THE NEW LIFE
Nearly seven years had elapsed since Power had either seen a man of his
own race, or heard civilized speech. During all that time, save when he
spoke aloud in self-communing, or hummed the half-remembered words of a
song, he had neither uttered, nor read, nor written a word of English.
One literary treasure, indeed, had come his way, and he made good use of
it.
Some men of the tribe, digging one day for truffles, broke into a cave,
in which there was a skeleton. Among the bones, wrapped in soft leather
and parchment, the Indians found a book, which they brought to their
white leader. It was an illuminated Book of Hours, or "Horæ Beatæ Mariæ
Virginis," written in Latin and Spanish, and, as Power ascertained
subsequently, the work of an Italian of the fifteenth century. No more
beautiful example of the exquisite classical Renaissance period could be
produced by the Vatican library. The character in the figures and
naturalness in the landscapes bespoke a ripe art, and many of the vellum
pages were bordered by the solid frame which gives full scope to the
artist's fancy by its facilities for the introduction of medallions,
vignettes, twisted Lombardic vines, cupids, fawns, colored gems, and
birds of brilliant plumage. Veritably, this "Horæ" was more precious
than if its leaves were of solid gold; its value to Power in those
lonely hours was of a spring in the desert to a parched traveler.
Despite such an invaluable stimulus to his mind, however, it was almost
with difficulty, and certainly with marked hesitancy, that he was able
now to arrange the words of a sentence in their ordered sequence, and
often he found his tongue involuntarily lending an Indian twist to
idiomatic expressions. But his labored utterance was either not so
marked as he imagined, or his host was so surprised at meeting a white
man so far from civilization that he could not repress his own
excitement. At the outset, too, the instinct of hospitality helped to
relieve the tension.
"Can I offer you anything in the way of refreshment--some whisky, or
tea, or a cigar?" came the courteous inquiry.
"A cigar, by all means. I have not smoked one for so long a time that I
have forgotten what it is like."
"It is pretty evident you have been living among the Indians," said the
other, passing him a cigar-case. "How in the world did you contrive to
get lost in these parts? You did not come through Patagonia, I fancy?"
Power took thought before answering. Some half-atrophied emotion stirred
within him.
"Patagonia? Is this country Patagonia?" he said at last.
"Yes. Do you mean to say you don't know that?"
"I had a notion that it was the Argentine. My Indian friends invariably
speak of the white inhabitants as Argentinos."
"But how did you get here?"
"By crossing the Andes."
"With a party?"
"No, alone."
His questioner whistled. "By Jove!" he cried, "you had your nerve with
you."
"I couldn't help myself. I was a prisoner in the hands of a Trans-Andean
tribe, and they turned me adrift. I had to win through somehow, or die."
"What's your name, anyhow?"
"John Darien Power."
"Mine's Sinclair--George Sinclair. Well, Mr. Power, this is a fortunate
meeting for both of us. You could never have reached the coast if you
had not fallen in with just such an outfit as mine, because there are
the devil's own breeds of Indians prowling about the last hundred and
fifty miles of this river. Luckily, they dare not attack forty
well-armed men; but, if looks count, they are willing for the job should
an opportunity offer. We simply couldn't secure a guide; so decided to
follow the river all the way, especially as it made transport fairly
easy, except at the rapids. Now you, on the other hand, can tell us just
what we want to know. Is the stream practicable much farther? What sort
of country lies between this point and the snow-line?"
"Yes, I can tell you those things, and a good deal more. What is the
object of your expedition? Gold?"
Sinclair laughed rather constrainedly. "I suppose that is the bedrock of
the proposition," he said. "A bit of science, a bit of prospecting, a
last glimpse at a country which is not marked on any map before I leave
Patagonia for good--there you have the scheme in a nutshell."
"Are you willing to turn back now?"
"No. Why should we? We have come close on three hundred miles; another
fifty, or less, should see us close to the frontier of Chile."
"But you may sacrifice your lives."
"No Indians can stop us--let me assure you of that, straight away."
"Won't you let me mark your maps? I can supply every detail with
sufficient accuracy."
"Allow me to suggest that I am a business man, Mr. Power, and I mean
this expedition to pay its way."
"Ah! It is gold you really have in mind, then? But there is no gold."
"Now you are talking nonsense. We have found it."
"You have found alluvial gold. There are few fast-running streams in the
world which do not contain gold in that form. The denudation of the
Andes is so extraordinarily rapid that it would be a singular fact if
this river did not yield float gold. But the metal is not, and cannot
be, present in paying quantities. The primary sources of gold are reefs,
either in quartz or in metalliferous veins of galena and the various
pyrites. There are none of these in the lower Andean range, which is
composed almost exclusively of crystalline schist with a slight blend of
basalt. I am a mining engineer, Mr. Sinclair, and I know what I am
talking about. If you could put the entire southern Cordillera through a
mill, you would not secure a pennyweight of gold to the ton."
Sinclair, of course, could not appreciate the remarkable way in which
Power's tongue loosened in dealing with the familiar jargon of his
profession. For the time he was far more concerned with what he deemed a
real marvel.
"A mining engineer, and your name is Power! Surely you can't be the Mr.
Power who sailed from San Francisco to Valparaiso on the _Panama_ seven
years ago?" he cried.
"I am."
"But, excuse me, there must be some mistake. My daughter, Marguerite
Sinclair, who was on board that vessel, spoke of a Mr. Power; but he was
a young man. Of course, time does not stand still for any of us; but
this Mr. Power would now be thirty-five, or thereabouts."
"That is my age."
"Thirty-five?"
"Yes."
Sinclair bent forward and peered into his visitor's eyes; it was
difficult to detect any play of expression in the bearded face. "Are you
really the man my daughter met on that steamer?" he asked, and there was
a note of solemnity, almost of awe, in his voice. This anchorite seemed
nearer sixty than thirty-five.
"Yes, I remember her perfectly--a charming girl. She had suffered some
injury to her face during an attack by Indians on her father's ranch. Of
course, you are her father?"
"Yes. But, tell me, Mr. Power--have you any notion of the extraordinary
appearance you present? You force me to be blunt. You look like a man
nearly twice your age."
"Lend me a scissors and a razor, and I shall remove a decade or two.
Remember, I have lived as an Indian for seven years."
"I'll do more than that. I can give you some clothes and boots. God
bless my soul! how surprised Meg will be! I recollect now she told me
that her Mr. Power walked with a limp. But it's a far cry to Carmen.
I----"
"Carmen, did you say?"
"Yes, why?"
Power had suddenly recalled the name of the stuffy little tramp on which
he set forth from Valparaiso. What memories crowded in on him, what a
record of suffering and achievement! Seven years! He knew now that his
pilgrimage was ended. The great world had thrown wide its gates again.
He could go back to his own country, his own people. His sacrifice had
been accepted. He was assoilized. He thought of his mother, of Nancy,
and tears glistened in his eyes. He believed that some lesion had been
lifted off his brain. He looked at the great facts of existence with a
new and saner vision. He almost heard a vibrant and majestic voice
saying to his spirit, "Go, and sin no more! Thy faith hath made thee
whole!"
He rose, and was dimly aware that Sinclair was pressing him to stay.
There was so much to discuss yet, so many vital matters to weigh and
debate; but he managed to explain that he must depart now, and would
return later.
"You don't understand that you are here on sufferance," he said. "I had
to stretch my domination to the utmost--and I am a king among these
Indians--to stop them from attacking you. Your life, and the lives of
every man in your party, are not worth a day's purchase if my influence
is weakened. I cannot tell what evil counsel may be given to these wild
folk in my absence. If I show myself, and assure them that I am safe,
and that you mean to retreat almost at once, they will be satisfied, and
bloodshed will be averted."
Sinclair glanced at him curiously, but did not seek further to prevent
his immediate departure.
"You must act as you think best, Mr. Power," he said amicably; "but I
certainly cannot promise to retreat merely because a few wretched
Indians bar the path."
"I will convince you, never fear," came the prompt assurance.
"But I am not the only skeptic. There are others to consult. I have two
partners in this enterprise, and one of them is a mining expert."
"Leave everything to me, and make no forward move till I come back. You
can expect me in a couple of hours."
He could say no more. He was choking. It was a mere pretense that he
must conciliate the Indians, who, he knew, were watching every move in
the camp with the eyes of eagles. What he really feared, in that moment
of revulsion and self-enlightenment, was that he might break down and
cry like a child.
He strode away, aflame with the fire of longing for communion with his
fellow-men. The tumult of emotion evoked by contact with the expedition
startled and dismayed him; but he had not gone two hundred yards up the
valley before a sibilant hiss restored his scattered wits. He was
passing an Indian outpost, and the faithful creatures were warning him
of their presence. He signed that he was going to the village, and
passed on. He had seen no one. Not a leaf moved among the trees; but the
watchers were there, and would remain.
Much against the grain, though there was no help for it, he pacified the
head men of the tribe by the statement that he must remain in the
encampment that night; indeed, he did not purpose leaving the invaders
until they had turned on their tracks. He dared not risk telling his
"subjects" that he meant to abandon his empire. Their fierce passions
were easily aroused, and a prompt massacre of Sinclair and his followers
would be the certain result of a fanatical outbreak. Entering his hut,
he picked up the "Horæ." As he did so, a wave of sentiment shook him,
because he thought of the poor Spanish priest who had brought that
precious volume from Cádiz or Barcelona, and, perchance, gazed at it
with eyes glazing in death while he lurked, wounded and starving, in the
cave where he had sought shelter from the pitiless savages. Now, if God
willed, it might cross the Atlantic again.
He opened the book haphazard, and read:
"_In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum!_"
Then he sank on his knees, and prayed; for, if ever man had placed soul
and body in the keeping of the Almighty, he had.
That evening, master of himself, and ever recovering facility of speech,
he reasoned with Sinclair and the two Spaniards who had joined in the
adventure. One, a Señor Felice Gomez, though posing as an authority on
mines, had to admit that his knowledge was that of the company director
and well-informed amateur. They were inclined to scoff at Power's
predictions of disaster; but he wound up with an argument which proved
irresistible.
"How much has this enterprise cost you?" he asked.
Sinclair answered readily.
"We have put up twenty thousand paper dollars[A] for expenses," he said.
"My share is ten thousand, and my friends stand in five thousand each."
[A] A paper dollar is worth about 40 per cent. of the gold dollar.
"Would you be satisfied if you got your money back, with a profit of one
hundred per cent?"
"According to you, Mr. Power, and almost you convince me, we shall lose
every penny."
"But, assuming the profit I have named, would such return on your
capital send you home well content?"
"Speaking for myself, it would."
The Spaniards grinned amiably. As a conceit, the notion appealed to
them. They were not poor men; but had embarked on the quest largely to
sate their curiosity with regard to the unexplored reaches of the Chubut
River.
"Good!" said Power. "I give your syndicate my personal undertaking to
pay the sum of forty thousand dollars when we reach any place where
there is a bank with a New York agent. I really mean what I say," he
went on, seeing the blank incredulity written on three faces. "I am
rich enough to table that offer without the slightest chance of failing
to make good. Even though I die on the way to the coast, you will have
my written undertaking, which will be honored by my bankers. If I
survive the journey, a cablegram will convince you of my financial
standing. Naturally, you will ask why I behave so generously. Well,
there are three reasons: Were it not for your presence here, I might
never have had a chance of returning to civilization; so I am disposed
to pay liberally for your safe escort, which, to my thinking, has been
sent by Providence in my special behalf. That, in itself, should suffice
as an explanation. But the remaining motives are almost equally strong.
I am sure you are rushing to certain death if you advance another mile
up the valley; but, supposing, as you imagine, that your guns open the
path, it will be across the dead bodies of a people whom I have learned
to like, and among whom I have passed three not unhappy years. Very
well! I purchase their lives. All I demand to seal the bargain is your
promise to start downstream at daybreak, taking me with you; but leaving
here all the pieces of iron, knives, nails, and such like articles you
can spare from your equipment. The Indians will find and value them.
They have no knowledge of metallic ores. There are hardly any to be
found in this locality. It is a dead land, mere shale and rock and
crumbling earth, devoid of the riches which alone would make it
habitable. What do you say? If you agree to my terms, give me a pen and
paper. I suppose I still can write, though I have not held a pen during
seven years."
The man who could tame, and partly civilize, two Indian tribes was not
like to fail when called on to subjugate men of his own or a kindred
race. The triumvirate yielded. Next day, when the canoes had gone ahead,
Power bestrode one of the dozen horses which accompanied the expedition.
The rearguard set off at a canter, since a rolling down ran for eight
miles to the first portage. As Power rode away with his new friends a
long drawn-out, shrill wailing came from the forest. The Indians
understood then. Their territory was left unspoiled; but they had lost
their wonder-worker. Had they but known it, the "white fool" drew his
hand across his eyes to clear away the tears.
* * * * *
For three weeks the horsemen and canoes followed the windings of a river
the waters of which were never turbid or blue, but emerald green, except
during occasional sunsets, when they became a vivid crimson. Then the
party reached Port Madryn, whence a small steamer took its chief members
to Carmen, in the Rio Negro Territory. The Spaniards hailed from that
place, and Sinclair, who had sold his Chubut ranch, had left his
daughter with friends there. There was no cable available; but, by this
time, Sinclair and his partners would as soon have distrusted an
archbishop's word as Power's. Each day he reverted more and more to
type; yet he lost nothing of the dignity and air of reposeful strength
which his wanderings had conferred. So, when he gave written orders for
the various sums due on his bond, they were accepted with the
confidence which would have been shown in the certified checks of a
state bank.
The vessel had to steam several miles up the Rio Negro (the river is
called "black"; but it is green as the Chubut) before touching the wharf
at Carmen. News of their coming had preceded them, though no mention had
been made of Power, and it was vastly amusing to Sinclair when his
daughter, after embracing him affectionately, turned and held out her
hand to the brown-skinned stranger.
"Welcome to Patagonia, Mr. Power!" she cried. "I was sure you would come
to us some day; though I was told in Valparaiso, three years ago, that
you were lost utterly in the depths of the Andes."
"So you have not forgotten me?" was all that Power could find to say;
though he flushed with pleasure at this prompt recognition.
"Forgotten you? Didn't I tell you I should know you again in twenty
years?"
"I am glad to have survived even a third of the time in your memory."
"Well, please don't test it so severely again. What have you been doing
to yourself? You look like an Indian."
"Meg," broke in her father, "I hoped that four months' residence in a
Spanish household would give you a more polite way of expressing
yourself."
"Mr. Power takes that as a compliment, I am sure. When we parted he was
running away from the flesh-pots of Egypt--or was it Bison? Evidently he
has succeeded in his object. He is lean as a herring. Where did you
find him, Dad? Ruling a tribe of Araucanians, I'm certain."
"If I hadn't found him, you would never have seen me again, Girly. But
we can't tell the horrible story here on the quay. Take me to a long
cane chair, and mix me a whisky and soda. That wretched little tub of a
steamer tried to stand on its head last night."
One thing was evident. Power had convinced his companions of the real
danger they had escaped. He had said no word concerning the canyon,
while it constituted the Indians' defense; but it was betraying no
secret to make clear its perils during the journey to the coast.
Next day, after breakfast, Sinclair drew him aside, and handed him a
sealed envelop.
"Meg objects strongly to the arrangement we entered into, in so far as
it affects me," he explained. "She insists that I return your draft. I
was turning the matter over in my own mind, and I was not altogether
happy about it. Now I see that she is right."
"But both of you happen to be wrong," said Power.
"We're not. Why in blazes should _you_ pay _me_? The boot is on the
other leg. I owe you my life. Look here, Power, the thing can't be
argued. If it pleases you to let my Spanish friends have their share of
the money, I'll not say a word, one way or the other; but I'll see you
cremated before I cash that draft!"
"Let me defray your out-of-pocket expenses, at any rate."
"Not a centavo! If you say anything more about it, I'll get an actuary
to calculate my life value, and worry you till you accept a settlement
in full."
"Women invariably take a distorted view of a matter like this,"
protested Power.
Sinclair laughed. "Oh, you have discovered that, have you?" he said.
"Well, I can't afford to quarrel with Meg, and her heart is set on your
tearing up the draft, Mr. Power."
The girl herself never mentioned the incident; but, when next they met,
Power felt that a slight constraint of which he was sensible in her
manner that morning had gone completely.
Sinclair's affairs in Patagonia were settled before he set out on that
long trek into the wilds; but there still remained some odds and ends of
business which detained him nearly a month in Carmen. During those
placid days Power and Marguerite Sinclair were together constantly. They
boated on the Rio Negro, fished in its swift current, rode long miles
over the gray and treeless pampas. The girl was a woman now, and, were
it not for that cruel disfigurement of one side of her face, a
singularly attractive one. She was never dull, never at a loss for a new
and original turn to the old topics. Her interests covered a
surprisingly wide range. Whether singing Spanish songs to her own
accompaniment on a guitar, or discoursing learnedly on the habits of the
migratory wild-fowl with which Patagonia abounds, she never failed to
acquit herself with vivacious charm. Indeed, the recluse of the Andes
could not have been more favored by fortune in the choice of a
companion. With sure touch, and a happy blend of raillery and sympathy,
she led him back to the gracious intimacies of every-day existence. A
keen and discriminating reader of contemporary literature, she set
herself the congenial task of filling the immense gap of the years lost
out of this remarkable man's life. On his part, so avid was he of the
joys of regained citizenship of the world that he was blithely unaware
of the place she filled in his thoughts until the day of parting.
He had traveled with father and daughter to Buenos Aires, whence he
cabled to New York, and was placed in possession of ample funds. The
Sinclairs were bound for England, and their steamer sailed almost
immediately, and the vessel which would take him to New York was timed
to start next day.
They lunched together in the Hôtel de l'Europe, Plaza Victoria, and
Sinclair had left the younger people for a few minutes while
interviewing a lawyer who had charge of certain financial matters in the
Argentine. Some chance remark led Power to realize that Marguerite
Sinclair's bright personality would soon be merged with yesterday's
seven thousand years, and the knowledge darkened his new-born optimism
as the black portent of a tornado blots out the blue of a summer sky.
It was hardly surprising that the discovery came thus tardily. The
philosophical habit of mind induced by constant association with
fatalistic Indians was not to be cast off like a disused garment. When
each day resembled its predecessor, when the needs of the hour rendered
care for the morrow an additional burden, he had trained himself to
live, and almost to think, according to savage ethics, and it was with a
positive shock that he awoke to the fact that before many hours had sped
he would be alone. But, once it had entered his soul, the leaven worked
rapidly. They were talking in conventional strain about her father's
plans for the future, which centered around a small sporting estate in
Derbyshire, once owned by his family and now in the market, when Power
rose suddenly.
"If you have finished luncheon," he said, "come with me into the gardens
across the plaza. We'll leave word of our whereabouts with the hotel
people, so that Mr. Sinclair will not think I have abducted you."
She paled slightly, and seemed to hesitate, but only for an instant.
"Why not?" she said, dropping the white double veil she always wore in
public.
Power rather looked for some biting retort when he spoke of abducting
her, and her unexpected meekness was somewhat disconcerting. Each was
tongue-tied, and they walked away together in silence. A good many eyes
followed them as they left the hotel, for the girl's slender, lissome
figure and noticeably elegant carriage would have attracted the
attention of more censorious critics than a gathering of
Spanish-Americans, while the wealth of brown hair which crowned her
shapely head and column-like neck was adequately set off by a smart hat.
Power, too, evoked some comment. People who saw him for the first time
invariably asked who he was. A man who has twice established an empire,
even among Indians, cannot possibly lack distinction, no matter how
effectually the outfitting tailor may democratize him.
They entered the gardens, and Power led Marguerite to a seat under a
tree whose spreading branches, broad-leafed and flower-laden, supplied
grateful shade. If he could have peered beneath that heavy veil, he
would have seen that his companion was obviously ill at ease; but there
was no trace of nervousness in her voice when she said, with a laugh:
"This, I suppose, is the local Garden of Eden."
"Why?" he inquired.
"Because we are reclining under a Paradise tree."
"I don't see any serpents, and I cannot bring myself to regard you as
either a cherub or a seraph."
"How unkind of you! Here have I been behaving angelically all day, just
because you will soon see the last of me, and that is my reward."
"I believe the sex of angels is a matter of fierce dispute in certain
circles. I wouldn't dare form an opinion, and, just now at any rate, I
am vexed by a different problem. If this tree is really the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, its influence will be helpful, because we
should be moved to candor. I brought you here to ask you some questions
of vital importance to myself. Are you promised to any man in marriage?"
"No. Is it likely?"
Not often did the bitter consciousness of her marred beauty rise thus
bluntly to her lips; but she blurted it out now involuntarily. In this
supreme moment it came as a protest against the edict of the gods. Even
while she trembled in the belief that a happiness she had not dared to
think of sanely was about to be vouchsafed to her, she could not
restrain her terror lest the disillusionment of her scarred face might
cost her the love of the one man on earth she wanted to marry. It was
the heartfelt cry of a woman denied her birthright. "Male and female
created he them." The sorry trick of fate which had tarnished the fair
tabernacle that enshrined so many gifts had never before exhibited its
true malice. In a word, Marguerite Sinclair was a woman, and the great
crisis of her life had found her unprepared and nearly hysterical.
Power, of course, was splendidly deaf to her satire and its cause.
"I should say it was the most likely thing imaginable," he replied. "I
wish----" He broke off abruptly. "You and I should have no
reservations," he went on, after a pause, "and it would not be quite
honest if I voiced the banal notion I had in mind. Yet I must tell you
something of my history. You know, I suppose, that I am going to ask you
to marry me; but, before you answer, you must hear the plea, the
defense, of a man who committed a crime and had to pay the penalty."
"You committed no crime, Derry," and the girl's utterance was so low and
sweet that it swept through his inmost being like a chord of exquisite
music. Some seconds elapsed before he understood that she had used a
name which could not have come to her knowledge without a far more
intimate acquaintance with his past life than he believed possible.
"Derry!" he repeated blankly. "How have you found out that those I once
held dear called me 'Derry'?"
She forced herself to speak calmly; though her hands were clenched in
sheer physical effort to quell the riot in heart and brain.
"I am not as other women," she said; "so I say shamelessly that I loved
you practically from the hour we first met. Do you remember? You looked
at me, and then turned your eyes away resolutely, lest you should hurt
my feelings by seeming to gaze at my scarred features. I knew that night
that you were a man scourged by the wrath of Heaven, and my sympathies
went out to you; for, in my own small way, I realized what you felt. But
your affliction was of the spirit, and mine of the flesh, and I could
afford to laugh at my malaise except--except on an occasion like this,
when a man says he wants to marry me, but says nothing of love. No,
please! Hear me out. I am really answering your question, in a woman's
way, perhaps, but candidly, with a frankness that should blight romance.
When we parted at Valparaiso, my thoughts dwelt with you. You are the
one man I have ever cared for, in that way. During these weary years I
have hugged the delusion that some day you would tell me that you loved
me. Well, I admit that love was implied when you spoke of marriage; but
you have often been annoyed or amused by my distorted method of looking
at things, and you should not resent it now when it happens to describe
the situation exactly--because you yourself almost began by saying that
you wished we had met before another woman came into your life. Yes, I
know--at any rate, I can guess--why you were buried alive for seven
years. My action may sound contemptible; but a woman in love does not
stop to weigh niceties of behavior. When I could get no news of you by
other means, I wrote to a school friend at Denver. Among the people she
met when making inquiries were a Dr. Stearn and a Mr. Benson. They did
not tell her much; but feminine gossip is far-reaching, and sometimes
it probes deeply. I know you loved Nancy Willard. I know how you were
separated from her. I know you met her again in Newport. I know you
blamed yourself for the death of your mother. I know that your friends
thought you were mad, but pitied you, because yours was a grievous
plight. You see now how I peeped and pried into your life. Oh! it was
mean and despicable of me. It is not for _you_ to plead and make excuse.
That is _my_ wretched task. Is it any sort of vindication to tell you
that my heart ached because of that far-away look ever in your eyes
while we voyaged south? You have not forgotten that I said you resembled
a man walking in his sleep? Well, I wanted to find out what sort of
folly or suffering had induced that trance. My poor little heart sang
with joy when you stepped ashore at Carmen, and I saw that your
obsession had gone, that you had come to life again, that no pale
specters stood between us. Now you have heard my confession, it is for
_you_ to take time--before--you commit yourself--to vows--which you may
regret."
It was as much as she could do to utter those concluding words. The
tears she might not repress were stealing silently down her cheeks, and
small, dark patches showed where the tightly drawn veil touched the
corners of her mouth. The hotel porch was visible between two clumps of
tropical shrubbery, and, when a mule-drawn street-car moved out of the
way, Power saw Sinclair's tall, thin figure standing in the doorway.
Evidently, his glance was searching the gardens for the missing pair,
and the departure of the tram rendered them visible. He raised a hand,
and opened and closed it twice. Power waved comprehension, and Sinclair
vanished. Perhaps he had a shrewd notion of the subject of their talk,
and was minded not to disturb them till the last moment.
"I take it your father means that we still have ten minutes at our
disposal," said Power.
The girl nodded. If she spoke then, she would have screamed.
"You have relieved me of a highly disagreeable task," he went on
composedly. "Of course, I accept none of the unkind and unjust
strictures you passed on yourself. This has been a strange wooing; but
it is the best apology for the real thing I can contrive in the
conditions. Some day, soon, I shall take you in my arms and tell you
that I love you. When that day dawns, I shall be hindered by no ghosts;
none other, that is, than a lurking fear lest such a wreck of a man may
not be deemed worthy of the pure, sweet love of a woman like you. Good
God! Can it be possible that so great a happiness is entering into my
broken life?"
Then the delirium of joy vanquished the girl's fears, and she contrived
to say haltingly:
"Derry, do you really care for me? Do you think that such a poor
scarecrow as I can make you forget all that you have endured?"
He laughed, and the blithe ring of his mirth was so eloquent of his real
feelings that the blood raced in her veins like quicksilver.
"We must begin by refusing to call each other hard names," he cried. "In
truth, I regard myself as a tolerably compact wreck, while 'scarecrow,'
as applied to you, would make a cat laugh. Suppose we stick to 'Derry'
and 'Meg' until the wonder passes, and we venture among those endearing
terms in which our language is so rich. But, if you must have my opinion
about your face--if you won't be happy till you get it--I want to tell
you now that before I kiss your lips I shall kiss that dear, scarred
cheek, because I know well that, by God's providence, when the Indians
thrust you into the flames of your ranch, a mark was set on you that
reserved you for me. Were it not for that, you could never have waited
for me during the long years since we traveled together on the _Panama_.
Why, Meg, there is no woman to compare with you in all this great city!
But, look here! Confound my impudence! Man-like, I blandly ignore my own
defects. How about my limp?"
"Derry, in my eyes, there is no man in all the world to compare with
you."
"Then we are profoundly satisfied with one another, and I really don't
see what we have to bother about otherwise. I am going now to tell your
father that we have arranged to be married as soon as I arrive in
England, which will be not more than two months from this day. I think
he likes me, and will endure me as a son-in-law. If I obeyed my own
impulses, I should not leave you again. I suppose that common sense
urges me to visit New York and Colorado, just to look into my business
affairs. In fact, in view of our marriage, I simply must go there. But I
shall hurry, never fear. Come along, Meg. I'm wide awake now. You have
exorcised the evil spirit that possessed me; but I shall be in a new
fever till next we meet, and there is no more parting in this life."
Thus was love reborn in Power's heart. The pity of it was that he did
not yield to the tiny god's ardent whispers, and refuse to relinquish
his chosen bride, even for a brief space. But, as he said, common sense
demanded his presence in America, and common sense has shattered many
dreams.