"Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Jordan Shayne," Hugo wrote. Then he paused in
thought. He began again. "I met your son in Marseilles and was with
him most of the time until his death." He hesitated. "In fact, he
died in my arms from the effect of the same shell which sent me to
this hospital. He is buried in Carcy cemetery, on the south side.
It is for that reason I take the liberty to address you.
"I thought that you would like to know some of the things that he
did not write to you. Your son enlisted because he felt the war
involved certain ideals that were worthy of preservation. That he
gave his life for those ideals must be a source of pride to you. In
training he was always controlled, kindly, unquarrelsome,
comprehending. In battle he was aggressive, brilliant, and more
courageous than any other man I have ever known.
"In October, a year ago, he was decorated for bringing in Captain
Crouan, who was severely wounded during an attack that was
repulsed. Under heavy shell fire Tom went boldly into no man's
land and carried the officer from a shell pit on his back. At the
time Tom himself sustained three wounds. He was mentioned a number
of times in the dispatches for his leadership of attacks and
patrols. He was decorated a second time for the capture of a German
field officer and three of his staff, a coup which your son
executed almost single-handed.
"Following his death his company made an attack to avenge him,
which wiped out the entire enemy position along a sector nearly a
kilometre in width and which brought a permanent advantage to the
Allied lines. That is mute testimony of his popularity among the
officers and men. I know of no man more worthy of the name
'American,' no American more worthy of the words 'gentleman' and
'hero.'
"I realize the slight comfort of these things, and yet I feel bound
to tell you of them, because Tom was my friend, and his death is
grievous to me as well as to you.
"Yours sincerely,
"(LIEUTENANT) HUGO DANNER"
Hugo posted the letter. When the answer came, he was once again in
action, the guns chugging and rumbling, the earth shaking. The reply
read:
"DEAR LIEUTENANT DANNER:
"Thank you for your letter in reference to our son. We knew that he
had enlisted in some foreign service. We did not know of his
death. I am having your statements checked, because, if they are
true, I shall be one of the happiest persons alive, and his mother
will be both happy and sad. The side of young Tom which you claim
to have seen is one quite unfamiliar to us. At home he was always a
waster, much of a snob, and impossible to control. It may be harsh
to say such things of him now that he is dead, but I cannot recall
one noble deed, one unselfish act, in his life here with us.
"That I have a dead son would not sadden me. Tom had been
disinherited by us, his mother and father. But that my dead son was
a hero makes me feel that at last, coming into the Shayne blood and
heritage, he has atoned. And so I honour him. If the records show
that all you said of him is true, I shall not only honour him in
this country, but I shall come to France to pay my tribute with a
full heart and a knowledge that neither he nor I lived in vain.
"Gratefully yours,
"R. J. SHAYNE"
Hugo reread the letter and stood awhile with wistful eyes. He remembered
Shayne's Aunt Emma, Shayne's bitter calumniation of his family. Well,
they had not understood him and he had not wanted them to understand
him. Perhaps Shayne had been more content than he admitted in the mud of
the trenches. The war had been a real thing to him. Hugo thought of its
insufficiencies for himself. The world was not enough for Shayne, but
the war had been. Both were insufficient for Hugo Danner. He listened to
the thunder in the sky tiredly.
Two months later Hugo was ordered from rest billets to the major's
quarters. A middle-aged man and woman accompanied by a sleek Frenchman
awaited him. The man stepped forward with dignified courtesy. "I am Tom
Shayne's father. This is Mrs. Shayne."
Hugo felt a great lack of interest in them. They had come too late. It
was their son who had been his friend. He almost regretted the letter.
He shook hands with them. Mrs. Shayne went to an automobile. Her husband
invited Hugo to a café. Over the wine he became suddenly less dignified,
more human, and almost pathetic. "Tell me about him, Danner. I loved
that kid once, you know."
Hugo found himself unexpectedly moved. The man was so eager, so
strangely happy. He stroked his white moustache and turned away moist
eyes. So Hugo told him. He talked endlessly of the trenches and the dark
wet nights and the fire that stabbed through them. He invented brave
sorties for his friend, tripled his accomplishments, and put gaiety and
wit in his mouth. The father drank every syllable as if he was
committing the whole story to memory as the text of a life's solace. At
last he was crying.
"That was the Tom I knew," Hugo said softly.
"And that was the Tom I dreamed and hoped and thought he would become
when he was a little shaver. Well, he did, Danner."
"A thousand times he did."
Ralph Jordan Shayne blew his nose unashamedly. He thought of his
patiently waiting wife. "I've got to go, I suppose. This has been more
than kind of you, Mr. Danner--Lieutenant Danner. I'm glad--more glad
than I can say--that you were there. I understand from the major that
you're no small shakes in this army yourself." He smiled deferentially.
"I wish there was something we could do for you."
"Nothing. Thank you, Mr. Shayne."
"I'm going to give you my card. In New York--my name is not without
meaning."
"It is very familiar to me. Was before I met your son."
"If you ever come to the city--I mean, when you come--you must look us
up. Anything we can do--in the way of jobs, positions--" He was
confused.
Hugo shook his head. "That's very kind of you, sir. But I have some
means of my own and, right now, I'm not even thinking of going back to
New York."
Mr. Shayne stepped into the car. "I would like to do something." Hugo
realized the sincerity of that desire. He reflected.
"Nothing I can think of--"
"I'm a banker. Perhaps--if I might take the liberty--I could handle your
affairs?"
Hugo smiled. "My affairs consist of one bank account in the City Loan
that would seem very small to you, Mr. Shayne."
"Why, that's one of my banks. I'll arrange it. You know and I know how
small the matter of money is. But I'd appreciate your turning over some
of your capital to me. I would consider it a blessed opportunity to
return a service, a great service with a small one, I'm afraid."
"Thanks," Hugo said.
The banker scribbled a statement, asked a question, and raised his
eyebrows over the amount Hugo gave him. Then he was the father again.
"We've been to the cemetery, Danner. We owe that privilege to you. It
says there, in French: 'The remains of a great hero who gave his life
for France.' Not America, my boy; but I think that France was a worthy
cause."
When they had gone, Hugo spent a disturbed afternoon. He had not been so
moved in many, many months.