It was a few days before Joe Sidney was allowed to see Barbara. The news
of her friend's death had been broken to her by the doctor, and though
her grief was profound she bore the shock better than they had feared
likely, and continued to make good progress towards recovery.
It was on the day following that on which she learnt the truth, or
rather a bowdlerised version of it, that Sidney refused to be longer
denied, and practically forced his way into the private room at the
hospital to which she had been moved.
At sight of her sad, tear-stained face, framed in bandages, and wearing
such a different aspect from when he had last looked on it, the little
speech he had prepared to greet her with died on his lips, and he could
only take her hand in silence and gaze at her without a word till the
door had shut behind the nurse, who, dearly as she would have liked to
remain, was luckily prevented from doing so by an urgent summons to
attend on the house surgeon elsewhere.
"Oh, my dear, I thought you were dead," he stammered.
She was very weak still, and while the tenderness in his voice, still
more than the words themselves, brought a feeble little smile of the
purest content to play a moment round the corners of her mouth, they
also caused the blood to rush to her face in a hot, embarrassing wave,
so that she turned her head away, and lay facing the wall with no
conscious wish except to hide from him.
Then the flush died away, leaving her very white and still and silent,
with eyes tightly shut. She knew that if she opened them or tried to
speak she would not be able to help crying.
Sidney did not understand her stillness. A dreadful fear came upon him
that she had fainted, and he looked round for the bell. It was just out
of reach; but, when he tried to withdraw the hand which still held hers,
her clasp gently tightened on it, and would not let him go.
With a muffled exclamation he fell on his knees beside the pillow.
"Barbara, Barbara," he cried, "will you always go hand in hand with me
now?"
And with face still averted she murmured: "Always, always!"
It was half an hour later that he asked her about the unsigned telegram
she had sent him. What had she meant by saying good luck was coming his
way?
She reluctantly confessed her determination to provide him with the
money he needed.
"Of course I always knew you were clever and dear enough to manage even
that," he said. "That's why I didn't bother unnecessarily over the mess
I'd got into."
"Oh," cried Barbara, "how dare you say that! Why, you were desperate; I
was terrified by the things you hinted at."
"It was disgraceful of me to talk in that way," he admitted, ashamed.
"But you haven't told me how you intended to provide me with money. As
if I'd have taken it from you! I didn't know you were a millionaire."
"You know Mr. Vanderstein left me £30,000, which I was to have if poor
Mrs. Vanderstein died? I shall get it now, I suppose," said Barbara, her
eyes filling with tears.
Joe stroked her hand in silent sympathy, and with a quaver in her voice
she went on.
"Well, I meant to borrow £10,000 on the strength of my prospects, and
place it anonymously to your credit at Cox's. So you see you would have
had to take it!" she concluded triumphantly. "You wouldn't have known
who it was from."
"I should have known perfectly well," he said. "Who else could good luck
come to me from if not from you? I knew you sent the telegram, you see."
"You couldn't have proved it, and you'd have had to take the money,
because there would have been no one to send it back to."
"It was like you to think of it," Joe said, "but I don't believe you
could have raised the money anyhow. Aunt Ruth's life was nearly as good
as yours then, and you hadn't really any security to offer, you silly
darling."
Barbara's face fell. "I didn't think of that, but surely I could have
got £10,000 when I would have offered £30,000 in exchange," she said
sadly. "But it doesn't matter now, does it?"
He hastened to reassure and comfort her.
"And you will never bet again?" she asked presently.
"I have sworn that I never will," Joe answered. "I've had a lesson more
severe than even I needed, I think."
"If ever you want to have a teeny tiny bet," she smiled, "I can do it
for you, perhaps, if you're good."
"No, no," he said seriously, "you must give it up too. I shall want you
to help me to stick to my resolutions. Promise!"
"Very well," she said, seeing how grave he looked; "I promise faithfully
never to gamble again in any way, as long as I live."
"Now we are safe!" he cried. "Indeed, I have used up all the luck one
man can scrape together in a lifetime in winning you, and I shall think
of that, if I am ever again tempted to stake anything on the chance of
further kindness at the hands of Fortune."
"Don't be foolish," Barbara urged; "there is heaps and heaps more luck
in store for you."
And so, in their serene confidence of the happy future which awaits
them, we will leave these two young people, who, if any more dangers lie
unsuspected in the path down which they are to travel through the years,
will brave them no longer in solitary isolation, but strengthened and
reinforced by an enduring love.
THE END
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Transcriber's note
Words in italics have been surrounded by _underscores_, underlined
titles in the advertisement pages at the end of the book have been
surrounded with =signs=, and small capitals have been changed to all
capitals.
A few missing periods were added, also the following corrections were
made, on page
82 "Vande stein" changed to "Vanderstein" (that Mrs. Vanderstein
had sent a telephone message)
168 "st aightened" changed to "straightened" (The clerk
straightened himself with a perceptible effort)
347 "OE" changed to "OF" (=THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD=)
349 underlining added (=HENRIETTA TAKING NOTES=)
354 "Transtated" changed to "Translated" (Translated from the
Danish).
Otherwise the original has been preserved.
End of Project Gutenberg's Mrs. Vanderstein's jewels, by Mrs. Charles Bryce