Much may happen in a year's time. The history of the few people involved
in the making of this narrative presents but few new aspects, and yet
there is now to be disclosed an unerring indication of great and perhaps
enduring changes in the lives of every one concerned.
To begin with, Templeton Thorpe, at the age of seventy-eight, is lying at
the edge of his grave. On the day of his marriage with Anne Tresslyn, he
put down his arms in the long and hopeless conflict with an enemy that
knows no pity, a foe so supremely confident that man has been powerless to
do more than devise a means to temporarily check its relentless fury. The
thing in Mr. Thorpe's side was demanding the tolls of victory. There was
no curbing its wrath: neither the soft nor the harsh answer of science had
served to turn it away. The hand with the gleaming, keen-edged knife had
been offered against it again and again, but the stroke had never fallen,
for always there stood between it and the surgeon who would slay the
ravager, the resolute fear of Templeton Thorpe. Time there was when the
keen-edged knife might have vanquished or at least deprived it of its
early venom, but the body of a physical coward housed it and denied
admittance to all-comers. Templeton Thorpe did not fear death. He wanted
to die, he implored his Maker to become his Destroyer. The torture of a
slow, inevitable death, however, was as nothing to the horror of the knife
that is sharp and cold.
When he went upstairs with Wade on that memorable twenty-third of March,
he said to his enemy: "Be quick, that's all I ask of you," and then
prepared to wait as patiently as he could for the friendly end.
From that day on, he was to the eyes of the world what he had long been to
himself in secret: a sick man without hope. Weeks passed before his bride
recognised the revolting truth, and when she came to know that he was
doomed her pity was _so_ vast that she sickened under its weight. She had
come prepared to see him die, as all men do when they have lived out their
time, but she had not counted on seeing him die like this, with suffering
in his bleak old eyes and a smile of derision on his pallid lips.
Old Templeton Thorpe's sufferings were for himself, and he guarded them
jealously with all the fortitude he could command. His irascibility
increased with his determination to fight it out alone. He disdained every
move on her part to extend sympathy and help to him. To her credit, be it
said, she would have become his nurse and consoler if he had let down the
bars,—not willingly, of course, but because there was in Anne Thorpe,
after all, the heart of a woman, and of such it must be said there is
rarely an instance where its warmth has failed to respond to the call of
human suffering. She would have tried to help him, she would have tried to
do her part. But he was grim, he was resolute. She could not bridge the
gulf that lay between them. His profound tolerance did not deceive her; it
was scorn of the most poignant character.
Braden was in Europe. He was expected in New York by the middle of March.
His grandfather would not consent to his being sent for, although it was
plain to be seen that he lived only for the young man's return.
Anne had once suggested, timorously, that Braden's place was at the
sufferer's bedside, but the smile that the old man bestowed upon her was
so significant, so full of understanding, that she shrank within herself
and said no more. She knew, however, that he longed for the sustaining
hand of his only blood relation, that he looked upon himself as utterly
alone in these last few weeks of life; and yet he would not send out the
appeal that lay uppermost in his thoughts. In his own good time Braden
would come back and there would be perhaps' one long, farewell grip of the
hand.
After that, ironic peace.
He could not be cured himself, but he wanted to be sure that Braden was
cured before he passed away. He knew that his grandson would not come home
until the last vestige of love and respect for Anne Tresslyn was gone; not
until he was sure that his wound had healed beyond all danger of bleeding
again. Mr. Thorpe was satisfied that he had served his grandson well. He
was confident that the young man would thank him on his death-bed for
turning the hand of fate in the right direction, so that it pointed to
contentment and safety. Therefore, he felt himself justified in forbidding
any one to acquaint Braden of the desperate condition into which he had
fallen. He insisted that no word be sent to him, and, as in all things,
the singular power of old Templeton Thorpe prevailed over the forces that
were opposed. Letters came to him infrequently from the young
man,—considerate, formal letters in which he never failed to find the
touch of repressed gratitude that inspired the distant writer. Soon he
would be coming home to "set up for himself." Soon he would be fighting
the battle of life on the field that no man knew and yet was traversed by
all.
Dr. Bates and the eminent surgeons who came to see the important invalid,
discussed among themselves, but never in the presence of Mr. Thorpe, the
remarkable and revolutionary articles that had been appearing of late in
one of the medical journals over the signature of Braden Thorpe. There
were two articles, one in answer to a savage, denunciatory communication
that had been drawn out by the initial contribution from the pen of young
Thorpe.
In his first article, Braden had deliberately taken a stand in favour of
the merciful destruction of human life in cases where suffering is
unendurable and the last chance for recovery or even relief is lost. He
had the courage, the foolhardiness to sign his name to the article,
thereby irrevocably committing himself to the propaganda. A storm of
sarcasm ensued. The great surgeons of the land ignored the article,
amiably attributing it to a "young fool who would come to his senses one
day." Young and striving men in the profession rushed into print,—or at
least tried to do so,—with the result that Braden was excoriated by a
thousand pens. Only one of these efforts was worthy of notice, and it
inspired a calm, dispassionate rejoinder from young Thorpe, who merely
called attention to the fact that he was not trying to "make murderers out
of God's commissioners," but was on the other hand advocating a plan by
which they might one day,—a far-off day, no doubt,—extend by Man's law,
the same mercy to the human being that is given to the injured beast.
Anne was shocked one day by a callous observation on the lips of old Dr.
Bates, a sound practitioner and ordinarily as gentle as the average family
doctor one hears so much about. Mr. Thorpe was in greater pain than usual
that day. Opiates were of little use in these cruel hours. It was now
impossible to give him an amount sufficient to produce relief without
endangering the life that hung by so thin a thread.
"I suppose this excellent grandson of his would say that Mr. Thorpe ought
to be killed forthwith, and put out of his misery," said the doctor,
discussing his patient's condition with the young wife in the library
after a long visit upstairs.
Anne started violently. "What do you mean by that, Dr. Bates?" she
inquired, after a moment in which she managed to subdue her agitation.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have said it," apologised the old physician, really
distressed. "I did it quite thoughtlessly, my dear Mrs. Thorpe. I forgot
that you do not read the medical journals."
"Oh, I know what Braden has always preached," she said hurriedly. "But it
never—it never occurred to me that—" She did not complete the sentence. A
ghastly pallor had settled over her face.
"That his theory might find application to the case upstairs?" supplied
the doctor. "Of course it would be unthinkable. Very stupid of me to have
spoken of it."
Anne leaned forward in her chair. "Then you regard Mr. Thorpe's case as
one that might be included in Braden's—" Again she failed to complete a
sentence.
"Yes, Mrs. Thorpe," said Dr. Bates gravely. "If young Braden's pet theory
were in practice now, your husband would be entitled to the mercy he
prescribes."
"He has no chance?"
"Absolutely no chance."
"All there is left for him is to just go on suffering until—until life
wears out?"
"We are doing everything in our power to alleviate the
suffering,—everything that is known to science," he vouchsafed. "We can do
no more."
"How long will he live, Dr. Bates?" she asked, and instantly shrank from
the fear that he would misinterpret her interest.
"No man can answer that question, Mrs. Thorpe. He may live a week, he may
live six months. I give him no more than two."
"And if he were to consent to the operation that you once advised, what
then?"
"That was a year ago. I would not advise an operation now. It is too late.
In fact, I would be opposed to it. There are men in my profession who
would take the chance, I've no doubt,—men who would risk all on the
millionth part of a chance."
"You think he would die on the operating table?"
"Perhaps,—and perhaps not. That isn't the point. It would be useless,
that's all."
"Then why isn't Braden's theory sound and humane?" she demanded sharply.
He frowned. "It is humane, Mrs. Thorpe," said he gravely, "but it isn't
sound. I grant you that there is not one of us who would not rejoice in
the death of a man in Mr. Thorpe's condition, but there is not one who
would deliberately take his life."
"It is all so cruel, so horribly cruel," she said. "The savages in the
heart of the jungle can give us lessons in humanity."
"I daresay," said he. "By the same reasoning, is it wise for us to receive
lessons in savagery from them?"
Anne was silent for a time. She felt called upon to utter a defence for
Braden but hesitated because she could not choose her words. At last she
spoke. "I have known Braden Thorpe all my life, Dr. Bates. He is sincere
on this question. I think you might grant him that distinction."
"Lord love you, madam, I haven't the faintest doubt as to his sincerity,"
cried the old doctor. "He is voicing the sentiment of every honest man in
my profession, but he overlooks the fact that sentiment has a very small
place among the people we serve,—in other words, the people who love life
and employ us to preserve it for them, even against the will of God."
"They say that soldiers on the field of battle sometimes mercifully put an
end to the lives of their mutilated comrades," she mused aloud.
"And they make it their business to put an end to the lives of the
perfectly sound and healthy men who confront them on that same field of
battle," he was quick to return. "There is a wide distinction between a
weapon and an instrument, Mrs. Thorpe, and there is just as much
difference between the inspired soldier and the uninspired doctor, or
between impulse and decision."
"I believe that Mr. Thorpe would welcome death," said she.
Dr. Bates shook his head. "My dear, if that were true he could obtain
relief from his suffering to-day,—this very hour."
"What do you mean?" she cried, with a swift shudder, as one suddenly
assailed by foreboding.
"There is a very sharp razor blade on his dressing-table," said Dr. Bates
with curious deliberation. "Besides that, there is sufficient poison in
four of those little—But there, I must say no more. You are alarmed,—and
needlessly. He will not take his own life, you may be sure of that. By
reaching out his hand he can grasp death, and he knows it. A month ago I
said this to him: 'Mr. Thorpe, I must ask you to be very careful. If you
do not sleep well to-night, take one of these tablets. If one does not
give you relief, you may take another, but no more. Four of them would
mean certain, almost instant death.' For more than a month that little box
of tablets has lain at his elbow, so to speak. Death has been within reach
all this time. Those tablets are still there, Mrs. Thorpe, so now you
understand."
"Yes," she said, staring at him as if fascinated; "they are still there. I
understand."
The thick envelope that Mr. Hollenback handed to Anne on the day of her
wedding contained a properly executed assignment of securities amounting
to two million dollars, together with an order to the executors under his
will to pay in gold to her immediately after his death an amount
sufficient to cover any shrinkage that may have occurred in the value of
the bonds by reason of market fluctuations. In plain words, she was to
have her full two millions. There was also an instrument authorising a
certain Trust Company to act as depository for these securities, all of
which were carefully enumerated and classified, with instructions to
collect and pay to her during his lifetime the interest on said bonds. At
his death the securities were to be delivered to her without recourse to
the courts, and were to be free of the death tax, which was to be paid
from the residue of the estate. There was a provision, however, that she
was to pay the state, city and county taxes on the full assessed value of
these bonds during his lifetime, and doubtless by premeditation on his
part all of them were subject to taxation. This unsuspected "joker" in the
arrangements was frequently alluded to by Anne's mother as a "direct slap
in the face," for, said she, it was evidently intended as a reflection
upon the Tresslyns who, as a family, it appears, were very skilful in
avoiding the payment of taxes of any description. (It was a notorious fact
that the richest of the Tresslyns was little more than a mendicant when
the time came to take his solemn oath concerning taxable possessions.)
Anne took a most amazing stand in respect to the interest on these bonds.
Her income from them amounted to something over ninety thousand dollars a
year, for Mr. Thorpe's investments were invariably sound and sure. He
preferred a safe four or four and a half per cent, bond to an "attractive
six." With the coming of each month in the year, Anne was notified by the
Trust Company that anywhere from seven to eight thousand dollars had been
credited to her account in the bank. She kept her own private account in
another bank, and it was against this that she drew her checks. She did
not withdraw a dollar of the interest arising from her matrimonial
investment!
Mrs. Tresslyn, supremely confident and self-assured, sustained the
greatest shock of her life when she found that Anne was behaving in this
quixotic manner about the profits of the enterprise. At first she could
not believe her ears. But Anne was obdurate, She maintained that her
contract called for two million dollars and no more, and she refused to
consider this extraneous accumulation as rightfully her own. Her mother
berated her without effect. She subjected her to countless attacks from as
many angles, but Anne was as "hard as nails."
"I'm not earning this ninety thousand a year, mother," she declared hotly,
"and I shall not accept it as a gift. If I were Mr. Thorpe's wife in every
sense of the term, it might be different, but as you happen to know I am
nothing more than a figure of speech in his household. I am not even his
nurse, nor his housekeeper, nor his friend. He despises me. I despise
myself, for that matter, so he's not quite alone in his opinion. I've sold
myself for a price, mother, but you must at least grant me the privilege
of refusing to draw interest on my infamy."
"Infamy!" gasped Mrs. Tresslyn. "Infamy? What rot,—what utter rot!"
"Just the same, I shall confine myself to the original bargain. It is bad
enough. I shan't make it any worse by taking money that doesn't belong to
me."
"Those bonds are yours," snapped Mrs. Tresslyn. "You are certainly
entitled to the interest. You—"
"They are _not_ mine," returned Anne decisively. "Not until Mr. Thorpe is
dead, if you please. I am to have my pay after he has passed away, no
sooner. That was the bargain."
"You did not hesitate to accept some rather expensive pearls if I remember
correctly," said Mrs. Tresslyn bitingly.
"That was his affair, not mine," said Anne coolly. "He despises me so
thoroughly that he thought he could go beyond his contract and tempt me
with this interest we are quarrelling about, mother. He was sure that I
would jump at it as a greedy fish snaps at the bait. But I disappointed
him. I shall never forget the look of surprise,—no, it was wonder,—that
came into his eyes when I flatly refused to take this interest. That was
nearly a year ago. He began to treat me with a little respect after that.
There is scarcely a month goes by that he does not bring up the subject. I
think he has never abandoned the hope that I may give in, after all.
Lately he has taken to chuckling when I make my monthly protest against
accepting this money. He can't believe it of me. He thinks there is
something amusing about what I have been foolish enough to call my sense
of honour. Still, I believe he has a little better opinion of me than he
had at first. And now, mother, once and for all, let us consider the
matter closed. I will not take the interest until the principal is
indisputably mine."
"You are a fool, Anne," said her mother, in her desperation; "a simple,
ridiculous fool. Why shouldn't you take it? It is yours. You can't afford
to throw away ninety thousand dollars. The bank has orders to pay it over
to you, and it is deposited to your account. That ought to settle the
matter. If it isn't yours, may I enquire to whom does it belong?"
"Time enough to decide that, mother," said Anne, so composedly that Mrs.
Tresslyn writhed with exasperation. "I haven't quite decided who is to
have it in the end. You may be sure, however, that I shall give it to some
worthy cause. It shan't be wasted."
"Do you mean to say that you will give it away—give it to charity?"
groaned her mother.
"Certainly."
Words failed Mrs. Tresslyn. She could only stare in utter astonishment at
this incomprehensible creature.
"I may have to ask your advice when the time comes," went on Anne,
complacently. "You must assist me in selecting the most worthy charity,
mother dear."
"I suppose it has never occurred to you that there is some justice in the
much abused axiom that charity begins at home," said Mrs. Tresslyn
frigidly.
"Not in our home, however," said Anne. "That's where it ends, if it ends
anywhere."
"I have hesitated to speak to you about it, Anne, but I am afraid I shall
now have to confess that I am sorely pressed for money," said Mrs.
Tresslyn deliberately, and from that moment on she never ceased to employ
this argument in her crusade against Anne's ingratitude.
There was no estrangement. Neither of them could afford to go to such
lengths. They saw a great deal of each other, and, despite the constant
bickerings over the idle money, there was little to indicate that they
were at loggerheads. Mrs. Tresslyn was forced at last to recognise the
futility of her appeals to Anne's sense of duty, and contented herself
with occasional bitter references to her own financial distress. She
couldn't understand the girl, and she gave up trying. As a matter of fact,
she began to fear that she would never be able to understand either one of
her children. She could not even imagine how they could have come by the
extraordinary stubbornness with which they appeared to be afflicted.
As for George Tresslyn, he was going to the dogs as rapidly and as
accurately as possible. He took to drink, and drink took him to cards. The
efforts of Simmy Dodge and other friends, including the despised Percy
Wintermill, were of no avail. He developed a pugnacious capacity for
resenting advice. It was easy to see what was behind the big boy's
behaviour: simple despair. He counted himself among the failures. In due
time he lost his position in Wall Street and became a complaining
dependent upon his mother's generosity. He met her arguments with the
furious and constantly reiterated charge that she had ruined his life.
That was another thing that Mrs. Tresslyn could not understand. How, in
heaven's name, had she ruined his life?
He took especial delight in directing her attention to the upward progress
of the discredited Lutie.
That attractive young person, much to Mrs. Tresslyn's disgust, actually
had insinuated her vulgar presence into comparatively good society, and
was coming on apace. Blithe, and gay, and discriminating, the former
"mustard girl" was making a place for herself among the moderately smart
people. Now and then her name appeared in the society columns of the
newspapers, where, much to Mrs. Tresslyn's annoyance, she was always
spoken of as "Mrs. George Dexter Tresslyn." Moreover, in several
instances, George's mother had found her own name printed next to Lutie's
in the alphabetical list of guests at rather large entertainments, and
once,—heaven forfend that it should happen again!—the former "mustard
girl's" picture was published on the same page of a supplement with that
of the exclusive Mrs. Tresslyn and her daughter, Mrs. Templeton Thorpe,
over the caption: "The Tresslyn Triumvirate," supplied by a subsequently
disengaged art editor.
George came near to being turned out into the street one day when he so
far forgot himself as to declare that Lutie was worth the whole Tresslyn
lot put together, and she ought to be thankful she had had "the can tied
to her" in time. His mother was livid with fury.
"If you ever mention that person's name in this house again, you will have
to leave it forever. If she's worth anything at all it is because she has
appropriated the Tresslyn name that you appear to belittle. You—"
"She didn't appropriate it," flared George. "I remember distinctly of
having given it to her. I don't care what you say or do, mother, she
deserves a lot of credit. She's made a place for herself, she's decent,
she's clever—"
"She hasn't earned a place for herself, let me remind you, sir. She made
it out of the proceeds of a sale, the sale of a husband. Don't forget,
George, that she sold you for so much cash."
"A darned good bargain," said he, "seeing that she got me at my own
value,—which was nothing at all."
Lutie went on her way serenely, securely. If she had a thought for George
Tresslyn she succeeded very well in keeping it to herself. Men would have
made love to her, but she denied them that exquisite distraction. Back in
her mind lurked something that guaranteed immunity.
The year had dealt its changes to Lutie as well as to the others, but they
were not important. Discussing herself frankly with Simmy Dodge one
evening, she said:
"I'm getting on, am I not, Simmy? But, after all, why shouldn't I? I'm a
rather decent sort, and I'm not a real vulgarian, am I? Like those people
over there at the next table, I mean. The more I go about, the more I
realise that class is a matter of acquaintance. If you know the right sort
of people, and have known them long enough, you unconsciously form habits
that the other sort of people haven't got, so you're said to have 'class.'
Of course, you've got to be imitative, you've got to be able to mimic the
real ones, but that isn't difficult if you're half way bright, don't you
know."
"Lord love you, Lutie, you don't have to imitate any one," said Simmy.
"You're in a class by yourself."
"Thanks, Simmy. Don't let any one else at the table hear you say such
things to me, though. They would think that I'd just come in from the
country. Why shouldn't I get on? How many of the girls that you meet in
your day's walk have graduated from a high-school? How many of the great
ladies who rule New York society possess more than a common school
education, outside of the tricks they've learned after they put on long
frocks? Not many, let me tell you, Simmy. Four-fifths of them can't spell
Connecticut, and they don't know how many e's there are in 'separate.' I
graduated from a high school in Philadelphia, and my mother did the same
thing before me. I also played on the basket-ball team, if that means
anything to you. My parents were poor but respectable, God-fearing people,
as they say in the novels, and they were quite healthy as parents go in
these days, when times are hard and children so cheap that nobody's
without a good sized pack of them. I was born with a brain that was meant
to be used."
"What are you two talking about so secretively?" demanded Mrs. Rumsey
Fenn, across the table from them.
"Ourselves, of course," said Lutie. "Bright people always have something
in reserve, my dear. We save the very best for an extremity. Simmy
delights in talking about me, and I love to talk about him. It's the
simplest kind of small talk and doesn't disturb us in the least if we
should happen to be thinking of something else at the time."
"Have you heard when Braden Thorpe is expected home, Simmy?"
"Had a letter from him yesterday. He sails next week. Is there any
tinkering to be done for your family this season, Madge? Any little old
repairs to be made?"
"I'm afraid not," said Mrs. Fenn desolately, "Rumsey positively refuses to
imagine he's got a pain anywhere, and the baby's tonsils are disgustingly
healthy."
"Old Templeton Thorpe's in a critical condition, I hear," put in Rumsey
Fenn. "There'll be a choice widow in the market before long, I pledge
you."
"Can't they operate?" inquired his wife.
"Not for malignant widows," said Mr. Fenn.
"Oh, don't be silly. I should think old Mr. Thorpe would let Braden
operate. Just think what a fine boost it would give Braden if the
operation was a success."
"And also if it failed," said one of the men, sententiously. "He's the
principal heir, isn't he?"
Simmy scowled. "Brady would be the last man in the world to tackle the
job," he said, and the subject was dropped at once.
And so the end of the year finds Templeton Thorpe on his death bed, Anne a
quixotic ingrate, George among the diligently unemployed, Lutie on the
crest of popularity, Braden in contempt of court, and Mrs. Tresslyn sorely
tried by the vagaries of each and every one of the aforesaid persons.
Simmy Dodge appears to be the only one among them all who stands just as
he did at the beginning of the year. He has neither lost nor gained. He
has merely stood still.