Hal

“ And all the time Hal stood there with those resolute, set lips, as erect as a young grenadier.
But all the same he meant to have her if he could, and he remembered of old how often he had found a swift, bold attack won. So he stopped short beside her, and said:
“You know that whatever circumstances compel me to do, all my heart is yours, Hal, and you care a little bit about me. You know you do. Don’t condemn me to outer darkness. Come to me like the sensible little woman you are. No one will ever know, and I can make your life gayer and happier just as long as ever you like.” ”

“ It would seem Fate had brought her and Hal together into the arena of new happenings and new feelings, for among the crowded houses of Bloomsbury, in a little high-up bedroom near the sky, Hal sat on the edge of her bed leisurely brushing her long, bright hair, and pondering a telephone message that had asked her to go for a motor ride the following Saturday. ”

“ Hal, who, though only twenty-one, could look out on an ugly world with those clear eyes of hers, and while seeing the ugliness undisguised, see always as it were beside it the ultimate good, the ultimate hope, the silver lining behind the blackest cloud. ”

“ Tell me all: there is no time to be lost," said Hal, excitedly.
"There's not much to tell, sir. He will be able to add another notch to his stick, for he has literally broken my heart. I never have discussed my private affairs with anyone, sir, but I will tell you my story, for I feel you are to be trusted. ”

“ But the wheels turned faster and faster, as the chariot dashed down the glassy slope. Hal looked at the sky above, where the Kea was still crying, “Come up! come up!” and he thought he saw the Star of Love shining faint and far; and then—— Hal remembered no more; and, with the words of the sprites ringing in his ears,—
“Slide and slip, and slip and slide,” he—awoke,—to find he had tumbled out of bed, and that it was Christmas morn indeed. ”

“ A moderate hit was quite expected, but not a triumph which placed her almost in the first rank, and was due not merely to her acting, but to a bigness of spirit and comprehension she had never before had an opporturnty to reveal.
It was, indeed, the justification of Hal’s devotion. Hal, by her very nature, could not love a small-minded woman. What she so unceasingly loved and admired in Lorraine was a hidden something she alone had had the perspicacity to perceive, and could so instinctively rely upon. ”

“ All the family saw it. There could be no mistake. Hal's hands found their way with frantic eagerness toward his father's throat as if they would choke him, and the look in his eyes was so like a madman's that his father raised his fist and felled him as he used to fell men years before in the college fights, and then dragged him into the sitting-room and wept over him. ”

“ Hal was built on quite different lines. Tall, and slender, and well knit, she moved with the surging grace of the athlete, and looked out upon the world with a joyfulness and humorous kindliness that won her friends everywhere. She was not beautiful in any sense that could be compared with Lorraine, but she had pretty brown hair, and fine eyes, and a clear, warm skin that made up for other defects, and helped to produce a very attractive whole. ”

“ No well-equipped journalistic partnership should be without one."
Perhaps had the phrase been different, Hal might have yielded. So narrow a margin of chance divides the paths of honor and dishonor, to mortals groping dimly through the human maze. But the words were an echo to wake memory. Rugged, harsh, and fine the face of McGuire Ellis rose before Hal. He heard the rough voice, with its undertone of affection beneath the jocularity of the rather feeble pun, and it called him back like a trumpet summons to the loyalty which he had promised to the men of the "Clarion." ”

“ Sometimes they would be lying on a coil of rope spinning yarns, and Hal wished that he could go and listen, for he was sure that he should enjoy their stories.
Sometimes a man-of-war lay in the harbor, and Hal was wildly envious of the midshipmen
whom he saw away up in the rigging, looking as much at home in that lofty situation as if they had been born there. When he grew old enough he meant to be a sailor; that was, at least, if mamma would let him. For he had
made up his mind that he could not go unless she said yes. ”

“ Hal rushed forward and caught him in his arms. The emotion had been too much for him, and he had fallen into a swoon. Hal laid him tenderly on his bed, and unloosed his neckcloth, while Flora, procuring some water from a brown pitcher, which stood in a corner of the apartment, bathed his temples and his lips with it. ”

“ Hal commented with a mildness that was impelled by fatigue rather than civilized conditioning.
"Oh are we now?" she said angrily, standing up and bending over him. "And who do you think you are, Lord Proprietor? Some humble god, perhaps? Let me tell you something, Hal Webber, I've heard about you. You know who I am? My name is Lois Bruchner. That uncouth engineer you just referred to happens to be my father."
Hal was puzzled. "What on earth is the matter?" he asked. "Why are you so excited?" ”

“ But suddenly Hal, as if he now for the first time discovered the presence of newcomers, stopped short, as did also his two attendants. Anthony, in pretence of enabling the make-believe Sir Valentine to perceive who the horsemen were, held the lanthorn up, a little to the right and rear of Hal's body, so that it revealed his attitude and left his face [Pg 127] in shadow. Leaning forward, as in pain, yet with head stiffly set, shoulders forced back, hat low on brow, left elbow thrust out, and beard well outlined against the light, Hal peered anxiously into the gloom. ”

“ At her words, Hal suddenly became aware of the unaccustomed vigor of his own emotions, and he was puzzled by it. But it seemed oddly unimportant for some reason. "How come you can handle this awful weight so easily?" he asked her.
Her laughter was light and delightful. "We spend most of our lives under natural conditions, not under an antigravity machine. I've only been on Earth for a few months, visiting my father. But a lot of that time was spent out here in this beautiful wilderness." ”

“ Tally ho! tally ho!” And away we went, Hal heading our procession through the streets, shouting a rollicking song, the baby staring at him openmouthed.
“Now ring,” cried Hal to the mother on our reaching the Workhouse gate. “Ring modestly, as becomes the poor ringing at the gate of Charity.” And the bell tinkled faintly.
“Ring again!” cried Hal, drawing back into the shadow; and at last the wicket opened. ”

“ When Hal was a mere child my mother saw him once taking in dollars at a country fair booth,—just think of it, dearest,—and she said he was the picture of his girl-mother then. Later, when Professor Certain, as he called himself then, got rich, he gave Hal the best of education. But he never let him have anything to do with the Ellersleys—that was Mrs. Surtaine's name. All the family are dead now."
"Well, there must be some good in the old boy," admitted Willard. "But I don't happen to like him. I do like the boy. Blood does tell, Jinny. ”

“ In fact you look like a very well-found soul, indeed."
"It is rather a cheerful world to live in," said Hal with apparent irrelevance.
"I hope they haven't spoiled you," she said anxiously. "Are you vain, Hal? No: you don't look it."
"What on earth should I be vain about? I've never done anything in the world."
"No? Yet you've improved. You've solidified. What have you been doing to yourself? Not falling in love?"
"Not that, certainly," he replied, smiling. "Nothing much but traveling."
"How did you like Esmé Elliot?" ”

“ In due time, Hal placed himself at the entrance, working up his mood to a fine heat for the occasion; heard the cue, "The doors are broke;" and rushed on, crying "Where is this king?" with a fury that made the groundlings gape, and even startled the lolling lords into attention. ”

“ From the Devil tavern, Hal went to three or four shops farther in Fleet Street, and when he emerged from the last of these he wore a dull green cloth cloak, brown-lined, over his brown velvet doublet; a featherless brown hat of ample brim on his head, and high riding-boots to cover the nether part of his brown silk trunk-hose.
He had already looked his errand in the face, and made some plan for dealing with it. As he would be no match for a band of highway robbers, should he fall in with such between London and Welwyn, he must have at least one stout attendant. Fortunately. ”

“ For his stroll through the jungle trail and the evil that the warriors believed had been visited upon the tribe through Hal, the sagacious chief had pronounced sentence on their white guest. That sentence condemned Hal to death at dawn—death by bow and arrow at the hands of the tribe’s picked warriors.
Hal shivered and glanced at his young captor a moment. The young man must have some liking for him, else why did he tell him all this? Could he use Big Boy’s liking and hero worship to his own advantage? ”

“ Hal, who could criticise unerringly, with direct, outspoken humour,and yet scorn to judge; who had learnt, by some strange instinct, the precious art of holding out a friendly hand and generous friendship, even to those condemned of the orthodox, sufferers probably through their own wild and foolish actions, without in any way becoming besmirched herself, or losing her own inherent freshness and purity. ”

“ The other fist landed here, there; and now it had grown red, though whether from its own blood or from the wounds of foemen, who could tell? Strange fires spangled outward before Hal’s eyes; he tasted blood, and, clacking his jaws, set his teeth into a hand and through it.
Something wrenched, cracked dully. Blasphemy [313] howled through the smoky air, voicing the anguish of a broken arm. A rolling, swaying, tumbling mass, the men trampled the fallen one, pulping his face. Broken glass gritted under hammering bootheels, as the shards of lamp-chimney were ground fine. ”

“ There was a snort of the horn, a scream that gritted on the ear like the clamor of tortured metals, and a huddle of black and white was flung almost at Hal's feet. Equally quick with him, a middle-aged man, evidently of the prosperous working-classes, helped him to pick the woman up. ”

“ Hal! Hoofs yonder, or I'm an owl else!"
Hal listened. Yes, horses were crossing the wooden bridge of the brook on the Londonward side of the village.
"Should these be the men?" whispered Hal in a low voice. "They come slowly."
"Who else should be on the road at this hour?" replied Kit. "They know not any reason for haste."
"A red murrain on that Puritan, then!" said Hal. "What holds him so long at the stable? All is lost, without his lanthorn. I'll ride in and fetch him."
"Nay, they must use time enough in coming hither. Hark! They have halted in the village. ”

“ Hal groaned aloud. Perhaps the stranger had no intention of going up the river, until driven by them. It was a miserable thought, and hung with a leaden weight upon Hal's spirit. He remained at home all the next day, worn out and dejected. May rallied him.
"How I pity you, poor firemen! You get up at all times of the night, work like soldiers on a campaign, and sometimes do not even get a 'thank you' for your pay. You know I told you never to be a fireman!" ”

“ I do wonder what the man thought. Hal and Mary had not known Miss Harris' story, but Louis had read the letter to Hal, and his perfidy was apparent to all. No word had been said, however, and I presume he (not learning about the letters) thought Hal still a good friend, which was in fact the case. Hal said:
"I would not lose sight of him for the world. Emily, his hand was one of those which led me across the bridge of sighs when my art was coming to life, and I shall help him. He may yet need more than we know." ”

“ Several monkeys disported themselves on the branches of the tree over the hut and were about to pelt the sleeping native with some nuts. Hal tried to frighten them off by waving his long arms but they paid no heed. Instead they set up a chatter and let go a rain of the hard nuts which fortunately missed their intended victim and hit Hal instead.
“Ouch!” Hal cried as several of the nuts hit his tender head. “For the love of Mike!”
The words had barely been uttered when out of the gloomy hut came a heart-rending cry, muffled and unintelligible, yet full of poignancy and human wretchedness. ”

“ Hal stepped close to the window, and mimicking the first Austrian's voice, replied:
"Don't see a thing. Nobody here."
"All right then; come on out."
"I'll have a better look first," replied Hal.
"Now what good is all that going to do?" demanded Chester of Hal. "They won't go away and leave him here; and they'll discover his absence before long."
"Just a little play for time," replied Hal. "Every minute helps, you know. If we can hold out till daylight we will be all right."
"Right you are," whispered Colonel Anderson. "Minutes are precious things right now." ”

“ The man nodded.
"Who are you?" demanded Hal.
"Nikol."
"Nikol what?"
The man did not reply, and Hal surveyed him critically. He was at least thirty-five years of age, could not have been an inch more than four feet in height, and his long, knotted arms, apparently as strong as a gorilla's, reached almost to the ground, where his huge hand clasped and unclasped nervously. Involuntarily Hal shuddered.
"Must be as strong as an ox," the lad muttered. "Lucky for Stubbs he kicked at the right time and happened to land." ”