THE MISANTHROPE IN LOVE
It was now a little over four months since Sheila Vaughn had intruded
upon the well-ordered and sufficient existence of the misanthrope. On
that memorable day in June Fargus, for the first time, had broken his
prison-like routine and taken in the middle of the afternoon an hour's
relaxation. Three bits of good fortune, arriving together, had inclined
him to such an unusual vacation: the monthly contract for clams, thanks
to his shrewdness was ten per cent below the market; second, he had
concluded a deal by which he took over the establishment of his chief
competitor for the theater trade, at terms offered only by a bankrupt;
third, he had discovered that his monthly personal expenses had fallen
thirty-five cents below the average.
For the first time in his life, then, he felt the imperative need of
drawing breath for a moment's gratified contemplation. He sauntered over
to Washington Square where, yielding to the pleasure of the spring and
his own good humor, he installed himself on a shady bench, buying a
newspaper in an automatic seeking for some reason to be idling there.
The foliage was complete, yet with the zest of its youth still on it.
The fountain in the center flung its spray against the rich green
background. Gardeners were setting out the flower beds. The chirp of
sparrows and the glee of children blended together in the stirring of
the leaves. The air was fragrant and gentle, good to breathe. Fargus,
contemplating the scene, forgot his paper, and remained contented and
idle, with something that approached a smile.
By one of the thousand and one chances which determine our mortal
journey, call it fate or call it coincidence, it presently happened that
his eye was arrested by the figure of a woman, advancing towards him.
The green silk dress she wore, as though alive to the breeze, was in a
continual flutter, the edges billowing as though served by the playful
hand of cherubs. In the poise of her figure there was a slight, pleasant
consciousness, but the face was given to abstraction and a dreamy,
wistful contemplation of the park. A parasol swung languidly from her
wrist, occasionally resting lightly on the ground.
She seemed so a part of the gentle prospect that Fargus nodded
approvingly, without realizing that it was not nature, but a woman, who
had thus drawn his admiring glance.
Arrived near him, she cast about for a vacant seat, and presently, with
a glance, came and sat beside him.
His first impulse was to recoil, all a-bristle and scowling, but as his
companion continued oblivious to his displeasure he relaxed and from the
tail of his eye stole a glance at the slender hands crossed on the top
of her parasol. Suddenly he heard a soft voice say:
"I beg your pardon, could you give me the time?"
He withdrew gruffly, glaring at the woman, on whose face appeared first
surprise and then a restrained amusement.
"I beg your pardon, have you the time?"
At this gentle reminder he became confused and, fumbling for his watch,
with a jerk extended it to her on his palm, without vouchsafing a word.
"Thank you," she said, nodding. "You don't speak English?"
"What do you mean?" he said, startled into speech.
"Oh, I see," she said with a malicious smile. "I was wrong. You do look
foreign, though. It's pleasant here, isn't it?"
Insensibly, resenting the ingenuity that drew him on, he was led into
conversation and then all too soon abandoned by her rising and departing
with an inclination of her head, sent to him over her shoulder as she
swept up the shimmering green dress. Fargus jumped up and glanced
guiltily at his watch. Then, with a scowl, brushing aside a bevy of
children, he rushed back to his office.
The following day, at the same hour, before he had quite understood what
had guided his steps, he found himself straying again into the Square.
She was already there, in the same green dress, on the bench where they
had sat, her arms resting languidly, her head a little back, yielding to
the charm of the sky. He faltered as he approached, went on, and then
making a sudden turn came and sat beside her.
Two months passed, and in the soul of the misanthrope an infatuation
took root and grew, tumultuous and struggling with the stubborn forces
of his hatred, without his being able, from word or look, to determine
that the woman was leading him on. His first advances, awkward and
innocent, to his surprise were abruptly rejected, nor was he able once
to transgress the strict limits of acquaintanceship.
Despite such austerity, he would not have been Fargus had he been
without suspicions. He apprehended a deep purpose and set himself to
preparing his retreat in the belief that some day she would attempt to
discover his identity. The precaution was unproductive and, without his
suspecting it, arrived too late. When in turn he sought to follow her he
was surprised by the same ambush which had nearly entrapped Bofinger,
and obtained his pardon only by a solemn promise to refrain from further
attempts.
The repulse and her steady indifference heaped fuel on the rising flame
of his infatuation. He arrived at the stage where he no longer could see
the ridicule of his own actions. He asked her to the theater, with the
palpitations of a schoolboy blundering through his first escapade, and
her constant refusals left him helpless and miserable.
Finally, he sought by discreet questions to discover her existence.
"Why do you always wear the same dress?" he began abruptly.
"I am poor," she answered so naturally that Fargus was left abashed.
"You work for a living then?" he persisted.
"I do embroidery and fancy sewing."
"You are alone?"
"I live with my aunt."
"You support her, I suppose?" he said with almost a sneer.
"I help."
He left her brusquely, enraged at her story, convinced of its
insincerity. What infuriated him was that all he had to do was not to
return. But that was an experiment he had no desire to try.
Finally he obtained from her a promise to spend a Sunday afternoon with
him in Central Park. The concession once laboriously won, he feigned to
see the second stage of her campaign. He ran precipitately, full of
joyous madness, to a jeweler's, whence, for the enormous price of ten
dollars and a half he bore away a horseshoe of pearls, after lingering
romantically over a lover's heart to offer her which he finally lacked
the daring.
The next afternoon the mischievous package in his vest pocket left him
no peace. He blew hot and he blew cold. He said to himself that he would
never have the audacity to offer it, and the next moment imagined
impassioned speeches which never reached the tip of his tongue.
Finally, when they had paused to rest, in one of the unfrequented
bypaths which wind about the lakes, he plunged his hand into his pocket,
and bringing forth the box said in a fit of desperation:
"For you. For luck."
He did not dare to look at her. He had a sinking feeling of having
thrown away all by his folly--and he did not know that he was in love.
Sheila turned, saw him trembling like a frightened bird under the hand,
took the box and held up the pin. Fargus, scarce believing his fortune,
dared to steal a look. She counterfeited admirably a flush of pleasure
and regret.
"Oh, how wonderful!" she exclaimed, holding it at arm's length and
allowing her eyes to show the longing for its possession. "But it is too
valuable, I could not take it--no." She looked at it again regretfully,
then turning to him added: "You are very kind--but I mustn't, I can't
take that!"
Then, by quick movement, she averted her head, as though she wished to
conceal from him her tears.
The fire mounted into his temples. He caught her hand, drawing her to
him and crying:
"Sheila, Sheila, my darling!"
"Oh! OH!"
She sprang up, wrenching free her hand. Fargus, swept away by his
infatuation, followed her, seizing her by her arm. With a rapid movement
of anger she threw him off and, dashing a stinging hand across his face,
cried:
"All or nothing!"
Then flinging the pin into the dust she stamped on it, covered her face
with her hands and, bursting into sobs, ran away; leaving Fargus so
thoroughly undone that he could neither speak or move.
"Ah, she wants to marry me, does she?" he cried with a clap of rage,
when he had recovered a little from his amazement. He picked up the
twisted brooch, dusted it off and cried again, overcome by the enormity
of her crime: "She wants to marry me! That's her game, then! Marry me!
Huh!"
With a roar he made off, swaying between incredulity and rage, contempt
vying with derisive laughter. Full of fury and tempest he passed the
night, eating out the slow hours until the next afternoon when he
descended like a lion upon the Square, to force an understanding. She
was not there.
"What, she won't come!" he cried, thunderstruck at such a solution. He
sunk on the bench, waiting desperately for some glimpse of the woman.
His rage departed like a puff of wind, leaving him beaten, lonely, and
blank.
"She will come to-morrow," he said, as he trudged wearily home.
She came neither that day nor the succeeding days. Then in Fargus the
last seeds of resistance died and left nothing but a barren,
disheartened surrender. He had no longer any doubts as to his true
state, her absence taught him what he could suffer.
A week passed before a chance meeting on the street brought them
together again. He sought her forgiveness abjectly and without shame.
For a while she refused to give ear to his protestations, his
explanations and his promises. At last she inclined her head and replied
seriously:
"Very well. But I shall reserve my opinion, for the future."
With this resumption of their daily meetings, his suspicion started up
anew, without his still being able to find a hook whereon to hang them.
She remained cold and uninterested, refusing always to believe in his
vows of affection. It is true, he had not spoken of marriage.
"Sheila, you don't care for me," he said once to her in unreasoning
anger.
"I don't," she said with a nod.
"And it won't make any difference to you if you never see me again."
"Yes, it would. You have been kind, and my life is lonely," she said
reflectively. "I will miss you."
"You say that as if you were going away," he said irritably.
"True. I haven't told you. We go next week to Chicago."
"And why should you go to Chicago?" he cried furiously.
"My aunt must go--she's had a legacy left her, a small one but it'll
mean a good deal. Of course, I have to go with her," she added, a little
regretfully.
The next morning, in a panic, Fargus had sought out Bofinger.