"Very well; that is as it should be. Now I am going to bed. Good night,"
said the Iron King, abruptly dismissing his son, then rising and ringing for his valet, whose office, since the patient old lady"s death, was now no longer a sinecure.
It seems pa.s.sing strange that a man of seventy-six years, who had just lost his life-long and beloved companion--for in his own selfish way he loved her after a sort, and perhaps more than he loved any human being in the world--and who must expect before many years to follow her, should be so full of this world"s avarice and ambition; so eager to make more, and more, and more money, and to stand at the head of the list of all the wealthiest men in the land. Strange, yet the name of such a one is legion. But in the case of Old Aaron Rockharrt there might have been this additional motive--the necessity to seek refuge from the pains of grief and remorse in the anxieties and activities of speculation. So he was very eager to get back as soon as possible to business and to enter at once upon the enterprise he had planned.
Cora was also anxious to leave the city, which she knew was in a fresh ferment of gossip and conjecture on the subject of her lost husband, the deceased governor-elect. The news from the Indian Territory had renewed all the public interest in the mystery of his disappearance.
For some months before this news arrived, the community had settled down to the conviction that the missing governor had been murdered and his body made away with, although, as there was no proof to establish the fact of their theory, there was no thought of inaugurating the lieutenant-governor as chief magistrate of the State.
Yet, now, when the startling news came that the missing statesman had been killed by the Comanches in the wilds of the Indian Reservation, far from any agency, and that he had been living and preaching there as a volunteer missionary for many months before the ma.s.sacre, the mystery of his sudden and unexplained disappearance from the State capital on the day of his inauguration was not cleared up and made intelligible, but darkened and rendered more inscrutable.
It was easy enough to understand why a missing man might have been lured away from his dwelling by some false letter or plausible message, and murdered in some secret place where his body lay buried in earth or water, for such crimes were not unfrequent.
But that a bridegroom should secretly depart on the evening of his wedding day, that a governor should take flight on the evening before his inauguration, was a course of action only to be explained on the ground of insanity; and yet Regulas Rothsay was always considered one of the most level-headed and mentally well balanced among the rising young statesmen of the country.
Conjecture had once been wild as to the cause of his disappearance--had he been murdered, or kidnapped, or both? Those were the questions then.
Conjecture was now rampant as to the cause of his sudden flight and self expatriation to the Indian Territory. Had he suddenly gone mad? Or committed a capital crime which was on the eve of discovery? These were the questions now.
Every newspaper was full of the problem, which none but one could solve, and she was bound to secrecy.
But it gave her inexpressible pain to know that his motives and his character were being discussed and censured for that course of conduct for which only herself was to be blamed, and which only she could explain. A word from her would show him in a very different light before his critics. But she must not speak that word to save his reputation.
So Cora was anxious to leave the city.
The next morning the whole family set out on their return journey to Rockhold, where they arrived early in the afternoon. They found everything in good order, for Cora had taken the precaution to write to the housekeeper, and warn her of the return of the family.
The grief of the servants for the loss of their kind and gentle old mistress broke out afresh at the sight of the young lady. And it was long before the latter could soothe and quiet them.
Fortunately Mr. Rockharrt had gone at once to his room, and so he escaped annoyance from their loud lamentations, and they escaped stern rebuke for their want of self-control.
The two young Rockharrts had left the family party at North End, to inspect the condition of the works, and were to remain there overnight.
Old Aaron Rockharrt, Sylva.n.u.s Haught, and Cora Rothsay were, therefore, the only ones who sat down at the once full dinner table.
The meal pa.s.sed in almost utter silence, for neither Sylvan nor Cora ventured to address one word to the hard old man who, whenever they had spoken to him since his loss of his wife, had replied in short, harsh words, or not replied at all. The brother and sister, therefore, only spoke in suppressed tones, at intervals, to each other.
After dinner the old man bade them an abrupt good night, and left the room to retire to his own chamber. Cora felt sorry for him, despite all his harshness. She stepped after him and asked:
"Grandfather, can I be of any service to you at all? Help you at your--"
He stopped her by turning and bending his gray brows over the fierce black eyes which fixed her motionless. He stared at her for an instant and then said:
"No. Certainly not," and turned and went up stairs.
Cora walked slowly back into the drawing room, at the open door of which stood Sylvan, who had heard all that pa.s.sed.
"You had better let the old man alone, Cora. Or you"ll have your head bitten off. I don"t want to break the fifth commandment by saying anything irreverent of our grandfather, but indeed, indeed, indeed it is as much as one"s life, or at least as one"s temper, is worth to speak to him," said the young man.
"I never reverenced my grandfather as much as I do now, Sylvan," gravely replied the young lady.
"That is all right! Reverence him as much as you please; but don"t go too near the old lion in his present mood. Come and sit down on the sofa by me, sister, and let us have a pleasant talk--"
"Pleasant talk! Oh, Sylvan!"
"Well, then, Cora, dear sister, a cozy, confidential talk. Do you know we have not had one for years and years and years?"
They sat down side by side holding each other"s hands in silence for a little while, when Cora said:
"Do you think you will graduate next year, Sylvan?"
"Yes, Cora, certainly."
"And then you will come home for a long visit."
"For a short one, on leave."
"And afterward, Sylvan?"
"Well, afterward I shall be ordered out to "The Devil"s Icy Peak.""
"What!"
"That was Aunt Ca.s.sy"s name for all remote parts, you know. "Devil"s Icy Peak," which in my destination means some remote frontier fort, among hostile Indians, border ruffians, grizzly bears, buffaloes, rattlesnakes, mosquitoes, malaria, and other wild beasts. There is where they send all the new-fledged military officers from West Point, and there they may spend the best part of their lives," said Sylvan.
"Unless they have influence with the higher authorities. If they have such influence, they may be sent to choice posts near the great cities, in reach of all the best society, best libraries, and all the luxuries and advantages of the highest civilization."
"Yes, I know; but--" said the young cadet, hesitatingly.
"You, or rather our grandfather, has influence enough to have you ordered to Washington, New York, Portsmouth--any place."
"Yes, I know; but--"
"But what, Sylvan?"
"Cora, our grandfather"s influence is that of wealth--great wealth--and it is a mighty power in this world at this age; but, you see, Aaron Rockharrt would not use it in such a way. He would not consider it honest to do so. Nor would I have it either. No; since the government has given me a free military education, I think it my duty to go exactly wherever they may order me, without attempting to evade orders through the influence of friends or money."
"You are entirely right, dear brother. And I tell you this: Though I must and will remain with my grandfather so long as he shall need me--so long as he shall live--yet, when he departs, if you should be stationed at one of those border posts, I will go out and join you, Sylvan," said Cora Rothsay, taking both his hands and pressing them warmly.
"No, dear sister; you shall not make such a sacrifice for me," he answered.
"But after my aged grandfather, whose days on earth cannot be long, whom have I in this world to live for but you, Sylvan?"
"Other interests in life, I hope, will arise, sister, to give you happiness," he replied.
Cora shook her head, and as the waiter now entered the parlor with the bedroom candles, she lighted one, bade her brother good night, and retired.
The next morning, as but one day of his leave of absence remained, the young cadet bade good-by to his friends, and left Rockhold for West Point, where he arrived the next morning just in time to report for duty, and save his honor.
Old Aaron Rockharrt went up to North End, where his sons awaited him; there to inspect the works, and commence proceedings toward that vast enterprise which the Iron King had planned out while in the city.