"What news?" he asked as though tired of waiting, and more, as though he expected it to be favorable.
"The news is all right."
"Oh, I knew it would be," he broke in, not waiting for me to finish.
"Say, I will be up to the docks at eight, and be at the office at ten--meet me there," and he hung up abruptly.
This suited me exactly. I was through and had made reservation on a train leaving for the North--for home and a little rest.
I had cleaned up everything except a little writing and was doing that in the office that had been so generously provided for me, when I heard Hiram enter his adjoining room. The door between was not tightly closed, and I was aware at once he was not alone. He had evidently made an engagement also with Anna Bell Morgan. I could hear his voice easily, and as I was aroused from the preoccupation of my writing, I could hear her voice, and as I listened closely there came a shock, a slow, leaden, enervating, numbing shock on recognizing the voice of Miss Bascom, my clerk. The whole thing swam slowly before me. I knew now why she had acted her role with such intensity and risk. I felt an impulse to grab my grip and bolt through the door into the hall and take my train without meeting them together, but I didn"t have time before he came bursting through the door leading her proudly to me.
"Mr. Taylor, I introduce my wife. I forgot to tell you we were to be married at nine." I arose, took her extended hand as she looked at me squarely, radiantly, but with a plea. I got her message, but I think I made a failure of the greeting and congratulations. I was afraid Hiram noticed it. In fact, I felt sheepish that I had not discovered that she had a.s.sumed a name and underwent the disgusting experiences with Becker and Burrell to help him.
"Not going away, Ben?" Hiram asked, noticing my grip--he never overlooked anything.
"Yes, Hiram, I am going to leave you now--I am through here."
"You--you don"t mean--when will you be back, Ben?" he asked, glancing in alarm first at me and then at his bride of an hour.
"I don"t know when I will return, Hiram. Just now I have to answer the call of others. I may come back to testify at the trial."
"You don"t mean you are not going to stay here with me--when things are just getting started right?" he began, coming over and placing one hand on the back of my chair and bending forward to look in my face to see if I was ill.
"Sit down--both of you," I interrupted, looking at Anna Bell"s radiance changing to disappointment too, as he brought chairs up near me. "I have a confession to make, and I like to do the unpleasant things first and have them over with."
"But say, old fellow, you can"t leave me now--I need you in so many ways--you see, we have been through so much together----" began Hiram, leaning well forward in his chair.
"It cannot be--just now anyhow--and perhaps you will not want me to do so when I admit to a certain sort of duplicity--but at which I hope in the course of time you will look upon tolerantly, forgivingly--I don"t want you to think badly of me--as I have in the last few months become deeply attached to you."
"What are you getting at, Ben--I will never believe you have deceived----"
"Wait till I tell you why I came here--left New York with you, was paid a definite sum and expenses for doing so for a definite purpose, and that purpose is now accomplished, and the Government, engaged in a gigantic war, calls me to other activities. I must----"
"I don"t care what you have done or been, though I don"t quite understand," he began, his voice almost failing; "we are doing work for the Government just as important as any--and I need you."
"You may have needed me, Hiram, but you don"t now--you are nicely started and you have better help now than I can give," I broke in, looking at Anna Bell, who was as much affected as Hiram. "She is courageous, a natural diplomat and wonderful at plans, and besides, you can now stand alone and must learn to rely on yourself, and besides, more than two in a firm often complicates matters."
"I know--I know--I can see--but you don"t explain--what is this you are hinting----?"
"Hiram, it may be better for it to come to you gradually. Now let us talk about money for my train goes soon and I find I need some money, and I must give you the big check necessary to pay for the timber land.
First of all, will you cash these checks for me? These are my salary checks I have never used," I explained as I took them out, turned to the desk and endorsed them, aware that Hiram and Anna Bell were looking at each other and trying to understand.
"Ben, I am sure this is only a misconception--a feeling of delicacy--that you may be interfering----"
"No, Hiram, my plans are definite; I cannot change them if I would,"
said I, handing him the checks as soberly as though not antic.i.p.ating his astonishment when he saw them.
At first he did not look at them, but laid them on his knee as a mere matter of detail. He was too busy trying to divine what was going on in my mind; finally glancing down at them, he became aware there was something familiar about them, and then his excitement knew no bounds.
"How the devil"--he began, raising half out of his chair, tapping the checks wildly--"how did you get these? Why, these are like the ones I used to--now I understand," he said, subsiding, quite overcome. "Ben, were you paid by my father? My G.o.d, is it possible--then he didn"t kick me out--it was just his way----"
"Just his way to teach you to work and make amends for his neglect, and here is another one, the big one for fifty thousand signed by him, too--you may be surprised to know he is now down in the lower reaches of the river, duck-shooting. When I saw him yesterday, I had no difficulty; everything seemed to be prepared for the proposition," I said; looking quizzically at Anna Bell. Mixed with her delight was a shade of fear and apprehension. I tried to make her understand that she must tell him herself about her captivating the Gold-Beater, securing his approval and further support, of the Becker episode, her a.s.sumed name--and all to help Hiram. In fact, I did not have the courage to do it.
"I can hardly conceive my father----" Here his voice broke completely.
"And you can hardly credit that the _Fearsome_ might have been placed conveniently in the ca.n.a.l----"
"Oh, heavens, and I thought we were doing it--and did he plan all that trouble in the river--did his men, the lawyers, take her from----?"
"Yes, I guess he did, Hiram; he wanted to try you out--a last real trial----"
"And the barrel, Ben, did he have anything----?"
"No, Hiram, that was a piece of just dumb luck that will always be with you--send me a check for half of it when you get things straightened out," I said, grabbing my grip and bolting. As I rounded the corner of the hall for the elevator, I glanced back. They stood out in the hall, their arms around each other, watching me go.
THE END