BRINGING UP THE PAST
Charlie Webster wore a troubled expression when he appeared for dinner
that same evening. He was late. If such a thing were believable,
his kindly blue eyes glittered malevolently as they rested upon
the face of Courtney Thane, who had taken his place at table a few
minutes earlier. The fat little man was strangely preoccupied. He
was even gruff in his response to Mr. Pollock's bland inquiry as
to the state of his health.
"How's your liver, Charlie?" inquired the genial editor. This amiable
question was habitual with Mr. Pollock. He varied it a little when
the object of his polite concern happened to be of the opposite
sex; then he gallantly substituted the word "appetite." It was never
necessary to reply to Mr. Pollock's question. In fact, he always
seemed a little surprised when any one did reply, quite as if he had
missed a portion of the conversation and was trying in a bewildered
sort of way to get the hang of it again.
"Same as it was yesterday," said Charlie. "I don't want any soup,
Maggie. Yes, I know it's bean soup, but I don't want it, just the
same."
"Going on a hunger strike, Charlie?" inquired Doc Simpson.
"Sh! He's reducing," scolded Flora Grady.
"What's on your mind, Charlie?" asked Courtney.
Charlie swallowed hard. He made a determined effort and succeeded
in recovering some of his old-time sprightliness.
"Nothing, now that I've got my hat off."
"Have you heard the latest news, Charlie?" inquired Mrs. Pollock,
a thrill of excitement in her voice.
He started, and looked up quickly. "There's been so blamed much
news lately," he muttered, "I can't keep track of it."
"Well, this is the greatest piece of news we've had in ages," said
the poetess. "Wedding bells are to ring in our midst. Somebody you
know very well is going to be married."
Mr. Webster's heart went to his boots. He stared open-mouthed at
the speaker.
"Oh, my Lord!" he almost groaned. "Don't tell me she has promised
to marry--" He broke off to glare venomously at Thane.
"Don't blame me for it, Charlie," exclaimed the latter. "I am as
innocent as an unborn babe. Charge it to woman's wiles." He laughed
boisterously, unnaturally.
Mr. Pollock spoke. "The next issue of the Sun will contain
the formal announcement of the engagement of the most popular and
beloved young lady in Windomville. No doubt it will be old news by
that time,--next Thursday,--but publication in the press gives it
the importance of officialty."
"We may congratulate ourselves, however, that we are not to lose
her," said Mrs. Pollock. "She is to remain in--"
"Whe-when is it to take place?" groaned Charlie, moisture starting
out on his brow.
"That," began Mr. Pollock, "is a matter which cannot be definitely
announced at present, owing to certain family--er--ah--conditions.
In addition to this, I may say that there is also the children to
consider, as well as the township trustee and, to an extent, the
taxpayer. The--"
"All I've got to say," grated Charlie, "is that the police ought
to be consulted, first of all."
"The police!" exclaimed Angie Miller.
"The--the what?" gasped Furman Hatch, lifting his head suddenly.
He was very red in the face. "I'd like to know what the devil the
police have to do with it?"
Charlie took a look at Angie Miller's face, and then the truth
dawned upon him. He sank back in his chair so suddenly that the
legs gave forth an ominous crack.
"Don't do that!" cried Margaret Slattery sharply. "You know them
chairs are not made of iron. And I don't want you flopping all over
me when I'm passing the stew--"
"Yes, sir!" boomed Charlie, who had collected his wits by this time,
and was pointing his finger accusingly at Mr. Hatch. "The police
have simply got to be called. It's going to take half the force,
including Bill Foss, to keep me from drinking the heart's blood of
my hated rival. Ladies and gents, that infernal, low-down villain
over there has come between me and--But nobody shall say that
Charles Darwin Webster is a poor loser! Say what you please about
him, but do not say he is a short sport. It breaks my heart to do
it, but I'm coming around there to shake hands with you, old Tintype.
I'm going to congratulate you, but I'm never going to get through
hating you."
He arose and bolted around the table. Mr. Hatch got to his feet
and the long and the short man clasped hands.
"Put her there, old boy! I've already made up my mind what my wedding
present is going to be. The day before the wedding I'm coming in
and order a dozen photographs of myself,--pay for 'em in advance.
And I'm going to give every darned one of 'em to the bride, so's she
can stick 'em up all over the house just to make you feel at home,
you blamed old bachelor. And as for you, Miss Angelina Miller, the
very topmost height of my ambition will be reached in less than two
minutes after the ceremony. Because, then and there, I'm going to
kiss you. Bless you, my children. As old Rip Van Winkle used to
say, 'may you live long and brosper.'"
Having delivered himself of this felicitous speech, the somewhat
relieved Mr. Webster wiped his brow.
"What did he say?" quaked old Mrs. Nichols, putting her hand to
her ear.
"Says he hoped they'd be happy," bawled old Mr. Nichols, close to
her ear.
"Pass the bread, Doc," said Mr. Hatch, getting pinker and pinker.
"When's it to take place, Angle?" inquired Charlie, resuming his
seat. He cast a sharp look at Courtney. The young man shifted his
gaze immediately.
"As I explained to Mr. Pollock, everything depends on my aunt,"
said Angie composedly. "She is very old,--eighty-three, in fact."
"You don't mean to say your aunt objects to your marrying old
Tintype," exclaimed Charlie.
"Not at all," replied Angie, somewhat tartly.
"You see, it's this way," volunteered Mr. Pollock. "Miss Angie is
the sole support of a venerable and venerated aunt who lives in
Frankfort. That is a thing to be considered. Her duty to her father's
sister--"
Courtney interrupted, chuckling. "It's too much to ask of any
woman. I suppose it must take nearly all you earn, Miss Miller,
to support your aged relative, so naturally you do not feel like
taking on Mr. Hatch immediately."
There was a moment's silence around the table.
"I see by the Chicago Tribune," said Mr. Pollock, after a hurried
gulp of coffee, "that there's likely to be a strike of the street-car
men up there."
"You don't say so," said Doc Simpson, looking so concerned that
one might have been led to suspect that he was dismayed over the
prospect of getting to his office the next day.
"What's the world coming to?" sighed Maude Baggs Pollock nervously.
"Strikes, strikes everywhere. Murder, bloodshed, robbery, revolution--"
"Next thing we know," put in Charlie Webster, without looking up
from his plate, "God will strike, and when He does there'll be hell
to pay, begging your pardon, ladies, for using a word that sounds
worse than it tastes."
"I use it every day of my life," said Miss Flora Grady. "It's a
grand word, Charlie," she added, a little defiantly.
"Times have changed," remarked Mr. Pollock blandly. "It wasn't so
very long ago that women Said 'pshaw' when they wanted to let off
steam. Then they got to saying 'shucks,' and from that they progressed
to 'darn,' and now they say 'damn' without a quiver. Only yesterday
I heard my wife say something that sounded suspiciously like 'dammit
to hell' when she upset a bottle of ink on her desk. She hasn't
stubbed her toe against a rocking-chair lately, thank goodness."
Doc Simpson stopped Courtney as he was starting upstairs after
dinner. The dentist was unsmiling.
"Say, Court, I'm running a little close this week. Been so much
excitement a lot of patients have forgotten all about their teeth.
Can you let me have that ten you borrowed last week?"
"Sure," said Courtney, in his most affable manner. "I'll hand it
to you tomorrow. I'll give it to you now if you'll wait till I run
upstairs and get it out of my trunk. That's my bank, you know."
"Tomorrow'll do all right," said Doc, a trifle abashed.
"Can I see you a second, Mr. Thane?" called Miss Grady, when he
was halfway up the stairs.
He stopped and smiled down at her. "I hope you'll forgive me if
I don't come down, Miss Flora. My knee is still on the blink. It
hurts worse to go downstairs, than it does up."
"I'll come up," said Miss Grady promptly. "You remember those roses
I ordered for you last week? Well, I had to pay cash for them,
including parcel post. You owe me seven dollars and thirteen cents."
"I'm glad you spoke of it. I hadn't forgotten it, of course, but--I
simply neglected to square it up with you. Have you change for a
twenty, Miss Flora?"
"Not with me."
"I'll hand it to you tomorrow. Seven-thirteen, you say? Shall
we make it seven-fifteen?" He favoured her with his most engaging
smile, and Miss Grady, who thought she had steeled her heart
against his blandishments, suffered a momentary relapse and said,
"No hurry. I just thought I'd remind you."
He failed completely, however, to affect the susceptibilities of
Miss Mary Dowd, who presently rapped at his door, and rapped again
when he called out "Come in." He opened the door.
"Pardon me, Mr. Thane, for coming up to speak to you about your
bill. Will it be convenient for you to let me have the money this
evening?"
She did not soften the dun by offering the usual excuse about
"expenses being a little heavier this month than we expected," or
that she "hated to ask him for the amount."
"Is it three or four weeks, Miss Molly?" he inquired, taking out
an envelope and a pencil.
"Four weeks today."
"Sixty dollars." He jotted it down. "I cannot let this opportunity
pass to tell you how thoroughly satisfied I have been with everything
here, Miss Molly. The table is really extraordinarily good. I don't
see how you can do it for fifteen dollars a week, including room."
He replaced the envelope in his pocket, and smiled politely, his
hand going to the door knob.
"We couldn't do it, Mr. Thane, unless we stuck pretty closely to
our rule,--that is, of asking our patrons to pay promptly at the
end of every week."
"It's really the only way," he agreed.
"So if you will be kind enough to let me have the amount now, I
will be very much obliged to you."
He stepped to the head of the stairs, ostensibly to be nearer a
light, and took out his purse. While counting out the bills, he cast
frequent glances down into the lower hall. The buzz of conversation
came up from the "lounge."
"I think you will find the proper amount here, Miss Molly," he
said, after restoring the purse to his pocket.
She took the bank-notes and counted them.
"Quite correct, Mr. Thane. Thank you. By the way, I have been
meaning to ask how much longer you contemplate remaining with us.
Pastor Mavity has been inquiring for room and board for his sister,
who is coming on from Indianapolis to spend several months in
Windomville. If by any chance you are thinking of vacating your
room within the next few days, I would be obliged if you would let
me know as soon as possible in order that I may give Mr. Mavity an
answer."
"I think I shall be leaving shortly, Miss Dowd. I can let you know
in a day or two," said he stiffly. "I am afraid your winters are
too severe for me. Good night,--and thank you for being so patient,
Miss Dowd."
Meanwhile, Miss Angie Miller had taken Charlie Webster off to a
corner of the "lounge" remote from the fireplace. She was visibly
excited.
"I had a letter in this afternoon's mail from my uncle, Charlie,"
she announced in subdued tones. "My goodness, you'll simply pass
away when you read it."
"Where is it?" demanded Charlie eagerly.
"I haven't even shown it to Furman," said she, looking over her
shoulder. "I've been wondering whether I ought to let him read it
first."
"Not at all," said he promptly. "It's none of his business. This
is between you and me, Angie. Let's have a look at it."
"I don't think you'd better read it here," she whispered nervously.
"It--it is very private and confidential."
"That's all right," said Charlie. "I'll sneak upstairs with it,
Angie."
"Well, act as if you are looking out of the window," she said, and
when his back was turned she produced the letter from its hiding
place inside her blouse.
II
Charlie retired to his room a few minutes later. There he perused
the following letter, written on the stationery of Beck, Blossom,
Fredericks & Smith, Attorneys-at-law, New York City:
MY DEAR NIECE:
Pardon my delay in replying to your letter of recent date. I have
been very busy in court and have not been in a position to devote
even a little of my time to your inquiry. Your second letter reached
me yesterday, and I now make amends for my previous delinquency by
answering it with a promptness most uncommon in lawyers.
The firm of which I am a member appeared in 1912 for the plaintiff
in the case of Ritter vs. Thane. Our client was a young woman
residing in Brooklyn. The defendant was Courtney Thane, the son
of Howard Thane, and no doubt the young man to whom you refer. In
any case, he was the grandson of Silas Thane, who lived in your part
of the State of Indiana. We were demanding one hundred thousand
dollars for our client. Miss Ritter was a trained nurse. Young
Thane had been severely injured in an automobile accident. If YOUR
Courtney Thane is the same as MINE, he will be walking with a slight
limp. His left leg was badly crushed in the accident to which I
refer. For several months he was unable to walk. Upon his removal
from St. Luke's Hospital to his father's home in Park Avenue, a
fortnight after the accident, our client was employed as a nurse on
the case. This was early in the spring of 1912. In June the Thane
family went to the Berkshires, where they had rented a house for
the summer. Our client accompanied them. Prior to their departure,
Thane, senior, had settled out of court with the occupants of the
automobile with which his son's car had collided in upper Broadway.
His son was alone in his car when the accident occurred, but there
were a number of witnesses ready to testify that he was driving at
a high rate of speed, regardless of traffic or crossings. If my memory
serves me correctly, his father paid something like twenty-five
thousand dollars to the three persons injured. That, however,
is neither here nor there, except to illustrate the young man's
disregard for the law.
Miss Ritter had been on the case a very short time before he began
to make ardent love to her. She was an extremely pretty girl, two
years his senior, and, I am convinced, a most worthy and exemplary
young woman. She became infatuated with the young man. He asked
her to marry him. (Permit me to digress for a moment in order to
state that while Courtney Thane was in his freshman year at college
his father was obliged to pay out quite a large sum of money to a
chorus-girl with whom, it appears, he had become involved.) To make
a long story short, our client, trusting implicitly to his honour
and submitting to the ardour of their joint passion, anticipated
the marriage ceremony with serious results to herself. When she
discovered that he had no intention of marrying her, she attempted
suicide. Her mother, on learning the truth, went to Thane's parents
and pleaded for the righting of the wrong. Howard Thane had, by this
time, lost all patience with his son. He refused to have anything
to do with the matter. The young man's mother ordered Miss Ritter's
mother out of the apartment and threatened to have her arrested for
blackmail. Shortly after this episode, we were consulted by Mrs.
Ritter, much against the wishes of her daughter, who shrank from
the notoriety and the disgrace of a lawsuit. The elder Thane was
adamant in his decision that his son should marry the girl, who,
he was fair enough to admit, was a young woman of very superior
character and who, he was convinced, had been basely deceived. The
mother, on the other hand, was relentlessly opposed to the sacrifice
of her son. We took the matter to court. On the morning of the
first day of the trial, before the opening of court, the defendant's
counsel came to us with a proposition. They offered to settle out
of court for twenty-five thousand dollars. In the end, we accepted
fifty thousand, and the case was dismissed. Afterwards counsel
for the other side informed us that the elder Thane turned his son
out of his home and refused to have anything more to do with him.
I understand the young man went to Europe, where he subsisted on
an allowance provided by his mother. Thane, senior, died shortly
after this. Our client, I am pained to say, died with her babe in
childbirth.
You may be interested to know, my dear niece, that Mrs. Thane
married soon after her husband's death. Her second husband was
a young French nobleman, many years her junior. He was killed in
the war, I think at Verdun. I understand she is now living in this
city. Her present name escapes me, but I know that her widowhood
has been made endurable by a legacy which happens to be one in name
only. In other words, he left her the title of Countess.
If I can be of any further service to you, my dear niece, pray do
not hesitate to call upon me. Believe me to be...etc., etc.
Within ten minutes after the perusal of this very convincing
indictment, Charlie Webster was on his way to Alix's home. He was
quite out of breath when he presented himself at the front door,
and his first words to Alix were:
"While I'm getting my breath, Alix, you might prepare yourself for
a shock."