CHAPTER XXIII.
Down on the beach they found her--the woman upon whom the blow hadfallen so cruelly, and from whom the "grim sickle" had so recentlyturned aside.
She was sitting on a low grassy knoll, gentle and pensive, a vacantstare in her sweet brown eyes as they wistfully scanned the surface ofthe water.
"Oh, heavens! We must get her to the house at once! Go, Sam, bring thecarriage down. Haste, haste!" urged Mr. Harris.
And then John Thorpe saw her. Absorbed in deep meditation of his wrongto his innocent wife, ashamed and sorrowful, he was proceeding to thelittle depot, when, observing the frantic rush down the slope, anddesiring to ascertain its cause, yet with an indefinable panickyfeeling that seemed to freeze the very blood in his veins, he followedon. Without an instant of delay, in a moment, he had leaped to herside, tenderly clasped her to his heart, and with a voice tremblingwith emotion, said:
"Oh, my darling wife, my pure, sweet, injured Constance! Forgive me!It was all a terrible mistake!"
"I must go now. The storm is nearly over. I know that she is in thewater, and the lilies are hiding her from me. But I shall find her.Give me the paddles. Save Dorothy."
Constance had spoken in a soft, quiet voice. It had no touch ofbitterness, no plaint of sadness; yet the yearning note of a heart drywith most intense grief was there--sounded on the chord of dethronedreason.
When she began to speak, he looked into her eyes with an eager,appealing tenderness, expecting a responsive, forgiving tear, butinstead he met a gentle, strange, vacant stare. As she proceeded heheld her from him at arms' length, bewildered and confused for themoment in his interpretation of her meaning, and then the truth burstupon him. Shocked and horrified, he cried out in the anguish of hisheart, "Merciful heaven, she is mad!" And then his eyes fell on herwet garments.
"God forgive me, darling! I know you never can!" he said in a voicemade husky with a great sob that rose up in his throat. Withoutfurther delay, he gathered her unresisting form in his arms andtenderly bore her up to the house. The grave little processionfollowed.
He had arrived with his precious burden close to the great steps ofthe piazza, when she struggled from his arms, and stood half turnedabout, her wistful brown eyes looking blankly at him.
It was then that Virginia appeared on the piazza, her face deathlywhite and her eyes still bearing traces of the terrifying ordeal shehad so recently gone through with Rutley. On seeing Constance, downthe steps she flew and folding the shawl about her stricken friend'sshoulders, clasped her arms about her and said chokingly: "Oh, whyhave you followed me, poor suffering heart?"
"I'm so cold," was all Constance said, and she shook as with an ague.
"Oh, this is too appalling to be true! Speak, dear! Throw off thatmeaningless stare, and assume intellect's rightful light," beseechedThorpe, and as he paused and gazed upon her sweet pensive face,awaiting recognition, great tears welled up in his eyes and silentlyrolled down his cheeks. Again he spoke to her: "Constance, do you notknow me?" and then he turned his head away with an indescribablesickness at heart.
"Yes! Oh, yes! I know you! You want ransom money for my Dorothy. Verywell, you shall have it!" and she thrust her hand into her corsage,and took therefrom some scraps of paper, a few of them falling on thegrass. "There are ten thousand"--and she handed the papers to him, in amanner so gentle yet so full of unaffected artfulness, that he tookthem, while his heart seemed to still its beat and sink leaden andnumb with the torture of his own accusing conscience.
"You shall have more," she continued with plaintive assurance, "all Ican get." Then her eyes fell on the scraps of paper on the grass. Shepicked them up and pushed them with the others into his hand. "Thereare more thousands. Take it all for my Dorothy--my darling! Now give methe paddles, the paddles! Where are the paddles? Hasten, saveDorothy!"
There were no dry eyes in the little gathering of friends--all friendsnow--who heard her, and even Sam, who had halted on his way to theofficers, was forced to turn aside and wipe his eyes and remark in anunsteady voice:
"I don't know what makes my eyes water so."
"God help me!" exclaimed Virginia. "Henceforth my life is consecratedto watch over and care for her."
"I am equally guilty," solemnly continued Mr. Thorpe. "I should nothave acted with such anger. This is the blackening left by jealousy'sburning passion, the essence of which will cling to my soul long aftermy heart becomes insensible clay."
"It is not insanity of an incurable kind," gravely remarked Mr.Harris. "I have closely watched her facial expression and it appearsto me the trace of reason is not entirely gone. I think she isdelirious, and I have read that when persons are delirious some slighttoken, perchance a flower, a chord of melody, a face, a name, broughtforcibly to bear on the mind may recall it to moments of reason. If itis so, then her intellect will recover from the shock. We will bringthis to proof, Mrs. Thorpe," he proceeded, "look at these friendsabout you; do you not remember any of us?"
"I must not rest longer," Constance said suddenly; "I thought I hadher once, but the water was so deep I could not reach her."
"We must get her into the house and into bed at once," said Virginia,clasping her tenderly about the waist.
"Dear me! Yes, I am sure her wet garments will jeopardize her health,"said Mrs. Harris in support of Virginia.
But Constance resisted, and in doing so sat down on the bench. Hazeladdressed her: "Constance, do you not know me? Do you not rememberHazel? Try to think, dear Constance, you surely cannot forget me!"
She slowly shook her head and said plaintively: "The storm is over.Make the boat go faster. We must be quick. There, she iscalling--'Mama! Papa! Mama! Help!' Listen, Virginia, dear, do you nothear her?" And sure, enough, the voice of Dorothy was heard, saying:"Oh, Sam! Where is mama? Tell me."
And around from the conservatory, with a snow white aster in her hand,ran the child, followed by Sam, who, fearing the child in her rambleswas likely to discover the presence of Rutley, induced her to appearon the front lawn by telling her that her mother was not far away. Thechild did not stop, but continued right up to her mother and claspedher arms about her neck.
"Oh, mama! Dear mama! I'm so glad you have come! Aren't you going tokiss me?"
Receiving no immediate response, the child unclasped her arms and drewback a pace offended.
"That voice!" said Constance, startled. She drew the tips of herfingers across her forehead, very much like one clutching at the filmyshreds of a vanishing dream. "Oh, the boat rocks!"
"Mama, aren't you going to speak to me?" and tears began to gather inthe child's eyes. Again Constance started, and her frame trembled, asher eyes rested on Dorothy. She raised her hands slowly and coveredher face. Again she removed her hands and muttered: "It's a spectre--athing unreal which haunts me. Leave me. Pity me, oh, pity me, shade ofmy darling! You pain me! You make my heart ache! Go, go!"
Dorothy wept, and turning to Virginia, said: "Mama won't kiss me, norspeak to me," and the heartbroken child buried her head sobbing in thefolds of Virginia's dress.
Constance pressed her hand over her heart and muttered: "Oh, John, Ihave been faithful to you, yet you doubted me--spurned me on thatdreadful night I found Dorothy! She is gone from me now--gone, gone,gone!" and she bent forward, covering her face with her hands, andsobbed bitterly.
"Thank heaven!" exclaimed Virginia, "reason's floodgates have openedat last."
Sam again turned away to wipe his eyes, saying, "I cannot think whatmakes my eyes so sore."
And John Thorpe exclaimed, with trembling lips, "My God, have mercy! Icannot bear this!" And he, too, turned as though to walk away.
Mr. Harris held up a warning finger for him to stay.
"My poor mama!" and Dorothy again went close to her, comprehending inher childish way that her mother was sorely distressed. The sound ofthe child's voice caught Constance's attention. She lifted her headand fixed her eyes on Dorothy. Then she fell forward on her knees,stretched out her hands and murmured:
"Not gone, still here!" Shetouched the child's hands and uttered a low cry, continuing inquavering accents of fear, of hope, of joy:
"Solid flesh; warm, pulsating life!" and she gently clasped thechild's face between her two hands. "You cannot be a phantom! In thename of heaven, speak!"
"Indeed, mama, I am your own Dorothy. Aren't you going to kiss me?"and the child again entwined her arms about her mother's neck andlooked into her eyes with a wistful appeal.
"Dorothy, my darling Dorothy, alive!"
It was a moment of absorbing interest. For an instant she held thechild at arms' length, with eyes devouring her lineaments. Then in arapture of joy and thanksgiving she folded Dorothy to her heart andkissed her again and again.
"Oh, heaven, I thank thee!" were the only words she could utter, asshe strained the little form tighter to her heart. And as she lookedupward, and the mist cleared from her eyes, she saw John bendingtoward her--saw him lift his arms and outstretch them to her--saw hislips part, and heard him say, as though his heart were in his mouth,"Constance, forgive me!"
Oh, such sweet relief! Her gaze was steadfast for an instant, thenarising to her feet, she fell on his breast and clasped her arms abouthis neck and sobbed, "John! My own dear John! I've had such a horriddream!"
He folded his arms about her and pressed her very close to his breast,and as his lips tremulously touched her forehead, said with heartfeltfervor: "God grant that we may never part again. No, nevermore, mydarling Constance."
"Thank heaven, she was only delirious!" fervently exclaimed Mr.Harris.
"I guess so, eh, aunty?" and Sam, with a look of immense satisfaction,suddenly threw his arms about Virginia and gave her a tremendous hug,and to his inexpressible joy and amazement she reciprocated hiscaress.
"Noble Sam, my hero, you have won my heart at last!"
Her words were of tremendous meaning to Sam. His joy knew no bounds.He looked over to his aunt, amazement, intense satisfaction andadmiration sparkling in his eyes. "At last, eh, aunty!" and then hislips touched Virginia's in a kiss of undying fidelity.