*CHAPTER X*
*ONE NIGHT*
The grounds surrounding the old house were hung with Chinese lanterns.
Walking about in the semi-darkness were groups of figures, ordinarilytwo in number.
In the big drawing-room the music had just ceased, while the musicianswere having their supper and a brief rest. Senator and Mrs. Graham weregiving an informal dance for their daughter and house party.
Other guests had crossed over from the mainland, which was not an hour'sjourney in a motor boat or one of the small steamboats that carried mailand provisions, but was apt to be a long crossing in the uncertainty ofa sail, and almost impossible in a rowboat, unless one were a singularlystrong oarsman.
There were half a dozen young officers from the fort and as many girlsfrom a fashionable hotel on the Virginia coast.
"Sally, it has been utterly impossible to have a word with you, to saynothing of a dance! A fellow likes a girl to be a good dancer, but notso good that he never has a chance with her. I must say that you andRobert Burton look pretty well together, he dances almost as well as youdo and makes me feel awkward and clumsy. Somehow I am surprised that youare such a fine dancer, Sally, when you don't like other kinds ofexercise," Dan Webster concluded.
"If you are going to start our walk, Dan, enumerating my faults, I donot intend to go one step with you, although it is one of your favoriteamusements. All very well we have known each other a long time, but Ido not think that a sufficient excuse."
Arm in arm Sally Ashton and Dan Webster were sauntering away from theveranda toward a more deserted portion of the lawn.
Sally spoke in the demure tone and manner, which oftentimes disturbedher companion, since he was not able to guess whether she were inearnest or amusing herself at his expense.
"Nonsense, Sally, I could not enumerate your faults for any length oftime! I only think you possess two or three faults, and sometimes, notoften, I have been known to speak of them.
"At present I cannot imagine what I have said or done to annoy you,unless following you around all evening and trying to induce you to paysome slight attention to me has troubled you. In that case of course infuture I shall leave you alone.
"I joined the house party when it was extremely difficult for me to bespared from the farm, chiefly in order to see you. I have seen less ofyou than any one else and at times this has not looked like an accident.If this is true will you be kind enough to be frank."
Sally gave her companion's arm a slight squeeze.
"Don't be such a bear, Dan. You always were a surly small boy when youwere annoyed in the days we used to play together.
"There is a hammock under the linden trees; let us sit down if you donot mind, I am a little tired after dancing so long. You know perfectlywell how much engaged we all have been since our arrival at the island.You reproach me for not deliberately separating myself from the others,when I have not said a single word to you for failing to write me a halfdozen letters all during the past winter. I suppose you were writing toso many other persons!"
"No such thing, Sally. As you well know, I simply can't write lettersthat are worth a row of pins; they never seem to express what I think orfeel, and I am afraid of boring you. If I speak of something now, youwon't consider that I intend criticizing you; I suppose I do keep moreof a watch on you than on other girls, because I am more interested.Twice lately you have deserted every one in the house party and gone offsomewhere to some mysterious part of the island alone. Please don'trepeat this. You see it does not look well and worries me. The islandis fairly deserted, but there are spots where fishing boats might land,or people out for a holiday. If you feel you want to be alone, I canfollow you and promise not to interfere in any way."
In a hammock swung by chains in a small grove of linden trees, Dan andSally sat down.
The April night was surprisingly warm with a breath of summer that comesnow and then in the southern spring. The tiny blooms of the trees madea shower of fragrant gold about them. From beyond blew the salt breathof the sea.
Sally remained quiet a moment before replying.
"You are very kind, Dan, I am sorry you have noticed that I have goneaway once or twice alone. I have not been in the slightest danger andhad a definite reason for going. I can't tell you what this is,probably it is not of any consequence, yet I must ask you under nocircumstances to follow me."
"And I decline to make you such a promise, Sally, in fact I forbid yourwandering about the island alone. If there is any mystery connectedwith your behavior, I thought you hated mysteries; in fact you assuredme that after your experience in caring for Lieutenant Fleury[*] inFrance, you were through with all secrecy forever!"
[*] See "Camp Fire Girls in Glorious France."
"There is no especial mystery in what I am interested in at present,Dan, at least nothing of importance. Indeed, I am indulging in a whim,and as I am doing no one any harm I think I have the right. Perhaps Ishall not keep up my quest very long, only a few days until I make adiscovery," she added, feeling a stiffening of the figure beside her andappreciating, without having to behold the firm line of the lips. Sheand Dan Webster had known each other so many years that there weretraits of his character she thoroughly understood.
"Besides," she protested, as an afterthought, "you have not the faintestright to forbid my doing anything I wish."
"No, I suppose not," Dan returned, not looking toward Sally, but at theold house a short distance away, shadowy and stately under the stars."I presume I never shall have that right, even if you come to care forme some day as I hope you may care. Indeed, I almost believed you wouldwhen we parted last, but now I see what an ass I was. I told you then Iwould not speak of this until you were older and I had made something ofmyself. I never will amount to much, Sally, I see that pretty plainlyhere in comparison with only a small group of other fellows. David Haleis the real thing, brilliant and ambitious and knows what an educatedman should know. Allan Drain is the artist with his writing of poetryand plays. He talks in a way that makes you sit up now and then, evenwhen you do not agree with him or get all he means. Philip Stead is astudent and will end by being a professor. Robert Burton I don'tunderstand so well, although he has something none of the rest of ushave, not just good looks and good manners, while I--well, Sally, I onlywant to make things grow, to watch the wheat ripen and turn gold, thecows on the old New Hampshire hillsides feeding beside their calves.The farm is double the size it was once and I intend it shall be fourtimes larger. I mean to gather men about me interested in makingagriculture what it should be and farmers' lives the most independentand worth while. When I am rich, rich as ever I am apt to be, I plan tofound an agricultural school and to give the land and the benefit of theexperience I have had and my father and grandfather before me. Don'tthink I fail to realize how dull this sounds; when I speak of it mostpeople yawn or struggle to appear polite and change the subject. Idon't care, it is only how you feel, Sally, that matters. You have hadso much experience and this past winter in New York has changed you moreeven than the years abroad. Once upon a time you would have granted thesmall favor I just asked you, now you won't even do this for me."
"Dan, you _are_ stupid; I wonder sometimes if I shall ever make youunderstand how dull you are on _one_ particular subject. At present I'drather you would not know. As for doing the favor you asked, I won'tbecause I have a reason which I believe justifies my refusing. You knowhow obstinate I am, everybody who knows me is of the same opinion on thesubject. Why not try to trust me? As to the effect the past winter hashad, I do feel older and more self-reliant. Mary Gilchrist was illalmost the entire winter and I had the care of her, then I was thehousekeeper for the Camp Fire girls. Never apologize to me for _your_stupidity, Dan, dear, which I don't think is apparent to any one saveyou. Among the Sunrise Camp Fire, no one even thinks of disputing therecognized fact that I am the least clever of all the girls. I do noteven
mind especially. I find life interesting and after all one cannotmake oneself over altogether!"
"I Wonder if I Shall Ever Make You Understand How DullYou Are on One Particular Subject."]
For the first time in the interview Dan laughed, a good natured, boyishlaugh, full of strength and sweetness.
"If you are stupid, Sally, then I am proud to be in the same companywith you. I should like to know what Tante thinks of you! You may beless interested in books and more in human beings."
In the half darkness Sally smiled.
A lantern in one of the trees overhead swung and tilted so that thelight shone down on her face.
Sally wore her rose-colored net and had a scarf of the same rose colorabout her shoulders. Tucked under her brown coil of hair in the fashionof the women who had danced in this old southern house and paraded itslawns a century ago, was a pink rose, a little crumpled now and faded.
Dan put up his hand and touched the rose gently, one could scarcely havethought there could be such gentleness in the strong fingers.
"Give me your rose, please, Sally; I don't know just why I want it, butI do. I never could see much sense in fellows wanting to hold on tothings like this before."
Sally jumped up suddenly and the little rose fell to the ground.
"Please be careful, Dan, here comes Tante and she may see you. I don'tknow what she would think."
The girl's movement arrested Mrs. Burton's attention.
She was walking about in the silver night with Senator Graham, whom shehad known many years before as a poor boy, with little education, withnearly every handicap, lack of family, of influence and position. Hewas now one of the distinguished men of the country.
"Is that you, Sally and Dan? May I speak to you? Anthony, go back toBetty and see that she rests for a few moments, she is the most tirelesshostess in the world! Sally and Dan will escort me to the house if I amnot able to walk the few yards alone. And will you tell Betty that if Idisappear I have gone up to my own room. I shall listen to the musicuntil the dancing ends and then go to bed. The boat goes back atmidnight, so I suppose the dancing can't last much longer."
Mrs. Burton sat down in the hammock between Sally and Dan, slipping ahand into each of theirs.
Dan Webster was her nephew, the son of her twin sister and of the manwho had been under the impression that he cared for her before hisdiscovery that they were entirely unsuited, and that the sister, who washer opposite in everything save her personal appearance, was the reallove of his life.[*]
[*] See "Camp Fire Girls Amid the Snows."
Sally Ashton was the daughter of two friends of her girlhood.
With no children of her own, Mrs. Burton cherished a deep affection forSally and for Dan, but for different reasons. One reason was thesame--she had a feeling of dependence upon them both. Dan was nearlylike her son. Sally Ashton, well, most people who knew Sally intimatelydid depend upon her, without being able to explain why.
"Children, do a favor for me. You'll hate it, but Sally has promised.Come with me and find Juliet Temple and see if she is having a goodtime. If she is not you'll dance with her, Dan, and make yourselfagreeable? Juliet has not been here so long as the rest of you and I amafraid feels lonely. She seems to spend most of her time alone. Youlike her well enough, don't you, Dan?"
"Of course, Tante, she seems all right, strikes me as clever. She isn'tabout much; when she is, it never occurred to me that she would beinterested in me. If you are fond of her I'll do my best."
Dan put his arm about Mrs. Burton's waist.
"You are coming to the farm to be with us for a time when you finishyour visit to the 'House by the Blue Lagoon'? Mother will never forgiveyou and will perish of jealousy if you do not. She does not enjoy theidea that you are fonder of Aunt Betty than of your own twin sister. Weboth wish you would give up that plagued stage and you and Uncle Richardlive with us until you are a little less like a wraith. But see here,Tante, I'll strike a bargain with you. Sally will have nothing to dowith me at present. If you will promise to bring her with you to thefarm for a visit this summer I shall devote myself while I am here toyour Juliet Temple, that is, if she will allow it."
Mrs. Burton smiled.
"Dan, I suppose you know you are like your father, only nicer. I don'twant you to be so attentive as to deceive Juliet, only to see that shehas a good time. I have been looking for her for the past hour and shedoes not seem to have danced with any one."
"Juliet may have gone for a walk, Tante, I think I saw her a short timeago. I have not forgotten that you said you wished me to have her inmind," Sally remarked. In her speech, or in her manner there wasnothing that was unusual, nevertheless both Dan and the Camp Fireguardian were aware of bewilderment.
"Do you mind walking about with me for a few moments and trying to findher? Of course I know _you do_ mind, but will you in any case?" Mrs.Burton pleaded.
"I am a tiresome woman, Dan, to have interrupted your talk with Sally,but I will make it up to you some day. Sally is difficult, but worththe effort. You must promise me that you will say nothing to her andeven feel nothing for the next few years, then I will be your warmestally," Mrs. Burton whispered, walking close beside the tall fellow whotowered nearly a foot above her, while Sally moved along the path infront of them, a figure of rose and silver.
Half an hour later the Camp Fire guardian was sitting in her room halfreading, half listening to the music and voices in the house and gardenbeneath her open windows.
She was in her dressing gown and her hair was unbound. The big room wasin shadow, save where the light fell about her reading-lamp. One couldsee the tall ceilings, the high windows, the few pieces of old Englishfurniture, brought to America by the early Virginia settlers.
There was a faint noise of a door being softly pushed open in theadjoining room.
"Juliet, is that you?" Mrs. Burton inquired. "Are you tired of thedance and on your way to bed as I am? I looked for you before I came upand could not find you, I suppose you were somewhere in the grounds."
"Yes, I was. Is there anything I can do for you? Is your bed turneddown?" the girl answered.
Mrs. Burton nodded.
"I believe so, but you must be more tired than I am, so please don'ttrouble about me to-night. You are too considerate of me altogether.There is some business in the morning I should like to have you help mewith for an hour or more. My accounts seemed to have become tangled inthe most absurd fashion and I should like to have them straightened outbefore Captain Burton joins us. You are a good mathematician, Juliet,and neither of us are. Now go to bed."
The girl lingered.
"I want to say something first, perhaps this is not the proper occasion,but it does not make much difference. Since I came to live with you,Mrs. Burton, I have tried to make myself useful, but I don't think Ihave ever spoken of the fact that I have grown to be very fond of you.Oh, I realize this is not an unusual experience so far as you areconcerned, most of your friends and family seem to adore you, but it isunusual with me. I never have cared for any one, except my brother. Itold you that he and I were orphans and that he was younger. Until hejoined the army he gave me a good deal of trouble, but has been bettersince. I persuaded him to continue as an enlisted man and to try to passthe examinations for an appointment as an officer later."
"A wise idea, Juliet. Is there anything I can do to help you? I am nota very influential person, but would do anything possible."
"No, no, there is nothing," the girl returned hastily; "I am going tobed in a moment."
The older woman continued her reading, a little disturbed by the factthat her companion would not retire and leave her alone. She likedJuliet Temple and was grateful and appreciative, but never had felt forher the spontaneous affection she had for her group of Sunrise Camp Firegirls. This fact did not trouble her, she never had cared equally forall the girls associated with her in the most intimate fashion duringthe past few years. Human nature makes its in
evitable selections. Atthe moment not wishing to be unsympathetic she was hoping that hercompanion would make no special demand upon her at this hour of thenight when they were both weary. Sentimentality in their relations theSunrise Camp Fire girls never had indulged in and she never hadencouraged.
"Mrs. Burton, I hate to speak of this, but I must. Do you think you cangive me a larger salary for the work I am doing for you. I need it agreat deal."
A short silence, then Mrs. Burton laid down her book and flushed.
"Juliet, is this what you have been trying to say? I am glad you havebeen frank, even though I must refuse your request, Please don't think Iam not sorry, but you understand Captain Burton's and my circumstancesat present almost as well as we do. You know we are trying to pay adebt that we believe we owe. We enjoy having you live with us, you havebeen the greatest aid and pleasure, but the fact is that you really havebeen spoiling me, as it is not actually essential that I should haveyou. I could manage to keep house with dear old Elspeth, who came to NewYork to be with me from Half Moon Lake, and who could probably lookafter things as well as you or I. I can even attend to my tiresomeletters and business if I must. I have told you several times, dear,that I thought you were being wasted upon me. When I go back to town Ican find you a much better position with a good deal larger salary. Ican do this at once if you like."
The girl shook her head.
"No, I told you I did not wish this, perhaps it does not matter, I maynot need the money after all."
"Don't decide at once, Juliet. Good night. Are you having a happy timehere? I wish you liked the Camp Fire girls better. You would behappier with more friends."
"Oh, the girls are agreeable enough, the fault is mine. Mrs. Burton, doyou think it possible to be truly fond of any one and yet to do thatperson an unkindness, a serious unkindness, not a trivial one?"
Mrs. Burton closed her book.
"My dear Juliet, what are you talking about? Of course it is possible,almost anything is possible with human beings, yet it is scarcely thekind of affection one would care to receive. But now really I want togo to sleep, the music has ceased downstairs and I hear voices infarewell. The dance must be over."