"Stay right where you are!" Captain Elisha did not request now, he commanded. "Stevie, stand still. Caroline, I want to talk to you."
The girl hesitated. She had never been spoken to in that tone before.
Her pride had been already deeply wounded by what she had learned that afternoon; she was fiercely resentful, angry, and rebellious. She was sure she never hated anyone as she did this man who ordered her to stay and listen to him. But--she stayed.
"Caroline," said Captain Elisha, after a moment of silence, "I presume likely--of course I don"t know for sartin, but I presume likely it"s Mrs. Dunn and that son of hers who"ve told you what you think you know."
"It doesn"t concern you who told us!" bl.u.s.tered Stephen, pushing forward. He might have been a fly buzzing on the wall for all the attention his uncle paid him.
"I presume likely the Dunns told you, Caroline," he repeated, calmly.
His niece met his gaze stubbornly.
"Well," she answered, "and if they did? Wasn"t it necessary we should know it? Oh!" with a shudder of disgust, "I wish I could make you understand how ashamed I feel--how _wicked_ and ashamed I feel that I--_I_ should have disgraced father"s memory by.... Oh, but there! I can"t! Yes; Mrs. Dunn and Malcolm did tell us--many things. Thank G.o.d that we _have_ friends to tell us the truth!"
"Amen!" quietly. "I"ll say amen to that, Caroline, any time. Only I want you to be sure those you call friends are real ones and that the truths they tell ain"t like the bait on a fishhook, put on _for_ bait and just thick enough to cover the barb."
"Do you mean to insinuate--" screamed the irrepressible nephew, wild at being so completely ignored. His uncle again paid not the slightest attention.
"But that ain"t neither here nor there now," he went on. "Caroline, Mr.
Pearson just told you that his coming to this house without tellin" you fust of his quarrel with "Bije was his fault. That ain"t so. The fault was mine altogether. He told me the whole story; told me that he hadn"t called since it happened, on that very account. And I took the whole responsibility and _asked_ him to come. I did! Do you know why?"
If he expected an answer none was given. Caroline"s lids drooped disdainfully. "Steve," she said, "let us go."
"Stop! You"ll stay here until I finish. I want to say that I didn"t tell you about the Trolley fuss because I wanted you to learn some things for yourself. I wanted you to know Mr. Pearson--to find out what sort of man he was afore you judged him. Then, when you had known him long enough to understand he wasn"t a liar and a blackguard, and all that Steve has called him, I was goin" to tell you the whole truth, not a part of it.
And, after that, I was goin" to let you decide for yourself what to do.
I"m a lot older than you are; I"ve mixed with all sorts of folks; I"m past the stage where I can be fooled by--by false hair or soft soap. You can"t pour sweet oil over a herrin" and make me believe it"s a sardine.
I know the Pearson stock. I"ve sailed over a heap of salt water with one of the family. And I"ve kept my eyes open since I"ve run acrost this particular member. And I knew your father, too, Caroline Warren. And I say to you now that, knowin" Jim Pearson and "Bije Warren--yes, and knowin" the rights and wrongs of that Trolley business quite as well as Malcolm Dunn or anybody else--I say to you that, although "Bije was my brother, I"d bet my life that Jim had all the right on his side. There!
that"s the truth, and no hook underneath it. And some day you"ll realize it, too."
He had spoken with great vehemence. Now he took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead. When he again looked at his niece, he found her staring intently at him; and her eyes blazed.
"Have you quite finished--now?" she demanded. "Steve, be quiet!"
"Why, yes, I guess so, pretty nigh. I s"pose there ain"t much use to say more. If I was to tell you that I"ve tried to do for you and Steve in this--same as in everything else since I took this job--as if you were my own children, you wouldn"t believe it. If I was to tell you, Caroline, that I"d come to think an awful lot of you, you wouldn"t believe that, either. I did hope that since our other misunderstandin"
was cleared up, and you found I wa"n"t what you thought I was, you"d come to me and ask questions afore pa.s.sin" judgment; but perhaps--"
And now she interrupted, bursting out at him in a blast of scorn which took his breath away.
"Oh, stop! stop!" she cried. "Don"t say any more. You have insulted father"s memory, and defended the man who slandered him. Isn"t that enough? Why must you go on to prove yourself a greater hypocrite? We learned, my brother and I, to-day more than the truth concerning your _friend_. We learned that you have lied--yes, lied--and--"
"Steady, Caroline! be careful. I wouldn"t say what I might be sorry for later."
"Sorry! Captain Warren, you spoke of my misjudging you. I thought I had, and I was sorry. To-day I learned that your att.i.tude in that affair was a lie like the rest. _You_ did not pay for Mr. Moriarty"s accident. Mr.
Dunn"s money paid those bills. And you allowed the family--and me--to thank _you_ for your generosity. Oh, I"m ashamed to be near you!"
"There! There! Caroline, be still. I--"
"I shall not be still. I have been still altogether too long. You are our guardian. We can"t help that, I suppose. Father asked you to be that, for some reason; but did he ask you to _live_ here where you are not wanted? To shame us before our friends, ladies and gentlemen so far above you in every way? And to try to poison our minds against them and sneer at them when they are kind to us and even try to be kind to you? No, he did not! Oh, I"m sick of it all! your deceit and your hypocritical speeches and your pretended love for us. _Love_! Oh, if I could say something that would make you understand how thoroughly we despise you, and how your presence, ever since you forced it upon Steve and me, has disgraced us! If I only could! I--I--"
She had been near to tears ever since Mrs. Corcoran Dunn, in the kindness of her heart, told her the "truth" that afternoon. But pride and indignation had prevented her giving way. Now, however, she broke down.
"Oh--oh, Steve!" she cried, and, turning to her brother, sobbed hysterically on his shoulder. "Oh, Steve, what shall we do?"
Stephen put his arm about her waist. "It"s all right, Sis," he said soothingly. "Don"t cry before _him_! I guess," with a glance at his uncle, "you"ve said enough to make even him understand--at last."
Captain Elisha looked gravely at the pair. "I guess you have," he said slowly. "I guess you have, Caroline. Anyhow, I can"t think offhand of anything you"ve left out. I could explain some things, but what"s the use? And," with a sigh, "you may be right in a way. Perhaps I shouldn"t have come here to live. If you"d only told me plain afore just how you felt, I"d--maybe I"d--but there! I didn"t know--I didn"t know. You see, I thought.... However, I guess that part of your troubles is over. But,"
he added, firmly, "wherever I am, or wherever I go, you must understand that I"m your guardian, just the same. I considered a long spell afore I took the place, and I never abandoned a ship yet, once I took command of her. And I"ll stick to this one! Yes, sir! I"ll stick to it in spite of the devil--or the Dunns, either. Till you and your brother are of age I"m goin" to look out for you and your interests and your money; and nothin" nor n.o.body shall stop me. As for forcin" my company on you, though, that well, that"s different. I cal"late you won"t have to worry any more. Good night."
He thrust his hands into his pockets and walked slowly from the library.
CHAPTER XIV
Stephen, the "man of the family," was the only member of the household, servants excepted, who slept soundly that night. Conscious of having done his duty in the affair with Pearson and his guardian, and somewhat fatigued by the disagreeable task of soothing his hysterical sister, he was slumbering peacefully at nine the next morning when awakened by a series of raps on his bedroom door.
"Ah! What? Well, what is it?" he demanded, testily opening his eyes.
"Edwards, is that you? What the devil do you mean by making such a row?"
The voice which answered was not the butler"s, but Caroline"s.
"Steve! Oh, Steve!" she cried. "Do get up and come out! Come, quick!"
"What"s the matter?" inquired the young man, sitting up in bed. "Is the house afire?"
"No, no! But do come! I want you. Something has happened."
"Happened? What is it?"
"I can"t tell you here. Please dress and come to me as quick as you can."
Stephen, wondering and somewhat alarmed, dressed with unusual prompt.i.tude and obeyed. He found his sister standing by the library window, a letter in her hand. She looked troubled and anxious.
"Well, Caro," observed the boy, "here I am. What in the world"s up now?"
She turned.
"Oh, Steve!" she exclaimed, "he"s gone!"
"Gone? Who?"
"Captain Warren. He"s gone."
"Gone? Gone where? Caro, you don"t mean he"s--_dead_?"
"No, he"s gone--gone and left us."