It was Don"s turn to remain silent.
"I"ve no objection to you personally," Stuyvesant began. "When you came to me and asked for my daughter"s hand, and I found that she wanted to marry you, I gave my consent. I knew your blood, Pendleton, and I"d seen enough of you to believe you clean and straight. At that time also I had every reason to believe that you were to have a sufficient income to support the girl properly. If she had wanted to marry you within the next month, I wouldn"t have said a word at that time. When I learned that conditions had been changed by the terms of your father"s will, I waited to see what you would do. And I"ll tell you frankly, I like the way you"ve handled the situation up to now."
"I don"t get that last," Don answered quietly.
"Then let me help you," Stuyvesant resumed grimly. "In the first place, get that love-in-a-cottage idea out of your head. It"s a pretty enough conceit for those who are forced to make the best of their personal misfortunes, but that is as far as it goes. Don"t for a moment think it"s a desirable lot."
"In a way, that"s just what I _am_ thinking," answered Don.
"Then it"s because you don"t know any better. It"s nonsense. A woman wants money and wants the things she can buy with money. She"s ent.i.tled to those things. If she can"t have them, then it"s her misfortune. If the man she looks to to supply them can"t give them to her, then it"s his misfortune. But it"s nothing for him to boast about. If he places her in such a situation deliberately, it"s something for him to be ashamed of."
"I can see that, sir," answered Don, "when it"s carried too far. But you understand that I"m provided with a good home and a salary large enough for the ordinary decent things of life."
"That isn"t the point," broke in Stuyvesant. "We"ll admit the girl won"t have to go hungry, but she"ll go without a lot of other things that she"s been brought up to have, and, as long as I can supply them, things she"s ent.i.tled to have. On that salary you won"t supply her with many cars, you won"t supply her with the kind of clothes she is accustomed to, you won"t supply her with all the money she wants to spend. What if she does throw it away? That"s her privilege now. I"ve worked twenty-five years to get enough so that she can do just that.
There"s not a whim in the world she can"t satisfy. And the man who marries her must give her every single thing I"m able to give her--and then something more."
"In money?" asked Don.
"The something more--not in money."
He rose and stood before Don.
"I"ve been frank with you, Pendleton, and I"ll say I think the girl cares for you. But I know Frances better than you, and I know that, even if she made up her mind to do without all these things, it would mean a sacrifice. As far as I know, she"s never had to make a sacrifice since she was born. It isn"t necessary. Get that point, Pendleton. It isn"t necessary, and I"ll not allow any man to make it necessary if I can help it."
He paused as if expecting an outburst from Don. The latter remained silent.
"I"ve trusted you with the girl," Stuyvesant concluded. "Up to now I"ve no fault to find with you. You"ve lost your head for a minute, but you"ll get a grip on yourself. Go ahead and make your fortune, and come to me again. In the mean while, I"m willing to trust you further."
"If that means not asking Frances to marry me to-morrow, you can"t, sir."
"You--you wouldn"t ask her to go against my wishes in the matter?"
"I would, sir."
"And you expect her to do so?"
"I hope she will."
"Well, she won"t," Stuyvesant answered. He was chewing his cigar again.
"You spoke of the something more, sir," said Don. "I think I know what that means, and it"s a whole lot more than anything your ten thousand can give. When I found myself stony broke, I was dazed for a while, and thought a good deal as you think. Then this summer I found the something more. I wouldn"t swap back."
"Then stay where you are," snapped Stuyvesant. "Don"t try to drag in Frances."
Don prepared to leave.
"It"s a pity you aren"t stony broke too," he observed.
"Thanks," answered Stuyvesant. "But I"m not, and I don"t intend to have my daughter put in that position."
"You haven"t forgotten that I have a house and twelve hundred?"
"I haven"t forgotten that is all you have."
"You haven"t forgotten the something more?"
Stuyvesant looked at his watch.
"I must be excused now, Pendleton," he concluded. "I think, on the whole, it will be better if you don"t call here after this."
"As you wish," answered Pendleton. "But I hope you"ll come and see us?"
"d.a.m.n you, Pendleton!" he exploded.
Then he turned quickly and left the room. So, after all, it was he in the end who lost his temper.
CHAPTER XXVII
THE STARS AGAIN
Don went to the nearest telephone and rang up Frances.
"Your father lost his temper," he explained. "He ordered me not to call again; so will you please to meet me on the corner right away?"
"I"ve just seen him," she answered. "Oh, Don, it was awful!"
"It is the best thing that could have happened," he said. "We have to meet in the park now. It"s the only place left."
"Don, dear, he told me not to meet you anywhere again. He--he was quite savage about it."
"He had no right to tell you that," Don answered. "Anyhow, I must see you. We"ll talk it over under the stars."
"But, Don--"
"Please to hurry," he said.
She slipped a scarf over her hair and a cape over her shoulders, and walked to the corner, looking about fearfully. He gripped her arm and led her confidently away from the house and toward the park. The sky was clear, and just beyond the Big Dipper he saw shining steadily the star he had given Sally Winthrop. He smiled. It was as if she rea.s.sured him.
"What did you say to him, Don?" she panted.
"I told him I wished to marry you to-morrow," he answered.
"And he--"