CHAPTER XXIV
HIS THREE SWEETHEARTS
Grace's eyes filled with tears of sheer weakness, but she brushed themaway impatiently. Then she read, brokenly at first, then radiantly asthe marvelous truth came home to her.
"'Poor old Will certainly did have a narrow escape,'" she read, "'but thanks to the gods he is out of danger now. I went to see him yesterday--got leave for the first time in weeks--and he was looking mighty chipper. No wonder, with the good looking nurse he had.'"
Amy gave a little involuntary sound and then blushed scarlet when thegirls looked at her.
"Never mind!" cried the joy incarnate that was Betty, putting an armabout her. "Just wait till you hear what he says later on. Go on,Gracie."
"'But do you know what that old boy said when I happened to comment upon the excellent nursing he must have had?'" Grace read on, while Amy tried hard to look unconcerned. "'He reached under his pillow and pulled out three pictures. "Those are my three girls," he said, and I swear there was moisture in his eyes. "You probably won't believe me, old man, but there isn't a girl or woman over here who could make me look twice at her unless she resembles one of those," and he pointed to the photographs I still held.
"'And when I opened them there was Mrs. Ford's face smiling up at me as sweet as life, and Grace with her best Gibson Girl expression--you can tell her from me that that is some picture of her--And who do you think the third was?'"
Grace paused again and looked over slyly at Amy, who turned away herface, only just showing the tip of one furiously blushing ear.
"'It was Amy Blackford,'" Grace read on, "'And it was one fine picture of her too. Gosh, I didn't know it was as serious as all that, did you, little girl? But then the war does make a fellow feel about ten years older than he really is, and the girls at home suddenly seem the most desirable and necessary things on earth. And Amy did look so sweet and comfy and altogether like home that I couldn't blame the old chap.
"'Then I pulled out the picture of the most beautiful girl in the world and we talked about home and--other things, you know--until we were ready to weep on each other's shoulders and the handsome nurse put me out.
"'Do you know what I'm going to do the first minute I reach good old U. S. A. territory, Betty de--'"
But the sentence was never finished, for with a quick movement, Bettysnatched the letter away and hugged it to her breast while her faceflamed.
"That's all you get," she cried, "the rest belongs to me. Oh, girls, didyou ever hear such wonderful news? Allen strong and well and Willrecovering splendidly, and both of them so sweet and loyal. Oh, I couldkiss that beautiful red-haired angel who brought all this happiness tous. Where is he? Has he gone back again?"
"Yes, he has, and what do we care!" cried Grace wildly, her faceradiant. "Amy, you little goose, you're not crying are you? Don't youknow there isn't a thing in the world to cry about? Come on--laugh, yousweet, comfy, little thing. Don't you know that Will is getting betterand keeps our pictures under his pillow? That darling, wonderful,adorable boy. Great heavens!" She stopped suddenly and a dismayedexpression crept over her face. "Excuse me, please," and she was racingup the stairs, leaving the girls to look after her, bewildered.
"What in the world," began Betty, when Amy lifted a face, shiningradiantly through her tears.
"Don't you know?" she said with an understanding born of her wonderfulhappiness. "Grace has gone to tell her mother. You really can't blameher for being in a hurry."
A few minutes later Grace called down to Amy.
"Come on up, Honey," she commanded. "Mother wants to speak to you."
After Amy had left the room, Mollie and Betty looked at each otherquestioningly.
"I wonder if Mrs. Ford is going to welcome Amy into the family,"chuckled Mollie.
"I hardly think so, since there isn't anything definitely settled yet,"said Betty absently. She was thinking of Allen and what he had said inthe part of his letter she would not let Grace read. Her eyes shonemistily and her heart sang. Allen, her Allen, was safe, and, oh, thosewonderful things he had said!
"It must be nice to be as happy as they are," Mollie said, with a littlesigh, and with a start Betty came out of her preoccupation.
"Oh, Mollie, dear, I--I forgot," she confessed, putting an arm about herchum. "I was so selfishly taken up with my own happiness that I didn'tthink!"
"It isn't your fault," said Mollie, smiling bravely. "You just can't behappy enough to suit me. You know that, don't you, Betty?"
"Of course I do, you perfect brick!" said Betty, hugging her fondly."But we can't any of us be really happy until we know you are. But eventhat is coming out all right, I'm sure of it," she finished gayly, herold optimism fully restored.
Mollie started to shake her head moodily, thought better of it, andsmiled instead.
"I won't be a death's head at the feast," she told herself savagely. "Isuppose I'm awfully wicked, but now that they are all so happy, it makesme feel dreadfully lonesome. I'm glad from my very heart for them, ofcourse. But, oh, Paul! Oh, little Dodo! If you will only come back toMollie, she will never go away from you again, never, never!"
Dinner that night for the other girls was a joyful occasion. The girlsdressed up in their prettiest and best, Mrs. Ford and Betty cooked amost appetizing supper, and if it had not been for the one dark cloudstill hanging over them, the evening that followed would have been thehappiest they had ever spent.
Mollie kept her promise to herself and entered into the gayety with thebest of them, and no one--except Betty, perhaps--realized how much shewas suffering.
However, when the lights were out that night and everybody but herselfwas asleep, Mollie's brave barrier broke down and she sobbed miserablyinto her pillow.
"I want to go home!" she cried, heart brokenly. "I can't keep this upday after day! I can't! If I don't hear some good news soon, I'll die--Iknow I shall."
Only the sound of the waves pounding angrily on the shore and theshrilling of a rapidly rising wind answered her, and after a while shesank into a troubled, uneasy sleep.
And how could she know as she lay there, restlessly tossing from side toside and muttering incoherently to herself, that the wind and waves wereactually sending her an answer which, in her wildest moments, she couldnever have imagined?
Toward morning something, she could not tell what, roused Betty and shesat up suddenly in bed, every nerve taut, every sense alert.
The wind had increased in fury while they slept, till now it was howlingfiercely about the house, rattling the windows and whistling shrillythrough the cracks, which together with the pounding of the waves, madean almost deafening uproar.
And the rain! It came down in sheeting torrents and was driven by therushing wind in maddened gusts against the window panes until it seemedthey must give beneath the strain.
"What a storm!" cried Betty, pressing her hands against her ears to keepout the noise of it. "I wonder if that was what wakened me."
Then, becoming fully awake, she suddenly realized that she was veryuncomfortable, and, looking down, discovered that the bed spread waswet.
"Mercy, it's raining in all over us!" she tried aloud, and, springingout of bed, ran over to the window and closed it with a bang. When shecame back she found Grace sitting up in bed and staring at her.
"For goodness sake, what's happening?" asked the latter sleepily: "Is itthe end of the world?"
"Search me," returned Betty, inelegantly. She had to almost scream tomake herself heard above the noise of the storm. Furthermore, her feetwere wet and her nightgown was wet, which did not serve to lift herspirits. In fact, she was feeling decidedly grumpy. "The only thing I doknow," she shou
ted, "is that I'm nearly drowned."
"Don't you know that getting drowned at night is strictly forbidden?"Grace began severely, but was promptly smothered by an avenging pillow."Why don't you get in bed?" she asked, when she had succeeded indisentangling herself. Betty was sitting disconsolately on the dry sideof the bed, which happened to be that occupied by Grace.
"If you want to know, just feel the covers," Betty answered. "Next timeI'm going to make you sleep on the side near the window. Think I'll goin and see if Mollie and Amy are drowned yet," she added, starting forthe door. "Goodness, but this is a heavy storm!"
However, when she started to close the window in the next room shenoticed to her surprise that the rain had slackened, had almost stopped.But not so the wind. If anything, it had increased in fury.
She was about to turn back and tiptoe out of the room, hoping that shehad not roused the girls, when her eye was caught and held by a vividflash of red somewhere out to sea.
Startled, she stood stock still, staring out in the direction from whichthat light had come. It seemed weird, eery--that lonesome light sendingits signal out into the storm-whipped darkness. For that it was asignal, she did not for a minute doubt.
Then it came again--green this time--a light that shot up rocketliketoward the sky, then, bursting, dived to instant annihilation in theturbulant water.
Another followed, and another, and then the truth came home to Betty.Somewhere out there In that foaming sea a ship had met with disaster,perhaps at this moment was sinking and her crew, were sending outdesperate appeals for aid.
For a moment she felt almost sick with pity and excitement. Then shecontrolled herself and ran over to wake the girls.
"Mollie! Amy!" she cried, her voice shrill even above the shrieking ofthe wind. "Wake up, wake up! Oh, why don't you wake up?" as the girlsopened sleep-laden eyes and stared at her stupidly.
"Wh-what's the matter," stammered Mollie, suddenly sensing almosthysterical excitement in Betty's voice and realizing that somethingterrible had occurred.
"Is anybody sick?" queried Amy almost fretfully, for she had beenenjoying the first good sleep she had had in weeks.
"No. But somebody may be if we don't hurry up," cried Betty, wild withimpatience. "Don't lie there asking foolish questions when people may bedying."
"Dying," they echoed, still staring at her stupidly.
"There's a wrecked ship out there," Betty explained, her words stumblingover each other as she tried to make the girls understand. "They aresending up signals for help, and if we don't get it for them right awayit may be too late. Oh, girls, for all we know, it may be too late now!"
Mollie and Amy, at last fully awake and almost as excited as Bettyherself, sprang out of bed and rushed to the window to see forthemselves the signals the distressed vessel was sending up.