An Alabaster Box Part 43

"f.a.n.n.y, can you love me and be my wife after all this?"

"I am a woman," said f.a.n.n.y. Her eyes blazed angrily at him. Then she laughed and put up her mouth to be kissed.

"Men will make fools of women till the Day of Judgment," said she, and laughed again.

Chapter XXIV

When the afternoon mail came in that day, Mr. Henry Daggett retired behind his official barrier according to his wont, leaving the store in charge of Joe Whittle, the Deacon's son. It had been diligently pointed out to Joe by his thrifty parents that all rich men began life by sweeping out stores and other menial tasks, and for some time Joe had been working for Mr. Daggett with doubtful alacrity.

Joe liked the store. There was a large stock of candy, dried fruit, crackers and pickles; Joe was a hungry boy, and Mr. Daggett had told him he could eat what he wished. He was an easy-going man with no children of his own, and he took great delight in pampering the Deacon's son. "I told him he could eat candy and things, and he looked tickled to death," he told his wife.

"He'll get his stomach upset," objected Mrs. Daggett.

"He can't eat the whole stock," said Daggett, "and upsetting a boy's stomach is not much of an upset anyway. It don't take long to right it."

Once in a while Daggett would suggest to Joe that if he were in his place he wouldn't eat too much of that green candy. He supposed it was pure; he didn't mean to sell any but pure candy if he knew it, but it might be just as well for him to go slow. Generally he took a paternal delight in watching the growing boy eat his stock in trade.

That afternoon Joe was working on a species of hard sweet which distended his cheeks, and nearly deprived him temporarily of the power of speech, while the people seeking their mail came in. There was never much custom while mail-sorting was going on, and Joe sucked blissfully.

Then Jim Dodge entered and spoke to him. "Hullo, Joe," he said.

Joe nodded, speechless.

Jim seated himself on a stool, and lit his pipe.

Joe eyed him. Jim was a sort of hero to him on account of his hunting fame. As soon as he could control his tongue, he addressed him:

"Heard the news?" said he, trying to speak like a man.

"What news?"

"Old Andrew Bolton's got out of prison and come back. He's crazy, too."

"How did you get hold of such nonsense?"

"Heard the women talking."

Jim pondered a moment. Then he said "d.a.m.n," and Joe admired him as never before. When Jim had gone out, directly, Joe shook his fist at a sugar barrel, and said "d.a.m.n," in a whisper.

Jim in the meantime was hurrying along the road to the Bolton house.

He made up his mind that he must see Lydia. He must know if she had authorized the revelation that had evidently been made, and if so, through whom. He suspected the minister, and was hot with jealousy.

His own friendship with Lydia seemed to have suffered a blight after that one confidential talk of theirs, in which she had afforded him a glimpse of her sorrowful past. She had not alluded to the subject a second time; and, somehow, he had not been able to get behind the defenses of her smiling cheerfulness. Always she was with her father, it seemed; and the old man, garrulous enough when alone, was invariably silent and moody in his daughter's company. One might almost have said he hated her, from the sneering impatient looks he cast at her from time to time. As for Lydia, she was all love and brooding tenderness for the man who had suffered so long and terribly.

"He'll be better after a while," she constantly excused him. "He needs peace and quiet and home to restore him to himself."

"You want to look out for him," Jim had ventured to warn the girl, when the two were alone together for a moment.

"Do you mean father?" Lydia asked. "What else should I do? It is all I live for--just to look out for father."

Had she been a martyr bound to the stake, the f.a.ggots piled about her slim body, her face might have worn just that expression of high resignation and contempt for danger and suffering.

The young man walked slowly on. He wanted time to think. Besides--he glanced down with a quick frown of annoyance at his mud-splashed clothing--he certainly cut a queer figure for a call.

Some one was standing on the doorstep talking to f.a.n.n.y, as he approached his own home. Another instant and he had recognized Wesley Elliot. He stopped behind a clump of low-growing trees, and watched.

f.a.n.n.y, framed in the dark doorway, glowed like a rose. Jim saw her bend forward, smiling; saw the minister take both her hands in his and kiss them; saw f.a.n.n.y glance quickly up and down the empty road, as if apprehensive of a chance pa.s.serby. Then the minister, his handsome head bared to the cold wind, waved her farewell and started at a brisk pace down the road.

Jim waited till the door had closed lingeringly on the girl; then he stepped forth from his concealment and waited.

Abreast of him Elliot stopped; aware, it would seem, of the menace in the other man's eyes.

"You wished to speak with me?" he began.

"Speak with you--no! I want to kick you."

The minister eyed him indignantly. "What do you mean?"

"You sneaking hypocrite! do you think I don't know what has happened?

You threw f.a.n.n.y down, when Lydia Orr came to town; you thought my sister wasn't good enough--nor rich enough for a handsome, eloquent clergyman like you. But when you learned her father was a convict--"

"Stop!" cried Elliot. "You don't understand!"

"I don't? Well, I guess I come pretty near it. And not content with telling Lydia's pitiful secret to all the busybodies in town, you come to f.a.n.n.y with your smug explanations. My G.o.d! I could kill you!"

The minister's face had hardened during this speech.

"See here," he said. "You are going too far."

"Do you deny that you've made love to both my sister and Miss Orr?"

demanded Jim.

Physically the minister was no coward. He measured the slight, wiry figure of his wrathful opponent with a coolly appraising eye.

"My relations with Miss Orr are none of your business," he reminded Jim. "As for your sister--"

"d.a.m.n you!" cried Jim.

The minister shrugged his shoulders.

"If you'll listen to reason," he suggested pacifically.

"I saw you kiss my sister's hand! I tell you I'll not have you hanging around the place, after what's gone. You may as well understand it."

Wesley Elliot reflected briefly.

"There's one thing you ought to know," he said, controlling his desire to knock f.a.n.n.y's brother into the bushes.