THE MARSHES REUNITED
Pop entered the house. He wanted advice and he wanted it bad. He knew
that ordinarily he would have gone to Mrs. Dean--a woman would help so
much at a time like this. But Dean met him in the hall.
“Hello, Pop--what’s the trouble?” asked Dean.
“Hello, Jack. I can’t say whether it’s trouble or not. What I want is
advice. Maybe you can give it to me, although I figured Mrs. Dean would
be better.”
“Tell me, I may be able to help.” Dean was surprised at the agitation
of the older man.
Pop told his story. He did not keep any of the details from Dean. The
latter listened, his astonishment growing all the time.
“You see, Jack, it’s this way. If they come here, my wife will see me.
She probably hates me. I cannot hope that she will understand. On the
other hand, I want so much to be with her, I am going to be foreman and
that means I can support her comfortably. But I probably would make her
miserable if I entered into her life again. What do you say?”
“Let us ask Mrs. Dean. She will give you the right answer.”
Mrs. Dean listened. There was no hesitation in her answer.
“Go to Chicago at once. You need not worry about how your wife will
take it, nor as to how she feels. I know. She understands better than
you can ever suppose. Jack, dear, whoever said that God did not weave
our lives? How closely our friends here have been interwoven with our
lives, how much we have been of service to each other.
“Go to Chicago on the first train,” she finished.
“Yes, and we shall tell Ted. Bring them back with you,” added Dean.
Pop left the house, much relieved. He was happy that his duty was what
his inclination was--what he craved to do. He joined the other men.
Without giving any explanation he told Smiles he would have to be away
for about ten days and that he had already arranged for the same with
John Dean.
Early the next morning he was off. He asked Red to take him down. To
Red he explained the whole thing, that he was coming back with his
folks.
“I understand a whole lot of things now. How queerly you acted at
times. I guess I’ll call you Marsh, now.”
“Yes, and it’s up to you to explain. I shall wire you before you do so.
If my wife should decide that she does not want me, I am not coming
back. If she decides she will forgive me, I will telegraph you and you
can let it out casually.”
“I will be glad to do so,” answered Red. “Is Jack going to tell Ted?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
“The boy will be glad. He likes you a lot. But, mostly glad, because it
will make his mother happy.”
“I hope so much that it will,” the older man answered.
We are not going into details as to the meeting between the Marshes.
We, who are acquainted with so much of their story, can imagine what
happened. Bill Marsh left home because he felt he could not hold his
head up nor his wife’s respect. He had been very foolish, and it
was this foolishness, this false pride, even a lack of faith in the
understanding of his wife that had made him stay away. Who should
have known him better than his own wife? It was harder to make Helen
understand. She asked some searching questions, but in the end she
realized the fine manliness of her father.
The two, mother and daughter, marveled at the coincidence of the father
being at the same place as Ted.
“The world is a small place, isn’t it?” said Mrs. Marsh.
It did not take very long for them to be ready to leave. Marsh helped
where he could and a week after he arrived they left for Big Gulch. Red
had paved the way, in accordance with their plan.
Ted was too surprised to make any comment when he heard the news.
At first he was furiously angry at his father. Boylike, he could not
forgive certain things which an older person could. It was Mrs. Dean,
even more than Red and John Dean, who made him see and understand.
Then the Marshes came to Big Gulch. Matters adjusted themselves. It
was a busy time for all. Smiles was off, smiling and glad. So were the
other men who were to go. Brave men, all of them, doing their duty as
they saw it. Pop took up his duties as foreman.
Then the child was born to the Deans. A girl, which seemed like a
squalling, ugly baby, much like any other baby, to Ted. But to say so
to the mother or to the father or to Mrs. Marsh or to Helen, would have
been a great, an awful insult.
The men came in to see the heir apparent. They seemed clumsy, uncouth,
sheepish creatures and all of them were glad to get away, including Pop
and Ted.
With the excitement subsiding, things began again to take a normal
aspect. Mrs. Dean began to sit up, the child began to look more like
a human being, it had been decided that Helen was to rest for a few
months and then continue her studies at the nearest preparatory school,
with the purpose of entering college. John Dean was to leave for the
front in two weeks.
Our story is almost complete. Ted received a great welcome at the
Academy. The boys had heard of what he had done, of his reward and
the letter he had received from Sir Robert Wingate. For one whole day
his coming made the Great War an even smaller event. Captain Wilson
had gone to Ottawa, he had been promoted to be a major. Some of the
instructors were gone and even one or two of the older students. Those
who were left spoke only of the time when they, too, could go and they
were bemoaning their misfortune in being young.
Ted heard from the folks at home. He heard from Helen and somehow he
got the impression that all she spoke about was Red and what a fine
man he was. A letter from Red made no mention of Helen, but he did say
that he was getting down to the serious business of thinking of the
future. Even as young as Ted was, he could guess that they had become
great friends and he was glad. His father wrote him that he had placed
his $1,000.00 in the bank for him, he having settled all the debts and
accounts himself. It was a fine letter and it removed what resentment
still remained with Ted against his father. His mother also wrote,
saying she was wonderfully happy and he got a short note from John Dean
before he left. He also heard from Walker, who told him he was off for
the war, but that Strong had to stay.
Syd Graham and Ted were inseparable. They did many things together and
the plans for the future each of the boys made included the other.
There was, of course, a great deal more of military training and many
times the boys at the Academy were called upon for some duty or other.
So the days went. Ted received a fall vacation and he went home. There
was news from the front. Dean had been wounded, so the report came,
not seriously, but enough to disable him, and he was returning home.
He would always limp. In that awful charge when so many Canadians had
been wounded and killed, Smiles had lost his life. It made Ted very sad
to think that he would never see the happy, smiling ex-foreman again.
Helen was at school. Ted pumped Red Mack as to Helen and found his
suspicions confirmed. He teased Red unmercifully and it was one time
when Red was flustered. The Dean baby was a healthy, lusty youngster of
a few months.
Lucky, the Boy Scout, as Captain Wilson called him, has his life before
him. This story is but an incident of his early life. But for later
events, we must look elsewhere.
[Illustration]
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.