THE SUMMIT OF SUCCESS
There followed three years of silence, three years of waiting for that
message which never came. As though she had dropped into an ocean of
oblivion, Beth Norvell disappeared. Winston had no longer the
slightest hope that a word from her would ever come, and there were
times when he wondered if it was not better so--if, after all, she had
not chosen rightly. Love untarnished lived in his heart; yet, as she
had told him out in the desert, love could never change the deed. That
remained--black, grim, unblotted, the unalterable death stain. Why,
then, should they meet? Why seek even to know of each other? Close
together, or far apart, there yawned a bottomless gulf between.
Silence was better; silence, and the mercy of partial forgetfulness.
Winston had toiled hard during those years, partly from a natural
liking, partly to forget his heartaches. Feverishly he had taken up
the tasks confronting him, sinking self in the thought of other things.
Such work had conquered success, for he did his part in subjecting
nature to man, thus winning a reputation already ranking him high among
the mining experts of the West. His had become a name to conjure with
in the mountains and mining camps. During the long months he had hoped
fiercely. Yet he had made no endeavor to seek her out, or to uncover
her secret. Deep within his heart lay a respect for her choice, and he
would have held it almost a crime to invade the privacy that her
continued silence had created. So he resolutely locked the secret
within his own soul, becoming more quiet in manner, more reserved in
speech, with every long month of waiting, constantly striving to forget
the past amid a multitude of business and professional cares.
It was at the close of a winter's day in Chicago. Snow clouds were
scurrying in from over the dun-colored waters of the lake, bringing
with them an early twilight. Already myriads of lights were twinkling
in the high office buildings, and showing brilliant above the smooth
asphalt of Michigan Avenue. The endless stream of vehicles homeward
bound began to thicken, the broad highway became a scene of continuous
motion and display. After hastily consulting the ponderous pages of a
city directory in an adjacent drug store, a young man, attired in dark
business suit, his broad shoulders those of an athlete, his face
strongly marked and full of character, and bronzed even at this season
by out-of-door living, hurried across the street and entered the busy
doorway of the Railway Exchange Building. On the seventh floor he
unceremoniously flung open a door bearing the number sought, and
stepped within to confront the office boy, who as instantly frowned his
disapproval.
"Office hours over," the latter announced shortly. "Just shuttin' up."
"I am not here on business, my lad," was the good-natured reply, "but
in the hope of catching Mr. Craig before he got away."
The boy, still somewhat doubtful, jerked his hand back across his
shoulder toward an inner apartment.
"Well, his nibs is in there, but he 's just a-goin'."
The visitor swung aside the gate and entered. The man within, engaged
in closing down his roll-top desk for the day, wheeled about in his
chair, quite evidently annoyed by so late a caller. An instant he
looked at the face, partially shadowed in the dim light, then sprang to
his feet, both hands cordially extended.
"Ned Winston, by all the gods!" he exclaimed, his voice full of
heartiness. "Say, but I 'm glad to see you, old man. Supposed it was
some bore wanting to talk business, and this happens to be my busy
night. By Jove, thought I never was going to break away from this
confounded desk--always like that when a fellow has a date. How are
you, anyhow? Looking fine as a fiddle. In shape to kick the pigskin
at this minute, I 'll bet a hundred. Denver yet, I suppose? Must be a
great climate out there, if you 're a specimen. Must like it, anyhow;
why, you 've simply buried yourself in the mountains. Some of the old
fellows were in here talking about it the other day. Have n't been
East before for a couple of years, have you, Ned?"
"Considerably over three, Bob, and only on urgent business now. Have
been hard at it all day, but thought I would take a chance at finding
you in, even at this hour. Knew your natural inclination to grind, you
know. I take a train for the West at midnight."
"Well, I rather guess not," and Craig picked up his hat from the top of
the desk. "Do you imagine I 'll let go of you that easily, now that
you are here? Well, hardly. You 've got to give up that excursion for
one night at least, even if I 'm compelled to get you jugged in order
to hold you safe. I can do it, too; I have a pull with the police
department. My automobile fines are making them rich."
"But you just mentioned having an engagement, or rather a date, which I
suppose means the same thing."
Craig smiled indulgently, his dark eyes filled with humor.
"That's exactly the ticket. Glad to see you keep up with the slang of
the day; proof you live in the real world, possess a normal mind, and
feel an interest in current events. Altogether most commendable. That
engagement of mine happens to be the very thing I want you for. Most
glorious event in our family history, at least within my remembrance.
My birth probably transcended even this in importance, but the details
are not clear. You will add _éclat_ to the occasion. By Jove, it will
be immense; paterfamilias and mater-ditto will welcome you with open
arms. They often speak of you; 'pon my word they do, and I don't know
of another fellow anywhere they 'd rather have join in our little
family celebration. Oh, this is a great night for Old Ireland. Stay?
Why, confound it, of course you 'll stay!"
"But see here, Bob, at least give me the straight of all this. What 's
happening? What is it you are stacking me up against?"
"Box party at the Grand. Here, have a cigar. Just a family affair,
you know. First night; certain to be a swell crowd there; everything
sold out in advance. Supper afterwards, private dining-room at the
Annex--just ourselves; no guests, except only the Star and her manager."
"The Star? I never heard that you people went in for theatricals?"
"Lord! they never did; but they 've experienced a change of heart. You
see, Lizzie took to it like a duck to water--she was the baby, the kid,
you know--and, by thunder, the little girl made good. She 's got 'em
coming and going, and the pater is so proud of her he wears a smile on
him that won't come off. It 's simply great just to see him beau her
around downtown, shedding real money at every step. Nothing is too
good for Lizzie just now."
"And she is the Star?"
"Sure, and the lassie is going to have an ovation, unless all signs
fail. Society has got a hunch, and that means a gorgeous turnout. The
horse-show will be a back number. Lord, man, you can't afford to miss
it! Why, you 'd never see anything like it in Denver in a thousand
years."
Winston laughed, unable to resist entirely the contagious enthusiasm of
his friend.
"You certainly make a strong bid, Bob; but really if I did remain
overnight I 'd much prefer putting in the hours talking over old times.
With all due respect to your sister, old boy, I confess I have n't very
much heart for the stage. I 've grown away from it; have n't even
looked into a playhouse for years."
"Thought as much; clear over the head in business. Big mistake at your
age. A night such as Lizzie can give you will be a revelation. Say,
Ned, that girl is an actress. I don't say it because she 's my sister,
but she actually is; they 're all raving over her, even the critics.
That's one reason why I want you to stay. I 'm blame proud of my
little sister."
"But I have n't my evening dress within a thousand miles of here."
"What of that? I have no time now to run out to the house and get into
mine. I 'm no lightning change artist. Lizzie won't care; she 's got
good sense, and the others can go hang. Come on, Ned; we 'll run over
to the Chicago Club and have a bite, then a smoke and chat about Alma
Mater; after that, the Grand."
* * * * * *
The great opera house was densely crowded from pit to dome, the boxes
and parquet brilliant with color and fashion, the numberless tiers of
seats rising above, black with packed, expectant humanity. Before
eight o'clock late comers had been confronted in the lobby with the
"Standing Room Only" announcement; and now even this had been turned to
the wall, while the man at the ticket window shook his head to
disappointed inquirers. And that was an audience to be remembered, to
be held notable, to be editorially commented upon by the press the next
morning.
There was reason for it. A child of Chicago, daughter in a family of
standing and exclusiveness, after winning notable successes in San
Francisco, in London, in New York, had, at last, consented to return
home, and appear for the first time in her native city. Endowed with
rare gifts of interpretation, earnest, sincere, forceful, loving her
work fervently, possessing an attractive presence and natural capacity
for study, she had long since won the appreciation of the critics and
the warm admiration of those who care for the highest in dramatic art.
The reward was assured. Already her home-coming had been heralded
broadcast as an event of consequence to the great city. Her name was
upon the lips of the multitude, and upon the hearts of those who really
care for such things, the devotees of art, of high endeavor, of a stage
worthy the traditions of its past. And in her case, in addition to all
these helpful elements, Society grew suddenly interested and
enthralled. The actress became a fashion, a fad, about which revolved
the courtier and the butterfly. Once, it was remembered, she had been
one of them, one of their own set, and out of the depths of their
little pool they rose clamorously to the surface, imagining, as ever,
that they were the rightful leaders of it all. Thus it came about,
that first night--the stage brilliant, the house a dense mass of mad
enthusiasts, jewelled heads nodding from boxes to parquet in
recognition of friends, opera glasses insolently staring, voices
humming in ceaseless conversation, and, over all, the frantic efforts
of the orchestra to attract attention to itself amid the glitter and
display.
Utterly indifferent to all of it, Ned Winston leaned his elbow on the
brass rail of the first box, and gazed idly about over that sea of
unknown faces. He would have much preferred not being there. To him,
the theatre served merely as a stimulant to unpleasant memory. It was
in this atmosphere that the ghost walked, and those hidden things of
life came back to mock him. He might forget, sometimes, bending above
his desk, or struggling against the perplexing problems of his
profession in the field, but not here; not in the glare of the
footlights, amid the hum of the crowd. He crushed the unread programme
within his hand, striving to converse carelessly with the lady sitting
next to him, whom he was expected to entertain. But his thoughts were
afar off, his eyes seeing a gray, misty, silent expanse of desert,
growing constantly clearer in its hideous desolation before the
advancing dawn.
The vast steel curtain arose with apparent reluctance to the top of the
proscenium arch, the chatter of voices ceased, somewhat permitting the
struggling orchestra to make itself felt and heard. Winston shut his
teeth, and waited uneasily, the hand upon the rail clenched. Even more
than he had ever expected, awakened memory tortured. He would have
gone out into the solitude of the street, except for the certainty of
disturbing others. The accompanying music became faster as the inner
curtain slowly rose, revealing the great stage set for the first act.
He looked at it carelessly, indifferently, his thoughts elsewhere, yet
dimly conscious of the sudden hush all about him, the leaning forward
of figures intent upon catching the opening words. The scene portrayed
was that of a picturesque Swiss mountain village. It was brilliant in
coloring, and superbly staged. For a moment the scenery; with great
snow-capped peaks for background, caught his attention. If was
realistic, beautifully faithful to nature, and he felt his heart throb
with sudden longing to be home, to be once more in the shadow of the
Rockies. But the actors did not interest him, and his thoughts again
drifted far afield.
The act was nearly half finished before the Star made her appearance.
Suddenly the door of the chalet opened, and a young woman emerged,
attired in peasant costume, carelessly swinging a hat in her hand, her
bright face smiling, her slender figure perfectly poised. She advanced
to the very centre of the wide stage. The myriad of lights rippled
over her, revealing the deep brown of her abundant hair, the dark,
earnest eyes, the sweet winsomeness of expression. This was the moment
for which that vast audience had been waiting. Like an instantaneous
explosion of artillery came the thunder of applause. Her first
attempted speech lost in that outburst of acclaim, the actress stood
before them bowing and smiling, the red blood surging into her unrouged
cheeks, her dark eyes flashing like two diamonds. Again and again the
house rose to her, the noise of greeting was deafening, and a perfect
avalanche of flowers covered the stage. From boxes, from parquet, from
crowded balcony, from top-most gallery the enthusiastic outburst came,
spontaneous, ever growing in volume of sound, apparently never ending.
She looked out upon them almost appealingly, her hands outstretched in
greeting, her eyes filling with tears. Slowly, as if drawn toward them
by some impulse of gratitude, she came down to the footlights, and
stood there bowing to left and right, the deep swelling of her bosom
evidencing her agitation.
As though some sudden remembrance had occurred to her in the midst of
that turmoil, of what all this must mean to others, to those of her own
blood, she turned to glance lovingly toward that box in which they sat.
Instantly she went white, her hands pressing her breast, her round
throat swelling as though the effort of breathing choked her. Possibly
out in front they thought it acting, perhaps a sudden nervous collapse,
for as she half reeled backward to the support of a bench, the clamor
died away into dull murmur. Almost with the ceasing of tumult she was
upon her feet again, her lips still white, her face drawn as if in
pain. Before the startled audience could awaken and realize the truth,
she had commenced the speaking of her lines, forcing them into silence,
into a hushed and breathless expectancy.
Winston sat leaning forward, his hand gripping the rail, staring at
her. But for that one slender figure the entire stage before him was a
blank. Suddenly he caught Craig by the arm.
"Who is that?" he questioned, sharply. "The one in the costume of a
peasant girl?"
"Who is it? Are you crazy? Why, that 's Lizzie; read your programme,
man. She must have had a faint spell just now. By Jove, I thought for
a moment she was going to flop. You 're looking pretty white about the
lips yourself, ain't sick, are you?"
He shook his head, sinking back into his seat. Hastily he opened the
pages of the crushed programme, his hand shaking so he was scarcely
able to decipher the printed lines. Ah! there it was in black-faced
type: "Renee la Roux--_Miss Beth Norvell_."