CHAPTER XI. LUTTRA
"Gentlemen," said he as he ushered us once more into his studio, "youhave presumed, and not without reason I should say, to infer that theoriginal of this portrait and the woman who has so long occupied theposition of sewing-woman in my house, are one and the same. You will nolonger retain that opinion when I inform you that this picture, strangeas it may appear to you, is the likeness of my wife."
"Wife!" We both were astonished as I take it, but it was my voice whichspoke. "We were ignorant you ever had a wife."
"No doubt," continued our host smiling bitterly, "that at least hasevaded the knowledge even of the detectives." Then with a return tohis naturally courteous manner, "She was never acknowledged by me as mywife, nor have we ever lived together, but if priestly benediction canmake a man and woman one, that woman as you see her there is my lawfulwife."
Rising, he softly turned the lovely, potent face back to the wall,leaving us once more confronted by the dark and glowing countenance ofhis cousin.
"I am not called upon," said he, "to go any further with you than this.I have told you what no man till this hour has ever heard from my lips,and it should serve to exonerate me from any unjust suspicions you mayhave entertained. But to one of my temperament, secret scandal and thegossip it engenders is only less painful than open notoriety. If I leavethe subject here, a thousand conjectures will at once seize upon you,and my name if not hers will become, before I know it, the football ofgossip if not of worse and deeper suspicion than has yet assailed me.Gentleman I take you to be honest men; husbands, perhaps, and fathers;proud, too, in your way and jealous of your own reputation and that ofthose with whom you are connected. If I succeed in convincing you thatmy movements of late have been totally disconnected with the girl whosecause you profess solely to be interested in, may I count upon yoursilence as regards those actions and the real motive that led to them?"
"You may count upon my discretion as regards all matters that do notcome under the scope of police duty," returned Mr. Gryce. "I haven'tmuch time for gossip."
"And your man here?"
"O, he's safe where it profits him to be."
"Very well, then, I shall count upon you."
And with the knitted brows and clinched hands of a proudly reticentman who, perhaps for the first time in his life finds himself forced toreveal his inner nature to the world, he began his story in these words:
"Difficult as it is for me to introduce into a relation like this thename of my father, I shall be obliged to do so in order to make myconduct at a momentous crisis of my life intelligible to you. My father,then, was a man of strong will and a few but determined prejudices.Resolved that I should sustain the reputation of the family for wealthand respectability, he gave me to understand from my earliest years,that as long as I preserved my manhood from reproach, I had only to makemy wishes known, to have them immediately gratified; while if I crossedhis will either by indulging in dissipation or engaging in pursuitsunworthy of my name, I no longer need expect the favor of hiscountenance or the assistance of his purse.
"When, therefore, at a certain period of my life, I found that thecharms of my cousin Evelyn were making rather too strong an impressionupon my fancy for a secured peace of mind, I first inquired how such aunion would affect my father, and learning that it would be in directopposition to his views, cast about in my mind what I should do toovercome my passion. Travel suggested itself, and I took a trip toEurope. But the sight of new faces only awakened in me comparisonsanything but detrimental to the beauty of her who was at that time mystandard of feminine loveliness. Nature and the sports connected with awild life were my next resort. I went overland to California, roamed theorange groves of Florida, and probed the wildernesses of Canada andour Northern states. It was during these last excursions that an eventoccurred which has exercised the most material influence upon my fate,though at the time it seemed to me no more than the matter of a day.
"I had just returned from Canada and was resting in tolerable enjoymentof a very beautiful autumn at Lake George, when a letter reached mefrom a friend then loitering in the vicinity, urging me to join him ina certain small town in Vermont where trout streams abounded and what isnot so often the case under the circumstances, fishers were few.
"Being in a somewhat reckless mood I at once wrote a consent, and beforeanother day was over, started for the remote village whence his letterwas postmarked. I found it by no means easy of access. Situated in themidst of hills some twenty miles or so distant from any railroad, Idiscovered that in order to reach it, a long ride in a stage-coach wasnecessary, followed by a somewhat shorter journey on horseback. Notbeing acquainted with the route, I timed my connections wrong, so thatwhen evening came I found myself riding over a strange road in thedarkest night I had ever known. As if this was not enough, my horsesuddenly began to limp and presently became so lame I found itimpossible to urge her beyond a slow walk. It was therefore with noordinary satisfaction that I presently beheld a lighted building in thedistance, which as I approached resolved itself into an inn. Stoppingin front of the house, which was closed against the chill night air,I called out lustily for someone to take my horse, whereupon the dooropened and a man appeared on the threshold with a lantern in his hand. Iat once made my wishes known, receiving in turn a somewhat gruff,
"'Well it is a nasty night and it will be nastier before it's over;' anopinion instantly endorsed by a sudden swoop of wind that rushed by atthat moment, slamming the door behind him and awakening over my head alugubrious groaning as from the twisting boughs of some old tree, thatwas almost threatening in its character.
"'You had better go in,' said he, 'the rain will come next.'
"I at once leaped from my horse and pushing open the door with mainstrength, entered the house. Another man met me on the threshold whomerely pointing over his shoulder to a lighted room in his rear, passedout without a word, to help the somewhat younger man, who had firstappeared, in putting up my horse. I at once accepted his silentinvitation and stepped into the room before me. Instantly I found myselfconfronted by the rather startling vision of a young girl of a uniqueand haunting style of beauty, who rising at my approach now stood withher eyes on my face and her hands resting on the deal table before whichshe had been sitting, in an attitude expressive of mingled surpriseand alarm. To see a woman in that place was not so strange; but sucha woman! Even in the first casual glance I gave her, I at onceacknowledged to myself her extraordinary power. Not the slightness ofher form, the palor of her countenance, or the fairness of the locks ofgolden red hair that fell in two long braids over her bosom, could fora moment counteract the effect of her dark glance or the vivid almostunearthly force of her expression. It was as if you saw a flameupstarting before you, waving tremulously here and there, but burningand resistless in its white heat. I took off my hat with deference.
"A shudder passed over her, but she made no effort to return myacknowledgement. As we cast our eyes dilating with horror, down somehorrible pit upon whose verge we suddenly find ourselves, she allowedher gaze for a moment to dwell upon my face, then with a sudden liftingof her hand, pointed towards the door as if to bid me depart--when itswung open with that shrill rushing of wind that involuntarily awakes ashudder within you, and the two men entered and came stamping up to myside. Instantly her hand sunk, not feebly as with fear, but calmly as ifat the bidding of her will, and without waiting for them to speak, sheturned away and quietly left the room. As the door closed upon her Inoticed that she wore a calico frock and that her face did not own oneperfect feature.
"'Go after Luttra and tell her to make up the bed in the northwestroom,' said the elder of the two in deep gutteral tones unmistakablyGerman in their accent, to the other who stood shaking the wet off hiscoat into the leaping flames of a small wood fire that burned on thehearth before us.
"'O, she'll do without my bothering,' was the sullen return. 'I'm wetthrough.'
"The elder man, a large powerfully framed fellow of some fifty
years orso, frowned. It was an evil frown, and the younger one seemed to feelit. He immediately tossed his coat onto a chair and left the room.
"'Boys are so obstropolous now-a-days,' remarked his companion to mewith what he evidently intended for a conciliatory nod. 'In my time theywere broke in, did what they were told and asked no questions.'
"I smiled to myself at his calling the broad shouldered six-footer whohad just left us a boy, but merely remarking, 'He is your son is henot!' seated myself before the blaze which shot up a tongue of whiteflame at my approach, that irresistibly recalled to my fancy theappearance of the girl who had gone out a moment before.
"'O, yes, he is my son, and that girl you saw here was my daughter; Ikeep this inn and they help me, but it is a slow way to live, I can tellyou. Travel on these roads is slim.'
"'I should think likely,' I returned, remembering the half dozen or sohills up which I had clambered since I took to my horse. 'How far are wefrom Pentonville?'
"'O, two or three miles,' he replied, but in a hurried kind of a way.'Not far in the daytime but a regular journey in a night like this?'
"'Yes,' said I, as the house shook under a fresh gust; 'it is fortunateI have a place in which to put up.'
"He glanced down at my baggage which consisted of a small hand bag,an over-coat and a fishing pole, with something like a gleam ofdisappointment.
"'Going fishing?' he asked.
"'Yes,' I returned.
"'Good trout up those streams and plenty of them,' he went on. 'Goingalone?'
"I did not half like his importunity, but considering I had nothingbetter to do, replied as affably as possible. 'No, I expect to meet afriend in Pentonville who will accompany me."
"His hand went to his beard in a thoughtful attitude and he cast mewhat, with my increased experience of the world, I should now consider asinister glance. 'Then you are expected?' said he.
"Not considering this worth reply, I stretched out my feet to the blazeand began to warm them, for I felt chilled through.
"'Been on the road long?' he now asked, glancing at the blue flannelsuit I wore.
"'All summer,' I returned,
"I again thought he looked disappointed.
"'From Troy or New York?' he went on with a vague endeavor to appeargood naturally off hand.
"'New York.'
"'A big place that,' he continued. 'I was there once, lots of moneystored away in them big buildings down in Wall Street, eh?'
"I assented, and he drew a chair up to my side, a proceeding that wasinterrupted, however, by the reentrance of his son, who without anyapology crowded into the other side of the fire-place in a way tosandwich me between them. Not fancying this arrangement which I,however, imputed to ignorance, I drew back and asked if my room wasready. It seemed it was not, and unpleasantly as it promised, I feltforced to reseat myself and join in, if not support, the conversationthat followed.
"A half hour passed away, during which the wind increased till it almostamounted to a gale. Spurts of rain dashed against the windows with asharp crackling sound that suggested hail, while ever and anon a distantroll as of rousing thunder, rumbled away among the hills in a long andreverberating peal, that made me feel glad to be housed even under theroof of these rude and uncongenial creatures. Suddenly the conversationturned upon the time and time-pieces, when in a low even tone I heardmurmured behind me,
"'The gentleman's room is ready;' and turning, I saw standing inthe doorway the slight figure of the young girl whose appearance hadpreviously so impressed me.
"I immediately arose. 'Then I will proceed to it at once,' said I,taking up my traps and advancing towards her.
"'Do not be alarmed if you hear creaks and cracklings all over thehouse,' observed the landlord as I departed. 'The windows are loose andthe doors ill-fitting. In such a storm as this they make noise enoughto keep an army awake. The house is safe enough though and if you don'tmind noise--'
"'O I don't mind noise,' rejoined I, feeling at that moment tired enoughto fall into a doze on the staircase. 'I shall sleep, never fear,' andwithout further ado followed the girl upstairs into a large clumsilyfurnished room whose enormous bed draped with heavy curtains at onceattracted my attention.
"'O I cannot sleep under those things,' remarked I, with a gesturetowards the dismal draperies which to me were another name forsuffocation.
"With a single arm-sweep she threw them back. 'Is there anything more Ican do for you?' asked she, glancing hastily about the room.
"I thanked her and said 'no,' at which she at once departed with a lookof still determination upon her countenance that I found it hard toexplain.
"Left alone in that large, bare and dimly lighted room, with the windshrieking in the chimney and the powerful limbs of some huge treebeating against the walls without, with a heavy thud inexpressiblymournful, I found to my surprise and something like dismay, that thesleepiness which had hitherto oppressed me, had in some unaccountableway entirely fled. In vain I contemplated the bed, comfortable enoughnow in its appearance that the stifling curtains were withdrawn; notemptation to invade it came to arouse me from the chair into which Ihad thrown myself. It was as if I felt myself under the spell of someinvisible influence that like the eye of a basilisk, held me enchained.I remember turning my head towards a certain quarter of the wall as ifI half expected to encounter there the bewildering glance of a serpent.Yet far from being apprehensive of any danger, I only wondered over theweakness of mind that made such fancies possible.
"An extra loud swirl of the foliage without, accompanied by a quickvibration of the house, aroused me at last. If I was to lose the senseof this furious storm careering over my head, I must court sleep atonce. Rising, I drew off my coat, unloosened my vest and was about tothrow it off, when I bethought me of a certain wallet it contained.Going to the door in some unconscious impulse of precaution I suppose, Ilocked myself in, and then drawing out my wallet, took from it a roll ofbills which I put into a small side pocket, returning the wallet to itsold place.
"Why I did this I can scarcely say. As I have before intimated, Iwas under no special apprehension. I was at that time anything but asuspicious man, and the manner and appearance of the men below struck meas unpleasantly disagreeable but nothing more. But I not only did what Ihave related, but allowed the lamp to remain lighted, lying down finallyin my clothes; an almost unprecedented act on my part, warranted howeveras I said to myself, by the fury of the gale which at that time seemedas if it would tumble the roof over our heads.
"How long I lay listening to the creakings and groanings of the ricketyold house, I cannot say, nor how long I remained in the doze whichfinally seized me as I became accustomed to the sounds around and overme. Enough that before the storm had passed its height, I awoke as if atthe touch of a hand, and leaping with a bound out of the bed, beheldto my incredible amazement, the alert, nervous form of Luttra standingbefore me. She had my coat in her hand, and it was her touch that hadevidently awakened me.
"'I want you to put this on,' said she in a low thrilling tone totallynew in my experience, 'and come with me. The house is unsafe for you toremain in. Hear how it cracks and trembles. Another blast like that andwe shall be roofless.'
"She was moving toward the door, which to my amazement stood ajar, butmy hesitation stopped her.
"'Won't you come?' she whispered, turning her face towards me with alook of such potent determination, I followed in spite of myself 'I darenot let you stay here, your blood will be upon my head.'
"'You exaggerate,' I replied, shrinking back with a longing look at thecomfortable bed I had just left. 'These old houses are always strong.It will take many such a gust as that you hear, to overturn it, I assureyou.'
"'I exaggerate!' she returned with a look of scorn impossible todescribe. 'Hark!' she said, 'hear that.'
"I did hear, and I must acknowledge that it seemed is if we were aboutto be swept from our foundations.
"'Yes,' said I, 'but it is a fearful night to be out in.'<
br />
"'I shall go with you,' said she.
"'In that case--' I began with an ill-advised attempt at gallantry whichshe cut short with a gesture.
"'Here is your hat,' remarked she, 'and here is your bag. Thefishing-pole must remain, you cannot carry it.'
"'But,--' I expostulated.
"'Hush!' said she with her ear turned towards the depths of thestaircase at the top of which we stood. 'My father and brother willthink as you do that it is folly to leave the shelter of a roof for theuncertainties of the road on such a night as this, but you must not heedthem. I tell you shelter this night is danger, and that the only safetyto be found is on the stormy highway.'
"And without waiting for my reply, she passed rapidly down stairs,pushed open a door at the bottom, and stepped at once into the room wehad left an hour or so before.
"What was there in that room that for the first time struck an ominouschill as of distinct peril through my veins? Nothing at first sight,everything at the second. The fire which had not been allowed to dieout, still burned brightly on the ruddy hearthstone, but it was not thatwhich awakened my apprehension. Nor was it the loud ticking clock on themantel-piece with its hand pointing silently to the hour of eleven. Noryet the heavy quiet of the scantily-furnished room with its one lampburning on the deal table against the side of the wall. It was the sightof those two powerful men drawn up in grim silence, the one against thedoor leading to the front hall, the other against that opening into thekitchen.
"A glance at Luttra standing silent and undismayed at my side, however,instantly reassured me. With that will exercised in my favor, I couldnot but win through whatever it was that menaced me. Slinging my bagover my shoulder, I made a move towards the door and the silent figureof my host. But with a quick outreaching of her hand, she drew me back.
"'Stand still!' said she. 'Karl,' she went on, turning her face towardsthe more sullen but less intent countenance of her brother, 'open thedoor and let this gentleman pass. He finds the house unsafe in such agale and desires to leave it. At once!' she continued as her brothersettled himself more determinedly against the lock: 'I don't often askfavors.'
"'The man is a fool that wants to go out in a night like this,' quoththe fellow with a dogged move; 'and so are you to encourage it. I thinktoo much of your health to allow it.'
"She did not seem to hear. 'Will you open the door?' she went on, notadvancing a step from the fire, before which she had placed herself andme.'
"'No, I won't,' was the brutal reply. 'Its been locked for the night andits not me nor one like me, that will open it.'
"With a sudden whitening of her already pale face, she turned towardsher father. He was not even looking at her.
"'Some one must open the house,' said she, glancing back at her brother.'This gentleman purposes to leave and his whim must be humored. Will youunlock that door or shall I?'
"An angry snarl interrupted her. Her father had bounded from the doorwhere he stood and was striding hastily towards her. In my apprehensionI put up my arm for a shield, for he looked ready to murder her, butI let it drop again as l caught her glance which was like white flameundisturbed by the least breeze of personal terror.
"'You will stop there,' said she, pointing to a spot a few feet fromwhere she stood. 'Another step and I let that for which I have heardyou declare you would peril your very soul, fall into the heart of theflames.' And drawing from her breast a roll of bills, she stretched themout above the fire before which she was standing.
"'You -----' broke from the gray-bearded lips of the old man, but hestopped where he was, eyeing those bills as if fascinated.
"'I am not a girl of many words, as you know,' continued she in a loftytone inexpressibly commanding. 'You may strangle me, you may kill me,it matters little; but this gentleman leaves the house this night, or Idestroy the money with a gesture.'
"'You -----' again broke from those quivering lips, but the old man didnot move.
"Not so the younger. With a rush he left his post and in another instantwould have had his powerful arms about her slender form, only that Imet him half way with a blow that laid him on the floor at her feet.She said nothing, but one of the bills immediately left her hand andfluttered into the fire where it instantly shrivelled into nothing.
"With the yell of a mad beast wounded in his most vulnerable spot, theold man before us stamped with his heel upon the floor.
"'Stop!' cried he; and going rapidly to the front door he opened it.'There!' shrieked he, 'if you will be fools, go! and may the lightningblast you. But first give me the money.'
"'Come from the door,' said she, reaching out her left hand for thelantern hanging at the side of the fireplace, 'and let Karl light thisand keep himself out of the way.'
"It was all done. In less time than I can tell it, the old man hadstepped from the door, the younger one had lit the lantern and we werein readiness to depart.
"'Now do you proceed,' said she to me, 'I will follow.'
"'No,' said I, 'we will go together.'
"'But the money?' growled the heavy voice of my host over my shoulder.
"'I will give it to you on my return,' said the girl."