* * * * *
It was another fortnight before the fugitive was able to return to
Sagamore Hall. Huntington telephoned, as he had promised, but he also
found it necessary to run down there himself, to explain in detail the
miracle which had happened. Mrs. Thatcher appreciated his thoughtfulness
of her, Merry expressed her full approval, and incidentally he found the
experience agreeable, so the necessity of his appearance in person was
unanimously conceded. Still, the satisfaction of this visit was
completely overshadowed by his feeling of triumph when Hamlen actually
accompanied him.
The drone of the motor-car brought Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher and Merry to
the door to greet them, for Marian wished their welcome to express to
the fullest the fact that whatever had occurred was forgotten. Hamlen
read it so, and it helped him.
"I have to move a bit slowly yet," he explained as he rose cautiously in
the tonneau. "Another month and I'll be as good as new."
They assisted him up the steps and through the hallway to a great easy
chair on the piazza beyond. Then, after a few moments of general
conversation, they left him alone with Marian.
"Isn't it wonderful?" he exclaimed with frank delight. "I'm as pleased
with myself as a kitten with two tails."
"You well may be!" she laughed at his expression, which in its nature
was eloquent of the changed mental attitude. "And our rejoicing is not
far behind yours."
"I know it; that is the most wonderful part of the whole thing. No
matter how idiotic my actions, you and Huntington have stuck right by
me, and have proved me wrong by the bigness of your hearts."
"Forget the past," Marian urged, "and start things from to-day."
"No; I wouldn't want to do that, even if I could."
He paused for a moment, and played with a tassel which fell across his
lap from the cushion she had placed in the chair.
"Of course," he said without looking up, "much of it will always seem
like a delirious dream, but after all it is the past which has given me
the present. And except for the past I should not have Huntington."
There was a wealth of feeling in his words which showed Mrs. Thatcher
how strong a hold his friend had gained upon him.
"Does he know how much he means to you, I wonder?"
Hamlen looked up quickly. "He hasn't the slightest conception," he
answered. "I have never seen a man so oblivious to the power he
exercises over others, or to the results which he obtains. He really
thinks I've come through this crisis because of some latent strength of
character, when in reality it has been the reflection of his own. He
would tell you that when I was dying of shame and mortification I took
myself by the boot-straps and pulled myself out of the abyss, and he
would never believe it was the result of the philosophy he demonstrated
by every word and act. He positively made me ashamed to do anything but
respond. And now that I am out, he has fired me with a desire to use the
years which remain in doing something for some one else. Can you wonder
that I love him?"
Marian's face reflected the pleasure his words gave her. "This is the
real Philip Hamlen I have seen behind his mask," she exclaimed; "this is
the Philip I tried in my mistaken way to rescue from the chaos of
confused ideals. I failed but Mr. Huntington succeeded; my gratitude to
him passes all bounds."
"You must take some of the credit whether you wish to or not," Hamlen
insisted. "When you invaded my Garden of Eden last winter and made those
disturbing statements, you weakened the barrier of false beliefs with
which I had surrounded myself. You could have restored the structure had
I permitted it, but I wasn't ready for it then. You were entirely right
when you said that I had forgotten the teachings of the masters I
venerated, that I was blind to the difference between the means and the
end. But, Marian--" for the first time his voice quavered--"that was
before I had a friend! Think of living all those years without a friend!
It was through your invasion that my horrible tranquillity was
disturbed; it was through you that I met the one man in all the world
who could take advantage of that condition to build a human structure
upon such ruins."
"Give me all the credit you can, Philip. I need it to help me to
forget."
"Tut! tut!" he chided her. "I may touch upon the past, but to you it is
forbidden! Through you"--he went on--"I gained my friend, and, as if to
demonstrate the philosophy he lives, in giving him to me you gained him
too; for to your daughter is assured the most wonderful of
companionships. Now, by the same token, in giving him to her, I shall
expect the reward of being admitted to full friendship in this family
whose members mean the world to me."
"We already count you one of us, Philip, and we shall accept nothing
less."
"Then am I rich in friendship!" he exclaimed. "The law of compensation
gives a greater joy of realization to one who has drifted than to him
who has lived a normal existence: such a man is spared the depths, but
he can never reach the heights."
Two duster-clad, begoggled figures burst unceremoniously through the
hallway onto the piazza where Marian and Hamlen had been scrupulously
left alone by a comprehending family.
"Well, I'm glad to find some signs of life!" cried a familiar voice.
"Edith!" Marian exclaimed. "Where on earth did you come from? And Mr.
Cosden!"
"Connie and I crept up on the house to surprise you," she explained, as
greetings were exchanged all around, "but we began to think the joke was
on us and we'd struck the morgue by mistake. Where are the people
anyhow? We can't stay but a minute."
"Here we are!" Merry answered her, and as if by magic the entire family
appeared from various directions.
"Where did you come from, where are you going, and why can't you stay
but a minute?" Huntington demanded of Cosden as he grasped his hand.
Cosden grinned and looked at Edith.
"Oh, go ahead and tell them if you want to," she remarked indifferently.
"They're sure to find it out some time, and it might as well be now."
"What in the world--" Mrs. Thatcher began.
"We're married!" Cosden announced, his face beaming with happiness and
satisfaction.
"Yes,--that's right," Edith corroborated, seeing doubt in the eager
faces peering at them, speechless with surprise. "I told you that if
once I gave Connie half a chance he'd have me packed up and shipped
before I knew it, and that's just what has happened!"
"Don't apologize," Marian laughed, kissing her. "I think you've done a
very smart thing to elope like this."
"Good heavens, Connie, I never thought of that! An elopement for me
would just be the last thing in the world! How can you call it that when
there is no one to elope from but Ricky!"
"Whatever you call it, I've got you!" Cosden declared, tapping his
pocket. "The parson gave me a perfectly good bill of sale, and it will
take some trying to break this contract. Now don't you try!"
Thatcher was the only one who rose fully to the occasion, and as a
result of his presence of mind the butler appeared with a bottle of
Pommery from which he filled the accompanying glasses. After Thatcher
proposed the toast to the happy couple, Huntington again raised his
glass to Cosden.
"Here's to Edith, God bless her!" he exclaimed.
Cosden understood, and the spirit of mischief seized him.
"How about that other toast we drank that night, Monty?"
Huntington put his arm around Merry's waist and drew her closer to him.
"It stands!" he replied with smiling defiance. "To Marian--little
Marian--God bless her!"
"You rascal! You slipped it over on me!"
"Well, good-bye, people!" Edith interrupted.
"Stay for supper," Mrs. Thatcher urged.
"No; here it is five o'clock and the wedding breakfast hasn't been
served yet. We're off!"
"It is pitiful to see you kidnapped like this," Marian teased her.
"Oh, well!" she looked slyly up into her husband's face. "Connie's not a
bad sort as men go, and I'm game to take a chance."
"Isn't she the best ever?" Cosden cried proudly. "I'm strong for the
Benedicts and the Benedictines! Hurry up, Monty,--go and do likewise!"
They were off like a whirlwind, then all returned to Hamlen on the
piazza. The two boys had stayed with him while the farewells were spoken
at the door. Billy felt a bond of sympathy at last, for he too had
suffered from the perfidy of woman! Philip was genuinely fond of
Hamlen, and the older man clung to his friendship with even greater
tenacity since this return to his normal condition.
"We are talking war," Hamlen explained to Marian as they returned to
him. "These boys are eager to see what is going on over there."
"So we've heard," she replied, smiling indulgently. "They have presented
the case to us from as many angles as a certain manufacturer has
varieties of pickles."
"It would be a wonderful object lesson," Hamlen said meditatively. "Even
to read about it makes our own troubles insignificant; what an
opportunity, if on the spot, to give out from one's own personality, and
thus demonstrate the teachings of the humanists in practical fashion!"
The idea seemed to take possession of him, and his rigid figure and set
features so clearly betrayed the workings of a strong emotion that no
one interrupted him. At length he turned abruptly.
"Huntington!" he cried.
His friend stepped quickly to his side.
"I believe this war was started especially for me!" he declared.
"For you?" Huntington echoed, surprised.
"Why isn't this my opportunity? Here I am, longing for the chance to
express myself in doing something for some one else. I haven't a tie in
the world to keep me from going over there. I have money which couldn't
be devoted to a better cause, and I speak the languages like a native."
"By Jove!" Huntington replied; "you've solved the problem! Be the first
to endow a college unit, Hamlen, and let it be for the glory of
Harvard. You can equip the outfit, select your professional corps, and
go over with it to superintend the business end. It's a capital notion!"
"I'll do it!" Hamlen said decisively. "With a definite purpose like this
ahead of me, I'll shake this weakness in no time.--How about the boys?
I'll need some chauffeurs."
"Not Philip!" Mrs. Thatcher cried.
"Let me have him, Marian?" Hamlen begged. "The personal danger will be
slight, and I don't need tell you that I'll watch over him as if he were
my own son."
She looked appealingly to her husband.
"I'd let him go," Thatcher said. "There's no chance for him to get
started in business for several months yet, and I'm grateful to Hamlen
for offering him this opportunity under such wonderful conditions."