So Ravenslee set down the flask, and, clasping an arm about Spike"s swaying form, led him from the room, while Hermione stood rigid and watched them go. But when the door had closed behind them, she bowed her head upon her hands and sobbed miserably, until, spying the half-emptied flask through her tears, she sprang forward, and s.n.a.t.c.hing it from the table, dashed it pa.s.sionately to the floor.
"Oh, dear G.o.d of Heaven!" she whispered, sinking to her knees, "not that way--ah, save him from that--keep him from treading that path!" With head bowed upon her folded hands she knelt thus awhile until a sound in the pa.s.sage aroused her, and rising to her feet, she turned and confronted Bud M"Ginnis.
He stood upon the threshold, and though his glowing, eager eyes dwelt yearningly upon her beauty, he made no motion to enter the room. Upon one cheek the skin was torn and grazed from nose to ear, and upon his powerful throat were vivid marks that showed fierce and red, and these seemed to worry him, for even while he stared upon her loveliness, his hand stole up to his neck, and he touched these glowing blotches gently with his fingers.
"G.o.d, Hermy," said he at last, "you get more beautiful every day!"
She was silent, but reading the fierce scorn in her eyes, he laughed softly and leaned nearer. "Some day, Hermy, you"ll be--all mine! Oh, I can wait; there"s others, an" you"re worth waitin" for, I guess. But some day you"ll come t" me--you shall--you must! Meantime there"s others, but some day it"ll be you an" you only--when you"re my wife. Ah, marry me, Hermy; I could give you all you want, an" there"d never be any one else for me--then!"
Her eyes still met his unflinchingly, only she drew away from his nearness, shivering a little; seeing which, he frowned and clenched one hand, for the other had wandered up to his throat again.
"Won"t ye speak t" me?" he demanded savagely, then shrugging his great shoulders, he continued in gentler tones: "I ain"t here t" quarrel, Hermy; I only came t" see if th" Kid got home all right." Hermione"s firm, red lips remained tightly closed. "Did he?" Hermione slowly inclined her head.
"Say now, Hermy," he went on, and his voice grew almost wheedling, "there was a guy here the other night--a stranger, I guess--one o" these tired, sleepy guys--one o" the reg"lar soft-talkin" nancy-boys--who is he?" Hermione only sighed wearily, whereat his voice grew hoa.r.s.e with pa.s.sion, and he questioned her fiercely: "Who is he, eh--who is he? What was he doin" around here, anyway? Well, can"t ye talk? Can"t ye speak?"
Hermione only looked at him, and before those calm, fearless eyes, M"Ginnis burned in a wild yet impotent rage.
"Won"t talk, hey?" he questioned between grinding teeth. "Well, now, see here, Hermy. If you let this guy come any love business with you behind me back, it"ll be his finish--an" he can blame you for it! An" see here again--watch out for young Arthur. Oh!" he cried, seeing her flinch, "you think you"ve got the Kid tied to ye, you think you"ve got him, I guess--but you ain"t! I"ve got him--right here!" and holding out his hand, M"Ginnis slowly clenched it into a fist. "I"ve got th" Kid, see--an" he"s goin" th" way I want him--he"s got to, see?"
"Ah!" she cried, her scorn and fearless pride shattered to trembling pleading at last. "What do you mean--oh, what do you mean?"
"I mean as I want ye, an" I"m goin" to have ye!" he answered. "I mean that instead of "no" you"re goin" t" give me "yes"--for th" Kid"s sake!"
"What do you--mean?" she said again between quivering lips, her eyes full of a growing terror.
"Mean?" he continued relentlessly, viewing her trembling loveliness with hungry eyes. "Well--that"s what I mean!" and he pointed to the broken flask upon the floor. "If you want t" see it in his face more an" more, if you want t" smell it in his breath--say "No!" If you want t" see his hands begin t" shake, if you want t" hear his foot come stumbling up th"
stair--say "No!" I guess you remember what it"s like--you"ve seen it all before. Well, if ye want Arthur t" grow into what his drunken father was before him--say "No!""
"Go away!" she moaned, "go away!"
"Oh, I"ll go, but first I"ll tell you this--"
"I think not, Mr. Flowers--no, I"m sure you won"t!"
Ravenslee"s voice was soft and pleasant as usual, but before the burning ferocity of his eyes, the merciless line of that grim, implacable mouth, before all the hush and deadly purpose of him, the loud hectoring of M"Ginnis seemed a thing of no account. Beholding his pale, set face Hermione, sighing deeply, shrank away; even M"Ginnis blenched as, very slowly, Ravenslee approached him, speaking softly the while.
"Get out, Mr. Flowers, get out! Don"t say another word--no, not one, if only because of "that dog-gone fool Heine!" Now go, or so help me G.o.d, this time--I"ll kill you!"
Hermione leaned her trembling body against the table for support. And yet--could it be fear that had waked this new glory in her eyes, had brought this glowing colour to her cheek, had made her sweet breath pant and hurry so--fear?
M"Ginnis stood rigid, watching Ravenslee advance; suddenly he tried to speak yet uttered no word; he raised a fumbling hand to his bruised and swollen throat, striving again for speech but choked instead, and, uttering a sound, hoa.r.s.e and inarticulate, he swung upon his heel and strode blindly away.
Then Ravenslee turned to find Hermione sunk down beside the table, her burning face hidden between her arms, her betraying eyes fast shut.
"You are tired," he said gently, "that d.a.m.ned--er--I should say Mr.
Flowers and--other unpleasant things have upset you, haven"t they?"
Hermione made a motion of a.s.sent, and Ravenslee continued, softer than before:
"I wanted you to make up your mind to come away to-night, but--I can"t ask you now, can I? It--it wouldn"t be--er--the thing, would it?"
Hermione didn"t answer or lift her head and, stooping above her, he saw how she was trembling; but her eyes were still fast shut.
"You--you"re not afraid--of me, are you, Hermione?"
"No."
"And you"re not--crying, are you?"
"No."
"Then I"d--better go, hadn"t I? To Mrs. Trapes and supper--stewed beef, I think, with--er--carrots and onions--"
Her head was still bowed, and his tone was so light, his voice so lazy, how was she to know that his hands were quivering or see how the pa.s.sion of his yearning was shaking him, fighting for utterance against his iron will? How was she to know anything of all this until, swiftly, lightly, he stooped and kissed the shining glory of her hair? In a while she raised her head, but then--she was alone.
CHAPTER XXII
TELLS OF AN EARLY MORNING VISIT AND A WARNING
Ravenslee dreamed that he was in a wood--with Hermione, of course. She came to him through the leafy twilight, all aglow with youth and love, eager to give herself to his embrace. And from her eyes love looked at him unashamed, love touched him in her soft caressing hands, came to him in the pa.s.sionate caress of her scarlet mouth, love cradled him in the clasp of her white arms. And the sun, peeping down inquisitively through the leaves, showed all the beauty of her and made a rippling splendour of her hair.
But now the woodp.e.c.k.e.r began a tap-tapping soft and insistent somewhere out of sight, a small noise yet disturbing, that followed them wheresoever they went. Thus they wandered, close entwined, but ever the wood grew darker until they came at last to a mighty tree whose sombre, far-flung branches shut out the kindly sun. And lo! within this gloom the woodp.e.c.k.e.r was before them--a most persistent bird, this, tap-tapping louder than ever, whereat Hermione, seized of sudden terror, struggled in his embrace and, pointing upward, cried aloud, and was gone from him. Then, looking where she had pointed, he beheld no woodp.e.c.k.e.r, but the hated face of Bud M"Ginnis--
Ravenslee blinked drowsily at the wall where purple roses bloomed, at the fly-blown text in the tarnished frame with its notable legend:
LOVE ONE ANOTHER
and sighed. But in his waking ears was the tap of the woodp.e.c.k.e.r, loud and persistent as ever! Wherefore he started, stared, sat up suddenly and, glancing toward the window, beheld a large cap and a pair of shoulders he thought he recognised.
"Why, Spider!" he exclaimed, "what the--"
"Sufferin" Mike!" sighed the Spider plaintively, "here I"ve been knockin" at your all-fired winder--knockin" an" knockin", an" here you"ve been snorin" and snorin"."
"No, did I snore, Spider?"
"Bo, you sure are a bird for snorin"."
"d.a.m.n it!" said Ravenslee, frowning, "I must break myself of it."
"Thinkin" of gettin" married, bo?"
"Married? What the--"
"She"ll soon get useter it, I guess--they all do!" said the unabashed Spider. "Anyway, if you didn"t snore exactly, you sure had a strangle hold on the snooze business, all right. Here"s me crawled out o" me downy little cot t" put ye wise t" Bud"s little game, an" here"s you diggin" into the feathers t" beat th" band!"