CHAPTER VII.
A MOTHER'S FAITH.
"Edwin, Kent has been gone over two weeks now and not one word fromhim," announced Molly when Mr. Bud Woodsmall had come and gone, leavingno mail of any great importance. "I can see Mother is very uneasy,although she doesn't say a word."
"What was the name of his steamer?" asked the professor as he opened hisnewspaper. "I wouldn't worry. Mail is pretty slow and it would take avery fast boat to land him at Havre and have a letter back this soon."
Edwin spoke a little absent-mindedly for the Greens were very busygetting ready for their yearly move to Wellington College and time fornewspaper reading was at a premium.
"But he was to cable."
"Oh! And what was the name of the steamer?"
"_L'Hirondelle de Mer_, swallow of the sea. I fancy it must mean flyingfish. Paul says it is a small merchantman, carrying a few passengers."
"_L'Hirondelle de Mer?_" Edwin's voice sounded so faint that Mollystopped packing books and looked up, startled.
"What is it?"
"It may be a mistake," he faltered.
Molly jumped up from the box of books and read over her husband'sshoulder the terrible headlines announcing the sinking of the smallmerchantman _L'Hirondelle de Mer_ by a German submarine. No warningwas given and it was not known how many of the crew or passengers hadescaped. The news was got from a boat-load of half-drowned seamen pickedup by an English fishing smack. The cargo was composed of pork and beef.
Molly read as long as her filling eyes would permit, and then she sankon her knees by her husband's chair and gave way to the grief thatovercame her.
"Oh, Molly darling! It may be all right. Kent is not the kind to getlost if there is any way out of it."
"But he would be saving others and forget himself."
"Yes, but see--or let me see for you--it says no women or children onboard."
"Thank God for that!--And now I must go to Mother."
"Yes, and I will go with you--but we must go with the idea of makingyour mother feel it is all right--that Kent is saved."
"Yes--and I truly believe he is! I couldn't have been as happy for thelast few days as I have been if--if--Kent----" She could say no more.
Edwin held her for a moment in his arms and then called to Kizzie tolook after little Mildred, who lay peacefully sleeping in her basket,blissfully ignorant of the trouble in the atmosphere.
"Look! There's Mother coming through the garden! She knows! I can tellby the way she holds her head."
"My children! You were coming to me. You know, then?"
"Yes, Mother! But Edwin and I think Kent is too strong and activeto--to----"
"I know he is safe," declared the intrepid mother. "I am as sure of itas though he were here in the garden of Chatsworth standing by me. Oneof my children could not have passed away without my being conscious ofit." She spoke in an even, clear tone and her countenance was as oneinspired.
"Oh, Mother! That is what I felt, too. I could not have been so--sohappy if anything awful had happened to Kent."
Edwin Green was very thankful that the women in his family could takethis view of the matter, but not feeling himself to be gifted withsecond sight, he determined to find out for sure as soon as possiblewhat had become of his favorite brother-in-law. He accordinglytelegraphed a night letter to Jimmy Lufton in New York to get busy asquickly as possible, sparing no expense, and find out if the Americanson board the vessel were saved.
No doubt my readers will remember that Jimmy Lufton was the youngnewspaper man whom Edwin Green had feared as a rival, and now that hehad won the prize himself, his feeling for that young man was one ofkindliness and pity.
Answer came: a stray sailor had reported that he had seen the submarinetake on board two of the passengers who were battling with the heavysea. Whether Kent was one of them, he could not tell.
There were days of anxious waiting. Molly and Edwin went on with thepreparations for their flitting, but could not leave Mrs. Brown untilshe had assurance of the safety of her beloved son. That lady continuedin the belief that all was well with him, in spite of no news.
Aunt Clay came over to Chatsworth to remonstrate with her younger sisterover what she called her obstinacy.
"Why should you persist in the assertion that you would know if anythinghad happened to your son? We all know that things happen all the timeand persons near to them go on in ignorance of the accidents. For mypart, I think it is indecent for you and your daughters to be flauntingcolours as you are. You should order your mourning and have services forthose lost at sea."
As Mrs. Brown's flaunting of colors consisted of one lavender scarf thatNance Oldham had knitted for her, this was, to say the least,unnecessary of Sister Clay.
Molly, who was present when the above unfeeling remarks were made,trembled with rage and wept with misery; but not so Mrs. Brown.
"I don't agree with you," she said with a calmness that astonished herdaughter.
"Well, if Kent is alive, why does he not communicate with you? He iscertainly careless of you to leave you in ignorance for all of thistime."
Molly noticed with a kind of fierce joy that her mother's head was nowheld very high and her sensitive nostrils were a-quiver. "Her nose wasa-wuckin'," as Aunt Mary put it.
"Careless of _me_! Kent! Sister Sarah, you are simply speaking withneither sense nor feeling. It has been your own fault that you have notobtained the love and affection of my children and so you wish toinsinuate that they are careless of me. My son will let me know where heis as soon as he can. I already know he is alive and safe. You ask mehow I know it! I can only say I know it." This was said with so muchfire that Aunt Clay actually seemed to shrink up. She bullied Mrs. Brownup to a certain point, but when that point reached criticism of one ofher children, woe betide Aunt Clay.
Molly, whose certainty of Kent's being alive was beginning to grow weakand dim with the weary days, felt new strength from her mother's bravewords. Edwin Green was forced to leave for the opening of Wellington,but Molly closed the bungalow and brought little Mildred over toChatsworth, there to wait with her mother for some definite news.
Old Aunt Mary was a great comfort to them. She shared in their beliefthat their dear boy was alive.
"Cose nothin' ain't happened ter that there Kent. Didn't he tell me hewas a goin' ter Parus ter bring home that Judy gal? The Dutch ain't agoin' ter do nothin' ter a kind faceded pusson like our Kent. As ferdrowndin'! Shoo! I done hear Lewis say that Kent kin outswim de whole erJeff'son County. He kin swim to Indiany an' back thout ever touchin'lan', right over yander by the water wucks whar the riber is mo'n amile. An' waves! Why, Lewis say whin the big stern wheelers is a jes'churnin' up the riber till it looks like the yawnin' er grabes atJedgement Day that Kent would jes' laff at them an' plunge right throughjes' lak a feesh. An' I do hear tell that the waters er the mighty deepis salty an' that makes me know that Kent ain't goin' ter sink. Don't wetes' the brine fer pickles wif a aig? An' don't the aig float? An' if'nthe mighty deep is called the briny deep don't that mean it kin float aaig? What kin float a aig kin float a young man what already knows howter swim crost an' back on the 'Hier Riber."
Julia Kean's second letter came, also the one from her father in Molly'scare. Molly immediately sent it to the American Club in Paris. Judy'sletter certainly had nothing in it to reassure them as to her safety,except the meeting with the old man with whom she had danced at St.Cloud.
"It means that Judy is able to make friends wherever she goes, and asshe says, she can always light on her feet, somehow," sighed Molly. Shedid not add what was in her mind: "If she had only come home with Kent!"
"Mother, I must write to Judy now that I have some kind of address. MustI tell her?"
"Yes, my dear, tell her all we know, but tell her of our conviction thatall is well. I will write to her myself, on second thought."
John and Paul both spent every night at Chatsworth now, although itmeant very early rising for both of them and often a midnig
ht arrivalor departure for Dr. John, whose practice was growing but seemed tobe restricted to persons who persisted in being taken very ill in thenight.
"It is because so many of them are charity patients or semi-charity andthey always want to get all they can," he would declare. "Of course, adoctor's night rates are higher than day rates, and when they aregetting something for nothing, if they call me up at two a. m. they aregetting more for nothing than they would be if they had their toe achesin the day time."
Ten days had passed since the half-drowned sailors had been picked up bythe English fishing smack, and still no message from Kent.
Mrs. Brown wrote and dispatched her letter to Judy Kean. It was a hardletter to write, much harder than it would have been had there been anengagement between the two. The good lady felt that Judy was almost likea daughter and still it required something more than existed to addressher as one. She must convey to Judy the news that Kent was shipwrecked,and still she wanted to put in the girl's heart the faith she had in hissafety.
"Poor Judy! If she is alone in Paris, think what it will mean for thisnews to reach her!" Molly agonized to herself. "She may and may not carefor Kent enough to marry him, but she certainly is devoted to him as afriend. She will feel it just so much more keenly because he was on hisway to her."
Molly could not sleep in her great anxiety, and her faith and thecertainty of Kent's safety left her. "I must keep up for Mildred'ssake," she would cry as she tried to choke down food. Her every endeavorwas to hide this loss of faith from her mother, whose belief in herson's being alive and well never seemed to falter.
Daily letters from Edwin were Molly's one comfort. He was back in thegrind of lectures at Wellington and was missing sorely his wife andchild.
"Molly darling, you mustn't wait any longer in Kentucky," her mothersaid at breakfast one morning. Molly was trying to dispose of a glass ofmilk and a soft boiled egg, although her throat seemed to close at thethought of food.
"But, Mother, I wouldn't leave you for anything in the world," shedeclared, making a successful gulp which got rid of the milk, at least.
"Your husband needs you, child, and I know it would be best for you.There is no use in waiting."
Molly looked up, startled. Had her mother, too, lost heart? Her face hadgrown thinner in those days of waiting and her hair was quite grey, infact, silvery about the temples; but her eyes still held the light offaith and high resolve.
"She still has faith! And you, Molly Brown Green! Oh, ye of littlefaith! What right have you to be a clog and burden? Take another glassof milk this minute and keep up your health and your baby's health."This to herself, and aloud: "Why, Mumsy, I want to stay right here.Little Mildred is thriving and Edwin is doing very well at Wellington.Every one is asking him out to dine, now that he is untrammelled with awife. He reports a big gain in attendance on last semestre and is ascheerful as can be. Caroline, please bring me another glass of milk, andI think I'll get you to soft boil another egg for me!"