Dolly went on the bridge this afternoon and stayed a half-hour with
the captain, giving no reason save that she liked to talk with him,
which seemed plausible, but did not satisfy me. At bedtime I
discovered her unpacking and laying out in her upper berth a dazzling
toilet for our landing at St. Thomas to-morrow. She blushed when I
looked in upon her.
"Do dress 'up to me,' Charlotte," she coaxed. "I don't want to be
conspicuous. Wear your gray georgette and the broad hat with the
roses."
"Why this sudden display of vanity and good clothes?"
"Hasn't your letter of introduction to Governor Oliver brought us an
invitation to luncheon at Government House?"
"Yes; but I don't suppose it is a banquet."
"Charlotte, I must confide in you."
"I should think it was about time."
"What do you mean?"
"I have known for days that you were concealing something."
"I didn't want to be secretive, but I thought it was only fair to you
to keep my own counsel. Now you can report to mother that you knew
nothing, and that therefore you couldn't interfere."
"But what have you done? You can't be secretly married--with your
chosen man in Washington and you on the vasty deep."
"No; but I'm next door to it."
"What do you mean by 'next door'? Have you a groom and a minister
waiting on the New York dock?"
"No; mother will be there, but I fear she won't bring a minister. I'm
so glad you imagined something far, far worse than I ever intended. It
shows that you are more audacious than I--though nobody would believe
it."
"I don't like your tone; but go on."
"I've been communicating rather frequently with Duke."
"So I fancied, from your changing money at every stop and doing
continual sums on paper."
"It has made me a pauper--this telegraphing in war-time. The messages
go by Jamaica or Porto Rico or Trinidad or Bermuda and lots of other
islands, and I think some of the messages must be personally conducted
straight to New York by powerful swimmers, judging by the cost."
"Go on. Don't temporize."
"I needn't repeat all of them, and in fact I haven't copies. Duke,
after he had my first telegram from St. Thomas, wired back to St.
Croix, '_You are willing to take my name. Why, after all, shouldn't I
refuse your sacrifice and make one of my own by taking yours?_' Wasn't
that noble?"
"It would have softened the heart of a suffragette or a feminist. What
did you reply?"
"I said: '_Never in the world!_'"
"'Never' would have been enough. You wasted three words at a dollar or
so apiece."
"I wanted to be strong. I said: '_Never in the world! I am not going
to have you criticized and nagged and made unhappy, as if your name
were a crime!_' Then he wired: '_But it would remove objections, and
cost only six thousand a year._' I had to wait two whole days and
nights before I could cable: '_Objector will surely meet me in New
York. She will probably forgive if we are both firm. My mind is made
up. I would rather be a you-know-what than remain a Valentine._'"
"That was strong enough."
"I meant it to be. He has been scurrilously treated, and somebody must
stand by him. Now, to-morrow, February 14th, is his birthday. I
remember it because we met on St. Valentine's day, and it wasn't many
hours afterward that I guessed how he felt about me."
"Dorothea! Do you mean to tell me that a man spoke to you of his
feelings within twenty-four hours of the time you met?"
"No, I do not."
"You certainly intimated as much. If it wasn't many hours after you
met on the 14th it must have been on the 15th."
"No, you are wrong, Charlotte. It was the evening of the same day. We
met in the early morning."
"It sounds like a children's party with an exchange of those
snapping-mottoes."
"Duke is nearly twenty-eight, you know, Charlotte; so it is simply
nonsense to jeer at him. You ought to be able to imagine what sort of
things would be said between two persons mutually attracted to each
other--when you remember that he was born on February 14th and my name
is Valentine. The coincidence simply put ideas into our heads; but I
won't go on if you don't sympathize."
"I don't actually disapprove, not at heart. Now, what has his birthday
got to do with to-morrow and St. Thomas?"
"Why, I cabled him as soon as we arrived at Barbados: '_What would you
like for a birthday present from the West Indies?_' I knew that he
would remember we met on St. Valentine's day and an answer could reach
me at St. Thomas."
"Couldn't you buy him a souvenir without inquiring at great expense
what he'd prefer?"
"Ye-es; but I thought it was a nice, affectionate question."
"Well?"
"Well, he cabled one word, Charlotte."
"I guessed that the moment you quoted your message. When you asked:
'_What shall I bring you from the West Indies?_' Duke promptly
answered, '_Yourself._'"
"Charlotte, you are positively uncanny! How did you manage to hit upon
it?"
"It doesn't take as much intellect as you fancy. You are as
transparent as a plate of glass. Well, when he said '_Yourself_,' how
did you answer him?"
"It's the only thing I don't like to tell you, but I must. I reflected
a full half-hour at Barbados. It was one of those heavenly moonlight
nights not suitable for reflection. Then I wrote a message and sent it
to the office by one of the colored waiters so that the hotel people
shouldn't read it. It said" (and here she turned her face away from
me): "'_Deliveries from the West Indies are uncertain and expensive;
come and get me._'--Do you think that was forward?"
I laughed irresistibly and a long time. "It certainly was not
backward, but it was delicious," I said at length, wiping the tears
from my eyes. "However, he seems as impetuous and tempestuous as you,
so perhaps it doesn't matter."
"You see, Charlotte, I knew that probably he couldn't meet this boat
to save his life, so I was willing to say, '_Come and get me_,' just
for fun. I hadn't the slightest clue as to when he would receive my
message or the sailing dates of steamers from New York, everything is
so changed in war-times. I know only that the time is slipping away,
and Duke may leave the Shipping Board at any moment for the
training-camp. I intend to have one brief, straightforward talk with
mother, and declare my purpose. We are going to get your Mr. Winthrop
to intercede for us, too. I shall be of age in March, and I don't
intend to let a mere name stand between me and happiness."
"I think you are right, and that your mother will finally agree with
you; but I still don't see the need of an unusual toilet for
to-morrow."
"It's for the Governor," said Dolly, "and one never knows what may
happen."
"If a bromidic remark may also be cryptic, Dorothea, you have achieved
the combination. Now I must ask you a direct question, for, although I
am not your keeper, but your friend, I am not disposed to let you do
anything reckless. Why did you put that idea into Duke's head--the
idea of meeting you in St. Thomas?"
"I wanted to talk things over before seeing mother. I knew I could
trust him. He has some elderly cousins and a sister-in-law; surely,
between them, he could find somebody to bring along with him; and I
have you, safest and wisest of Charlottes! Duke is one of the legal
advisers of the Shipping Board. Why shouldn't he have business in
these islands? Besides, it is a practical impossibility that he should
be able to reach St. Thomas on a given date."
"Then why did you suggest it?"
"I think, Charlotte, it must have been empty-mindedness."
"I regard it as a pure lack of self-control."
"I've practiced self-control for one whole, endless year."
"You have practiced filial obedience, I grant that. But what good do
you expect to achieve if Duke does surmount the insurmountable and
meet you to-morrow?"
"What good?" Dolly almost shrieked the question. "What good, do you
ask? You callous, cold-hearted Charlotte! Why, four heavenly days
spent in his society, to be sure--with you and his chaperon having a
lovely time together somewhere not too near."
"And you haven't any sneaking idea of marrying him in St. Thomas?
Because I won't allow it."
"No such luck! He wouldn't let me, unless mother's attitude has been
miraculously changed."
"Well, I can only say that you have made me very nervous and
uncomfortable, Dolly," and I prepared to leave her cabin and cross the
narrow space that divided it from mine.
"Darling Charlotte!" Here she drew me back. "If you are nervous and
uncomfortable, it seems that you think there's a bare chance that Duke
will be in St. Thomas."
"I know nothing about the possibilities," I replied. "He might
persuade the Shipping Board that he could be of use in this vicinity,
and, of course, he would have advantages not possessed by ordinary
tourists."
"If you had had any experience with shipping boards, Charlotte, you
would know that they can only be moved by chloroform or dynamite.
Besides, Duke would never do anything underhanded; he is too
patriotic; though, of course, he is inventive."
"Of course! And inventiveness is only one of his gifts, while his
virtues are those of Sir Galahad, King Arthur, Marcus Aurelius,
Abraham Lincoln, and a few others."
"Charlotte, I don't want to seem harsh, but I hope some time you will
get a faint inkling of what love really is. Your heart reminds me of
the Rock of Gibraltar!"
"One doesn't wear the Rock of Gibraltar on one's sleeve, at all
events," I remarked.
"Do you mean that if you ever did have a love-affair you wouldn't
confide in me, when I adore you so, Charlotte?"
"I mean something of the sort, my child." At which she made a feint of
beating me with her little silver hair-brush, but ended in kissing my
cheek and whispering: "Good-night! You are a darling, even if you have
no sentiment."
* * * * *
Morning came. We anchored outside St. Croix at five o'clock; went
through medical inspection at six, and if there was anything the
matter with Dolly's heart or mine the physician did not offer any
comment. Then about ten we approached St. Thomas for the second time.
If the Virgin Islands looked beautiful when we first saw them, they
had grown in beauty during our brief absence, and my birthplace, in
the shining distance, was a very dream of loveliness. We saw its
outline rising above a rim of azure sea, with the mountains of Porto
Rico standing out to the westward. The great palm groves on the shore
led the eye upward to the green hills and the clouds topping the
higher peaks. Gayly painted boats began to come near the Diana, and
naked diving boys, slender shapes of brown mahogany, plunged into the
sea to catch our pennies. Then we saw the red roofs of Charlotte
Amalia, the little park near the landing, and the pink, toy-like
fortress with the Stars and Stripes floating over it.
Dorothea and I stood near the deck-rail, her hand in mine. In her
white dress, her broad hat wreathed with corn-flowers, and a scarlet
sunshade, she looked a youthful Columbia, so radiant and bewitching
that for the first time I secretly hoped Marmaduke Hogg might triumph
over the obstacles in the way and come to meet his ladylove, although
I saw many embarrassing and awkward situations arising from such a
meeting. I could not be jealous of so bright and joyous a creature,
and anyway my own happiness was only a few days distant, if I chose to
put out my arms and take it.
There seemed to be a crowd on the dock, which was made most
unattractive by a colossal mountain of coal that concealed everything
behind it. The Diana made a slow approach, but we finally passed the
coal-heap and came within thirty feet of the shore. I could feel
Dolly's heart beat through her pulse that lay under my hand. Then
suddenly her quick eyes searched the outer edge of the crowd and found
the shape they were looking for.
"I think I see him! I think I am going to faint, for I didn't really
expect him! Yes; I know it is he, though he is wearing summer clothes
that I never saw before. Look, Charlotte! Away back near that grove of
cocoanut-trees! He's with other people--I knew he would find somebody!
Give me the glasses. There's an elderly man in a Panama hat, and two
ladies, and--why, Charlotte, take the glasses yourself. It can't be,
but it looks like your Winthrop!"
My hand trembled so that I could hardly hold the glass. I could
scarcely believe Dolly's eyes or my own; but the Diana crept nearer,
and it was true! Inch by inch the picture grew clearer, and then a
pathetic surprise met my gaze.
I could see Clive plainly now, and felt that he was searching the line
of passengers on the Diana's deck to find me. My heart gave a furious
leap to think that a man like my chief would look for only one woman's
face in that crowd, and regard it, with all its blemishes, as a
precious thing.
Duke had separated himself from the little group and was swinging his
hat to Dorothea; but I could not explain why the two men were not
standing nearer together and what was the meaning of the wheeled
chair, with the nurse's head rising above the back. The identity of
the person in the chair was hidden by a tiny black frilled parasol
with a handle bent in the middle so that it could be used for a
shield. Did I know that little old-fashioned sunshade? I did! It was
the property of some one whose belongings had a certain air of
difference from those of other people. She lifted it at last, as we
came close to the dock, and I met Ellen Winthrop's affectionate,
welcoming glance. Her eyes swam in unshed tears, and mine were so wet
I could see only dimly that her beautiful hair was a shade whiter, her
face paler and thinner, that she had aged mysteriously in a month, and
the hand that was holding the parasol trembled like a leaf. She had
been very ill; there was no doubt of that. She had been ordered a
voyage, and I felt that she had chosen this one because she knew
Clive's wish. That meant she was willing to welcome me into the heart
of the family; perhaps even that she wished to help me fit myself to
take her own unique place in her brother's life. Oh, what joy to feel
that I could not only take freely all that my chief wanted to give me,
but that I could be of real service to her!
Down the precipitous landing-steps we went, Dolly, as usual, well in
the front. Clive and Duke were at the foot awaiting us, and, as we
felt a sense of safety in the midst of strangers, Dolly flung herself
at once into Duke's arms, while all the male watchers on deck or dock
gazed at him with envy. Finding myself unobserved in this spectacular
tableau, I could give Clive my own greeting as my heart dictated,
while I told him that his sister's presence answered my last doubt.
When Dolly withdrew from the embrace of her adoring swain--rosy,
joyous, unabashed--she adjusted her hat from its perilous position on
one side of her head, and gazed upon Clive and me with unflattering
astonishment mixed with awe.
"You, too, perfidious Charlotte! You needn't deny it; I saw you
both--just finishing!"
"Not at all, Miss Valentine," laughed Clive, putting out his hand to
shake hers. "We were, in fact, only just beginning."
"And to think I never suspected, when I might have known that you are
the only man in the world learned enough and good enough for
Charlotte."
"You were too absorbed in your own affairs to think about mine,
missy," I said. "Now, will you be modest and grateful for the rest of
your life, since you see that my Mr. Winthrop has brought your young
man to St. Thomas in a discreet manner that you never could have
achieved by yourself? Take me to your sister, Clive; I want her to
know without a moment's delay how I appreciate her coming with you."
"She has been terribly ill, Charlotte. For ten days after you left it
was almost hopeless, but at length she rallied, and since the doctor
insisted on a change of climate her whole heart was bent on coming
here. She has long suspected our feeling for each other, and you will
be such a joy to her as well as to me, my dear."
"It makes me so happy, so happy!" I faltered, my eyes swimming with
tears. "I was so unwilling to take all and give so little--now it will
be more!"
"Don't go off by yourselves," said Dolly. "Be dignified and
indifferent, like us. Take Mr. Winthrop's arm and I'll take Duke's."
(Here she suited the action to the word.) "There's the Governor,
expecting us to luncheon and not knowing us by sight. He won't suspect
what has happened; but after saluting him and asking him to put some
more plates on the table, we'll all walk up to Miss Winthrop's chair,
and you and I will say: 'Good-morning, dear lady. Let us introduce to
you "our new possessions," our spoils of travel, our souvenirs of a
sea-voyage.' Then Duke and Mr. Winthrop will make a profound
obeisance, and all will be over."
And so it turned out! Everybody laughed and chatted; Dorothea kissed
Ellen Winthrop's hand prettily, coquetted with Clive, and began to lay
siege to the nurse's heart, while she riveted the chains by which she
held Marmaduke Hogg in bondage. She was in high spirits, but she was
distinctly nervous, and whenever she introduced her fiance to one of
her fellow voyagers she showed a heightened color as she slid quickly
over his surname.
Presently Clive withdrew a little distance to talk with the Governor's
secretary, and Dorothea caught the captain on his way from the ship
and entangled him in a merry conversation with Miss Winthrop. This
gave Marmaduke an opportunity to take me aside. I suspected that he
wanted to confide in me that Mrs. Valentine had made one last
determined refusal to receive him as a son-in-law, and that after the
next few days of sea-voyaging we should meet an irate parent at the
landing in New York and that there would be metaphorical "wigs on the
green."
I confess in that moment, as I envisaged the recalcitrant Dolly locked
in her room and fed upon bread and water, that I wished Mr. Marmaduke
Hogg had remained in Washington, which is the scene of so many battles
that one more or less would not be obvious on the horizon. On the
contrary, his first words were a surprise.
"Miss Clifford," he said, "no one knows what Dolly and I owe to you!"
"But what have I done?" I inquired laughingly.
"Oh, a thousand things! Taken my part gently and kindly with Mrs.
Valentine; and above all, allowed Dolly to come on this journey with
you, when she was so utterly confused by her mother's objections to
our marriage that she did not know which way to turn.--It's rather a
big job for a girl to decide whether she'll break her mother's heart,
or her lover's!"
"Mrs. Valentine has no heart, save in the physiological sense," I
interrupted.
"Well, I have cut the Gordian knot," continued Marmaduke. "I don't
want Dolly to know just at first, but I have set plans in motion for
changing my name back to Forrest!"
"But you lose six thousand dollars a year!" I exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter. I am offered a New York partnership when the war
is over and it won't be very long before I make it up."
"And what about your dear old uncle?"
"That hurts me, I confess. But I think if departed spirits know
nothing of our doings, it doesn't matter, and if they know everything,
uncle must have kept an eye on Mrs. Valentine and will understand."
"I never thought of leaving the whole matter to 'uncle,'" I observed.
"I'm not shifting the responsibility; I'm simply counting on him. I
always counted on him and he always trusted me. If I could get him on
a spiritual long-distance telephone, he would see that I cannot part
an only daughter from her only mother."
"Yes, I've often thought only children were a mistake; they bulk too
heavily in the foreground. Where there are six, each one cannot take
up so much room."
"Exactly. You see we've got to go to her mother's to dinner every
other Sunday when our cook's out. I've learned that much about
matrimony in advance."
"Perhaps you won't be invited!"
"Well, that would be even worse. Besides, she has given up her
apartment and leased a charming house."
"Does she think that you and Dolly are to live with her?"
"If she does she is mistaken, but to do her justice I don't believe
that's her idea at all. However, she is all settled and awaiting
Dorothea. The house is going to be a surprise."
"Dolly will like it; the apartment didn't suit her taste."
"A pompous butler is installed. I discovered all this when I went to
call, and conscientiously told her I was going to St. Thomas with the
Winthrops. He is elderly, of course, as all the middle-aged and young
butlers are in khaki; and wonderful to relate, there is also an aged
but well-preserved footman. He dwells on the lower floor, and
communicates with the butler on the floor above, where the drawing-
and dining-rooms are, by means of a speaking-tube. The moment the
footman approached me with his 'What name, sir?' and bawled 'MR.
HOGG!' through the tube, the butler repeating it resonantly to the
boudoir where Mrs. Valentine was sitting; at that moment I knew why
she had taken the house. It was for the speaking-tubes! I have never
before seen a small house in Washington with these annunciators. The
butler and footman were engaged for the same purpose, that of bawling
'MR. HOGG' whenever I called upon Dolly. After my interview with Mrs.
Valentine, which was placid, for she thanked me coldly for telling her
of my proposed journey and said she should go herself, but imagined
that the steamers were small and uncomfortable, and the food
villainous; however, we would talk the whole matter over in New York
and come to some decision; she then went to the speaking-tube and
called, 'Brown! Ask Jenkins to show Mr. Hogg out, please!'
"I left the lady and went at once to Clive Winthrop for advice and
began the process of amputating my surname. Perhaps I shall not call
at the X Street house till the wedding is over, and when the footman
asks: 'What name, sir?' I shall say: 'My bachelor name, as you may
remember, was Hogg, but I am now married and it is Forrest!'"