THE UNEXPECTED FORTUNE.
The next act of Faith's was one of noble heroism. In that moment of
misery she forced herself to think only of her mother, thus ignoring her
own position in the matter entirely.
Without a word she walked back into the kitchen, leaving brother and
sister together, and taking little Dick in her lap, tried to think the
matter over as calmly as possible.
It was an embarrassing position, look at it as she would, but not so
much for herself as for the man whom she now knew to be her own uncle.
As the moments passed she heard her mother's voice grow more and more
pleading, and although she could not hear what was being said, she
conjectured rightly that she was urging her brother to accede to
something, while he as steadily refused the accession.
Finally the hall door closed and Faith heard him descending the stairs.
In an instant she hurried to join her mother in the parlor.
"Oh, Faith!" cried her mother, "can you believe it, dear, it was brother
Charles, alive and well, when I had given him up for dead over and over
again! And, Faith, you will never have to work another day, for we are
almost rich, dear brother says. He has fifty thousand dollars in trust
for me from my father's estate, which has only lately been settled!"
"Oh, mother, is it possible?" cried Faith in surprise; "but why did he
leave so soon? You had surely not finished talking!"
Mrs. Marvin shook her head in a very perplexed manner.
"He seems sadly changed, Faith. I don't know what ails him. I begged him
to wait and see my daughter, but he refused almost angrily."
"Oh, well, never mind!" replied Faith blushing. "He will probably come
back again. I would not worry about it, mother."
"But I can't understand it," said Mrs. Marvin, sighing. "It seems
unnatural that Charles should not wish to see my daughter."
Faith tried to cheer her, but she was almost crying herself. Another
shock like this would have brought on hysterics. It had been a dreadful
trial to her to keep that strange conversation from her mother, but now
she was profoundly thankful that she had been able to do so, and almost
involuntarily she whispered a prayer that no word of hers might ever
disturb her dear mother's confidence in her only brother.
The thought of no more work did not once enter her mind. It was with
some difficulty that her mother finally got her to talk about their good
fortune.
"It is not for myself that I am most thankful," said Mrs. Marvin, "but I
am so glad that you can be at home once more! No more wearing out soul
and body in the service of others."
Faith looked at her thoughtfully before she answered.
"How soon can we have the money?" she asked.
"Right away," said Mrs. Marvin; "it is invested in this city. I have
only to be identified at the bank by my brother."
"I am very glad, mother," was Faith's smiling reply, "for now we can
hire a better flat and have a woman to do the work and look after
everything, but about my working, dear, please don't think of that just
now--really I seem to feel a little bit sorry to think that there is no
need of my working."
"You mean that you are interested in those poor girls, I suppose." said
her mother. "Well, there will be other ways to help them now--you need
not work among them."
"But I am sure that it is the best way to be of use to them," said Faith
quickly. "If they thought I had money they would not accept me
seriously. They would say, as they have said of other rich women, that
my interest is a 'fad' and that I could 'afford to talk religion with
my pocket full of money.'"
"You have learned their arguments quickly," said Mrs. Marvin with a
smile, "but listen, Faith! There is some one in the hall! It is possible
that Charles has returned for something."
Faith opened the door, nervously, but a look of relief soon crossed her
face. The second caller was none other than young Mr. Denton.
"Thank goodness, I've found you!" exclaimed the young man coolly. "I've
been wandering around these halls for the past half hour, either I'm
awfully stupid or the bells are all wrong, for I've rung them all and
nobody has answered! You should supply your friends with compasses and
charts, Miss Marvin, so they won't get lost when they come to see you!"
Faith had to smile, although she was a trifle indignant. She could not
imagine what had brought the young man to her apartments.
"Did you wish to see me about anything?" she asked bluntly as her
thoughts flew instinctively to the poisoned candy. "If you do, please
come in, and I will be glad to listen."
"I do, indeed," responded the young man. "I should not have dreamed of
intruding upon you without a very good reason."
Faith was almost sure it was the candy now, although she had been
assured by his father that he had been told nothing about it.
As she introduced him to her mother, she was anxious and excited, and
one conjecture as to his errand followed swiftly after another. When
they were seated Mr. Denton started at once on his errand, and as he
talked he gazed at Faith earnestly, as though trying to read her
emotion.
"My errand is a purely personal one," he began, "and you ladies may
think it a selfish one also, but the fact is I have come for a little
assistance. I want you, Miss Marvin, to help me reason with my father."
Faith made an exclamation of unfeigned surprise.
"I don't understand," she said slowly. "What is wrong with your father,
Mr. Denton?"
"That's what I'd like to know," was the emphatic answer, "but between
you and I, it's my opinion that he's crazy!"
Mrs. Marvin and Faith both stared at him curiously, for this time there
was more sadness than disrespect in his language.
"Listen to this," he went on quickly, "and see if I am not right! I will
put the situation before you without a particle of exaggeration."
"Wait!" said Mrs. Marvin. "What does all this concern us, sir? Are you
not doing wrong to talk to strangers about your father's business?"
A smile passed over the young man's features, and he turned toward Faith
with a glance of admiration.
"I think not," he said shortly, "and for this simple reason--he admires
your daughter above any girl that he has met; she has influenced him in
the past and can influence him again in the future. And he is sadly in
need of influence, I can assure you," he continued, "for, at the present
moment, he is on the verge of two things, they are the verge of
bankruptcy and the verge of insanity!"
Mrs. Marvin looked shocked, but Faith's brow became clearer. It was
coming to her now what was troubling young Denton.
The young man went on with hardly a perceptible pause, his face growing
more handsome and manly as he became interested and excited.
"My father to-day is worth a million dollars, a large percentage of it
having been made in his present business. He is prominent both in social
and business circles, and up to the present his ability has never been
questioned. To-day he has changed all this as far as it is possible to
change it in the short period of a week. He is making arrangements to
transact his business on what he calls a 'religious basis,' which means
that he intends to transact worldly affairs by heavenly methods, and it
does not take much intelligence to see where he will terminate. He will
be a bankrupt in five years, if he isn't sooner, for no fortune in the
world would float such an enterprise. Now, I can't see this go on
without making an effort to stop it, but as I have little or no
influence with him myself, I have come to Miss Marvin to ask her to help
me."
"What do you wish my daughter to do?" Mrs. Marvin asked the question
with a little amusement.
"I hardly know," was his honest answer, "but if she could just induce
him to think that God did not expect such a sacrifice and that it was
only necessary to do good in moderation, it might act as a restraint on
his wholesale generosity, put a brake, so to speak, on his downward
course to failure."
"But I think it an upward course to victory!" said Faith with
enthusiasm. "And you have no idea how I honor your father for taking it!
Just think, Mr. Denton, what good his money can do! Why, it is a duty
which he owes by right to God, for who else gave him the ability to make
all this money?"
"Do you think God gave it to him?" asked Mr. Denton, quickly. "Well, I
should have said that his most successful methods were invented by the
devil!"
"Then it is time to put his ill-gotten wealth to good account! I am
astonished, Mr. Denton, that you should wish him to retain it!"
Faith's eyes were fairly blazing now, but the look of admiration only
deepened upon young Denton's features.
There was a cry from little Dick in the kitchen just then, and Mrs.
Marvin rose hastily and excused herself to go to him.
"Miss Marvin," urged the young man, "don't be harsh in your judgment,
please! Remember I have been used to luxury all my life. My mother has
been used to it--we cannot bear to lose it."
He bent toward the young girl as he said the words, and as Faith saw the
eagerness in his face, a great wave of pity surged up within her.
He was thoughtless, even wicked, but he was not altogether to blame. The
very luxury that he craved was responsible for it.
"I would like to help you if I could," she said very gently, "but you
surely would not have me go against my own conscience."
"No, I don't know that I would," said young Denton slowly, "for if you
did you would not be what you are just now, the embodiment of all that
is best and sweetest in woman."