The Harris-Ingram Experiment Part 12

Thus far his education had been a struggle. Time which his mates employed in recreation he had used in the steel mill. Thus he gained a trade and a knowledge of the value of time. Early he had learned that knowledge is power and that intellect and wealth rule the world. He told Gertrude that she had kindled within him the spark of ambition, and that he proposed to make life a success. "Gertrude, you must be my friend in this struggle,"

he added.

"Yes, George, always your friend," she replied.

He felt that Gertrude meant all she said. Long ago her sincerity had captured his heart. Her sympathy, her unselfishness, and her words of helpfulness had been the light by which he was shaping his course.

Another school year went by swiftly, and both Lucille and Gertrude were present in June at Troy to see George Ingram graduate. It was a pity that his own father and mother, who had sacrificed so much for him, could not attend. How often his n.o.ble mother had prayed for her first-born son, and Gertrude had prayed too, but George did not know this.

At times he was conscious of a strong force within, impelling him forward, whose source he could not divine, neither could he free himself from it. Fortunate person whose sails are filled with breezes from heaven, for craft of this kind go forward guided rightly, almost without the rudder's aid!

George pursued at the inst.i.tute a three years' course, leading up to the degree of Bachelor of Science. After the first two years he took less higher mathematics and more natural history, chemistry, and geology. The inst.i.tute is within easy access of engineering works and manufacturing plants of great diversity, which afforded young Ingram opportunities for valuable investigation and observation. His graduating thesis was ent.i.tled, "A Design for an Electrical Steel Plant with Working Details, Capacity One Thousand Tons per Diem." It was much complimented, especially the detail drawings for the plant.

His books and clothes had been packed and shipped to Harrisville.

Reluctant good-byes were given to all the professors, cla.s.s-mates, and many townspeople, who were fond of him. Life in Troy had been a constant inspiration, for he was in touch with young men from cultivated families which in itself is an education. George had the usual experience of the student world, for to him all the professors were very learned men.

After George had locked the door of his old study-room to go to the train, he stopped in the hallway in serious thought, then turning back he unlocked the door and again entered the dear old rooms. He reseated himself at the desk, where he had so often studied far into the night.

He took another look into the bedroom, into the little store-room, and pleasant memories crowded his mind, as for the last time he gazed from the window towards the Berkshire Hills, beyond which Gertrude was being educated, and then as he finally re-locked the door, he recalled his afternoon engagement to meet Gertrude and Lucille at 4:30 o'clock at the Albany station to take the Boston & Chicago Special for Harrisville.

George had entered the inst.i.tute with a light heart and much zest, because three years of progressive work were marked out for him. His mental journey had now ended and his heart was heavy. No road opened before him except the one that led back to the dingy old Harrisville mills. In the last three years his sky had lifted a little, but the intelligence gained only made him all the more conscious of the small world in which he and his family lived. How was he ever to earn a living for two, if Gertrude should possibly say "yes?"

Just as he put his foot on the platform of the railway station a letter was placed in his hand by a fellow cla.s.smate. The envelope bore the printed address of the Harrisville Iron & Steel Co. George, thinking the letter was from his father, instantly tore it open and began reading. At first his face flushed and then it was lit with joy.

"Good tidings, I hope," said Gertrude, as she with her sister approached.

"Yes, Gertrude, read for yourself. A friend at court is a friend indeed."

The two sisters were delighted and heartily congratulated George. "Of course, you will accept the position?" inquired Gertrude.

"Your father, Gertrude, is very kind to me, and I believe I could fill satisfactorily the position of chemist now offered by the steel company.

Later, Gertrude, we can talk this matter over." Three happy young people bought tickets for home and took seats in a Pullman car.

After a week's rest, George Ingram a.s.sumed the duties of a.s.sistant chemist for the Harrisville Iron & Steel Co. Two weeks' initiation by the old chemist, whose health was failing, sufficed to give young Ingram efficiency and confidence in his desirable position.

CHAPTER XI

IN TOUCH WITH NATURE

The school vacation of the Harris young ladies came and went on wings.

The mother was too ill to leave her home; she stood in her door-way, and gave her farewell, "G.o.d keep and bless you, children!" The father had gone to Chicago, so George Ingram saw the daughters off touching Gertrude's hand, with a hearty good-bye as she stood in the car door.

As George returned slowly to his task at the steel mills, he resolved to use his evenings in post-graduate work. The more he studied iron ores and steel-making, the more he felt that he must conquer the whole intricate subject, if he would be of greatest service to his employers. The intense compet.i.tion in the trade demanded it.

The Empire State Express, the fastest train in the world, carried Gertrude and Lucille through New York state with speed and ease to delightful New England. Secretly Gertrude loved George, and she resolved to study chemistry and electricity and keep pace with his studies, and if ever asked to become his wife, to aid him in every possible way. She thought that she discovered in him the material for a n.o.ble man, a statue which she hoped to chisel. Too often marriageable young women and their anxious mothers demand the complete statue at the outset, and are not content to accept and chisel granite.

At Smith College the months sped rapidly, as earnest study and bright expectations occupied Gertrude's time and satisfied her heart. Every week brought a letter and a reply was promptly sent. George wanted to write twice a week, but Gertrude checked him, saying that both needed their time, and that too frequent correspondence, like too much intimacy, often brings disfavor.

"More details of the doings at the steel mills," wrote Gertrude. She cared more about the welfare of her father's employees and their families and George Ingram's plans than to know the latest fad in society. George was equally anxious to keep her informed, and to learn of her intellectual advancement, what books she read, and her views on the leading topics of the day.

Her first letter began, "My Coatless Friend," a reference to the loss of a linen coat or duster, when the last ride at Harrisville was taken. The second letter began "Friend George," and the third, "My dear Friend."

Gertrude and George never addressed each other twice alike in their whole correspondence. The weekly letters were always torn open by each in haste, and both noticed a gradual increase of warmth in these addresses.

The fact that Gertrude was an heiress neither hindered nor helped his devotion. His heart was attracted by her many charms.

At Smith College Gertrude occupied rooms in the Morris Cottage among the apple tree blossoms. Much of her spare time was spent in the scientific library and laboratory of Lilly Hall, or with the professor and his telescope in the observatory.

On clear nights, aided by the telescope, Gertrude gazed into the immensity of s.p.a.ce, whispering sometimes to her own soul, "How grand this vast world-making, this frightful velocity of the giant dynamos in their elliptical pathways through s.p.a.ce!"

Often unable to sleep, she continued her thoughts and wondered if s.p.a.ce were not interlaced with electrical currents that move the earth, the sister planets, and the myriads of suns and their planets. She thought she saw, as never before, the necessity for an eternal existence of the mind, if G.o.d is to be studied and known in his infinite variety.

Four years in college had developed Gertrude into a beautiful character.

Regular work in the gymnasium, much outdoor exercise, and care as to ventilation in her rooms, especially at night, had kept her in perfect physical health. Her intimates shared her glow of vitality, for her presence at "Lawn, or Character Teas," at tennis-courts, or at basket-ball always brought sunshine and enthusiasm.

The Sat.u.r.day before commencement, her mother and Lucille came to enjoy the charming festivities of Smith College. A representation of Racine's "Athalie," with Mendelssohn's music, was the evening attraction at the Academy of Music, which the cla.s.s had rented for the occasion.

Groups of ushers, with white satin wands, conducted students in tasteful dresses, and invited guests to their seats. When the curtain rose it was difficult to decide which one most admired, the stage with its artistic setting, its young faces, sweet voices, and graceful movements, or the sympathetic audience of students and their friends. The stage and press of the future guided in part by college-bred men and women will preach, it is hoped, purity, truth, and the beautiful.

Mrs. Harris and Lucille were very happy that Gertrude was to graduate, and Lucille who had just finished her education in Boston, half regretted that she too had not entered a woman's college. Gertrude never looked more beautiful than she did in the white-robed procession, as, on Baccalaureate Sunday, the several cla.s.ses pa.s.sed down the aisles of the church.

George Ingram had hurried to Northampton to see Gertrude graduate. She met him at the station, and took his hand warmly in both of hers. George had brought from New York a box of white roses for her room, and a big bunch of the star-flower, the pretty English blue forget-me-not. He also had in his valise a tiny case of which he made no mention to anybody.

Hundreds of young women in white walked across the campus and were ma.s.sed on the college steps for their Ivy Exercise. Never before was George so proud of Gertrude. She and Nellie Nelson, afterwards Mrs. Eastlake, had been chosen by the cla.s.s for their beauty and sweet ways to head the procession of the white-gowned graduates. The evening of Cla.s.s-day is a fitting close of the gay festivities at Smith College.

At the evening reception, George was introduced to many of Gertrude's cla.s.s-mates, and some of her intimate friends whispered, "Mr. Ingram and Gertrude must be engaged! What a handsome pair they will make." George offered his arm to Gertrude, and they walked about the campus under the cla.s.sical trees that glowed with hundreds of colored paper lanterns; everywhere a throng of pretty happy girls with their relatives and friends. Music by the glee clubs on the college steps, and refreshments, closed pleasantly Gertrude's last night of college life on the beautiful Connecticut.

She went to bed tired, but very happy. That evening her mother and sister had left for New York, and in the morning she and George were to spend the day at Mt. Holyoke. Twice in the night, Gertrude awoke, looked at her watch, and longed for daylight, and then went back to dream of flowers and music.

While she slept, warm southern breezes spread a coverlet of silver gray mist over the homes of energy and thrift up and down the Connecticut Valley. In the morning when Gertrude opened the blinds, and saw the fog against the window panes and over the valley, she exclaimed, "It is too bad, I so wanted George to drive to Mt. Holyoke to-day, and see nature at her best! I hoped this would be the happiest day of my life."

It was a quarter to 8 o'clock when a pair of spirited black roadsters, hitched to a buckboard, were driven in front of the hotel for George Ingram. As he appeared on the porch he looked every inch a gentleman.

He was twenty-five years old, had received a practical education, and was filling acceptably the important position of a.s.sistant chemist of the Harrisville Iron & Steel Co., to which, six months before, he had been promoted. He had fine physique, dark hair and eyes, and a military bearing that made him the natural commander of men. His firmness, tempered with great kindness of heart, always won for him the respect of both men and women.

He handled the team with skill for he was a member of the driving club at home. At a college window sat Gertrude who was eagerly watching for him, and now she ran down the gravel walk with a sunny face, greeting her manly lover with such sweet voice and grace, that a college girl in pa.s.sing whispered to her companion. "Look, Bessie, there are true and handsome lovers such as we read about in novels, but seldom meet."

Gertrude insisted, since the fog was lifting, that George should hitch his horses and for five minutes go with her up on the college tower. As they looked out, Gertrude said, "Here, George, on the west are our half dozen cozy college houses; on the smooth green lawn below you see our tennis-courts, and an abundance of shade.

"Now, George, turn to the east and see how kindly the sun has removed the mist and made for us a glorious day. How bright the colors in our flag that floats over the high school yonder! There stands the Soldiers'

Memorial Hall, the Edwards Church with graceful spire, and across the green meadows, with its winding stream of silver, rise the ranges of Mt.

Tom and Mt. Holyoke, outlined in curves against the blue sky."

"Beautiful!" responded George, "and yet, Gertrude, nothing in nature is half so lovely as your own dear self." Without warning he kissed her rosy cheek, her whole face changing to crimson as she said, "George, we must be going."

Two happy young souls drove away from Smith College out under the Gothic elms, where the birds were mating and building their nests. The plan for the day was to drive to the mountain, and follow the mother and sister on the evening express to New York. The hotel clerk had pointed out the best road to Mt. Holyoke, and following his directions they drove southeast, leaving behind them shady Northampton, Smith College, and delightful memories of Jonathan Edwards, George Bancroft, and others.

A single white parasol was quite enough to protect two lovers from the sun's rays. Circular shadows, photographs of the sun, frolicked with each other in the roadway as gentle breezes swayed the overhanging boughs.

Milk wagons with noisy cans were returning home, herds of black and white Holstein-Friesian cattle, famous for their yield of milk, were cropping sweet gra.s.ses in the pastures. Farmers were guiding their cultivators and mowing machines, while wives and daughters were sh.e.l.ling June peas, hulling strawberries, and preparing for dinner. The large white houses, with roomy barns in the shade of big elms, were the happy homes of freemen. Gertrude wanted the horses to walk more, but George was unwilling to take the dust of wagons returning from the market, so he kept the horses moving at a brisk pace.