Mr. Delamater debated further. "Think of marrying The Powerful Katrinka! I"ll admit it has its points. If anything went wrong with the bank roll Allie could make a good living for both of us. Suppose, for instance, the old Statue of Liberty slipped and fell. Allie could jump over to Bedloe"s Island and take a turn at holding the torch. Ifi they"ve got the coin you say they have, I think I"ll have to see more of her."
"You won"t see any more than you do. She"s. .h.i.tting on all four."
"What is she up to all day?"
"I don"t know. Working, studying, exercising. Rehearsing for the movies, I guess. She has worn that companion of hers down to a frazzle.
She has her own ma.s.seuse in the bath department, she rides a horse three days a week, and every morning she takes a long walk--"
"I"ve got it!" Mr. Delamater slapped his thigh. "Road work! She"s getting ready to take on Dempsey." He laughed musically. "If she marries me her days of labor will be over; it will mean for her the dawn of a new life--provided, of course, those oil wells are what you say they are. Kidding aside, though, I don"t dislike the girl and--I"ve a notion to give her a chance."
What the clerk said was true. Allie Briskow was indeed in training, both physical and mental, and the application, the energy she displayed had surprised not only her parents, who could but dimly understand the necessity of self-culture, but also Mrs. Ring, the instructress. Mrs.
Ring, a handsome, middle-aged woman whose specialty was the finishing of wealthy young "ladies," had been induced to accept this position partly by reason of the attractive salary mentioned in Calvin Gray"s telegram, and partly by reason of the fact that she needed a rest. She had met the Briskows in Dallas only a short time before their departure for the north, and although that first interview had been a good deal of a shock to her--almost as much of a shock as if she had been asked to tutor the offspring of a pair of chimpanzees--nevertheless she had nerved herself to the necessary sacrifice of dignity. After all, Allegheny was only an overgrown child in need of advanced kindergarten training, and in the meantime there was the prospect of a season at Burlington Notch. The latter was, in itself, a prospect alluring to one suffering from the wear and tear of a trying profession. After some hesitation, Mrs. Ring had accepted the position, feeling sure that it would rest her nerves.
But never had the good woman suffered such a disillusionment. Allie, she soon discovered, was anything but a child, or rather she was an amazing and contradictory combination of child and adult. What Mrs.
Ring had taken to be mental apathy, inherent dullness, was in reality caution, diffidence, the shyness of some wild animal.
Nor was that the most bewildering of the teacher"s surprises; Allie possessed character and will power. For some time she had accepted Mrs.
Ring"s tutorship without comment or question--Calvin Gray had recommended it, therefore she obeyed blindly--but one day, after they had become settled in the mountains, she came out with a forceful declaration.
She knew full well her own shortcomings, so she declared, and she was not content to learn a few things day by day. She demanded intensified training; education under forced draught.
"They took green country boys durin" the war--"
"During the war. Don"t drop your g"s, my dear."
"--during the war, and learned "em--"
"Taught them!"
"--taught them to be soldiers in six months. Well, I"m strong as a horse, and I"ve got a brain, and I"m quick at pickin"--I mean I pick up things quick--"
"You pick them up quickly. Quickly is an adverb; quick is an--"
Allie"s dark eyes grew darker. Imperiously she cried: "All right! But let me say this my own way. It won"t be right or elegant, but you"ll understand. And that"s what we got to have first off--a good understanding. After I"ve said it, you can rub it down and curry it. I been watching you like a hawk, Miz" Ring, and you"re just what he said you was. You got everything I want, but--I can"t go so slow; I got to get it quick--quickly. You been teaching me to read and talk, and how to laugh, and how to set--sit--but we been _playing_. We got to _work_!
Oh, I know I"m forgetting everything for a minute. Miz" Ring, I gotta learn how to act pretty and talk pretty and _look_ pretty. And I gotta learn how, _quick_."
"You are a fine-looking girl as it is, Allegheny."
"Oh, I guess I look _dressed up_, but I"m awkward. I"m stiff as a hired hand, and I fall over my feet. Look at "em. Biggest live things in the world without lungs! I got to get slim and graceful--"
"I"ll teach you a setting-up routine, if you wish, although it is scarcely in my line. Goodness knows you don"t need physical culture."
"But I do," cried the girl.
"Very well. Riding is a smart accomplishment. Can you ride a horse?"
"Pshaw! I can carry a horse."
"You"d look well in a habit, and with baths, ma.s.sage, dancing, and a little diet I dare say you can reduce."
"I"ll starve," Allie a.s.serted, fiercely. "But that ain"t half enough.
You gotta give me more studyin". I got callouses on my hands and I"m used to work. We"ll get up at daylight-"
"Good heavens!" Mrs. Ring exclaimed, faintly.
"You learn me how to do the sitting-up things first off, then I"ll do "em alone. Ride me hard, Miz" Ring. I"ll remember. I"ll work; you won"t have to tell me twice. But I gotta make speed. I "ain"t got the time other girls have."
"My dear child, all this cannot be done in a day, a week, a month."
"How long you allow it will take?"
The elder woman shrugged. "Years, perhaps."
"Years?"
"Real culture, social accomplishments, are the results of generations of careful training. I"m not a miracle worker. But why this impatience?"
"I got-"
"I have."
"I have a reason. I can"t take a generation; I"d be too late."
"Too late for what?"
But Allie refused to answer. "We"ll start in to-day and we"ll work double tower till one of us plays out. What d"you say?"
At first Mrs. Ring took this energetic declaration with some reserve, but before long she realized with consternation that Allie Briskow was in deep earnest and that this was not a soft berth. Instead of obtaining a rest she was being worked as never before. Allie was a thing of iron; she was indefatigable; and her thirst for knowledge was insatiate; it grew daily as she gained fuller understanding of her ignorance. There was a frantic eagerness to her efforts, almost pitiful. As time went on she began to hate herself for her stupidity and to blame her people for her condition. She was a harder taskmaster than her teacher. Most things she apprehended readily enough, but when she failed to learn, when mental or physical awkwardness halted progress, then she flew into a fury. Her temper appalled Mrs. Ring.
At such times Allie was more than disagreeable. Hate flamed in her eyes, she beat herself with her fists, she kicked the furniture, and she broke things. Once she even b.u.t.ted her head against the wall, uttering language meanwhile that all but caused her companion to swoon.
Mrs. Ring resigned after this final exhibition, but, lacking the courage to face Allie in a mood like that, she went to Gus Briskow.
"It is simply impossible to remain," she told him. "Already I"m a physical wreck, for I never get a moment"s rest. The salary is attractive, but Allegheny is too much for me. She saps every ounce of vitality I have; she keeps me going every hour. And her terrific tempers are actually--dangerous."
"She don"t ever get mad at you, does she?"
"Oh no! And she repents quickly enough. As a matter of fact, I am afraid she is overdoing her studies, but there"s no holding her back."
"You"re kinda worked up, Miz" Ring. Mebbe I can make it pleasanter for you."
"In what way, may I ask?"
"Well, by payin" you more."
"You are generous. The salary we agreed upon isn"t low."
"Yes"m--No, ma"am!"