CHAPTER II. A LETTER OF DESTINY
Eric, finding that his father had not yet returned from the college,went into the library and sat down to read a letter he had picked upfrom the hall table. It was from Larry West, and after the first fewlines Eric's face lost the absent look it had worn and assumed anexpression of interest.
"I am writing to ask a favour of you, Marshall," wrote West. "The factis, I've fallen into the hands of the Philistines--that is to say, thedoctors. I've not been feeling very fit all winter but I've held on,hoping to finish out the year.
"Last week my landlady--who is a saint in spectacles and calico--lookedat me one morning at the breakfast table and said, VERY gently, 'Youmust go to town to-morrow, Master, and see a doctor about yourself.'
"I went and did not stand upon the order of my going. Mrs. Williamsonis She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. She has an inconvenient habit of making yourealize that she is exactly right, and that you would be all kinds of afool if you didn't take her advice. You feel that what she thinks to-dayyou will think to-morrow.
"In Charlottetown I consulted a doctor. He punched and pounded me, andpoked things at me and listened at the other end of them; and finally hesaid I must stop work 'immejutly and to onct' and hie me straightwayto a climate not afflicted with the north-east winds of Prince EdwardIsland in the spring. I am not to be allowed to do any work until thefall. Such was his dictum and Mrs. Williamson enforces it.
"I shall teach this week out and then the spring vacation of three weeksbegins. I want you to come over and take my place as pedagogue in theLindsay school for the last week in May and the month of June. Theschool year ends then and there will be plenty of teachers looking forthe place, but just now I cannot get a suitable substitute. I have acouple of pupils who are preparing to try the Queen's Academy entranceexaminations, and I don't like to leave them in the lurch or hand themover to the tender mercies of some third-class teacher who knows littleLatin and less Greek. Come over and take the school till the end of theterm, you petted son of luxury. It will do you a world of good to learnhow rich a man feels when he is earning twenty-five dollars a month byhis own unaided efforts!
"Seriously, Marshall, I hope you can come, for I don't know any otherfellow I can ask. The work isn't hard, though you'll likely find itmonotonous. Of course, this little north-shore farming settlement isn'ta very lively place. The rising and setting of the sun are the mostexciting events of the average day. But the people are very kind andhospitable; and Prince Edward Island in the month of June is such athing as you don't often see except in happy dreams. There are sometrout in the pond and you'll always find an old salt at the harbourready and willing to take you out cod-fishing or lobstering.
"I'll bequeath you my boarding house. You'll find it comfortable and notfurther from the school than a good constitutional. Mrs. Williamson isthe dearest soul alive; and she is one of those old-fashioned cooks whofeed you on feasts of fat things and whose price is above rubies.
"Her husband, Robert, or Bob, as he is commonly called despite his sixtyyears, is quite a character in his way. He is an amusing old gossip,with a turn for racy comment and a finger in everybody's pie. He knowseverything about everybody in Lindsay for three generations back.
"They have no living children, but Old Bob has a black cat which is hisespecial pride and darling. The name of this animal is Timothy andas such he must always be called and referred to. Never, as you valueRobert's good opinion, let him hear you speaking of his pet as 'thecat,' or even as 'Tim.' You will never be forgiven and he will notconsider you a fit person to have charge of the school.
"You shall have my room, a little place over the kitchen, with a ceilingthat follows the slant of the roof down one side, against which you willbump your head times innumerable until you learn to remember that it isthere, and a looking glass which will make one of your eyes as small asa pea and the other as big as an orange.
"But to compensate for these disadvantages the supply of towels isgenerous and unexceptionable; and there is a window whence you willdaily behold an occidental view over Lindsay Harbour and the gulf beyondwhich is an unspeakable miracle of beauty. The sun is setting over itas I write and I see such a sea of glass mingled with fire as might havefigured in the visions of the Patmian seer. A vessel is sailing awayinto the gold and crimson and pearl of the horizon; the big revolvinglight on the tip of the headland beyond the harbour has just beenlighted and is winking and flashing like a beacon,
"'O'er the foam Of perilous seas in faerie lands forlorn.'"
"Wire me if you can come; and if you can, report for duty on thetwenty-third of May."
Mr. Marshall, Senior, came in, just as Eric was thoughtfully folding uphis letter. The former looked more like a benevolent old clergyman orphilanthropist than the keen, shrewd, somewhat hard, although just andhonest, man of business that he really was. He had a round, rosy face,fringed with white whiskers, a fine head of long white hair, and apursed-up mouth. Only in his blue eyes was a twinkle that would havemade any man who designed getting the better of him in a bargain thinktwice before he made the attempt.
It was easily seen that Eric must have inherited his personal beauty anddistinction of form from his mother, whose picture hung on the dark wallbetween the windows. She had died while still young, when Eric was a boyof ten. During her lifetime she had been the object of the passionatedevotion of both her husband and son; and the fine, strong, sweet faceof the picture was a testimony that she had been worthy of their loveand reverence. The same face, cast in a masculine mold, was repeated inEric; the chestnut hair grew off his forehead in the same way; his eyeswere like hers, and in his grave moods they held a similar expression,half brooding, half tender, in their depths.
Mr. Marshall was very proud of his son's success in college, but he hadno intention of letting him see it. He loved this boy of his, with thedead mother's eyes, better than anything on earth, and all his hopes andambitions were bound up in him.
"Well, that fuss is over, thank goodness," he said testily, as hedropped into his favourite chair.
"Didn't you find the programme interesting?" asked Eric absently.
"Most of it was tommyrot," said his father. "The only things I likedwere Charlie's Latin prayer and those pretty little girls trotting upto get their diplomas. Latin IS the language for praying in, I dobelieve,--at least, when a man has a voice like Old Charlie's. There wassuch a sonorous roll to the words that the mere sound of them made mefeel like getting down on my marrow bones. And then those girls were aspretty as pinks, now weren't they? Agnes was the finest-looking of thelot in my opinion. I hope it's true that you're courting her, Eric?"
"Confound it, father," said Eric, half irritably, half laughingly, "haveyou and David Baker entered into a conspiracy to hound me into matrimonywhether I will or no?"
"I've never said a word to David Baker on such a subject," protested Mr.Marshall.
"Well, you are just as bad as he is. He hectored me all the way homefrom the college on the subject. But why are you in such a hurry to haveme married, dad?"
"Because I want a homemaker in this house as soon as may be. There hasnever been one since your mother died. I am tired of housekeepers. And Iwant to see your children at my knees before I die, Eric, and I'm an oldman now."
"Well, your wish is natural, father," said Eric gently, with a glance athis mother's picture. "But I can't rush out and marry somebody off-hand,can I? And I fear it wouldn't exactly do to advertise for a wife, evenin these days of commercial enterprise."
"Isn't there ANYBODY you're fond of?" queried Mr. Marshall, with thepatient air of a man who overlooks the frivolous jests of youth.
"No. I never yet saw the woman who could make my heart beat any faster."
"I don't know what you young men are made of nowadays," growled hisfather. "I was in love half a dozen times before I was your age."
"You might have been 'in love.' But you never LOVED any woman until youmet my mother. I know that,
father. And it didn't happen till you werepretty well on in life either."
"You're too hard to please. That's what's the matter, that's what's thematter!"
"Perhaps I am. When a man has had a mother like mine his standard ofwomanly sweetness is apt to be pitched pretty high. Let's drop thesubject, father. Here, I want you to read this letter--it's from Larry."
"Humph!" grunted Mr. Marshall, when he had finished with it. "So Larry'sknocked out at last--always thought he would be--always expected it.Sorry, too. He was a decent fellow. Well, are you going?"
"Yes, I think so, if you don't object."
"You'll have a pretty monotonous time of it, judging from his account ofLindsay."
"Probably. But I am not going over in search of excitement. I'm going tooblige Larry and have a look at the Island."
"Well, it's worth looking at, some parts of the year," conceded Mr.Marshall. "When I'm on Prince Edward Island in the summer I alwaysunderstand an old Scotch Islander I met once in Winnipeg. He was alwaystalking of 'the Island.' Somebody once asked him, 'What island do youmean?' He simply LOOKED at that ignorant man. Then he said, 'Why, PrinceEdward Island, mon. WHAT OTHER ISLAND IS THERE?' Go if you'd like to.You need a rest after the grind of examinations before settling down tobusiness. And mind you don't get into any mischief, young sir."
"Not much likelihood of that in a place like Lindsay, I fancy," laughedEric.
"Probably the devil finds as much mischief for idle hands in Lindsay asanywhere else. The worst tragedy I ever heard of happened on a backwoodsfarm, fifteen miles from a railroad and five from a store. However, Iexpect your mother's son to behave himself in the fear of God and man.In all likelihood the worst thing that will happen to you over therewill be that some misguided woman will put you to sleep in a spare roombed. And if that does happen may the Lord have mercy on your soul!"