush, and I was obliged to wander about
3173the studio, glaring at unfinished drawings and sketches, until despair
3174seized me and I sat down to smoke and twiddle my thumbs with rage. The
3175rain blew against the windows and rattled on the roof of the church,
3176driving me into a nervous fit with its interminable patter. Tessie sat
3177sewing by the window, and every now and then raised her head and looked
3178at me with such innocent compassion that I began to feel ashamed of my
3179irritation and looked about for something to occupy me. I had read all
3180the papers and all the books in the library, but for the sake of
3181something to do I went to the bookcases and shoved them open with my
3182elbow. I knew every volume by its colour and examined them all, passing
3183slowly around the library and whistling to keep up my spirits. I was
3184turning to go into the dining-room when my eye fell upon a book bound in
3185serpent skin, standing in a corner of the top shelf of the last bookcase.
3186I did not remember it, and from the floor could not decipher the pale
3187lettering on the back, so I went to the smoking-room and called Tessie.
3188She came in from the studio and climbed up to reach the book.
3189
3190"What is it?" I asked.
3191
3192"_The King in Yellow._"
3193
3194I was dumfounded. Who had placed it there? How came it in my rooms? I had
3195long ago decided that I should never open that book, and nothing on earth
3196could have persuaded me to buy it. Fearful lest curiosity might tempt me
3197to open it, I had never even looked at it in book-stores. If I ever had
3198had any curiosity to read it, the awful tragedy of young Castaigne, whom
3199I knew, prevented me from exploring its wicked pages. I had always
3200refused to listen to any description of it, and indeed, nobody ever
3201ventured to discuss the second part aloud, so I had absolutely no
3202knowledge of what those leaves might reveal. I stared at the poisonous
3203mottled binding as I would at a snake.
3204
3205"Don't touch it, Tessie," I said; "come down."
3206
3207Of course my admonition was enough to arouse her curiosity, and before I
3208could prevent it she took the book and, laughing, danced off into the
3209studio with it. I called to her, but she slipped away with a tormenting
3210smile at my helpless hands, and I followed her with some impatience.
3211
3212"Tessie!" I cried, entering the library, "listen, I am serious. Put that
3213book away. I do not wish you to open it!" The library was empty. I went
3214into both drawing-rooms, then into the bedrooms, laundry, kitchen, and
3215finally returned to the library and began a systematic search. She had
3216hidden herself so well that it was half-an-hour later when I discovered
3217her crouching white and silent by the latticed window in the store-room
3218above. At the first glance I saw she had been punished for her
3219foolishness. _The King in Yellow_ lay at her feet, but the book was
3220open at the second part. I looked at Tessie and saw it was too late. She
3221had opened _The King in Yellow_. Then I took her by the hand and led
3222her into the studio. She seemed dazed, and when I told her to lie down on
3223the sofa she obeyed me without a word. After a while she closed her eyes
3224and her breathing became regular and deep, but I could not determine
3225whether or not she slept. For a long while I sat silently beside her, but
3226she neither stirred nor spoke, and at last I rose, and, entering the
3227unused store-room, took the book in my least injured hand. It seemed
3228heavy as lead, but I carried it into the studio again, and sitting down
3229on the rug beside the sofa, opened it and read it through from beginning
3230to end.
3231
3232When, faint with excess of my emotions, I dropped the volume and leaned
3233wearily back against the sofa, Tessie opened her eyes and looked at
3234me....
3235
3236We had been speaking for some time in a dull monotonous strain before I
3237realized that we were discussing _The King in Yellow_. Oh the sin of
3238writing such words,--words which are clear as crystal, limpid and musical
3239as bubbling springs, words which sparkle and glow like the poisoned
3240diamonds of the Medicis! Oh the wickedness, the hopeless damnation of a
3241soul who could fascinate and paralyze human creatures with such
3242words,--words understood by the ignorant and wise alike, words which are
3243more precious than jewels, more soothing than music, more awful than
3244death!
3245
3246We talked on, unmindful of the gathering shadows, and she was begging me
3247to throw away the clasp of black onyx quaintly inlaid with what we now
3248knew to be the Yellow Sign. I never shall know why I refused, though even
3249at this hour, here in my bedroom as I write this confession, I should be
3250glad to know _what_ it was that prevented me from tearing the Yellow
3251Sign from my breast and casting it into the fire. I am sure I wished to
3252do so, and yet Tessie pleaded with me in vain. Night fell and the hours
3253dragged on, but still we murmured to each other of the King and the
3254Pallid Mask, and midnight sounded from the misty spires in the
3255fog-wrapped city. We spoke of Hastur and of Cassilda, while outside the
3256fog rolled against the blank window-panes as the cloud waves roll and
3257break on the shores of Hali.
3258
3259The house was very silent now, and not a sound came up from the misty
3260streets. Tessie lay among the cushions, her face a grey blot in the
3261gloom, but her hands were clasped in mine, and I knew that she knew and
3262read my thoughts as I read hers, for we had understood the mystery of the
3263Hyades and the Phantom of Truth was laid. Then as we answered each other,
3264swiftly, silently, thought on thought, the shadows stirred in the gloom
3265about us, and far in the distant streets we heard a sound. Nearer and
3266nearer it came, the dull crunching of wheels, nearer and yet nearer, and
3267now, outside before the door it ceased, and I dragged myself to the
3268window and saw a black-plumed hearse. The gate below opened and shut, and
3269I crept shaking to my door and bolted it, but I knew no bolts, no locks,
3270could keep that creature out who was coming for the Yellow Sign. And now
3271I heard him moving very softly along the hall. Now he was at the door,
3272and the bolts rotted at his touch. Now he had entered. With eyes starting
3273from my head I peered into the darkness, but when he came into the room I
3274did not see him. It was only when I felt him envelope me in his cold soft
3275grasp that I cried out and struggled with deadly fury, but my hands were
3276useless and he tore the onyx clasp from my coat and struck me full in the
3277face. Then, as I fell, I heard Tessie's soft cry and her spirit fled: and
3278even while falling I longed to follow her, for I knew that the King in
3279Yellow had opened his tattered mantle and there was only God to cry to
3280now.
3281
3282I could tell more, but I cannot see what help it will be to the world. As
3283for me, I am past human help or hope. As I lie here, writing, careless
3284even whether or not I die before I finish, I can see the doctor gathering
3285up his powders and phials with a vague gesture to the good priest beside
3286me, which I understand.
3287
3288They will be very curious to know the tragedy--they of the outside world
3289who write books and print millions of newspapers, but I shall write no
3290more, and the father confessor will seal my last words with the seal of
3291sanctity when his holy office is done. They of the outside world may send
3292their creatures into wrecked homes and death-smitten firesides, and their
3293newspapers will batten on blood and tears, but with me their spies must
3294halt before the confessional. They know that Tessie is dead and that I am
3295dying. They know how the people in the house, aroused by an infernal
3296scream, rushed into my room and found one living and two dead, but they
3297do not know what I shall tell them now; they do not know that the doctor
3298said as he pointed to a horrible decomposed heap on the floor--the livid
3299corpse of the watchman from the church: "I have no theory, no explanation.
3300That man must have been dead for months!"
3301
3302
3303I think I am dying. I wish the priest would--
3304
3305
3306
3307
3308THE DEMOISELLE D'YS
3309
3310 "Mais je croy que je
3311 Suis descendu on puiz
3312 Ténébreux onquel disoit
3313 Heraclytus estre Vereté cachée."
3314
3315"There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I
3316know not:
3317
3318"The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the
3319way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid."
3320
3321
3322I
3323
3324The utter desolation of the scene began to have its effect; I sat down to
3325face the situation and, if possible, recall to mind some landmark which
3326might aid me in extricating myself from my present position. If I could
3327only find the ocean again all would be clear, for I knew one could see
3328the island of Groix from the cliffs.
3329
3330I laid down my gun, and kneeling behind a rock lighted a pipe. Then I
3331looked at my watch. It was nearly four o'clock. I might have wandered far
3332from Kerselec since daybreak.
3333
3334Standing the day before on the cliffs below Kerselec with Goulven,
3335looking out over the sombre moors among which I had now lost my way,
3336these downs had appeared to me level as a meadow, stretching to the
3337horizon, and although I knew how deceptive is distance, I could not
3338realize that what from Kerselec seemed to be mere grassy hollows were
3339great valleys covered with gorse and heather, and what looked like
3340scattered boulders were in reality enormous cliffs of granite.
3341
3342"It's a bad place for a stranger," old Goulven had said: "you'd better
3343take a guide;" and I had replied, "I shall not lose myself." Now I knew
3344that I had lost myself, as I sat there smoking, with the sea-wind blowing
3345in my face. On every side stretched the moorland, covered with flowering
3346gorse and heath and granite boulders. There was not a tree in sight, much
3347less a house. After a while, I picked up the gun, and turning my back on
3348the sun tramped on again.
3349
3350There was little use in following any of the brawling streams which every
3351now and then crossed my path, for, instead of flowing into the sea, they
3352ran inland to reedy pools in the hollows of the moors. I had followed
3353several, but they all led me to swamps or silent little ponds from which
3354the snipe rose peeping and wheeled away in an ecstasy of fright I began
3355to feel fatigued, and the gun galled my shoulder in spite of the double
3356pads. The sun sank lower and lower, shining level across yellow gorse and
3357the moorland pools.
3358
3359As I walked my own gigantic shadow led me on, seeming to lengthen at
3360every step. The gorse scraped against my leggings, crackled beneath my
3361feet, showering the brown earth with blossoms, and the brake bowed and
3362billowed along my path. From tufts of heath rabbits scurried away through
3363the bracken, and among the swamp grass I heard the wild duck's drowsy
3364quack. Once a fox stole across my path, and again, as I stooped to drink
3365at a hurrying rill, a heron flapped heavily from the reeds beside me. I
3366turned to look at the sun. It seemed to touch the edges of the plain.
3367When at last I decided that it was useless to go on, and that I must make
3368up my mind to spend at least one night on the moors, I threw myself down
3369thoroughly fagged out. The evening sunlight slanted warm across my body,
3370but the sea-winds began to rise, and I felt a chill strike through me
3371from my wet shooting-boots. High overhead gulls were wheeling and tossing
3372like bits of white paper; from some distant marsh a solitary curlew
3373called. Little by little the sun sank into the plain, and the zenith
3374flushed with the after-glow. I watched the sky change from palest gold to
3375pink and then to smouldering fire. Clouds of midges danced above me, and
3376high in the calm air a bat dipped and soared. My eyelids began to droop.
3377Then as I shook off the drowsiness a sudden crash among the bracken
3378roused me. I raised my eyes. A great bird hung quivering in the air above
3379my face. For an instant I stared, incapable of motion; then something
3380leaped past me in the ferns and the bird rose, wheeled, and pitched
3381headlong into the brake.
3382
3383I was on my feet in an instant peering through the gorse. There came the
3384sound of a struggle from a bunch of heather close by, and then all was
3385quiet. I stepped forward, my gun poised, but when I came to the heather
3386the gun fell under my arm again, and I stood motionless in silent
3387astonishment A dead hare lay on the ground, and on the hare stood a
3388magnificent falcon, one talon buried in the creature's neck, the other
3389planted firmly on its limp flank. But what astonished me, was not the
3390mere sight of a falcon sitting upon its prey. I had seen that more than
3391once. It was that the falcon was fitted with a sort of leash about both
3392talons, and from the leash hung a round bit of metal like a sleigh-bell.
3393The bird turned its fierce yellow eyes on me, and then stooped and struck
3394its curved beak into the quarry. At the same instant hurried steps
3395sounded among the heather, and a girl sprang into the covert in front.
3396Without a glance at me she walked up to the falcon, and passing her
3397gloved hand under its breast, raised it from the quarry. Then she deftly
3398slipped a small hood over the bird's head, and holding it out on her
3399gauntlet, stooped and picked up the hare.
3400
3401She passed a cord about the animal's legs and fastened the end of the
3402thong to her girdle. Then she started to retrace her steps through the
3403covert As she passed me I raised my cap and she acknowledged my presence
3404with a scarcely perceptible inclination. I had been so astonished, so
3405lost in admiration of the scene before my eyes, that it had not occurred
3406to me that here was my salvation. But as she moved away I recollected
3407that unless I wanted to sleep on a windy moor that night I had better
3408recover my speech without delay. At my first word she hesitated, and as I
3409stepped before her I thought a look of fear came into her beautiful eyes.
3410But as I humbly explained my unpleasant plight, her face flushed and she
3411looked at me in wonder.
3412
3413"Surely you did not come from Kerselec!" she repeated.
3414
3415Her sweet voice had no trace of the Breton accent nor of any accent which
3416I knew, and yet there was something in it I seemed to have heard before,
3417something quaint and indefinable, like the theme of an old song.
3418
3419I explained that I was an American, unacquainted with Finistère, shooting
3420there for my own amusement.
3421
3422"An American," she repeated in the same quaint musical tones. "I have
3423never before seen an American."
3424
3425For a moment she stood silent, then looking at me she said. "If you
3426should walk all night you could not reach Kerselec now, even if you had a
3427guide."
3428
3429This was pleasant news.
3430
3431"But," I began, "if I could only find a peasant's hut where I might get
3432something to eat, and shelter."
3433
3434The falcon on her wrist fluttered and shook its head. The girl smoothed
3435its glossy back and glanced at me.
3436
3437"Look around," she said gently. "Can you see the end of these moors?
3438Look, north, south, east, west. Can you see anything but moorland and
3439bracken?"
3440
3441"No," I said.
3442
3443"The moor is wild and desolate. It is easy to enter, but sometimes they
3444who enter never leave it. There are no peasants' huts here."
3445
3446"Well," I said, "if you will tell me in which direction Kerselec lies,
3447to-morrow it will take me no longer to go back than it has to come."
3448
3449She looked at me again with an expression almost like pity.
3450
3451"Ah," she said, "to come is easy and takes hours; to go is different--and
3452may take centuries."
3453
3454I stared at her in amazement but decided that I had misunderstood her.
3455Then before I had time to speak she drew a whistle from her belt and
3456sounded it.
3457
3458"Sit down and rest," she said to me; "you have come a long distance and
3459are tired."
3460
3461She gathered up her pleated skirts and motioning me to follow picked her
3462dainty way through the gorse to a flat rock among the ferns.
3463
3464"They will be here directly," she said, and taking a seat at one end of
3465the rock invited me to sit down on the other edge. The after-glow was
3466beginning to fade in the sky and a single star twinkled faintly through
3467the rosy haze. A long wavering triangle of water-fowl drifted southward
3468over our heads, and from the swamps around plover were calling.
3469
3470"They are very beautiful--these moors," she said quietly.
3471
3472"Beautiful, but cruel to strangers," I answered.
3473
3474"Beautiful and cruel," she repeated dreamily, "beautiful and cruel."
3475
3476"Like a woman," I said stupidly.
3477
3478"Oh," she cried with a little catch in her breath, and looked at me. Her
3479dark eyes met mine, and I thought she seemed angry or frightened.
3480
3481"Like a woman," she repeated under her breath, "How cruel to say so!"
3482Then after a pause, as though speaking aloud to herself, "How cruel for
3483him to say that!"
3484
3485I don't know what sort of an apology I offered for my inane, though
3486harmless speech, but I know that she seemed so troubled about it that I
3487began to think I had said something very dreadful without knowing it, and
3488remembered with horror the pitfalls and snares which the French language
3489sets for foreigners. While I was trying to imagine what I might have
3490said, a sound of voices came across the moor, and the girl rose to her
3491feet.
3492
3493"No," she said, with a trace of a smile on her pale face, "I will not
3494accept your apologies, monsieur, but I must prove you wrong, and that
3495shall be my revenge. Look. Here come Hastur and Raoul."
3496
3497Two men loomed up in the twilight. One had a sack across his shoulders
3498and the other carried a hoop before him as a waiter carries a tray. The
3499hoop was fastened with straps to his shoulders, and around the edge of
3500the circlet sat three hooded falcons fitted with tinkling bells. The girl
3501stepped up to the falconer, and with a quick turn of her wrist
3502transferred her falcon to the hoop, where it quickly sidled off and
3503nestled among its mates, who shook their hooded heads and ruffled their
3504feathers till the belled jesses tinkled again. The other man stepped
3505forward and bowing respectfully took up the hare and dropped it into the
3506game-sack.
3507
3508"These are my piqueurs," said the girl, turning to me with a gentle
3509dignity. "Raoul is a good fauconnier, and I shall some day make him grand
3510veneur. Hastur is incomparable."
3511
3512The two silent men saluted me respectfully.
3513
3514"Did I not tell you, monsieur, that I should prove you wrong?" she
3515continued. "This, then, is my revenge, that you do me the courtesy of
3516accepting food and shelter at my own house."
3517
3518Before I could answer she spoke to the falconers, who started instantly
3519across the heath, and with a gracious gesture to me she followed. I don't
3520know whether I made her understand how profoundly grateful I felt, but
3521she seemed pleased to listen, as we walked over the dewy heather.
3522
3523"Are you not very tired?" she asked.
3524
3525I had clean forgotten my fatigue in her presence, and I told her so.
3526
3527"Don't you think your gallantry is a little old-fashioned?" she said; and
3528when I looked confused and humbled, she added quietly, "Oh, I like it, I
3529like everything old-fashioned, and it is delightful to hear you say such
3530pretty things."
3531
3532The moorland around us was very still now under its ghostly sheet of
3533mist. The plovers had ceased their calling; the crickets and all the
3534little creatures of the fields were silent as we passed, yet it seemed to
3535me as if I could hear them beginning again far behind us. Well in
3536advance, the two tall falconers strode across the heather, and the faint
3537jingling of the hawks' bells came to our ears in distant murmuring
3538chimes.
3539
3540Suddenly a splendid hound dashed out of the mist in front, followed by
3541another and another until half-a-dozen or more were bounding and leaping
3542around the girl beside me. She caressed and quieted them with her gloved
3543hand, speaking to them in quaint terms which I remembered to have seen in
3544old French manuscripts.
3545
3546Then the falcons on the circlet borne by the falconer ahead began to beat
3547their wings and scream, and from somewhere out of sight the notes of a
3548hunting-horn floated across the moor. The hounds sprang away before us
3549and vanished in the twilight, the falcons flapped and squealed upon their
3550perch, and the girl, taking up the song of the horn, began to hum. Clear
3551and mellow her voice sounded in the night air.
3552
3553 "Chasseur, chasseur, chassez encore,
3554 Quittez Rosette et Jeanneton,
3555 Tonton, tonton, tontaine, tonton,
3556 Ou, pour, rabattre, dès l'aurore,
3557 Que les Amours soient de planton,
3558 Tonton, tontaine, tonton."
3559
3560As I listened to her lovely voice a grey mass which rapidly grew more
3561distinct loomed up in front, and the horn rang out joyously through the
3562tumult of the hounds and falcons. A torch glimmered at a gate, a light
3563streamed through an opening door, and we stepped upon a wooden bridge
3564which trembled under our feet and rose creaking and straining behind us
3565as we passed over the moat and into a small stone court, walled on every
3566side. From an open doorway a man came and, bending in salutation,
3567presented a cup to the girl beside me. She took the cup and touched it
3568with her lips, then lowering it turned to me and said in a low voice, "I
3569bid you welcome."
3570
3571At that moment one of the falconers came with another cup, but before
3572handing it to me, presented it to the girl, who tasted it. The falconer
3573made a gesture to receive it, but she hesitated a moment, and then,
3574stepping forward, offered me the cup with her own hands. I felt this to
3575be an act of extraordinary graciousness, but hardly knew what was
3576expected of me, and did not raise it to my lips at once. The girl flushed
3577crimson. I saw that I must act quickly.
3578
3579"Mademoiselle," I faltered, "a stranger whom you have saved from dangers
3580he may never realize empties this cup to the gentlest and loveliest
3581hostess of France."
3582
3583"In His name," she murmured, crossing herself as I drained the cup. Then
3584stepping into the doorway she turned to me with a pretty gesture and,
3585taking my hand in hers, led me into the house, saying again and again:
3586"You are very welcome, indeed you are welcome to the Château d'Ys."
3587
3588
3589
3590
3591II
3592
3593I awoke next morning with the music of the horn in my ears, and leaping
3594out of the ancient bed, went to a curtained window where the sunlight
3595filtered through little deep-set panes. The horn ceased as I looked into
3596the court below.
3597
3598A man who might have been brother to the two falconers of the night
3599before stood in the midst of a pack of hounds. A curved horn was strapped
3600over his back, and in his hand he held a long-lashed whip. The dogs
3601whined and yelped, dancing around him in anticipation; there was the
3602stamp of horses, too, in the walled yard.
3603
3604"Mount!" cried a voice in Breton, and with a clatter of hoofs the two
3605falconers, with falcons upon their wrists, rode into the courtyard among
3606the hounds. Then I heard another voice which sent the blood throbbing
3607through my heart: "Piriou Louis, hunt the hounds well and spare neither
3608spur nor whip. Thou Raoul and thou Gaston, see that the _epervier_
3609does not prove himself _niais_, and if it be best in your judgment,
3610_faites courtoisie à l'oiseau. Jardiner un oiseau_, like the
3611_mué_ there on Hastur's wrist, is not difficult, but thou, Raoul,
3612mayest not find it so simple to govern that _hagard_. Twice last
3613week he foamed _au vif_ and lost the _beccade_ although he is
3614used to the _leurre_. The bird acts like a stupid _branchier.
3615Paître un hagard n'est pas si facile."_
3616
3617Was I dreaming? The old language of falconry which I had read in yellow
3618manuscripts--the old forgotten French of the middle ages was sounding in
3619my ears while the hounds bayed and the hawks' bells tinkled accompaniment
3620to the stamping horses. She spoke again in the sweet forgotten language:
3621
3622"If you would rather attach the _longe_ and leave thy _hagard au
3623bloc_, Raoul, I shall say nothing; for it were a pity to spoil so fair
3624a day's sport with an ill-trained _sors_. _Essimer abaisser_,--it is
3625possibly the best way. _Ça lui donnera des reins._ I was perhaps hasty
3626with the bird. It takes time to pass _à la filière_ and the exercises
3627_d'escap_."
3628
3629Then the falconer Raoul bowed in his stirrups and replied: "If it be the
3630pleasure of Mademoiselle, I shall keep the hawk."
3631
3632"It is my wish," she answered. "Falconry I know, but you have yet to give
3633me many a lesson in _Autourserie_, my poor Raoul. Sieur Piriou Louis
3634mount!"
3635
3636The huntsman sprang into an archway and in an instant returned, mounted
3637upon a strong black horse, followed by a piqueur also mounted.
3638
3639"Ah!" she cried joyously, "speed Glemarec René! speed! speed all! Sound
3640thy horn, Sieur Piriou!"
3641
3642The silvery music of the hunting-horn filled the courtyard, the hounds
3643sprang through the gateway and galloping hoof-beats plunged out of the
3644paved court; loud on the drawbridge, suddenly muffled, then lost in the
3645heather and bracken of the moors. Distant and more distant sounded the
3646horn, until it became so faint that the sudden carol of a soaring lark
3647drowned it in my ears. I heard the voice below responding to some call
3648from within the house.
3649
3650"I do not regret the chase, I will go another time Courtesy to the
3651stranger, Pelagie, remember!"
3652
3653And a feeble voice came quavering from within the house,
3654"_Courtoisie_."
3655
3656I stripped, and rubbed myself from head to foot in the huge earthen basin
3657of icy water which stood upon the stone floor at the foot of my bed. Then
3658I looked about for my clothes. They were gone, but on a settle near the
3659door lay a heap of garments which I inspected with astonishment. As my
3660clothes had vanished, I was compelled to attire myself in the costume
3661which had evidently been placed there for me to wear while my own clothes
3662dried. Everything was there, cap, shoes, and hunting doublet of silvery
3663grey homespun; but the close-fitting costume and seamless shoes belonged
3664to another century, and I remembered the strange costumes of the three
3665falconers in the court-yard. I was sure that it was not the modern dress
3666of any portion of France or Brittany; but not until I was dressed and
3667stood before a mirror between the windows did I realize that I was
3668clothed much more like a young huntsman of the middle ages than like a
3669Breton of that day. I hesitated and picked up the cap. Should I go down
3670and present myself in that strange guise? There seemed to be no help for
3671it, my own clothes were gone and there was no bell in the ancient chamber
3672to call a servant; so I contented myself with removing a short hawk's
3673feather from the cap, and, opening the door, went downstairs.
3674
3675By the fireplace in the large room at the foot of the stairs an old
3676Breton woman sat spinning with a distaff. She looked up at me when I
3677appeared, and, smiling frankly, wished me health in the Breton language,
3678to which I laughingly replied in French. At the same moment my hostess
3679appeared and returned my salutation with a grace and dignity that sent a
3680thrill to my heart. Her lovely head with its dark curly hair was crowned
3681with a head-dress which set all doubts as to the epoch of my own costume
3682at rest. Her slender figure was exquisitely set off in the homespun
3683hunting-gown edged with silver, and on her gauntlet-covered wrist she
3684bore one of her petted hawks. With perfect simplicity she took my hand
3685and led me into the garden in the court, and seating herself before a
3686table invited me very sweetly to sit beside her. Then she asked me in her
3687soft quaint accent how I had passed the night, and whether I was very
3688much inconvenienced by wearing the clothes which old Pelagie had put
3689there for me while I slept. I looked at my own clothes and shoes, drying
3690in the sun by the garden-wall, and hated them. What horrors they were
3691compared with the graceful costume which I now wore! I told her this
3692laughing, but she agreed with me very seriously.
3693
3694"We will throw them away," she said in a quiet voice. In my astonishment
3695I attempted to explain that I not only could not think of accepting
3696clothes from anybody, although for all I knew it might be the custom of
3697hospitality in that part of the country, but that I should cut an
3698impossible figure if I returned to France clothed as I was then.
3699
3700She laughed and tossed her pretty head, saying something in old French
3701which I did not understand, and then Pelagie trotted out with a tray on
3702which stood two bowls of milk, a loaf of white bread, fruit, a platter of
3703honey-comb, and a flagon of deep red wine. "You see I have not yet broken
3704my fast because I wished you to eat with me. But I am very hungry," she
3705smiled.
3706
3707"I would rather die than forget one word of what you have said!" I
3708blurted out, while my cheeks burned. "She will think me mad," I added to
3709myself, but she turned to me with sparkling eyes.
3710
3711"Ah!" she murmured. "Then Monsieur knows all that there is of chivalry--"
3712
3713She crossed herself and broke bread. I sat and watched her white hands,
3714not daring to raise my eyes to hers.
3715
3716"Will you not eat?" she asked. "Why do you look so troubled?"
3717
3718Ah, why? I knew it now. I knew I would give my life to touch with my lips
3719those rosy palms--I understood now that from the moment when I looked
3720into her dark eyes there on the moor last night I had loved her. My great
3721and sudden passion held me speechless.
3722
3723"Are you ill at ease?" she asked again.
3724
3725Then, like a man who pronounces his own doom, I answered in a low voice:
3726"Yes, I am ill at ease for love of you." And as she did not stir nor
3727answer, the same power moved my lips in spite of me and I said, "I, who
3728am unworthy of the lightest of your thoughts, I who abuse hospitality and
3729repay your gentle courtesy with bold presumption, I love you."
3730
3731She leaned her head upon her hands, and answered softly, "I love you.
3732Your words are very dear to me. I love you."
3733
3734"Then I shall win you."
3735
3736"Win me," she replied.
3737
3738But all the time I had been sitting silent, my face turned toward her.
3739She, also silent, her sweet face resting on her upturned palm, sat facing
3740me, and as her eyes looked into mine I knew that neither she nor I had
3741spoken human speech; but I knew that her soul had answered mine, and I
3742drew myself up feeling youth and joyous love coursing through every vein.
3743She, with a bright colour in her lovely face, seemed as one awakened from
3744a dream, and her eyes sought mine with a questioning glance which made me
3745tremble with delight. We broke our fast, speaking of ourselves. I told
3746her my name and she told me hers, the Demoiselle Jeanne d'Ys.
3747
3748She spoke of her father and mother's death, and how the nineteen of her
3749years had been passed in the little fortified farm alone with her nurse
3750Pelagie, Glemarec René the piqueur, and the four falconers, Raoul,
3751Gaston, Hastur, and the Sieur Piriou Louis, who had served her father.
3752She had never been outside the moorland--never even had seen a human soul
3753before, except the falconers and Pelagie. She did not know how she had
3754heard of Kerselec; perhaps the falconers had spoken of it. She knew the
3755legends of Loup Garou and Jeanne la Flamme from her nurse Pelagie. She
3756embroidered and spun flax. Her hawks and hounds were her only
3757distraction. When she had met me there on the moor she had been so
3758frightened that she almost dropped at the sound of my voice. She had, it
3759was true, seen ships at sea from the cliffs, but as far as the eye could
3760reach the moors over which she galloped were destitute of any sign of
3761human life. There was a legend which old Pelagie told, how anybody once
3762lost in the unexplored moorland might never return, because the moors
3763were enchanted. She did not know whether it was true, she never had
3764thought about it until she met me. She did not know whether the falconers
3765had even been outside, or whether they could go if they would. The books
3766in the house which Pelagie, the nurse, had taught her to read were
3767hundreds of years old.
3768
3769All this she told me with a sweet seriousness seldom seen in any one but
3770children. My own name she found easy to pronounce, and insisted, because
3771my first name was Philip, I must have French blood in me. She did not
3772seem curious to learn anything about the outside world, and I thought
3773perhaps she considered it had forfeited her interest and respect from the
3774stories of her nurse.
3775
3776We were still sitting at the table, and she was throwing grapes to the
3777small field birds which came fearlessly to our very feet.
3778
3779I began to speak in a vague way of going, but she would not hear of it,
3780and before I knew it I had promised to stay a week and hunt with hawk and
3781hound in their company. I also obtained permission to come again from
3782Kerselec and visit her after my return.
3783
3784"Why," she said innocently, "I do not know what I should do if you never
3785came back;" and I, knowing that I had no right to awaken her with the
3786sudden shock which the avowal of my own love would bring to her, sat
3787silent, hardly daring to breathe.
3788
3789"You will come very often?" she asked.
3790
3791"Very often," I said.
3792
3793"Every day?"
3794
3795"Every day."
3796
3797"Oh," she sighed, "I am very happy. Come and see my hawks."
3798
3799She rose and took my hand again with a childlike innocence of possession,
3800and we walked through the garden and fruit trees to a grassy lawn which
3801was bordered by a brook. Over the lawn were scattered fifteen or twenty
3802stumps of trees--partially imbedded in the grass--and upon all of these
3803except two sat falcons. They were attached to the stumps by thongs which
3804were in turn fastened with steel rivets to their legs just above the
3805talons. A little stream of pure spring water flowed in a winding course
3806within easy distance of each perch.
3807
3808The birds set up a clamour when the girl appeared, but she went from one
3809to another, caressing some, taking others for an instant upon her wrist,
3810or stooping to adjust their jesses.
3811
3812"Are they not pretty?" she said. "See, here is a falcon-gentil. We call
3813it 'ignoble,' because it takes the quarry in direct chase. This is a blue
3814falcon. In falconry we call it 'noble' because it rises over the quarry,
3815and wheeling, drops upon it from above. This white bird is a gerfalcon
3816from the north. It is also 'noble!' Here is a merlin, and this tiercelet
3817is a falcon-heroner."
3818
3819I asked her how she had learned the old language of falconry. She did not
3820remember, but thought her father must have taught it to her when she was
3821very young.
3822
3823Then she led me away and showed me the young falcons still in the nest.
3824"They are termed _niais_ in falconry," she explained. "A
3825_branchier_ is the young bird which is just able to leave the nest
3826and hop from branch to branch. A young bird which has not yet moulted is
3827called a _sors_, and a _mué_ is a hawk which has moulted in
3828captivity. When we catch a wild falcon which has changed its plumage we
3829term it a _hagard_. Raoul first taught me to dress a falcon. Shall I
3830teach you how it is done?"
3831
3832She seated herself on the bank of the stream among the falcons and I
3833threw myself at her feet to listen.
3834
3835Then the Demoiselle d'Ys held up one rosy-tipped finger and began very
3836gravely.
3837
3838"First one must catch the falcon."
3839
3840"I am caught," I answered.
3841
3842She laughed very prettily and told me my _dressage_ would perhaps be
3843difficult, as I was noble.
3844
3845"I am already tamed," I replied; "jessed and belled."
3846
3847She laughed, delighted. "Oh, my brave falcon; then you will return at my
3848call?"
3849
3850"I am yours," I answered gravely.
3851
3852She sat silent for a moment. Then the colour heightened in her cheeks and
3853she held up her finger again, saying, "Listen; I wish to speak of
3854falconry--"
3855
3856"I listen, Countess Jeanne d'Ys."
3857
3858But again she fell into the reverie, and her eyes seemed fixed on
3859something beyond the summer clouds.
3860
3861"Philip," she said at last.
3862
3863"Jeanne," I whispered.
3864
3865"That is all,--that is what I wished," she sighed,--"Philip and Jeanne."
3866
3867She held her hand toward me and I touched it with my lips.
3868
3869"Win me," she said, but this time it was the body and soul which spoke in
3870unison.
3871
3872After a while she began again: "Let us speak of falconry."
3873
3874"Begin," I replied; "we have caught the falcon."
3875
3876Then Jeanne d'Ys took my hand in both of hers and told me how with
3877infinite patience the young falcon was taught to perch upon the wrist,
3878how little by little it became used to the belled jesses and the
3879_chaperon à cornette_.
3880
3881"They must first have a good appetite," she said; "then little by little
3882I reduce their nourishment; which in falconry we call _pât_. When,
3883after many nights passed _au bloc_ as these birds are now, I prevail
3884upon the _hagard_ to stay quietly on the wrist, then the bird is
3885ready to be taught to come for its food. I fix the _pât_ to the end
3886of a thong, or _leurre_, and teach the bird to come to me as soon as
3887I begin to whirl the cord in circles about my head. At first I drop the
3888_pât_ when the falcon comes, and he eats the food on the ground.
3889After a little he will learn to seize the _leurre_ in motion as I
3890whirl it around my head or drag it over the ground. After this it is easy
3891to teach the falcon to strike at game, always remembering to _'faire
3892courtoisie á l'oiseau'_, that is, to allow the bird to taste the
3893quarry."
3894
3895A squeal from one of the falcons interrupted her, and she arose to adjust
3896the _longe_ which had become whipped about the _bloc_, but the
3897bird still flapped its wings and screamed.
3898
3899"What _is_ the matter?" she said. "Philip, can you see?"
3900
3901I looked around and at first saw nothing to cause the commotion, which
3902was now heightened by the screams and flapping of all the birds. Then my
3903eye fell upon the flat rock beside the stream from which the girl had
3904risen. A grey serpent was moving slowly across the surface of the
3905boulder, and the eyes in its flat triangular head sparkled like jet.
3906
3907"A couleuvre," she said quietly.
3908
3909"It is harmless, is it not?" I asked.
3910
3911She pointed to the black V-shaped figure on the neck.
3912
3913"It is certain death," she said; "it is a viper."
3914
3915We watched the reptile moving slowly over the smooth rock to where the
3916sunlight fell in a broad warm patch.
3917
3918I started forward to examine it, but she clung to my arm crying, "Don't,
3919Philip, I am afraid."
3920
3921"For me?"
3922
3923"For you, Philip,--I love you."
3924
3925Then I took her in my arms and kissed her on the lips, but all I could
3926say was: "Jeanne, Jeanne, Jeanne." And as she lay trembling on my breast,
3927something struck my foot in the grass below, but I did not heed it. Then
3928again something struck my ankle, and a sharp pain shot through me. I
3929looked into the sweet face of Jeanne d'Ys and kissed her, and with all my
3930strength lifted her in my arms and flung her from me. Then bending, I
3931tore the viper from my ankle and set my heel upon its head. I remember
3932feeling weak and numb,--I remember falling to the ground. Through my
3933slowly glazing eyes I saw Jeanne's white face bending close to mine, and
3934when the light in my eyes went out I still felt her arms about my neck,
3935and her soft cheek against my drawn lips.
3936
3937
3938When I opened my eyes, I looked around in terror. Jeanne was gone. I saw
3939the stream and the flat rock; I saw the crushed viper in the grass beside
3940me, but the hawks and _blocs_ had disappeared. I sprang to my feet.
3941The garden, the fruit trees, the drawbridge and the walled court were
3942gone. I stared stupidly at a heap of crumbling ruins, ivy-covered and
3943grey, through which great trees had pushed their way. I crept forward,
3944dragging my numbed foot, and as I moved, a falcon sailed from the
3945tree-tops among the ruins, and soaring, mounting in narrowing circles,
3946faded and vanished in the clouds above.
3947
3948"Jeanne, Jeanne," I cried, but my voice died on my lips, and I fell on my
3949knees among the weeds. And as God willed it, I, not knowing, had fallen
3950kneeling before a crumbling shrine carved in stone for our Mother of
3951Sorrows. I saw the sad face of the Virgin wrought in the cold stone. I
3952saw the cross and thorns at her feet, and beneath it I read:
3953
3954 "PRAY FOR THE SOUL OF THE
3955 DEMOISELLE JEANNE D'Ys,
3956 WHO DIED
3957 IN HER YOUTH FOR LOVE OF
3958 PHILIP, A STRANGER.
3959 A.D. 1573."
3960
3961But upon the icy slab lay a woman's glove still warm and fragrant.
3962
3963
3964
3965
3966THE PROPHETS' PARADISE
3967
3968 "If but the Vine and Love Abjuring Band
3969 Are in the Prophets' Paradise to stand,
3970 Alack, I doubt the Prophets' Paradise,
3971 Were empty as the hollow of one's hand."
3972
3973
3974
3975
3976THE STUDIO
3977
3978He smiled, saying, "Seek her throughout the world."
3979
3980I said, "Why tell me of the world? My world is here, between these walls
3981and the sheet of glass above; here among gilded flagons and dull jewelled
3982arms, tarnished frames and canvasses, black chests and high-backed
3983chairs, quaintly carved and stained in blue and gold."
3984
3985"For whom do you wait?" he said, and I answered, "When she comes I shall
3986know her."
3987
3988On my hearth a tongue of flame whispered secrets to the whitening ashes.
3989In the street below I heard footsteps, a voice, and a song.
3990
3991"For whom then do you wait?" he said, and I answered, "I shall know her."
3992
3993Footsteps, a voice, and a song in the street below, and I knew the song
3994but neither the steps nor the voice.
3995
3996"Fool!" he cried, "the song is the same, the voice and steps have but
3997changed with years!"
3998
3999On the hearth a tongue of flame whispered above the whitening ashes:
4000"Wait no more; they have passed, the steps and the voice in the street
4001below."
4002
4003Then he smiled, saying, "For whom do you wait? Seek her throughout the
4004world!"
4005
4006I answered, "My world is here, between these walls and the sheet of glass
4007above; here among gilded flagons and dull jewelled arms, tarnished frames
4008and canvasses, black chests and high-backed chairs, quaintly carved and
4009stained in blue and gold."
4010
4011
4012
4013
4014THE PHANTOM
4015
4016The Phantom of the Past would go no further.
4017
4018"If it is true," she sighed, "that you find in me a friend, let us turn
4019back together. You will forget, here, under the summer sky."
4020
4021I held her close, pleading, caressing; I seized her, white with anger,
4022but she resisted.
4023
4024"If it is true," she sighed, "that you find in me a friend, let us turn
4025back together."
4026
4027The Phantom of the Past would go no further.
4028
4029
4030
4031
4032THE SACRIFICE
4033
4034I went into a field of flowers, whose petals are whiter than snow and
4035whose hearts are pure gold.
4036
4037Far afield a woman cried, "I have killed him I loved!" and from a jar she
4038poured blood upon the flowers whose petals are whiter than snow and whose
4039hearts are pure gold.
4040
4041Far afield I followed, and on the jar I read a thousand names, while from
4042within the fresh blood bubbled to the brim.
4043
4044"I have killed him I loved!" she cried. "The world's athirst; now let it
4045drink!" She passed, and far afield I watched her pouring blood upon the
4046flowers whose petals are whiter than snow and whose hearts are pure gold.
4047
4048
4049
4050
4051DESTINY
4052
4053I came to the bridge which few may pass.
4054
4055"Pass!" cried the keeper, but I laughed, saying, "There is time;" and he
4056smiled and shut the gates.
4057
4058To the bridge which few may pass came young and old. All were refused.
4059Idly I stood and counted them, until, wearied of their noise and
4060lamentations, I came again to the bridge which few may pass.
4061
4062Those in the throng about the gates shrieked out, "He comes too late!"
4063But I laughed, saying, "There is time."
4064
4065"Pass!" cried the keeper as I entered; then smiled and shut the gates.
4066
4067
4068
4069
4070THE THRONG
4071
4072There, where the throng was thickest in the street, I stood with Pierrot.
4073All eyes were turned on me.
4074
4075"What are they laughing at?" I asked, but he grinned, dusting the chalk
4076from my black cloak. "I cannot see; it must be something droll, perhaps
4077an honest thief!"
4078
4079All eyes were turned on me.
4080
4081"He has robbed you of your purse!" they laughed.
4082
4083"My purse!" I cried; "Pierrot--help! it is a thief!"
4084
4085They laughed: "He has robbed you of your purse!"
4086
4087Then Truth stepped out, holding a mirror. "If he is an honest thief,"
4088cried Truth, "Pierrot shall find him with this mirror!" but he only
4089grinned, dusting the chalk from my black cloak.
4090
4091"You see," he said, "Truth is an honest thief, she brings you back your
4092mirror."
4093
4094All eyes were turned on me.
4095
4096"Arrest Truth!" I cried, forgetting it was not a mirror but a purse I
4097lost, standing with Pierrot, there, where the throng was thickest in the
4098street.
4099
4100
4101
4102
4103THE JESTER
4104
4105"Was she fair?" I asked, but he only chuckled, listening to the bells
4106jingling on his cap.
4107
4108"Stabbed," he tittered. "Think of the long journey, the days of peril,
4109the dreadful nights! Think how he wandered, for her sake, year after
4110year, through hostile lands, yearning for kith and kin, yearning for
4111her!"
4112
4113"Stabbed," he tittered, listening to the bells jingling on his cap.
4114
4115"Was she fair?" I asked, but he only snarled, muttering to the bells
4116jingling on his cap.
4117
4118"She kissed him at the gate," he tittered, "but in the hall his brother's
4119welcome touched his heart."
4120
4121"Was she fair?" I asked.
4122
4123"Stabbed," he chuckled. "Think of the long journey, the days of peril,
4124the dreadful nights! Think how he wandered, for her sake, year after year
4125through hostile lands, yearning for kith and kin, yearning for her!"
4126
4127"She kissed him at the gate, but in the hall his brother's welcome
4128touched his heart."
4129
4130"Was she fair?" I asked; but he only snarled, listening to the bells
4131jingling in his cap.
4132
4133
4134
4135
4136THE GREEN ROOM
4137
4138The Clown turned his powdered face to the mirror.
4139
4140"If to be fair is to be beautiful," he said, "who can compare with me in
4141my white mask?"
4142
4143"Who can compare with him in his white mask?" I asked of Death beside me.
4144
4145"Who can compare with me?" said Death, "for I am paler still."
4146
4147"You are very beautiful," sighed the Clown, turning his powdered face
4148from the mirror.
4149
4150
4151
4152
4153THE LOVE TEST
4154
4155"If it is true that you love," said Love, "then wait no longer. Give her
4156these jewels which would dishonour her and so dishonour you in loving
4157one dishonoured. If it is true that you love," said Love, "then wait no
4158longer."
4159
4160I took the jewels and went to her, but she trod upon them, sobbing:
4161"Teach me to wait--I love you!"
4162
4163"Then wait, if it is true," said Love.
4164
4165
4166
4167
4168THE STREET OF THE FOUR WINDS
4169
4170 "Ferme tes yeux à demi,
4171 Croise tes bras sur ton sein,
4172 Et de ton coeur endormi
4173 Chasse à jamais tout dessein."
4174
4175 "Je chante la nature,
4176 Les étoiles du soir, les larmes du matin,
4177 Les couchers de soleil à l'horizon lointain,
4178 Le ciel qui parle au coeur d'existence future!"
4179
4180
4181I
4182
4183The animal paused on the threshold, interrogative alert, ready for flight
4184if necessary. Severn laid down his palette, and held out a hand of
4185welcome. The cat remained motionless, her yellow eyes fastened upon
4186Severn.
4187
4188"Puss," he said, in his low, pleasant voice, "come in."
4189
4190The tip of her thin tail twitched uncertainly.
4191
4192"Come in," he said again.
4193
4194Apparently she found his voice reassuring, for she slowly settled upon all
4195fours, her eyes still fastened upon him, her tail tucked under her gaunt
4196flanks.
4197
4198He rose from his easel smiling. She eyed him quietly, and when he walked
4199toward her she watched him bend above her without a wince; her eyes
4200followed his hand until it touched her head. Then she uttered a ragged
4201mew.
4202
4203It had long been Severn's custom to converse with animals, probably
4204because he lived so much alone; and now he said, "What's the matter,
4205puss?"
4206
4207Her timid eyes sought his.
4208
4209"I understand," he said gently, "you shall have it at once."
4210
4211Then moving quietly about he busied himself with the duties of a host,
4212rinsed a saucer, filled it with the rest of the milk from the bottle on
4213the window-sill, and kneeling down, crumbled a roll into the hollow of his
4214hand.
4215
4216The creature rose and crept toward the saucer.
4217
4218With the handle of a palette-knife he stirred the crumbs and milk together
4219and stepped back as she thrust her nose into the mess. He watched her in
4220silence. From time to time the saucer clinked upon the tiled floor as she
4221reached for a morsel on the rim; and at last the bread was all gone, and
4222her purple tongue travelled over every unlicked spot until the saucer
4223shone like polished marble. Then she sat up, and coolly turning her back
4224to him, began her ablutions.
4225
4226"Keep it up," said Severn, much interested, "you need it."
4227
4228She flattened one ear, but neither turned nor interrupted her toilet. As
4229the grime was slowly removed Severn observed that nature had intended her
4230for a white cat. Her fur had disappeared in patches, from disease or the
4231chances of war, her tail was bony and her spine sharp. But what charms she
4232had were becoming apparent under vigorous licking, and he waited until she
4233had finished before re-opening the conversation. When at last she closed
4234her eyes and folded her forepaws under her breast, he began again very
4235gently: "Puss, tell me your troubles."
4236
4237At the sound of his voice she broke into a harsh rumbling which he
4238recognized as an attempt to purr. He bent over to rub her cheek and she
4239mewed again, an amiable inquiring little mew, to which he replied,
4240"Certainly, you are greatly improved, and when you recover your plumage
4241you will be a gorgeous bird." Much flattered, she stood up and marched
4242around and around his legs, pushing her head between them and making
4243pleased remarks, to which he responded with grave politeness.
4244
4245"Now, what sent you here," he said--"here into the Street of the Four
4246Winds, and up five flights to the very door where you would be welcome?
4247What was it that prevented your meditated flight when I turned from my
4248canvas to encounter your yellow eyes? Are you a Latin Quarter cat as I am
4249a Latin Quarter man? And why do you wear a rose-coloured flowered garter
4250buckled about your neck?" The cat had climbed into his lap, and now sat
4251purring as he passed his hand over her thin coat.
4252
4253"Excuse me," he continued in lazy soothing tones, harmonizing with her
4254purring, "if I seem indelicate, but I cannot help musing on this
4255rose-coloured garter, flowered so quaintly and fastened with a silver
4256clasp. For the clasp is silver; I can see the mint mark on the edge, as is
4257prescribed by the law of the French Republic. Now, why is this garter
4258woven of rose silk and delicately embroidered,--why is this silken garter
4259with its silver clasp about your famished throat? Am I indiscreet when I
4260inquire if its owner is your owner? Is she some aged dame living in memory
4261of youthful vanities, fond, doting on you, decorating you with her
4262intimate personal attire? The circumference of the garter would suggest
4263this, for your neck is thin, and the garter fits you. But then again I
4264notice--I notice most things--that the garter is capable of being much
4265enlarged. These small silver-rimmed eyelets, of which I count five, are
4266proof of that. And now I observe that the fifth eyelet is worn out, as
4267though the tongue of the clasp were accustomed to lie there. That seems to
4268argue a well-rounded form."
4269
4270The cat curled her toes in contentment. The street was very still outside.
4271
4272He murmured on: "Why should your mistress decorate you with an article
4273most necessary to her at all times? Anyway, at most times. How did she
4274come to slip this bit of silk and silver about your neck? Was it the
4275caprice of a moment,--when you, before you had lost your pristine
4276plumpness, marched singing into her bedroom to bid her good-morning? Of
4277course, and she sat up among the pillows, her coiled hair tumbling to her
4278shoulders, as you sprang upon the bed purring: 'Good-day, my lady.' Oh, it
4279is very easy to understand," he yawned, resting his head on the back of
4280the chair. The cat still purred, tightening and relaxing her padded claws
4281over his knee.
4282
4283"Shall I tell you all about her, cat? She is very beautiful--your
4284mistress," he murmured drowsily, "and her hair is heavy as burnished
4285gold. I could paint her,--not on canvas--for I should need shades and
4286tones and hues and dyes more splendid than the iris of a splendid rainbow.
4287I could only paint her with closed eyes, for in dreams alone can such
4288colours as I need be found. For her eyes, I must have azure from skies
4289untroubled by a cloud--the skies of dreamland. For her lips, roses from
4290the palaces of slumberland, and for her brow, snow-drifts from mountains
4291which tower in fantastic pinnacles to the moons;--oh, much higher than our
4292moon here,--the crystal moons of dreamland. She is--very--beautiful, your
4293mistress."
4294
4295The words died on his lips and his eyelids drooped.
4296
4297The cat, too, was asleep, her cheek turned up upon her wasted flank, her
4298paws relaxed and limp.
4299
4300
4301
4302
4303II
4304
4305"It is fortunate," said Severn, sitting up and stretching, "that we have
4306tided over the dinner hour, for I have nothing to offer you for supper but
4307what may be purchased with one silver franc."
4308
4309The cat on his knee rose, arched her back, yawned, and looked up at him.
4310
4311"What shall it be? A roast chicken with salad? No? Possibly you prefer
4312beef? Of course,--and I shall try an egg and some white bread. Now for the
4313wines. Milk for you? Good. I shall take a little water, fresh from the
4314wood," with a motion toward the bucket in the sink.
4315
4316He put on his hat and left the room. The cat followed to the door, and
4317after he had closed it behind him, she settled down, smelling at the
4318cracks, and cocking one ear at every creak from the crazy old building.
4319
4320The door below opened and shut. The cat looked serious, for a moment
4321doubtful, and her ears flattened in nervous expectation. Presently she
4322rose with a jerk of her tail and started on a noiseless tour of the
4323studio. She sneezed at a pot of turpentine, hastily retreating to the
4324table, which she presently mounted, and having satisfied her curiosity
4325concerning a roll of red modelling wax, returned to the door and sat down
4326with her eyes on the crack over the threshold Then she lifted her voice in
4327a thin plaint.
4328
4329When Severn returned he looked grave, but the cat, joyous and
4330demonstrative, marched around him, rubbing her gaunt body against his
4331legs, driving her head enthusiastically into his hand, and purring until
4332her voice mounted to a squeal.
4333
4334He placed a bit of meat, wrapped in brown paper, upon the table, and with
4335a penknife cut it into shreds. The milk he took from a bottle which had
4336served for medicine, and poured it into the saucer on the hearth.
4337
4338The cat crouched before it, purring and lapping at the same time.
4339
4340He cooked his egg and ate it with a slice of bread, watching her busy with
4341the shredded meat, and when he had finished, and had filled and emptied a
4342cup of water from the bucket in the sink, he sat down, taking her into his
4343lap, where she at once curled up and began her toilet. He began to speak
4344again, touching her caressingly at times by way of emphasis.
4345
4346"Cat, I have found out where your mistress lives. It is not very far
4347away;--it is here, under this same leaky roof, but in the north wing which
4348I had supposed was uninhabited. My janitor tells me this. By chance, he is
4349almost sober this evening. The butcher on the rue de Seine, where I bought
4350your meat, knows you, and old Cabane the baker identified you with
4351needless sarcasm. They tell me hard tales of your mistress which I shall
4352not believe. They say she is idle and vain and pleasure-loving; they say
4353she is hare-brained and reckless. The little sculptor on the ground floor,
4354who was buying rolls from old Cabane, spoke to me to-night for the first
4355time, although we have always bowed to each other. He said she was very
4356good and very beautiful. He has only seen her once, and does not know her
4357name. I thanked him;--I don't know why I thanked him so warmly. Cabane
4358said, 'Into this cursed Street of the Four Winds, the four winds blow all
4359things evil.' The sculptor looked confused, but when he went out with his
4360rolls, he said to me, 'I am sure, Monsieur, that she is as good as she is
4361beautiful.'"
4362
4363The cat had finished her toilet, and now, springing softly to the floor,
4364went to the door and sniffed. He knelt beside her, and unclasping the
4365garter held it for a moment in his hands. After a while he said: "There is
4366a name engraved upon the silver clasp beneath the buckle. It is a pretty
4367name, Sylvia Elven. Sylvia is a woman's name, Elven is the name of a town.
4368In Paris, in this quarter, above all, in this Street of the Four Winds,
4369names are worn and put away as the fashions change with the seasons. I
4370know the little town of Elven, for there I met Fate face to face and Fate
4371was unkind. But do you know that in Elven Fate had another name, and that
4372name was Sylvia?"
4373
4374He replaced the garter and stood up looking down at the cat crouched
4375before the closed door.
4376
4377"The name of Elven has a charm for me. It tells me of meadows and clear
4378rivers. The name of Sylvia troubles me like perfume from dead flowers."
4379
4380The cat mewed.
4381
4382"Yes, yes," he said soothingly, "I will take you back. Your Sylvia is not
4383my Sylvia; the world is wide and Elven is not unknown. Yet in the darkness
4384and filth of poorer Paris, in the sad shadows of this ancient house, these
4385names are very pleasant to me."
4386
4387He lifted her in his arms and strode through the silent corridors to the
4388stairs. Down five flights and into the moonlit court, past the little
4389sculptor's den, and then again in at the gate of the north wing and up the
4390worm-eaten stairs he passed, until he came to a closed door. When he had
4391stood knocking for a long time, something moved behind the door; it opened
4392and he went in. The room was dark. As he crossed the threshold, the cat
4393sprang from his arms into the shadows. He listened but heard nothing. The
4394silence was oppressive and he struck a match. At his elbow stood a table
4395and on the table a candle in a gilded candlestick. This he lighted, then
4396looked around. The chamber was vast, the hangings heavy with embroidery.
4397Over the fireplace towered a carved mantel, grey with the ashes of dead
4398fires. In a recess by the deep-set windows stood a bed, from which the
4399bedclothes, soft and fine as lace, trailed to the polished floor. He
4400lifted the candle above his head. A handkerchief lay at his feet. It was
4401faintly perfumed. He turned toward the windows. In front of them was a
4402_canapé_ and over it were flung, pell-mell, a gown of silk, a heap of
4403lace-like garments, white and delicate as spiders' meshes, long, crumpled
4404gloves, and, on the floor beneath, the stockings, the little pointed
4405shoes, and one garter of rosy silk, quaintly flowered and fitted with a
4406silver clasp. Wondering, he stepped forward and drew the heavy curtains
4407from the bed. For a moment the candle flared in his hand; then his eyes
4408met two other eyes, wide open, smiling, and the candle-flame flashed over
4409hair heavy as gold.
4410
4411She was pale, but not as white as he; her eyes were untroubled as a
4412child's; but he stared, trembling from head to foot, while the candle
4413flickered in his hand.
4414
4415At last he whispered: "Sylvia, it is I."
4416
4417Again he said, "It is I."
4418
4419Then, knowing that she was dead, he kissed her on the mouth. And through
4420the long watches of the night the cat purred on his knee, tightening and
4421relaxing her padded claws, until the sky paled above the Street of the
4422Four Winds.
4423
4424
4425
4426
4427THE STREET OF THE FIRST SHELL
4428
4429
4430 "Be of Good Cheer, the Sullen Month will die,
4431 And a young Moon requite us by and by:
4432 Look how the Old one, meagre, bent, and wan
4433 With age and Fast, is fainting from the sky."
4434
4435The room was already dark. The high roofs opposite cut off what little
4436remained of the December daylight. The girl drew her chair nearer the
4437window, and choosing a large needle, threaded it, knotting the thread over
4438her fingers. Then she smoothed the baby garment across her knees, and
4439bending, bit off the thread and drew the smaller needle from where it
4440rested in the hem. When she had brushed away the stray threads and bits of
4441lace, she laid it again over her knees caressingly. Then she slipped the
4442threaded needle from her corsage and passed it through a button, but as
4443the button spun down the thread, her hand faltered, the thread snapped,
4444and the button rolled across the floor. She raised her head. Her eyes were
4445fixed on a strip of waning light above the chimneys. From somewhere in the
4446city came sounds like the distant beating of drums, and beyond, far
4447beyond, a vague muttering, now growing, swelling, rumbling in the distance
4448like the pounding of surf upon the rocks, now like the surf again,
4449receding, growling, menacing. The cold had become intense, a bitter
4450piercing cold which strained and snapped at joist and beam and turned the
4451slush of yesterday to flint. From the street below every sound broke sharp
4452and metallic--the clatter of sabots, the rattle of shutters or the rare
4453sound of a human voice. The air was heavy, weighted with the black cold as
4454with a pall. To breathe was painful, to move an effort.
4455
4456In the desolate sky there was something that wearied, in the brooding
4457clouds, something that saddened. It penetrated the freezing city cut by
4458the freezing river, the splendid city with its towers and domes, its quays
4459and bridges and its thousand spires. It entered the squares, it seized the
4460avenues and the palaces, stole across bridges and crept among the narrow
4461streets of the Latin Quarter, grey under the grey of the December sky.
4462Sadness, utter sadness. A fine icy sleet was falling, powdering the
4463pavement with a tiny crystalline dust. It sifted against the window-panes
4464and drifted in heaps along the sill. The light at the window had nearly
4465failed, and the girl bent low over her work. Presently she raised her
4466head, brushing the curls from her eyes.
4467
4468"Jack?"
4469
4470"Dearest?"
4471
4472"Don't forget to clean your palette."
4473
4474He said, "All right," and picking up the palette, sat down upon the floor
4475in front of the stove. His head and shoulders were in the shadow, but the
4476firelight fell across his knees and glimmered red on the blade of the
4477palette-knife. Full in the firelight beside him stood a colour-box. On the
4478lid was carved,
4479
4480 J. TRENT.
4481 Ecole des Beaux Arts.
4482 1870.
4483
4484This inscription was ornamented with an American and a French flag.
4485
4486The sleet blew against the window-panes, covering them with stars and
4487diamonds, then, melting from the warmer air within, ran down and froze
4488again in fern-like traceries.
4489
4490A dog whined and the patter of small paws sounded on the zinc behind the
4491stove.
4492
4493"Jack, dear, do you think Hercules is hungry?"
4494
4495The patter of paws was redoubled behind the stove.
4496
4497"He's whining," she continued nervously, "and if it isn't because he's
4498hungry it is because--"
4499
4500Her voice faltered. A loud humming filled the air, the windows vibrated.
4501
4502"Oh, Jack," she cried, "another--" but her voice was drowned in the scream
4503of a shell tearing through the clouds overhead.
4504
4505"That is the nearest yet," she murmured.
4506
4507"Oh, no," he answered cheerfully, "it probably fell way over by
4508Montmartre," and as she did not answer, he said again with exaggerated
4509unconcern, "They wouldn't take the trouble to fire at the Latin Quarter;
4510anyway they haven't a battery that can hurt it."
4511
4512After a while she spoke up brightly: "Jack, dear, when are you going to
4513take me to see Monsieur West's statues?"
4514
4515"I will bet," he said, throwing down his palette and walking over to the
4516window beside her, "that Colette has been here to-day."
4517
4518"Why?" she asked, opening her eyes very wide. Then, "Oh, it's too
4519bad!--really, men are tiresome when they think they know everything! And I
4520warn you that if Monsieur West is vain enough to imagine that Colette--"
4521
4522From the north another shell came whistling and quavering through the sky,
4523passing above them with long-drawn screech which left the windows singing.
4524
4525"That," he blurted out, "was too near for comfort."
4526
4527They were silent for a while, then he spoke again gaily: "Go on, Sylvia,
4528and wither poor West;" but she only sighed, "Oh, dear, I can never seem to
4529get used to the shells."
4530
4531He sat down on the arm of the chair beside her.
4532
4533Her scissors fell jingling to the floor; she tossed the unfinished frock
4534after them, and putting both arms about his neck drew him down into her
4535lap.
4536
4537"Don't go out to-night, Jack."
4538
4539He kissed her uplifted face; "You know I must; don't make it hard for me."
4540
4541"But when I hear the shells and--and know you are out in the city--"
4542
4543"But they all fall in Montmartre--"
4544
4545"They may all fall in the Beaux Arts; you said yourself that two struck
4546the Quai d'Orsay--"
4547
4548"Mere accident--"
4549
4550"Jack, have pity on me! Take me with you!"
4551
4552"And who will there be to get dinner?"
4553
4554She rose and flung herself on the bed.
4555
4556"Oh, I can't get used to it, and I know you must go, but I beg you not to
4557be late to dinner. If you knew what I suffer! I--I--cannot help it, and
4558you must be patient with me, dear."
4559
4560He said, "It is as safe there as it is in our own house."
4561
4562She watched him fill for her the alcohol lamp, and when he had lighted it
4563and had taken his hat to go, she jumped up and clung to him in silence.
4564After a moment he said: "Now, Sylvia, remember my courage is sustained by
4565yours. Come, I must go!" She did not move, and he repeated: "I must go."
4566Then she stepped back and he thought she was going to speak and waited,
4567but she only looked at him, and, a little impatiently, he kissed her
4568again, saying: "Don't worry, dearest."
4569
4570When he had reached the last flight of stairs on his way to the street a
4571woman hobbled out of the house-keeper's lodge waving a letter and calling:
4572"Monsieur Jack! Monsieur Jack! this was left by Monsieur Fallowby!"
4573
4574He took the letter, and leaning on the threshold of the lodge, read it:
4575
4576"Dear Jack,
4577
4578"I believe Braith is dead broke and I'm sure Fallowby is. Braith swears he
4579isn't, and Fallowby swears he is, so you can draw your own conclusions.
4580I've got a scheme for a dinner, and if it works, I will let you fellows
4581in.
4582
4583"Yours faithfully,
4584
4585"West.
4586
4587"P.S.--Fallowby has shaken Hartman and his gang, thank the Lord! There is
4588something rotten there,--or it may be he's only a miser.
4589
4590"P.P.S.--I'm more desperately in love than ever, but I'm sure she does not
4591care a straw for me."
4592
4593"All right," said Trent, with a smile, to the concierge; "but tell me, how
4594is Papa Cottard?"
4595
4596The old woman shook her head and pointed to the curtained bed in the
4597lodge.
4598
4599"Père Cottard!" he cried cheerily, "how goes the wound to-day?"
4600
4601He walked over to the bed and drew the curtains. An old man was lying
4602among the tumbled sheets.
4603
4604"Better?" smiled Trent.
4605
4606"Better," repeated the man wearily; and, after a pause, "Have you any
4607news, Monsieur Jack?"
4608
4609"I haven't been out to-day. I will bring you any rumour I may hear, though
4610goodness knows I've got enough of rumours," he muttered to himself. Then
4611aloud: "Cheer up; you're looking better."
4612
4613"And the sortie?"
4614
4615"Oh, the sortie, that's for this week. General Trochu sent orders last
4616night."
4617
4618"It will be terrible."
4619
4620"It will be sickening," thought Trent as he went not into the street and
4621turned the corner toward the rue de Seine; "slaughter, slaughter, phew!
4622I'm glad I'm not going."
4623
4624The street was almost deserted. A few women muffled in tattered military
4625capes crept along the frozen pavement, and a wretchedly clad gamin hovered
4626over the sewer-hole on the corner of the Boulevard. A rope around his
4627waist held his rags together. From the rope hung a rat, still warm and
4628bleeding.
4629
4630"There's another in there," he yelled at Trent; "I hit him but he got
4631away."
4632
4633Trent crossed the street and asked: "How much?"
4634
4635"Two francs for a quarter of a fat one; that's what they give at the St.
4636Germain Market."
4637
4638A violent fit of coughing interrupted him, but he wiped his face with the
4639palm of his hand and looked cunningly at Trent.
4640
4641"Last week you could buy a rat for six francs, but," and here he swore
4642vilely, "the rats have quit the rue de Seine and they kill them now over
4643by the new hospital. I'll let you have this for seven francs; I can sell
4644it for ten in the Isle St. Louis."
4645
4646"You lie," said Trent, "and let me tell you that if you try to swindle
4647anybody in this quarter the people will make short work of you and your
4648rats."
4649
4650He stood a moment eyeing the gamin, who pretended to snivel. Then he
4651tossed him a franc, laughing. The child caught it, and thrusting it into
4652his mouth wheeled about to the sewer-hole. For a second he crouched,
4653motionless, alert, his eyes on the bars of the drain, then leaping forward
4654he hurled a stone into the gutter, and Trent left him to finish a fierce
4655grey rat that writhed squealing at the mouth of the sewer.
4656
4657"Suppose Braith should come to that," he thought; "poor little chap;" and
4658hurrying, he turned in the dirty passage des Beaux Arts and entered the
4659third house to the left.
4660
4661"Monsieur is at home," quavered the old concierge.
4662
4663Home? A garret absolutely bare, save for the iron bedstead in the corner
4664and the iron basin and pitcher on the floor.
4665
4666West appeared at the door, winking with much mystery, and motioned Trent
4667to enter. Braith, who was painting in bed to keep warm, looked up,
4668laughed, and shook hands.
4669
4670"Any news?"
4671
4672The perfunctory question was answered as usual by: "Nothing but the
4673cannon."
4674
4675Trent sat down on the bed.
4676
4677"Where on earth did you get that?" he demanded, pointing to a
4678half-finished chicken nestling in a wash-basin.
4679
4680West grinned.
4681
4682"Are you millionaires, you two? Out with it."
4683
4684Braith, looking a little ashamed, began, "Oh, it's one of West's
4685exploits," but was cut short by West, who said he would tell the story
4686himself.
4687
4688"You see, before the siege, I had a letter of introduction to a '_type_'
4689here, a fat banker, German-American variety. You know the species, I see.
4690Well, of course I forgot to present the letter, but this morning, judging
4691it to be a favourable opportunity, I called on him.
4692
4693"The villain lives in comfort;--fires, my boy!--fires in the ante-rooms!
4694The Buttons finally condescends to carry my letter and card up, leaving me
4695standing in the hallway, which I did not like, so I entered the first room
4696I saw and nearly fainted at the sight of a banquet on a table by the fire.
4697Down comes Buttons, very insolent. No, oh, no, his master, 'is not at
4698home, and in fact is too busy to receive letters of introduction just now;
4699the siege, and many business difficulties--'
4700
4701"I deliver a kick to Buttons, pick up this chicken from the table, toss my
4702card on to the empty plate, and addressing Buttons as a species of
4703Prussian pig, march out with the honours of war."
4704
4705Trent shook his head.
4706
4707"I forgot to say that Hartman often dines there, and I draw my own
4708conclusions," continued West. "Now about this chicken, half of it is for
4709Braith and myself, and half for Colette, but of course you will help me
4710eat my part because I'm not hungry."
4711
4712"Neither am I," began Braith, but Trent, with a smile at the pinched faces
4713before him, shook his head saying, "What nonsense! You know I'm never
4714hungry!"
4715
4716West hesitated, reddened, and then slicing off Braith's portion, but not
4717eating any himself, said good-night, and hurried away to number 470 rue
4718Serpente, where lived a pretty girl named Colette, orphan after Sedan, and
4719Heaven alone knew where she got the roses in her cheeks, for the siege
4720came hard on the poor.
4721
4722"That chicken will delight her, but I really believe she's in love with
4723West," said Trent. Then walking over to the bed: "See here, old man, no
4724dodging, you know, how much have you left?"
4725
4726The other hesitated and flushed.
4727
4728"Come, old chap," insisted Trent.
4729
4730Braith drew a purse from beneath his bolster, and handed it to his friend
4731with a simplicity that touched him.
4732
4733"Seven sons," he counted; "you make me tired! Why on earth don't you come
4734to me? I take it d----d ill, Braith! How many times must I go over the same
4735thing and explain to you that because I have money it is my duty to share
4736it, and your duty and the duty of every American to share it with me? You
4737can't get a cent, the city's blockaded, and the American Minister has his
4738hands full with all the German riff-raff and deuce knows what! Why don't
4739you act sensibly?"
4740
4741"I--I will, Trent, but it's an obligation that perhaps I can never even in
4742part repay, I'm poor and--"
4743
4744"Of course you'll pay me! If I were a usurer I would take your talent for
4745security. When you are rich and famous--"
4746
4747"Don't, Trent--"
4748
4749"All right, only no more monkey business."
4750
4751He slipped a dozen gold pieces into the purse, and tucking it again under
4752the mattress smiled at Braith.
4753
4754"How old are you?" he demanded.
4755
4756"Sixteen."
4757
4758Trent laid his hand lightly on his friend's shoulder. "I'm twenty-two, and
4759I have the rights of a grandfather as far as you are concerned. You'll do
4760as I say until you're twenty-one."
4761
4762"The siège will be over then, I hope," said Braith, trying to laugh, but
4763the prayer in their hearts: "How long, O Lord, how long!" was answered by
4764the swift scream of a shell soaring among the storm-clouds of that
4765December night.
4766
4767
4768
4769
4770II
4771
4772West, standing in the doorway of a house in the rue Serpentine, was
4773speaking angrily. He said he didn't care whether Hartman liked it or not;
4774he was telling him, not arguing with him.
4775
4776"You call yourself an American!" he sneered; "Berlin and hell are full of
4777that kind of American. You come loafing about Colette with your pockets
4778stuffed with white bread and beef, and a bottle of wine at thirty francs
4779and you can't really afford to give a dollar to the American Ambulance and
4780Public Assistance, which Braith does, and he's half starved!"
4781
4782Hartman retreated to the curbstone, but West followed him, his face like a
4783thunder-cloud. "Don't you dare to call yourself a countryman of mine," he
4784growled,--"no,--nor an artist either! Artists don't worm themselves into
4785the service of the Public Defence where they do nothing but feed like rats
4786on the people's food! And I'll tell you now," he continued dropping his
4787voice, for Hartman had started as though stung, "you might better keep
4788away from that Alsatian Brasserie and the smug-faced thieves who haunt it.
4789You know what they do with suspects!"
4790
4791"You lie, you hound!" screamed Hartman, and flung the bottle in his hand
4792straight at West's face. West had him by the throat in a second, and
4793forcing him against the dead wall shook him wickedly.
4794
4795"Now you listen to me," he muttered, through his clenched teeth. "You are
4796already a suspect and--I swear--I believe you are a paid spy! It isn't my
4797business to detect such vermin, and I don't intend to denounce you, but
4798understand this! Colette don't like you and I can't stand you, and if I
4799catch you in this street again I'll make it somewhat unpleasant. Get out,
4800you sleek Prussian!"
4801
4802Hartman had managed to drag a knife from his pocket, but West tore it from
4803him and hurled him into the gutter. A gamin who had seen this burst into a
4804peal of laughter, which rattled harshly in the silent street. Then
4805everywhere windows were raised and rows of haggard faces appeared
4806demanding to know why people should laugh in the starving city.
4807
4808"Is it a victory?" murmured one.
4809
4810"Look at that," cried West as Hartman picked himself up from the pavement,
4811"look! you miser! look at those faces!" But Hartman gave _him_ a look
4812which he never forgot, and walked away without a word. Trent, who suddenly
4813appeared at the corner, glanced curiously at West, who merely nodded
4814toward his door saying, "Come in; Fallowby's upstairs."
4815
4816"What are you doing with that knife?" demanded Fallowby, as he and Trent
4817entered the studio.
4818
4819West looked at his wounded hand, which still clutched the knife, but
4820saying, "Cut myself by accident," tossed it into a corner and washed the
4821blood from his fingers.
4822
4823Fallowby, fat and lazy, watched him without comment, but Trent, half
4824divining how things had turned, walked over to Fallowby smiling.
4825
4826"I've a bone to pick with you!" he said.
4827
4828"Where is it? I'm hungry," replied Fallowby with affected eagerness, but
4829Trent, frowning, told him to listen.
4830
4831"How much did I advance you a week ago?"
4832
4833"Three hundred and eighty francs," replied the other, with a squirm of
4834contrition.
4835
4836"Where is it?"
4837
4838Fallowby began a series of intricate explanations, which were soon cut
4839short by Trent.
4840
4841"I know; you blew it in;--you always blow it in. I don't care a rap what
4842you did before the siege: I know you are rich and have a right to dispose
4843of your money as you wish to, and I also know that, generally speaking, it
4844is none of my business. But _now_ it is my business, as I have to supply
4845the funds until you get some more, which you won't until the siege is
4846ended one way or another. I wish to share what I have, but I won't see it
4847thrown out of the window. Oh, yes, of course I know you will reimburse me,
4848but that isn't the question; and, anyway, it's the opinion of your
4849friends, old man, that you will not be worse off for a little abstinence
4850from fleshly pleasures. You are positively a freak in this famine-cursed
4851city of skeletons!"
4852
4853"I _am_ rather stout," he admitted.
4854
4855"Is it true you are out of money?" demanded Trent.
4856
4857"Yes, I am," sighed the other.
4858
4859"That roast sucking pig on the rue St. Honoré,--is it there yet?"
4860continued Trent.
4861
4862"Wh--at?" stammered the feeble one.
4863
4864"Ah--I thought so! I caught you in ecstasy before that sucking pig at
4865least a dozen times!"
4866
4867Then laughing, he presented Fallowby with a roll of twenty franc pieces
4868saying: "If these go for luxuries you must live on your own flesh," and
4869went over to aid West, who sat beside the wash-basin binding up his hand.
4870
4871West suffered him to tie the knot, and then said: "You remember,
4872yesterday, when I left you and Braith to take the chicken to Colette."
4873
4874"Chicken! Good heavens!" moaned Fallowby.
4875
4876"Chicken," repeated West, enjoying Fallowby's grief;--"I--that is, I must
4877explain that things are changed. Colette and I--are to be married--"
4878
4879"What--what about the chicken?" groaned Fallowby.
4880
4881"Shut up!" laughed Trent, and slipping his arm through West's, walked to
4882the stairway.
4883
4884"The poor little thing," said West, "just think, not a splinter of
4885firewood for a week and wouldn't tell me because she thought I needed
4886it for my clay figure. Whew! When I heard it I smashed that smirking
4887clay nymph to pieces, and the rest can freeze and be hanged!" After a
4888moment he added timidly: "Won't you call on your way down and say _bon
4889soir_? It's No. 17."
4890
4891"Yes," said Trent, and he went out softly closing the door behind.
4892
4893He stopped on the third landing, lighted a match, scanned the numbers over
4894the row of dingy doors, and knocked at No. 17.
4895
4896"C'est toi Georges?" The door opened.
4897
4898"Oh, pardon, Monsieur Jack, I thought it was Monsieur West," then blushing
4899furiously, "Oh, I see you have heard! Oh, thank you so much for your
4900wishes, and I'm sure we love each other very much,--and I'm dying to see
4901Sylvia and tell her and--"
4902
4903"And what?" laughed Trent.
4904
4905"I am very happy," she sighed.
4906
4907"He's pure gold," returned Trent, and then gaily: "I want you and George
4908to come and dine with us to-night. It's a little treat,--you see to-morrow
4909is Sylvia's _fête_. She will be nineteen. I have written to Thorne, and
4910the Guernalecs will come with their cousin Odile. Fallowby has engaged not
4911to bring anybody but himself."
4912
4913The girl accepted shyly, charging him with loads of loving messages to
4914Sylvia, and he said good-night.
4915
4916He started up the street, walking swiftly, for it was bitter cold, and
4917cutting across the rue de la Lune he entered the rue de Seine. The early
4918winter night had fallen, almost without warning, but the sky was clear and
4919myriads of stars glittered in the heavens. The bombardment had become
4920furious--a steady rolling thunder from the Prussian cannon punctuated by
4921the heavy shocks from Mont Valérien.
4922
4923The shells streamed across the sky leaving trails like shooting stars, and
4924now, as he turned to look back, rockets blue and red flared above the
4925horizon from the Fort of Issy, and the Fortress of the North flamed like a
4926bonfire.
4927
4928"Good news!" a man shouted over by the Boulevard St. Germain. As if by
4929magic the streets were filled with people,--shivering, chattering people
4930with shrunken eyes.
4931
4932"Jacques!" cried one. "The Army of the Loire!"
4933
4934"Eh! _mon vieux_, it has come then at last! I told thee! I told thee!
4935To-morrow--to-night--who knows?"
4936
4937"Is it true? Is it a sortie?"
4938
4939Some one said: "Oh, God--a sortie--and my son?" Another cried: "To the
4940Seine? They say one can see the signals of the Army of the Loire from the
4941Pont Neuf."
4942
4943There was a child standing near Trent who kept repeating: "Mamma, Mamma,
4944then to-morrow we may eat white bread?" and beside him, an old man
4945swaying, stumbling, his shrivelled hands crushed to his breast, muttering
4946as if insane.
4947
4948"Could it be true? Who has heard the news? The shoemaker on the rue de
4949Buci had it from a Mobile who had heard a Franctireur repeat it to a
4950captain of the National Guard."
4951
4952Trent followed the throng surging through the rue de Seine to the river.
4953
4954Rocket after rocket clove the sky, and now, from Montmartre, the cannon
4955clanged, and the batteries on Montparnasse joined in with a crash. The
4956bridge was packed with people.
4957
4958Trent asked: "Who has seen the signals of the Army of the Loire?"
4959
4960"We are waiting for them," was the reply.
4961
4962He looked toward the north. Suddenly the huge silhouette of the Arc de
4963Triomphe sprang into black relief against the flash of a cannon. The boom
4964of the gun rolled along the quay and the old bridge vibrated.
4965
4966Again over by the Point du Jour a flash and heavy explosion shook the
4967bridge, and then the whole eastern bastion of the fortifications blazed
4968and crackled, sending a red flame into the sky.
4969
4970"Has any one seen the signals yet?" he asked again.
4971
4972"We are waiting," was the reply.
4973
4974"Yes, waiting," murmured a man behind him, "waiting, sick, starved,
4975freezing, but waiting. Is it a sortie? They go gladly. Is it to starve?
4976They starve. They have no time to think of surrender. Are they
4977heroes,--these Parisians? Answer me, Trent!"
4978
4979The American Ambulance surgeon turned about and scanned the parapets of
4980the bridge.
4981
4982"Any news, Doctor," asked Trent mechanically.
4983
4984"News?" said the doctor; "I don't know any;--I haven't time to know any.
4985What are these people after?"
4986
4987"They say that the Army of the Loire has signalled Mont Valérien."
4988
4989"Poor devils." The doctor glanced about him for an instant, and then: "I'm
4990so harried and worried that I don't know what to do. After the last sortie
4991we had the work of fifty ambulances on our poor little corps. To-morrow
4992there's another sortie, and I wish you fellows could come over to
4993headquarters. We may need volunteers. How is madame?" he added abruptly.
4994
4995"Well," replied Trent, "but she seems to grow more nervous every day. I
4996ought to be with her now."
4997
4998"Take care of her," said the doctor, then with a sharp look at the people:
4999"I can't stop now--goodnight!" and he hurried away muttering, "Poor
5000devils!"
5001
5002Trent leaned over the parapet and blinked at the black river surging
5003through the arches. Dark objects, carried swiftly on the breast of the
5004current, struck with a grinding tearing noise against the stone piers,
5005spun around for an instant, and hurried away into the darkness. The ice
5006from the Marne.
5007
5008As he stood staring into the water, a hand was laid on his shoulder.
5009"Hello, Southwark!" he cried, turning around; "this is a queer place for
5010you!"
5011
5012"Trent, I have something to tell you. Don't stay here,--don't believe in
5013the Army of the Loire:" and the _attaché_ of the American Legation slipped
5014his arm through Trent's and drew him toward the Louvre.
5015
5016"Then it's another lie!" said Trent bitterly.
5017
5018"Worse--we know at the Legation--I can't speak of it. But that's not what
5019I have to say. Something happened this afternoon. The Alsatian Brasserie
5020was visited and an American named Hartman has been arrested. Do you know
5021him?"
5022
5023"I know a German who calls himself an American;--his name is Hartman."
5024
5025"Well, he was arrested about two hours ago. They mean to shoot him."
5026
5027"What!"
5028
5029"Of course we at the Legation can't allow them to shoot him off-hand, but
5030the evidence seems conclusive."
5031
5032"Is he a spy?"
5033
5034"Well, the papers seized in his rooms are pretty damning proofs, and
5035besides he was caught, they say, swindling the Public Food Committee. He
5036drew rations for fifty, how, I don't know. He claims to be an American
5037artist here, and we have been obliged to take notice of it at the
5038Legation. It's a nasty affair."
5039
5040"To cheat the people at such a time is worse than robbing the poor-box,"
5041cried Trent angrily. "Let them shoot him!"
5042
5043"He's an American citizen."
5044
5045"Yes, oh yes," said the other with bitterness. "American citizenship is a
5046precious privilege when every goggle-eyed German--" His anger choked him.
5047
5048Southwark shook hands with him warmly. "It can't be helped, we must own
5049the carrion. I am afraid you may be called upon to identify him as an
5050American artist," he said with a ghost of a smile on his deep-lined face;
5051and walked away through the Cours la Reine.
5052
5053Trent swore silently for a moment and then drew out his watch. Seven
5054o'clock. "Sylvia will be anxious," he thought, and hurried back to the
5055river. The crowd still huddled shivering on the bridge, a sombre pitiful
5056congregation, peering out into the night for the signals of the Army of
5057the Loire: and their hearts beat time to the pounding of the guns, their
5058eyes lighted with each flash from the bastions, and hope rose with the
5059drifting rockets.
5060
5061A black cloud hung over the fortifications. From horizon to horizon the
5062cannon smoke stretched in wavering bands, now capping the spires and domes
5063with cloud, now blowing in streamers and shreds along the streets, now
5064descending from the housetops, enveloping quays, bridges, and river, in a
5065sulphurous mist. And through the smoke pall the lightning of the cannon
5066played, while from time to time a rift above showed a fathomless black
5067vault set with stars.
5068
5069He turned again into the rue de Seine, that sad abandoned street, with its
5070rows of closed shutters and desolate ranks of unlighted lamps. He was a
5071little nervous and wished once or twice for a revolver, but the slinking
5072forms which passed him in the darkness were too weak with hunger to be
5073dangerous, he thought, and he passed on unmolested to his doorway. But
5074there somebody sprang at his throat. Over and over the icy pavement he
5075rolled with his assailant, tearing at the noose about his neck, and then
5076with a wrench sprang to his feet.
5077
5078"Get up," he cried to the other.
5079
5080Slowly and with great deliberation, a small gamin picked himself out of
5081the gutter and surveyed Trent with disgust.
5082
5083"That's a nice clean trick," said Trent; "a whelp of your age! You'll
5084finish against a dead wall! Give me that cord!"
5085
5086The urchin handed him the noose without a word.
5087
5088Trent struck a match and looked at his assailant. It was the rat-killer of
5089the day before.
5090
5091"H'm! I thought so," he muttered.
5092
5093"Tiens, c'est toi?" said the gamin tranquilly.
5094
5095The impudence, the overpowering audacity of the ragamuffin took Trent's
5096breath away.
5097
5098"Do you know, you young strangler," he gasped, "that they shoot thieves of
5099your age?"
5100
5101The child turned a passionless face to Trent. "Shoot, then."
5102
5103That was too much, and he turned on his heel and entered his hotel.
5104
5105Groping up the unlighted stairway, he at last reached his own landing and
5106felt about in the darkness for the door. From his studio came the sound of
5107voices, West's hearty laugh and Fallowby's chuckle, and at last he found
5108the knob and, pushing back the door, stood a moment confused by the light.
5109
5110"Hello, Jack!" cried West, "you're a pleasant creature, inviting people to
5111dine and letting them wait. Here's Fallowby weeping with hunger--"
5112
5113"Shut up," observed the latter, "perhaps he's been out to buy a turkey."
5114
5115"He's been out garroting, look at his noose!" laughed Guernalec.
5116
5117"So now we know where you get your cash!" added West; "vive le coup du
5118Père François!"
5119
5120Trent shook hands with everybody and laughed at Sylvia's pale face.
5121
5122"I didn't mean to be late; I stopped on the bridge a moment to watch the
5123bombardment. Were you anxious, Sylvia?"
5124
5125She smiled and murmured, "Oh, no!" but her hand dropped into his and
5126tightened convulsively.
5127
5128"To the table!" shouted Fallowby, and uttered a joyous whoop.
5129
5130"Take it easy," observed Thorne, with a remnant of manners; "you are not
5131the host, you know."
5132
5133Marie Guernalec, who had been chattering with Colette, jumped up and took
5134Thorne's arm and Monsieur Guernalec drew Odile's arm through his.
5135
5136Trent, bowing gravely, offered his own arm to Colette, West took in
5137Sylvia, and Fallowby hovered anxiously in the rear.
5138
5139"You march around the table three times singing the Marseillaise,"
5140explained Sylvia, "and Monsieur Fallowby pounds on the table and beats
5141time."
5142
5143Fallowby suggested that they could sing after dinner, but his protest was
5144drowned in the ringing chorus--
5145
5146 "Aux armes!
5147 Formez vos bataillons!"
5148
5149Around the room they marched singing,
5150
5151 "Marchons! Marchons!"
5152
5153with all their might, while Fallowby with very bad grace, hammered on the
5154table, consoling himself a little with the hope that the exercise would
5155increase his appetite. Hercules, the black and tan, fled under the bed,
5156from which retreat he yapped and whined until dragged out by Guernalec and
5157placed in Odile's lap.
5158
5159"And now," said Trent gravely, when everybody was seated, "listen!" and he
5160read the menu.
5161
5162 Beef Soup à la Siège de Paris.
5163
5164 Fish.
5165 Sardines à la père Lachaise.
5166 (White Wine).
5167
5168 Rôti (Red Wine).
5169 Fresh Beef à la sortie.
5170
5171 Vegetables.
5172 Canned Beans à la chasse-pot,
5173 Canned Peas Gravelotte,
5174 Potatoes Irlandaises,
5175 Miscellaneous.
5176
5177 Cold Corned Beef à la Thieis,
5178 Stewed Prunes à la Garibaldi.
5179
5180 Dessert.
5181 Dried prunes--White bread,
5182 Currant Jelly,
5183 Tea--Café,
5184 Liqueurs,
5185 Pipes and Cigarettes.
5186
5187Fallowby applauded frantically, and Sylvia served the soup.
5188
5189"Isn't it delicious?" sighed Odile.
5190
5191Marie Guernalec sipped her soup in rapture.
5192
5193"Not at all like horse, and I don't care what they say, horse doesn't
5194taste like beef," whispered Colette to West. Fallowby, who had finished,
5195began to caress his chin and eye the tureen.
5196
5197"Have some more, old chap?" inquired Trent.
5198
5199"Monsieur Fallowby cannot have any more," announced Sylvia; "I am saving
5200this for the concierge." Fallowby transferred his eyes to the fish.
5201
5202The sardines, hot from the grille, were a great success. While the others
5203were eating Sylvia ran downstairs with the soup for the old concierge and
5204her husband, and when she hurried back, flushed and breathless, and had
5205slipped into her chair with a happy smile at Trent, that young man arose,
5206and silence fell over the table. For an instant he looked at Sylvia and
5207thought he had never seen her so beautiful.
5208
5209"You all know," he began, "that to-day is my wife's nineteenth birthday--"
5210
5211Fallowby, bubbling with enthusiasm, waved his glass in circles about his
5212head to the terror of Odile and Colette, his neighbours, and Thorne, West
5213and Guernalec refilled their glasses three times before the storm of
5214applause which the toast of Sylvia had provoked, subsided.
5215
5216Three times the glasses were filled and emptied to Sylvia, and again to
5217Trent, who protested.
5218
5219"This is irregular," he cried, "the next toast is to the twin Republics,
5220France and America?"
5221
5222"To the Republics! To the Republics!" they cried, and the toast was drunk
5223amid shouts of "Vive a France! Vive l'Amérique! Vive la Nation!"
5224
5225Then Trent, with a smile at West, offered the toast, "To a Happy Pair!"
5226and everybody understood, and Sylvia leaned over and kissed Colette, while
5227Trent bowed to West.
5228
5229The beef was eaten in comparative calm, but when it was finished and a
5230portion of it set aside for the old people below, Trent cried: "Drink to
5231Paris! May she rise from her ruins and crush the invader!" and the cheers
5232rang out, drowning for a moment the monotonous thunder of the Prussian
5233guns.
5234
5235Pipes and cigarettes were lighted, and Trent listened an instant to the
5236animated chatter around him, broken by ripples of laughter from the girls
5237or the mellow chuckle of Fallowby. Then he turned to West.
5238
5239"There is going to be a sortie to-night," he said. "I saw the American
5240Ambulance surgeon just before I came in and he asked me to speak to you
5241fellows. Any aid we can give him will not come amiss."
5242
5243Then dropping his voice and speaking in English, "As for me, I shall go
5244out with the ambulance to-morrow morning. There is of course no danger,
5245but it's just as well to keep it from Sylvia."
5246
5247West nodded. Thorne and Guernalec, who had heard, broke in and offered
5248assistance, and Fallowby volunteered with a groan.
5249
5250"All right," said Trent rapidly,--"no more now, but meet me at Ambulance
5251headquarters to-morrow morning at eight."
5252
5253Sylvia and Colette, who were becoming uneasy at the conversation in
5254English, now demanded to know what they were talking about.
5255
5256"What does a sculptor usually talk about?" cried West, with a laugh.
5257
5258Odile glanced reproachfully at Thorne, her _fiancé_.
5259
5260"You are not French, you know, and it is none of your business, this war,"
5261said Odile with much dignity.
5262
5263Thorne looked meek, but West assumed an air of outraged virtue.
5264
5265"It seems," he said to Fallowby, "that a fellow cannot discuss the
5266beauties of Greek sculpture in his mother tongue, without being openly
5267suspected."
5268
5269Colette placed her hand over his mouth and turning to Sylvia, murmured,
5270"They are horridly untruthful, these men."
5271
5272"I believe the word for ambulance is the same in both languages," said
5273Marie Guernalec saucily; "Sylvia, don't trust Monsieur Trent."
5274
5275"Jack," whispered Sylvia, "promise me--"
5276
5277A knock at the studio door interrupted her.
5278
5279"Come in!" cried Fallowby, but Trent sprang up, and opening the door,
5280looked out. Then with a hasty excuse to the rest, he stepped into the
5281hall-way and closed the door.
5282
5283When he returned he was grumbling.
5284
5285"What is it, Jack?" cried West.
5286
5287"What is it?" repeated Trent savagely; "I'll tell you what it is. I have
5288received a dispatch from the American Minister to go at once and identify
5289and claim, as a fellow-countryman and a brother artist, a rascally thief
5290and a German spy!"
5291
5292"Don't go," suggested Fallowby.
5293
5294"If I don't they'll shoot him at once."
5295
5296"Let them," growled Thorne.
5297
5298"Do you fellows know who it is?"
5299
5300"Hartman!" shouted West, inspired.
5301
5302Sylvia sprang up deathly white, but Odile slipped her arm around her and
5303supported her to a chair, saying calmly, "Sylvia has fainted,--it's the
5304hot room,--bring some water."
5305
5306Trent brought it at once.
5307
5308Sylvia opened her eyes, and after a moment rose, and supported by Marie
5309Guernalec and Trent, passed into the bedroom.
5310
5311It was the signal for breaking up, and everybody came and shook hands with
5312Trent, saying they hoped Sylvia would sleep it off and that it would be
5313nothing.
5314
5315When Marie Guernalec took leave of him, she avoided his eyes, but he spoke
5316to her cordially and thanked her for her aid.
5317
5318"Anything I can do, Jack?" inquired West, lingering, and then hurried
5319downstairs to catch up with the rest.
5320
5321Trent leaned over the banisters, listening to their footsteps and chatter,
5322and then the lower door banged and the house was silent. He lingered,
5323staring down into the blackness, biting his lips; then with an impatient
5324movement, "I am crazy!" he muttered, and lighting a candle, went into the
5325bedroom. Sylvia was lying on the bed. He bent over her, smoothing the
5326curly hair on her forehead.
5327
5328"Are you better, dear Sylvia?"
5329
5330She did not answer, but raised her eyes to his. For an instant he met her
5331gaze, but what he read there sent a chill to his heart and he sat down
5332covering his face with his hands.
5333
5334At last she spoke in a voice, changed and strained,--a voice which he had
5335never heard, and he dropped his hands and listened, bolt upright in his
5336chair.
5337
5338"Jack, it has come at last. I have feared it and trembled,--ah! how often
5339have I lain awake at night with this on my heart and prayed that I might
5340die before you should ever know of it! For I love you, Jack, and if you go
5341away I cannot live. I have deceived you;--it happened before I knew you,
5342but since that first day when you found me weeping in the Luxembourg and
5343spoke to me, Jack, I have been faithful to you in every thought and deed.
5344I loved you from the first, and did not dare to tell you this--fearing
5345that you would go away; and since then my love has grown--grown--and oh! I
5346suffered!--but I dared not tell you. And now you know, but you do not know
5347the worst. For him--now--what do I care? He was cruel--oh, so cruel!"
5348
5349She hid her face in her arms.
5350
5351"Must I go on? Must I tell you--can you not imagine, oh! Jack--"
5352
5353He did not stir; his eyes seemed dead.
5354
5355"I--I was so young, I knew nothing, and he said--said that he loved me--"
5356
5357Trent rose and struck the candle with his clenched fist, and the room was
5358dark.
5359
5360The bells of St. Sulpice tolled the hour, and she started up, speaking
5361with feverish haste,--"I must finish! When you told me you loved
5362me--you--you asked me nothing; but then, even then, it was too late, and
5363_that other life_ which binds me to him, must stand for ever between you
5364and me! For there _is another_ whom he has claimed, and is good to. He
5365must not die,--they cannot shoot him, for that _other's_ sake!"
5366
5367Trent sat motionless, but his thoughts ran on in an interminable whirl.
5368
5369Sylvia, little Sylvia, who shared with him his student life,--who bore
5370with him the dreary desolation of the siege without complaint,--this
5371slender blue-eyed girl whom he was so quietly fond of, whom he teased or
5372caressed as the whim suited, who sometimes made him the least bit
5373impatient with her passionate devotion to him,--could this be the same
5374Sylvia who lay weeping there in the darkness?
5375
5376Then he clinched his teeth. "Let him die! Let him die!"--but then,--for
5377Sylvia's sake, and,--for that _other's_ sake,--Yes, he would go,--he
5378_must_ go,--his duty was plain before him. But Sylvia,--he could not be
5379what he had been to her, and yet a vague terror seized him, now all was
5380said. Trembling, he struck a light.
5381
5382She lay there, her curly hair tumbled about her face, her small white
5383hands pressed to her breast.
5384
5385He could not leave her, and he could not stay. He never knew before that
5386he loved her. She had been a mere comrade, this girl wife of his. Ah! he
5387loved her now with all his heart and soul, and he knew it, only when it
5388was too late. Too late? Why? Then he thought of that _other_ one, binding
5389her, linking her forever to the creature, who stood in danger of his life.
5390With an oath he sprang to the door, but the door would not open,--or was
5391it that he pressed it back,--locked it,--and flung himself on his knees
5392beside the bed, knowing that he dared not for his life's sake leave what
5393was his all in life.
5394
5395
5396
5397
5398III
5399
5400It was four in the morning when he came out of the Prison of the Condemned
5401with the Secretary of the American Legation. A knot of people had gathered
5402around the American Minister's carriage, which stood in front of the
5403prison, the horses stamping and pawing in the icy street, the coachman
5404huddled on the box, wrapped in furs. Southwark helped the Secretary into
5405the carriage, and shook hands with Trent, thanking him for coming.
5406
5407"How the scoundrel did stare," he said; "your evidence was worse than a
5408kick, but it saved his skin for the moment at least,--and prevented
5409complications."
5410
5411The Secretary sighed. "We have done our part. Now let them prove him a spy
5412and we wash our hands of him. Jump in, Captain! Come along, Trent!"
5413
5414"I have a word to say to Captain Southwark, I won't detain him," said
5415Trent hastily, and dropping his voice, "Southwark, help _me_ now. You know
5416the story from the blackguard. You know the--the child is at his rooms.
5417Get it, and take it to my own apartment, and if he is shot, I will provide
5418a home for it."
5419
5420"I understand," said the Captain gravely.
5421
5422"Will you do this at once?"
5423
5424"At once," he replied.
5425
5426Their hands met in a warm clasp, and then Captain Southwark climbed into
5427the carriage, motioning Trent to follow; but he shook his head saying,
5428"Good-bye!" and the carriage rolled away.
5429
5430He watched the carriage to the end of the street, then started toward his
5431own quarter, but after a step or two hesitated, stopped, and finally
5432turned away in the opposite direction. Something--perhaps it was the sight
5433of the prisoner he had so recently confronted nauseated him. He felt the
5434need of solitude and quiet to collect his thoughts. The events of the
5435evening had shaken him terribly, but he would walk it off, forget, bury
5436everything, and then go back to Sylvia. He started on swiftly, and for a
5437time the bitter thoughts seemed to fade, but when he paused at last,
5438breathless, under the Arc de Triomphe, the bitterness and the wretchedness
5439of the whole thing--yes, of his whole misspent life came back with a pang.
5440Then the face of the prisoner, stamped with the horrible grimace of fear,
5441grew in the shadows before his eyes.
5442
5443Sick at heart he wandered up and down under the great Arc, striving to
5444occupy his mind, peering up at the sculptured cornices to read the names
5445of the heroes and battles which he knew were engraved there, but always
5446the ashen face of Hartman followed him, grinning with terror!--or was it
5447terror?--was it not triumph?--At the thought he leaped like a man who
5448feels a knife at his throat, but after a savage tramp around the square,
5449came back again and sat down to battle with his misery.
5450
5451The air was cold, but his cheeks were burning with angry shame. Shame?
5452Why? Was it because he had married a girl whom chance had made a mother?
5453_Did_ he love her? Was this miserable bohemian existence, then, his end
5454and aim in life? He turned his eyes upon the secrets of his heart, and
5455read an evil story,--the story of the past, and he covered his face for
5456shame, while, keeping time to the dull pain throbbing in his head, his
5457heart beat out the story for the future. Shame and disgrace.
5458
5459Roused at last from a lethargy which had begun to numb the bitterness of
5460his thoughts, he raised his head and looked about. A sudden fog had
5461settled in the streets; the arches of the Arc were choked with it. He
5462would go home. A great horror of being alone seized him. _But he was not
5463alone._ The fog was peopled with phantoms. All around him in the mist they
5464moved, drifting through the arches in lengthening lines, and vanished,
5465while from the fog others rose up, swept past and were engulfed. He was
5466not alone, for even at his side they crowded, touched him, swarmed before
5467him, beside him, behind him, pressed him back, seized, and bore him with
5468them through the mist. Down a dim avenue, through lanes and alleys white
5469with fog, they moved, and if they spoke their voices were dull as the
5470vapour which shrouded them. At last in front, a bank of masonry and earth
5471cut by a massive iron barred gate towered up in the fog. Slowly and more
5472slowly they glided, shoulder to shoulder and thigh to thigh. Then all
5473movement ceased. A sudden breeze stirred the fog. It wavered and eddied.
5474Objects became more distinct. A pallor crept above the horizon, touching
5475the edges of the watery clouds, and drew dull sparks from a thousand
5476bayonets. Bayonets--they were everywhere, cleaving the fog or flowing
5477beneath it in rivers of steel. High on the wall of masonry and earth a
5478great gun loomed, and around it figures moved in silhouettes. Below, a
5479broad torrent of bayonets swept through the iron barred gateway, out into
5480the shadowy plain. It became lighter. Faces grew more distinct among the
5481marching masses and he recognized one.
5482
5483"You, Philippe!"
5484
5485The figure turned its head.
5486
5487Trent cried, "Is there room for me?" but the other only waved his arm in a
5488vague adieu and was gone with the rest. Presently the cavalry began to
5489pass, squadron on squadron, crowding out into the darkness; then many
5490cannon, then an ambulance, then again the endless lines of bayonets.
5491Beside him a cuirassier sat on his steaming horse, and in front, among a
5492group of mounted officers he saw a general, with the astrakan collar of
5493his dolman turned up about his bloodless face.
5494
5495Some women were weeping near him and one was struggling to force a loaf of
5496black bread into a soldier's haversack. The soldier tried to aid her, but
5497the sack was fastened, and his rifle bothered him, so Trent held it, while
5498the woman unbuttoned the sack and forced in the bread, now all wet with
5499her tears. The rifle was not heavy. Trent found it wonderfully manageable.
5500Was the bayonet sharp? He tried it. Then a sudden longing, a fierce,
5501imperative desire took possession of him.
5502
5503"_Chouette!_" cried a gamin, clinging to the barred gate, "_encore toi mon
5504vieux_?"
5505
5506Trent looked up, and the rat-killer laughed in his face. But when the
5507soldier had taken the rifle again, and thanking him, ran hard to catch his
5508battalion, he plunged into the throng about the gateway.
5509
5510"Are you going?" he cried to a marine who sat in the gutter bandaging his
5511foot.
5512
5513"Yes."
5514
5515Then a girl--a mere child--caught him by the hand and led him into the
5516café which faced the gate. The room was crowded with soldiers, some, white
5517and silent, sitting on the floor, others groaning on the leather-covered
5518settees. The air was sour and suffocating.
5519
5520"Choose!" said the girl with a little gesture of pity; "they can't go!"
5521
5522In a heap of clothing on the floor he found a capote and képi.
5523
5524She helped him buckle his knapsack, cartridge-box, and belt, and showed
5525him how to load the chasse-pot rifle, holding it on her knees.
5526
5527When he thanked her she started to her feet.
5528
5529"You are a foreigner!"
5530
5531"American," he said, moving toward the door, but the child barred his way.
5532
5533"I am a Bretonne. My father is up there with the cannon of the marine. He
5534will shoot you if you are a spy."
5535
5536They faced each other for a moment. Then sighing, he bent over and kissed
5537the child. "Pray for France, little one," he murmured, and she repeated
5538with a pale smile: "For France and you, beau Monsieur."
5539
5540He ran across the street and through the gateway. Once outside, he edged
5541into line and shouldered his way along the road. A corporal passed, looked
5542at him, repassed, and finally called an officer. "You belong to the 60th,"
5543growled the corporal looking at the number on his képi.
5544
5545"We have no use for Franc-tireurs," added the officer, catching sight of
5546his black trousers.
5547
5548"I wish to volunteer in place of a comrade," said Trent, and the officer
5549shrugged his shoulders and passed on.
5550
5551Nobody paid much attention to him, one or two merely glancing at his
5552trousers. The road was deep with slush and mud-ploughed and torn by wheels
5553and hoofs. A soldier in front of him wrenched his foot in an icy rut and
5554dragged himself to the edge of the embankment groaning. The plain on
5555either side of them was grey with melting snow. Here and there behind
5556dismantled hedge-rows stood wagons, bearing white flags with red crosses.
5557Sometimes the driver was a priest in rusty hat and gown, sometimes a
5558crippled Mobile. Once they passed a wagon driven by a Sister of Charity.
5559Silent empty houses with great rents in their walls, and every window
5560blank, huddled along the road. Further on, within the zone of danger,
5561nothing of human habitation remained except here and there a pile of
5562frozen bricks or a blackened cellar choked with snow.
5563
5564For some time Trent had been annoyed by the man behind him, who kept
5565treading on his heels. Convinced at last that it was intentional, he
5566turned to remonstrate and found himself face to face with a fellow-student
5567from the Beaux Arts. Trent stared.
5568
5569"I thought you were in the hospital!"
5570
5571The other shook his head, pointing to his bandaged jaw.
5572
5573"I see, you can't speak. Can I do anything?"
5574
5575The wounded man rummaged in his haversack and produced a crust of black
5576bread.
5577
5578"He can't eat it, his jaw is smashed, and he wants you to chew it for
5579him," said the soldier next to him.
5580
5581Trent took the crust, and grinding it in his teeth morsel by morsel,
5582passed it back to the starving man.
5583
5584From time to time mounted orderlies sped to the front, covering them with
5585slush. It was a chilly, silent march through sodden meadows wreathed in
5586fog. Along the railroad embankment across the ditch, another column moved
5587parallel to their own. Trent watched it, a sombre mass, now distinct, now
5588vague, now blotted out in a puff of fog. Once for half-an-hour he lost it,
5589but when again it came into view, he noticed a thin line detach itself
5590from the flank, and, bellying in the middle, swing rapidly to the west. At
5591the same moment a prolonged crackling broke out in the fog in front. Other
5592lines began to slough off from the column, swinging east and west, and the
5593crackling became continuous. A battery passed at full gallop, and he drew
5594back with his comrades to give it way. It went into action a little to the
5595right of his battalion, and as the shot from the first rifled piece boomed
5596through the mist, the cannon from the fortifications opened with a mighty
5597roar. An officer galloped by shouting something which Trent did not catch,
5598but he saw the ranks in front suddenly part company with his own, and
5599disappear in the twilight. More officers rode up and stood beside him
5600peering into the fog. Away in front the crackling had become one prolonged
5601crash. It was dreary waiting. Trent chewed some bread for the man behind,
5602who tried to swallow it, and after a while shook his head, motioning Trent
5603to eat the rest himself. A corporal offered him a little brandy and he
5604drank it, but when he turned around to return the flask, the corporal was
5605lying on the ground. Alarmed, he looked at the soldier next to him, who
5606shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth to speak, but something struck
5607him and he rolled over and over into the ditch below. At that moment the
5608horse of one of the officers gave a bound and backed into the battalion,
5609lashing out with his heels. One man was ridden down; another was kicked in
5610the chest and hurled through the ranks. The officer sank his spurs into
5611the horse and forced him to the front again, where he stood trembling. The
5612cannonade seemed to draw nearer. A staff-officer, riding slowly up and
5613down the battalion suddenly collapsed in his saddle and clung to his
5614horse's mane. One of his boots dangled, crimsoned and dripping, from the
5615stirrup. Then out of the mist in front men came running. The roads, the
5616fields, the ditches were full of them, and many of them fell. For an
5617instant he imagined he saw horsemen riding about like ghosts in the
5618vapours beyond, and a man behind him cursed horribly, declaring he too had
5619seen them, and that they were Uhlans; but the battalion stood inactive,
5620and the mist fell again over the meadows.
5621
5622The colonel sat heavily upon his horse, his bullet-shaped head buried in
5623the astrakan collar of his dolman, his fat legs sticking straight out in
5624the stirrups.
5625
5626The buglers clustered about him with bugles poised, and behind him a
5627staff-officer in a pale blue jacket smoked a cigarette and chatted with a
5628captain of hussars. From the road in front came the sound of furious
5629galloping and an orderly reined up beside the colonel, who motioned him to
5630the rear without turning his head. Then on the left a confused murmur
5631arose which ended in a shout. A hussar passed like the wind, followed by
5632another and another, and then squadron after squadron whirled by them into
5633the sheeted mists. At that instant the colonel reared in his saddle, the
5634bugles clanged, and the whole battalion scrambled down the embankment,
5635over the ditch and started across the soggy meadow. Almost at once Trent
5636lost his cap. Something snatched it from his head, he thought it was a
5637tree branch. A good many of his comrades rolled over in the slush and ice,
5638and he imagined that they had slipped. One pitched right across his path
5639and he stopped to help him up, but the man screamed when he touched him
5640and an officer shouted, "Forward! Forward!" so he ran on again. It was a
5641long jog through the mist, and he was often obliged to shift his rifle.
5642When at last they lay panting behind the railroad embankment, he looked
5643about him. He had felt the need of action, of a desperate physical
5644struggle, of killing and crushing. He had been seized with a desire to
5645fling himself among masses and tear right and left. He longed to fire, to
5646use the thin sharp bayonet on his chassepot. He had not expected this. He
5647wished to become exhausted, to struggle and cut until incapable of lifting
5648his arm. Then he had intended to go home. He heard a man say that half the
5649battalion had gone down in the charge, and he saw another examining a
5650corpse under the embankment. The body, still warm, was clothed in a
5651strange uniform, but even when he noticed the spiked helmet lying a few
5652inches further away, he did not realize what had happened.
5653
5654The colonel sat on his horse a few feet to the left, his eyes sparkling
5655under the crimson képi. Trent heard him reply to an officer: "I can hold
5656it, but another charge, and I won't have enough men left to sound a
5657bugle."
5658
5659"Were the Prussians here?" Trent asked of a soldier who sat wiping the
5660blood trickling from his hair.
5661
5662"Yes. The hussars cleaned them out. We caught their cross fire."
5663
5664"We are supporting a battery on the embankment," said another.
5665
5666Then the battalion crawled over the embankment and moved along the lines
5667of twisted rails. Trent rolled up his trousers and tucked them into his
5668woollen socks: but they halted again, and some of the men sat down on the
5669dismantled railroad track. Trent looked for his wounded comrade from the
5670Beaux Arts. He was standing in his place, very pale. The cannonade had
5671become terrific. For a moment the mist lifted. He caught a glimpse of the
5672first battalion motionless on the railroad track in front, of regiments on
5673either flank, and then, as the fog settled again, the drums beat and the
5674music of the bugles began away on the extreme left. A restless movement
5675passed among the troops, the colonel threw up his arm, the drums rolled,
5676and the battalion moved off through the fog. They were near the front now
5677for the battalion was firing as it advanced. Ambulances galloped along the
5678base of the embankment to the rear, and the hussars passed and repassed
5679like phantoms. They were in the front at last, for all about them was
5680movement and turmoil, while from the fog, close at hand, came cries and
5681groans and crashing volleys. Shells fell everywhere, bursting along the
5682embankment, splashing them with frozen slush. Trent was frightened. He
5683began to dread the unknown, which lay there crackling and flaming in
5684obscurity. The shock of the cannon sickened him. He could even see the fog
5685light up with a dull orange as the thunder shook the earth. It was near,
5686he felt certain, for the colonel shouted "Forward!" and the first
5687battalion was hastening into it. He felt its breath, he trembled, but
5688hurried on. A fearful discharge in front terrified him. Somewhere in the
5689fog men were cheering, and the colonel's horse, streaming with blood
5690plunged about in the smoke.
5691
5692Another blast and shock, right in his face, almost stunned him, and he
5693faltered. All the men to the right were down. His head swam; the fog and
5694smoke stupefied him. He put out his hand for a support and caught
5695something. It was the wheel of a gun-carriage, and a man sprang from
5696behind it, aiming a blow at his head with a rammer, but stumbled back
5697shrieking with a bayonet through his neck, and Trent knew that he had
5698killed. Mechanically he stooped to pick up his rifle, but the bayonet was
5699still in the man, who lay, beating with red hands against the sod. It
5700sickened him and he leaned on the cannon. Men were fighting all around him
5701now, and the air was foul with smoke and sweat. Somebody seized him from
5702behind and another in front, but others in turn seized them or struck them
5703solid blows. The click! click! click! of bayonets infuriated him, and he
5704grasped the rammer and struck out blindly until it was shivered to pieces.
5705
5706A man threw his arm around his neck and bore him to the ground, but he
5707throttled him and raised himself on his knees. He saw a comrade seize the
5708cannon, and fall across it with his skull crushed in; he saw the colonel
5709tumble clean out of his saddle into the mud; then consciousness fled.
5710
5711When he came to himself, he was lying on the embankment among the twisted
5712rails. On every side huddled men who cried out and cursed and fled away
5713into the fog, and he staggered to his feet and followed them. Once he
5714stopped to help a comrade with a bandaged jaw, who could not speak but
5715clung to his arm for a time and then fell dead in the freezing mire; and
5716again he aided another, who groaned: "Trent, c'est moi--Philippe," until a
5717sudden volley in the midst relieved him of his charge.
5718
5719An icy wind swept down from the heights, cutting the fog into shreds. For
5720an instant, with an evil leer the sun peered through the naked woods of
5721Vincennes, sank like a blood-clot in the battery smoke, lower, lower, into
5722the blood-soaked plain.
5723
5724
5725
5726
5727IV
5728
5729When midnight sounded from the belfry of St. Sulpice the gates of Paris
5730were still choked with fragments of what had once been an army.
5731
5732They entered with the night, a sullen horde, spattered with slime, faint
5733with hunger and exhaustion. There was little disorder at first, and the
5734throng at the gates parted silently as the troops tramped along the
5735freezing streets. Confusion came as the hours passed. Swiftly and more
5736swiftly, crowding squadron after squadron and battery on battery, horses
5737plunging and caissons jolting, the remnants from the front surged through
5738the gates, a chaos of cavalry and artillery struggling for the right of
5739way. Close upon them stumbled the infantry; here a skeleton of a regiment
5740marching with a desperate attempt at order, there a riotous mob of Mobiles
5741crushing their way to the streets, then a turmoil of horsemen, cannon,
5742troops without, officers, officers without men, then again a line of
5743ambulances, the wheels groaning under their heavy loads.
5744
5745Dumb with misery the crowd looked on.
5746
5747All through the day the ambulances had been arriving, and all day long the
5748ragged throng whimpered and shivered by the barriers. At noon the crowd
5749was increased ten-fold, filling the squares about the gates, and swarming
5750over the inner fortifications.
5751
5752At four o'clock in the afternoon the German batteries suddenly wreathed
5753themselves in smoke, and the shells fell fast on Montparnasse. At twenty
5754minutes after four two projectiles struck a house in the rue de Bac, and a
5755moment later the first shell fell in the Latin Quarter.
5756
5757Braith was painting in bed when West came in very much scared.
5758
5759"I wish you would come down; our house has been knocked into a cocked hat,
5760and I'm afraid that some of the pillagers may take it into their heads to
5761pay us a visit to-night."
5762
5763Braith jumped out of bed and bundled himself into a garment which had once
5764been an overcoat.
5765
5766"Anybody hurt?" he inquired, struggling with a sleeve full of dilapidated
5767lining.
5768
5769"No. Colette is barricaded in the cellar, and the concierge ran away to
5770the fortifications. There will be a rough gang there if the bombardment
5771keeps up. You might help us--"
5772
5773"Of course," said Braith; but it was not until they had reached the rue
5774Serpente and had turned in the passage which led to West's cellar, that
5775the latter cried: "Have you seen Jack Trent, to-day?"
5776
5777"No," replied Braith, looking troubled, "he was not at Ambulance
5778Headquarters."
5779
5780"He stayed to take care of Sylvia, I suppose."
5781
5782A bomb came crashing through the roof of a house at the end of the alley
5783and burst in the basement, showering the street with slate and plaster. A
5784second struck a chimney and plunged into the garden, followed by an
5785avalanche of bricks, and another exploded with a deafening report in the
5786next street.
5787
5788They hurried along the passage to the steps which led to the cellar. Here
5789again Braith stopped.
5790
5791"Don't you think I had better run up to see if Jack and Sylvia are well
5792entrenched? I can get back before dark."
5793
5794"No. Go in and find Colette, and I'll go."
5795
5796"No, no, let me go, there's no danger."
5797
5798"I know it," replied West calmly; and, dragging Braith into the alley,
5799pointed to the cellar steps. The iron door was barred.
5800
5801"Colette! Colette!" he called. The door swung inward, and the girl sprang
5802up the stairs to meet them. At that instant, Braith, glancing behind him,
5803gave a startled cry, and pushing the two before him into the cellar,
5804jumped down after them and slammed the iron door. A few seconds later a
5805heavy jar from the outside shook the hinges.
5806
5807"They are here," muttered West, very pale.
5808
5809"That door," observed Colette calmly, "will hold for ever."
5810
5811Braith examined the low iron structure, now trembling with the blows
5812rained on it from without. West glanced anxiously at Colette, who
5813displayed no agitation, and this comforted him.
5814
5815"I don't believe they will spend much time here," said Braith; "they only
5816rummage in cellars for spirits, I imagine."
5817
5818"Unless they hear that valuables are buried there."
5819
5820"But surely nothing is buried here?" exclaimed Braith uneasily.
5821
5822"Unfortunately there is," growled West. "That miserly landlord of mine--"
5823
5824A crash from the outside, followed by a yell, cut him short; then blow
5825after blow shook the doors, until there came a sharp snap, a clinking of
5826metal and a triangular bit of iron fell inwards, leaving a hole through
5827which struggled a ray of light.
5828
5829Instantly West knelt, and shoving his revolver through the aperture fired
5830every cartridge. For a moment the alley resounded with the racket of the
5831revolver, then absolute silence followed.
5832
5833Presently a single questioning blow fell upon the door, and a moment later
5834another and another, and then a sudden crack zigzagged across the iron
5835plate.
5836
5837"Here," said West, seizing Colette by the wrist, "you follow me, Braith!"
5838and he ran swiftly toward a circular spot of light at the further end of
5839the cellar. The spot of light came from a barred man-hole above. West
5840motioned Braith to mount on his shoulders.
5841
5842"Push it over. You _must_!"
5843
5844With little effort Braith lifted the barred cover, scrambled out on his
5845stomach, and easily raised Colette from West's shoulders.
5846
5847"Quick, old chap!" cried the latter.
5848
5849Braith twisted his legs around a fence-chain and leaned down again. The
5850cellar was flooded with a yellow light, and the air reeked with the stench
5851of petroleum torches. The iron door still held, but a whole plate of metal
5852was gone, and now as they looked a figure came creeping through, holding a
5853torch.
5854
5855"Quick!" whispered Braith. "Jump!" and West hung dangling until Colette
5856grasped him by the collar, and he was dragged out. Then her nerves gave
5857way and she wept hysterically, but West threw his arm around her and led
5858her across the gardens into the next street, where Braith, after replacing
5859the man-hole cover and piling some stone slabs from the wall over it,
5860rejoined them. It was almost dark. They hurried through the street, now
5861only lighted by burning buildings, or the swift glare of the shells. They
5862gave wide berth to the fires, but at a distance saw the flitting forms of
5863pillagers among the _débris_. Sometimes they passed a female fury crazed
5864with drink shrieking anathemas upon the world, or some slouching lout
5865whose blackened face and hands betrayed his share in the work of
5866destruction. At last they reached the Seine and passed the bridge, and
5867then Braith said: "I must go back. I am not sure of Jack and Sylvia." As
5868he spoke, he made way for a crowd which came trampling across the bridge,
5869and along the river wall by the d'Orsay barracks. In the midst of it West
5870caught the measured tread of a platoon. A lantern passed, a file of
5871bayonets, then another lantern which glimmered on a deathly face behind,
5872and Colette gasped, "Hartman!" and he was gone. They peered fearfully
5873across the embankment, holding their breath. There was a shuffle of feet
5874on the quay, and the gate of the barracks slammed. A lantern shone for a
5875moment at the postern, the crowd pressed to the grille, then came the
5876clang of the volley from the stone parade.
5877
5878One by one the petroleum torches flared up along the embankment, and now
5879the whole square was in motion. Down from the Champs Elysées and across
5880the Place de la Concorde straggled the fragments of the battle, a company
5881here, and a mob there. They poured in from every street followed by women
5882and children, and a great murmur, borne on the icy wind, swept through the
5883Arc de Triomphe and down the dark avenue,--"Perdus! perdus!"
5884
5885A ragged end of a battalion was pressing past, the spectre of
5886annihilation. West groaned. Then a figure sprang from the shadowy ranks
5887and called West's name, and when he saw it was Trent he cried out. Trent
5888seized him, white with terror.
5889
5890"Sylvia?"
5891
5892West stared speechless, but Colette moaned, "Oh, Sylvia! Sylvia!--and they
5893are shelling the Quarter!"
5894
5895"Trent!" shouted Braith; but he was gone, and they could not overtake
5896them.
5897
5898The bombardment ceased as Trent crossed the Boulevard St. Germain, but the
5899entrance to the rue de Seine was blocked by a heap of smoking bricks.
5900Everywhere the shells had torn great holes in the pavement. The café was a
5901wreck of splinters and glass, the book-store tottered, ripped from roof to
5902basement, and the little bakery, long since closed, bulged outward above a
5903mass of slate and tin.
5904
5905He climbed over the steaming bricks and hurried into the rue de Tournon.
5906On the corner a fire blazed, lighting up his own street, and on the bank
5907wall, beneath a shattered gas lamp, a child was writing with a bit of
5908cinder.
5909
5910"HERE FELL THE FIRST SHELL."
5911
5912The letters stared him in the face. The rat-killer finished and stepped
5913back to view his work, but catching sight of Trent's bayonet, screamed and
5914fled, and as Trent staggered across the shattered street, from holes and
5915crannies in the ruins fierce women fled from their work of pillage,
5916cursing him.
5917
5918At first he could not find his house, for the tears blinded him, but he
5919felt along the wall and reached the door. A lantern burned in the
5920concierge's lodge and the old man lay dead beside it. Faint with fright he
5921leaned a moment on his rifle, then, snatching the lantern, sprang up the
5922stairs. He tried to call, but his tongue hardly moved. On the second floor
5923he saw plaster on the stairway, and on the third the floor was torn and
5924the concierge lay in a pool of blood across the landing. The next floor
5925was his, _theirs_. The door hung from its hinges, the walls gaped. He
5926crept in and sank down by the bed, and there two arms were flung around
5927his neck, and a tear-stained face sought his own.
5928
5929"Sylvia!"
5930
5931"O Jack! Jack! Jack!"
5932
5933From the tumbled pillow beside them a child wailed.
5934
5935"They brought it; it is mine," she sobbed.
5936
5937"Ours," he whispered, with his arms around them both.
5938
5939Then from the stairs below came Braith's anxious voice.
5940
5941"Trent! Is all well?"
5942
5943
5944
5945
5946THE STREET OF OUR LADY OF THE FIELDS
5947
5948 "Et tout les jours passés dans la tristesse
5949 Nous sont comptés comme des jours heureux!"
5950
5951
5952I
5953
5954The street is not fashionable, neither is it shabby. It is a pariah among
5955streets--a street without a Quarter. It is generally understood to lie
5956outside the pale of the aristocratic Avenue de l'Observatoire. The
5957students of the Montparnasse Quarter consider it swell and will have none
5958of it. The Latin Quarter, from the Luxembourg, its northern frontier,
5959sneers at its respectability and regards with disfavour the correctly
5960costumed students who haunt it. Few strangers go into it. At times,
5961however, the Latin Quarter students use it as a thoroughfare between the
5962rue de Rennes and the Bullier, but except for that and the weekly
5963afternoon visits of parents and guardians to the Convent near the rue
5964Vavin, the street of Our Lady of the Fields is as quiet as a Passy
5965boulevard. Perhaps the most respectable portion lies between the rue de la
5966Grande Chaumière and the rue Vavin, at least this was the conclusion
5967arrived at by the Reverend Joel Byram, as he rambled through it with
5968Hastings in charge. To Hastings the street looked pleasant in the bright
5969June weather, and he had begun to hope for its selection when the Reverend
5970Byram shied violently at the cross on the Convent opposite.
5971
5972"Jesuits," he muttered.
5973
5974"Well," said Hastings wearily, "I imagine we won't find anything better.
5975You say yourself that vice is triumphant in Paris, and it seems to me that
5976in every street we find Jesuits or something worse."
5977
5978After a moment he repeated, "Or something worse, which of course I would
5979not notice except for your kindness in warning me."
5980
5981Dr. Byram sucked in his lips and looked about him. He was impressed by the
5982evident respectability of the surroundings. Then frowning at the Convent
5983he took Hastings' arm and shuffled across the street to an iron gateway
5984which bore the number 201 _bis_ painted in white on a blue ground. Below
5985this was a notice printed in English:
5986
5987 1. For Porter please oppress once.
5988 2. For Servant please oppress twice.
5989 3. For Parlour please oppress thrice.
5990
5991Hastings touched the electric button three times, and they were ushered
5992through the garden and into the parlour by a trim maid. The dining-room
5993door, just beyond, was open, and from the table in plain view a stout
5994woman hastily arose and came toward them. Hastings caught a glimpse of a
5995young man with a big head and several snuffy old gentlemen at breakfast,
5996before the door closed and the stout woman waddled into the room, bringing
5997with her an aroma of coffee and a black poodle."
5998
5999"It ees a plaisir to you receive!" she cried. "Monsieur is Anglish? No?
6000Americain? Off course. My pension it ees for Americains surtout. Here all
6001spik Angleesh, c'est à dire, ze personnel; ze sairvants do spik, plus ou
6002moins, a little. I am happy to have you comme pensionnaires--"
6003
6004"Madame," began Dr. Byram, but was cut short again.
6005
6006"Ah, yess, I know, ah! mon Dieu! you do not spik Frainch but you have come
6007to lairne! My husband does spik Frainch wiss ze pensionnaires. We have at
6008ze moment a family Americaine who learn of my husband Frainch--"
6009
6010Here the poodle growled at Dr. Byram and was promptly cuffed by his
6011mistress.
6012
6013"Veux tu!" she cried, with a slap, "veux tu! Oh! le vilain, oh! le
6014vilain!"
6015
6016"Mais, madame," said Hastings, smiling, "il n'a pas l'air très féroce."
6017
6018The poodle fled, and his mistress cried, "Ah, ze accent charming! He does
6019spik already Frainch like a Parisien young gentleman!"
6020
6021Then Dr. Byram managed to get in a word or two and gathered more or less
6022information with regard to prices.
6023
6024"It ees a pension serieux; my clientèle ees of ze best, indeed a pension
6025de famille where one ees at 'ome."
6026
6027Then they went upstairs to examine Hastings' future quarters, test the
6028bed-springs and arrange for the weekly towel allowance. Dr. Byram appeared
6029satisfied.
6030
6031Madame Marotte accompanied them to the door and rang for the maid, but as
6032Hastings stepped out into the gravel walk, his guide and mentor paused a
6033moment and fixed Madame with his watery eyes.
6034
6035"You understand," he said, "that he is a youth of most careful bringing
6036up, and his character and morals are without a stain. He is young and has
6037never been abroad, never even seen a large city, and his parents have
6038requested me, as an old family friend living in Paris, to see that he is
6039placed under good influences. He is to study art, but on no account would
6040his parents wish him to live in the Latin Quarter if they knew of the
6041immorality which is rife there."
6042
6043A sound like the click of a latch interrupted him and he raised his eyes,
6044but not in time to see the maid slap the big-headed young man behind the
6045parlour-door.
6046
6047Madame coughed, cast a deadly glance behind her and then beamed on Dr.
6048Byram.
6049
6050"It ees well zat he come here. The pension more serious, il n'en existe
6051pas, eet ees not any!" she announced with conviction.
6052
6053So, as there was nothing more to add, Dr. Byram joined Hastings at the
6054gate.
6055
6056"I trust," he said, eyeing the Convent, "that you will make no
6057acquaintances among Jesuits!"
6058
6059Hastings looked at the Convent until a pretty girl passed before the gray
6060façade, and then he looked at her. A young fellow with a paint-box and
6061canvas came swinging along, stopped before the pretty girl, said something
6062during a brief but vigorous handshake at which they both laughed, and he
6063went his way, calling back, "À demain Valentine!" as in the same breath
6064she cried, "À demain!"
6065
6066"Valentine," thought Hastings, "what a quaint name;" and he started to
6067follow the Reverend Joel Byram, who was shuffling towards the nearest
6068tramway station.
6069
6070
6071
6072
6073II
6074
6075"An' you are pleas wiz Paris, Monsieur' Astang?" demanded Madame Marotte
6076the next morning as Hastings came into the breakfast-room of the pension,
6077rosy from his plunge in the limited bath above.
6078
6079"I am sure I shall like it," he replied, wondering at his own depression
6080of spirits.
6081
6082The maid brought him coffee and rolls. He returned the vacant glance of
6083the big-headed young man and acknowledged diffidently the salutes of the
6084snuffy old gentlemen. He did not try to finish his coffee, and sat
6085crumbling a roll, unconscious of the sympathetic glances of Madame
6086Marotte, who had tact enough not to bother him.
6087
6088Presently a maid entered with a tray on which were balanced two bowls of
6089chocolate, and the snuffy old gentlemen leered at her ankles. The maid
6090deposited the chocolate at a table near the window and smiled at Hastings.
6091Then a thin young lady, followed by her counterpart in all except years,
6092marched into the room and took the table near the window. They were
6093evidently American, but Hastings, if he expected any sign of recognition,
6094was disappointed. To be ignored by compatriots intensified his depression.
6095He fumbled with his knife and looked at his plate.
6096
6097The thin young lady was talkative enough. She was quite aware of Hastings'
6098presence, ready to be flattered if he looked at her, but on the other hand
6099she felt her superiority, for she had been three weeks in Paris and he, it
6100was easy to see, had not yet unpacked his steamer-trunk.
6101
6102Her conversation was complacent. She argued with her mother upon the
6103relative merits of the Louvre and the Bon Marché, but her mother's part of
6104the discussion was mostly confined to the observation, "Why, Susie!"
6105
6106The snuffy old gentlemen had left the room in a body, outwardly polite and
6107inwardly raging. They could not endure the Americans, who filled the room
6108with their chatter.
6109
6110The big-headed young man looked after them with a knowing cough,
6111murmuring, "Gay old birds!"
6112
6113"They look like bad old men, Mr. Bladen," said the girl.
6114
6115To this Mr. Bladen smiled and said, "They've had their day," in a tone
6116which implied that he was now having his.
6117
6118"And that's why they all have baggy eyes," cried the girl. "I think it's a
6119shame for young gentlemen--"
6120
6121"Why, Susie!" said the mother, and the conversation lagged.
6122
6123After a while Mr. Bladen threw down the _Petit Journal_, which he daily
6124studied at the expense of the house, and turning to Hastings, started to
6125make himself agreeable. He began by saying, "I see you are American."
6126
6127To this brilliant and original opening, Hastings, deadly homesick, replied
6128gratefully, and the conversation was judiciously nourished by observations
6129from Miss Susie Byng distinctly addressed to Mr. Bladen. In the course of
6130events Miss Susie, forgetting to address herself exclusively to Mr.
6131Bladen, and Hastings replying to her general question, the _entente
6132cordiale_ was established, and Susie and her mother extended a
6133protectorate over what was clearly neutral territory.
6134
6135"Mr. Hastings, you must not desert the pension every evening as Mr. Bladen
6136does. Paris is an awful place for young gentlemen, and Mr. Bladen is a
6137horrid cynic."
6138
6139Mr. Bladen looked gratified.
6140
6141Hastings answered, "I shall be at the studio all day, and I imagine I
6142shall be glad enough to come back at night."
6143
6144Mr. Bladen, who, at a salary of fifteen dollars a week, acted as agent for
6145the Pewly Manufacturing Company of Troy, N.Y., smiled a sceptical smile
6146and withdrew to keep an appointment with a customer on the Boulevard
6147Magenta.
6148
6149Hastings walked into the garden with Mrs. Byng and Susie, and, at their
6150invitation, sat down in the shade before the iron gate.
6151
6152The chestnut trees still bore their fragrant spikes of pink and white, and
6153the bees hummed among the roses, trellised on the white-walled house.
6154
6155A faint freshness was in the air. The watering carts moved up and down the
6156street, and a clear stream bubbled over the spotless gutters of the rue de
6157la Grande Chaumière. The sparrows were merry along the curb-stones, taking
6158bath after bath in the water and ruffling their feathers with delight. In
6159a walled garden across the street a pair of blackbirds whistled among the
6160almond trees.
6161
6162Hastings swallowed the lump in his throat, for the song of the birds and
6163the ripple of water in a Paris gutter brought back to him the sunny
6164meadows of Millbrook.
6165
6166"That's a blackbird," observed Miss Byng; "see him there on the bush with
6167pink blossoms. He's all black except his bill, and that looks as if it had
6168been dipped in an omelet, as some Frenchman says--"
6169
6170"Why, Susie!" said Mrs. Byng.
6171
6172"That garden belongs to a studio inhabited by two Americans," continued
6173the girl serenely, "and I often see them pass. They seem to need a great
6174many models, mostly young and feminine--"
6175
6176"Why, Susie!"
6177
6178"Perhaps they prefer painting that kind, but I don't see why they should
6179invite five, with three more young gentlemen, and all get into two cabs
6180and drive away singing. This street," she continued, "is dull. There is
6181nothing to see except the garden and a glimpse of the Boulevard
6182Montparnasse through the rue de la Grande Chaumière. No one ever passes
6183except a policeman. There is a convent on the corner."
6184
6185"I thought it was a Jesuit College," began Hastings, but was at once
6186overwhelmed with a Baedecker description of the place, ending with, "On
6187one side stand the palatial hotels of Jean Paul Laurens and Guillaume
6188Bouguereau, and opposite, in the little Passage Stanislas, Carolus Duran
6189paints the masterpieces which charm the world."
6190
6191The blackbird burst into a ripple of golden throaty notes, and from some
6192distant green spot in the city an unknown wild-bird answered with a frenzy
6193of liquid trills until the sparrows paused in their ablutions to look up
6194with restless chirps.
6195
6196Then a butterfly came and sat on a cluster of heliotrope and waved his
6197crimson-banded wings in the hot sunshine. Hastings knew him for a friend,
6198and before his eyes there came a vision of tall mulleins and scented
6199milkweed alive with painted wings, a vision of a white house and
6200woodbine-covered piazza,--a glimpse of a man reading and a woman leaning
6201over the pansy bed,--and his heart was full. He was startled a moment
6202later by Miss Byng.
6203
6204"I believe you are homesick!" Hastings blushed. Miss Byng looked at him
6205with a sympathetic sigh and continued: "Whenever I felt homesick at first
6206I used to go with mamma and walk in the Luxembourg Gardens. I don't know
6207why it is, but those old-fashioned gardens seemed to bring me nearer home
6208than anything in this artificial city."
6209
6210"But they are full of marble statues," said Mrs. Byng mildly; "I don't see
6211the resemblance myself."
6212
6213"Where is the Luxembourg?" inquired Hastings after a silence.
6214
6215"Come with me to the gate," said Miss Byng. He rose and followed her, and
6216she pointed out the rue Vavin at the foot of the street.
6217
6218"You pass by the convent to the right," she smiled; and Hastings went.
6219
6220
6221
6222
6223III
6224
6225The Luxembourg was a blaze of flowers. He walked slowly through the long
6226avenues of trees, past mossy marbles and old-time columns, and threading
6227the grove by the bronze lion, came upon the tree-crowned terrace above the
6228fountain. Below lay the basin shining in the sunlight. Flowering almonds
6229encircled the terrace, and, in a greater spiral, groves of chestnuts wound
6230in and out and down among the moist thickets by the western palace wing.
6231At one end of the avenue of trees the Observatory rose, its white domes
6232piled up like an eastern mosque; at the other end stood the heavy palace,
6233with every window-pane ablaze in the fierce sun of June.
6234
6235Around the fountain, children and white-capped nurses armed with bamboo
6236poles were pushing toy boats, whose sails hung limp in the sunshine. A
6237dark policeman, wearing red epaulettes and a dress sword, watched them for
6238a while and then went away to remonstrate with a young man who had
6239unchained his dog. The dog was pleasantly occupied in rubbing grass and
6240dirt into his back while his legs waved into the air.
6241
6242The policeman pointed at the dog. He was speechless with indignation.
6243
6244"Well, Captain," smiled the young fellow.
6245
6246"Well, Monsieur Student," growled the policeman.
6247
6248"What do you come and complain to me for?"
6249
6250"If you don't chain him I'll take him," shouted the policeman.
6251
6252"What's that to me, mon capitaine?"
6253
6254"Wha--t! Isn't that bull-dog yours?"
6255
6256"If it was, don't you suppose I'd chain him?"
6257
6258The officer glared for a moment in silence, then deciding that as he was a
6259student he was wicked, grabbed at the dog, who promptly dodged. Around and
6260around the flower-beds they raced, and when the officer came too near for
6261comfort, the bull-dog cut across a flower-bed, which perhaps was not
6262playing fair.
6263
6264The young man was amused, and the dog also seemed to enjoy the exercise.
6265
6266The policeman noticed this and decided to strike at the fountain-head of
6267the evil. He stormed up to the student and said, "As the owner of this
6268public nuisance I arrest you!"
6269
6270"But," objected the other, "I disclaim the dog."
6271
6272That was a poser. It was useless to attempt to catch the dog until three
6273gardeners lent a hand, but then the dog simply ran away and disappeared in
6274the rue de Medici.
6275
6276The policeman shambled off to find consolation among the white-capped
6277nurses, and the student, looking at his watch, stood up yawning. Then
6278catching sight of Hastings, he smiled and bowed. Hastings walked over to
6279the marble, laughing.
6280
6281"Why, Clifford," he said, "I didn't recognize you."
6282
6283"It's my moustache," sighed the other. "I sacrificed it to humour a whim
6284of--of--a friend. What do you think of my dog?"
6285
6286"Then he is yours?" cried Hastings.
6287
6288"Of course. It's a pleasant change for him, this playing tag with
6289policemen, but he is known now and I'll have to stop it. He's gone home.
6290He always does when the gardeners take a hand. It's a pity; he's fond of
6291rolling on lawns." Then they chatted for a moment of Hastings' prospects,
6292and Clifford politely offered to stand his sponsor at the studio.
6293
6294"You see, old tabby, I mean Dr. Byram, told me about you before I met
6295you," explained Clifford, "and Elliott and I will be glad to do anything
6296we can." Then looking at his watch again, he muttered, "I have just ten
6297minutes to catch the Versailles train; au revoir," and started to go, but
6298catching sight of a girl advancing by the fountain, took off his hat with
6299a confused smile.
6300
6301"Why are you not at Versailles?" she said, with an almost imperceptible
6302acknowledgment of Hastings' presence.
6303
6304"I--I'm going," murmured Clifford.
6305
6306For a moment they faced each other, and then Clifford, very red,
6307stammered, "With your permission I have the honour of presenting to you my
6308friend, Monsieur Hastings."
6309
6310Hastings bowed low. She smiled very sweetly, but there was something of
6311malice in the quiet inclination of her small Parisienne head.
6312
6313"I could have wished," she said, "that Monsieur Clifford might spare me
6314more time when he brings with him so charming an American."
6315
6316"Must--must I go, Valentine?" began Clifford.
6317
6318"Certainly," she replied.
6319
6320Clifford took his leave with very bad grace, wincing, when she added, "And
6321give my dearest love to Cécile!" As he disappeared in the rue d'Assas, the
6322girl turned as if to go, but then suddenly remembering Hastings, looked at
6323him and shook her head.
6324
6325"Monsieur Clifford is so perfectly harebrained," she smiled, "it is
6326embarrassing sometimes. You have heard, of course, all about his success
6327at the Salon?"
6328
6329He looked puzzled and she noticed it.
6330
6331"You have been to the Salon, of course?"
6332
6333"Why, no," he answered, "I only arrived in Paris three days ago."
6334
6335She seemed to pay little heed to his explanation, but continued: "Nobody
6336imagined he had the energy to do anything good, but on varnishing day the
6337Salon was astonished by the entrance of Monsieur Clifford, who strolled
6338about as bland as you please with an orchid in his buttonhole, and a
6339beautiful picture on the line."
6340
6341She smiled to herself at the reminiscence, and looked at the fountain.
6342
6343"Monsieur Bouguereau told me that Monsieur Julian was so astonished that
6344he only shook hands with Monsieur Clifford in a dazed manner, and actually
6345forgot to pat him on the back! Fancy," she continued with much merriment,
6346"fancy papa Julian forgetting to pat one on the back."
6347
6348Hastings, wondering at her acquaintance with the great Bouguereau, looked
6349at her with respect. "May I ask," he said diffidently, "whether you are a
6350pupil of Bouguereau?"
6351
6352"I?" she said in some surprise. Then she looked at him curiously. Was he
6353permitting himself the liberty of joking on such short acquaintance?
6354
6355His pleasant serious face questioned hers.
6356
6357"Tiens," she thought, "what a droll man!"
6358
6359"You surely study art?" he said.
6360
6361She leaned back on the crooked stick of her parasol, and looked at him.
6362"Why do you think so?"
6363
6364"Because you speak as if you did."
6365
6366"You are making fun of me," she said, "and it is not good taste."
6367
6368She stopped, confused, as he coloured to the roots of his hair.
6369
6370"How long have you been in Paris?" she said at length.
6371
6372"Three days," he replied gravely.
6373
6374"But--but--surely you are not a nouveau! You speak French too well!"
6375
6376Then after a pause, "Really are you a nouveau?"
6377
6378"I am," he said.
6379
6380She sat down on the marble bench lately occupied by Clifford, and tilting
6381her parasol over her small head looked at him.
6382
6383"I don't believe it."
6384
6385He felt the compliment, and for a moment hesitated to declare himself one
6386of the despised. Then mustering up his courage, he told her how new and
6387green he was, and all with a frankness which made her blue eyes open very
6388wide and her lips part in the sweetest of smiles.
6389
6390"You have never seen a studio?"
6391
6392"Never."
6393
6394"Nor a model?"
6395
6396"No."
6397
6398"How funny," she said solemnly. Then they both laughed.
6399
6400"And you," he said, "have seen studios?"
6401
6402"Hundreds."
6403
6404"And models?"
6405
6406"Millions."
6407
6408"And you know Bouguereau?"
6409
6410"Yes, and Henner, and Constant and Laurens, and Puvis de Chavannes and
6411Dagnan and Courtois, and--and all the rest of them!"
6412
6413"And yet you say you are not an artist."
6414
6415"Pardon," she said gravely, "did I say I was not?"
6416
6417"Won't you tell me?" he hesitated.
6418
6419At first she looked at him, shaking her head and smiling, then of a sudden
6420her eyes fell and she began tracing figures with her parasol in the gravel
6421at her feet. Hastings had taken a place on the seat, and now, with his
6422elbows on his knees, sat watching the spray drifting above the fountain
6423jet. A small boy, dressed as a sailor, stood poking his yacht and crying,
6424"I won't go home! I won't go home!" His nurse raised her hands to Heaven.
6425
6426"Just like a little American boy," thought Hastings, and a pang of
6427homesickness shot through him.
6428
6429Presently the nurse captured the boat, and the small boy stood at bay.
6430
6431"Monsieur René, when you decide to come here you may have your boat."
6432
6433The boy backed away scowling.
6434
6435"Give me my boat, I say," he cried, "and don't call me René, for my
6436name's Randall and you know it!"
6437
6438"Hello!" said Hastings,--"Randall?--that's English."
6439
6440"I am American," announced the boy in perfectly good English, turning to
6441look at Hastings, "and she's such a fool she calls me René because mamma
6442calls me Ranny--"
6443
6444Here he dodged the exasperated nurse and took up his station behind
6445Hastings, who laughed, and catching him around the waist lifted him into
6446his lap.
6447
6448"One of my countrymen," he said to the girl beside him. He smiled while he
6449spoke, but there was a queer feeling in his throat.
6450
6451"Don't you see the stars and stripes on my yacht?" demanded Randall. Sure
6452enough, the American colours hung limply under the nurse's arm.
6453
6454"Oh," cried the girl, "he is charming," and impulsively stooped to kiss
6455him, but the infant Randall wriggled out of Hastings' arms, and his nurse
6456pounced upon him with an angry glance at the girl.
6457
6458She reddened and then bit her lips as the nurse, with eyes still fixed on
6459her, dragged the child away and ostentatiously wiped his lips with her
6460handkerchief.
6461
6462Then she stole a look at Hastings and bit her lip again.
6463
6464"What an ill-tempered woman!" he said. "In America, most nurses are
6465flattered when people kiss their children."
6466
6467For an instant she tipped the parasol to hide her face, then closed it
6468with a snap and looked at him defiantly.
6469
6470"Do you think it strange that she objected?"
6471
6472"Why not?" he said in surprise.
6473
6474Again she looked at him with quick searching eyes.
6475
6476His eyes were clear and bright, and he smiled back, repeating, "Why not?"
6477
6478"You _are_ droll," she murmured, bending her head.
6479
6480"Why?"
6481
6482But she made no answer, and sat silent, tracing curves and circles in the
6483dust with her parasol. After a while he said--"I am glad to see that young
6484people have so much liberty here. I understood that the French were not at
6485all like us. You know in America--or at least where I live in Milbrook,
6486girls have every liberty,--go out alone and receive their friends alone,
6487and I was afraid I should miss it here. But I see how it is now, and I am
6488glad I was mistaken."
6489
6490She raised her eyes to his and kept them there.
6491
6492He continued pleasantly--"Since I have sat here I have seen a lot of
6493pretty girls walking alone on the terrace there,--and then _you_ are alone
6494too. Tell me, for I do not know French customs,--do you have the liberty
6495of going to the theatre without a chaperone?"
6496
6497For a long time she studied his face, and then with a trembling smile
6498said, "Why do you ask me?"
6499
6500"Because you must know, of course," he said gaily.
6501
6502"Yes," she replied indifferently, "I know."
6503
6504He waited for an answer, but getting none, decided that perhaps she had
6505misunderstood him.
6506
6507"I hope you don't think I mean to presume on our short acquaintance," he
6508began,--"in fact it is very odd but I don't know your name. When Mr.
6509Clifford presented me he only mentioned mine. Is that the custom in
6510France?"
6511
6512"It is the custom in the Latin Quarter," she said with a queer light in
6513her eyes. Then suddenly she began talking almost feverishly.
6514
6515"You must know, Monsieur Hastings, that we are all _un peu sans gêne_ here
6516in the Latin Quarter. We are very Bohemian, and etiquette and ceremony are
6517out of place. It was for that Monsieur Clifford presented you to me with
6518small ceremony, and left us together with less,--only for that, and I am
6519his friend, and I have many friends in the Latin Quarter, and we all know
6520each other very well--and I am not studying art, but--but--"
6521
6522"But what?" he said, bewildered.
6523
6524"I shall not tell you,--it is a secret," she said with an uncertain smile.
6525On both cheeks a pink spot was burning, and her eyes were very bright.
6526
6527Then in a moment her face fell. "Do you know Monsieur Clifford very
6528intimately?"
6529
6530"Not very."
6531
6532After a while she turned to him, grave and a little pale.
6533
6534"My name is Valentine--Valentine Tissot. Might--might I ask a service of
6535you on such very short acquaintance?"
6536
6537"Oh," he cried, "I should be honoured."
6538
6539"It is only this," she said gently, "it is not much. Promise me not to
6540speak to Monsieur Clifford about me. Promise me that you will speak to no
6541one about me."
6542
6543"I promise," he said, greatly puzzled.
6544
6545She laughed nervously. "I wish to remain a mystery. It is a caprice."
6546
6547"But," he began, "I had wished, I had hoped that you might give Monsieur
6548Clifford permission to bring me, to present me at your house."
6549
6550"My--my house!" she repeated.
6551
6552"I mean, where you live, in fact, to present me to your family."
6553
6554The change in the girl's face shocked him.
6555
6556"I beg your pardon," he cried, "I have hurt you."
6557
6558And as quick as a flash she understood him because she was a woman.
6559
6560"My parents are dead," she said.
6561
6562Presently he began again, very gently.
6563
6564"Would it displease you if I beg you to receive me? It is the custom?"
6565
6566"I cannot," she answered. Then glancing up at him, "I am sorry; I should
6567like to; but believe me. I cannot."
6568
6569He bowed seriously and looked vaguely uneasy.
6570
6571"It isn't because I don't wish to. I--I like you; you are very kind to
6572me."
6573
6574"Kind?" he cried, surprised and puzzled.
6575
6576"I like you," she said slowly, "and we will see each other sometimes if
6577you will."
6578
6579"At friends' houses."
6580
6581"No, not at friends' houses."
6582
6583"Where?"
6584
6585"Here," she said with defiant eyes.
6586
6587"Why," he cried, "in Paris you are much more liberal in your views than we
6588are."
6589
6590She looked at him curiously.
6591
6592"Yes, we are very Bohemian."
6593
6594"I think it is charming," he declared.
6595
6596"You see, we shall be in the best of society," she ventured timidly, with
6597a pretty gesture toward the statues of the dead queens, ranged in stately
6598ranks above the terrace.
6599
6600He looked at her, delighted, and she brightened at the success of her
6601innocent little pleasantry.
6602
6603"Indeed," she smiled, "I shall be well chaperoned, because you see we are
6604under the protection of the gods themselves; look, there are Apollo, and
6605Juno, and Venus, on their pedestals," counting them on her small gloved
6606fingers, "and Ceres, Hercules, and--but I can't make out--"
6607
6608Hastings turned to look up at the winged god under whose shadow they were
6609seated.
6610
6611"Why, it's Love," he said.
6612
6613
6614
6615
6616IV
6617
6618"There is a nouveau here," drawled Laffat, leaning around his easel and
6619addressing his friend Bowles, "there is a nouveau here who is so tender
6620and green and appetizing that Heaven help him if he should fall into a
6621salad bowl."
6622
6623"Hayseed?" inquired Bowles, plastering in a background with a broken
6624palette-knife and squinting at the effect with approval.
6625
6626"Yes, Squeedunk or Oshkosh, and how he ever grew up among the daisies and
6627escaped the cows, Heaven alone knows!"
6628
6629Bowles rubbed his thumb across the outlines of his study to "throw in a
6630little atmosphere," as he said, glared at the model, pulled at his pipe
6631and finding it out struck a match on his neighbour's back to relight it.
6632
6633"His name," continued Laffat, hurling a bit of bread at the hat-rack, "his
6634name is Hastings. He _is_ a berry. He knows no more about the world,"--and
6635here Mr. Laffat's face spoke volumes for his own knowledge of that
6636planet,--"than a maiden cat on its first moonlight stroll."
6637
6638Bowles now having succeeded in lighting his pipe, repeated the thumb touch
6639on the other edge of the study and said, "Ah!"
6640
6641"Yes," continued his friend, "and would you imagine it, he seems to think
6642that everything here goes on as it does in his d----d little backwoods
6643ranch at home; talks about the pretty girls who walk alone in the street;
6644says how sensible it is; and how French parents are misrepresented in
6645America; says that for his part he finds French girls,--and he confessed
6646to only knowing one,--as jolly as American girls. I tried to set him
6647right, tried to give him a pointer as to what sort of ladies walk about
6648alone or with students, and he was either too stupid or too innocent to
6649catch on. Then I gave it to him straight, and he said I was a vile-minded
6650fool and marched off."
6651
6652"Did you assist him with your shoe?" inquired Bowles, languidly
6653interested.
6654
6655"Well, no."
6656
6657"He called you a vile-minded fool."
6658
6659"He was correct," said Clifford from his easel in front.
6660
6661"What--what do you mean?" demanded Laffat, turning red.
6662
6663"_That_," replied Clifford.
6664
6665"Who spoke to you? Is this your business?" sneered Bowles, but nearly lost
6666his balance as Clifford swung about and eyed him.
6667
6668"Yes," he said slowly, "it's my business."
6669
6670No one spoke for some time.
6671
6672Then Clifford sang out, "I say, Hastings!"
6673
6674And when Hastings left his easel and came around, he nodded toward the
6675astonished Laffat.
6676
6677"This man has been disagreeable to you, and I want to tell you that any
6678time you feel inclined to kick him, why, I will hold the other creature."
6679
6680Hastings, embarrassed, said, "Why no, I don't agree with his ideas,
6681nothing more."
6682
6683Clifford said "Naturally," and slipping his arm through Hastings',
6684strolled about with him, and introduced him to several of his own friends,
6685at which all the nouveaux opened their eyes with envy, and the studio were
6686given to understand that Hastings, although prepared to do menial work as
6687the latest nouveau, was already within the charmed circle of the old,
6688respected and feared, the truly great.
6689
6690The rest finished, the model resumed his place, and work went on in a
6691chorus of songs and yells and every ear-splitting noise which the art
6692student utters when studying the beautiful.
6693
6694Five o'clock struck,--the model yawned, stretched and climbed into his
6695trousers, and the noisy contents of six studios crowded through the hall
6696and down into the street. Ten minutes later, Hastings found himself on top
6697of a Montrouge tram, and shortly afterward was joined by Clifford.
6698
6699They climbed down at the rue Gay Lussac.
6700
6701"I always stop here," observed Clifford, "I like the walk through the
6702Luxembourg."
6703
6704"By the way," said Hastings, "how can I call on you when I don't know
6705where you live?"
6706
6707"Why, I live opposite you."
6708
6709"What--the studio in the garden where the almond trees are and the
6710blackbirds--"
6711
6712"Exactly," said Clifford. "I'm with my friend Elliott."
6713
6714Hastings thought of the description of the two American artists which he
6715had heard from Miss Susie Byng, and looked blank.
6716
6717Clifford continued, "Perhaps you had better let me know when you think of
6718coming so,--so that I will be sure to--to be there," he ended rather
6719lamely.
6720
6721"I shouldn't care to meet any of your model friends there," said Hastings,
6722smiling. "You know--my ideas are rather straitlaced,--I suppose you would
6723say, Puritanical. I shouldn't enjoy it and wouldn't know how to behave."
6724
6725"Oh, I understand," said Clifford, but added with great cordiality,--"I'm
6726sure we'll be friends although you may not approve of me and my set, but
6727you will like Severn and Selby because--because, well, they are like
6728yourself, old chap."
6729
6730After a moment he continued, "There is something I want to speak about.
6731You see, when I introduced you, last week, in the Luxembourg, to
6732Valentine--"
6733
6734"Not a word!" cried Hastings, smiling; "you must not tell me a word of
6735her!"
6736
6737"Why--"
6738
6739"No--not a word!" he said gaily. "I insist,--promise me upon your honour
6740you will not speak of her until I give you permission; promise!"
6741
6742"I promise," said Clifford, amazed.
6743
6744"She is a charming girl,--we had such a delightful chat after you left,
6745and I thank you for presenting me, but not another word about her until I
6746give you permission."
6747
6748"Oh," murmured Clifford.
6749
6750"Remember your promise," he smiled, as he turned into his gateway.
6751
6752Clifford strolled across the street and, traversing the ivy-covered alley,
6753entered his garden.
6754
6755He felt for his studio key, muttering, "I wonder--I wonder,--but of course
6756he doesn't!"
6757
6758He entered the hallway, and fitting the key into the door, stood staring
6759at the two cards tacked over the panels.
6760
6761 FOXHALL CLIFFORD
6762
6763 RICHARD OSBORNE ELLIOTT
6764
6765"Why the devil doesn't he want me to speak of her?"
6766
6767He opened the door, and, discouraging the caresses of two brindle
6768bull-dogs, sank down on the sofa.
6769
6770Elliott sat smoking and sketching with a piece of charcoal by the window.
6771
6772"Hello," he said without looking around.
6773
6774Clifford gazed absently at the back of his head, murmuring, "I'm afraid,
6775I'm afraid that man is too innocent. I say, Elliott," he said, at last,
6776"Hastings,--you know the chap that old Tabby Byram came around here to
6777tell us about--the day you had to hide Colette in the armoire--"
6778
6779"Yes, what's up?"
6780
6781"Oh, nothing. He's a brick."
6782
6783"Yes," said Elliott, without enthusiasm.
6784
6785"Don't you think so?" demanded Clifford.
6786
6787"Why yes, but he is going to have a tough time when some of his illusions
6788are dispelled."
6789
6790"More shame to those who dispel 'em!"
6791
6792"Yes,--wait until he comes to pay his call on us, unexpectedly, of
6793course--"
6794
6795Clifford looked virtuous and lighted a cigar.
6796
6797"I was just going to say," he observed, "that I have asked him not to come
6798without letting us know, so I can postpone any orgie you may have
6799intended--"
6800
6801"Ah!" cried Elliott indignantly, "I suppose you put it to him in that
6802way."
6803
6804"Not exactly," grinned Clifford. Then more seriously, "I don't want
6805anything to occur here to bother him. He's a brick, and it's a pity we
6806can't be more like him."
6807
6808"I am," observed Elliott complacently, "only living with you--"
6809
6810"Listen!" cried the other. "I have managed to put my foot in it in great
6811style. Do you know what I've done? Well--the first time I met him in the
6812street,--or rather, it was in the Luxembourg, I introduced him to
6813Valentine!"
6814
6815"Did he object?"
6816
6817"Believe me," said Clifford, solemnly, "this rustic Hastings has no more
6818idea that Valentine is--is--in fact is Valentine, than he has that he
6819himself is a beautiful example of moral decency in a Quarter where morals
6820are as rare as elephants. I heard enough in a conversation between that
6821blackguard Loffat and the little immoral eruption, Bowles, to open my
6822eyes. I tell you Hastings is a trump! He's a healthy, clean-minded young
6823fellow, bred in a small country village, brought up with the idea that
6824saloons are way-stations to hell--and as for women--"
6825
6826"Well?" demanded Elliott
6827
6828"Well," said Clifford, "his idea of the dangerous woman is probably a
6829painted Jezabel."
6830
6831"Probably," replied the other.
6832
6833"He's a trump!" said Clifford, "and if he swears the world is as good and
6834pure as his own heart, I'll swear he's right."
6835
6836Elliott rubbed his charcoal on his file to get a point and turned to his
6837sketch saying, "He will never hear any pessimism from Richard Osborne E."
6838
6839"He's a lesson to me," said Clifford. Then he unfolded a small perfumed
6840note, written on rose-coloured paper, which had been lying on the table
6841before him.
6842
6843He read it, smiled, whistled a bar or two from "Miss Helyett," and sat
6844down to answer it on his best cream-laid note-paper. When it was written
6845and sealed, he picked up his stick and marched up and down the studio two
6846or three times, whistling.
6847
6848"Going out?" inquired the other, without turning.
6849
6850"Yes," he said, but lingered a moment over Elliott's shoulder, watching
6851him pick out the lights in his sketch with a bit of bread.
6852
6853"To-morrow is Sunday," he observed after a moment's silence.
6854
6855"Well?" inquired Elliott.
6856
6857"Have you seen Colette?"
6858
6859"No, I will to-night. She and Rowden and Jacqueline are coming to
6860Boulant's. I suppose you and, Cécile will be there?"
6861
6862"Well, no," replied Clifford. "Cécile dines at home to-night, and I--I had
6863an idea of going to Mignon's."
6864
6865Elliott looked at him with disapproval.
6866
6867"You can make all the arrangements for La Roche without me," he continued,
6868avoiding Elliott's eyes.
6869
6870"What are you up to now?"
6871
6872"Nothing," protested Clifford.
6873
6874"Don't tell me," replied his chum, with scorn; "fellows don't rush off to
6875Mignon's when the set dine at Boulant's. Who is it now?--but no, I won't
6876ask that,--what's the use!" Then he lifted up his voice in complaint and
6877beat upon the table with his pipe. "What's the use of ever trying to keep
6878track of you? What will Cécile say,--oh, yes, what will she say? It's a
6879pity you can't be constant two months, yes, by Jove! and the Quarter is
6880indulgent, but you abuse its good nature and mine too!"
6881
6882Presently he arose, and jamming his hat on his head, marched to the door.
6883
6884"Heaven alone knows why any one puts up with your antics, but they all do
6885and so do I. If I were Cécile or any of the other pretty fools after whom
6886you have toddled and will, in all human probabilities, continue to toddle,
6887I say, if I were Cécile I'd spank you! Now I'm going to Boulant's, and as
6888usual I shall make excuses for you and arrange the affair, and I don't
6889care a continental where you are going, but, by the skull of the studio
6890skeleton! if you don't turn up to-morrow with your sketching-kit under one
6891arm and Cécile under the other,--if you don't turn up in good shape, I'm
6892done with you, and the rest can think what they please. Good-night."
6893
6894Clifford said good-night with as pleasant a smile as he could muster, and
6895then sat down with his eyes on the door. He took out his watch and gave
6896Elliott ten minutes to vanish, then rang the concierge's call, murmuring,
6897"Oh dear, oh dear, why the devil do I do it?"
6898
6899"Alfred," he said, as that gimlet-eyed person answered the call, "make
6900yourself clean and proper, Alfred, and replace your sabots with a pair of
6901shoes. Then put on your best hat and take this letter to the big white
6902house in the Rue de Dragon. There is no answer, _mon petit_ Alfred."
6903
6904The concierge departed with a snort in which unwillingness for the errand
6905and affection for M. Clifford were blended. Then with great care the young
6906fellow arrayed himself in all the beauties of his and Elliott's wardrobe.
6907He took his time about it, and occasionally interrupted his toilet to play
6908his banjo or make pleasing diversion for the bull-dogs by gambling about
6909on all fours. "I've got two hours before me," he thought, and borrowed a
6910pair of Elliott's silken foot-gear, with which he and the dogs played ball
6911until he decided to put them on. Then he lighted a cigarette and inspected
6912his dress-coat. When he had emptied it of four handkerchiefs, a fan, and a
6913pair of crumpled gloves as long as his arm, he decided it was not suited
6914to add _éclat_ to his charms and cast about in his mind for a substitute.
6915Elliott was too thin, and, anyway, his coats were now under lock and key.
6916Rowden probably was as badly off as himself. Hastings! Hastings was the
6917man! But when he threw on a smoking-jacket and sauntered over to Hastings'
6918house, he was informed that he had been gone over an hour.
6919
6920"Now, where in the name of all that's reasonable could he have gone!"
6921muttered Clifford, looking down the street.
6922
6923The maid didn't know, so he bestowed upon her a fascinating smile and
6924lounged back to the studio.
6925
6926Hastings was not far away. The Luxembourg is within five minutes' walk of
6927the rue Notre Dame des Champs, and there he sat under the shadow of a
6928winged god, and there he had sat for an hour, poking holes in the dust and
6929watching the steps which lead from the northern terrace to the fountain.
6930The sun hung, a purple globe, above the misty hills of Meudon. Long
6931streamers of clouds touched with rose swept low on the western sky, and
6932the dome of the distant Invalides burned like an opal through the haze.
6933Behind the Palace the smoke from a high chimney mounted straight into the
6934air, purple until it crossed the sun, where it changed to a bar of
6935smouldering fire. High above the darkening foliage of the chestnuts the
6936twin towers of St. Sulpice rose, an ever-deepening silhouette.
6937
6938A sleepy blackbird was carolling in some near thicket, and pigeons passed
6939and repassed with the whisper of soft winds in their wings. The light on
6940the Palace windows had died away, and the dome of the Pantheon swam aglow
6941above the northern terrace, a fiery Valhalla in the sky; while below in
6942grim array, along the terrace ranged, the marble ranks of queens looked
6943out into the west.
6944
6945From the end of the long walk by the northern façade of the Palace came
6946the noise of omnibuses and the cries of the street. Hastings looked at the
6947Palace clock. Six, and as his own watch agreed with it, he fell to poking
6948holes in the gravel again. A constant stream of people passed between the
6949Odéon and the fountain. Priests in black, with silver-buckled shoes; line
6950soldiers, slouchy and rakish; neat girls without hats bearing milliners'
6951boxes, students with black portfolios and high hats, students with bérets
6952and big canes, nervous, quick-stepping officers, symphonies in turquoise
6953and silver; ponderous jangling cavalrymen all over dust, pastry cooks'
6954boys skipping along with utter disregard for the safety of the basket
6955balanced on the impish head, and then the lean outcast, the shambling
6956Paris tramp, slouching with shoulders bent and little eye furtively
6957scanning the ground for smokers' refuse;--all these moved in a steady
6958stream across the fountain circle and out into the city by the Odeon,
6959whose long arcades were now beginning to flicker with gas-jets. The
6960melancholy bells of St Sulpice struck the hour and the clock-tower of the
6961Palace lighted up. Then hurried steps sounded across the gravel and
6962Hastings raised his head.
6963
6964"How late you are," he said, but his voice was hoarse and only his flushed
6965face told how long had seemed the waiting.
6966
6967She said, "I was kept--indeed, I was so much annoyed--and--and I may only
6968stay a moment."
6969
6970She sat down beside him, casting a furtive glance over her shoulder at the
6971god upon his pedestal.
6972
6973"What a nuisance, that intruding cupid still there?"
6974
6975"Wings and arrows too," said Hastings, unheeding her motion to be seated.
6976
6977"Wings," she murmured, "oh, yes--to fly away with when he's tired of his
6978play. Of course it was a man who conceived the idea of wings, otherwise
6979Cupid would have been insupportable."
6980
6981"Do you think so?"
6982
6983"_Ma foi_, it's what men think."
6984
6985"And women?"
6986
6987"Oh," she said, with a toss of her small head, "I really forget what we
6988were speaking of."
6989
6990"We were speaking of love," said Hastings.
6991
6992"_I_ was not," said the girl. Then looking up at the marble god, "I don't
6993care for this one at all. I don't believe he knows how to shoot his
6994arrows--no, indeed, he is a coward;--he creeps up like an assassin in the
6995twilight. I don't approve of cowardice," she announced, and turned her
6996back on the statue.
6997
6998"I think," said Hastings quietly, "that he does shoot fairly--yes, and
6999even gives one warning."
7000
7001"Is it your experience, Monsieur Hastings?"
7002
7003He looked straight into her eyes and said, "He is warning me."
7004
7005"Heed the warning then," she cried, with a nervous laugh. As she spoke she
7006stripped off her gloves, and then carefully proceeded to draw them on
7007again. When this was accomplished she glanced at the Palace clock, saying,
7008"Oh dear, how late it is!" furled her umbrella, then unfurled it, and
7009finally looked at him.
7010
7011"No," he said, "I shall not heed his warning."
7012
7013"Oh dear," she sighed again, "still talking about that tiresome statue!"
7014Then stealing a glance at his face, "I suppose--I suppose you are in
7015love."
7016
7017"I don't know," he muttered, "I suppose I am."
7018
7019She raised her head with a quick gesture. "You seem delighted at the
7020idea," she said, but bit her lip and trembled as his eyes met hers. Then
7021sudden fear came over her and she sprang up, staring into the gathering
7022shadows.
7023
7024"Are you cold?" he said.
7025
7026But she only answered, "Oh dear, oh dear, it is late--so late! I must
7027go--good-night."
7028
7029She gave him her gloved hand a moment and then withdrew it with a start.
7030
7031"What is it?" he insisted. "Are you frightened?"
7032
7033She looked at him strangely.
7034
7035"No--no--not frightened,--you are very good to me--"
7036
7037"By Jove!" he burst out, "what do you mean by saying I'm good to you?
7038That's at least the third time, and I don't understand!"
7039
7040The sound of a drum from the guard-house at the palace cut him short.
7041"Listen," she whispered, "they are going to close. It's late, oh, so
7042late!"
7043
7044The rolling of the drum came nearer and nearer, and then the silhouette of
7045the drummer cut the sky above the eastern terrace. The fading light
7046lingered a moment on his belt and bayonet, then he passed into the
7047shadows, drumming the echoes awake. The roll became fainter along the
7048eastern terrace, then grew and grew and rattled with increasing sharpness
7049when he passed the avenue by the bronze lion and turned down the western
7050terrace walk. Louder and louder the drum sounded, and the echoes struck
7051back the notes from the grey palace wall; and now the drummer loomed up
7052before them--his red trousers a dull spot in the gathering gloom, the
7053brass of his drum and bayonet touched with a pale spark, his epaulettes
7054tossing on his shoulders. He passed leaving the crash of the drum in their
7055ears, and far into the alley of trees they saw his little tin cup shining
7056on his haversack. Then the sentinels began the monotonous cry: "On ferme!
7057on ferme!" and the bugle blew from the barracks in the rue de Tournon.
7058
7059"On ferme! on ferme!"
7060
7061"Good-night," she whispered, "I must return alone to-night."
7062
7063He watched her until she reached the northern terrace, and then sat down
7064on the marble seat until a hand on his shoulder and a glimmer of bayonets
7065warned him away.
7066
7067She passed on through the grove, and turning into the rue de Medici,
7068traversed it to the Boulevard. At the corner she bought a bunch of violets
7069and walked on along the Boulevard to the rue des Écoles. A cab was drawn
7070up before Boulant's, and a pretty girl aided by Elliott jumped out.
7071
7072"Valentine!" cried the girl, "come with us!"
7073
7074"I can't," she said, stopping a moment--"I have a rendezvous at Mignon's."
7075
7076"Not Victor?" cried the girl, laughing, but she passed with a little
7077shiver, nodding good-night, then turning into the Boulevard St. Germain,
7078she walked a tittle faster to escape a gay party sitting before the Café
7079Cluny who called to her to join them. At the door of the Restaurant Mignon
7080stood a coal-black negro in buttons. He took off his peaked cap as she
7081mounted the carpeted stairs.
7082
7083"Send Eugene to me," she said at the office, and passing through the
7084hallway to the right of the dining-room stopped before a row of panelled
7085doors. A waiter passed and she repeated her demand for Eugene, who
7086presently appeared, noiselessly skipping, and bowed murmuring, "Madame."
7087
7088"Who is here?"
7089
7090"No one in the cabinets, madame; in the half Madame Madelon and Monsieur
7091Gay, Monsieur de Clamart, Monsieur Clisson, Madame Marie and their set."
7092Then he looked around and bowing again murmured, "Monsieur awaits madame
7093since half an hour," and he knocked at one of the panelled doors bearing
7094the number six.
7095
7096Clifford opened the door and the girl entered.
7097
7098The garçon bowed her in, and whispering, "Will Monsieur have the goodness
7099to ring?" vanished.
7100
7101He helped her off with her jacket and took her hat and umbrella. When she
7102was seated at the little table with Clifford opposite she smiled and
7103leaned forward on both elbows looking him in the face.
7104
7105"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
7106
7107"Waiting," he replied, in accents of adoration.
7108
7109For an instant she turned and examined herself in the glass. The wide blue
7110eyes, the curling hair, the straight nose and short curled lip flashed in
7111the mirror an instant only, and then its depths reflected her pretty neck
7112and back. "Thus do I turn my back on vanity," she said, and then leaning
7113forward again, "What are you doing here?"
7114
7115"Waiting for you," repeated Clifford, slightly troubled.
7116
7117"And Cécile."
7118
7119"Now don't, Valentine--"
7120
7121"Do you know," she said calmly, "I dislike your conduct?"
7122
7123He was a little disconcerted, and rang for Eugene to cover his confusion.
7124
7125The soup was bisque, and the wine Pommery, and the courses followed each
7126other with the usual regularity until Eugene brought coffee, and there was
7127nothing left on the table but a small silver lamp.
7128
7129"Valentine," said Clifford, after having obtained permission to smoke, "is
7130it the Vaudeville or the Eldorado--or both, or the Nouveau Cirque, or--"
7131
7132"It is here," said Valentine.
7133
7134"Well," he said, greatly flattered, "I'm afraid I couldn't amuse you--"
7135
7136"Oh, yes, you are funnier than the Eldorado."
7137
7138"Now see here, don't guy me, Valentine. You always do, and, and,--you know
7139what they say,--a good laugh kills--"
7140
7141"What?"
7142
7143"Er--er--love and all that."
7144
7145She laughed until her eyes were moist with tears. "Tiens," she cried, "he
7146is dead, then!"
7147
7148Clifford eyed her with growing alarm.
7149
7150"Do you know why I came?" she said.
7151
7152"No," he replied uneasily, "I don't."
7153
7154"How long have you made love to me?"
7155
7156"Well," he admitted, somewhat startled,--"I should say,--for about a
7157year."
7158
7159"It is a year, I think. Are you not tired?"
7160
7161He did not answer.
7162
7163"Don't you know that I like you too well to--to ever fall in love with
7164you?" she said. "Don't you know that we are too good comrades,--too old
7165friends for that? And were we not,--do you think that I do not know your
7166history, Monsieur Clifford?"
7167
7168"Don't be--don't be so sarcastic," he urged; "don't be unkind, Valentine."
7169
7170"I'm not. I'm kind. I'm very kind,--to you and to Cécile."
7171
7172"Cécile is tired of me."
7173
7174"I hope she is," said the girl, "for she deserves a better fate. Tiens, do
7175you know your reputation in the Quarter? Of the inconstant, the most
7176inconstant,--utterly incorrigible and no more serious than a gnat on a
7177summer night. Poor Cécile!"
7178
7179Clifford looked so uncomfortable that she spoke more kindly.
7180
7181"I like you. You know that. Everybody does. You are a spoiled child here.
7182Everything is permitted you and every one makes allowance, but every one
7183cannot be a victim to caprice."
7184
7185"Caprice!" he cried. "By Jove, if the girls of the Latin Quarter are not
7186capricious--"
7187
7188"Never mind,--never mind about that! You must not sit in judgment--you of
7189all men. Why are you here to-night? Oh," she cried, "I will tell you why!
7190Monsieur receives a little note; he sends a little answer; he dresses in
7191his conquering raiment--"
7192
7193"I don't," said Clifford, very red.
7194
7195"You do, and it becomes you," she retorted with a faint smile. Then again,
7196very quietly, "I am in your power, but I know I am in the power of a
7197friend. I have come to acknowledge it to you here,--and it is because of
7198that that I am here to beg of you--a--a favour."
7199
7200Clifford opened his eyes, but said nothing.
7201
7202"I am in--great distress of mind. It is Monsieur Hastings."
7203
7204"Well?" said Clifford, in some astonishment.
7205
7206"I want to ask you," she continued in a low voice, "I want to ask you
7207to--to--in case you should speak of me before him,--not to say,--not to
7208say,--"
7209
7210"I shall not speak of you to him," he said quietly.
7211
7212"Can--can you prevent others?"
7213
7214"I might if I was present. May I ask why?"
7215
7216"That is not fair," she murmured; "you know how--how he considers me,--as
7217he considers every woman. You know how different he is from you and the
7218rest. I have never seen a man,--such a man as Monsieur Hastings."
7219
7220He let his cigarette go out unnoticed.
7221
7222"I am almost afraid of him--afraid he should know--what we all are in the
7223Quarter. Oh, I do not wish him to know! I do not wish him to--to turn from
7224me--to cease from speaking to me as he does! You--you and the rest cannot
7225know what it has been to me. I could not believe him,--I could not believe
7226he was so good and--and noble. I do not wish him to know--so soon. He will
7227find out--sooner or later, he will find out for himself, and then he will
7228turn away from me. Why!" she cried passionately, "why should he turn from
7229me and not from _you_?"
7230
7231Clifford, much embarrassed, eyed his cigarette.
7232
7233The girl rose, very white. "He is your friend--you have a right to warn
7234him."
7235
7236"He is my friend," he said at length.
7237
7238They looked at each other in silence.
7239
7240Then she cried, "By all that I hold to me most sacred, you need not warn
7241him!"
7242
7243"I shall trust your word," he said pleasantly.
7244
7245
7246
7247
7248V
7249
7250The month passed quickly for Hastings, and left few definite impressions
7251after it. It did leave some, however. One was a painful impression of
7252meeting Mr. Bladen on the Boulevard des Capucines in company with a very
7253pronounced young person whose laugh dismayed him, and when at last he
7254escaped from the café where Mr. Bladen had hauled him to join them in a
7255_bock_ he felt as if the whole boulevard was looking at him, and judging
7256him by his company. Later, an instinctive conviction regarding the young
7257person with Mr. Bladen sent the hot blood into his cheek, and he returned
7258to the pension in such a miserable state of mind that Miss Byng was
7259alarmed and advised him to conquer his homesickness at once.
7260
7261Another impression was equally vivid. One Saturday morning, feeling
7262lonely, his wanderings about the city brought him to the Gare St. Lazare.
7263It was early for breakfast, but he entered the Hôtel Terminus and took a
7264table near the window. As he wheeled about to give his order, a man
7265passing rapidly along the aisle collided with his head, and looking up to
7266receive the expected apology, he was met instead by a slap on the shoulder
7267and a hearty, "What the deuce are you doing here, old chap?" It was
7268Rowden, who seized him and told him to come along. So, mildly protesting,
7269he was ushered into a private dining-room where Clifford, rather red,
7270jumped up from the table and welcomed him with a startled air which was
7271softened by the unaffected glee of Rowden and the extreme courtesy of
7272Elliott. The latter presented him to three bewitching girls who welcomed
7273him so charmingly and seconded Rowden in his demand that Hastings should
7274make one of the party, that he consented at once. While Elliott briefly
7275outlined the projected excursion to La Roche, Hastings delightedly ate his
7276omelet, and returned the smiles of encouragement from Cécile and Colette
7277and Jacqueline. Meantime Clifford in a bland whisper was telling Rowden
7278what an ass he was. Poor Rowden looked miserable until Elliott, divining
7279how affairs were turning, frowned on Clifford and found a moment to let
7280Rowden know that they were all going to make the best of it.
7281
7282"You shut up," he observed to Clifford, "it's fate, and that settles it."
7283
7284"It's Rowden, and that settles it," murmured Clifford, concealing a grin.
7285For after all he was not Hastings' wet nurse. So it came about that the
7286train which left the Gare St. Lazare at 9.15 a.m. stopped a moment in its
7287career towards Havre and deposited at the red-roofed station of La Roche a
7288merry party, armed with sunshades, trout-rods, and one cane, carried by
7289the non-combatant, Hastings. Then, when they had established their camp in
7290a grove of sycamores which bordered the little river Ept, Clifford, the
7291acknowledged master of all that pertained to sportsmanship, took command.
7292
7293"You, Rowden," he said, "divide your flies with Elliott and keep an eye on
7294him or else he'll be trying to put on a float and sinker. Prevent him by
7295force from grubbing about for worms."
7296
7297Elliott protested, but was forced to smile in the general laugh.
7298
7299"You make me ill," he asserted; "do you think this is my first trout?"
7300
7301"I shall be delighted to see your first trout," said Clifford, and dodging
7302a fly hook, hurled with intent to hit, proceeded to sort and equip three
7303slender rods destined to bring joy and fish to Cécil, Colette, and
7304Jacqueline. With perfect gravity he ornamented each line with four split
7305shot, a small hook, and a brilliant quill float.
7306
7307"_I_ shall never touch the worms," announced Cécile with a shudder.
7308
7309Jacqueline and Colette hastened to sustain her, and Hastings pleasantly
7310offered to act in the capacity of general baiter and taker-off of fish.
7311But Cécile, doubtless fascinated by the gaudy flies in Clifford's book,
7312decided to accept lessons from him in the true art, and presently
7313disappeared up the Ept with Clifford in tow.
7314
7315Elliott looked doubtfully at Colette.
7316
7317"I prefer gudgeons," said that damsel with decision, "and you and Monsieur
7318Rowden may go away when you please; may they not, Jacqueline?"
7319
7320"Certainly," responded Jacqueline.
7321
7322Elliott, undecided, examined his rod and reel.
7323
7324"You've got your reel on wrong side up," observed Rowden.
7325
7326Elliott wavered, and stole a glance at Colette.
7327
7328"I--I--have almost decided to--er--not to flip the flies about just now,"
7329he began. "There's the pole that Cécile left--"
7330
7331"Don't call it a pole," corrected Rowden.
7332
7333"_Rod_, then," continued Elliott, and started off in the wake of the two
7334girls, but was promptly collared by Rowden.
7335
7336"No, you don't! Fancy a man fishing with a float and sinker when he has a
7337fly rod in his hand! You come along!"
7338
7339Where the placid little Ept flows down between its thickets to the Seine,
7340a grassy bank shadows the haunt of the gudgeon, and on this bank sat
7341Colette and Jacqueline and chattered and laughed and watched the swerving
7342of the scarlet quills, while Hastings, his hat over his eyes, his head on
7343a bank of moss, listened to their soft voices and gallantly unhooked the
7344small and indignant gudgeon when a flash of a rod and a half-suppressed
7345scream announced a catch. The sunlight filtered through the leafy thickets
7346awaking to song the forest birds. Magpies in spotless black and white
7347flirted past, alighting near by with a hop and bound and twitch of the
7348tail. Blue and white jays with rosy breasts shrieked through the trees,
7349and a low-sailing hawk wheeled among the fields of ripening wheat, putting
7350to flight flocks of twittering hedge birds.
7351
7352Across the Seine a gull dropped on the water like a plume. The air was
7353pure and still. Scarcely a leaf moved. Sounds from a distant farm came
7354faintly, the shrill cock-crow and dull baying. Now and then a steam-tug
7355with big raking smoke-pipe, bearing the name "Guêpe 27," ploughed up the
7356river dragging its interminable train of barges, or a sailboat dropped
7357down with the current toward sleepy Rouen.
7358
7359A faint fresh odour of earth and water hung in the air, and through the
7360sunlight, orange-tipped butterflies danced above the marsh grass, soft
7361velvety butterflies flapped through the mossy woods.
7362
7363Hastings was thinking of Valentine. It was two o'clock when Elliott
7364strolled back, and frankly admitting that he had eluded Rowden, sat down
7365beside Colette and prepared to doze with satisfaction.
7366
7367"Where are your trout?" said Colette severely.
7368
7369"They still live," murmured Elliott, and went fast asleep.
7370
7371Rowden returned shortly after, and casting a scornful glance at the
7372slumbering one, displayed three crimson-flecked trout.
7373
7374"And that," smiled Hastings lazily, "that is the holy end to which the
7375faithful plod,--the slaughter of these small fish with a bit of silk and
7376feather."
7377
7378Rowden disdained to answer him. Colette caught another gudgeon and awoke
7379Elliott, who protested and gazed about for the lunch baskets, as Clifford
7380and Cécile came up demanding instant refreshment. Cécile's skirts were
7381soaked, and her gloves torn, but she was happy, and Clifford, dragging out
7382a two-pound trout, stood still to receive the applause of the company.
7383
7384"Where the deuce did you get that?" demanded Elliott.
7385
7386Cécile, wet and enthusiastic, recounted the battle, and then Clifford
7387eulogized her powers with the fly, and, in proof, produced from his creel
7388a defunct chub, which, he observed, just missed being a trout.
7389
7390They were all very happy at luncheon, and Hastings was voted "charming."
7391He enjoyed it immensely,--only it seemed to him at moments that flirtation
7392went further in France than in Millbrook, Connecticut, and he thought that
7393Cécile might be a little less enthusiastic about Clifford, that perhaps it
7394would be quite as well if Jacqueline sat further away from Rowden, and
7395that possibly Colette could have, for a moment at least, taken her eyes
7396from Elliott's face. Still he enjoyed it--except when his thoughts drifted
7397to Valentine, and then he felt that he was very far away from her. La
7398Roche is at least an hour and a half from Paris. It is also true that he
7399felt a happiness, a quick heart-beat when, at eight o'clock that night the
7400train which bore them from La Roche rolled into the Gare St. Lazare and he
7401was once more in the city of Valentine.
7402
7403"Good-night," they said, pressing around him. "You must come with us next
7404time!"
7405
7406He promised, and watched them, two by two, drift into the darkening city,
7407and stood so long that, when again he raised his eyes, the vast Boulevard
7408was twinkling with gas-jets through which the electric lights stared like
7409moons.
7410
7411
7412
7413
7414VI
7415
7416It was with another quick heart-beat that he awoke next morning, for his
7417first thought was of Valentine.
7418
7419The sun already gilded the towers of Notre Dame, the clatter of workmen's
7420sabots awoke sharp echoes in the street below, and across the way a
7421blackbird in a pink almond tree was going into an ecstasy of trills.
7422
7423He determined to awake Clifford for a brisk walk in the country, hoping
7424later to beguile that gentleman into the American church for his soul's
7425sake. He found Alfred the gimlet-eyed washing the asphalt walk which led
7426to the studio.
7427
7428"Monsieur Elliott?" he replied to the perfunctory inquiry, "_je ne sais
7429pas_."
7430
7431"And Monsieur Clifford," began Hastings, somewhat astonished.
7432
7433"Monsieur Clifford," said the concierge with fine irony, "will be pleased
7434to see you, as he retired early; in fact he has just come in."
7435
7436Hastings hesitated while the concierge pronounced a fine eulogy on people
7437who never stayed out all night and then came battering at the lodge gate
7438during hours which even a gendarme held sacred to sleep. He also
7439discoursed eloquently upon the beauties of temperance, and took an
7440ostentatious draught from the fountain in the court.
7441
7442"I do not think I will come in," said Hastings.
7443
7444"Pardon, monsieur," growled the concierge, "perhaps it would be well to
7445see Monsieur Clifford. He possibly needs aid. Me he drives forth with
7446hair-brushes and boots. It is a mercy if he has not set fire to something
7447with his candle."
7448
7449Hastings hesitated for an instant, but swallowing his dislike of such a
7450mission, walked slowly through the ivy-covered alley and across the inner
7451garden to the studio. He knocked. Perfect silence. Then he knocked again,
7452and this time something struck the door from within with a crash.
7453
7454"That," said the concierge, "was a boot." He fitted his duplicate key into
7455the lock and ushered Hastings in. Clifford, in disordered evening dress,
7456sat on the rug in the middle of the room. He held in his hand a shoe, and
7457did not appear astonished to see Hastings.
7458
7459"Good-morning, do you use Pears' soap?" he inquired with a vague wave of
7460his hand and a vaguer smile.
7461
7462Hastings' heart sank. "For Heaven's sake," he said, "Clifford, go to bed."
7463
7464"Not while that--that Alfred pokes his shaggy head in here an' I have a
7465shoe left."
7466
7467Hastings blew out the candle, picked up Clifford's hat and cane, and said,
7468with an emotion he could not conceal, "This is terrible,
7469Clifford,--I--never knew you did this sort of thing."
7470
7471"Well, I do," said Clifford.
7472
7473"Where is Elliott?"
7474
7475"Ole chap," returned Clifford, becoming maudlin, "Providence which
7476feeds--feeds--er--sparrows an' that sort of thing watcheth over the
7477intemperate wanderer--"
7478
7479"Where is Elliott?"
7480
7481But Clifford only wagged his head and waved his arm about. "He's out
7482there,--somewhere about." Then suddenly feeling a desire to see his
7483missing chum, lifted up his voice and howled for him.
7484
7485Hastings, thoroughly shocked, sat down on the lounge without a word.
7486Presently, after shedding several scalding tears, Clifford brightened up
7487and rose with great precaution.
7488
7489"Ole chap," he observed, "do you want to see er--er miracle? Well, here
7490goes. I'm goin' to begin."
7491
7492He paused, beaming at vacancy.
7493
7494"Er miracle," he repeated.
7495
7496Hastings supposed he was alluding to the miracle of his keeping his
7497balance, and said nothing.
7498
7499"I'm goin' to bed," he announced, "poor ole Clifford's goin' to bed, an'
7500that's er miracle!"
7501
7502And he did with a nice calculation of distance and equilibrium which would
7503have rung enthusiastic yells of applause from Elliott had he been there to
7504assist _en connaisseur_. But he was not. He had not yet reached the
7505studio. He was on his way, however, and smiled with magnificent
7506condescension on Hastings, who, half an hour later, found him reclining
7507upon a bench in the Luxembourg. He permitted himself to be aroused, dusted
7508and escorted to the gate. Here, however, he refused all further
7509assistance, and bestowing a patronizing bow upon Hastings, steered a
7510tolerably true course for the rue Vavin.
7511
7512Hastings watched him out of sight, and then slowly retraced his steps
7513toward the fountain. At first he felt gloomy and depressed, but gradually
7514the clear air of the morning lifted the pressure from his heart, and he
7515sat down on the marble seat under the shadow of the winged god.
7516
7517The air was fresh and sweet with perfume from the orange flowers.
7518Everywhere pigeons were bathing, dashing the water over their iris-hued
7519breasts, flashing in and out of the spray or nestling almost to the neck
7520along the polished basin. The sparrows, too, were abroad in force, soaking
7521their dust-coloured feathers in the limpid pool and chirping with might
7522and main. Under the sycamores which surrounded the duck-pond opposite the
7523fountain of Marie de Medici, the water-fowl cropped the herbage, or
7524waddled in rows down the bank to embark on some solemn aimless cruise.
7525
7526Butterflies, somewhat lame from a chilly night's repose under the lilac
7527leaves, crawled over and over the white phlox, or took a rheumatic flight
7528toward some sun-warmed shrub. The bees were already busy among the
7529heliotrope, and one or two grey flies with brick-coloured eyes sat in a
7530spot of sunlight beside the marble seat, or chased each other about, only
7531to return again to the spot of sunshine and rub their fore-legs, exulting.
7532
7533The sentries paced briskly before the painted boxes, pausing at times to
7534look toward the guard-house for their relief.
7535
7536They came at last, with a shuffle of feet and click of bayonets, the word
7537was passed, the relief fell out, and away they went, crunch, crunch,
7538across the gravel.
7539
7540A mellow chime floated from the clock-tower of the palace, the deep bell
7541of St. Sulpice echoed the stroke. Hastings sat dreaming in the shadow of
7542the god, and while he mused somebody came and sat down beside him. At
7543first he did not raise his head. It was only when she spoke that he sprang
7544up.
7545
7546"You! At this hour?"
7547
7548"I was restless, I could not sleep." Then in a low, happy voice--"And
7549_you!_ at this hour?"
7550
7551"I--I slept, but the sun awoke me."
7552
7553"_I_ could not sleep," she said, and her eyes seemed, for a moment,
7554touched with an indefinable shadow. Then, smiling, "I am so glad--I seemed
7555to know you were coming. Don't laugh, I believe in dreams."
7556
7557"Did you really dream of,--of my being here?"
7558
7559"I think I was awake when I dreamed it," she admitted. Then for a time
7560they were mute, acknowledging by silence the happiness of being together.
7561And after all their silence was eloquent, for faint smiles, and glances
7562born of their thoughts, crossed and recrossed, until lips moved and words
7563were formed, which seemed almost superfluous. What they said was not very
7564profound. Perhaps the most valuable jewel that fell from Hastings' lips
7565bore direct reference to breakfast.
7566
7567"I have not yet had my chocolate," she confessed, "but what a material man
7568you are."
7569
7570"Valentine," he said impulsively, "I wish,--I do wish that you
7571would,--just for this once,--give me the whole day,--just for this once."
7572
7573"Oh dear," she smiled, "not only material, but selfish!"
7574
7575"Not selfish, hungry," he said, looking at her.
7576
7577"A cannibal too; oh dear!"
7578
7579"Will you, Valentine?"
7580
7581"But my chocolate--"
7582
7583"Take it with me."
7584
7585"But _déjeuner_--"
7586
7587"Together, at St. Cloud."
7588
7589"But I can't--"
7590
7591"Together,--all day,--all day long; will you, Valentine?"
7592
7593She was silent.
7594
7595"Only for this once."
7596
7597Again that indefinable shadow fell across her eyes, and when it was gone
7598she sighed. "Yes,--together, only for this once."
7599
7600"All day?" he said, doubting his happiness.
7601
7602"All day," she smiled; "and oh, I am so hungry!"
7603
7604He laughed, enchanted.
7605
7606"What a material young lady it is."
7607
7608On the Boulevard St. Michel there is a Crémerie painted white and blue
7609outside, and neat and clean as a whistle inside. The auburn-haired young
7610woman who speaks French like a native, and rejoices in the name of Murphy,
7611smiled at them as they entered, and tossing a fresh napkin over the zinc
7612_tête-à-tête_ table, whisked before them two cups of chocolate and a
7613basket full of crisp, fresh croissons.
7614
7615The primrose-coloured pats of butter, each stamped with a shamrock in
7616relief, seemed saturated with the fragrance of Normandy pastures.
7617
7618"How delicious!" they said in the same breath, and then laughed at the
7619coincidence.
7620
7621"With but a single thought," he began.
7622
7623"How absurd!" she cried with cheeks all rosy. "I'm thinking I'd like a
7624croisson."
7625
7626"So am I," he replied triumphant, "that proves it."
7627
7628Then they had a quarrel; she accusing him of behaviour unworthy of a child
7629in arms, and he denying it, and bringing counter charges, until
7630Mademoiselle Murphy laughed in sympathy, and the last croisson was eaten
7631under a flag of truce. Then they rose, and she took his arm with a bright
7632nod to Mile. Murphy, who cried them a merry: "_Bonjour, madame! bonjour,
7633monsieur_!" and watched them hail a passing cab and drive away. "_Dieu!
7634qu'il est beau_," she sighed, adding after a moment, "Do they be married,
7635I dunno,--_ma foi ils ont bien l'air_."
7636
7637The cab swung around the rue de Medici, turned into the rue de Vaugirard,
7638followed it to where it crosses the rue de Rennes, and taking that noisy
7639thoroughfare, drew up before the Gare Montparnasse. They were just in time
7640for a train and scampered up the stairway and out to the cars as the last
7641note from the starting-gong rang through the arched station. The guard
7642slammed the door of their compartment, a whistle sounded, answered by a
7643screech from the locomotive, and the long train glided from the station,
7644faster, faster, and sped out into the morning sunshine. The summer wind
7645blew in their faces from the open window, and sent the soft hair dancing
7646on the girl's forehead.
7647
7648"We have the compartment to ourselves," said Hastings.
7649
7650She leaned against the cushioned window-seat, her eyes bright and wide
7651open, her lips parted. The wind lifted her hat, and fluttered the ribbons
7652under her chin. With a quick movement she untied them, and, drawing a long
7653hat-pin from her hat, laid it down on the seat beside her. The train was
7654flying.
7655
7656The colour surged in her cheeks, and, with each quick-drawn breath, her
7657breath rose and fell under the cluster of lilies at her throat. Trees,
7658houses, ponds, danced past, cut by a mist of telegraph poles.
7659
7660"Faster! faster!" she cried.
7661
7662His eyes never left her, but hers, wide open, and blue as the summer sky,
7663seemed fixed on something far ahead,--something which came no nearer, but
7664fled before them as they fled.
7665
7666Was it the horizon, cut now by the grim fortress on the hill, now by the
7667cross of a country chapel? Was it the summer moon, ghost-like, slipping
7668through the vaguer blue above?
7669
7670"Faster! faster!" she cried.
7671
7672Her parted lips burned scarlet.
7673
7674The car shook and shivered, and the fields streamed by like an emerald
7675torrent. He caught the excitement, and his faced glowed.
7676
7677"Oh," she cried, and with an unconscious movement caught his hand, drawing
7678him to the window beside her. "Look! lean out with me!"
7679
7680He only saw her lips move; her voice was drowned in the roar of a trestle,
7681but his hand closed in hers and he clung to the sill. The wind whistled in
7682their ears. "Not so far out, Valentine, take care!" he gasped.
7683
7684Below, through the ties of the trestle, a broad river flashed into view
7685and out again, as the train thundered along a tunnel, and away once more
7686through the freshest of green fields. The wind roared about them. The girl
7687was leaning far out from the window, and he caught her by the waist,
7688crying, "Not too far!" but she only murmured, "Faster! faster! away out of
7689the city, out of the land, faster, faster! away out of the world!"
7690
7691"What are you saying all to yourself?" he said, but his voice was broken,
7692and the wind whirled it back into his throat.
7693
7694She heard him, and, turning from the window looked down at his arm about
7695her. Then she raised her eyes to his. The car shook and the windows
7696rattled. They were dashing through a forest now, and the sun swept the
7697dewy branches with running flashes of fire. He looked into her troubled
7698eyes; he drew her to him and kissed the half-parted lips, and she cried
7699out, a bitter, hopeless cry, "Not that--not that!"
7700
7701But he held her close and strong, whispering words of honest love and
7702passion, and when she sobbed--"Not that--not that--I have promised! You
7703must--you must know--I am--not--worthy--" In the purity of his own heart
7704her words were, to him, meaningless then, meaningless for ever after.
7705Presently her voice ceased, and her head rested on his breast. He leaned
7706against the window, his ears swept by the furious wind, his heart in a
7707joyous tumult. The forest was passed, and the sun slipped from behind the
7708trees, flooding the earth again with brightness. She raised her eyes and
7709looked out into the world from the window. Then she began to speak, but
7710her voice was faint, and he bent his head close to hers and listened. "I
7711cannot turn from you; I am too weak. You were long ago my master--master
7712of my heart and soul. I have broken my word to one who trusted me, but I
7713have told you all;--what matters the rest?" He smiled at her innocence and
7714she worshipped his. She spoke again: "Take me or cast me away;--what
7715matters it? Now with a word you can kill me, and it might be easier to die
7716than to look upon happiness as great as mine."
7717
7718He took her in his arms, "Hush, what are you saying? Look,--look out at
7719the sunlight, the meadows and the streams. We shall be very happy in so
7720bright a world."
7721
7722She turned to the sunlight. From the window, the world below seemed very
7723fair to her.
7724
7725Trembling with happiness, she sighed: "Is this the world? Then I have
7726never known it."
7727
7728"Nor have I, God forgive me," he murmured.
7729
7730Perhaps it was our gentle Lady of the Fields who forgave them both.
7731
7732
7733
7734
7735RUE BARRÉE
7736
7737 "For let Philosopher and Doctor preach
7738 Of what they will and what they will not,--each
7739 Is but one link in an eternal chain
7740 That none can slip nor break nor over-reach."
7741
7742 "Crimson nor yellow roses nor
7743 The savour of the mounting sea
7744 Are worth the perfume I adore
7745 That clings to thee.
7746 The languid-headed lilies tire,
7747 The changeless waters weary me;
7748 I ache with passionate desire
7749 Of thine and thee.
7750 There are but these things in the world--
7751 Thy mouth of fire,
7752 Thy breasts, thy hands, thy hair upcurled
7753 And my desire."
7754
7755
7756I
7757
7758One morning at Julian's, a student said to Selby, "That is Foxhall
7759Clifford," pointing with his brushes at a young man who sat before an
7760easel, doing nothing.
7761
7762Selby, shy and nervous, walked over and began: "My name is Selby,--I have
7763just arrived in Paris, and bring a letter of introduction--" His voice was
7764lost in the crash of a falling easel, the owner of which promptly
7765assaulted his neighbour, and for a time the noise of battle rolled through
7766the studios of MM. Boulanger and Lefebvre, presently subsiding into a
7767scuffle on the stairs outside. Selby, apprehensive as to his own reception
7768in the studio, looked at Clifford, who sat serenely watching the fight.
7769
7770"It's a little noisy here," said Clifford, "but you will like the fellows
7771when you know them." His unaffected manner delighted Selby. Then with a
7772simplicity that won his heart, he presented him to half a dozen students
7773of as many nationalities. Some were cordial, all were polite. Even the
7774majestic creature who held the position of Massier, unbent enough to say:
7775"My friend, when a man speaks French as well as you do, and is also a
7776friend of Monsieur Clifford, he will have no trouble in this studio. You
7777expect, of course, to fill the stove until the next new man comes?"
7778
7779"Of course."
7780
7781"And you don't mind chaff?"
7782
7783"No," replied Selby, who hated it.
7784
7785Clifford, much amused, put on his hat, saying, "You must expect lots of it
7786at first."
7787
7788Selby placed his own hat on his head and followed him to the door.
7789
7790As they passed the model stand there was a furious cry of "Chapeau!
7791Chapeau!" and a student sprang from his easel menacing Selby, who reddened
7792but looked at Clifford.
7793
7794"Take off your hat for them," said the latter, laughing.
7795
7796A little embarrassed, he turned and saluted the studio.
7797
7798"Et moi?" cried the model.
7799
7800"You are charming," replied Selby, astonished at his own audacity, but the
7801studio rose as one man, shouting: "He has done well! he's all right!"
7802while the model, laughing, kissed her hand to him and cried: "À demain
7803beau jeune homme!"
7804
7805All that week Selby worked at the studio unmolested. The French students
7806christened him "l'Enfant Prodigue," which was freely translated, "The
7807Prodigious Infant," "The Kid," "Kid Selby," and "Kidby." But the disease
7808soon ran its course from "Kidby" to "Kidney," and then naturally to
7809"Tidbits," where it was arrested by Clifford's authority and ultimately
7810relapsed to "Kid."
7811
7812Wednesday came, and with it M. Boulanger. For three hours the students
7813writhed under his biting sarcasms,--among the others Clifford, who was
7814informed that he knew even less about a work of art than he did about the
7815art of work. Selby was more fortunate. The professor examined his drawing
7816in silence, looked at him sharply, and passed on with a non-committal
7817gesture. He presently departed arm in arm with Bouguereau, to the relief
7818of Clifford, who was then at liberty to jam his hat on his head and
7819depart.
7820
7821The next day he did not appear, and Selby, who had counted on seeing him
7822at the studio, a thing which he learned later it was vanity to count on,
7823wandered back to the Latin Quarter alone.
7824
7825Paris was still strange and new to him. He was vaguely troubled by its
7826splendour. No tender memories stirred his American bosom at the Place du
7827Châtelet, nor even by Notre Dame. The Palais de Justice with its clock and
7828turrets and stalking sentinels in blue and vermilion, the Place St. Michel
7829with its jumble of omnibuses and ugly water-spitting griffins, the hill of
7830the Boulevard St. Michel, the tooting trams, the policemen dawdling two by
7831two, and the table-lined terraces of the Café Vacehett were nothing to
7832him, as yet, nor did he even know, when he stepped from the stones of the
7833Place St. Michel to the asphalt of the Boulevard, that he had crossed the
7834frontier and entered the student zone,--the famous Latin Quarter.
7835
7836A cabman hailed him as "bourgeois," and urged the superiority of driving
7837over walking. A gamin, with an appearance of great concern, requested the
7838latest telegraphic news from London, and then, standing on his head,
7839invited Selby to feats of strength. A pretty girl gave him a glance from a
7840pair of violet eyes. He did not see her, but she, catching her own
7841reflection in a window, wondered at the colour burning in her cheeks.
7842Turning to resume her course, she met Foxhall Clifford, and hurried on.
7843Clifford, open-mouthed, followed her with his eyes; then he looked after
7844Selby, who had turned into the Boulevard St. Germain toward the rue de
7845Seine. Then he examined himself in the shop window. The result seemed to
7846be unsatisfactory.
7847
7848"I'm not a beauty," he mused, "but neither am I a hobgoblin. What does she
7849mean by blushing at Selby? I never before saw her look at a fellow in my
7850life,--neither has any one in the Quarter. Anyway, I can swear she never
7851looks at me, and goodness knows I have done all that respectful adoration
7852can do."
7853
7854He sighed, and murmuring a prophecy concerning the salvation of his
7855immortal soul swung into that graceful lounge which at all times
7856characterized Clifford. With no apparent exertion, he overtook Selby at
7857the corner, and together they crossed the sunlit Boulevard and sat down
7858under the awning of the Café du Cercle. Clifford bowed to everybody on the
7859terrace, saying, "You shall meet them all later, but now let me present
7860you to two of the sights of Paris, Mr. Richard Elliott and Mr. Stanley
7861Rowden."
7862
7863The "sights" looked amiable, and took vermouth.
7864
7865"You cut the studio to-day," said Elliott, suddenly turning on Clifford,
7866who avoided his eyes.
7867
7868"To commune with nature?" observed Rowden.
7869
7870"What's her name this time?" asked Elliott, and Rowden answered promptly,
7871"Name, Yvette; nationality, Breton--"
7872
7873"Wrong," replied Clifford blandly, "it's Rue Barrée."
7874
7875The subject changed instantly, and Selby listened in surprise to names
7876which were new to him, and eulogies on the latest Prix de Rome winner. He
7877was delighted to hear opinions boldly expressed and points honestly
7878debated, although the vehicle was mostly slang, both English and French.
7879He longed for the time when he too should be plunged into the strife for
7880fame.
7881
7882The bells of St. Sulpice struck the hour, and the Palace of the Luxembourg
7883answered chime on chime. With a glance at the sun, dipping low in the
7884golden dust behind the Palais Bourbon, they rose, and turning to the east,
7885crossed the Boulevard St. Germain and sauntered toward the École de
7886Médecine. At the corner a girl passed them, walking hurriedly. Clifford
7887smirked, Elliot and Rowden were agitated, but they all bowed, and, without
7888raising her eyes, she returned their salute. But Selby, who had lagged
7889behind, fascinated by some gay shop window, looked up to meet two of the
7890bluest eyes he had ever seen. The eyes were dropped in an instant, and the
7891young fellow hastened to overtake the others.
7892
7893"By Jove," he said, "do you fellows know I have just seen the prettiest
7894girl--" An exclamation broke from the trio, gloomy, foreboding, like the
7895chorus in a Greek play.
7896
7897"Rue Barrée!"
7898
7899"What!" cried Selby, bewildered.
7900
7901The only answer was a vague gesture from Clifford.
7902
7903Two hours later, during dinner, Clifford turned to Selby and said, "You
7904want to ask me something; I can tell by the way you fidget about."
7905
7906"Yes, I do," he said, innocently enough; "it's about that girl. Who is
7907she?"
7908
7909In Rowden's smile there was pity, in Elliott's bitterness.
7910
7911"Her name," said Clifford solemnly, "is unknown to any one, at least," he
7912added with much conscientiousness, "as far as I can learn. Every fellow in
7913the Quarter bows to her and she returns the salute gravely, but no man has
7914ever been known to obtain more than that. Her profession, judging from her
7915music-roll, is that of a pianist. Her residence is in a small and humble
7916street which is kept in a perpetual process of repair by the city
7917authorities, and from the black letters painted on the barrier which
7918defends the street from traffic, she has taken the name by which we know
7919her,--Rue Barrée. Mr. Rowden, in his imperfect knowledge of the French
7920tongue, called our attention to it as Roo Barry--"
7921
7922"I didn't," said Rowden hotly.
7923
7924"And Roo Barry, or Rue Barrée, is to-day an object of adoration to every
7925rapin in the Quarter--"
7926
7927"We are not rapins," corrected Elliott.
7928
7929"_I_ am not," returned Clifford, "and I beg to call to your attention,
7930Selby, that these two gentlemen have at various and apparently unfortunate
7931moments, offered to lay down life and limb at the feet of Rue Barrée. The
7932lady possesses a chilling smile which she uses on such occasions and,"
7933here he became gloomily impressive, "I have been forced to believe that
7934neither the scholarly grace of my friend Elliott nor the buxom beauty of
7935my friend Rowden have touched that heart of ice."
7936
7937Elliott and Rowden, boiling with indignation, cried out, "And you!"
7938
7939"I," said Clifford blandly, "do fear to tread where you rush in."
7940
7941
7942
7943
7944II
7945
7946Twenty-four hours later Selby had completely forgotten Rue Barrée. During
7947the week he worked with might and main at the studio, and Saturday night
7948found him so tired that he went to bed before dinner and had a nightmare
7949about a river of yellow ochre in which he was drowning. Sunday morning,
7950apropos of nothing at all, he thought of Rue Barrée, and ten seconds
7951afterwards he saw her. It was at the flower-market on the marble bridge.
7952She was examining a pot of pansies. The gardener had evidently thrown
7953heart and soul into the transaction, but Rue Barrée shook her head.
7954
7955It is a question whether Selby would have stopped then and there to
7956inspect a cabbage-rose had not Clifford unwound for him the yarn of the
7957previous Tuesday. It is possible that his curiosity was piqued, for with
7958the exception of a hen-turkey, a boy of nineteen is the most openly
7959curious biped alive. From twenty until death he tries to conceal it. But,
7960to be fair to Selby, it is also true that the market was attractive. Under
7961a cloudless sky the flowers were packed and heaped along the marble bridge
7962to the parapet. The air was soft, the sun spun a shadowy lacework among
7963the palms and glowed in the hearts of a thousand roses. Spring had
7964come,--was in full tide. The watering carts and sprinklers spread
7965freshness over the Boulevard, the sparrows had become vulgarly obtrusive,
7966and the credulous Seine angler anxiously followed his gaudy quill floating
7967among the soapsuds of the lavoirs. The white-spiked chestnuts clad in
7968tender green vibrated with the hum of bees. Shoddy butterflies flaunted
7969their winter rags among the heliotrope. There was a smell of fresh earth
7970in the air, an echo of the woodland brook in the ripple of the Seine, and
7971swallows soared and skimmed among the anchored river craft. Somewhere in a
7972window a caged bird was singing its heart out to the sky.
7973
7974Selby looked at the cabbage-rose and then at the sky. Something in the
7975song of the caged bird may have moved him, or perhaps it was that
7976dangerous sweetness in the air of May.
7977
7978At first he was hardly conscious that he had stopped then he was scarcely
7979conscious why he had stopped, then he thought he would move on, then he
7980thought he wouldn't, then he looked at Rue Barrée.
7981
7982The gardener said, "Mademoiselle, this is undoubtedly a fine pot of
7983pansies."
7984
7985Rue Barrée shook her head.
7986
7987The gardener smiled. She evidently did not want the pansies. She had
7988bought many pots of pansies there, two or three every spring, and never
7989argued. What did she want then? The pansies were evidently a feeler toward
7990a more important transaction. The gardener rubbed his hands and gazed
7991about him.
7992
7993"These tulips are magnificent," he observed, "and these hyacinths--" He
7994fell into a trance at the mere sight of the scented thickets.
7995
7996"That," murmured Rue, pointing to a splendid rose-bush with her furled
7997parasol, but in spite of her, her voice trembled a little. Selby noticed
7998it, more shame to him that he was listening, and the gardener noticed it,
7999and, burying his nose in the roses, scented a bargain. Still, to do him
8000justice, he did not add a centime to the honest value of the plant, for
8001after all, Rue was probably poor, and any one could see she was charming.
8002
8003"Fifty francs, Mademoiselle."
8004
8005The gardener's tone was grave. Rue felt that argument would be wasted.
8006They both stood silent for a moment. The gardener did not eulogize his
8007prize,--the rose-tree was gorgeous and any one could see it.
8008
8009"I will take the pansies," said the girl, and drew two francs from a worn
8010purse. Then she looked up. A tear-drop stood in the way refracting the
8011light like a diamond, but as it rolled into a little corner by her nose a
8012vision of Selby replaced it, and when a brush of the handkerchief had
8013cleared the startled blue eyes, Selby himself appeared, very much
8014embarrassed. He instantly looked up into the sky, apparently devoured with
8015a thirst for astronomical research, and as he continued his investigations
8016for fully five minutes, the gardener looked up too, and so did a
8017policeman. Then Selby looked at the tips of his boots, the gardener looked
8018at him and the policeman slouched on. Rue Barrée had been gone some time.
8019
8020"What," said the gardener, "may I offer Monsieur?"
8021
8022Selby never knew why, but he suddenly began to buy flowers. The gardener
8023was electrified. Never before had he sold so many flowers, never at such
8024satisfying prices, and never, never with such absolute unanimity of
8025opinion with a customer. But he missed the bargaining, the arguing, the
8026calling of Heaven to witness. The transaction lacked spice.
8027
8028"These tulips are magnificent!"
8029
8030"They are!" cried Selby warmly.
8031
8032"But alas, they are dear."
8033
8034"I will take them."
8035
8036"Dieu!" murmured the gardener in a perspiration, "he's madder than most
8037Englishmen."
8038
8039"This cactus--"
8040
8041"Is gorgeous!"
8042
8043"Alas--"
8044
8045"Send it with the rest."
8046
8047The gardener braced himself against the river wall.
8048
8049"That splendid rose-bush," he began faintly.
8050
8051"That is a beauty. I believe it is fifty francs--"
8052
8053He stopped, very red. The gardener relished his confusion. Then a sudden
8054cool self-possession took the place of his momentary confusion and he held
8055the gardener with his eye, and bullied him.
8056
8057"I'll take that bush. Why did not the young lady buy it?"
8058
8059"Mademoiselle is not wealthy."
8060
8061"How do you know?"
8062
8063"_Dame_, I sell her many pansies; pansies are not expensive."
8064
8065"Those are the pansies she bought?"
8066
8067"These, Monsieur, the blue and gold."
8068
8069"Then you intend to send them to her?"
8070
8071"At mid-day after the market."
8072
8073"Take this rose-bush with them, and"--here he glared at the
8074gardener--"don't you dare say from whom they came." The gardener's eyes
8075were like saucers, but Selby, calm and victorious, said: "Send the others
8076to the Hôtel du Sénat, 7 rue de Tournon. I will leave directions with the
8077concierge."
8078
8079Then he buttoned his glove with much dignity and stalked off, but when
8080well around the corner and hidden from the gardener's view, the conviction
8081that he was an idiot came home to him in a furious blush. Ten minutes
8082later he sat in his room in the Hôtel du Sénat repeating with an imbecile
8083smile: "What an ass I am, what an ass!"
8084
8085An hour later found him in the same chair, in the same position, his hat
8086and gloves still on, his stick in his hand, but he was silent, apparently
8087lost in contemplation of his boot toes, and his smile was less imbecile
8088and even a bit retrospective.
8089
8090
8091
8092
8093III
8094
8095About five o'clock that afternoon, the little sad-eyed woman who fills the
8096position of concierge at the Hôtel du Sénat held up her hands in amazement
8097to see a wagon-load of flower-bearing shrubs draw up before the doorway.
8098She called Joseph, the intemperate garçon, who, while calculating the
8099value of the flowers in _petits verres_, gloomily disclaimed any knowledge
8100as to their destination.
8101
8102"_Voyons_," said the little concierge, "_cherchons la femme_!"
8103
8104"You?" he suggested.
8105
8106The little woman stood a moment pensive and then sighed. Joseph caressed
8107his nose, a nose which for gaudiness could vie with any floral display.
8108
8109Then the gardener came in, hat in hand, and a few minutes later Selby
8110stood in the middle of his room, his coat off, his shirt-sleeves rolled
8111up. The chamber originally contained, besides the furniture, about two
8112square feet of walking room, and now this was occupied by a cactus. The
8113bed groaned under crates of pansies, lilies and heliotrope, the lounge was
8114covered with hyacinths and tulips, and the washstand supported a species
8115of young tree warranted to bear flowers at some time or other.
8116
8117Clifford came in a little later, fell over a box of sweet peas, swore a
8118little, apologized, and then, as the full splendour of the floral _fête_
8119burst upon him, sat down in astonishment upon a geranium. The geranium was
8120a wreck, but Selby said, "Don't mind," and glared at the cactus.
8121
8122"Are you going to give a ball?" demanded Clifford.
8123
8124"N--no,--I'm very fond of flowers," said Selby, but the statement lacked
8125enthusiasm.
8126
8127"I should imagine so." Then, after a silence, "That's a fine cactus."
8128
8129Selby contemplated the cactus, touched it with the air of a connoisseur,
8130and pricked his thumb.
8131
8132Clifford poked a pansy with his stick. Then Joseph came in with the bill,
8133announcing the sum total in a loud voice, partly to impress Clifford,
8134partly to intimidate Selby into disgorging a _pourboire_ which he would
8135share, if he chose, with the gardener. Clifford tried to pretend that he
8136had not heard, while Selby paid bill and tribute without a murmur. Then he
8137lounged back into the room with an attempt at indifference which failed
8138entirely when he tore his trousers on the cactus.
8139
8140Clifford made some commonplace remark, lighted a cigarette and looked out
8141of the window to give Selby a chance. Selby tried to take it, but getting
8142as far as--"Yes, spring is here at last," froze solid. He looked at the
8143back of Clifford's head. It expressed volumes. Those little perked-up ears
8144seemed tingling with suppressed glee. He made a desperate effort to master
8145the situation, and jumped up to reach for some Russian cigarettes as an
8146incentive to conversation, but was foiled by the cactus, to whom again he
8147fell a prey. The last straw was added.
8148
8149"Damn the cactus." This observation was wrung from Selby against his
8150will,--against his own instinct of self-preservation, but the thorns on
8151the cactus were long and sharp, and at their repeated prick his pent-up
8152wrath escaped. It was too late now; it was done, and Clifford had wheeled
8153around.
8154
8155"See here, Selby, why the deuce did you buy those flowers?"
8156
8157"I'm fond of them," said Selby.
8158
8159"What are you going to do with them? You can't sleep here."
8160
8161"I could, if you'd help me take the pansies off the bed."
8162
8163"Where can you put them?"
8164
8165"Couldn't I give them to the concierge?"
8166
8167As soon as he said it he regretted it. What in Heaven's name would
8168Clifford think of him! He had heard the amount of the bill. Would he
8169believe that he had invested in these luxuries as a timid declaration to
8170his concierge? And would the Latin Quarter comment upon it in their own
8171brutal fashion? He dreaded ridicule and he knew Clifford's reputation.
8172
8173Then somebody knocked.
8174
8175Selby looked at Clifford with a hunted expression which touched that young
8176man's heart. It was a confession and at the same time a supplication.
8177Clifford jumped up, threaded his way through the floral labyrinth, and
8178putting an eye to the crack of the door, said, "Who the devil is it?"
8179
8180This graceful style of reception is indigenous to the Quarter.
8181
8182"It's Elliott," he said, looking back, "and Rowden too, and their
8183bulldogs." Then he addressed them through the crack.
8184
8185"Sit down on the stairs; Selby and I are coming out directly."
8186
8187Discretion is a virtue. The Latin Quarter possesses few, and discretion
8188seldom figures on the list. They sat down and began to whistle.
8189
8190Presently Rowden called out, "I smell flowers. They feast within!"
8191
8192"You ought to know Selby better than that," growled Clifford behind the
8193door, while the other hurriedly exchanged his torn trousers for others.
8194
8195"_We_ know Selby," said Elliott with emphasis.
8196
8197"Yes," said Rowden, "he gives receptions with floral decorations and
8198invites Clifford, while we sit on the stairs."
8199
8200"Yes, while the youth and beauty of the Quarter revel," suggested Rowden;
8201then, with sudden misgiving; "Is Odette there?"
8202
8203"See here," demanded Elliott, "is Colette there?"
8204
8205Then he raised his voice in a plaintive howl, "Are you there, Colette,
8206while I'm kicking my heels on these tiles?"
8207
8208"Clifford is capable of anything," said Rowden; "his nature is soured
8209since Rue Barrée sat on him."
8210
8211Elliott raised his voice: "I say, you fellows, we saw some flowers carried
8212into Rue Barrée's house at noon."
8213
8214"Posies and roses," specified Rowden.
8215
8216"Probably for her," added Elliott, caressing his bulldog.
8217
8218Clifford turned with sudden suspicion upon Selby. The latter hummed a
8219tune, selected a pair of gloves and, choosing a dozen cigarettes, placed
8220them in a case. Then walking over to the cactus, he deliberately detached
8221a blossom, drew it through his buttonhole, and picking up hat and stick,
8222smiled upon Clifford, at which the latter was mightily troubled.
8223
8224
8225
8226
8227IV
8228
8229Monday morning at Julian's, students fought for places; students with
8230prior claims drove away others who had been anxiously squatting on coveted
8231tabourets since the door was opened in hopes of appropriating them at
8232roll-call; students squabbled over palettes, brushes, portfolios, or rent
8233the air with demands for Ciceri and bread. The former, a dirty ex-model,
8234who had in palmier days posed as Judas, now dispensed stale bread at one
8235sou and made enough to keep himself in cigarettes. Monsieur Julian walked
8236in, smiled a fatherly smile and walked out. His disappearance was followed
8237by the apparition of the clerk, a foxy creature who flitted through the
8238battling hordes in search of prey.
8239
8240Three men who had not paid dues were caught and summoned. A fourth was
8241scented, followed, outflanked, his retreat towards the door cut off, and
8242finally captured behind the stove. About that time, the revolution
8243assuming an acute form, howls rose for "Jules!"
8244
8245Jules came, umpired two fights with a sad resignation in his big brown
8246eyes, shook hands with everybody and melted away in the throng, leaving an
8247atmosphere of peace and good-will. The lions sat down with the lambs, the
8248massiers marked the best places for themselves and friends, and, mounting
8249the model stands, opened the roll-calls.
8250
8251The word was passed, "They begin with C this week."
8252
8253They did.
8254
8255"Clisson!"
8256
8257Clisson jumped like a flash and marked his name on the floor in chalk
8258before a front seat.
8259
8260"Caron!"
8261
8262Caron galloped away to secure his place. Bang! went an easel. "_Nom de
8263Dieu_!" in French,--"Where in h--l are you goin'!" in English. Crash! a
8264paintbox fell with brushes and all on board. "_Dieu de Dieu de_--" spat! A
8265blow, a short rush, a clinch and scuffle, and the voice of the massier,
8266stern and reproachful:
8267
8268"Cochon!"
8269
8270Then the roll-call was resumed.
8271
8272"Clifford!"
8273
8274The massier paused and looked up, one finger between the leaves of the
8275ledger.
8276
8277"Clifford!"
8278
8279Clifford was not there. He was about three miles away in a direct line and
8280every instant increased the distance. Not that he was walking fast,--on
8281the contrary, he was strolling with that leisurely gait peculiar to
8282himself. Elliott was beside him and two bulldogs covered the rear. Elliott
8283was reading the "Gil Blas," from which he seemed to extract amusement, but
8284deeming boisterous mirth unsuitable to Clifford's state of mind, subdued
8285his amusement to a series of discreet smiles. The latter, moodily aware of
8286this, said nothing, but leading the way into the Luxembourg Gardens
8287installed himself upon a bench by the northern terrace and surveyed the
8288landscape with disfavour. Elliott, according to the Luxembourg
8289regulations, tied the two dogs and then, with an interrogative glance
8290toward his friend, resumed the "Gil Blas" and the discreet smiles.
8291
8292The day was perfect. The sun hung over Notre Dame, setting the city in a
8293glitter. The tender foliage of the chestnuts cast a shadow over the
8294terrace and flecked the paths and walks with tracery so blue that Clifford
8295might here have found encouragement for his violent "impressions" had he
8296but looked; but as usual in this period of his career, his thoughts were
8297anywhere except in his profession. Around about, the sparrows quarrelled
8298and chattered their courtship songs, the big rosy pigeons sailed from tree
8299to tree, the flies whirled in the sunbeams and the flowers exhaled a
8300thousand perfumes which stirred Clifford with languorous wistfulness.
8301Under this influence he spoke.
8302
8303"Elliott, you are a true friend--"
8304
8305"You make me ill," replied the latter, folding his paper. "It's just as I
8306thought,--you are tagging after some new petticoat again. And," he
8307continued wrathfully, "if this is what you've kept me away from Julian's
8308for,--if it's to fill me up with the perfections of some little idiot--"
8309
8310"Not idiot," remonstrated Clifford gently.
8311
8312"See here," cried Elliott, "have you the nerve to try to tell me that you
8313are in love again?"
8314
8315"Again?"
8316
8317"Yes, again and again and again and--by George have you?"
8318
8319"This," observed Clifford sadly, "is serious."
8320
8321For a moment Elliott would have laid hands on him, then he laughed from
8322sheer helplessness. "Oh, go on, go on; let's see, there's Clémence and
8323Marie Tellec and Cosette and Fifine, Colette, Marie Verdier--"
8324
8325"All of whom are charming, most charming, but I never was serious--"
8326
8327"So help me, Moses," said Elliott, solemnly, "each and every one of those
8328named have separately and in turn torn your heart with anguish and have
8329also made me lose my place at Julian's in this same manner; each and every
8330one, separately and in turn. Do you deny it?"
8331
8332"What you say may be founded on facts--in a way--but give me the credit of
8333being faithful to one at a time--"
8334
8335"Until the next came along."
8336
8337"But this,--this is really very different. Elliott, believe me, I am all
8338broken up."
8339
8340Then there being nothing else to do, Elliott gnashed his teeth and
8341listened.
8342
8343"It's--it's Rue Barrée."
8344
8345"Well," observed Elliott, with scorn, "if you are moping and moaning over
8346_that_ girl,--the girl who has given you and myself every reason to wish
8347that the ground would open and engulf us,--well, go on!"
8348
8349"I'm going on,--I don't care; timidity has fled--"
8350
8351"Yes, your native timidity."
8352
8353"I'm desperate, Elliott. Am I in love? Never, never did I feel so d--n
8354miserable. I can't sleep; honestly, I'm incapable of eating properly."
8355
8356"Same symptoms noticed in the case of Colette."
8357
8358"Listen, will you?"
8359
8360"Hold on a moment, I know the rest by heart. Now let me ask you something.
8361Is it your belief that Rue Barrée is a pure girl?"
8362
8363"Yes," said Clifford, turning red.
8364
8365"Do you love her,--not as you dangle and tiptoe after every pretty
8366inanity--I mean, do you honestly love her?"
8367
8368"Yes," said the other doggedly, "I would--"
8369
8370"Hold on a moment; would you marry her?"
8371
8372Clifford turned scarlet. "Yes," he muttered.
8373
8374"Pleasant news for your family," growled Elliott in suppressed fury.
8375"'Dear father, I have just married a charming grisette whom I'm sure
8376you'll welcome with open arms, in company with her mother, a most
8377estimable and cleanly washlady.' Good heavens! This seems to have gone a
8378little further than the rest. Thank your stars, young man, that my head is
8379level enough for us both. Still, in this case, I have no fear. Rue Barrée
8380sat on your aspirations in a manner unmistakably final."
8381
8382"Rue Barrée," began Clifford, drawing himself up, but he suddenly ceased,
8383for there where the dappled sunlight glowed in spots of gold, along the
8384sun-flecked path, tripped Rue Barrée. Her gown was spotless, and her big
8385straw hat, tipped a little from the white forehead, threw a shadow across
8386her eyes.
8387
8388Elliott stood up and bowed. Clifford removed his head-covering with an air
8389so plaintive, so appealing, so utterly humble that Rue Barrée smiled.
8390
8391The smile was delicious and when Clifford, incapable of sustaining himself
8392on his legs from sheer astonishment, toppled slightly, she smiled again in
8393spite of herself. A few moments later she took a chair on the terrace and
8394drawing a book from her music-roll, turned the pages, found the place, and
8395then placing it open downwards in her lap, sighed a little, smiled a
8396little, and looked out over the city. She had entirely forgotten Foxhall
8397Clifford.
8398
8399After a while she took up her book again, but instead of reading began to
8400adjust a rose in her corsage. The rose was big and red. It glowed like
8401fire there over her heart, and like fire it warmed her heart, now
8402fluttering under the silken petals. Rue Barrée sighed again. She was very
8403happy. The sky was so blue, the air so soft and perfumed, the sunshine so
8404caressing, and her heart sang within her, sang to the rose in her breast.
8405This is what it sang: "Out of the throng of passers-by, out of the world
8406of yesterday, out of the millions passing, one has turned aside to me."
8407
8408So her heart sang under his rose on her breast. Then two big
8409mouse-coloured pigeons came whistling by and alighted on the terrace,
8410where they bowed and strutted and bobbed and turned until Rue Barrée
8411laughed in delight, and looking up beheld Clifford before her. His hat was
8412in his hand and his face was wreathed in a series of appealing smiles
8413which would have touched the heart of a Bengal tiger.
8414
8415For an instant Rue Barrée frowned, then she looked curiously at Clifford,
8416then when she saw the resemblance between his bows and the bobbing
8417pigeons, in spite of herself, her lips parted in the most bewitching
8418laugh. Was this Rue Barrée? So changed, so changed that she did not know
8419herself; but oh! that song in her heart which drowned all else, which
8420trembled on her lips, struggling for utterance, which rippled forth in a
8421laugh at nothing,--at a strutting pigeon,--and Mr. Clifford.
8422
8423"And you think, because I return the salute of the students in the
8424Quarter, that you may be received in particular as a friend? I do not know
8425you, Monsieur, but vanity is man's other name;--be content, Monsieur
8426Vanity, I shall be punctilious--oh, most punctilious in returning your
8427salute."
8428
8429"But I beg--I implore you to let me render you that homage which has so
8430long--"
8431
8432"Oh dear; I don't care for homage."
8433
8434"Let me only be permitted to speak to you now and then,--occasionally--very
8435occasionally."
8436
8437"And if _you_, why not another?"
8438
8439"Not at all,--I will be discretion itself."
8440
8441"Discretion--why?"
8442
8443Her eyes were very clear, and Clifford winced for a moment, but only for a
8444moment. Then the devil of recklessness seizing him, he sat down and
8445offered himself, soul and body, goods and chattels. And all the time he
8446knew he was a fool and that infatuation is not love, and that each word he
8447uttered bound him in honour from which there was no escape. And all the
8448time Elliott was scowling down on the fountain plaza and savagely checking
8449both bulldogs from their desire to rush to Clifford's rescue,--for even
8450they felt there was something wrong, as Elliott stormed within himself and
8451growled maledictions.
8452
8453When Clifford finished, he finished in a glow of excitement, but Rue
8454Barrée's response was long in coming and his ardour cooled while the
8455situation slowly assumed its just proportions. Then regret began to creep
8456in, but he put that aside and broke out again in protestations. At the
8457first word Rue Barrée checked him.
8458
8459"I thank you," she said, speaking very gravely. "No man has ever before
8460offered me marriage." She turned and looked out over the city. After a
8461while she spoke again. "You offer me a great deal. I am alone, I have
8462nothing, I am nothing." She turned again and looked at Paris, brilliant,
8463fair, in the sunshine of a perfect day. He followed her eyes.
8464
8465"Oh," she murmured, "it is hard,--hard to work always--always alone with
8466never a friend you can have in honour, and the love that is offered means
8467the streets, the boulevard--when passion is dead. I know it,--_we_ know
8468it,--we others who have nothing,--have no one, and who give ourselves,
8469unquestioning--when we love,--yes, unquestioning--heart and soul, knowing
8470the end."
8471
8472She touched the rose at her breast. For a moment she seemed to forget him,
8473then quietly--"I thank you, I am very grateful." She opened the book and,
8474plucking a petal from the rose, dropped it between the leaves. Then
8475looking up she said gently, "I cannot accept."
8476
8477
8478
8479
8480V
8481
8482It took Clifford a month to entirely recover, although at the end of the
8483first week he was pronounced convalescent by Elliott, who was an
8484authority, and his convalescence was aided by the cordiality with which
8485Rue Barrée acknowledged his solemn salutes. Forty times a day he blessed
8486Rue Barrée for her refusal, and thanked his lucky stars, and at the same
8487time, oh, wondrous heart of ours!--he suffered the tortures of the
8488blighted.
8489
8490Elliott was annoyed, partly by Clifford's reticence, partly by the
8491unexplainable thaw in the frigidity of Rue Barrée. At their frequent
8492encounters, when she, tripping along the rue de Seine, with music-roll and
8493big straw hat would pass Clifford and his familiars steering an easterly
8494course to the Café Vachette, and at the respectful uncovering of the band
8495would colour and smile at Clifford, Elliott's slumbering suspicions awoke.
8496But he never found out anything, and finally gave it up as beyond his
8497comprehension, merely qualifying Clifford as an idiot and reserving his
8498opinion of Rue Barrée. And all this time Selby was jealous. At first he
8499refused to acknowledge it to himself, and cut the studio for a day in the
8500country, but the woods and fields of course aggravated his case, and the
8501brooks babbled of Rue Barrée and the mowers calling to each other across
8502the meadow ended in a quavering "Rue Bar-rée-e!" That day spent in the
8503country made him angry for a week, and he worked sulkily at Julian's, all
8504the time tormented by a desire to know where Clifford was and what he
8505might be doing. This culminated in an erratic stroll on Sunday which ended
8506at the flower-market on the Pont au Change, began again, was gloomily
8507extended to the morgue, and again ended at the marble bridge. It would
8508never do, and Selby felt it, so he went to see Clifford, who was
8509convalescing on mint juleps in his garden.
8510
8511They sat down together and discussed morals and human happiness, and each
8512found the other most entertaining, only Selby failed to pump Clifford, to
8513the other's unfeigned amusement. But the juleps spread balm on the sting
8514of jealousy, and trickled hope to the blighted, and when Selby said he
8515must go, Clifford went too, and when Selby, not to be outdone, insisted on
8516accompanying Clifford back to his door, Clifford determined to see Selby
8517back half way, and then finding it hard to part, they decided to dine
8518together and "flit." To flit, a verb applied to Clifford's nocturnal
8519prowls, expressed, perhaps, as well as anything, the gaiety proposed.
8520Dinner was ordered at Mignon's, and while Selby interviewed the chef,
8521Clifford kept a fatherly eye on the butler. The dinner was a success, or
8522was of the sort generally termed a success. Toward the dessert Selby heard
8523some one say as at a great distance, "Kid Selby, drunk as a lord."
8524
8525A group of men passed near them; it seemed to him that he shook hands and
8526laughed a great deal, and that everybody was very witty. There was
8527Clifford opposite swearing undying confidence in his chum Selby, and there
8528seemed to be others there, either seated beside them or continually
8529passing with the swish of skirts on the polished floor. The perfume of
8530roses, the rustle of fans, the touch of rounded arms and the laughter grew
8531vaguer and vaguer. The room seemed enveloped in mist. Then, all in a
8532moment each object stood out painfully distinct, only forms and visages
8533were distorted and voices piercing. He drew himself up, calm, grave, for
8534the moment master of himself, but very drunk. He knew he was drunk, and
8535was as guarded and alert, as keenly suspicious of himself as he would have
8536been of a thief at his elbow. His self-command enabled Clifford to hold
8537his head safely under some running water, and repair to the street
8538considerably the worse for wear, but never suspecting that his companion
8539was drunk. For a time he kept his self-command. His face was only a bit
8540paler, a bit tighter than usual; he was only a trifle slower and more
8541fastidious in his speech. It was midnight when he left Clifford peacefully
8542slumbering in somebody's arm-chair, with a long suede glove dangling in
8543his hand and a plumy boa twisted about his neck to protect his throat from
8544drafts. He walked through the hall and down the stairs, and found himself
8545on the sidewalk in a quarter he did not know. Mechanically he looked up at
8546the name of the street. The name was not familiar. He turned and steered
8547his course toward some lights clustered at the end of the street. They
8548proved farther away than he had anticipated, and after a long quest he
8549came to the conclusion that his eyes had been mysteriously removed from
8550their proper places and had been reset on either side of his head like
8551those of a bird. It grieved him to think of the inconvenience this
8552transformation might occasion him, and he attempted to cock up his head,
8553hen-like, to test the mobility of his neck. Then an immense despair stole
8554over him,--tears gathered in the tear-ducts, his heart melted, and he
8555collided with a tree. This shocked him into comprehension; he stifled the
8556violent tenderness in his breast, picked up his hat and moved on more
8557briskly. His mouth was white and drawn, his teeth tightly clinched. He
8558held his course pretty well and strayed but little, and after an
8559apparently interminable length of time found himself passing a line of
8560cabs. The brilliant lamps, red, yellow, and green annoyed him, and he felt
8561it might be pleasant to demolish them with his cane, but mastering this
8562impulse he passed on. Later an idea struck him that it would save fatigue
8563to take a cab, and he started back with that intention, but the cabs
8564seemed already so far away and the lanterns were so bright and confusing
8565that he gave it up, and pulling himself together looked around.
8566
8567A shadow, a mass, huge, undefined, rose to his right. He recognized the
8568Arc de Triomphe and gravely shook his cane at it. Its size annoyed him. He
8569felt it was too big. Then he heard something fall clattering to the
8570pavement and thought probably it was his cane but it didn't much matter.
8571When he had mastered himself and regained control of his right leg, which
8572betrayed symptoms of insubordination, he found himself traversing the
8573Place de la Concorde at a pace which threatened to land him at the
8574Madeleine. This would never do. He turned sharply to the right and
8575crossing the bridge passed the Palais Bourbon at a trot and wheeled into
8576the Boulevard St. Germain. He got on well enough although the size of the
8577War Office struck him as a personal insult, and he missed his cane, which
8578it would have been pleasant to drag along the iron railings as he passed.
8579It occurred to him, however, to substitute his hat, but when he found it
8580he forgot what he wanted it for and replaced it upon his head with
8581gravity. Then he was obliged to battle with a violent inclination to sit
8582down and weep. This lasted until he came to the rue de Rennes, but there
8583he became absorbed in contemplating the dragon on the balcony overhanging
8584the Cour du Dragon, and time slipped away until he remembered vaguely that
8585he had no business there, and marched off again. It was slow work. The
8586inclination to sit down and weep had given place to a desire for solitary
8587and deep reflection. Here his right leg forgot its obedience and attacking
8588the left, outflanked it and brought him up against a wooden board which
8589seemed to bar his path. He tried to walk around it, but found the street
8590closed. He tried to push it over, and found he couldn't. Then he noticed a
8591red lantern standing on a pile of paving-stones inside the barrier. This
8592was pleasant. How was he to get home if the boulevard was blocked? But he
8593was not on the boulevard. His treacherous right leg had beguiled him into
8594a detour, for there, behind him lay the boulevard with its endless line of
8595lamps,--and here, what was this narrow dilapidated street piled up with
8596earth and mortar and heaps of stone? He looked up. Written in staring
8597black letters on the barrier was
8598
8599RUE BARRÉE.
8600
8601He sat down. Two policemen whom he knew came by and advised him to get up,
8602but he argued the question from a standpoint of personal taste, and they
8603passed on, laughing. For he was at that moment absorbed in a problem. It
8604was, how to see Rue Barrée. She was somewhere or other in that big house
8605with the iron balconies, and the door was locked, but what of that? The
8606simple idea struck him to shout until she came. This idea was replaced by
8607another equally lucid,--to hammer on the door until she came; but finally
8608rejecting both of these as too uncertain, he decided to climb into the
8609balcony, and opening a window politely inquire for Rue Barrée. There was
8610but one lighted window in the house that he could see. It was on the
8611second floor, and toward this he cast his eyes. Then mounting the wooden
8612barrier and clambering over the piles of stones, he reached the sidewalk
8613and looked up at the façade for a foothold. It seemed impossible. But a
8614sudden fury seized him, a blind, drunken obstinacy, and the blood rushed
8615to his head, leaping, beating in his ears like the dull thunder of an
8616ocean. He set his teeth, and springing at a window-sill, dragged himself
8617up and hung to the iron bars. Then reason fled; there surged in his brain
8618the sound of many voices, his heart leaped up beating a mad tattoo, and
8619gripping at cornice and ledge he worked his way along the façade, clung to
8620pipes and shutters, and dragged himself up, over and into the balcony by
8621the lighted window. His hat fell off and rolled against the pane. For a
8622moment he leaned breathless against the railing--then the window was
8623slowly opened from within.
8624
8625They stared at each other for some time. Presently the girl took two
8626unsteady steps back into the room. He saw her face,--all crimsoned
8627now,--he saw her sink into a chair by the lamplit table, and without a
8628word he followed her into the room, closing the big door-like panes behind
8629him. Then they looked at each other in silence.
8630
8631The room was small and white; everything was white about it,--the
8632curtained bed, the little wash-stand in the corner, the bare walls, the
8633china lamp,--and his own face,--had he known it, but the face and neck of
8634Rue were surging in the colour that dyed the blossoming rose-tree there on
8635the hearth beside her. It did not occur to him to speak. She seemed not to
8636expect it. His mind was struggling with the impressions of the room. The
8637whiteness, the extreme purity of everything occupied him--began to trouble
8638him. As his eye became accustomed to the light, other objects grew from
8639the surroundings and took their places in the circle of lamplight. There
8640was a piano and a coal-scuttle and a little iron trunk and a bath-tub.
8641Then there was a row of wooden pegs against the door, with a white chintz
8642curtain covering the clothes underneath. On the bed lay an umbrella and a
8643big straw hat, and on the table, a music-roll unfurled, an ink-stand, and
8644sheets of ruled paper. Behind him stood a wardrobe faced with a mirror,
8645but somehow he did not care to see his own face just then. He was
8646sobering.
8647
8648The girl sat looking at him without a word. Her face was expressionless,
8649yet the lips at times trembled almost imperceptibly. Her eyes, so
8650wonderfully blue in the daylight, seemed dark and soft as velvet, and the
8651colour on her neck deepened and whitened with every breath. She seemed
8652smaller and more slender than when he had seen her in the street, and
8653there was now something in the curve of her cheek almost infantine. When
8654at last he turned and caught his own reflection in the mirror behind him,
8655a shock passed through him as though he had seen a shameful thing, and his
8656clouded mind and his clouded thoughts grew clearer. For a moment their
8657eyes met then his sought the floor, his lips tightened, and the struggle
8658within him bowed his head and strained every nerve to the breaking. And
8659now it was over, for the voice within had spoken. He listened, dully
8660interested but already knowing the end,--indeed it little mattered;--the
8661end would always be the same for him;--he understood now--always the same
8662for him, and he listened, dully interested, to a voice which grew within
8663him. After a while he stood up, and she rose at once, one small hand
8664resting on the table. Presently he opened the window, picked up his hat,
8665and shut it again. Then he went over to the rosebush and touched the
8666blossoms with his face. One was standing in a glass of water on the table
8667and mechanically the girl drew it out, pressed it with her lips and laid
8668it on the table beside him. He took it without a word and crossing the
8669room, opened the door. The landing was dark and silent, but the girl
8670lifted the lamp and gliding past him slipped down the polished stairs to
8671the hallway. Then unchaining the bolts, she drew open the iron wicket.
8672
8673Through this he passed with his rose.
8674
8675
8676
8677
8678
8679
8680
8681
8682
8683
8684End of Project Gutenberg's The King in Yellow, by Robert W. Chambers
8685
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8687
8688*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KING IN YELLOW ***
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