II

Mrs. Walter Cole was glad to find herself alone after the hounds were

off. Without waiting to be joined by any women, who, like herself, had

come to see the start and intended to jog on the flank, cut corners and

so be in at the finish, she put her hack at a brisk canter in the

direction of a neighboring copse, seeking a bridle-path through the

woods which would bring her out not far from the club-house after a

pleasant circuit. She was indeed thrilled, and, inasmuch as she must

remain tongue-tied, she could not bear the society of her sex, and

sought solitude and reverie. And so Lydia had done it. Intimate as they

were, she had been kept guessing like the rest, and up to the moment of

the disclosure of the absorbing confidence she had never been able to

feel sure whether Lydia would or not. Lydia married! And if so? She

would have been sure to marry some day; and to marry an entirely

reputable and presentable man with four millions was, after all, an

eminently normal proceeding.

Yet somehow it was one thing to think of her as liable to marry, another

to recognize that she was actually engaged. It was the concrete reality

of Lydia Arnold married and settled which set Mrs. Cole's nimble brain

spinning with speculative, sympathetic interest as the dry autumn leaves

cracked under the hoofs of her walking horse, to which she had given a

loose rein. Lydia had such highly evolved ideas of her own; and how

would they accord with the connubial relation? Not that she knew these

ideas in specific detail, for Lydia had never hinted at a system; but

from time to time in the relaxations of spirit intimacy there had been

droppings--flashes--innuendoes, which had set the world in a new light,

blazed the path as it were for a new feminine philosophy, and which to a

clever woman like herself, fastened securely by domestic ties to the

existing order of things, were alike entertaining and suggestive. Mrs.

Cole drew a deep breath, as once more recurred to her sundry remarks

which had provided her already that morning with material for causing no

less experienced a person than Mr. Gerald Marcy to prick up his ears.

She and her husband had set up housekeeping on a humble scale--almost

poverty from the Westfield point of view--and she remembered the

contemplative silence more eloquent than words when, three years

previous, hungry for enthusiasm, she had taken Lydia into the nursery to

admire her first-born. All her other unmarried friends had gone into

ecstasies over baby, as became true daughters of Eve. Lydia, after long

scrutiny, had simply said:

"Well, dear, I suppose you think it's worth while."

Thus wondering how Lydia would deal with the problems of matrimony, and

almost bursting with her secret, Mrs. Cole walked her horse until the

novelty of the revelation had worn off a little. When she left the

covert at a point suggested by the baying of the dogs, she caught a

glimpse of the hunt on the opposite side of the horizon to that where it

had disappeared from view. Assuming that the finish was likely to occur

in the meadow lands in the rear of the club-house, she proceeded to

gallop briskly across the intervening valley in the hope of anticipating

the hounds. Time, however, had slipped away faster than she supposed. At

all events, when she was still some little distance from the field which

was her destination she beheld the hounds scampering down the slope from

the woodlands beyond. A moment later the air resounded with their

yelpings as they attacked the raw meat provided as a reward for the

deceit imposed on them by the anise-seed scent. Close on their heels

came the Master and the leading spirits of the chase, and by the time

Mrs. Cole arrived the entire hunt had put in an appearance or been

accounted for, and was proceeding leisurely toward the club, gayly

comparing notes on the incidents of the run. There had been amusing

casualties. Douglas Hale's horse, having failed to clear a ditch, had

tossed its ponderous rider over its head--happily without serious

consequences--and in the act of floundering out had planted a shower of

mud on the person of Guy Perry, so that the ordinarily spruce young

broker was a sight to behold.

The Westfield Hunt Club was one of a number of social colonies in the

eastern section of the country which in the course of the last

twenty-five years have come into being and flourished. Three principal

causes have contributed to their evolution: the increase in wealth and

in the number of people with comfortable means, the growing partiality

for outdoor athletic sports, and the tendency on the part of those who

could afford two homes to escape the stuffy air of the cities during as

many months as possible, and on the part of young couples with only one

home to set up their household gods in the country. Our ancestors of

consideration were apt to hug the cities and towns. Their summer

excursions to the seaside rarely began before July, and fathers of

families preferred to be safe at home before the brewing of the

equinoxial storm. But the towering bricks and mortar and increasing

pressure of urban life have little by little prolonged the season of

emancipation in the fresh air, and spacious modern villas, with many

bath-rooms and all the modern improvements, have supplanted the

primitive cottages of the former generation, just as the rank fields of

gay butter-cups and daisies have given place to velvety lawns, extensive

stables, and terraced Italian gardens.

The Westfield Hunt Club was primarily a sporting colony--that is,

outdoor sport was its ruling passion. Cross-country riding had been its

first love, at a time when the free-born farmers of the neighborhood

looked askance at the introduction of what they considered dudish

British innovations. Yet it promptly offered hospitality to the rising

interest in sports of every kind, and the devotees of tennis, polo and

golf found there ample accommodation for the pursuit of their favorite

pastimes.

At the date of our narrative the interest in tennis was at a minimum;

polo, always a sport in which none but the prosperous few can afford to

shine, had only a small following; but golf was at the height of its

fashionable ascendency. Everybody was playing golf, not only the young

and supple, the middle-aged and persevering, but every man however

clumsy and every woman however feeble or gawky who felt constrained to

follow the latest social fad as a law of his or her being. Every links

in the country was crowded with agitated followers of the royal and

ancient game, who bought clubs galore in the constant hope of acquiring

distance and escaping bunkers, and who were alternately pitied and

bullied by the attendant army of caddies, sons of the small farmers

whose views regarding British innovations had been substantially

modified by the accompanying shower of American quarters and dimes.

Indeed, it may be said that the attitude of the country-side regarding

all the doings of the colony had undergone a gradual but complete

change. This was due to the largess and social tact of the new-comers.

To begin with, they were eager to pay roundly for the privilege of

trampling down crops and riding through fences. Having thus put matters

on a liberal pecuniary basis, they endeavored to translate grim

forbearance for business reasons into a more genial frame of mind by

horse shows with popular features, and country fairs where fat prizes

for large vegetables and free dinners bore testimony to the good-will of

the promoters. A ball at which the pink-coated male members of the club

danced with the farmers' wives and daughters, and Mrs. Andrew

Cunningham, with a corps of fair assistants, stood up with the country

swains while they cut pigeon-wings in utter gravity, was an annual sop

to local sensibilities and a bid for popular regard. Little by little

the neighborhood had thawed. Surely the new-comers must be good

fellows, if Westfield's tax receipts were growing in volume without

demur, and there was constantly increasing employment for the people not

only on the public roads, but in carpentry, plumbing, and all sorts of

jobs on the new places, besides a splendid market for their sheep and

chickens and garden produce. From Westfield's standpoint the ways of

some of these individuals with "money to burn" were puzzling, but if

grown-up folk could find amusement in chasing a little white ball across

country, the common sense of Westfield could afford to be indulgent

under existing circumstances.

The quarters to which the hunting party now repaired in gay spirits was,

as its appearance indicated, a farm-house of ancient aspect, which had

been altered over to begin with, and been amplified later to suit the

greater requirements of the club. The rambling effect of the low-studded

rooms had been enhanced by sundry wings and annexes, the result of which

was far from convincing architecturally, but which suggested a quaint

cosiness very satisfying and precious to the original members. Progress,

reform, innovation--call it what you will--was already rife in the

colony itself, a case, it would seem, of refining gold or painting the

lily. One had only to observe the more elaborate character of the new

houses to be convinced of this. The pioneers had been content to leave

the original structures standing, and to do them over with new plumbing

and new wall-papers. Then it occurred to some one richer than his

fellows, or whose wife remembered the scriptural admonition against

putting new wine into old bottles, to pull down an ancient farm-house

and replace it with a comely modern villa. The villa was simple and an

ornament to the landscape, and though the wiseacres shook their heads

and described it as an entering wedge, the general consensus of the

colony declared it an improvement. Others followed suit, and within two

years there was a dozen of these pleasant-looking homes in the vicinity.

But latterly a new tendency had manifested itself. Three sportsmen of

large possessions, who had decided to spend most of the year in the

country, had erected establishments on an imposing scale, very spacious,

very stately, with extensive stables and all the appurtenances befitting

a magnificent country-seat. As the owners were building simultaneously,

there had naturally been some rivalry to produce the most imposing

result. The effect of these splendors was already perceptible. Others

with large possessions were talking of invading Westfield, land was

rising in value, and it cost the colony more to entertain. Most terrible

of all to the pioneers, there was unconcealed whispering that the

club-house must come down and be replaced by a convenient modern

structure; that more commodious stables were needed; that the golf links

should be materially lengthened, and that both the annual dues and the

membership must be increased to help provide for these improvements. As

a consequence most of the old members were irate on the subject, and

Gerald Marcy was quoted as having said that to do away with the original

quarters would be an act of sacrilege.

"Are not the rafters sacred from time-honored association?" he had

inquired in a voice trembling with emotion.

"Principally with champagne," had been Guy Perry's comment on this

fervent apostrophe. Youth is fickle and partial to change. Guy voiced

the sentiment of the younger element in craving modern comfort and

conveniences, which could be obtained by demolishing the old

rattle-trap, as the less conservative styled it, and putting up a clean,

commodious, attractive-looking club-house. Guy himself had given out

that his firm was ready to underwrite the bonds necessary to finance all

the proposed changes. Thus it will be seen that at this period social

conditions at Westfield were in a condition of ferment and change,

although the colony was still youthful. Yet differences of opinion were

merged on this particular morning in the enjoyment of sport and the

crisp autumn weather. The returning members of the hunt found at the

club-house some of the golf players of both sexes, who had been invited

by the master of the hounds to join them at breakfast, and it was not

long before the company was seated at table.

Everyone was hungry, and everyone seemed in good spirits. Conversation

flowed spontaneously, or, in other words, everyone seemed to be talking

at once. The host, Kenneth Post, finding himself free for a moment from

all responsibilities save to see that the waiters did their duty,

inasmuch as the woman on either side of him was exchanging voluble

pleasantries with someone else, cast a contented glance around the

mahogany. Personal badinage, as he well knew, was the current coin of

his set. The occasion on which it was absent or flagged was regarded as

dull. Subjects, ideas, theories bored his companions--especially the

women--as a social pastime. What they liked was to talk about people, to

gossip of one another's affairs or failings when separated, to discharge

at one another keen but good-humored chaff when they met. Naturally the

host was gratified by the universal chatter, for obviously his friends

were enjoying themselves. Nevertheless there seemed to be something in

the air not to be explained by the exhilaration resulting from the run

or by cocktails before luncheon. As he mused, his eyes fell on Herbert

Maxwell and he wondered. That faithful but solid equestrian was commonly

reticent and rather inert in speech, but now, with face aglow, he was

bandying words with Miss Peggy Blake and another young woman at the

same time. Post remembered that he had seen him take three drinks at the

bar, which for him was an innovation. The Master felt knowing, and

instinctively his eyes sought the countenance of Miss Arnold. It was

demure and furnished no clue to her admirer's mood, unless a faint smile

which suggested momentary content was to be regarded as an indication.

While Kenneth Post was thus observing his guests he was recalled to more

active duties by Mrs. Andrew Cunningham, who, in her capacity of mother

of the hunt, had been placed at his right hand. Having finished her

soft-shell crab and emptied her quiver of timely shafts upon the young

man at her other elbow, she had turned to her host for a familiar chat

on the topic at that time nearest her heart.

"I hope you're on our side, Mr. Post--that you are opposed to the new

order of things which would drive every one except millionaires out of

Westfield? Tell me that you intend to vote against pulling down this

dear old sanctuary. It's a rookery, if you like, but that's its charm.

Will anything they build take the place of it in our affections?"

"We've had lots of good times here, of course, and I'm as fond of the

old place as anyone, but--the fact is, Mrs. Cunningham, I'm in a

difficult position. The younger men count on me in a way; it was they

who chose me master, and in a sense I'm their representative; so----"

He paused, and allowed the ellipsis to convey an intimation of what he

might be driven to by the rising generation, to which he was more nearly

allied by age than to the older faction.

Mrs. Cunningham looked up in his face in doughty expostulation. Her

round cheeks reminded him of ruddy but slightly withered crab-apples.

"The time has come for Andrew and me to pull up stakes, I fear. The life

here'll be spoiled. Everything is going up in price--land, servants,

marketing, horses, assessments."

"That's the case everywhere, isn't it?" Kenneth was an easy-going

fellow, and preferred smiling acquiescence, but when taken squarely to

task he had the courage of his convictions. "The fellows wish more

comforts and facilities. There are next to no bathing accommodations at

present, and everything is cramped, and--and really it's so, if one

looks dispassionately--fusty."

"I adore the fustiness."

"Wait until you see the improvements. Mark my words, six months after

they are finished nothing would induce you to return to the old order

of things. We're sure of the money; the loan has been underwritten by a

syndicate."

Mrs. Cunningham groaned. "Exactly. So has everything in Westfield, to

judge by appearances. The palaces erected by the Douglas Hales, the

Marburys, and Mr. Gordon Wallace have given the death-blow to simple

ways, and we shall soon be in the grip of a plutocracy. The original

band of gentlemen farmers who came here to get close to nature and to

one another are undone, have become back numbers, and"--she lowered her

voice to suit the exigencies--"in case Lydia Arnold accepts Herbert

Maxwell, she will not rest until she has something more imposing and

gorgeous than anything yet."

Kenneth eagerly took advantage of the opportunity to divert the

emphasis to that ever-interesting speculation.

"Have you any light to throw on the burning problem?" he asked.

The mother of the hunt shook her head. "Mrs. Cole said to me only

yesterday, 'I've tried to make up my mind for her by putting myself in

her place and endeavoring to decide what conclusion I, with her

characteristics, would come to, and I find myself still wobbling,

because she's Lydia, and he's what he is, which would be eminently

desirable for some women, but----'"

A sudden hush around the table prevented the conclusion of this

philosophic utterance. The sportsman of whom she was speaking had risen

with a brimming glass of champagne in one hand and was accosting the

master of the hounds. A general thrill of expectancy succeeded the

hush. What was he going to say? Speeches were not altogether unknown at

Westfield hunt breakfasts, but they were not apt to be so impromptu, nor

the contribution of such a negative soul as Herbert Maxwell. Gerald

Marcy, sitting next to Mrs. Cole, was prompted to repeat his observation

of the morning. "I was right," he whispered. "He has seen the Holy

Grail."

"Wait--just wait," she answered tensely. _She_ knew what was going to

happen, and as her dark eyes vibrated deftly from Herbert's face to

Lydia's and back again, she longed for two pairs that she might not for

an instant lose the expression on either. Meanwhile the host had rapped

on the table and was saying encouragingly:

"Our friend Mr. Herbert Maxwell desires to make a few remarks."

"Hear--hear!" cried Douglas Hale raucously. His fall had obviously

dulled the nicety of his instincts, for everyone else was too curious to

utter a word--too rapt to invade the interesting silence.

Maxwell had worn the air of a demi-god when he rose. A wave of

self-consciousness doubtless obliterated the introductory phrases which

he had learned by heart, for after a moment's painful silence he

suddenly blurted out:

"I'm the happiest man in the world, and I want you all to know it."

Here was the kernel of the whole matter. What better could he have said?

What more was there left to say? The riddle was solved, and the suspense

which had hung over Westfield like a cloud for many months was

dissolved in a rainbow of romance. There was no need of names; everybody

understood, and a shout of delight followed. Every woman in the room

shrieked her congratulations to the bride-to-be, and those nearest her

got possession of her person. Miss Peggy Blake was the nearest and hence

the first.

"You dear thing! It's just splendid; the most intensely exciting thing

which ever happened!" she cried, throwing her arms around Lydia's neck.

In the embrace her hair, which had become loose during the run, fell

about her ears, and Guy Perry had to get down on his knees to find the

gilt hair-pins. There was a babel of superlatives, and delirious

feminine laughter; the men wrung the happy lover's hands or patted him

on the back.

When the turmoil subsided Maxwell was still standing. Like St. Michael

over the prostrate dragon, he had planted his feet securely for once in

his life on the necks of the serpents Diffidence and Repression. He put

out his hand to invite silence.

"I ask you to drink to the happiness of the loveliest woman in creation.

When a man worships a woman as I do her, and she has done him the honor

to plight him her troth, why shouldn't he bear witness to his love and

blazon her charms and virtues to the stars? God knows I'm going to make

her happy, if I can! To the happiness of my future wife, Miss Lydia

Arnold!"

"All up!" cried the master, and as the company rose under the spell of

love's fervid invocation, he added authoritatively, "No heel taps!"

As they drained their glasses and were in the act of sitting down, Guy

Perry conveyed the cordial sentiment of all present toward the proposer

of the toast and lover-elect by beginning to troll,

For he's a jolly good fellow--

For he's a jolly good fellow.

Under cover of the swelling song Mrs. Walter Cole, fluttering in her

seat, and with her eyes fastened on Lydia's countenance, felt the need

of taking Gerald Marcy into her confidence.

"I just wonder what she thinks of it. His letting himself go like that

is rather nice; but it isn't at all in her style. If she is truly in

love with him, it doesn't matter. But there she sits with that

inscrutable smile, perfectly serene, but not in the least worked up,

apparently. Our embraces didn't even ruffle her hair."

"He has been repressing himself--been on his good behavior for years,

poor fellow," murmured Marcy.

"I tell you I like his calling her the loveliest woman in creation and

thinking it. Such guileless fervor is much too rare nowadays. But what

effect will it have on Lydia, who knows she isn't? That is what is

troubling me. Unless she is deeply smitten, won't it bore her?"

The question was but the echo of her spirit's wonder; she did not expect

a categorical response. Whatever good thing Gerald Marcy was meditating

in reply was nipped in the bud by an appeal to him for "Aunt Dinah's

Quilting Party" as a continuation of the outburst of song. He felt

obliged to comply, and yet was nothing loth, as it was one of the most

popular in his repertory, and was adapted to his sweet if somewhat

spavined tenor voice.

In the skies the bright stars glittered,

On the bank the pale moon shone,

And 'twas from Aunt Dinah's quilting party

I was seeing Nellie home.

So he sang with melodious precision, accompanying his performance with

that slight exaggeration of chivalric manner which distinguished the

rendering of his ditties. The words just suited the sensibilities of the

company, combining feeling with banter, and in full-voiced unison they

caught up the refrain:

I was seeing Nellie ho-o-me--

I was seeing Nellie ho-o-me,

And 'twas from Aunt Dinah's quilting party

I was seeing Nellie home.

Laughing feminine eyes shot merry glances in the direction of Lydia,

and the red-coated sportsmen lifted their glasses in grandiloquent

apostrophe of the affianced pair. Andrew Cunningham, resplendent in a

canary-colored waistcoat with fine red bars, was heard to remark

confidentially, after ordering another whiskey and soda, that the

festivities which were certain to follow in the wake of this engagement

would add five pounds to his weight, which it had taken him two months

of Spartan abstemiousness to reduce three.

Erect and sportsmanlike, Gerald continued, after an impressive sweep of

his hand to promote silence:

On my arm her light hand rested,

Rested light as o-o-cean's foam,

And 'twas from Aunt Dinah's quilting party

I was seeing Nellie home.

It was a red-letter day not only for the master of the hounds but for

Westfield's entire colony. Conjecture was at an end; the love-god had

triumphed; the announcement was a fitting wind-up to the exhilarating

hunting season. Yet amid the general congratulation and optimism some

philosophic souls like Mrs. Walter Cole did not forbear to wonder what

was to be the sequel.