Completely dazed, quite ignorant as to where she was going, hardly
knowing where she was, so quickly had events followed each other, Paula
found herself on the upper deck of a ferryboat which was churning its
way out of the New York slip, bound for Jersey City. At her side stood
Tod, whose eyes, assisted by a powerful fieldglass, were riveted on the
now fast-receding ferryhouse, trying to distinguish among the belated
arrivals who had rushed up at the last minute, only to miss the boat,
the disappointed faces of Mr. Cooley and Jimmy Marsh.
The day was superb, and in the swirling river, tinted a glorious blue by
the bright sunshine, flocks of white seagulls rode buoyantly on the
dancing waves. A magnificent view was before them. Ahead lay New Jersey
and the wide stretch of land-locked water which forms Manhattan's
matchless harbor. Close by, on the left, Governor's Island appeared as a
splotch of inviting green in the blue expanse; farther South soared the
noble figure of Liberty holding aloft the torch that enlightens the
world. Away to the East smiled the green hills of Staten Island, and
farther on were the fortified Narrows and Sandy Hook, with the open sea
beyond.
The ever-busy river was literally alive with craft of every kind. The
swift ferryboats hurrying from shore to shore, the countless little
tugs, puffing and whistling as they darted, mosquito-like, here and
there, graceful sailing vessels staggering along under clouds of canvas,
stately ocean liners passing majestically out to sea--all this made up a
spectacle of which the eye could never tire.
But both Paula and her escort were too much preoccupied to pay proper
attention to the beauty of their surroundings. The eyes of both were
turned anxiously in the direction of the receding shore.
"It's all right!" said Tod reassuringly, as he lowered the glass. "I
don't see anything of them."
"Thank God for that!" exclaimed his companion, making a great effort to
control her agitation.
"But that Cooley's certainly a bird!" went on the young man. "He guessed
that it was I who put up the job on him. He knew that he could find you
quickest by keeping close at my heels, so he and Jimmy jumped into a red
taxi and shadowed my machine. I threw on all the speed I could, trying
to get away. I went like the very mischief. I knocked over a fruit stand
and nearly killed a policeman. But I couldn't shake them off. The red
taxi was close behind me all the time. Just as I got near to the ferry
the man was raising the draw. I yelled and shook a five-spot in his
face. It worked like a charm. He lowered the drawbridge again, and I
shot across."
His companion gave him a look in which gratitude and admiration mingled.
"How clever you are!" she smiled. "I should never have got away but for
you. I was terribly frightened. When Mrs. Parkes came in and handed me
your note I could have hugged her. I did not lose a minute, but put on
my hat and ran downstairs. Harry Parkes hailed a cab for me, and I
reached the ferry a few minutes before you arrived. I can't tell you how
glad I was to get away. What did those horrible men want with me?"
He made no answer, hardly knowing what answer to make. How could he tell
this intelligent, high-spirited girl, whose mental faculties were every
bit as sound and keen as his own, that her unnatural uncle had sworn out
an affidavit, committing her to the horrors of an insane asylum? The
very idea of it was monstrous. Pretending that he had not heard the
question, he directed Paula's attention to a schooner heavily laden
with lumber which was coming down the river on the swift ebb tide. It
was a pretty sight to see how gracefully she cut through the water.
Notwithstanding the fact that she had only sail for motor power, the
craft was going very fast, and Tod began to speculate idly whether their
ferryboat would cross the stranger's bow or slow down to pass under her
stern. But his companion, preoccupied with more serious thoughts, was
not to be put off.
"Tell me," she repeated anxiously, "what did those horrid men want with
me? What right had they to catechise me as they did?" He remained
silent, and appealingly she went on: "Please don't hide anything from
me. I want to know the truth."
He still hesitated. It was incredible of belief--too infamous a
proceeding. Yet Cooley and his stepfather were acting well within the
law. It was plainly a conspiracy to do this poor girl out of her rights,
yet those scoundrels had the sanction of the Court for the action they
were taking. After all, why should he hide anything from her? She would
soon learn the terrible truth. It was his duty to let her know
everything, so she might be forearmed.
His silence only alarmed her the more.
"It must be something serious," she exclaimed, "or you would tell me.
What did those dreadful men want of me?" Peremptorily she said: "I wish
you to tell me. I appeal to your honor as a man."
No longer able to restrain himself, Tod burst out:
"Pardon me if I express myself too emphatically, Miss Marsh, but I just
can't keep it in any longer. You are the victim of as damnable a plot as
was ever hatched outside of Hell! Your uncle, desperate at the nearness
of your attaining your majority, wants to put you in a place where you
will be powerless to interfere with his plans. Alleging that you are
highly excitable and not responsible for your actions, they have secured
from the Court an order committing you to the Tocquencke Asylum."
"Not that--my God! Not that!"
The young girl turned white as death, and with an exclamation of horror
collapsed onto the seat. Her entire body trembled like a leaf.
"What have I done," she moaned, "that I should be persecuted in this
way?" Looking up at her companion, her eyes filled with tears, she
demanded: "Is it possible that they have the right--does the law give my
uncle this power over me?"
He nodded affirmatively.
"Unfortunately it does," he replied. "The law is all wrong, but it's the
law. All your uncle has to do is to secure the affidavit of two
physicians that you are insane. You may be perfectly sane, but if it
pleases these physicians to conclude otherwise you can be committed to
an asylum."
"Then no one is safe!" cried the girl. "Any relative wishing, for
reasons of his own, to get you out of the way could bribe two
unscrupulous physicians and deprive you of your liberty!"
"Certainly," rejoined the young man. "There have been many cases of the
sort. The process is very simple. In case the person can be made out as
violently insane so as liable to do injury to some one, two physicians
are called upon to examine the person and to make the necessary
affidavit. Then on the petition of anybody interested in the
person--your uncle, for instance--a Court can at once, on the statement
of the physicians, commit the person to an asylum."
"Horrible!" cried Paula. "And these things can happen in free America?
Surely there is some remedy?"
"Yes," he replied. "Anybody interested in the person, like a father,
brother, next friend, or anybody else, can apply at any time they see
fit, to a Judge of the Supreme Court, on a _habeas corpus_, and have the
question of the sanity of the person tested. This may be done in open
Court by a Judge, or he can send it to a referee, if he sees fit, where
the proceedings are lengthy. This judge decides whether the person is
sane or not. Of course if they had succeeded in putting you in the
asylum Mr. Ricaby would have immediately applied for a _habeas corpus_."
Paula grew silent. How she wished herself back in Paris! It was all on
account of that wretched inheritance! How she regretted having come to
America to claim it! If she was nervous, who could wonder at it? The
manoeuvres of her Uncle James, Mr. Cooley, and Dr. Zacharie were
enough to unnerve any one. If they put her in an asylum, she would go
really mad. She had heard and read so much of the terrors of private
insane asylums. It was nothing but a living death. The horror of it
seized upon her. Shaken by a sudden nervous trembling, she exclaimed
fearfully:
"Don't let them take me, Mr. Chase! Please don't let them take me away!"
Tod put his arm around her sympathetically. He felt sorrier for her than
he dare show. Never so much as now did he realize the place which this
girl had taken in his life. Was it love? He did not know, but he
certainly was more attracted to her than to any girl he had ever known.
"No--no," he said reassuringly. "You're safe from them now. The Court
order which they have secured is only good in New York State. In a few
more minutes we shall be in New Jersey. They can't touch you there."
"But afterward?" she asked. "What are we going to do when we get to
Jersey."
Tod grinned.
"I haven't the remotest idea," he answered. "All I thought was getting
away from those land sharks!"
"But I must go somewhere," insisted Paula, who was beginning to feel
uneasy, now that the first excitement of the escape was over. Until now
she had not had a moment's leisure in which to think matters over
calmly.
"The important thing," said Tod decisively, "is to keep away from
Messrs. Cooley, Marsh & Company. They must not know where you are. The
best you can do is to go to Philadelphia, and engage rooms for an
indefinite period at the Bellevue-Stratford. When I've seen you
comfortably settled there I'll leave you and come back here to find Mr.
Ricaby. Your lawyer must take immediate legal steps to have the
committal order vacated on the ground of criminal conspiracy."
"But how can I go to Philadelphia in this?" cried Paula, looking down in
dismay at the simple house dress she was wearing. "I had no time to
change. Why, I haven't even a toothbrush!"
"Oh, that's nothing," rejoined Tod, with calm unconcern. "You can buy
'em by the dozen in Philadelphia. The main thing is to get you away as
quickly as possible from the dangerous proximity of Mr. Cooley."
"Look out! Look out, there!"
A sudden warning shout from the group of passengers gathered in the fore
part of the boat, followed by a succession of shrill blasts from the
ferryboat's whistle, made them jump up with a start. They had been so
busy talking that they had not paid much heed to what was going on
around them. What they saw was sufficiently alarming.
The lumber craft, going fast with the strong tide, and having, in any
case, the right of way, was close upon them. The pilot of the ferryboat,
miscalculating the distance that separated one vessel from the other,
put on speed and attempted to cross the schooner's bow. But it was too
late. He had not taken into account the strength of the tide. The
surrounding water was lashed into white foam as the ferryboat made
frantic efforts to escape the impending blow. But a collision amidships
was inevitable. The lumber boat came rushing on with the speed of an
express locomotive. Then the pilot did the only thing he could do. To
escape a blow, which, if well delivered, would have sent the ferryboat
and its two hundred passengers to the bottom of the river, he gave his
steering wheel a few quick twists. The ferryboat, obediently answering
the helm, swung round, while the lumber craft, a mass of black and white
sail cloth, bore down rapidly and seemed about to overwhelm and crush
them. Women screamed, men shouted and tore down the racks containing the
life belts. Deckhands ran excitedly about. The whistle was kept going
continuously. For a few panicky moments pandemonium reigned.
"Good God!" cried Tod, snatching up a life belt. "It's an accident.
Come, quick!"
But before Paula could move a step or even make reply there came a
terrible shock, followed by the sound of smashing glass and the
splintering of wood. Officers and deckhands ran about quieting the
passengers, many of whom, seized by a frenzy of fear, were ready to jump
into the water. The more self-possessed ones cried out:
"Keep cool! There is no danger."
Slowly the two boats drew apart and swung clear. Then it was seen that
the ferryboat's injuries were merely superficial. The blow, fortunately,
was only a glancing one. No damage had been done below the water line.
The paddlebox was smashed to smithereens, and this was a serious enough
mishap, for it left the ferryboat completely helpless, drifting with the
tide. The whistle blew continuously, summoning assistance from the
shore, and the schooner, seeing it could be of no assistance, proceeded
down the stream.
"We're lucky it's no worse!" cried Tod, as he returned, after a tour of
inspection, to where Paula was sitting. "We'll have to drift about a bit
until they come and tow us into the Jersey City slip."
A deckhand who was passing heard the remark.
"Guess again!" he snickered. "Jersey nothing! It's New York we're going
back to. See--they're after comin' out for us now."
With a jerk of his thumb he pointed to the Manhattan shore. A powerful
tug had already left the New York slip and was puffing in their
direction.
"Back to New York!" exclaimed Tod and Paula, in startled unison.
This outcome to their adventure they had certainly not foreseen. To be
taken ignominiously back and made to walk right in the arms of their
pursuers was something they hardly expected. Consternation was plainly
written on the faces of both. Tod was not easily excited, but this
_contretemps_ was too much even for his self-composure. Addressing the
deckhand, he cried excitedly:
"We can't go back to New York! It's out of the question! I'll go and see
the captain."
The man grinned.
"I guess I'd leave the Cap'n alone, if I was yer," he said, with a dry
chuckle. "He's thunderin' mad over the smash-up. There's no tellin' what
he might do ter yer."
"But you don't understand," burst out Tod, with renewed energy. "There's
a reason why this lady and I can't go back to New York. There are people
there whom we're most anxious to avoid. We must get over to New Jersey
without further delay. Can't you hail a passing tug for us, or lower a
boat? I'll make it worth your while--see!"
He drew from his pocket a roll of money. The man laughed and shook his
head.
"Pair of runaways, eh? Goin' ter git spliced in Jersey?" With an
impudent stare at Paula, he added, with a laugh: "I don't blame yer. The
gal's pretty, all right. But there's nothin' doin'. I don't want to lose
me job. I guess it's New York fer yours, all right. Here comes the tug
now!"
He ran forward just as the rescuing tug, puffing and snorting, came
alongside. A rope was thrown up and made fast, and the tow back to the
city began.
"Confound the fellow's impudence!" said Tod savagely. "If I wasn't in
such a fix I'd punch his head."
Paula, pale and anxious, laid her hand on his arm.
"Never mind him!" she said. "What are we going to do about the others?
That is more serious."
Tod, silent and thoughtful, was racking his brain to find some way out
of this new dilemma. Yet there was nothing to be done. The accident had
been noticed from the shore. Every one knew they must come back. They
were trapped like two naughty children who had been caught playing
truant from school. A nice laugh Cooley and Jimmy would have on him!
Suddenly he turned to Paula.
"We've only one chance left," he said quickly, "and it's a very slim
one. Come down to the lower deck. We'll get into the machine. Directly
the boat touches the dock and the bridge is lowered, I'll let her go for
all she's worth. There's a chance that in the general excitement we may
be able to get past them. Come!"
It was a forlorn hope at best, but a drowning man will clutch at a
straw. Slowly, like a limping, living thing, the helpless ferryboat
entered the New York slip, pushed and coaxed into its berth by the
rescuing tug. A large crowd of curious sightseers, gathered on the dock,
followed the manoeuvres with interest. As Tod sat at the wheel of his
machine, his frightened companion by his side, ready to dash forward the
moment the boat was made fast, he scanned eagerly the sea of faces
turned toward them. There was no sign of the enemy. Apparently the coast
was clear. There was a bump as the boat reached the dock and a rattle of
chains as the deckhands made fast. The drawbridge came down. Tod pulled
the starting lever, and the machine shot forward. At that instant
several police officers and a number of men, among whom Tod recognized
Mr. Cooley and Jimmy Marsh, ran into the middle of the road and barred
the way. A policeman held up his hand to Tod to stop.
Paula gave a little scream, while Tod let loose a flow of unprintable
profanity. Mr. Cooley ran up to the car, his fat, bloated face congested
with a combination of anger and triumph.
"Stop that car," he roared, "or I'll send you up for contempt of court!"
Yielding to superior forces, Tod stopped the machine. Mr. Cooley came
up with a police officer. Pointing at Paula, the lawyer cried:
"That's the young lady. She is attempting to evade an order of the
Court." Producing a legal paper, he added: "Here is the order committing
her to my custody."
Paula again screamed and clung to her companion. The policeman, puzzled,
glanced at the Court order. A crowd began to gather. Finally the
officer, addressing Paula, said respectfully:
"Do you acknowledge that you are Paula Marsh, the person named in this
paper?"
White as a sheet, ready to swoon from terror, the girl nodded faintly:
"Yes."
"Then you must go with this man," said the officer, pointing to Mr.
Cooley.
"No, no! I won't-- I won't!" she cried, clinging to Tod's arm.
"You had better go with him," he whispered gently. "It's best to avoid a
scene. It won't be for long. Leave it to me. We'll soon get you out
again. I'll see Ricaby at once, and to-morrow we'll swear out a _habeas
corpus_. You'd better go quietly with him."
With an unobserved pressure of the hand, which he felt was returned,
Tod silently said good-by. Paula slowly descended from the automobile.
Turning to Mr. Cooley, she said, in a deliberate, dignified manner:
"Very well, Mr. Cooley, I am ready to accompany you."