IN THE TWILIGHT
Each day Margaret's heart warmed more and more to Richard. He not only
called out in her a tenderness and veneration for his age and
attainments which her own father had never permitted her to express,
but his personality realized for her an ideal which, until she knew
him, she had despaired of ever finding. While his courtesy, his
old-time manners, his quaintness of speech and dress captivated her
imagination, his perfect and unfailing sympathy and constant kindness
completely won her heart. There was, too, now and then, a peculiar tone
in his voice which would bring the tears to her eyes without her
knowing why, until her mind would recall some blunt, outspoken speech
of her dead father's in answer to the very sentiments she was then
expressing to Richard, who received them as a matter of course--a
remembrance which always caused a tightening about her heart.
Sometimes the inventor would sit for her while she sketched his head in
different lights, he watching her work, interested in every stroke,
every bit of composition. She loved to have him beside her easel
criticising her work. No one, she told Oliver, had ever been so
interested before with the little niceties of her technique--in the
amount of oil used, in the way the paints were mixed; in the value of a
palette knife as a brush or of an old cotton rag as a blender, nor had
any one of her sitters ever been so enthusiastic over her results.
There was one half-hour sketch which more than all the others
astonished and delighted him--one in which Margaret in her finishing
touches had eschewed brushes, palette-knife and rag, and with one dash
of her dainty thumb had brought into instant relief the subtle curves
about his finely modelled nose. This filled him with wonder and
admiration. His own finger had always obeyed him, and he loved to find
the same skill in another.
To Richard these hours of intercourse with Margaret were among the
happiest of his life. It was Margaret, indeed, who really helped him
bear with patience the tedious delays attendant upon the completion of
his financial operations. Even when the final sum was agreed upon--and
it was a generous one, that filled Oliver's heart with joy and set
Nathan's imagination on fire--the best part of two weeks had been
consumed before the firm of lawyers who were to pass upon Richard's
patents were willing to certify to the purchasers of the stock of the
horn Magnetic Motor Company, as to the priority of Richard's invention
based on the patent granted on August 13, 1856, and which covered the
principle of the levers working in connection with the magnets.
During these tedious delays, in which his heart had vibrated between
hope and fear, he had found his way every afternoon to Margaret's
studio, Nathan having gone home to Kennedy Square with his head in the
clouds when the negotiations became a certainty. In these weeks of
waiting the Northern girl had not only stolen his heart, taking the
place of a daughter he had never known--a void never filled in any
man's soul--but she had satisfied a craving no less intense, the hunger
for the companionship of one who really understood his aims and
purposes. Nathan had in a measure met this need as far as unselfish
love and unswerving loyalty could go; and so had his dear wife,
especially in these later years, when her mind had begun to grasp the
meaning of the social and financial changes that the war had brought,
and what place her husband's inventions might hold in the new regime.
But no one of these, not even Nathan, had ever understood him as
clearly as had this young girl.
When it grew too dark to paint, he would make her sit on a stool at his
feet, while he would talk to her of his life work and of the future as
he saw it--often of things which he had kept shut away in his heart
even from Nathan. He would tell her of the long years of anxiety; of
the sleepless nights; of his utter loneliness, without a friend to
guide him, while he was trying to solve the problems that had blocked
his path; of the poverty of these late years, all the more pitiful
because of his inability at times to buy even the bare materials and
instruments needed for his work; and, again, of his many
disappointments in his search for the hoped-for link that was needed to
make his motor a success.
Once, in lowered tones and with that eager, restless expression which
so often came into his face when standing over his work-bench in his
little shop, baffled by some unsolved problem, he told her of his many
anxieties lest some other brain groping along the same paths should
reach the goal before him; how the Scientific Review, the one chronicle
of the discoveries of the time, would often lie on his table for hours
before he had the courage to open it and read the list of patents
granted during the preceding months, adding, with a voice full of
gentleness, "I was ashamed of it all, afterward, my dear, but Mrs. Horn
became so anxious over our daily expenses, and so much depended on my
success."
This brave pioneer did not realize, nor did she, that they were both
valiant soldiers fighting the good fight of science and art against
tradition and provincialism--part of that great army of progress which
was steadily conquering the world!
As she listened in the darkening shadows, her hand in his, her fingers
tight about his own, he, reading the sympathy of her touch, and fearing
to have distressed her by his talk, had started up, and in his cheery,
buoyant voice cried out:
"But it is all over now, my child. All past and gone. The work of my
life is finished. There's plenty now for all of us. For my dear wife
who has borne up so bravely and has never complained, and for you and
Oliver. Your waiting need not be long, my dear. This last happiness
which has come to me"--and he smoothed her hair gently with his thin
hand and drew her closer to him--"seems the greatest of them all."
The two were seated in this way one afternoon, Margaret resting after a
day's work, when Oliver opened the door. She had made a sketch of
Richard's head that very morning as he lay back in a big chair, a
strong, vigorous piece of work which she afterward finished.
Richard looked up and his face broke into a joyous smile.
"Bring a chair, my son," he cried, "and sit by me. I have something to
say to you." When, a few moments later, Margaret had left the room to
give some directions to Mrs. Mulligan, he added: "I have been telling
Margaret that you both do wrong in putting off your marriage. These
delays fret young people's lives away. She tells me it is your wish.
What are you waiting for?"
"Only for money enough to take care of her, father. Madge has been
accustomed to more comforts than I can give her. She would, I know,
cheerfully give up half of her income, small as it is, to me if I would
let her, but that is not the way I want to make her happy. Don't worry,
dear old dad, the Fish portrait will pull us out"--and he leaned down
and put his arms about his father's neck as he used to do when he was a
boy. "I shall get there before long."
Oliver did not tell his father what a grief it had been to him to keep
Madge waiting, nor how he had tried to make it up to her in every way
while he had made his fight alone. Nor did he tell Richard of the
principal cause of his waiting--that the mortgage to which his mother
had pledged her name and to which he had morally pledged his own was
still unpaid.
Richard listened to Oliver's outburst without interrupting him.
"I only wanted to do the best I could for you my son," he answered,
laying his fingers on Oliver's hand. "I was thinking of nothing but
your happiness. During the last few days, since I have become assured
that this negotiation would go through, I have decided to carry out a
plan which has long been in my mind and which, now that I know about
Margaret, makes it all the more necessary. I am going to make provision
for you immediately. This, I hope, will be to-morrow or the next day at
farthest. The contracts are all ready for our signatures, and only
await the return of one of the attorneys who is out of town. The cash
sum they pay for the control of the patents is, as you know, a
considerable one; then I get nearly half of the capital stock of the
new company. I am going to give you, at once, one-third of the money
and one-third of the stock."
Oliver raised his hand in protest, but Richard kept on.
"It is but just, my son. There are but three of us--your mother,
yourself, and I. It is only your share. I won't have you and Margaret
waiting until I am gone"--and he looked up with a smile on his face.
Oliver stood for a moment dazed at the joyous news, his father's hand
in his, the tears dimming his eyes. While he was thanking him, telling
him how glad he was that the struggle was over and how proud he was of
his genius, Margaret stole up behind him and put her hands over his
eyes, bidding him guess who it was--as if there could be another woman
in the whole world who would take the liberty. Oliver caught her in his
arms and kissed her, whispering in her ears the joyous news with her
cheek close to his; and Margaret looked from one to the other, and then
put her arms around Richard and kissed him without a word--the first
time she had ever dared so much.
Oh, but there were joyous times that followed!
Mrs. Mulligan, at a whispered word from her mistress, ran down-stairs
as fast as her old legs could carry her and came back with her arms
full of bundles, which she dumped upon her small kitchen-table. And
Margaret put on a clean white apron, white as snow, and rolled up her
sleeves, showing her beautiful arms above her elbows--Oliver always
vowed that she had picked them up where the Milo had dropped them--and
began emptying the contents of a bowl of oysters, one of Mrs.
Mulligan's packages, into a chafing-dish. And Oliver wheeled out the
table and brought out the cloth, and dear old Richard, his face full of
smiles, placed the napkins with great precision beside each plate,
puckering them up into little sheaves, "just as Malachi would have
done," he said; and then Margaret whispered to Oliver if he didn't
think "it would be just the very thing," they were "so anxious to see
him"--and Oliver thought it would--he was cutting bread at the moment,
and getting it ready for Mrs. Mulligan to toast on her cracker-box of a
range; and Margaret, with her arms and her cheeks scarlet, ran out in
the hall and down the corridor, and came back, out of breath, with two
other girls--one in a calico frock belted in at her slender waist, and
the other in a black bombazine and a linen collar. And Richard looked
into their faces, and took them both by the hand and told them how glad
he was to be permitted to share in their merrymakings; and then, when
Oliver had drawn out the chairs--one was a stool, by the way--the whole
party sat down, Oliver at the foot and Richard on Margaret's right, the
old gentleman, remarking, as he opened his napkin, that but one thing
was wanting to complete his happiness, and that was Oliver's mother,
who of all women in the world would enjoy the occasion the most.
But the happiest time of all was over the soup, or rather over the
tureen, or rather what was inside of it--or worse still, what was not.
This wonderful soup had been ordered at the restaurant across the way,
and was to be brought in smoking hot at the appointed time by a boy.
The boy arrived on the minute, and so did the tureen--a gayly flowered
affair with a cover, the whole safely ensconced in a basket. When the
lid was lifted and Margaret and the two girls looked in, a merry shout
went up. Not a drop of soup was in the tureen! The boy craned his head
in amazement, and Mrs. Mulligan, who stood by with the plates, and who
had broken out into violent gestures at the sight was about to upbraid
the boy for his stupidity, when Margaret's quick eye discovered a trail
of grease running down the table-cloth, along the floor and out of the
door. Whereupon everybody got up, including Richard, and with roars of
laughter followed the devious trail out into the hall and so on down
the staircase as far as they could see. Only when Mrs. Mulligan on
their return to the room held up the tureen and pointed to a leak in
its bottom, was the mystery explained.
And so the merry dinner went on.
Ah, dear old man, if these happy days could only have gone on till the
end.
On the afternoon of the day following this joyous night--the day the
contracts were to be signed, a culmination which would make everybody
happy--Margaret hurried up the stairs of her building, and pushed open
the door. She knew she should find the inventor waiting for her, and
she wanted to be the first to get the glad news from his lips. It was
varnishing day at the Academy, and she had gone down to put the last
touches on her big portrait--the one of "Madame X." that she had begun
in Paris the year before.
Richard did not move when she entered. He was leaning back in the chair
she had placed for him, his head on his hand, his attitude one of
thoughtful repose, the light of the fast-fading twilight making a
silhouette of his figure. She thought he was dozing, and so crept up
behind him to make sure.
"Ah, my dear, is that you?" he asked. The voice did not sound like
Richard's.
"Yes--I thought you were asleep."
"No, my child--I'm only greatly troubled. I'm glad you have come"--and
he took her hand and smoothed it with his own. "Bring your stool; I
have something to say to you."
Without taking off her bonnet and cloak, she took her place at his
feet. The tones of his voice chilled her. A great fear rose in her
heart. Why she could not tell.
"Has anything happened to Oliver?" she asked, eagerly.
"No, nothing so terrible as that. It is about the motor. The bankers
have refused the loan, and the attorneys have withdrawn the papers."
"Withdrawn the papers! Oh, no it can't be!" She had leaned forward now,
her anxious, startled eyes looking into his.
"Yes, my dear; a Mr. Gorton from Maine has perfected a machine which
not only accomplishes what I claim for my own, but is much better in
every way. The attorneys have been looking into this new motor for a
week past, so I learn now. Here is their letter"--and he put his hand
in his pocket and took out a white envelope. "They will, perhaps, take
up Mr. Gorton's machine instead of mine. I made a hasty examination of
this new motor this morning with my old friend Professor Morse, and we
both agree that the invention is all Mr. Gorton claims for it. It is
only a beginning, of course, along the lines of galvanic energy, but it
is a better beginning than mine, and I feel sure it is all the inventor
claims for it. I have so informed them, and I have also written a
letter to Mr. Gorton congratulating him on his success." The calmness
and gentleness of his voice thrilled her.
"I suppose I ought to have telegraphed the news to Mrs. Horn, as I
promised," he continued, slowly, as if each word gave him pain, "but I
really had not the heart, so I came up here. I've been here all the
afternoon hoping you would come in. The room felt a little cold, my
dear, and your good woman made a fire for me, as you see. You don't
mind, do you?"
Margaret bowed her head on his hands and kissed the thin fingers that
lay in her own. Her heart was full to bursting. The pathos of the bent
figure, the despairing sound of his voice--so unlike his buoyant tones;
the ghostly light that permeated the room, so restful always before, so
grewsome and forbidding now, appealed to her in a way she had never
known. She was not thinking of herself, nor of Oliver, nor of the wife
waiting for the news at home; she was only thinking of this dear old
man who sat with bowed head, his courage gone, all the joyousness out
of his life. What hurt her most was her own utter helplessness. In most
things she could be of service: now she was powerless. She knew it when
she spoke.
"Is it ended?" she asked at last, her practical mind wanting to know
the worst.
"Yes, my child, ended. I wish I could give you some hope, but there is
none. I shall go home to-morrow and begin again;--on what I do not
know--something--I cannot tell."
Oliver's footsteps sounded in the outer hall. She rose quickly and met
him on the outside, half closing the door, so that she could tell him
the dreadful news without being overheard.
"Broken their promises to father? Impossible! Why? What for? Another
invention? Oh, it cannot be!"
He walked quickly toward him. "But father, what about your patents?
They can't rob you of them. Suppose this man's motor is better."
Richard did not move. He seemed unwilling to look his son in the face.
"Let me take hold of this thing." Oliver was bending over him now, his
arms about his neck. "I'll see Mr. Slade at once. I met him this
morning and told him you were here, and he is coming to call on you. He
has always stood by me and will now. These people who have disappointed
you are not the only ones who have got money. Mr. Slade, you know, is
now a banker himself. I will begin to-morrow to fight this new man
who--"
"No, no, my son, you must do nothing of the kind," said Richard leaning
his cheek wearily against Oliver's hand, as if for warmth and
protection, but still looking into the fire. "It would not be right to
take from him what he has honestly earned. The lifting power of his
machine is four times my own, and the adjustment of the levers much
simpler. He has only accomplished what I failed to do. I am not quite
sure but I think he uses the same arrangement of levers that I do, but
everything else is his. Such a man is to be helped, not worried with
lawsuits. No, my son, I must bear it as best I may. Your poor mother!"
He stopped suddenly and passed his hand over his eyes, and in a broken,
halting voice, added: "I've tried so hard to make her old age happier.
I fear for the result when the news reaches her. And you and this poor
girl!"--and he reached out his hand to Margaret--"this is the part that
is hardest to bear."
Oliver disengaged his arm from his father's neck and walked up and down
the room, Madge watching him. His mind was searching about for some way
to stem the tide of disaster. Every movement of his body expressing his
determination. He was not thinking of himself. He saw only Madge and
his mother. Then he turned again and faced his father.
"Will you let me try?" he urged in a firm voice.
"No, Oliver! Positively no."
As he spoke he straightened himself in his chair and turned toward
Oliver. His voice had regained something of its old-time ring and
force. "To rob a man of the work of his brain is worse than to take his
purse. You will agree with me, I know, when you think it over. Mr.
Gorton had never heard of my invention when he perfected his, nor had I
ever heard of his when I perfected mine. He is taking nothing from me;
how can I take anything from him! Give me your hand my son; I am not
feeling very well." His voice fell again as if the effort had been too
much for him. "I think I will go back to the hotel. A night's rest will
do me good."
He rose slowly from his chair, steadied himself by holding to Oliver's
strong arm, stood for an instant looking into Margaret's eyes, and
said, with infinite tenderness:
"Come close; my daughter, and kiss me."
She put her arms about him, cuddling her head against his soft cheek,
smoothing his gray hair with her palm.
"My child," he said, "you have been a delight and joy to me. A woman
like you is beyond price. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for
loving my son."
With something of his old manner he again straightened himself up,
threw his shoulders back as if strengthened by some new determination,
walked firmly across the room, and picked up his cloak. As he stood
waiting for Oliver to place it about his shoulders, he put his hand to
his side, with a quick movement, as if smitten by some sudden pain,
staggered backward, his head upon his breast, and would have sunk to
the floor but for Oliver's hand. Margaret sprang forward and caught his
other arm.
"It's nothing, my son," he said, between his gasps for breath, holding
on to Oliver. "A sudden giddiness. I'm often subject to it. I, perhaps,
got up too quickly. It will pass over. Let me sit down for a moment."
Half supporting him, Oliver put his arm about his father and laid him
on the lounge.
As Richard's head touched the cushion that Margaret had made ready, he
gave a quick gasp, half rose as if to breathe the better, and fell back
unconscious.
When the doctor arrived Richard was lying on Margaret's bed, where
Oliver had carried him, he had rallied a little, and had then sunk into
a deep sleep. Margaret sat beside him, watching every breath he drew,
the scalding tears streaming down her face.
The physician bent closer and pressed his ear to the sleeping man's
breast.
"Has he been subject to these attacks?" he said, in a grave tone.
"I know of only one some years ago, the year the war broke out, but he
recovered then very quickly," answered Oliver.
"Is your mother living!"
"Yes."
"Better send her word at once."