Ralph Henry Barbour

“ Gordon was still fighting the strange mood that had descended upon him, and Peggy seemed tired and listless. The car ran silently through the sea-scented night, past sleeping farms and dimly lighted hamlets, flooding its way with a far-reaching path of light that paled the weak attempt of the old moon. Presently the fresh, tingling air worked its spell on them both. Peggy roused herself with a sigh.
"It's like being in a sort of half dream," she said softly. "Everything just flows past without sound or motion. We must have come a long way from home." ”

“ To save that you send poor Peggy into exile with—well, hearts don't break, Gordon, but I've a notion they fracture; and the doctors say a fracture is worse than a break. My dear, men are brave enough physically; I dare say you'd have gone through fire and water for her; but they're arrant cowards morally. Gordon, if I cared for a man who was poor or disgraced or anything else do you think I'd fold my arms like Napoleon at Waterloo or Austerlitz, or wherever it was, and prate nobly about duty? ”

“ Gordon's memory for horses was more than equal to his memory for girls, and now it annoyed him that he couldn't place the sorrel. Then there came the first patter of rain on the leaves, and the problem, which was an unimportant one in any case, was forgotten. A great flash of intense white light flooded the forest, turning the leaves to a strange and ghastly shade of arsenical green, and then a clap of thunder, deafening, appalling, rent the heavens and shook the earth, and the deluge began.
It is one thing to get moderately wet and quite another to be soaked to the skin. Gordon ran. ”

“ He led the sorrel out through the wet undergrowth to the bridle path. The sun was out hot, and on every branch and spray quivering drops glittered like diamonds or shone like chrysoprase, limpidly green. The horse, nodding his sleek head, seemed eager to be away. Gordon looked to the girth, tossed the reins back and held his hands for a rather scuffed little brown boot. The girl settled herself in the saddle.
"I hope you'll be none the worse for it," said Gordon, arranging the skirt of the bedraggled habit. "I shall see you again, of course. Everybody meets here." ”

“ Northward the sun was gleaming on white sails and sparkling on the water, but overhead a purple-gray cloud was moving up from the south, and from it in the still air the rain plashed straight down in big lazy drops. Gordon stopped and slipped on a rubber coat, and then, the shower increasing to a very respectable downpour meanwhile, slid into the busy traffic on the Manhattan side and worked cautiously over slippery pavements toward Fifth Avenue. The cloud had grown and the city was enveloped in a false twilight of falling raindrops and dim reflections. ”

“ Disease and crime and poverty go hand in hand, and in time science will do away with them all."
"That's a bit of a load for science, isn't it? What about religion? What part is religion to play in this—this regeneration of the human race, Mums?"
"Less than it should, I fear. It must join hands with science before it can attain any creative power. Now it is like a mole burrowing into the earth and refusing to see light. It is fighting science instead of aiding it. I am a religious woman, Gordon, and I believe that we must always have religion. Man can't live without a belief in a God. ”

“ There'd never have been another woman, Leona."
"Um; perhaps. The trouble would have been that if there had been another woman she'd have had no chance. After all, marriage has that advantage; it gives her the right to fight. I don't think I'd blame Peggy for not falling into your arms on your terms, Gordon. Perhaps you would have been always kind and always cared, but she may have doubted it. I should myself. She'd have been giving a good deal for just the honor of being pointed out as 'Gordon Ames's girl,' wouldn't she?" ”

“ The cabby snapped his whip and the roar of the engines lessened as the tired horse drew them northward. For a block or two no words were uttered in the cab. Peggy lay in his arms, silent. Now and then a little tremor passed through her. Gordon, his mind still in a state of chaos and his head and lungs aching from the smoke, pressed his face to the brown hair and watched the lights file slowly past the window. The incidents of the last quarter of an hour had taken on the quality of a dream. ”

“ She heard the wistfulness in his voice and pressed his hand. "I'll be ready when you come, Gordon, whatever time you say."
"Then—but I won't be unreasonable. Shall we say nine—or ten, Peggy dear?"
"At nine." Then she laughed amusedly. "Do you realize that I haven't a thing with me? Not even a hair-pin?"
"By Jove, what a thoughtless brute I am! We can buy some things, can't we? What time is it?" He looked at his watch, "It's only about ten o'clock!"
"It doesn't matter. I shall get on. I only want to lie down somewhere, Gordon, and think—and think—and think." ”

“ And yet all that does help to make happiness, Peggy-in-the-Rain."
"Oh, I wonder! Tell me, you have so much, Mr. Ames, are you happy, really and truly happy?"
"To-night, yes."
"But other times; usually; are you?"
"Is any one ever always happy? Isn't life made up of happy moments and unhappy moments, Peggy? And moments when—when we just go along without being one way or the other? I suppose I'm as happy as most fellows——"
"But if wealth and all the enjoyments that wealth can buy can't make one happy every day——"
"You're right, dear, it isn't wealth that brings happiness; it's love." ”

“ She smiled faintly. "You men are strange creatures, aren't you? If the tables had been turned, Gordon; if it had been Peggy that was rich, do you suppose she'd have considered any one else?"
"Don't make it harder," he muttered.
Leona laughed scornfully. "You're all cowards, my dear Gordon, every last one of you, in the final assay."
"Is it cowardice to consider my duty, my father's wishes, my mother's happiness?"
"Yes! It's always cowardice to break a woman's heart rather than overstep conventions!" ”

“ Gordon smiled. "That is, the poor don't stay poor. It's the poor who become eventually the wealthy."
"That used to be so, Gordon, but it's becoming less and less the rule every year. Look about you and see. Wealth is becoming more firmly intrenched all the time, and before very long—not in my time, nor yours—it will be impossible for the poor to move out of their poverty." ”

“ A big touring car swept by, its curtains closed tightly against the pelter of rain. A hansom followed, one of the few survivors of a dying race. Behind the half-drawn glass Gordon caught a glimpse of a man and a girl. Something that was almost a shiver went over him and his pulses raced furiously for a moment. If only it were he and Peggy there in the hansom! And why not? What was youth for if not for love and its pleasures? What was wealth for if not to be obeyed? He would find her, find her now, at once, his Peggy-in-the-Rain! ”

“ After this when I think I know a little about women, Leona, I'll take myself gently but firmly by the slack of my trousers and conduct myself around behind the barn and kick myself into a suitably humble frame of mind."
"My dear Gordon, if men would only stop talking about understanding women and realize that a woman is only a supersensitized—is there such a word?—a supersensitized man they'd have no trouble understanding us. The mistake comes in starting out with the preconceived notion that we're something utterly different. ”

“ When that time comes there should be no poverty as we know it to-day, no ignorance and filth, no hovels to breed disease. There will be poverty, but not want nor misery."
"And this is to be brought about by the continued centralization—is that the word? no,—the continued accumulation of wealth by the wealthy? My dear Mums, you have a wonderful faith in human nature!"
"I have faith in civilization and education," she replied gravely. "Science is teaching us all the time. We are learning something new and wonderful every year. ”

“ Business seems to me to be just another name for dishonesty. There are men who wouldn't think of double-crossing a friend in the ordinary relations of life, who'd shoot themselves rather than cheat at cards, who'd be as square as a block with a woman, Pete. Put that same man in business and he'd cheat the eye-tooth out of his dearest friend! ”

“ The town house should be all that his own staid and old-fashioned home was not, a place of soft colors and shaded lights, of shimmering, silken rugs underfoot. He smiled with pleasure at the idea of having her own rooms furnished and decorated in a shade of blue to match the wonderful color of her eyes.
But before that they would steal away on the Siren. It could be done. No one, beyond the sailing master and crew, need know. Of course, ultimately every one would know; it would become for a week or two the gossip of drawing-rooms and cafés ”

“ I want so much to believe that what you have offered is just as much love as mine is. I am going away. I shall be gone when you read this. Not so much because I don't trust you as because I am just learning myself and don't yet know my own strength. Don't try to find me, dear. I want this to be good-by. And don't try to learn who I am. Just let me be Peggy-in-the-Rain, the girl you cared for for a while and who cared for you. ”

“ Off he went again, throatily chanting of the rain that had brought him a bountiful supper, trilling of the charms and virtues of his mate, who, doubtless, was attending to her housewifely duties and awaiting her lord's return in some nearby tree. Gordon, getting leisurely into his dinner clothes, went to the window and watched him where, halfway along a slender branch, he stood, head up, pouring a cascade of music from his trim gray body.
"Go it, you little duffer," encouraged Gordon, wrestling with a stubborn stud. "Tilt your head back and let's have it. That's the stuff!" ”

“ A clap of thunder drowned her voice. Gordon smiled and nodded reassuringly, leaned his gun against the tree, and took the reins from her clenched hand.
"Mind!" he exclaimed when the thunder had spent. "I should say not! Why, this is perfectly bully; a regular rain-proof tent!" He patted the horse's neck, spoke soothingly, and the sorrel, pointing his ears, seemed less restive on the instant. There was a flash of lightning, and the girl gasped and closed her eyes. The thunder broke, and she strained backward against the tree with clenched hands, fighting against her terror. ”

“ Peter had the grace to blush. "My mistake," he said. "Anyway, I'd rather marry the dome of Saint Paul's than any one else I know. Only thing is, as I say, if she's still stuck on you——"
"She isn't! That's your silly imagination. Ever mentioned the matter to her, Pete?"
"About——"
"Yes, about wanting to marry her."
"No, not exactly; not in words, you know. I've been keeping her in flowers pretty regularly for a month or so; ever since she got back from the South, you know. I guess she has a hunch how it is with me."
"Unless she's a lot more dense than I think she is," Gordon laughed. ”

“ I'd say it was easier to be honest than dishonest, Gordon."
"I think it is for you, old man. You're about the—well, the squarest chap I know." Peter colored faintly with embarrassment. "But you don't get up against any problems. If you were in business, Pete, I'll bet you'd go bankrupt in a month."
"I don't see it," said Peter stoutly. "Business isn't different from anything else. A chap acts square in anything, doesn't he?"
"Some, perhaps. No, he doesn't—not if it's business. The trouble isn't with the man, it's with business itself. ”

“ She watched the approaching launch, its smokestack aglitter in the lengthening rays of the sun. "Try to forget some of the things I've said, Gordon," she went on. "I'm afraid they have been things an unmarried woman is supposed not to even think of. And—and don't think because I spouted of the ideal lover that Peter deserves your pity. He doesn't. Peter will get more than many men get when they take unto themselves a wife."
"I'm not pitying him, Leona," Gordon replied. ”

“ Every hour has been full of you. I've seen your face in the clouds and the water, and in my dreams I've held you as I'm holding you now. You wrote that I was not to try and find you, Peggy, and I didn't; but, oh, girl dear, it was the hardest task any man was ever set! I hoped you were well and—prospering, dear; if I had known how it was with you I'd have searched and found you. Leona said you would surely write to her or go to her if you were in trouble."
"I couldn't. I was ashamed. She knew—about us, Gordon. ”

“ Up went one of Leona's feet in a whisk of lace and a white pump flew across the deck.
"—Kick the conventions into a cocked hat and follow him!"
Gordon stared. "Good Lord, Leona!" he exclaimed.
She laughed grimly. "I know. You're terribly surprised. Leona Morrill is supposed to be a lump of ice and a block of marble and—and a piece of wood all rolled into one. But I'm not. I'm just the same as every other woman when it comes to—to the fundamental. And with a woman the fundamental isn't duty or decency or position or wealth; it's love! ”

“ The air had grown lifeless. Far off to the westward a flash of lightning ripped the darkness.
If they did meet—what? What was to be said that had not already been said? It was not likely that five months had shaken her determination. He had allowed her to choose and she had chosen; and he had accepted the verdict with what he prided himself was good grace; would it be fair to try to alter it all now?
The sound of running steps half a block ahead broke into his thoughts. A dark figure crossed the boulevard from one of the streets leading toward the lake and paused under a lamp-post. ”

“ She turned before he could speak and her face paled and the deep blue eyes grew suddenly large and dark. Gordon's own cheeks whitened under their tan, and it was not until her small fingers lay in his insistent hand that words came to him.
"You see," he said then, with a smile that wouldn't stay straight, "I was right. The gods are kind, Miss Peggy-in-the-Rain." ”

“ In society, where he is a notable figure, he is immensely popular, although his democratic tastes have at times quite shocked his friends. Gordon Ames is still young, and it may be that when he is tired of playing he will buckle down and show that he is, after all, a true son of the hardy New Englander who, in the last century, carved his fortune from the granite hills. But even lack of ability will scarcely affect so much of his fortune as is represented by New York real estate, which, barring the most unimaginable influences, will continue to increase in value from year to year. ”

“ There is no blame on either side, Peggy-in-the-Rain. I love you, sweetheart, with every bit of me, and you love me, dear. Isn't happiness something? Is there so much of it in your life that you can turn your back on this? And we could be very happy, dear. For you there would be no more running around the streets, no more nosing about for—for murders. ”

“ Gordon, who liked Aiken for the attractions it provided for idlers of his kind, put up at the hotel in the village, using the Amesdene stables for his horses. Folly whisked up the drive, between rows of soldierly oleanders, and sidled into the stable yard. Culver, head groom and caretaker, was bandaging the ankles of a two-year-old, who, a daughter of the famous Amesdene Adventuress by the equally famous Amesdene Hero, had been named Ingenue and was booked to carry off some blues in the roadster classes at the winter shows. ”

“ Consider them complicated, Hurd. Then what would you do?"
"I think, sir, I'd advertise in the Herald."
"Um."
"Has the gentleman a place of business, sir?"
"Er—yes, I think so, but I don't know where it is or what the business is. Further complications, eh?"
"Yes, sir. I'd say advertise, Mr. Gordon."
"But how the dickens— Look here, I can't say 'If the gentleman named Peggy, last name unknown, will—'" The butler's expression of surprise, momentary but acute, brought Gordon to a stop and a hurried explanation. "Yes, funny name, isn't it? It's just—just a nickname, you see." ”

“ Peter grinned again. "Say, Gordon, you've got a peach of a grouch, haven't you? What's the matter? Wouldn't she come along?"
"Oh, go to thunder!" growled Gordon. "I'll be glad when I've got the whole bunch of you dumped in New York again."
"Nice, hospitable host you are," mourned Peter. "And, say, you hypocritical old cuss, I like your cheek, rowing me because I didn't do my duty by that Roberts girl! Why, confound you, why don't you play your own hand decently? Miss Standley has yawned her head off ever since we left home!" ”