BAR R Y G O R DO N

W ILLIAM FAR ! UHAR PAYSON

AUTHOR or

J O HN VY TAL , m s TR I UM P H or L IF E ,

DEBON N A I R E,

ILLUSTRATION S BY HAR RY TOWN SEN D

N EW YO R K

TH E M CCLUR E C O M PAN Y

M C M VI I I
E DM UN D R O BE R TS M AR VIN

2 22 903 3
 C O N T E N TS

BO OK I

THE TR EE OF KN OWLEDGE

CHAPTER I
PA G E

A Day to be Re mem bered . The G ame . The Face in

t he Crowd . Barry Turns the E nemy s ’
Flank . A
Telegram .

CHAPTER II

How Colonel G ordo n C ame a C ropper . He Co nsults

Dr Bur ke
.
, and R ec ei ves Monstrous Advice .

CHAPTER III

The Dri ve in the Dark . And of How Barry is Ga zed at

by His Father .

CHAPTER IV

The Colonel s Pla ns for Barry s Future Ghostly Por

’ ’
.

traits . Father a nd Son and the Blood in the ir Veins . 29

[ v ii ]
 CO N TE N T S

CHAPTER V
Storm Wre ckage . The De vil s ’
Toast .

B O O K II

THE R AIN B OW

CHAPTER I

E vil Mem ories The Spree What Barry Saw in Me ade s

. .
’

Lef t Hand A Dou ble E xposure How Barry and

. .

Tom Hurried into their Clothes .

CHAPTER II

The Refugee s Barry Makes Friends with a Watchdog

.

and Keeps a M idnight Vigil Dawn a nd a Girl . .

CHAPTER III

Their First Meeting Barry Sees a Metaphorical Rain

.

bow and Stri ves to Grasp it but Bre akf ast Intervenes
—also Tom
,

CHAPTER IV

Concerni ng Mr Beek ma n and how the Part

.
, in his Hair

E vidently a Serious Business , but there Goe s Muriel

CHAPTER V

Muriel Alterna tes . Her Litt le Song .

[ viii ]
 CON TE N T S

B O O K III

THE FALL

CHAPTER I
P AG E

College in a Nutshell Grows Re stless Lo ve and

. Barry .

the Wanderlust He O beys Hea ven but N ot t he

.

Fac ulty and Th ere s the Devil t o Pay

’
.

CHAPTER II

A Di vor cé e Dre sses a Dé butante .

CHAP TER III

The Duel of the Flowers Muriel s Song .

’
Re -echoes ,

and Barry Tears As ide a Veil .

CHAP TER IV

The W orld E nters The Way an Artist Felt About

.

Muriel How Barry Felt t oo Meade s Re venge

.
, .
’
.

CHAP TER V
Burridge Draws the Portieres .

CHAPTER VI
Kitty to the Rescue A Crisis in . B arry
’
s C areer . The
Call of the Sphinx .

An Anxious E vening M r . . Beekman Plays Patience . A

Lette r from Nowhere .

[ ix l
 CO N TE N T S

BO O K IV

THE R OLLIN G S TON E

CHAP TER I
P AG I

W orld s Half-way House

’
. The M a n in the

Old Friend Appears .

CHAP I ER II
'

' ‘

Duck and Burgundy Platonics in . Paris . Kit ty Tact

fully Pumps Her Capti ve .

CHAPTER III

Barry s Am azing Ad ventures The Ca b Ra c e A Voyage

’
. .

i
t o the Stars African Nights Naom the Fawn
. . .

CHAP TER IV

Barry Buys an E veni ng Paper . Th e News on the Front

Page .

BO O K V

CHAP TER I

Propinquity Smooth the Way , but M rs .

ings . Kitt y Again to the Rescue .

X
 CONTENTS

CHAPTER H
P AG E

Barry and M uriel . The M a n in the Train . The Fates

Spin Fast .

CHAP TER III

Flight and Pursuit . Th eir Weddi ng Night . The Har

mony of the Spheres , and the Jangle of a Door-be ll . 225

B OO K VI

THE TR EE OF LI FE

CHAPTER I

A Human Stew and , of Certain Travellers who Sought

a Man Named Barry Gordon .

CHAPTER H
Barry Gropes Toward the Light The Spirit of the Sword
.

and the Spirit of the M arket-plac e How a Woman .

Hid in a Booth and Listened .

CHAP TER III

At the South of the M arket-place at Sundown . Go d

Pity Women ! The C all to Prayer .

CHAP TER IV

The Ride . Cas sim and Achme t . Night on the Edge of

 CONTENT S

The C ave and its Occupant . Greater Love

M a n than This

CHAP TER VI
The Spe ll of B arry
’
s Sacrifi ce . The

The Dea th of Naomi and th e Jew s

,
'

Agony in the Garden Dawn . .

[ xi i ]
 LI ST O F ILLUSTR AT I O N S

They spent enchanted hours on that far flat roof

in Beni Aloo

He saw the

0 Barry ! How co uld y ou do it ? You ve’

”
killed me , she said

One thing I as k : Le t me see my brother face to face

Barry played on their pe t weaknesses until the

His voice fell to a whisper like a sigh

 CHAPT E R I

A DAY To BE R E M EM B E RED THE GAM E

. THE FA C E .

IN TH E C R O W D B AR R Y T U R N S T H E E N E MY S
.
’

F L AN K A T E L E GRAM
.

ACK in t he eigh t ies a t St Clement s School , .

’
,

there was a boy named Ba r ry Gordon Tradi .

tion says he was the life of the school and had

more chi valry and de v iltry in his little finger than all
the rest of the pupils body and soul , .

Be that a s it may he was doubtless a fine young cub

, ,

with plenty o f brain some brawn and at times good

, ,

looks His po pularity they say was more concentrated

.
, ,

than general the rank and file ne v er knowing quite how

,

t o ta ke him he was so v aria b l e —

, sometimes s o ol d for
his age sometimes so young But the elect worshipped
, .

him and guided the others to a wonderin g admiration

, .

W hen he chose the fellow could outstudy the lo t o r

, ,

a t least outdo them b y a sor t of quick and random

acq ui remen t of learning Ye t for t he most part he was
.

gi v en o v er t o outdoor games and ad v entures o r clan ,

destine browsings through fields of literature con

dem med by the mas t ers as uninstructi ve .

In a v illage shop he bough t w o nderful second-hand

[ 3 l
 B ARRY GORDON
b oo ks and smugglin g t hem in t o school t ucked t hem
, , ,

away be t ween t he ma tt resses of his bed The indul gen t .

ma tr on , t oo w ho neve r c oul d withstand his eyes and

,

voi ce would co v e rt ly c o nvey t o him o ther t reasures

,

from h er pri v at e lib r a r y ; and he wi th the forb idden ,

f r ui t carefully sandwiched between geometries and

algebras would hie him fo rt h t o some nook in the woods
,

t o s t udy no t angles and eq ua t ions bu t all t he colours

, ,

and rhy t hm s o f l ife .

By this sec re t means h e ca me to know a mixed and

in t e r es t in g c ompany E nglish knigh t s were there
.
,

Ameri c an pioneers c r usaders and co wboys courtesans

, , ,

q ueen s and sain tly nuns His taste t o say the least
, .
, ,

wa s ca th olic M u c h a s he loved t he v i rt uous his ha t red

.
,

o f all t he v illainous wa s qui t e as arden t Much as he .

re v ered exal t ed heroes his lo v e fo r t he poor comica l

,

wre t ches wa s no less wa r m Deep in thi s fores t library

.

t hey were all on a f oot ing all enchan t ers withou t caste
, .

Ye t i f he had any leanings they were toward the old ,

and the fo r eign Born in Virginia of ca v alier stock hi s

.
,

v eins we re r eady channels fo r the Old — W orld fire his ,

soul a ready mi rro r fo r the Old-W o rld glamou r and

gl o w Ab ov e all he loved ya rns o f far voya ges In his
. .

'

las t year a t s ch ool h e t ook to b oo ks t hat difl used a tmos

p heres b oo ks t ha t b rea t hed out the brea t h o f dis t an t
,

ra ces and p la c es til l a t las t he had a visi o n o f the

,

world .

[ 4 ]
 B ARRY GORDO N
His mo t he r was dead bu t his father still li ved in the
,

Sou t h— a s remarkable a fa t her he t hought as e ver , ,

a fellow had Back and fo rt h be t ween V irgin ia and the

.

school in New E ngland wen t s t reams o f lett ers Ques .

t ions of l ife flowed from Ba rry t o his fa ther in t he

South like a t idal ri v er ebbing t o the pa r ental se a
, .

Then back t o Ba r ry in the North c ame a swelling tide ,

flo odin g him wi t h brilliancy and obscuri ty reckless ,

imagery and poe t ic humour Bu t in t he end all this wa s

.

ch anged by a sudden ha r s h reali ty .

W hen la ter he looked back on tha t day th e memory

, ,

was blu r red save fo r a few s ha rp de tails

, .

I t came in his las t yea r His younge r b rothe r Tom

.
, ,

w a s in quaran t ine wi th measles I t was an a ut umn aft er.

n oo n t he ai r cool the sky clear The g r ea t foo tball

, , .

game of the sea son—St Clemen t s versus Strickland s

.
’ ’

A cademy— was nefi r ing i t s las t momen t ; and here

worse luck - lay the captain Barry Go rdon on the , ,

ground winded and helpless while t he t eams wai ted

, , .

He was s t re t ched ou t on the side line Some one sponged .

his forehead and his s t aun ch f r iend Hicks t he qua rter

, ,

b ack kept working his a rms up and down t o p ump air

,

in t o his l ungs Dimly he heard the s t riden t chee ring as

.
,

if fr om miles away ; and when he turn ed hi s head au t o

ma t ically fo r a spo nging o ve r t he t emple h e sa w ,

ac r oss th e field i nn u merable li tt le waving flag s—sp ot s

of col our dancing befor e his da zed eyes .

[ 5
 B ARRY GORDON
There seemed to be nob ody nea r him save the t wo
who pump ed and sponged t ill gradually he beca me ,

aware tha t two others were no t fa r off E viden t ly they .

t hough t him senseless bu t he was n ot Though a knock , .

ou t t ackle had nea rly finished him and he could no t ,

think much h e could hear t hei r words and recognise

,

thei r v oices One was the sugary v oice o f Pierce the

.
,

principal the other t hat o f a friendlier mas t er

, .

” ”
Too had said Pierce lightly ; t oo bad !
,

How un fortunate his bro ther s ill and can t go with ’ ’

”
him ! s aid the other Tha t migh t help him to b ea r it
.

”
B arry s so fond of Tom
’
.

”
Yes said Pierce swee t and unmo v ed
, bu t pe r , ,

”
haps it will de v elop his charact er .

D espite thi s promi s ing outlook t he under-mas t e r ,

seemed to feel pre tty bad about it .

”
Poor B arry ! he muttered Shal l we tell him ? .

Pierce as usual wa s cold as a fish

, , .

”
D ea r dear no ! h e said
, The fell ow s our last
, .
’

hope B reak it to him now and t he game s lost— he s s o

.
,
’ ’

”
high stru ng Southerner you know Mr Pierce s v oice
- .
,
. .
’

fell bu t was s t ill audible

, W e must win this game If . .

we d o S t Clement s boo ms W e don t wan t ol d Strick

, .
’
.
’

land to pocket all the pupils

Then seeing that he was recovering t hey mo v ed off
, , ,

Pierce saying nervously

After the game after the game ,
.

[ 6 ]
 BARRY GORDON
To Barry half conscious on the ground the ma tt er
, ,

had seemed queer bu t not serious Pierce probab ly

, .

though t of expelling him Some scrape had come t o .

light— tha t was all There were plenty of them lying

.

around half buried Pierce wasn t only a fish ; he was a

.
’

ghoul a prowler Very well let Pierce bounce him !

, .
,

The su b j ec t rolled from his mind like a vapour .

Then as his s t rengt h grew he was gripp ed again by

, ,

the lus t of the game M os t o f his ances t ors history

.
,

said had been figh ting men Perhaps that explained

, .

the fever in him t he blind impa t ience t o be up and

,

again a t it ; and though Pierce s mercenary moti v es ’

were not inspiring something else was , .

Barry had turned his other t emple to t he re v i v ing

sponge This brought within range of his sight the
.

crowd a t the nearer side o f t he field Hundreds o f faces .

were there bu t he h a d a dim sense of one especially

,

the face o f a girl he had ne ver b efore seen Stretched .

out as he was and still half dazed he did n ot see her ,

clearly She seemed to be looking at him her eyes full

.
,

o f tenderness her cheeks flushed her lips parted her

, , ,

whole expression el oquent o f anxiou s waitin g and ex

cited admiration .

His impression of her face though brief and dreamy , ,

was none the less movin g W ith a sudden eff or t he stag

.

g e r ed to hi s feet keen f or the game As he st ood a

, .

moment leaning on Hicks silently planning t he attack , ,

[ 7 ]
 BARRY GORDON
’
Mr Pie rc e s vap orou s mys t ery c ross ed his mind But
. .

t he fac t t ha t s o met hing apparently unpleasan t hun g

o v er him o nly s t imula t ed him t o co mba t its unne r ving
eff ec t Someh o w h e beg an t o ass oci ate his father wi th
.

t he game wishing t ha t h e was a t hand with all his

,

reso u r ce and inspiri t in g en c ou r agemen t .

Then suddenly t he wish in a way was gr an t ed

, , .

Ba rr y remembe r ed a ta ct ic whi ch pe o ple said his fathe r

had o nce used in th e Civil Wa r Gor don s Raiders in a .
’
,

cer tain ba tt le h ad pla y ed a dashin g t rick and won If

, .

the s tra t egy had worked on c e why no t again ? Barry ,

spoke hurriedly to Hicks .

”
J im h e said , li s t en !
,

Then h e w his per ed t he main po in t of the move Lu ck .

ily i t dep ended o n these t wo only The res t of the team .

did n ot n e ed to know In fac t their ve r y guilelessness

.
,

w o uld make th e in t ended fein t l oo k r eal .

B ar ry h as t ened ou t on the field The crowd cheered .

,

the col o u r s dan c ed bu t he was ca reless now of every

,

thin g save t he next play .

That play wa s old in warfare but new then in foot ,

ball tho u gh at t he s t art it looked usual The sign al

, .

’
Hicks gav e was familiar t o Barry s men The team .

obeyed in vigorous g o od fai th There was a fl ash .

agains t the enem y s ri ght Unde r cover of this Hicks

’
.
,

made a secret pass t o Barry Then while the m el ee .

,

thicken ed c ame a swift s tra nge darting to th e lef t

, , ,

[ 8 ]
 BARRY GORDON
said off hand ; t hen with a li ft o f his head and an absen t
,

“
b righ t en ing of his dark eyes : M y fa t he r Col onel ,

Gordon who c o mmanded Go rdon s Raiders in t he Ci vil

,
’

”
W ar .

Mr Pie rc e shi fted un comfort ably and cl ea r ed hi s

.

throa t .

“ ”
This i s indeed a sad coinciden ce he said with ,

sickly pi t y He drew from his p ocket a shee t of yell ow

.

paper I ha v e j ust had a telegram from your father s

.
’

”
doctor He handed the yellow slip t o Ba rr y adding
.
,

in a voice o f stilted sentiment B e brave Barry be , , ,

brave !
D azed th e b oy read t he followin g te rse mes s age
,

STE PHEN PIERC E , Es q ,

P rincipal St Clement School

’
. s .

Colonel Gordon cri tically ill . Tell Barry come home at

once .

LU K E Bum .

As Bar ry sto od staring at the yell ow sheet Pierce ,

drew a smug sigh and closed his li ttle eyes as i f p rayer

fully .

”
V eril y in t he mids t of life he murmure d we a re
, , ,

”
in death !

[ 1 0 ]
 CHAPT E R II

H OW C O L O N E L GO RD O N C AM E A C R O P PE R . H E C O N S U L TS
D R B U R K E A N D R E C E I VE S
.
, M O N S T R O U S AD V I C E

OL ON E L GO R D ON sat alone at his dinner

table — a tallh
massive white-haired gen tleman
, , ,

wi t h an air of loose kingliness ab o u t him .

There was nothing in his appea rance t o sugges t ill

health save perhaps a bandage around his leonine head
, ,

and e v en t his t o a friend familia r wi t h his h abits would

, ,

ha v e implied not hing new or seri ou s Often before .

now he had worn swa t hed ove r his achin g brow t he

rakish Chaple t of a son of Ba c chus ; but t ha t was

”

usually of a morni ng following excesses whereas the ,

presen t bandage decked him day and nigh t .

Stirring his coffee in a rumina t i v e way t he colonel ,

spoke to a shadow behind him .

“ ”
Joshua ! An old negro glided forward Bring .

me a box of Henry Clays .

Joshua bowed respectfully

‘

Y a ssah Mild sah ?

.
,

No — dark— and two or thre e bottles of t he for ty

se v en Madeira When Dr Burke comes sh o w him in
. .
,

”
here .

[ 11 ]
 BARRY GOR D ON
J o s hua b o wed aga in cas t an an xious sidel o n g glan ce
,

a t his mas t er and left t he roo m

, .

For on c e Colonel Gordon fel t very uncom fo r table in

the solitude For on ce the silence broken only by t he
.
,

creaking of the cellar s t ai rs under Joshua s tread op ’

,

pressed him ; and even t he subsequent poppin g o f co rks

in t he p an t ry failed to enli v en his mo od Fo r on ce e v en .

the dim G o rdon por t rai t s on t he walls were poo r com

pany .

J o s hu a r e turn ed to t he dining-r oo m with th e bo x of

Hav an as and several cobwebby bottles Se tt ing thes e .

and one o f the glasses before his master he was ab ,

s ent l pla cing a second glass at the opposi t e end of the

y
table w h en the colonel s t opped him .

N o t th ere ! he mu tt ered i r ascibly Will yo u .

neve r r emember ? He mo t ion ed t o a posi t i o n a t his

righ t. Pu t it here .

T h e neg r o backed away f r om the emp t y a rm chai r

’
a t t he t able s head a s if from a ghos t and pla ced the ,

glass a s di r ec t ed For a moment he l in gered in the su r

.

ro undi ng shad ows o f the large dining— room as though to

gu ard his beloved mas t er But Colonel Go rdon po uring
.
,

hi s wine resen ted t he felt vigil and said testily

, ,
!

”
Wh e n I n eed you I will ring Then Joshua with .
,

his ever ready bow lef t t he colonel again a lone

,
.

The solitude was n ot unusual— far from it ; bu t t o

nigh t the room seemed darker and emptier than eve r
[ 12 ]
 BARRY GORDON
before ; t o-night he smoked his Hen ry Clay and drank
his M adeira withou t tha t sl o w prel iminary p ufi and sip
'

with which a connoisseu r tests as it were the indi , ,

vid ua lit y o f each ciga r and b ottle .

He was a fiery man this V irginia colonel and now , ,

t ha t his doc t o r would have him dy ing t he fire kept fla r

ing u p .

”
Conf o und it ! he finally mu t tered out of all ,

patience wi th t his new gloom so foreign t o him B u rke .

”
be damned !
’
N eve rtheless when a t las t the d oct or s sho rt bulk
,

da r kened the doo rway Colonel Gordon at once relaxed

,

as if h e fel t r elieved and somehow safer .

Come in Burke Surp rised t o se e me d r essed and

, .

”
down eh ? Draw up a chair
, .

Burke obeyed f Towning , .

Go rdon I told you t o s t ay in bed

, .

”
Bed be damned ! said the colonel Do y o u t hin k .

I want that she— devil laughing a t me in her s tall ?

He scowled humor o usly I t s the firs t j oke old Mes
.
’

salin a s ever played on me —though Lo rd knows she s

’ ’

often t ried Tha t comes of larkin g in cold bl oo d I tell

. .

you Burke if I d had the pack ou t she d never have

, ,
’ ’

done it Think how I ve hunted t ha t mare Gad man

.
’
.
, ,

”
gi v e he r company and she ll clea r the moon ! He pushed ’

fo rward the Madeira and the cigar-box Here old s ober .

,

sides take a cigar ; have a glass o f the forty -seven

, .

[ 13 ]
 BARRY GORDON
Burke glowered under his bee t le brows a t the array
of bo t tles .

“ ” “
Suicide ! he ej aculated indi gn an t ly O u t and .

o ut suicide Gordon ! I im p lo red you no t t o d r ink

, .

—
H m yes bu t y o u re always preachin g
’
,
”
The ’
.

colonel made a q uick ges tu re t o fo rbid reply I kn o w .

I know You wan t to say t his is di ff eren t Y o u wan t

. .

to tell me all o ver aga in N o need Bu rke ; n o need I .

, .

unders t and per fec t ly sir perfe ct ly I came a c r oppe r, , .

an d landed on my head I w as larking Burke a c r o ss .

, ,

count ry and M es salin a was larkin g too —o h no d oubt

, ,

of it Bu t do you know I believe Burke she s ge t

.
, ,
’

ting s t ifl in the hoc ks—t ha t s wha t I be lieve I t r eall y

'
’
.

wasn t he r fa ul t bles s he r s oul now was i t ? Han g

’
, ,

it man she came down h e rself I tell yo u—s tru ck

, , ,

’
the fen ce with her knees D o esn t that pro v e she s .
’

weak on t he tak e o ff—go ne in t h e hocks ? E h ?

N ow I ask y o u as a doctor yo u old veterinary ,

”
owl !
Bu rke g run t ed silen t ly and fum bled fo r a ciga r .

’
I wi sh you d send tha t mare to the knacker She s a
’
.

mu r deress How are y o u r own legs ? That s the ques

.
’

”
tion .

Oh they ll do
,
’
.

And you r head ?

C o lonel Go r don cautiously pres sed the bandage w h er e
it c ro ss ed one of his te m p les .

[ 14 1
 BARRY GORDON
”
Spli tt ing he admi tt ed You see the t op r ail went
, .

”
crashin g in fron t I mus t have landed on i t . .

Burke leaned f o rwa r d across t he corne r o f t he t able

and reached o u t a gnarled hand .

”
L a me feel your pulse .

”
No I ll be sho t if I will ! said t he co lonel fi rmly
,
’
.

I know wha t you fea r Y ou fear a cerebral h e mor .

”
r ha g e Bah ! I dislike the sound of t ha t !
. E luding t he
doc t or s h and he r eached fo r and filled both glasses
’
, ,

then smiled a t Burke with all h is old magne t i c hospi tal

”
ity and graciousnes s Come he said in a voice r ich .
, ,

’
in feeling You re n ot only m y physic ian ; you re my
.
’

friend Then help me p ass these hours a s I like If I m

. .
’

going I m g oing At firs t Burke I r ebelled The t hing

,
’
.
, , .

was insuff erable Gad sir i t made my gorge rise ! I

.
, ,

could have damn ed Dea t h roundly Bu t t hat s bad tas t e .

’
,

Burke —bad t a st H not the way o f a Southern gentle

”
man ! He paused a momen t t wirlin g his long mili t ary ,

mous t ache and looking off d reamily wi t h a gaze full

,

“
of courage and vague humou r Here in the South .

”
e ven un in v ited guests a r e welcomed courteously He .

lift ed his glass Here s t o his very good health

.
’
,

”
Burke !
”
Whose good health ? asked Bu rke o b tusely .

”
Deat h s said Go rdon smiling
’
, D o me the , .

fa v our please , .

Burke t hough a c o arse -grained man fel t un ne rv ed

, ,

[ 15 ]
 BARRY GORDO N
by this graceful co ur age Wi t h an awkward grun t o f
.

refusal he pushed away his glass .

”
N o G o rdon no ! h e ex c laim ed h oa r sely
, , .

T h e c olonel regarded h im wi t h amused indul gen ce .

Don t blink Burke don t blink ! An d I wis h y o u

’
, ,
’

”
would smo ke your ciga r ins tead of eating it .

Dr Burke sa t mu t e s ta r ing at the table Fo r mo r e

.
, .

t han twen ty years e v e r s ince serv ing a s a su rgeo n wi t h

,

Go rdon s Raiders h e h ad known this man and lo v ed

’
,

him It was he wh o h ad d r agged Gord o n f r om t he field

.

a t Chancellors v ille m or e dead t han ali ve ; h e who had

probed Go rdon s wo u nd for t he fragmen t o f shell and
’

ex t ract ed i t ; h e who years la t e r had us he red Gordon s ’

sons in t o the world ; h e who had a ttended Go rdon s ’

wife in her las t illn ess ; and since then—e v er since tha t
bu r s t o f wild grief a t her passing had set the t orch to
Gordon s tendencies —
’
it was he who had fough t agains t
dea t h for Gordon s b ody and agains t hell for Go rdon s
’
,
’

soul And n ow the figh t was abo u t fin ished Go rdon

. .

wo uld not obey him and keep in bed Go rdon persisted .

in dining and win ing as t hough no t hing had happened .

Bot h as doc t or and f r iend he fel t angry help less and , ,

an x ious .

”
God Gor d o n !
, he br o ke o u t suddenly wha t is it ,

abou t you t ha t t u rns men in to w omen ? You ve a ff ect ed ’

t ha t t hi ck skinned nigge r o f y our s j us t t he same When

- .

h e open ed the d oor for me he fai rly bl ubbe r ed I t was so .

[ 16 ]
 BARRY GORDON
did s o his blun t expressive face came in t o t he ligh t
, .

Gord o n saw his grizzled brows gathered in dis t ress t he ,

ciga r t rembling in hi s hand .

No t long I see said t he colonel dryly and again

, , ,

refilled his glass A shadow cross ed his eyes

. I hope I .

”
shan t go before B arry ge t s here
’
.

B urke r eseating himself cleared his t hroat

, , .

I f y o u wan t t o see t he boy fo r God s sake s t op ,

’

”
drinkin g ! The wine sends the blood t o your head .

”
Not another drop then ! said Go rdon harshly
'

, .

Thrusting t he cork into the b o tt le he hammered i t ,

down wi t h a smar t rap of his fis t Burke blew for th a .

gus t of smoke and wa t ched i t dri ft heav ily o v er th e

candles .

By the way I wan t t o speak to you abou t Barry

, .

Colonel Gordon shi fted uncomfor t ably .

W ha t now ?
”
No o ff ence said the doctor
, but Gord o n—Bar , ,

ry s already shown he s go t a lot of you in him— a lot

’ ’

’
of you r recklessness ; and it seems to me you d bet t er
le t him kn ow what s in his blood Start him wi t h a warn
’
.

”
ing To forewarn him i s t o forearm him
. .

Colonel Go rdon raised an eyebrow ironicall y .

W ha t do you mean Burke ? How ? By t elling him

,

a thing or t wo about his father and —he made a ges

t ure toward the surrounding por t rai ts and t he res t
”
o f his an ce s tor s ?
[ 18 ]
 BARRY GORDON
Burke nodded gnawing his cigar
, .

”
H m ! A pretty way t o die s aid Gordon
’
Bla c ke n , .

my name t o the son who holds it dear t hen sh uffle off ,

and lea v e him stranded with no t hing but the wr eckage

”
of his illusions T he colonel paled He was s t aring t e
. .

sent f ul ly at Burke My dea r man I think you must

.
,

b e mad Barry idolizes me and no t me only bu t our

.
, ,

whole line I f there was ever ancesto r wo r ship in a

.
-

”
Chris tian country it s in tha t boy s hear t
,
’ ’
.

“ ” “
I know it said Burke dully
, I m suggesting .
’

heroic treatment N ow Gordon I beseech you g oto

.
, , ,

b ed
Heroic treatmen t said Gordon heedlessly , Mon .

strous treatment I call it ! Think how I ha v e kep t i t

,

from him ! W hen he and Tom come home e very bot tle s ,
’

locked up until la t e a t night when they re asleep Lord ’

.
,

”
man Barry hasn t an inkli ng Your plan s hideous !
,
’
.
’

Burke shrugged and rose .

I ll call again in the mornin g Think it ove r

’
. .

Gordon had slowly sunk down in his Chai r his eyes ,

haunted b y the suggested duty

Y o u damned ol d saw -b ones he muttered you re ’
, ,

ad v ising the most dangerous experiment e v er tried

”
an experiment on a boy s soul ’
.

Again the surgeon nodded .

”
Nev ertheless he said my ad v ice is— op er a t e ’
, , .

[ 19 ]
 CHAP T E R III

TH E DR IV E I N TH E D AR K . AN D OF H O W B A RR Y IS

GA ! E D A T B Y HIS F A THE R

H E l as t tr ain from Ri chmond was due a t se ven

’
o clock A t half pas t six D r Burke who had
. .
,

dri v en to t he s tation alone in his buggy al ,

ready sa t waitin g The doctor s heart was hea v y his

.
’
,

mood bitter For once he sourly regarded this en vi ron

.

men t in which he mus t soon outli v e his usefulness .

The village was dead He glan ced down the ro ad at

.

th e t wo or t hree ill -ligh ted shops whose dingy and ,

paper-pa t ched windows bu t h alf con cealed their sh oddy

wares He c o ul d see the shopkeepe rs in the dim interiors
.

—
as i f in h uge cobwebs ghos t s tha t had come to look
like the spide r s with whom t hey dwelt .

Near him a t the stati o n platfo rm se veral m ule

, ,

waggo n s were dr awn up the w aggons dilapidated the

, ,

mules skele t ons On boxes cra t es and express t r ucks

.
, ,

along the pla t forms sprawled t he d ri vers whi t e

tras h and negr oes He shu t his ears t o the go ssip of
.

t hese p h an to ms— the cr oak of t he whi te s the drone of ,

the blac ks If th e de ad eve r s po ke these we re t heir

.
,

voi ce s
.

[ 20 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
Th ro ugh the doo rway he co ul d see the in t er i o r of the
squalid li t tle station from which pou red fo rt h a mingled
,

odour of kerosene oil foul t obac co and cheap rum , , .

Under a grimy lamp a t an inne r window t he white face

‘

of t he s ta tion -agen t looked ou t li felessly as if fr o m a ,

prison cell N ow and t hen a t icke t purchase r came t o

.

his window coins clinked hands moved and t he t ra v

, , ,

eller passing on seated himself in t he line of wai t ing

, ,

shadows on a bench agains t the wall .

Ghos t s — all ghos t s —h ound from one l imbo to an

other in the dark un der -region of deat h ! Y es fa r ,

worse t han death Gra v eyards are peopled wi t h dead

.

bodies bu t these villages o f t he Sou th ra v aged by war

, , ,

seemed t o be pe opled with dead souls He had doc t o red .

their ana t omies and cured t heir physical ills bu t he ,

could not s a v e dyi ng ambitions with hypo dermics no r

remo v e griefs wi t h a surgeon s knife Only t ime could ’
.

work reconstruct ion Like many another Sout he rner of

.

his day D r Burke in t hought t hat e v ening yielded th e

, .

South t o posterity as a trus t W ith thi s vision of t he .

rising generation his frown passed The l ook in his .

eyes was like fallen embers —the look o f all old men
when t hey dream such dreams He was gazing pas t the .

drooping head of his old mare his own head drooping ,

t oo and the reins loose in his hand

, .

Then li fe new life rushed t o him suddenly The

, , .

whis t le o f a l oco m ot ive t ore t h ro ugh th e s ilen ce He .

[ 21 ]
 BARRY GORDON
peered ou t of t he buggy The en gine s headl igh t a huge
.
’
,

eye loomed large far up t he t rack The rails gleamed

, , .

in t o his c onsciousness He glan c ed a t his watch The

. .

t rain was fi v e m inutes ahead of tim e W ith brakes creak .

ing and lamps l igh t in g up t he co un t ryside i t came ,

rumb l in g to ward the s t a tion T h e s tation lan t ern lit .

up the face o f the enginee r and an o t her face -a boy s ’

— immedia t ely behind i t in th e window o f the en gin e

ca b
.

The doct o r blinked to f o cu s his eyes Fo r an ins tan t .

t he you thful face fl ashed t owa rd him under hatless ,

fly ing hair Was h e d ream ing ? No ; t he impression of a

.

face brill ian t with a lo v e o f dange r speed and e x cite , ,

ment wa s t oo vi vid to be unreal

, .

The fa ce vanished The l oc omo t ive p an t in g hea vily

.
, ,

slowed t o a s t op behind the sta tion In another momen t .

Barry pan t ing t oo s t o od beside t he buggy

, , .

The docto r frown ed .

How did y ou manage that ?

”
I asked t he engineer .

D o yo u always ge t what y o u wan t f o r the mere

ask ing ?
The ques t i o n slid from Barry like water from the
prov erbial duck .

“ ”
We broke the record he exclaimed
”

from Rich , ,

”
mond here How s fa ther ?
.
’

”
Messalina t hrew him .

[ as ]
 B ARRY GOR DO N
“ ”
Plagu e t ake her ! c ried Barry I ll ride the life .
’

’ ”
out o f her W on t he get well ? W on t he ge t well ?
.
’

The d oct o r aver t ed his eyes .

Suddenly as the t rut h wen t h o me he hea r d a low

, ,

moan t hen t he buggy gave as B arry sprang in the

, ,

reins were caught from his hand t he whip seemed to ,

leap from its socke t and t he old mare t errified by the

, ,

sudden swish o f i t in he r ea r s sho t forward in to t he ,

air.

In a minu t e they were racing like mad along t he

Gordon turnpike t he buggy swaying from side t o side
, ,

the mare running in the dark as if driven by t he

furies .

W ith an oat h t he doctor grabbed rein s and whip .

”
Whoa girl ; whoa li tt le one ! He spoke t o hi s old
, ,

mare wi t h a no t e of sympathy reser v ed f or her alone

of all his friends and gradually quieted her to a walk
, .

Then he turned on Barry Y ou young fireb rand how .

,

”
did y ou dare do t hat with my horse ?
I wasn t t hinking o f your horse I was thinking of
’
.

my father Is he in bed ?
. Barry s t one was full o f awe ’
.

He had ne v er seen hi s father laid low and the picture ,

preyed on his mind .

”
N o said D r Burke
, bu t he ough t t o be
.
, .

Barry breathin g easier sa t forward on the edge of

, ,

his sea t as if trying t o urge the ma r e t o a t ro t by

,

mere will -power .

[ 93 ]
 B ARRY GOR D O N
D octor will you please send h er along ?
,

” “ ’
No was t he gruff r e p ly
, I t s a w o nde r y o u .

didn t kil l h er
’
.

’
You re n ot g o ing to le t h e r j o g t he w h ole
”
way ?
P erh aps I am .

D r Bu rke felt a h and slip t hr o ugh his a rm Tha t

. .

wa s all—no t a wo rd ; ye t t he ingra t ia t ing appeal al

m o s t pr evailed Before he knew i t he had clapped t he
.

rein on th e mare s flank Then a r evulsion of feel ing

’
.
,

a dogged defian ce of all these spoiled Go rdons with ,

t heir Winn in g cha r m broke the spell He reined the

, .

animal in again r o ughly .

A t on ce he fel t the sprin gs rock and heard a s o und ,

in t he grass a t t he roadside Then a shadow slightly .

bla cke r than t he nigh t dar ted on ahead o f him along

the p ik e He called in vain T h e figu re mel t ed in t o the
. .

darkn ess .

He s ta rt ed up t he mare in pursuit The sound of her .

'

hoof-bea t s proved more e fi ect ive than his call Ba rr y .

wai t ed .

Get in ! commanded the docto r overtaking him , .

”
Will you send her along ?
”
Y es you Whi r lwind Ge t in !
, .

Barry did so and the d octor with the in co nsistency

, ,

o f wrat h whi pp ed u p his s t eed savagely

, .

They d rove t o t he old manor speaking seldom Dr , . .

[ 534 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
idol His s ur p r ise was so dazing t ha t he c o uld sc a rcely
.

speak The c ol o nel smiled e v iden tly tickled by his son s

.
,
’

astonis hmen t .

“
One momen t Barry s aid D r B li r ke p us hin g
, , .
,

ba ck the impatien t boy .

He drew the colonel aside and pu t some question t o

him The reply was almost indignant
. .

“
W hat ? Am I well ? Of course I m well— pe rfect ly ’

”
well y ou old quack The colonel s v oi ce fe ll bu t was
, .
’
,

”
still v i b rant No ; not a d rop !.

The doctor hesi t a ted He sa w pain in the man s eyes .

’

vital pain .

” ’
For God s sake he excla imed in a low voi ce , keep ,

t o you r bed Go rdon ! This is madnes s I wash my hands

, .

”
of you !
”
Bed your gran dmo ther ! said t he c o lonel and ,

laughed .

As Burke dro v e off Colonel Go rdon s look softened ,

’
.

A grea t light filled his eyes and his whole frame seemed ,

t o r ela x He sta rted t oward Barry wi th a rm s ou t

.

s t re t ched The boy s face glowed He too s ta rted f or

.
’
.
, ,

ward .

”
Father he said quickly reassured by the colonel s
, ,
’

assumption of heal th t hank God Burke s an old , ,

’

”
quack !
Bu t he was n o t embra ced Colonel Gordon n o dding .
, ,

res t r ained hims elf He rec eded a s tep and fum b lin g
.
, ,

[ 95 ]
 BARRY GORDON
for his c ane planted it before him as a pr op and leaned
,

on it with b oth hands .

L e t me l ook at y ou I t seems years . .

B a r ry s to od abashed his lips part ed his eyes bewil

, ,

der ed W it h one of the massi v e columns behind him and

.

the light from the window full ac r oss him he presen t ed ,

a striking pic t ure The boy was well made li t he t all

.
, ,

f or hi s age and full of gra c e—t he grace o f animals

, ,

not of women He was n ot hands o me bu t an air of ma s

.
,

culine reserve beyond his years would have held the eye
o f e v en a casual observer He was t he so r t of boy t o
.

promp t prophecies as to t he man .

His father studied him as if fo r the firs t t ime .

A poe t ? Tha t was the mos t ob v ious prediction Bu t .

the body was too athletic t he chin t oo practical They , .

contradicted his ey es A scholar ? N o ; the brow was he

.

lied b y t he lips A soldier ? N ow and t hen perhaps bu t

.
, ,
'

not by profession He was already leaning back r e

.
,

l ie ve d and indolen t agains t the column A man o f busi

, .

ness ? Ne v er T he look of the idler was part of his grace

. .

A lawyer ? A clergyman ? Ne v e r He had no t said a .

word .

The colonel smiled t hen sighed Oh the feeling in

, .
,

this b oy ; the spirit in him ! To the father s eyes in tha t ’

brief scrutiny there was something eternal about him

— something indescri b ab l e — the Gordon fi r e—t he Gor
d on soul-stuff Though he was mo t ionless he suggested
.
,

[ 37
9 ]
 BARRY GOR DON
mo t ion Th o ugh he was silen t he spo ke Tha t was i t
.
, . .

He was a paradox— a p arado x bo rn of a lon g line o f

pa r adoxes— in sh o r t a fa tally human boy Wh a t t hen ?
, .

The colonel t u r ned b r u sq uely .

”
Come B a rry ge t ready Dinner s waiting
, , .
’
.

Yes there was n o d o ub t o f it — Ba r r y s

,
’

dreamy were full o f the Old Ni ck

, .

[ 98 ]
 CHAP T E R IV

F UT URE G H OS T LY
’ ’
THE C oL O N E L s P LAN S F OR R AR R Y s .

P O R T RA IT S .F A TH E R A N D SO N A N D T HE

B LO O D I N TH E IR VE IN s

HE grea t shadow seemed to have drawn away .

The colonel i f dyin g was dying hard di s

, , ,

gui sing the fa ct with his mask of health An d .

Barry wa s still young enough t o be entirely reassured

by appearances .

A t dinner Colonel Go rdon pu t ques t ions as t o

,

B arry s li fe during the au t umn term The an swers were

’
.

r ea dy and honest B arry told no t only of triumphs

.

in s tudies and a t hletics bu t of numerous scrape s a s

,

well He made his con fessions neither with penitence

.

nor yet with b r avado bu t O ff -hand When it came to the

, .

last game however and the Raiders winning atta ck

, ,
’
,

the re wa s pr ide in his voice in his eyes O pen admirat ion ,

a s he lo o ked at his fathe r .

The co l o nel smiled .

Licked em eh ? Licked S trickland s did y ou ?

’
,
’
,

Go od ! I co ng r at ul a te you
Oh it was m o stly you said Barry
, I ll be t you, .
’

were the grea t es t soldie r in the C o nfede r a te a r my ! That

[ 29 ]
 BARRY GORDON
bandage m akes you look like a soldier now—j us t
wounded DO you know father I think there s nothing
.
, ,
’

like a fi g ht — a good round open fight I mean — like

, , ,

”
war and footb all .

D inner over and Joshua gone they both fell silent f o r ,

a time Then a t las t Colonel Gordon O bserved lightly :

.

The truth is Barry you re a p retty wild lo t ; n ow

, ,
’
,

”
aren t you ?
’

W ith his gaze on the t ab le Barry appeared to con ,

sider t his question seriously .

”
I suppo se I am he replied a t len g t h
, .

”
And wha t you n eed is taming ?
”
I suppose I do They all say that
. .

”
Then why don t they do it ? ’

They try t o but t hey preach too much

, .

P reach ? How ?
Oh e v ery way They say I ough t to t ry and be
, .
‘

”
like you bu t I know I neve r can The boy shook his
, .

head hopelessly comparing himself with his ideal A

, .

shadow crossed t he colonel s fa ce bu t he kep t his voice

’
,

e v en
.

Wha t do they know abo u t me ?

Barry raised his eyes t o his father and were ,

full of l igh t .

I ve to ld them you re Colonel Gordon

’ ’
com ,

”
mand ed Gordon s R a ider s in the Ci v il W ar
’
.

30 l
 BARRY GORDON
The col o nel rose and walked to the window The thing .

was e v en harder t han he had expected Hard ? Yes .

,

impossible with the rats O f thi rs t gnaw ing a t his

,

vitals the sick weakness o f sudden abs t inence t u rning

,

his v ery b ones soft His head wa s nothing bu t an

.

ache .

’
Must he b reak Barry s hea rt ? B urke was a bru t e .

W as it not b etter to le t t hin gs t ake t heir natural

course to let life have i t s way do it s work ; bet t er
, ,

’
t o let the laws t ha t govern men s souls go v ern Barry s ;
’

better no t t o meddle wi t h e t e r nal a ff airs ; be tter to let

Barry find himself gradually ? Bu t how ? By e x p e r i
ence ? T O O la t e ? Prove hell t o him— the ea rt h-hell— by
letting him sound its depths unwarn ed ? God forbid !
The colonel stood feeb ly a t t he window looking out , .

The nigh t was cal m a nd silen t serene wi t h stars Oh , .

,

i f men s hearts could a t tain t o t his t ranqui llity ! His

’

eyes sta ring a t the sky h ad a los t look

, , .

Ret urning t o t he tab le he reseated h imself and f or , ,

some t ime kept silence His bandaged head was b owed

.
,

his large shoul ders were rounded his C hin t ouched his ,

ches t He was staring a t the empty chai r opposite t o

.

him .

”
Barry he said a t length , d o you remember ,

”
mother ? E h B arry d o y ou remember her ?
, ,

Barry shook his head .

N o I m afraid not I wish I could

’
, . .

[ 31 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
”
So d o I said th e co lonel
, S he might hel p you . .

I gave yo u he r pic t ure K eep i t and t ry t o image he r

.

to y our self— a w o man wi t h h ai r a s much like day t im e

as yours is like nigh t- a w o man wi th eyes h e mus ed , ,

—
tha t had t he sky in t hem c lea r blue ”
.

He drew himself up wi th an e ff or t .

Barry my boy my chair t oo will s oo n be v ac an t

, , , , .

He glan ced down a t t he t able—his used napkin his ,

emp t ied c o ffee-cu p his pla te wi th a few r aisin s tems and

,

fragmen t s of walnu t -shells It seems t o me my life has

.

been alm os t as brie f as our dinner and now t he feas t is ,

”
o v er and only t he débris remains .

He sighed and looked u p a t Barry wi t h for c ed

,

calm .

”
B a rry my bo y h e wen t on when I d ie whet her
, , ,
h

it s to -morrow o r no t fo r yea rs—you and Tom will

’

ha v e a go od income The p rin ci p al will remain in

.

’
t rust un til you r e t hi rty for r easons I hope yo u ll
,
’

some day apprecia te Do yo u r emember my old friend

.
,

Frank Bee km an ? He used t o come here when you were

”
a child E h Barry d yon r emember him ?
.
, ,
’

Bar ry did no t ; b ut his mind wa s to o clouded his ,

heart t oo heavy t o admi t Of a s teady an swe r

, .

The colonel looked away .

” “
Frank Beekman said h e , is t he bes t type of ,

N or t he rner and m y oldes t friend In win te r he lives

, .

in New York ; in s u mmer in M assa ch u se tt s I don t , .

’

[ 32 ]
 BARRY GORDON
move say I fo r t he descendants of all old fami li es and
, , ,

”
espe cially ou rs .

He smiled fro wn ed and hesi t a t ed twirling his long

, , , ,

whit e mili tary m ou s t ache He had come so t o speak

, .
, ,

t o t he st iflest j ump and felt a s he woul d ha v e put it

, , ,

a bi t weak on the take-o ff Bu t he was in the saddl e .

now nicely balan ced and firmly gripping and t he chase

, ,

was no t a fox hunt but a de vil hunt ; and his sudden ,

right eous impulses s t rainin g to be in a t the death

, ,

gave t on gue like a p a ck in full cry It was best i t was .

,

best ! I t wa s n o false scen t I t was the trail o f truth . .

Burke was t he whip and knew and all the v oices said so , .

N ow then fo r the rise ; and though Messalina had

, ,

chucked him he swore hell -fi r e could not !

,

I v e remarked Barry that t ransplanting is excel

’
, ,

len t for O ld families especially for ours ; and if I e v er

,

know wha t I am t al king ab out I do now W ith a ”

, .

wa v e O f his hand he indicated the por t raits all abo ut

,

them on t he walls— faces v ague and at first glan ce in

—
scrutable in the ca ndle light “
Ha v e a look at your .

ancestors Barry my boy You v e seen them often be

, , .
’

fore through rose— coloured glasses bu t now I fear , , ,

”
I v e got t o t ake those magic spectacles off your nose
’
.

He scowled a t the po rt rai t s “

What do you think of .

t hem all ?
Barry perplexed at the new and somewhat discordant
,

irony in his father s rich v oice sur v eyed t he file of ’

,

[ 34 ]
 B ARRY GO RDO N
gil t -f r amed p ersonages o n t he opp o si te wall He re to .

fore when t he c olonel h ad seen his son gazing up a t

,

these w o r thies he had s aid to himself that so much

,

ard o u r and r eve ren ce in a descendan t mus t surely tickle

t hei r vani ty But t o-night as Barry looked up t he
.
, ,

boy s fa ce was clouded wit h bewilderment

’
.

”
Wha t d o y ou think o f t hem ? repeat ed t he colo
nel gently .

S till l o oking up and s t ill puzz led b ut now j us t a ,

shade dogged Barry replied ,

I t hink wha t I ha ve always t h ou ght Of c ourse .

,

they are dingy and dressed like guys some of t hem ; ,

”
bu t as y ou say y o urself clo t hes don t always count
,
’
.

He shook hi s head sa t back more easily and brigh t

, ,

ened . I don t see any thing wrong wi t h t hem and I ll

’
,
’

”
be shot if I wan t t o !
Colonel Gor don shif t ed un co mfor t ably
‘

Tha t s no t t he poin t Ba r ry The point is y o u ve

’
, .
,
’

go t to whethe r yo u wan t t o o r not and whethe r o r

, ,

not I wan t you to Tha t s th e poin t Barry—you ve

.
’
,
’

”
go t t o !
He singled ou t a por t rai t at the left o f the line
facing Barry The picture was t hat of the col onel s
.
’

grandfather an O ld man wi t h i r on -gray hair a beak

, ,

like nose a strong chin in a long white stock and a

, ,

general look o f calm dom inance sav e for a pair of ,

fev erish eyes .

[ 35 ]
 BARRY GORDON
”
Now look a t him said t he c olonel
, A s hr ewd
, .

sta t esman I ve oft en t old y ou—one of An drew Jack

,
’

s on s ables t suppor t ers G ood ! Bu t look at his eyes ;

’
.
!

look a t the unrestrain t in his telltale eyes Now .

,

here is wha t y ou don t kn ow abou t him He got lust ’

.

ing so fo r p o wer t ha t he tried to come it o v er the

P residen t and Congress Result—a breach and ig no .
,

”
miny .

W i th the same mechanical wa ve the colonel passed on

t o a larger por t rait j ust oppo site Barry The man
, .

was the colonel s great— grandfather and one of Barry s

’
,
’

fa v ourites He was moun t ed on a war -horse splendi dly

.
,

rearing and looked v ery milita ry and W ashin gtonian ;

,

b ut somehow this pa t ri ot was marred by a lurkin g

folly in his eyes .

”
A grea t gadabo ut said the colonel and a grea t
, ,

figh t e r Re v olut ionary history a s you know is full of

.
, ,

him Bu t l oo k a t t he prodigality in his eyes N ow

. .
,

Barry here is a tr adi t i o n no t in history He lo v ed a

, .

number of women n ot wisely bu t decidedly too well

,

”
y o u unders tand .

Thus t o o ne and an othe r C o lonel Gor don d r ew his

son s a tt en t ion showing th em up as h e pu t i t in t heir
’
, , ,

t rue light .

Finally he n odded t owa r d th e end o f t he roo m a fa r ,

and gloomy wall on which hung bu t one pi c ture This .

was a life -sized por tr ait and for many reasons mean t ,

[ 36 ]
 BARRY GO R D O N
more t o Ba rry t han all the res t It was now so un .

certainly lighted by the candles t ha t by a slight s t retch

o f fancy one might have though t some an c ien t G o rdon

ghos t stood there meet ing t he gaze o f his t w o de

,

sc endant s with a lofty irresponsible stare Acc o rding to

, .

certain memoirs this portrait r epresented General

,

Nicholas Go rdon— t he first o f t heir branch in Ame r

The pict ure was obscure and shadowy The figure .

seemed t o be standing in a gloomy in terior lit from ,

one side by a weird glare as if from a t o r ch The man .

wore t he mili t ary garb of a cavalier and t he ligh t ,

gleamed on a steel co rsel et and sword The whole figure .

and face bespoke virile masculinity .

”
Another gadab o u t said Barry s father
, bu t ’
,

v ery differen t W en t all o ver t he world you know for

.
, ,

e v e r restless and wa nder ing and hungry f or a dven ,

ture A wolf of a man Barry a wolf !

.
,
— ”

As Barry had t urned away his chair and sat gazing

a t t he dis tan t po r t rai t t he c olonel co uld not see his
,

face bu t when he spoke hi s voi c e sounded d ry and

,

unnatural .

I though t G eneral Gordon was o ne of the found

”
ers of V irginia he said
, .

“
Yes Barry boy ; but now t ha t you v e looked
, ,
’

the l ot o v er again listen Ou t wardly I confess there

, .
, ,

is glamour abou t them— and inwa rdl y too no doub t , , .

[ 37 ]
 BARRY GO RDON
B less y ou b oy t hey we r e fu ll o f pluck and wh at-n ot
, , ,

and even vi rt ue po ssibly—g ood and bad like t he r es t

, ,

o f humani ty o nly somehow wilde r t han m os t more se lf

, ,

indulgen t m o re unbridled and r eckless T h e tro uble

, .

wi t h us is Ba rry we v e g ot the G ordon fire DO yo u

, ,
’
.

wan t t o kn o w w ha t tha t is ? I ll tell y o u I t is no t a ’

.

well-behav ed plebeian little fire t o cook yo ur dinner

,

’
o n ; i t isn t a r es p ectable middle -class bla z e usef ul in ,

t he furnaces O f ind u s t ry N o ; it s th e elect ri c fl uid .

’

called blue blo od — hapha z ard and des t ru c tive as ligh t

”
ning .

T he colonel fumbled wi t h his bandage His head fel t .

quee r The pain was no t so sharp n ow bu t the ban

.
,

da ge seemed tigh t er He was beginn ing to feel ne rv ous

.
,

res t less and his facial muscles twitched Burke was a

, .

fool ! Fancy kn ocking O ff a man s t ipple s o abrup t ly ’

,

j us t when i t was mos t needed ! Suddenly he wa s

struck by t he abs u rd in c ongruity o f his r Ol e o f
preacher and smiled bi tt erly But sti l l he hung t o
, .

the sermon and spoke in a hoa rse voi c e to Barry s

,
’

back .

“
B a r ry t ha t man y o u re looking a t was t he wors t
,
’

o f the wh ole crew He died wi t h a drinking song o n

.

his lip s — a t oas t if you please to the devil N O dea t h

, , .

c ould hav e been more cons is t ent General Ni cholas Gor .

d on though splendid en o ugh in war and public a ff airs

, ,

was qui t e t he r ev e r se pr iva t ely In fact he wa s t he .

,

[ 38 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
namesake of t h e devil he to as t ed They c alled him for .
,

’
short the O ld N i c k
, .

Barry did no t move If he flinched i t wa s almost .

,

unnoticeable He was s t ill ins cr u tably s taring a t t he

.

equally inscrut able ghost .

”
You can read it said the colonel uneasily , in ,

Laidlaw s His t ory of V irginia That will t ell you the

’
.
’

t ruth abou t the head O f our family in Ameri ca —the

story of how General Nicholas Gordon lived and died .

And in a foot -n o t e y ou will find his toast t o t he de vil .

The t oast has a peculiar history Our family you .

,

kn ow t races hack to the t ime o f the Crusades The

, .

first Gordon of whom t here is any record died fi g ht

ing for the t omb o f Christ Bu t in the second C ru sade .

there s mention o f a G o rdon who fell in love with a

’

Saracen woman and wen t t o the bad Then t he re s

, .
’

Adam Gordon o f ou tlaw fame who calmly waylaid his

, ,

king At ab out that time the song c rep t in Perhaps

. .

he made it Who knows ? Soon there was a superstition

.

afloat with it Pledge the devil in wine he responds

.
,

in brimstone In other words drink t o the devil and

.
’
,

you die They say this supers t ition was revived by

.

Nich o las G o rdon s dea t h He died you see singing t he

’
.
, ,

The colonel frowned .

Queer coincidence eh Ba r ry ? —
deuced queer ! , ,
”

He blew a great cloud o f smoke .

[ 39 ]
 B AR RY GORDON
Fatal song tha t ! Le t me see if I can remembe r i t
, .

The music s l o st L et me think— the words go like thi s :

’
.

Up
friends up ;
, ,

TO -night we sup .

Tho t o-morrow we die the

’
of

Barry shi ft ed .

”
Don t ! he in t errup t ed lifelessly withou t t u rn in g
’
, .

”
Don t ! W ha t s t he use ?
’ ’

The colonel smiled .

You re n ot afraid are y ou ? I t s only a supe r st i

’
,
’

t ion
.
‘
Drink to t he de v il and you die is me rely a ’

romantic way o f saying the wages of s in is death ‘

.
’

Bu t I ll gi v e you a pre tt ier m ot t o —

’
eh Barry — t o ,

off se t all thi s Somewhe r e in an Ol d b allad I t hink I v e

.
’

read of a Sir Somethin g-or -Other Go rdon who wen t ,

abo u t the world tilting at windmills in the name ‘

,
’

q uoth he o f Amel ot t e That line I remember ended

, .
’
, ,

e v ery stanza
In the name quoth he ,
’
, of Am e lotte .
’

For t he li fe of me I can t remember anythin g ,

’

m o re abou t the gen t leman but I dare swear his Ame ,

lot t e was a fine fair girl— no fly -by night Saracen

,
-

woman L ord no
m -t he man s idea l Barry the man s ’ ’
, , ,

ideal ! G od send y ou a woman Barry my bo y like , , ,

Amel ot t e The general knew one but she di d n t lo v e

’
.
,

[ 40 ]
 CHAP T E R V

STO R M W R E C KAG E D E VI L S T OA ST
’
AN D . TH E . B AR R Y

ALONE

HE N at las t Barry moved he only half ,

turn ed and throw in g out his arms ac ross

,

the table buried his face in them not pas

, ,

siona t el,y bu t merely a s if longing to fall asleep .

Wi th a fl o od o f tenderness the colonel leaned to ward

him b ut r es t rained himself and drew back Now t hat
, .

the thing was done a m o rtal weakness began to pos sess

,

him ; h e had no t enou gh s tr ength to co ns ole his son a s

a man s houl d .

M omen t aft e r m o men t h e wai ted t ill i t seemed t ha t ,

he h ad wai t ed h ours and he coul d end ur e i t no l onge r

, .

The c andles were d o wn to th ei r s oc ket s n o w and flicker

ing fi t f ull y Out side a N ovember nigh t -wind had risen
.

an d was moanin g a b out the house The loneliness grew .

into le r ably oppressive .

The c olonel tried t o say some t hing bu t wa s appalled ,

to find th a t h e co ul d n ot do so His t ongu e clove to the .

ro o f o f his m o u t h and when he tried to speak released

, , ,

itself with a clicking sound that sicken ed him He felt .

parched to the co r e ; the blood and mar r ow in him

[ 42 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
seemed t o h ave t urned t o ho t dus t ; h e fel t as if his
h ear t pumped ashes a s if his h ead m u s t b ur s t ; an d his
,

whole b od y seemed filled with needles .

He s t art ed t o rise bu t suddenly a t remo r r an

,

t hr ou gh him and in ano ther momen t he r ealised tha t

,

from h ead t o fo ot one side of him had los t sensa t i o n .

Long he sa t t here helpless and in some queer way ,

his whole life unw o und before him He did not seem t o .

be rememberin g it bu t actually r e-living it A t firs t

,
.

the phenomenon plea sed him and he lent himself to it

,

drowsily ; bu t as the yea r s rolled by and he r e-en

t e r ed the late r gloom he des p erately struggled to

,

f o rge t .

The eff ort must have been physical a s well as men tal .

He had shi fted in his chair He found tha t his limbs

.

on the side seemingly paralysed had become movable

again S t retch ing himself to make sure he rose S hakily
.
, ,

and c ons c i ou s now o f nothing save his des ires shuffled

, ,

to the massive mah o gany sideboard Opening a deep .

d ra wer he t ook out a bo t tle o f Bourb o n whiskey and

,

fil led a small goblet to t he brim .

T he gur gle of the pourin g aroused Barry He .

started u p s u ddenly one h and cat ching at t he back

,

of hi s chai r the other biting into his palm Still d um b

, ,

s till daz ed h e s ta red a t his fa t her and a t t he glass with

,

blind indign a tion .

”
Ba rry mu tt ered the colonel without l o oking a t
,
 BARRY GORDON
him ,
figh t while you re youn g Figh t like t he di ckens
’
.

while y ou r e y o ung If you don t you ll

’
.
’ ’

Filled b y an ung overnable impulse h e caugh t up the ,

glass and drained i t a t a swallow .

Pet rified wi th h o rro r B arry r e co iled pallid and ,

brea t hless a s dea th The t ragedy t hough n o t r eal t o

.
,

him was worse t han any nigh t ma r e He had no

, .

t h o ugh t s no immedia t e r es o ur c es —merely an imp res

,

si o n o f bein g a prisone r in a grea t gloo my r oom—a

pris oner alone wi th dribbling c andles a lo t o f weird ,

fa c es and a massive l oo se-limb ed ghos t with a ban

, ,

d a g e d h ead and a S haking hand and a glass of fi r e

a ghos t a s gh o s t ly as all th e oth ers in t he gil t frame s
-a ghos t who seemed to be hi s fa th e r bu t was no t , .

Colonel Go rdon refilled his glass and again t ossed

down it s fi r e The draugh t seemed t o p roduce n o ill
.

res ul t On the c on t rary as i t t ook effec t he s to od

.
, ,

s t raigh t e r and looked t o B a rry y o un ge r and m or e

na t ural T h e Ol d smile r e turn ed to his eyes the mi l i t ary
.
,

ai r to his c a r riage Good -hum our and tha t love of life

.

w hi ch had always made him so c ompanionable t o t he

bo y r e t u rn ed and began to bubble from him .

” “
Chee r up B ar ry h e said smiling
, Gad b oy
you r s o ul is bein g sav ed t o—
, , .
, ,

ni gh t ! Y o u ll be the man I ’

migh t ha ve been Yo u ll put an end to this devil tr y f or

.
’

”
eve r !
His v o i ce was rea l no w and h ad a fi rm r in g I t
, .

[ 44 ]
 BARRY GORDON
echoed through Barry and s t arted his reason He began .

t o t hink .

The colonel swayed and leaned agains t t he side ,

board .

”
Barry b o y h e said quie t ly
, , forgive me , .

He t urned uns t eadily refilled his glass and was ab out

, ,

t o raise i t t o h is lips again bu t t his time Barry wa s ,

seized by a wild impulse Quickly s t epping forward he .

,

’
struck t he goble t from his fa ther s hand As i t fell i t .
,

c rashed again s t t he sideboa r d and broke in to frag

ments .

Colonel Gordon laughed wi thou t displeasu r e .

”
Capital ! he said E xcellen t ! If y ou figh t i t t ha t
.

”
way you ll win
’
He t ook another glass and smiling
.
, , ,

fill ed i t . Bu t as for me I m t oo far gone ,

’
.

B arry hesi ta t ed He could not s t ruggle physicall y

.

wi t h his fa t her His b reedin g and sonship forb ade such

.

an encoun t er He though t of callin g Joshua but sham e

.
,

kep t him silen t He thought of running fo r D r Burke

. .
,

but feared t o lea v e his father alone in thi s Conditi o n .

He could o nly plead from t he dep ths of hi s wakin g

soul .

’
Fa the r I beg of you no t an ot her drop ! You r e
, ,

kil ling yourself S t op now and I swea r befor e Go d

.
,

”
I ll neve r t ou c h it as l o ng a s I li v e !
’

Bu t the col o nel h ad l o s t t he chan ce t o sei ze and

bin d th a t vow If he saw his opp o r tun i t y at all i t was
.
,

[ 45 ]
 BARRY GORDO N
t oo elusive to be grasped He had spo ken t rul y—he .

wa s t oo far g o ne Hi s brain was su ccu mbin g ; insanity

.

began to flare in his eyes His glas s hal f r aised he .

,

smiled a t th e por t rai ts wi t h a t ra ce of his Old -time

gra ci ous hospi tali t y and cri ed genially
,

Up friends up !
, ,

To-night we sup ,

”
Tho t o-morrow we die re vel !
’
of t he

Again Barry inter rupted him .

”
N O father
, he faltered shudderin g
, Think what , .

’ ”
you re sayin g ! Think wha t you re doing ! ’

Bu t the colonel seemed to ha v e forgo t ten hi s pres

ence Dementedly he wa v ed his good -will to the ghostly
.

company :
Up friends , , up !

To-night we sup ,

”
Th o t o morrow we die of the re vel !
-
’

He had wandered now to the end of the dining-roo m ,

and s too d smiling at the dark vagu e port rai t O f Gen ,

eral N icholas Gordon To Ba r ry pa r alysed with awe

.
, ,

t ha t siniste r figu re s eemed t o control the tragedy He .

con ce i v ed a deadly hatred for the man in the frame .

The general was hi s fa ther s enemy—the devil that ’

possess ed him Tu rn ed to s t one Bar ry st ood and

.
,

wa tc hed t he two men who were now face to fa ce each ,

as mu c h a ghos t as t he othe r .

[ 46 ]
 BARRY GORDON
t he mobile face had a fixed vacuous look and presen tly
, ,

t he brea t h a t fi r st laboured s t opped en t irely

, , .

Wi t h a groan Barry rose and s tood sta ring a t the

,

dark inscru t able portrait his eyes fil led with ha t e

, , .

When Dr Burke summoned b y Joshua came in

.
, ,

has t e the candles had burned ou t The grea t dining

, .

room was in darkness and still as a t omb

, .

The doctor wen t and fet ched his ca r riage lan t e rn .

By it s light he saw nea r the d inner-table the body o f

, ,

his O ld friend lying dead Be t ween t he b ody and the end

.

wall which was now blank t he life -sized por t rai t O f

, ,

Gene r al N icholas Gordon lay flat on the floo r face ,

upward Near it t he blade O f a table —

. kni fe glimmered
faintly The can v as was gashed through and through
. .

In a chair pulled out from the tab le Ba r ry ,

blindly s t aring do wn a t t he wrecked po rt rait .

[ 48 ]
 B OO K II

TH E R AI N B O W
 CHAP T E R I

EV I L M E M O RIE S . TH E SP R EE . W H AT B AR R Y SA W IN

M EAD E S LE FT H A ND
’
A D O U B L E E X P OS U R E
. H ow .

B A R RY A N D T O M H U R R IE D IN T O TH EIR C LO TH ES

GAS —J E T was lighted at one end o f the

dormi t ory Abo v e t he d oo r fr o m the hall a
.

tab le -co v er had been hung t o darken t he ,

transom Under the ligh t and be t ween t wo beds

.
, ,

s t ood a table littered with biscuits beer-b o t tles and

, , ,

cards Abou t t he ta b le sa t a group of you t hs indul g

.

ing in a foret as t e of college Four o r five some new .

,

a t i t some comparati v ely expert were deep in a game

, ,

of poker The res t watched them fascinated excep t ing

.
, ,

one or t wo who had sunk back on the beds where

, , ,

in order t o con ceal a sickening dizziness caused by their

firs t fling with alcohol and tobacco they pretended t o ,

be lounging comfo rtab ly .

At the other end o f t he room Barry Go rdon lay in

b ed crav ing sleep—a sleep without dreams Till r e
, .

c e nt l
y he had ne v er known this wakefulness Sleep had .

come to his healthy brain as nat urally as hunger t o his

stomach air to his lungs laughter to his lips ; b ut now
, , ,

like laughter it came only fi t f ull y and wi t h bi tt erness

, , .

[ 51 ]
 BARRY GORDON
Wh a t p han ta sms ! Time and again he saw po rtr ai ts
— t hr ongs O f flat -pain t ed ghos ts hopp in g abo ut him
tipsily on t he co rners of t hei r gilded frames laughing ,

and win king a t him t i ll he in the centre of t hat

, ,

demoniac dan ce seemed t o reel and fall Then he w ould

, .

w ake damp and shi ver ing

, .

I t wa s almos t be tter t o lie s ta ring aw ake as h e lay ,

now B u t h e fel t v ery tired His bra in was bein g wo rn

. .
,

as i f by a cea seles s drip of t hough ts always the same , .

Beh ind him h e saw an endl ess hideo us pas t ; before ,

him an endless insc rutable fu tu re He w as cast away

, .

in t he middl e of an e vil ocean and was s inkin g He felt , .

ti red t rying t o grasp something safe and so lid .

He s t ared listlessly a t t he poker-players A few .

mon t hs ago he would have been si t tin g there with them ,

spreeing i t with a gu s t o bu t now he was no longer one

,

of t hem His months O f broodin g had t urned them

.

a gains t him O t hers had los t fathers bu t they had

.
,

not moped as he had W ith bru ta l candour t hey c all ed

.
,

”
him a W et blanket The loss of their companionship
.

made him v ery lonely bu t he co uldn t ha ve enj oyed

,
’

the game He had eaten o f t he fruit of t he t ree and

.
,

now reco gnised e v en in cipien t evil .

In his hea rt he be gan to loa the the r ing-leaders o f

tha t group a t the other end of the long bedroo m .

Their whispered j okes inan e and smut ty mo rtified

, ,

him Their pre co city di sgus t ed him The fellows were

. .

[ 52 ]
 BARRY GORDO N
aping men He saw the sham the pose The b eer sick
.
, .

ened them ; t he smoke choked them ; t he game flushed

t heir faces .

He wondered if the spree would always ha v e looked

this way had his eyes been earlier opened N O he .
,

thought not There was a chan ge in t hem as well as

.

in him They were under t he leadership of a newcomer

.

a t St Clement s
.
’
.

Like himself the fellow was a Virginian bu t un

, ,

wholesome and hard Meade mimicked maturi t y bet t e r .

than the res t and wore a vicious air naturally He

, .

was e vidently the evil genius of t he game When M eade .

shuffled he shuffled with a manner ; when he deal t he

, ,

dealt fas t ; when he sw ore he sw o re vilely gli b with , ,

the lowest slang of the game His hands we re dex t er .

ous his lips thin his eyes sli t s He drank less t han
, , .

t he others — and wfon more .

Barry wished he had not allowed himsel f t o t ake

a back seat and let Meade rule The school would go .

from bad t o worse He had been wild but Meade was .

,

low The sight O f t he fellow sit t ing there under the

.

gaslight his eyes so a vid his fingers so nimb le kindled

, , ,

Barry s wrath b u t he res t rained himself He was ou t

’
, .

O f this for good and all .

NO !
He sat up in bed Meade who was dealing had .
, ,

made a queer quick motion across the bo t tom o f the

,

[ 53 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
pack T h e others pi cking up thei r ca rds failed t o
.
, ,

n o t ice i t The mo t ion wa s deft dish o nest

.
, .

Impet uously Barry spran g ou t of bed and crossed

,

the room Suddenly he felt strong acti v e There was

.
, .

some t hing t o do besides mere thinking .

W hat happen ed then he remembered late r as t he sec

ond grea t s t orm in hi s life I t was all mad swift .
, ,

dark .

As he came to the t able t he players looked up

drowsily One of them was Hicks his red hair mussed
.
, ,

h is h ones t eyes sleepy Ano ther wa s Barry s bro ther .

’

a fair boy wh o was new a t t his and showed i t

, , .

Hicks shifted t o make room for his friend Barry .

,

in his night -shir t sea t ed himself opposi t e Meade He, .

r es t ed an a rm abou t his brother s shoulders Tom did ’

.

n o t look up His blue eyes impa t ien t fo r t he deal

.
, ,

were ashamed and bashful .

M eade coun t ed ou t a h andful o f beans and sho ved

t hem t oward Bar r y .

“ ” “
There s fifty he whispered’
Limit s t en Wan t
, .
’
.

t o raise i t ?
“
NO B a rry looked a t his brother
. L os t much .
,

”
Tom ?
T om nodded in silence .

W hy don t y ou drop out ? asked Barry

’
.

I wan t ed to bu t Meade said i t woul d break u p th e

,

”
game .

[ 54 ]
 BARRY GORDON
”
He h ad his foo t on i t !
He t hrew an ace on t he t able .

Barry s eyes blazed

’
.

”
Cheat ! he said You get them drunk and t hen
.
,

”
r ob t hem You re a cad !
.
’

The boys sta red up mu t ely— some at Barry some ,

a t Meade who had also risen The situation was a t

, .

first beyond them the trick too m a t u re even f o r their

,

precocity It was the height o f delicious wi ckedness t o

.

play poker a t all The depths of wickedness t hey had

.

not yet fathomed .

Meade came ou t from behind the tab le His face .

was indescri b ably ugly his manner ful l o f sneering ,

r e v enge
.

Drunk eh ? You re a fine one t o tal k yo u damn ed

,
’
,

s t uck -up ! Your father Colonel Gordon eh who com , , ,

m and e d Gordon s Raide r s in the Ci v il W ar ? Hell ! I

’

know things ! So does e v ery one in the Sou t h Y our .

fat he r drank himself t o dea t h He .

M eade staggered backward and fell t o t he fl oo r h it ,

full in t he face by Barry s fis t ’

.

Barry a t once rela xing s too d limp and st up efi ed

, , ,

staring into vacancy Tom awed came and slipped a.

, ,

hand t hrough his a rm Others badly s c ared tried t o .

, ,

revive Meade They go t a pitcher and to wel f r om a

.

washstand and bathed his forehead .

Hi c ks was gu ardin g the doo r .

[ 56 ]
 B A R R Y CO R D O N
Barry ,
”
he said desperately quick ! W ha t are you
,

going to do ?
Barry passed a hand across his eyes ne rved himself , ,

and go t his brain working .

D o y ou think I d stay here ano ther min ute after

’

”
N O ; we ll ge t out
’
what s been said ? he exclaimed
’
. .

He wen t and glanced down a t Meade t o make sure ,

he was r e c overing then t urned t o Tom

, Hu rry Tom ! .
,

”
I) r ess !
He was nearly crazed now by his passiona t e desire
to escape—t o escape not from the consequences o f h is
,

ac t b ut from the shame Meade had brough t on him

,

and on hi s bro ther An y t hin g bu t this he could ha v e

.

stood— any t hin g bu t t he co nsciousness t ha t people

knew .

He and T om has t ened t o t he chairs beside their

beds scramb led int o their clothes and caught up their
, ,

shoes under their arms Hicks pulled the door aj ar . .

”
Good bye B arry ! Quick !
-
,

The brot hers slipped out Along the dark co rridor .

they s t ole in their stockinged feet then down the rear ,

stairway and out in t o the nigh t They paused and .

, ,

hoppin g each on one foo t pulled on thei r shoes , .

”
Where shall we g o ? asked T om .

”
To Mr Beekman s . said Barry without hesita
’
, ,

IS he home yet ?
 BARRY GORDON
He may be .

’
What if the t rain s gone ?
”
Then we ll beg a ride on a freigh t Come alon g !
’
.

They made a bee line for the stati on runnin g head ,

l ong through the dark .

”
Wha t if Pierce gets there firs t ? said Tom as ,

they r an .

“
Then i t s all up said B a rr y and set a killin g
’
, ,

pa ce .

They plunged across coun t ry s t umbling t h ro ugh ,

p l o ughed fields vaul ting o v er stone walls

, .

“
‘6
Ba rr y said Tom panting
,
9’
fa th er was re al ly a , ,

”
g ood man wasn t he ?
,
’

B a rr y too b rea t hed ha r d a s he ran

, , .

”
Y es he said with difficul ty
, the bes t m an t ha t ,

eve r lived .

But Barry s hear t was like lead The weight of i t

’
.

seem ed to impede his speed Though Tom would neve r .

believe the tru th o thers woul d As they s t umbled, .

through the dark a dead sing son g in him ke pt ,

p e at ing the refrain

”
Peop le kn o w peo ple kn o w ! ,
 CHAPT ER II

T H E R E F U GE E S . B A RRY MA K E S F R IE N D S W I TH A WA TCH
D O G A ND K EE PS A MID NIG HT V IGI L DAW N .

AND A GI R L

SLOW tr ain and a fterward a lon g t iresome

, ,

walk at last brought Barry and T om to

,

t heir destination — a fa rm in the heart of the

count ry But by now half t he nigh t had slipped away
.
,

and t hey were t oo la t e The h o use was dark and shut

.

again s t t hem .

They s tood o n a driveway a t t he edge o f a moon

lit lawn ga zing a cross at i t blankly
, .

”
Do you th ink they ve come yet ? asked T o m
’
.

Yes The windows are open Shall we climb in ?

. .

”
No We migh t get shot Lo rd I m ti red !
. .
,
’

T om was too much disapp o in t ed t o risk fu rt her

speec h .

Ba rr y t ried t o laugh contagiously To him t he dis .

appoin t men t mea n t less and more Though by birth .

only a year Older t han his brothe r he felt a life-time ,

olde r in expe rien ce Tom wanted any hole in which to

.

hide cu r l up and sleep ; Barry wan t ed f riends Tom

, .

wanted a b ed Bar ry a home T o m wan t ed shel t er

, .
,

[ 59 ]
 BARRY GORDON
Ba rry san ct uary Tom s b ody was disap p o in t ed , B a r
.
’

r
y soul
’
s .

And so while Tom fel t a lump in his t hroa t and

,

swallowed in secre t Barry felt a weigh t on his hea rt ,

and tried t o laugh .

Suddenly a clock far O ff in t he lit tle Massachuse t ts

village s t ru c k t wo The runaways shi fted uneasily That . .

mean t t hat if M r Pierce had d r iven from the sch oo l .

,

he migh t ar ri v e a t any momen t .

Bar ry s eyes bade the house a reluctant good -b ye

’
.

“
I suppose said he we ll have to keep on g o
, ,
’

ing .

T om frowned .

”
Where t o ? he managed to ask .

Barry laughed The question was ve ry pract i cal and .

sen sible They had n o friends in the world except D r

. .

Burke down in V irginia and Barry felt tha t the South ,

was fore v er a closed c oun try to him Moreover they .

,

had no money W here v er they wen t they must go on

.
,

foot .

F or a moment this t hought re v ived Barry s earlier ’

romantic mood They would wander like tr amps He . .

put it to Tom who shook his head dum b ly Though, .

plucky enough and hardy enough Tom lacked the ,

spirit U nlike his b rother he had ne v er known the rare

.
,

delight with which you t h pictures itself vagabond His .

mind s eye was b lin d t o t he nomadic j oys now conj ured

’

[ 60 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
up by Barry —camp —
fi e s a lean in the woods t he r ,
-t o
,

open road And so while Barry stood there ro ving

.
,
‘

over the world Tom fagged and sleepy shook his head
, , , .

There must be some hotel in the village ” said he , .

Let s go back there M r B eekman will pay for us

’
. .

”
in the morning .

”
T hen Pierce will see him first obj ected Barry ,

L et him ! Come on ! There s nothing else to d o ’

.

Barry hun g b ack T he phrase nettled him He had . .

always rebelled against that ine v itab le conclusion

“ ”
there s nothing else t o do I t invariab ly meant a
’
.

tame climax He peered a b out far and wide f r owning

.
, , .

Suddenly his eyes lighted up with resource .

”
W ait !
He was ga zing at a distant barn that loomed big
in the moo nlight The building lured him It looked
. .

hugely ho sp it a blh He lo ved b arns— the cattle the

.
,

horses the sweet smell o f hay the v ery cob web s and
, ,

rafters The boy in him -which o f late was so O ften

.
,

o v ershadowed by the man rose t o the surface , .

”
I f we can get in there he whispered we re all , ,
’

”
right Come let s try it !
.
,
’

” ”
No said T om
, L isten ! .

They hesitated The deep hay ing O f a d og b oomed

.

forth ominously from the direction o f the b arn .

Barry chuckled The danger tickled him T he ba rn

. .

appealed to him now more than e ver .

[ 61 ]
 BARRY GORDON
”
Come ahead ! h e c ommanded r ec kles sly .

They started Barry spiriting Tom along Stealin g

, .

from tree to tree to dodge t he m oonshin e t hey ski rted ,

the lawn and followed the drive to the fa rmyard He re .

at a gate they paused Pee ring t hrough the shadows

.
,

they saw a big St Bernard and heard a clanking

. .

“ ” ”
Pooh ! said Barry Chained !
.

He opened the gate and they passed thr ough in t o

the ba rnyard The d og growled crouched sprang at
.
, ,

them The chain held and the sudden clutch of hi s

.
,

collar choked him I ts grip dou b led his go rge He

. .

tugg ed at the chain and b arked — barked so loud that

his voice seemed t o flood the night with alarms In the .

di s t ance other dogs from all di rections began to an

swer till the whole coun t ryside rang with a wild ba rk
,

ing and the two intruders stood stock -still sca red
, , .

Tom felt sick and Barry tingled with an xiety The

, .

dogs would wake the world Men would come runn ing . .

There would be lantern s guns a hubbub questions

, , , ,

w rathy Beekman s— and Tom and he the guilty cause ,

the sto rm -centre o f the worst bother ever kno wn A .

fine way to introduce the m se l v es to t heir gua rdian !

Impetuously he started for the dog .

“
cried Tom don t be a fool ! He ll e a t
,
’ ’

”
you alive !
He tried to catch Barry s coat but missed it ’
, .

As Barry approached the dog he spoke low calling ,

[ 6 93 ]
 B ARRY GO RD ON
a mound of hay Right ing himself he wen t to t he big
.
,

doors shot back the bolt par t ed t hem and whis tled
, , , .

Tom came around into the barn .

Pullin g the doors nearly shu t Barry stood a t the ,

crack and looked t oward the dwelling-house His gaze .

was on the m ain ga teway .

W e ll ha v e t o take turns keepin g an eye ou t f or

’

”
Pierce he said He consulted a large gold -faced
, .

watch which had been his fa t her s

, You re t uckered ’
.
’
,

Tom so y ou go to sleep first I ll wake y ou at three ;

, .
’

then y o u keep guard till daylight Whiche v er sees .

P ierce coming lets the other know There s a pile of

’
.

hay under the window .

”
All right said T om and s t ar ted f or b ed Half
, , .

”
wa y he hesi t ated Barry ! .

W hat ?
T om returned t o him .

B ar ry you re a brick and I m no t I m no good

,
’
,
’
.
’

at this kind of thing .

Barry smiled T hat was like T om He had faults

. .
,

b ut he acknowledged them He had a sor t of courage .

that seemed t o Barry greater than his own He was .

open transparent white without shadows withou t

, , , ,

mysteries o f nature and experience .

Barry turned and looked at his b rother a ff ection

ately in silence T om s hair shone in the moonlight like
.
’

pale gold I t suggested their mother— the image o f her

.

[ 64 ]
 BARRY GO RD ON
grav en on B arry s mind b y his father He remembered
’
.

“
the description with hair as much like daytime as
”
yours is like night .

He turned away again

“
You needn t be sorry he said gazing O ff wist
’
, ,

“ ”
fully . You re worth dozens o f me
’
.

TO O slee py t o protes t in words T om shook his head , ,

sought t he hay and in a moment lay asleep

, .

Barry stood long a t the crack then paced t o and ,

fro in t he darkness with only t he breathing and stir

,

ring and cud— chewing of the unsee n herd to break t he

silence o f his vigil .

I n momen t s of waiting his thoughts had a way of

rov ing far afield e v en while he stuck alertly to his
,

post I t was as i f he were split into t wo sel v es — the

.

under self keen and ready the upper self t ossing on ,

a sea of dreams So it was to -night W hile he wa t ched

. .

he dreamed ima g in ed himself a sentinel in war p eo

, ,

pled the nigh t with opposing forces dott ed t he lawn ,

with friendly bi v ouacs and filled the outlying dark,

ness with hostile ambuscades T he dreams were fluid . .

Shrubs and bushes s t ole nearer and the shadows length ,

ened t oward him as the moon sank .

Then ac t ion The camp see med t o awake He heard

. .

b ugles call horses stampede musketry rattle Shells ex

, , ,

p l ode And now the Ol d ter rors mixing with these

.
, ,

began t o riot in his b ra in T he imaginary batt le t ook .

[ 65 ]
 BARRY GORDON
on a mo re t er rible sign ifican ce I t be came hi s to ri c a .
,

battle in the Civil W a r ; and t he f riendl y troo ps were

Gordon s Raide r s and t he re in t he t hi c k of it a ll
’
, ,

t owering o n a cha r ger and figh t ing glo rio u sly rode ,

his fa t her .

Then suddenly the s cene dissol v ed He saw a man .

with a glass drunkenly confronting a vi cious po rt rai t

,

on t he wall Sick a t hea rt he t ried to regain his first

.
,

p han ta sm He had a swift fierce desire t o see the battle

.
,

horse r ea r as in pain t in gs and his fa t her fall mor

, ,

t ally wound ed — a martyred hero O f the Ci vil W ar .

How much bet t er ! How much be tte r t han thi s orgy

o f po r tr ai t s ca per in g monkey -like around the crazed
,

figure he had on ce wo rshipped and still lo v ed !

He s t aggered against t he doo r and clinched his fist .

'
As h e did so t he bite o f his nails on hi s palm seemed
,

t o awake him Though his eyes had not on ce been

.

closed he t hought he mus t ha v e been aslee p — he a

, ,

sen t in el ! He deser v ed t o be drummed ou t of camp ,

his sword broken W ha t a way t o s ta r t on his li fe

.

s tr uggle !

A t t hr ee he woke Tom and thro wing himself down

, ,

on t he hay sank into a trou b led sleep

, .

Tom kept guard methodi call y reliably Disco v ering , .

a bag O f meal he dr agged it t o t he doo r and seating

, , ,

himself at the crack pinched himself a t regular in

,

t e rv a l s to kee p awake He t hough t ab o u t no t hing b ut

.

[ 66 l
 B ARRY GORDON
breakf as t and c ocked an eye now and t hen a t t he main
,

ga teway .

W hen fin al ly t he gray light r ose and spread ac ro ss

the lawn he wen t and tou ched B arry wh o sat up and
, ,

mu ttered inaudibly Bel ieving him awake T o m lay

.
,

down beside him famished fo r for ty winks and again

, ,

slep t
.

Barry sligh tly dis t urbed a s if in a dream also lay

, ,

back again and slep t— slep t t il] a t las t he heard a

so u nd and a gradual ligh t stole acros s his ey es He
, .

woke slowly and looked up The doors were wide o pen

.
,

admi tt ing a fl o od of sunshine t o the barn Ou t side

.

stood a young girl ga zing in at him a s t hough from

,

the hear t of the dawn .

[ 67 ]
 CHAPT E R III

TH EI R F I R S T M E E T IN G B AR RY S EE S A ME T A P H O R IC AL
.

RAI N B O W A N D ST R I VE S T O GRA SP I T B U T B R EA K ,

F AST IN T E RVE N ES—A LS O T O M

AR RY s at up n ot iced tha t Tom was s t ill

,

asleep and rose da z ed He had dimly

, , .

her somewhere befo re .

They s t ood awkwardly silen t a momen t the g i rl ,

w o ndering B ar ry apologe t ic and shy Then he in

, .

s t in c t ively began t o feel t ha t th o ugh he must ha v e

seem ed li t tle be tt e r th an a tr amp wh o had s to le n a
’
nigh t s lodging she was nei t her afraid nor unf riendly
, .

He r aised his eyes and looked and while he looked ,

self-c o nsci o usn ess fell u tte rly away He lost himsel f .

in a dumb gaz e The im p res sion she made on him came

.

swi f tly and s tr uck deep I t was not a definable im

.

p res si o n —he was t oo y oun g fo r tha t—but e ven then

in his ea rly you t h blind in s t inc t made him hers It
, .

seemed t o sugges t that if she onl y would S he co uld ,

supply some need wi t hin him She p o ssessed him as t he

.

sight o f a clea r s t ream migh t possess a boy pa rched

wi th thirst or fire a bo y chilled or ligh t a boy long
, ,

shu t in the dar k .

 BARRY GORDON
Through the black mon t hs since his father s death ’
,

crying needs like these bu t far mo r e poignant because

,

spiritual had tor t ured B arry awake and asleep up to

, , ,

this v ery momen t An d now came the dawn of a spring

.

day no t vaguely encouraging like all spring days b ut

, ,

embodied in a girl— a girl O f his own a g e —a girl who ,

he felt wa s somehow in accord wi t h him

, .

As for her looks he could not hav e descri b ed t hem

,

defini t ely Her image merely floated on his re t ina He

. .

was no t ye t O ld enough to be consci o us o f t he de t ails

of t his impression ei t her ; bu t later on when again ,

and again he recalled t heir firs t mee t ing he in t erpre ted ,

i t so vividly t ha t t he momen t ne ver died .

This is t he pic t ure his memory pain t ed in aft e r

yea r s :
She s tood in a lake of sun shine her figure against ,

t he sky He saw t ha t she was small and slender and

.
,

knew vaguely that the sunlight was in her black hair

.
,

shining there with a dark cool lus t re a s he had seen ,

i t in pools in t he woods Her features were irregular

.
,

bu t so deli cately drawn o r rather ske t ched and in such

, ,

ha rmony with t he piquan t li tt leness o f her person t hat ,

he r face had a rare magic as of adding t o all beau ty

a new t ouch light as air poignan t as pain Her skin
, , .

was very fair and fine as rose -leaves ; her l ips were
,

red as a cardinal flower ; her li tt le t ip -t il ted n o se was

t he pe r fe ct symb o l of a whim .

[ 69 ]
 BARRY GO RDO N
Y e t her piquancy was not co nscious bu t na tur al ,

n o t O f body only but of spirit mo re ; no t a pose

, ,

bu t a poise In the girls he had kno wn among the

.

sisters o f his schoolmates this so rt O f thing had ,

hinted o f high -heeled sh o es bu t in her i t sugges t ed ,

w ings .

This elusive qua lity in her seemed t o s t rike t he ve ry

keynote o f his nature He had a feeling as o f ris ing
.

from a pit into infin ity ; a s o f an a ctual win ged ascen t

into an et her O f cool li ght Shame and horror were fa ll.

ing away and all ugliness He was bein g drawn up in to

, .

sheer purity He did not seem to li v e He saw noth in g

. .

sa v e her eyes ; knew nothing sa v e that they drew him

t o her They were not large eyes and not v ery dark
.
,

but their slight al mond shape long lashes and fi nely , ,

etched brows im bued them with an elusi v e mystery .

What t heir colour was he did not know did not wonder , .

They we r e transfused perhaps with gray and green a nd

, ,

hazel lights bu t he knew only that they were looking

,

at him .

After a long m o men t o f silence he saw t hem brigh t en ,

and she spoke .

”
I know who you are she decla red with sudden de
,

light You re Barry Gordon ! Her glance spa rkled a t

.
’

t he bun dle on the hay And there s T om !

.
’

Her v oice wa s so li ke her gaze that Barry fel t as if

t he ligh t in her eyes had welled into spee c h He hea rd .

[ 70 ]
 BARRY GORD ON
dynami c and amazing—s o me thin g capable o f c o n qu er !

ing t he w o rld .

” “ ”
’
I m not sorry h e said delibe r ately ; I m glad !
,
’

He did not q uite know what Muriel did then but it ,

seemed like the closing O f a flowe r s p e t als o r the flicker ’

ing of a ligh t .

”
Muriel he said as i f calling
, , .

Then again she laughed and her laugh made eve ry ,

thing happy and real .

How long have you been here ? she asked simply .

”
All night said Ba rry
, .

W hy didn t y ou come t o the house ?

’

”
W e arri v ed t oo la t e .

Poo r Barry you must b e hungry ,

.

N ow t ha t e v erythi ng was so enchantingly pra ctical ,

her v oice which had befo re dissol v ed him into vaporous

,

soul -s t u ff suddenly ga v e him a huge appeti t e

, .

I am ! he exclaimed ardently .

Come said Muriel

, let s wake Tom ,
’
.

Barry demurred It was nice to be entranced by t hese

.

cheery p r o saic s far better than to risk losing her in

,

air ; but he balked a t waking Tom T om much as he .

,

lo v ed him would be one mere fact t oo many W ake him

, .
,

and the idyll would collapse .

”
I t hink said he
, Tom really needs sleep, .

Once more Muriel laughed at him She looked down .

at T om and a ffec t ionately spoke his name .

[ 72 ]
 B ARRY GORD ON
Don t ! Barry besough t her
’
.

But hi s plea seemed only t o spur he r on She wa s now .

determined to wake Tom .

Barry turned away chagrined too inexperienced to ,

know that femininity should be read backwards like ,

Yiddish .

”
T om wake up !
,
said Muriel with e x as p erat ing in
t e r est
. I t s time f o r breakfas t Tom Wake up !
’
, .

Barry felt that she was bending ove r and gentl y

touching the bright fair b oy in the hay He turned .

forlornly to look As Tom sa t up and rose wondering

.
, ,

those two seemed a pair t o him both made of the sun ,

ligh t and the spring day— and he a superfluo u s shadow .

He stepped out in t o the farmyard t rying t o assume

a strolling air an interest in the trees and in a small
,

far cloud that drif ted like a pu ff of smoke across h is

vision Bu t t his painful excursion robbing him O f thei r
.
,

words fil led him with imaginings still more unhappy

, .

Their voices and laughter were eloquen t o f greetings

so mutually pleasant And when th ey came fr o m t he
.

b arn into the farmyard talking intima tely and h e saw

, ,

her hand resting on Tom s shoulde r he felt lonelier ’

,

s t ill Nevertheless he kep t a cal m fron t, j oined them as

.

if he had forgotten t hem and poli t ely asked Tom how

,

he had Slep t .

Tom conscious of no thing bu t t he h and on his

,

shoulder was not even puzzled by this p u nc t iliousness

, .

[ 73 ]
 BARRY GORDON
He replied a ff ably that he had slept well and they ,

s tarted for the house Mu riel sandwiched between,

t h em
.

A r e you very hun gry ? she asked Tom .

”
Y ou bet I am ! he exclaimed carefully keeping ,

step with her so as n ot t o l o se her hand from his

shoulder .

’ ”
I t s very ea rly she said but we ll have breakfast
, ,
’

’
”
ri ght O fl It doesn t matter as long a s father s away
’ ’
.

Away exclaimed Barry taken aba ck and Tom

.
, ,

whistled .

Muriel looked pe rpl ex ed and wa s abou t t o ask lead

ing ques t ions ; but Ba rry began talkin g volubly .

Wha t a bully Ol d house ! How long ha v e you been

here ? You live in New Y o rk in winter don t you ? It ,
’

mus t be fine in New York—so many thea tres and peo ple
”
and thin gs t o do His words were racing with the
.

thoughts he im agined she wa s thinking I v e dec ided .

’

to live there mysel f some day .

For a moment she made n o reply to thi s l oq uac ity ,

but when she did she caught him up in to the seventh

heaven o f delight .

“ ” “
Y es she said bashful ly you are go in g to liv e
, ,

there with us .

His eyes b righ t en ed Suddenl y across the in sc ru table

.

futu re t here stretched a rainbo w .

In th e f ew minutes of their walk to the h o use M u ri el

[ 74 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
aff orded th e t wo b rothers quick glim pses in to the
present condi t ion of her little world They le a rn ed tha t .

her father who was t he president of a rail road and a

,

'

man of a flair s h ad re tur ned from abr oad the week be

,

fo re Since then he ha d been kept in New York on

.

business and she had come t o the count r y ahe ad o f him

,

t o open the house Her mother who seemed to be a

.
,

scholarly woman very un usual and independent was

, ,

still in E urope and migh t stay there fo r months or e v en

yea rs .

This was all el icited and con v eyed al most withou t c on

versation without a single comple t ed sentence The in
, .

t e r c our s e o f b ees coul d sca rcely ha v e been more im

palpab le I t was all in the go ssam er lan g uage of youth

. .

hi ur iel da rted f r om fact t o fact as lightly as a humming

bird touches flowers th ough so vi vidly that Barry and
,

Tom already felt R t home .

When they came to the quain t Ol d house Mu riel wen t ,

ahead in to a long low -studded hall rang f or a serv an t ,

and to ld her t oshow them to ce rta in gues t -roo ms T o m .

,

impatient fo r b reakfast hur ried up-stairs b ut Barry

, ,

h un g ba ck on the por ch .

Muriel looked d o wn a t him in quirin gly from the d oo r

step.

”
Aren t yo u comin g Barry ? What s the mat ter ?
’
,
’

I don t kn ow I don t think I ha v e any right to I f

’
.
’
.

'

your father was he r e it would be difl e r ent ; but you see ,

[ 75 ]
 BARRY GORDON
if Pie rc e comes y o u w o n t kn o w wha t to d o I t will be
,
’
.

”
an awf ul b ot her for you . l

”
Who s Pier c e ? she asked wi th a pretty f ro wn o f
’
,

bewilderm en t .

”
Pierce is a fi sh ! He s the princi pal o f St Cl ement s ’
.
’
.

He hesita ted I say M uriel —d on t go bac k on us will

.
,
’
,

you ? Then t he whole sto ry burst fr o m him hones tly .

The fact is we had t o cut and ru n A fellow said some .

t hing I couldn t s t and SO I kn ocked him ou t ; but it

’
,

wasn t the figh t tha t made me leave I t was the thin g he

’
.

”
said I co uldn t bea r t o s tay there ano ther minu te
.
’
.

As he l oo ked up a t h er his da rk fac e not hands o me ,

but v ery str iking was s trained wi th appe al ; hi s da rk

,

v a riab le eyes seemed t o cra v e h e r g oo d wil l .

”
Mu riel he said , I don t care a bit abo u t Pier c e
,
’

if only y ou won t go back on IDH I mean on u s Or if

’
.

you do go ba ck on me I ho pe you w o n t on T o m T o m ,
’
.

”
didn t do anythin g
’
.

She looked at him wi th m o re in te r est th en than she

had shown a t all and he r eyes t hough bashful were
,

kin d Fr o m her father she ha d lea rn ed tha t Ba rry and

.

Tom were sligh tly older than she ; but he r sum mers
a lon e with him here while her mo t he r restlessly t ravelled
,

abroad had dev eloped her beyond he r years In N ew

, .

York where she wen t t o a fashionable da y -school it was

, ,

all v ery diff erent ; but here she li v ed a life wi thin her
self—a li fe of d reams and boo ks and t houghts that
76 l
 B ARRY GORDON
seemed to her v ery dee p and wonderful So she fel t .

bo th younge r and olde r th an these bewilde ring new

c omers .

She spoke at last with a clea r sweet earnes tn ess a ,

wave o f colour ri s ing from her neck even to the tips o f

her little ears .

“ ” “
Ba rry she said , I don t like many peo ple I
,
’
.

t hink I m t oo reserved I never tal k t o any one in the

’
.

world about my t rue self o r the thin gs I dream about , ,

o r anythin g v ery se rious b eca use—oh I suppo se it s , ,

’

j ust because I am I But I do wan t to t ell you that my

.

father loved yours very dearly The other day when he .

spoke of his death his voice was unlike any v oice I had
,

e v er heard When he spoke o f y ou and Tom he said

.
, ,

Muriel those b oys are left t o me as a sacred t rust I

, .

appoin t you c o-trustee She smiled Father y ou see

.
’
.
, ,

is a b usiness maxi and talks like tha t I didn t know at .

’

firs t what he mea nt but he said he mean t — she paused

, ,

her colour deepening he meant tha t he and I must

ta ke care o f you as we do of each o ther .

Barry s hear t rose to his eyes and seemed to outpou r

’

t o her
.

She timidly drew back .

He stepped up to the threshold as if longing t o sur

render himself to he r soul and body N ow she felt as i f
, .

she had suddenly b ecome much yo un ger tha n he and ,

s h e was vagu ely dis t urbed Bu t she had a light and .

77 l
 BARRY GORDON
casual way with he r th at seemed t o Barry a
impalpab le armour.

She tur ned away from him towa r d

“
Ba r ry she said
,
’
, i f y ou don t
’

be ready for b reakfast !

 BARRY GORDON
”
You r m othe r s son he said at length half t o him
’
, ,

self and his s t rong impressive face see med to soften as

, ,

Barry had seen his fathe r s face s oft en un der the spell ’

”
of some gentle memory If looks coun t he said .
,

slowly you re a safe risk

,
’
.

T o m smiled up a t him reassured He did not q uite , .

unders t and b u t the remark seemed encourag ing

, .

Barry was l o s t in admira t ion o f Muriel s father ’

.

Peculiarly enough th e firs t thin g h e n o t iced abou t him

,

was the part in his hair I t looked so exac tly s t raight .

that Barry t hought he mus t ha v e been a t great pa ins t o

contri v e it From t ha t admirable p art ov er one t emple
.

his iron —gray hair lay like a sword bla de across his fore -

head Wha t wi t h t his and his autocratic eyes and

.

erec t carriage, his good clothes looked so much a par t

of him t hat the fa ct t ha t be dress ed well seemed to go
W ithou t sayin g .

Altoge t her M r Beekman had a s t rong fin e finis h

.

about him like a m odel dynamo o r well -made ri fl e And

, .

when he talked his vibran t v oice seemed not only to

,

b e speakin g bu t rec o rding truths as little to be dis

p ut e d as t he Ten Commandmen t s E ach word seemed
-
.

to speed through his mind and come o u t like

min t ed gold s tam p ed wi th au t hori ty and r inging
,

true .

Turning from Tom , M r Beekman waited and when .

,

Ba rry came f o rward he bent an ironical gaze on the ,

[ 80 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
boy as if challenging him t o show in a look Wha t s t u ff
he was made o f .

The challenge was accepted unflinching ly Barry s .

’

eyes narrowed and ga v e b ack as good as the y g ot T hen .

Mr Beekman smiled and Barry smiled and t hey seemed

.
,

t o warm t o each other .

”
A chip of the ol d block said M r Beekman t o him , .

”
self ; a magnificen t gamble ! He t urned immediat ely
’
and led the way t o anothe r room Come Barry we ll .
, ,

”
talk business in t he libra ry .

The in t e r view was short and p o inted Mr Beekman . .

did no t e v en seat himself He s t ood with an impenetrab le

.

look facing his ward This made i t incumbent on Barry

, .

t o speak fi rst —a necessity t ha t seemed c ruel bu t soon

began t o stimulate his courage

’
Mr Beekman I m in a mess
.
, .

Mr Beekman nodded as if in recogni tion of a pe r

.
,

f ec t ly self-e v iden t fac t .

Then you ve heard ? asked Ba r ry

’
.

”
Yes .

I supp o se M uriel t old you Wha t did she want you .

—
to do send me back ? If she did I ll g o like a sh ot ”
,
’
.

Mr Beekman S lowly lifted his eyebrows

. .

W ha t if I want y o u to go back ?
Then I ll have to
’
.

Yes Y ou un de rst and yo u r p o siti o n perfe ctly And

. .

[ 81 ]
 BARRY GORDON
whatever M uriel s immature views may be t hey are
’
,

”
o verbalanced by those of M r Pie r ce . .

Ba r ry s t arted .

”
Then you v e heard from him ?
’

Yes I foun d a t elegram waiting fo r me at the

.

”
s ta t ion.

’
I ll be t he s ho t
’
.

Yes he ad v ises ste rn measures

, .

Hang old Pierce ! How abou t the cad I s t ruck ? D id

I hurt him much ?
Mr Beekm an kept evasi v ely s ilent knitting his
.
,

straight iron gray brows He was lost in though t so

-
.

lon g tha t Barry with sudden impatience d ropped the

, ,

whole troublesome matter from his mind As t his left .

him care free and more o b servant of ex t e rnals his

-
,

glance again lit on M r Beekm an s hea d .

’
.

M r Beekman frowned uneas ily

. .

W hat are y ou thinkin g about ?

'

The question caught Barry b ack into the whi rlpool .

Nothing A t leas t—I d rather no t tell It might

.
’
.

seem rude
Out with it ! I ve got t o fathom y ou
’
.

When Barry confess ed he did s o whol e hea rtedl y

,
.

”
I was thinking said he that I wished to good
, ,

”
ness my hair would lie down a s flat a s you r s .

W ithou t the slightest change o f exp r essi o n Mr Beek .

man ga zed a t him Finally he said :

.

[ 82 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
ma tt ered now tha t h e had accom plished some hidden
end.

Wh y did you hi t tha t fellow ? h e asked .

Ba rry h esi ta t ed Deep r eser v e and the r emembrance

.

of M ead e s so ul -stin ging exposure kep t him silent

’
.

Wha t had h e done ? urged Mr Beekm an . .

’
Ba rry s fa c e flushed When he answered he spoke l ow
.
,

and bi tte rly .

He said things abou t my fa the r .

M r Beekm an s tar t ed loo ked as if he had inwardly

.
,

sworn and t ossin g his cigare tt e in to the fireplace pu t

, ,

’
his hands on Bar r y s sho ulders .

’
Then I don t blame y o u ! I don t blame y ou ! Barry ’
,

”
y o u defended t he mem o ry o f my bes t friend Then with .
,

a sudden change t o briskness he said : You go to ,

college ne xt au t umn don t y ou? Tha t was your fa t her s

,
’ ’

plan I belie v e I underst and you t ook your preliminaries

, .

las t year and go u p fo r y o u r final s next m o n t h Can .

y ou pass them ?
I usually slide t hrough my e xams .

Then I shall wri t e t o Mr Pierce and say you will .

n o t re t u rn t o sch oo l For the nex t few mon ths we want

.

you and Tom he r e wi th u s We wan t t o ab so rb you .

Bar r y moved c l o ser f u ll of g r a t i t ude ; bu t all he

,

c o ul d say was
Thank y o u Mr Beekman we wan t t o be here
,
.
, .

34 ]
 BARRY GORDON
Remembe r t wo o r t hree things said his gua r dian , ,

’
seeking r efuge from t he momen t s emba rr assmen t by
gliding into generali t ies Life s a busm ess and we re
.
’
,
’

all em p loyees o f the Owne r of t hi s busin ess At the end .

He wan t s a clean balance -shee t Your d uty may be to .

wo rk If i t is work hard If it s t o p lay play vi r t uously

.
, .
’
, .

Your wages may be high t hey may be low ; but wha t ,

’
e v er y o u do don t j o in the ranks o f t he unemployed
,

cynics Don t c omplain and send t he business t o the

.
’

’
demnition bow -w o ws In o t he r w o rds d o n t go ou t on
.
,

”
s t rike !
He paused To his s urprise his h omily s eemed t o ha v e
.
,

’
fallen on dea f ears Barry s ga z e had drift ed past him
.

to the window an d wa s now held by some t hing in the

outer day Puzzled by the look of loneliness in his eyes
.
,

Mr B eekman tu rned t o t he window

. .

Fa r in a meadow Mur iel was wanderin g wi t h Tom .

M r Beekman turned back t o Ba rr y

. .

”
G o ou t to them, he said kindly Y o u and T o m .

”
are now M u r iel s b rot he r s
’
.

[ 85 ]
 CHAPT E R V

B AR RY A N D T O M I N TH E S A M E B O A T TH EI R EA R LIE ST .

F IR E S M U RI E L A L T E R NA T E S H E R L I TT L E S O N G
. .

T first Barry and Tom were content to share

,

Muriel s comradeship From mo rning to

’
.

night walking or dri v ing o r picnicking in

,

t he woods both were with her On St ormy days the

, .

three often foraged through the book -shel ves and ,

f o r hou rs Muriel cu rled up in a big arm c hair read

, ,

aloud .

Those were happy days fo r all o f them— hal f li v ed ,

h alf dreamed But then the pen t -up life o f spring b urst
.

into summer and the world blazed and sparks from the
, ,

c onfla r a t ion lit on t he t wo brothers and star t ed their

g
earliest fires .

They began t o chafe in their double harness Get t ing .

wilfully out o f step they strained away from each o t her

’
like fractious colts un t il Muriel was a t her wits end for
,

a way t o manage them At last there was nothing for it

.

bu t to take them singly which she tried , .

N ear the house sto od a gro v e o f pine -trees ; their

lower boughs lopped o ff to t he heigh t o f a room The .

’
grove was carpeted with the trees aromatic needles and
[ 86 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
Oh , no ; did y ou eve r se e diam o nds l oo k at
”
you ?
Drawing close r to h e r Tom croo ked his neck to gaze
,

at them from he r view -poin t His at titude was so full o f .

awkward eagerness to unders t and her whimsical fancy

that M uriel laughed at him .

Tom rose and withdrew to a dis t an c e much hurt , .

Then for the firs t t ime since the beginning o f this

,

star -gazing Barry made a show o f studying the

,

heavens .

”
I know wha t t hey re l ike he said ’
j ust b ecause , ,

”
sometimes t hey do seem to look at me .

”
Wha t are t hey like ? asked M u riel with hushed
da r ing .

”
E yes h e de c lared in a voice tremendously im
,

personal .

“ — ”
Of c ourse eyes she re p lied ligh t ly
,
“
Look up .

there Do you see t hose t w

. o close t ogether ?

He had moved his chair nea r er to t he hammock and ,

was gazing down at her .

Y es ”
he said almost inaudi b ly
, I see th em . .

Her lashes flut t ered and she set t he hammock swing

,

ing gently .

Oh Mu r iel
,

”
Well ?
W on t you be kinde r to me ?
’

Yes Barry if you ll be go od

, ,
’
.

[ 88 ]
 BARRY GORDON
’
If y ou were kind M uriel I c ouldn t help being , ,

good .

”
Oh I don t mean tha t said M uriel s t ill swinging
,
’
, , .

I mean y ou must be less —her voice was very low

”
less frightening To tell the truth she added quickly
.
, ,

”
I think you re a spoiled boy ’
.

’
If I am it isn t you who ve spoiled me Besides I m
,
’ ’
.
,

”
not a boy .

Oh aren t you ? This with a note of supreme in

,
’

di ff erence that exasperated him as she meant i t ,

should .

Before he kn ew i t he had g r asped t he edge of the

hammock to stop her airy swinging .

No Muriel I m no t You don t kn ow all I ve been

, ,
’
.
’ ’

through And Muriel you don t kn ow how desperately

.
, ,
’

I lon
W hat he longed f or he had no chan c e t o name As it , .

came t o the tip o f his t ongue she tried t o swing but he ,

gripped the hammock holding it mo ti o nless and this , ,

s o angered her tha t she j umped up and flit t ed pas t him ,

calling to Tom :
”
Tom I can name more stars than you can !
,

Tom was instantly hers again He saw she was makin g .

fo r the wide lawn and j umped hastily to his cue, .

’ ”
I ll be t you ca n t ! he exclaimed his voice r esp on
’
,

sivel
y eage r ; and to ge t her t hey s t rolled out into the

[ 89 ]
 BARRY GORDON
As the t wo drifted away f ro m him , B a rry ro se and
wen t heart sick to bed .

After t ha t t he r e was a c hange B arry unselfish sen .

, ,

sit ive and passiona t ely considera t e o f those dear to him

, ,
'

began to e fi a c e himself for her sake and Tom s She was ’

.

happier alone with Tom he felt, and Tom al o ne with ,

her Down deep he loved Tom with an elder brother s

.
’

love and as for M uriel— already her happiness was his

,

first law .

Then to his surprise she suddenly seemed t o like him

, ,

be t te r than befo r e ; seemed even t o take pleasure in his

c ompanionship When he wandered off by himself in to
.

the w oods she sometimes sen t Tom to sea rch for him
, .

Next S he and Tom ca me to gether ; and finally one day

she came alone and when she found him laughed a t
,

him calling him an owl an old he rmit

, , .

Then again j ust when she seem ed t o feel fonder o f

,

him and he too k heart and showed his feelings she be

, ,

came as in di ff erent as before .

And s o it went Though wi t h T om she was always

.

equable and g r ew co ns tantly more dependent upon his

staun ch good spirits with th e impetuous Bar ry her
,

mo ods we r e so variable t hat in the end he was like a

flame played on by all the winds of hea v en .

He was not blind He saw that she had vanity and

.

inwardly delighted in his worship He saw that she was .

[ 90 ]
 BARRY GORDON
t imes alm o s t h a t ed he r fo r t he w o unds she deal t him .

He su ff ered not onl y from her preference f o r Tom and

relian ce on Tom s quieter de v otion b ut because she was
’
,

so sufficient unto herself Although at t imes companion

.

ab le there were other times when she would slip away

,

from b oth o f them and go t o walk al o ne entirely in ,

dependent of the world in general and o f him in pa r

t ic ula r In these m oods she was pe rfectly happy in her
.

o wn society and he began to be j ealous o f her t houghts

,

— her inner life .

E ven when with him she was often detached and im

personal far more interest ed in little a b st ract questions
,

than in him The discussion o f the se matters be gan

.

to fo rm his philosophy and de v elop his imagination ;

but he was n ot conscious of this and kept tryin g to
sound t he pe rsonal no te n o matter how far-fe t ched it
,

seemed .

One evening— th eir las t a t t he old pla ce t ha t summer

—she shyly unfolded t o him some of her quaint ima g in

—
ings This showed although nei t her realised it how in
.
, ,

t im at ely she included him in her inner li fe her natural

reserv e was so int ense Never before had she sha red with
.

any one her sweet foolish girlish philosophising But

, , .

on this la s t night he r nat u re pa rtly opened to him and , ,

though the ir talk was t oo vagu e and youthfully evan

e sc ent to be r e corded in co ld p r in t s ome thing of it s ,

shimme r may be caught at random .

[ 92 ]
 BARRY GO RDO N
She indulged in all manne r of pre post erous fancies
— situation s fraugh t with pe rplexity and pain Life with .

its sorrows was as yet a mere figmen t o f her imagina

t ion Li t tle could she foresee t he a c tual ordeals hidden
.

deep in her future Ye t her problems seem ed real D eeply

. .

troubled She told him She feared that if she had been
, ,

an early Christian she would never ha v e had courage to

,

die a martyr to the faith She con fessed that t his ap

.

pallin g question often worried her at nigh t .

Barry knew she was yielding him a glimpse o f her

secr et heart ; and thi s rare moment which to T om would ,

have been incomprehensi b le and to older people amusin g ,

was t o him sacred D ear wonderful Muriel ! W ha t could

.

he say ? I t seemed useless to try to reassure her She took ,

t hi s martyr question so seriously He said as a matter .

,

of fac t that he d id not be lie v e the occasion would e v er

,

have arisen They would ne v er hav e persecuted her She

. .

would merely have looked at them and they wo ul d ha v e

all tu r ned Christian—even Ner o .

She said he e v idently didn t know Nero He admit t ed

’
.

as much but ardently observed tha t he knew Muriel

,

Beekman .

This she questioned pointin g out how impossib le i t

,

was sin ce she did not know herself Then she returned .

to her i maginary tes t s of chara c ter little dreaming of ,

the ac t ual tes t s to come Take t he French Rev olution

.
,

for example W ould she have died she wonde r ed with

.
, ,

[ 93 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
th e n o n ch alan t ai r o f her fellow aris tocr a ts ? On the
whole she considered the Paris mob and g uill ot ine more
,

hor r ible than t he Roman arena Co uld he think o f any

.

worse fat e ?
Barry told he r she was t he m o s t e xt raordina ry gi rl he
had ever known He said yes he could imagine a fa te far
.
,

crueler— and he frowned at her signifi c an tly .

Thereupon she shied off t o a spe cies of spiri t ual to r

men t With a genuinely deep even t r o ubled feel in g
.
,

peculiar to her in all her imaginings she asked wist ,

fully !

Suppose there are two men and each loves the same
girl with all his so ul and t he girl loves one of the men
,

with all hers t hen if love is et e rnal and li fe in heaven

,

perfectly happy how can t he man the girl doesn t love

,
’

—e ver ge t t here ?
She pu t this t ragic problem qui t e im p ersonall y ; but
Barry replied t hat he wi shed she wouldn t sugges t such ’

an awful thing be c ause he himself might some day be

,

the man who

Then he looked a t her so s orr owf ully t hat she da r t ed
away to another favouri t e question -a question tha t
e vidently bothered her She wanted to know if he
.

though t a man who had once been wicked co uld ever be

bet te r than a man who had always been good ? W hether
certain of the Saints of whom S he had hazy notions that
,

someh o w t hey h adn t been exemplary in youth were

’
,

[ 94 ]
B OO K III

F A LL
 BARRY GORD ON
put i t h e o nly slid th rough Yet the classi cal cou r se h e
, .

t ook was no t wi t hou t results Though it did not appe a r .

to prepare him for any defin ite purs ui t it vastly ,

broadened his ou t l o ok on life .

U nder t he infl u ence of all he read he began to g ro w ,

res t less The wanderin g and ad v ent urous spirit o f hi s

.

ances t ors slowly bu t surely awoke in him an d he longed ,

t o see the world O ften he would surro und h im self wi t h

.

books o f t ra v el and maps ancient and mode rn an d go , ,

r oamin g in fancy o v er all t he ea rth .

His en thusiasm wa s so wa rm and con ta gio us tha t

e v en Jim Hicks t he leas t imag inati v e o f his c l as smates
, ,

caugh t the fever Jim s fa t he r was a con gressman and

.
’
,

might be able t o ge t him a p o st at some consula t e o r

embassy .

”
Ba r ry you re right said Hicks one nigh t fired by
,
’
,
‘

”
th e w anderlust N o coop o f an offic e here will do !
.

Barry n odded .

“
Hum d ru m money ge t tin g he said
- is a ll rot If , , .

’
you v e go t t o add two and two all your l ife w hat s t he ,
’

”
u se o f being bo rn ? I d ra the r sub t ract one he added
’
,

w h imsically .
p

Th ey sa t and smoked their pipes wi t h s l o w r umi ,

'

nati v e p ufls At las t Hicks said

.

By t hunder Ba rr y I wish we co uld cu t l o ose t o

, ,

”
ge t h e r !
Barry n odd ed He was t oo kind-hea rted to s u ggest
.

[ 1 00 ]
 BARRY GORDON
tha t all his ho pes c ent r ed on a t ra vel ling co mpanion
even mo re desirab le than Hicks .

In e v ery imagined j ou rney he in c luded M u riel When .

the t ime cam ! — if by any chan ce she S hould choose him

ins t ead of Tom o r some one els e he would t ake her far
h

away wit h hi m t o all t he Old-W orld cities he had

dreamed o f He and she would go down to tideless seas
.

and clas sic shore s They would wande r in t o dis tances as

.

yet unma rred by railroad

He had buil t the dream so grap h ically t ha t i t almos t
’
seemed reality Yet o f la t e his v isits t o t he Beekmans
.

win ter home in New Yo rk h ad been less and less f r e

quent He belie v ed Muriel preferred his brothe r Tom s
. .
’

un importunate de v o t ion see med mo re accep table t o her .

She was not so much di sturbed by it She was a t an age .

t ha t demanded enj oymen t as its righ t Her mother had .

re t urned from abrbad and Muriel was soon t o come out

,

into society This kep t he r busy with milliners and

.

dressmakers wholly engr o ssed in a perfec t ly na t ural

,

and heal thy in t eres t in t he comin g gaie t ies of h er firs t

season
So Barry s lo v e had little t o feed ou—
.

’
save t he d ream .

Ye t Muriel unconsciously influenced him in many ways .

His maturing lo v e for her inspired not only dreams b ut ,

a v ery practical code o f living And the memo ry o f his

.

father s confession and death ga v e him s t ren gth to li v e

’

u p t o t his c o de rigidly .

1 01
 B ARRY GORD ON
Th a t memo ry was no longe r bi tt er and dis t ra ct ing .

As t ime wen t on i t fell in to true perspec t ive and he ,

kn ew in his hear t t ha t his fathe r had done him a s good

a t urn as ever a fa ther did a son .

They say nearly every one in c ollege loved Barry

Gordon— a fellow in mind and spirit older tha n most ,

bu t in buoyancy dash and innocent recklessness as

, ,

youn g a s any He had many moods and was s o metimes

.
,

v ery reserved ; bu t when after a game o r race his youth ,

surged t o the surface t hey knew he did no t keep

,

s tr aigh t merely because he was t ame by na t u r e And .

so t hey forgave h im h is vi rt ue and though he was

,

s t ea dy he was popula r .

Bu t this code o f his was lim it ed more or less to ques

t ions o f mo rals He kep t the Ten Commandments a nd
.
,

several o t he r s in t o t he bargain bu t t here were some

,

commandmen t s he did no t keep He had an impetuous

.

dis regard f o r the manda t es of the faculty As Hicks pu t .

it a man like Barry had to le t o ff steam s o mehow

, .

In his fi nal year a breach o f t he lesser law go t him

into t rouble and a r eady obse rvance of t he higher law
,

lef t him t here .

Meade af t e r r epea t ed a tt emp t s had a t las t en ter ed

, ,

college Meade was a cad and a ready mark fo r energetic

.

Sophomores There were s t ories of cer t ain S hady p r a c

.

t ices He had wel c hed on a be t and deal t q ueerly in a

.

game o f po ke r .
 B ARRY GORD ON
lose his degree ; he would be expelled Tha t would also
.

mean his exclusion from other colleges .

They ga v e him his choice and he took

question.

V ery well then he would lose his degree and be ex

, ,

ll e d and black -listed

p e .

That morning Barry left college ne v er to r eturn

, .

[ 1 04 ]
 CHAPT E R II

A D I V OR C EE DR E SS E S A D ER U T A N T E

E VE R AL in t imate friends had come to see M u riel

dressed f o r her déb u t Firs t a t one mirr o r then
.
,

at another in her whi t e bed room She wa t ched

, ,

t he process with dreamy in t eres t while her French maid ,

hooked pinned and deftly p eeked at her and the c ritics

, ,

made fe v erish sugges t ions .

Two of t hese ladies -in-wai t ing were the M orrison

t wins—a pair of fair -haired worshippers a t Mu r iel s ’

sh rine Drooping girls r a the r anaemic and quietly

.
, ,

ado ring they lo oked like a couple o f pre—

, Raphael ite
angels and f ew sav e Muriel c ould tell t hem apar t
, .

Another of Muriel s a t tendants was Kitty V an Ness

’
,

a cousin who from the firs t had assum ed un d isputed

,

command Between her and the rest lay t he immea sur

.

able yea rs of wisdom -ge t ting that s t retch betw een the
late teens and the early twenties Pra ct ice had made he r .

perfect a t t he feminin e game E xperience—bi tter .

r ien c e —
p e had t augh t her many thin gs M arriage and .

divorce had doubled for her the ordinary s ch oolin g o f

a youn g woman And yet nothing really obj e ct ionable
.

in the way of sc andal clun g t o her She had me r ely been .

1 05
 B AR RY GOR D ON
unluck y in th e cho o sin g of a h us band—t o o bu oy an tl y
sang uine of t he male sex So she held up h er h ead and .

la u gh ed a t li fe and ba c ked by a free conscien c e made

, ,

h e rs elf out fa r w or se than s h e was —merely to appall the

g o ssip s .

H er t wen ty -fi ve years fi tt ed he r a s be comingly as he r

cl oth es— wi t hou t the t race of an undesirable line o r a
wo rn l o ok It was in fact as if she had j ust put on the
.
, ,

years like her dress and by the innate art tha t goes
, ,

with a dashing carriage had hidden t he seamy places ,

under an air as brigh t as h e r ribbons .

This ai r was in full play while Ki t ty directed the

dressing of Muriel I t was nice fo r once t o hav e a
.
, ,

chance t o be enthusias t ic and see taste show She would .

p resen t t o so c ie ty a prize bud a perfec t d ebut a nt e , .

N o j ealousy clouded this ambi t ion She loved M uriel .

—and a bud s a bud but once Then le t her have he r

’
.

little r adiant day ! Only the meanes t of woman -kind

would deny it t o her .

Moreover Kitty was a past master at the a rt of dress ;

,

ing an d the a rtist at the moment transcended the

,

woman in her She was working at the thing she l o ved

.

b e st—a serious nerve— racking b usiness

, .

Her chatter rippled in cessantly .

Suz e tt e t he scissors ! Here ! Let m e do t ha t ! Y o u r e

,
’

t oo French You Parisians ha v e none o f the bud in

.

”
stinct Suze t te lifted her eyebrows cynically shrugged
.
, ,

1 06
 B ARRY GORD ON
'

Then you think I ll d o ? S he asked a s unafl ect edly

’
,

as if s p eaking o f ano th er p erson .

The Mo r ris o n t wins s t o od side by side dev ourin g h e r

wi t h thei r eyes .

M uriel y ou re a love ! m urmur ed o ne

,
’
.

’
Y ou re a d r eam ! mu rmured th e o the r .

K it ty pu rsed her li p s and ar c hed h e r b ro ws S h e h ad .

a way of sal t ing insi p id c omplimen t s .

”
And ye t said she , y es t erday y o u were quit e un
,

n ot iceable an d to-m orro w y ou may be even p lain I

, .

”
neve r saw s uch va r iableness in all my li fe .

M uriel lau gh ed un c on c ern edly and takin g u p a ha nd

mirror gazed a t her back in the c heval glas s .

”
Suzet t e s h e said , I m no t all h oo ked
,
’
.

He r maid h as t ening behind her fell to c omple t in g th e

, ,

in t ri ca t e p uzz le o f h ooks and eyes .

’
A t this momen t in cam e Muri el s mo th e r a t all high , ,

bred wom an angula r and sha rp-fea t ured On t he c rown

, .

o f her hea d M r s Beekman s silve ry ha i r was reared in a

.
’

maj es tic pile ; bu t despi te t he glacial severi ty o f this

'

c o ifl ur e ,
an d th e lines of care on the brow b enea th i t ,

her skin was st ill so ft and her t hin hard li p s sugges t ed

, ,

the me res t gh o st o f a i id s bow ’

.

Ki t ty wh o un t il now had n ot seen M r s Bee kman

,
.

since t ha t wanderin g lady s long absen c e wen t non ’

,

c hal ant l
y t o her and welc o med he r back from Europe .

M rs Beekman r esp o nded with a poli t e kiss

. .

1 08
 BARRY GORDON
Kit ty stood off and sur v eyed her admiringly .

“ ”
Perfect ! she exclaimed I always think of y ou .

”
in brocade and maroon is certainly your colour
, .

Mrs Beekman began t o melt b ut at the sight of Su

.
,

’
ze t t e s
pained puzzling with Muriel s dress sh e fro wned
’
, .

”
Muriel said she I wish you would wear clothes
, ,

made according t o more advan ced standards Your .

mother Muriel dresses herself entirely

, M y hooks
, .
,

”
you see are in fron t, .

”
Yes I see said Kitty with the faintest lift o f her
, , ,

eye-brows .

After this Muriel I want you r gowns cu t like my

, ,

But my dear Mrs Bee kman

, protested Kitty .
, ,

the snugness of the fit y ou know— the b ust— the ,

cur ves
She tightened in her figure with her hands at the
waist to S how how much better the front of a woman
appears with the line o f hooks relegated to the spinal
column .

I mmodest ! declared M rs Beekman A young . .

girl like Muriel sho ul d have no curves and y ou r s so to , ,

”
speak should b e expurgated
, .

Kitty laughed blushed and with another expressi v e , ,

shrug turned her back on the family censo r D rifting to .

the window she looked out across Fifth Avenue and

,

Central Park .

1 09
 B ARRY GOR D ON
I t was an afternoon la t e in No vembe r and the t ree s ,

had alread y los t t hei r leaves The f re t w o rk of t he .

bran ches looked like the scribbling o f a gi an t pe ncil .

Jus t beyond the wall was a pond where in summer

children sailed t oy b oa t s To -day th e wa te r was chill
.

and gray .

Ki tty glanced up a t t he sky .

”
Too b ad she said
, It s clouding over .
’
.

As she lowered her glance and looked down the

a v enue she suddenly b righ t ened Ba r ry and Tom were
, .

approaching the house .

She t u r ned to Muriel .

”
Here come the rivals she said ; and M u riel j o ined
,

her a t the window .

”
Tom s a dear declared Kitty looking down fondly
’
, ,

at h er fa v ourite He walks like a soldier on the march .

And Barry said Muriel

, like a soldier on a ,

holiday .

”
Yes ; but they bo th look pretty se rious Kitty oh ,

“
ser v ed with mean ing They ha v e a determined air
. .

”
Muriel which is it t o be ?
,

Muriel without answering gazed ofl wistfully ov er

’

, ,

the park through the complex tracery of bran ches Her .

mother uttered an exclamation of annoyance .

”
Kitty sh e said
, pleas e don t put silly ideas into
,
’

”
my daughter s head ! ’

M ur iel smiling t u rned from the window

, , .

110
 CHAPT E R II I

THE D U EL OF T HE F LO WE RS M U RIE L S SO N G
.
’
RE

E C H OE S , AN D B A R RY T E A R S A S ID E A VE IL

E LOW on the gro und floo r the la rge bal lroo m

, ,

ha d been made re a dy fo r the reception From .

their o rmolu s conces sco res o f elec t r ic candl es ,

backed by small mirro rs and so ftly shaded d iflused a

'

faint radiance over t he white and gold w oo d -wo rk and

O ld rose d amas k o f t he walls At the cent re hun g an im
.

mense cluster o f s ta rry b ul b s and crystal prisms sp read ,

ing ab road a so rt o f magical e flul g en ce like icicles in

'

moonlight Aga ins t the Wall at the edge o f t his e u

.
,

chanted circle a gil t -framed Fren ch mi rro r fest ooned ,

with roses an d flanked with p alm s reflec t ed the light ,

and the so ft colou rin g as if in deep vis t as through

which one might drift en dless ly .

As Muriel en te red the room from the main doo rway

opposite t his grea t looking-gl as s she sa w com ing to ,

ward her out of the long vista s a figu re which tho ugh ,

it was herself and s t rikingly vi vid seemed s o unfamiliar

,

t hat she s t opped a minu te to c onsider it .

Wi t hin an hour sh e would be s tandin g there quailing ,

under t he ga z e as it see med of t he whole w o rl d

, ,
.

1 12
 B ARRY GORDON
F o r a m o men t she had impulses posi t ively cloistral .

Girl-like she had befo re t his passed thr ough the nun
,

phase of feminine youth ; and now she re v erted to i t To .

abj ure the world and all the vanities thereof— man and
his unkn o wn powers ; to yield one s self to spiritual’

t hings — the higher life—a v ague t r anscendental secl u

sion ! W hy all this dressin g up this S how this pala t ial
, ,

room and the crowd tha t would fill i t ? Why t his a l most
,
l

public début ? She had a wistful little longing for a nook

she knew near a st r eam in the wo ods o n t he old
Massa chuse t ts farm .

She gazed into the mirro r as i f into dim distances

th r ough which her image floated impalpab ly It was as .

t hough the future lay hid there—a mystery tha t lured

~

her Bu t gradually S he b ecame conscious o f a second

.

image and then of a third both of which drew near t o

,
\
her ou t of the f a r vist a s o f the looking-glass .

Tu rning she saw Barry and Tom wai t ing as if in ,

t ouch with t he s p ell .

Immediately the mystical mood left her She thre w .

o ff the imagin ary grim garb of t he con v en t and beca me ,

in a momen t as ful l of life as a bud bursting into flower .

As she greeted them Tom s hones t face fairly beamed

,
’

with admi ration She heard him exclaim in a bluntly

.

complimen ta ry way t hat delighted her .

Bu t Barry a v oiding her eyes turn ed ofi t o the

'

, ,

win dow and looked o u t dumbly at the dis tan t park .

1 13
 B A R R Y GO R D O N
The momen t would ha v e been awkward bu t f or an im
media te in t errup t ion .

T he bell again rang and presen tly Burridge t he , ,

bu t ler pas sed t he doorway c arrying two white boxes

, ,

o ne v ery long the other squa r e and sma l ler

,
.

Tom impetuously went out into the hall cap t ured the ,

boxes and brough t t hem back

,
.

“
T hat Burridge said he is too high-handed He
, ,
.

”
was told t o bring t hese direct t o you .

Muriel s pu l s es quickened She glanced a t Ba r ry He

’
. .

was still a t t he window looking o u t in t o the N ovember

,

grayness .

Fo r lack o f a ta b le in t he bare ballroom Tom c rossed ,

t o the grand piano in a co rne r and set down the bo xes ,

on i t As Muriel j oined him he pulled off t he s tr in gs

.
, .

She opened t he large r firs t .

I hope you will like them said To m h umbly , .

As she looked in t o the box her eyes shone I t was fill ed .

wi t h American Beauty r oses —burs t ing buds and regal ,

full -blown flowe r s— the con v entional b ig gift of a con

v ent ional big boy She regarded t hem wi th sparkling
.

admira t ion .

”
Tom she said , you re a dear ! Wha t wonderful
,
’

r o ses ! They are almos t as tall as I am .

”
I suppose said Tom t hey ought to be a r ranged
, ,

with all the rest ; bu t Muriel — hi s v o i c e fell lowe r

,

won t you wear one o r t wo ?

’

[ 114 ]
 B A R RY GORD ON
”
M uriel which wi l l you wear ?
,

At this momen t a s luck would have i t Kitty V an

, ,

Ness appeared in the do o rway Pausing she smiled a t .

,

t he t ableau .

”
W ha t a pic t ure ! she cried v i v aciously Th e .

maiden s choi c e ! W ha t symbolism ! A red red rose versus

’
,

a bunch of whi te v iolets !

They looked a t he r an d laughed awkwardly Muriel ,

c olouring t o the t ips o f he r ea rs .

Kit ty came forward wi t h a manner more serious .

No t the rose Muriel The r ose is too vi vid N ot yet

, . .

”
t he rose To day t he ethereal white v iole t s
.
- .

W hy ? demanded T o m chagrined
”
, .

Come and arrange t he flowers with me an d I ll tell ’

”
you she said putting an arm a ffectionately t hr ough
, ,

”
his There s a vase in the drawing room
.
’ -
.

Kitty had a way with her that could not be gainsaid ,

so Torn reluc t antly followed her with t he bo xes In the .

d rawing— room while they were arranging the flowers

, ,

he asked her why h is roses were p rohi b ited .

“ ” “
They are buds he said and so is Muriel a
, ,

”
Ob v iously she replied
, Tha t s the trouble -it is .
’

t oo ob vious Besides there a re buds and buds Wh ite

.
, .

violets dear Tom are mo re trul y b ud -like than any big

, ,

r ose-bud can hope to b e In the same way I ve seen many

.
’

a débu t an t e a full bl o wn rose and many a dear little ,

1 16
 BARRY GORDO N
Old lady s till n ot unlike a bud N ow Tom if yo u had .
, ,

giv en these American Beauties t o a woman instead of a

mere girl — instinctively S he drew in her b reath ,

sligh t ly expan d ing her beautifully m odelled breast

”
well Tom that would have been di ff erent
, , .

She picked up a rose fondled it in her hand sighed , , ,

and looked at him a moment with t rue womanly tender

ness thinking him the fairest mos t hones t boy she had
, ,

e v er known—a yo ung angel in a world of O ld men .

”
I say Kitty he suddenly exclaimed ent husia s
, ,

”
tically won t y ou wear tha t rose ?
,
’

She shook her head laughing , .

”
T o m you are s o crude !
, she said If you had .

only done it b etter y ou might ha v e fooled me into wear

,

ing it But on the whole I m glad y ou didn t The crude

.
’ ’
.

is v ery refreshing, T o m I v e li v ed on ca v iare se v eral

’
.

years and I m simply famished f o r b read !

,
’

She arranged the roses in a slender V enetian vase .

”
There Tom she said , we ll entom b it — your
, ,
’

memory of her Behold a lo v e t hat b lossomed into a red

.
,

”
red rose and wa s entom b ed in a V enetian vase !
,

Tom disliked this funereal symbolism .

”
No he protested stoutly ; it is no t en tombed and
, ,

ne v er S hall b e

Muriel sa t at the piano the white v iolets on her ,

breast her fi ngers lightly dreaming o v er the keys

, .

1 17
 BARRY GOR D ON
Itwas t he las t half hou r of he r gir l h oo d Be f o re l o ng
-
.

t he crowd would beg in t o come .

Ba r ry l ean ed o n the piano his eyes d rinkin g deep o f ,

her beau ty She was playin g v ery low in a minor key

.
,

and th e wis t ful musi c steali ng t hr ou g h him reawakened

, ,

memories o f their ea rl ies t companions hip in the co untry .

The spi rit of the wo ods was in i t an d of the mead o ws , .

He s eemed t o hea r the fain t s ti r o f lea v es and hidden

streams and t he whispe r of na t ure on summ er e v enin gs
,
.

M uriel he said
, I lov ed you t ha t fi r s t summe r
, ,

”
and I lo v e you now .

She did no t look up Gr ad ually the music though

.
,

e v en softer t han befo re grew mo re coheren t and ou t o f

, ,

t he memory o f lea v es and s t reams and summer e v e nin gs

s t ole t he mem o ry of a s ong T hough she did not .

h e seeme d t o hear her voice .

How do I know what love may be ?

He igh-ho !
Saw y ou a fi re -fly in the dark ?
Saw y ou a moonbe am o n the sea ?
Heard y ou the singing of a lark ?
N o le ss or m ore is love to me .

”
Mu riel said Barry
, t hat t ime is pas t We were
, .

’
bo th c hildren then li ving in a mist b ut n o w we r e fa c e
, ,

to fa c e wi t h r eality .

1 18
 B AR RY GORD ON
i t passes me by and I never kn ow it ne v er ha v e it ! I m ,
’

sure I m not in lo v e with you now— so wha t can I say ?

’

What can I d o ?
She smiled helplessly and he saw that she was still a
,

child He frown ed bewildered He was n ot conten din g

.
, .

against a mere rival b ut agains t M uriel herself—her

,

cloistral youth— her veil To tear this veil aside to open

.
,

these closed petals would s eem a profana t ion He felt

, .

hopeless and could not answer .

She looked up at him sympa the t ically .

D on t think I am silly Barry o r unnatural I t s

’
, , .
’

j us t my b rin ging up y ou kn ow and my queer natu re

, , .

Can t you understand ? Don t you ever feel this way

’ ’

yourself ?
Barry shook his head .

N o ; I ha v e dreams bu t they are di ff eren t—they are

,

vi v id day -dreams Muriel real as life When my father

, , .

died the v ague dreams y ou speak of were brushed aside

,
.

I had a sudden awakening— an awakening I can ne v er

tell you abou t And e v er since then the t hings I ve b ee n
.
’

sure o f I ve been sure O f — and Muriel my love for yo u

’
, ,

is the surest thing of all !

His v oice began t o vibrate her close presence to t ell ,

o n him more t han ever before His blood ran warmer and .

warmer his pulses hammered in him Her lo v eliness was

,
.

s o pervasive and yet so in t angible her lips and ey es so ,

near t o him and so essential— ye t so far away !

120
 B A R R Y G OR D O N
wai t ed She saw a shadow cross his fa ce followed by a
.
,

light which long a fterwards she had cause to re membe r .

Then he added
If you do and if you re su r e y ou d o —I beli eve I
,
’

love you enough even to be glad f or your sake !

Muriel s eyes filled with tea rs
’
.

“ ” “
B arry she said , y o u almost m ake me see what
,

love is—and yet no t quite N o Ba rry I am not in lov e .

, ,

”
with any one in the wo r ld .

She saw as it were a great infl ow o f life r eturn to him .

”
Thanks M uriel he said hoarsely
, , .

Then suddenly hi s pent -up blood broke free again ,

ho t and t hrobbing and riotous Wha t he did he scarcely .

knew His arms folded her t o him his lips found hers ;
.
,

yet it was not he himself that seemed t o hold and kiss

h er She wa s under the con t rol of some inner fire b urs t ing
.

from his heart The kiss was passionate In it there were

. .

all t he accumulated longings of his curbed youth He .

gave himself to he r all in a m o ment soul and b o dy ,

.

Then he was c o ns cious t ha t M uriel receded from his

arms ; and as he looked at her and saw her pallid f
and the c rushed white violet s on her panting breast ,

he had an impression as of a ligh t goin g out — as o f a

song dying into silence Her voice seemed t o come from
.

infinite distances .

”
Oh Barry ! she said
, Oh Ba r r y ho w co uld you
.
, ,

”
d o it ? You v e killed me !
’

122
 CHAPT E R IV

THE W O R LD E N T E R S . T HE W AY A N AR T IS T F E LT A B O U T
M U RI E L . H OW BA R RY F E LT , TO O . M E AD E S R EVE N G E
’

ITTY VAN N E SS found Muriel in he r room

stretched on t he bed in a passion of tears .

Gently Ki tty soo t hed he r and drew her up

from the bed .

”
P oor M u riel ! she s aid regarding he r with sy m ,

pathy Oh dear you r gauze skirt is all rumpl ed ; you r

.
, ,

white vi o le t s are wi t her ed I understand Yo u were t oo . .

.
—
lo v ely t o go unscathed tha t s all ” ’
.

Mu riel plucked the flowers from her breas t and tossed

t hem away .

”
Shall I send asked Kitty fo r a c ouple o f Tom s
, ,
’

red ro ses ?
”
Yes said M u riel vehemently
, Tom s ! ,
’

Kitty saw the r ising t ide o f crimson in Mur iel s ’

cheeks and smiled

, .

“ ”
N o you re wea ring red ro s e s already she said
,
’
, ,

a nd th e right one gave y o u these Come I mus t r e .

,

a rra nge y ou A t any minu te the peop le will begin to

.

”
arrive .

She kneeled and sm oothed the dis or dered ga uz e .

123
 BARRY GOR DON
Muriel made he r bow to the w orld gr a cefully and
wi t ho ut aff ectat i o n Her l o ok tha t day was memorable
. .

A t firs t as the footman announced t h e gu est s many ,

could no t help pausing in t he wide do orway oppos ite ,

M rs B eekman and he r dau gh te r s t ruck by t he yo ung

.
,

girl s subtle and yet sta r tlin g beauty Then th e roo m

’
.

filled and in t he packed shi ftin g c r owd the debut ant e

, ,

was visible only t o the nea r es t like a pi ct u r e on t he ope n

,

ing day of an exhibition Then again as the thro ng .

,

m o ved t oward the dining-room and the cha mpa g ne

punch the bright figu re was o ccasionally r evealed in
,

pe rspe ct ive .

A t len gth as friends found friends t he cro wd spli t

, ,

int o c lose groups In one o f th es e Pie rr e Loew a fas hi o n

.
,

able p ortr ai t painter s ufficiently fa r fr o m Muriel t o

,

study he r withou t dis co urt esy obse rved in an unde rt one

,

that the pi ctu re was by all odds the most e ff e ct ive a r

rangemen t in whi t e h e had e v e r seen .

This pain t er nev er h esi ta t ed t o define people in da r

ing t e rms o f a r t — if he c oul d d o so fav o urably Fo r .

t opics conducive to cleve r c ommen t be sele ct ed only t he

beautiful in life — at leas t in the houses o f th e rich Wha t .

a chance then when real lovelines s p resen ted i t self and

, , ,

praise wa s no pre tence ! The tr ue a rtis t in him fel t a

t hrill .

A t fi rst he sp oke flipp ant ly his eye ca u gh t by eff e cts

,

which had he ob tained them would have been me r e

, ,

12 4
 BARRY GORDON
’ ’
dau ght er I t s wo rth five t h o usand a t t he leas t T hey re
. .

rolling !
Loew s reply was imp o li t e
’
.

”
Go t o the deu c e ! he mu tt ered ; t hen he smiled .

”
No come wi th me to Mrs Beekman Toge t her t hey
, . .

”
approa ched t hat glacial lady M rs B eekman said the. .
,

pain t er simply ,I wan t t o ask a favou r Le t me t ry a .

portrai t o f y o ur daughter I will at temp t i t on one

.

—
condition tha t you grant me the pleasure of doing so
”
merely fo r the work s sake ’
.

The r oom was now a babel o f co nfusi o n the c r owd so ,

closely pac ked that people could ba rely move .

In another group Kit ty had she been less gene ro us

,

and whole-souled might ha v e wished tha t she had not

,

dr essed Muriel so suc cessfully Fo r once t he co mplimen t s

.

of t he men abou t her were no t for her alone .

“ ”
Jove ! exclaimed the youngest o f t he se sat ellit es ,

half to himself . Muriel s s t unning enough t o drive a

’

man to drink !
They ca ught the words and an othe r mu tt e r ed
”
Yes and then to suicide with remorse !
,

N said a third worse yet A man wo uld be hor

, .

”
ribly tempted to swea r off for eve r !
The c ro wd was now divided int o tw o s treams—those
fo r ging ahead t o the dining-roo m those trying to r e ,

tu rn and say good -by

A t an othe r c orner of t he roo m a ripe old club-man
[ 126 ]
 B A R R Y G OR D O N
con grat ula t ed Mr Beekman He was blinking across a t
. .

Muriel with open satisfaction Ev iden t ly her blushing

.

cheeks and c rimson baby l ips appealed t o him magically .

“ ” “
I d pay down a cool mi llion he exclaimed
’
, to ,

”
be fort y years younge r ! He frowned D euce take it !
.

There goes a fellow up t o her who s fo rty years younge r

’

”
withou t paying a penny !
The obj ect of his en vy was Barry G ordon Through .

a seemin g e terni t y Barry had been waiting and now ,

came t he first moment when Muriel stood alone In one .

hand she held a glass of pun ch un ta sted in the o t he r ,

a white feat he r fan wi t h which she was cooling he r

flushed cheeks Barry wen t s t raigh t t o he r and said in
.

a l ow v oice :
”
I implo re you Mu r iel for gi ve me !
,
-

She me t his eyes coldly as i f withou t the s l ight es t

,

recognition Then no t deigning t o reply S he looked

.
, ,

pas t him and he saw he r s mile a t some one approaching

,

behind him .

To his surp rise and disgus t they we re j oined by the

,

only person in the world who had e v er been his enemy

— the cad who years a g o had caused his fligh t from
sch oo l and now hi s di smissal from college How Meade .

had happened t o be invi t ed B a rr y c oul d no t guess .

Probably M r Beekman in his visi ts t o V irginia had

.

kn own Me ade s family and fo r their sake was recei v in g

’

their son in the North I t was merely one of t h o se ugly

.

127
 B ARRY GORD ON
chan c es t ha t s eemed t o cr 0 p up a t cru cial m o men ts in
B a rry s li fe
’
.

Meade was brin gi ng t wo glasses o f punch W hen he .

found Muriel already supplied he t u rned to Barry and ,

with smoo t h e ffron te ry offered him the extra gla ss Her .

p resence he knew prot ected him from insult and he ,

fairly bas ked in his se cu rity As he held ou t the glas s

.
,

his na rr ow eyes and mouth wer e to uched wi th an i ro n

i c al smile .

“ “
I propose a toast he said t o M iss Beekman
, , ,

”
on the day o f her coming out .

Barry paled How could he refuse ? If Meade had

.

sugges t ed this on purpose to disarm him i t was a cle v er ,

piece of t rickery a subtle revenge, .

Had the surroundings been di fferent had Mu riel no t ,

bee n th ere Barry knew he would ha v e struck t he glass

,

f r om Meade s hand Ev en now nothing but t he words

’
.
,

wi th which Meade o ff ered it could have made him ta ke it .

A toast to Mu riel on the day o f her coming out !

Bitterly against hi s will he accepted the glass He
,
.

wa s a Southe r ner and a gentleman by birth and nature .

Cou rt esy to women was in his blood and in his heart .

Yet he hesitat ed looking down a momen t into the am

,

be r fluid Since his father s tragi c death he had not

.
’

drunk a drop o f any in t oxicant His father had gi v en .

him warning ; t he hop es o f going through college and

brin g ing t o Muriel a s t ainless reco rd had given him
’

128
 BARRY GORDON
t radi t ion of his race and then wi t h a b reaking h ea rt
, , ,

said evenly
”
You r happin ess M uriel ! ,

He too k a sip from the glass and said so mething t o ,

he r in a low voice She did not seem to hea r She began

. .

ta lking v i v aciously to M eade .

A g ain Barry drank and again murmu red some plea ,

in her ear S t ill deaf t o him she seemed t o gro w yet more
.
,

inte rested in Meade .

Ba rr y drank a gain d raining the glass ; and Mu riel , ,

ut terly unconscious o f the seeds of tragedy she was

sowing lightly ign ored a thi rd despe rat e ov ert u r e She
, .

s eemed t o be fas cinated by Meade .

B arry d rifted away toward the dining-ro om He re .

,

a t a larg e glas s -li tt ered side-t able stoo d Bu rridge the

, , ,

pompous butler liberally ladling out his con c oction

,

from an enormous s il v er pun ch-bo wl which a footman ,

now and again replenished f ro m magnums of cham

pagne .

There was something inspiring in t he S ight some ,

thing prodigal something suggesti v e of the liberties o f

,

man s estate Bu rridge was ladling ou t st reams of for

’
.

bidden j oy- reckl ess pleasure Men who d rank were .

happy Barry had seen defeat ed foo tba ll players wee p

.

with dis appoint ment then break training and g o rois

,

tering thr ough Cambridge like v i ct ors He had seen a .

g rind , j us t flunked c ross the cam pu s crushed ; y et t hat

,

130
 B ARRY GORD ON
v ery night thanks t o wine t he fel low had j o ked as
, ,

though he had graduated wi t h h o nours If y o u drank .

,

i t made no difler enc e whe t he r y ou won o r los t

'

The taste of the b r ew wa s in Ba rry s mouth it s fi re ’

,

already in his v eins Never theless for a tim e he held off

.
, .

Lonely in t he cr o wd he wandered back to ca t ch a

,

glim pse o f Muriel from a di s tance .

She seemed to be living j oy o usly in th e m o men t with ,

n o t a t hough t of him not a shad o w in her laughin g

,

eyes She was su rr o un ded by a fl o ck of ad or e r s and

.
,

Tom had deposed M ea de As Barry wa t ched he r she .

t urned from the res t and looked up at T o m as if wi t h

dependence on him— as if wi t h love .

Ba rr y grew despe ra te The affai r S eemed worse tha n

.

e ve r Meade was only an enemy ; Tom was a br other

. .

S ta ndin g gazing a t Muriel in open des p ai r he grad ,

ually became cdnscious that people were wa tc hing him

with amusement Quivering under their smiles he tu rn ed

.
,

back t o the di ning-room Here stood Bu rr idge -still

.

ladling out streams of artificial sunshine from the bo un

tiful pun ch bowl
- .

He wo uld t ake v e ry li tt le Tha t w ould S h o w m or e

.

courage than taking none a t all He would ne ve r d rink .

immode rately He woul d drink like a man of the world

.
,

an d gain a man of t he world s ease E xperienced men ’

.

showed no emotion p ro bably fel t n o ne Why sh o uld he ?

, .

H o w childish to have so much feel ing ! Wha t foll y ev e r

13 1
 BARRY GO RDO N
t o have opened his heart to Muriel ! How undig nifi ed
to have re v ealed his despair to the world ! Mu r iel had
S tabbed him ; the world had mocked him Ne v er again .

the s t ab and mockery He would drink and be light

.

heart ed
.

The grea t barrie r flun g up SO des pe rately by his

fa the r went down His blood caught fire The prodigal
. .

ity of his race leapt up in him in a sudden momen t .

He threw res t raint t o the four winds .

W ith a swinging recklessness he went o v e r to Bur

ridge and asked fo r a glass of punc h In a few minu t es
.

he had tos sed d o wn seve ral m or e and the r o o m swam

, .

[ 13 2 ]
 BARRY GORDON
h ave been s u rprised thought he had an elephan t sud
, ,

d enl y ambled in t o the roo m and s too d o n it s head before

he r Wi t h he r a t leas t he was safe
.
, , .

As for Muriel she was surrounded by so many ad

,

mir ers that h e s eemed t o be ent i rely c ut off from he r

view .

Af ter an o ther crui se t o t he p rodigious p unch-bo wl h e ,

g rew q ui te talkat ive He began to feel h e was t he l ife of

.

th e occas i on .

On e thing bothe red him ludic rou sly He ke pt me eting .

the lily -l ike Mor ris o n t wins and t ry as he w o ul d he

, , ,

c ould no t t ell them apa rt Time and agai n h e we n t

.

c a ree ning up to one of t hem cock -sure S he was K at e

, ,

and the girl much emba rras sed would shyly rem on
, ,

s tr at e t hat She was no t Kat e bu t E mily The n the same

, .

comedy o ve r again vi c e versa, .

Thi s inflamed B a r ry s s ense of the absu r d He began

’
.

t o t ell pe o ple abou t i t l oq ua c i o usly .

”
Funnies t thing ! E a ch Mis s M orris o n h e w ould ,

sa
y, u t te r ing t he esses wi th g rea t delibera t i o n i s al ,

”
ways th e othe r Miss M orr ison Mo s t st r ao r dina ry ! .
’

In the end h e decided t her e was only one Miss Morri

son ,and t his c lea r-sigh ted co ncl u sion p r o v ed t o him
th a t h e was n ot near ly a s tipsy as people s u pp o sed .

The crowd was now thinning out and Barry ca tching , ,

t he general spirit of depart u r e fell amiably in to l ine ,

.

He t ho u gh t h e wo uld go and kn o ck a bout to wn Ah ead .

13 4
 B AR RY G OR D ON
of him t he guests were bidding farewell t o their
host ess ; and t heir hostess vaguer than e v er was mechan
, ,

ica l l y inclining her stately head Ev e ry t ime she bo wed .

,

thought Barry i t was as if Mon t Blanc sh o uld suddenly

,

begin nodding t o people In fact Mrs Beekman s absent

. .
’

minded dignity SO imp ressed him tha t when a t las t he

sto o d before her he felt quite overc ome .

Tw o o r t hree times he bowed backin g away speec h ,

lessly Ev ery one stared His bo ws were full of t he m os t

. .

exaggerated and grotesque deference Th o se w ho saw .

were s c andalised ; bu t as for M r s Bee km an he r self she .

,

was only mildly bewildered She r etu rned his S alu ta t ions.

with polite and impe rt urbable gr avi ty .

As the gu ests left they smiled They u nders t ood and

, .
,

were not surprised Mrs Beekm an s absent -mindedness

. .
’

was a by -w o rd Nor was Barry su rp rised He would

. .

not ha v e b een s u rprised had S he salaamed t o h im E ver y .

thing ludicrous was a matte r o f course a n d hi ghly r e ,

s
p e ct abl e .

He decided not to lea v e j us t ye t howeve r The las t , .

guests were shaking hands with M u riel That was an .

o b s tacle t o his e x i t whi c h he had no t c onsidered I t .

seem ed wiser n ot t o risk it .

He ret reat ed t o ward the dining-roo m On hi s way h e .

made open fun o f e v ery one he met chafling them out ,

rageously till he noticed tha t as others app r oach ed in

, ,

t en t on departing they shied off and av o ided him

, .

13 5
 BARRY GORD ON
He sa w th em l oo king back a t him as th ey left the
house Then as his l as t cruise ended and he hove to
.
, ,

in t he now dese rt ed dining-r o om he p assed through ,

a new ph as e .

Bu rridge had d ared to r efuse hi m anothe r glas s of

punch He began to be rate t he po mpous butle r
. .

”
Burridge he mumbled
, Burridge you re a f oo l , ,
’

ish old balloon and by Jove I m thi nking o f p r i c kin g

, , ,
’

you ! Then he t ried persuasion Burridge said he .

, ,

I t ake i t ba ck D y ou know who you are Bu rridge ?

.
’
,

You re t h e grea t go d Pan N o y ou re no t You re

’
.
,
’
.
’

’
Bacchus himself Tha t s wh o y o u are ! Ladle i t out Bur
.
,

”
ridge ; ladle i t o u t !
U nluckily f or B a rry Mrs Beekman h e r mental
, .
,

powers restored by t he depa rtur e o f her gu es ts glan ced ,

throu gh th e doo rway and bec ame awa re of t he wr angle .

He r cons ciousness a t on ce returned wi th piercing a cute

ness She re ca lled h is bo ws and now fo r the firs t tim e
.
, , ,

t ook a ccount o f t hem She h urr i ed f ro m th e ball room

.

in search o f her husband .

Meanwhile Muriel felt tha t he r hea rt wa s breaking .

Befo re now he r quick eye had de t e ct ed Ba rr y s co ndi ’

tion and had seen tha t ev ery one was awa re of it ; and
,

though he r friends had now left she st ill sma rt ed under ,

the memo ry of the sympathet i c glan ces with whi ch they

had bade her goo d — bye .

E ve ry de tail o f t he unhappy scene had branded itself

13 6
 BARRY GORDON
the desola te park Afte r a long silen c e he f o und voi ce
.

and asked awkwa rdly

Muriel will yo u let me love you ?
,

S h e h a r dly knew what S he answer ed she fel t so wo rn ,

an d unreal She th o ugh t she meant to be me rely fri endl y

. .

Wh e n s h e s poke she was s t ill lo oking ou t in to the N o

vembe r evening .

Yes T o m if y ou can Y es I want yo u t o l o ve me

, , .
, .

I need you r love !

This barely sat isfied him .

”
M u riel he said I don t know how t o e x p ress wh a t
, ,
’

I mean b ut I d o n t think I m ean tha t Y ou see I m

,
’
.
’

f o nde r o f yo u th an I am of any one else in the world .

A t co llege I ve been a grind fo r your sake Y ou know

’
.

I m a y ea r ahea d o f my class and graduate this spring

’
.

Then I sta rt life in earnes t an d for y o ur sake I mean ,

t o w o rk ha r d and try to become t he kind o f man you r

fat he r is ”
. His voi ce fell and was quietly ea rnes t ;
his w or ds were as simple as his hea rt Then M u r iel .
, ,

d o y ou think per ha ps s o me day there may be a chance

f or me ? Tha t is wh at I mean N ow at last I have told .

you And now a t la st I am aski n g y ou if y o u think you

.

”
c an eve r care fo r me .

Mu riel t u r ned fr omthe window and lo oked longingly

into his eyes Quiet and c on ten t and safety seem ed essen
.

t ial to he r She longed t o regain her pea c eful gi rlh oo d

.
,

a n d on ly T o m coul d r estore it to he r .

138
 B ARRY G ORD ON
As she l o oked a t him , he r eyes did no t refuse him .

I nst ant ly he was beaming wi t h hope bu t no less ,

quickly a shadow crossed his face

Mu riel I don t wan t t o be un fai r to Bar r y I wan t
,
’
.

”
to give him eve ry chan ce .

She smiled a wan lit t le smile .

”
N o Tom she said shivering d o n t give him any
, , ,
’

chance H o ld me t o this and some day make m e

.
,

Tom cou ld s ca r cely believe in his good for tune .

”
Muriel ! he e x claimed bewildered then do you ,

—
really mean will you call i t an engagemen t ? ”

Trying t o rea l ise it he glanced past her into t he

,

night which n o w to him was like day

, .

A t this m omen t her quick ear caugh t a sound in the

dining-roo m— a low j ingling of disturbed glasses In .

spite o f herself she looked in t ha t dire ction- as if m

c asually .

The sigh t she saw she never forgot B a r ry had .

tri p ped lost his balance and fallen t o the floor

, , .

Tom blinded by his hopes still ga z ed into vaca ncy

, ,

and did n ot see he r fac e Had he seen it hi s hopes might

.

have died Her exp ressi o n inst ead o f har dening was
.
, ,

fil led with s o rrow and a s hu ddering co mpassion .

On the instan t some quali t y of w omanho o d hithert o

ungu essed and all bu t n o ne x is tent sprang up in Muriel s ’

heart Though ou twardly c alm she felt herself possessed

.
,

by a s udden desi r e to dash t o the dining-roo m sli p down ,

13 9
 BARRY GORDON
beside Ba rr y t ake hi s head in her lap smoo th his f o re
, ,

head and plead with him t o come back to he r

, .

Bur ri dge politely as sisted Barry to his fee t and dr ew

the port i e res bet wee n the rooms .

Muriel s t o o d motionless da z ed Frightened by her

, .

wild impulse she grew lifelessly cold She felt bewil

, .

dere d awed rebellious agains t herself and agains t li fe

, , .

There were traits in her she had not dreamed o f dan ge rs ,

o f great outbu rs t s of e motion which in her imma c ula te

pride of y esterday she w ould have sco rned as weak or

evil
.

Tom s words still ec h o ed th ro ugh her—a gent le com

’
,

forting refrain .

Muriel will you call it an engagement ?

,

W ith a quick impulse of

world she answe r ed him
,

“ ”
Y es an engagemen t
, .

[ 1 40 ]
 BARRY GORDON
been rem ov ed Barry sa t al o ne hi s a rms thr own o u t on
.
,

the bar e t able his fa ce bu ried in them , .

Kitty sym p athetically felt that his p r esen t condi t ion

was due more t o t he suddenness of his b reach o f long
ab stinence than to the ac t ual amoun t he had d runk .

Moreover t he exci t emen t o f hi s s c ene wi th Mu riel had

,

doubtless cont ribu ted t o his fall .

Kitty t ouched one of hi s b road shoulders Failing .

t o rouse him she shook him im p atiently

, .

“ ”
B arry Bar ry ! she said In a voice of p r a ct is ed
,

“ ”
severi ty B race up ! He r ose un steadil y an d stoo d
.

smilin g a t her and She saw tha t his sleep t h o ugh b rief
, , ,

“
had helped him B a r ry can you p ull y o u r self to
.
,

ge th er ?
“ ”
What s t he use ? h e asked t hickly
’
.

”
If you don t said Ki tty you v e los t her B a r ry
’
, ,
’
.
,

you re a fool ! She lo v ed y o u and she loves you still ;

’
,

but she s so do wn -h ear t ed tha t she s lettin g another fel

’ ’

l ow t ake her away from you ri g h t under you r no se .

He seemed bu t vagu ely di s tu rbed .

T oo bad S he heard him mumble G r ea t shame ! .

Then h e smiled weakly Thanks Kitty You re a .

, .
’

brick Be tt er wai t t hough Lot s of t ime Couldn t

.
, . .
’

now po ssi b ly Ev erything s t oo—t oo swimmy

.
’
.

She came closer t o him grasped his a rms in a gen ,

t le s teadyin g grip and fixed him with a brigh t frown

, , ,

t o penetr a te the vapo urs in his brain .

[ 1 42 ]
 B ARRY GORD ON
”
She s engaged
’
, S he said incisi v ely and released ,

He staggered as if struck caught himself again s t ,

the t able and uttered some inaudible word that sounded

,

like a moan The shock sobered him as only a great

.

S hock could Wi th a remarkable e ff or t of will he suc

.
,

ceed ed in ac co mp l ishing an almost phen o men al change .

A tremo r ran through him and e v ery muscle seemed ,

t o be strained Kitty saw him as i f in the throes o f

.

some overwhelming transi t ion Aft er t his he relaxed . ,

passed a hand across hi s brow paled and s tood we ak , ,

ened but almos t himself

, .

Kitty s eyes shone with admiration

’
.

” “
Barry ! she exclaim ed ne ver d o t ha t again or , ,

you ll make me fall in lo v e wi th y ou myself Muriel s a

’
.
’

fool if she doe sn t gamble on y ou ! Come — no wait !

’
,

”
Y o u must see her alone .

She slipped b etween the porti eres and made f or the

couple in the window .

“
Tom— j ust a minute ! I wan t t o speak t o yo u .

—
Forgi v e me Muriel a secre t !
,
”

She carried it off so quickly so high handedly t ha t , ,

Tom meekly foll o wed he r t o the conservatory .

“ ”
T om you re an in terloper
,
’
she began t o ripple , .

You re a m eddler You re interfering with destiny

’
.
’
,

with the stars in their courses Y ou ha v e no intuitions .

,

Tom—none wha t e v er Can t y ou see tha t Muriel and

.
’
!

[ 1 43 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
’
Barry were bo rn for each o t he r ? Can t you see tha t
”
y ou can never win her soul ?
”
No I can t see t ha t said Tom s t ou tly I ll be
’ ’
, , .

”
sho t if I can !
Then you re a b l in d ba t said Ki tty and ga r m
’
, ,

l ously con t inued to kill time .

Barry went slowly t o Muriel W hen he sa w he r he .

was S tricken with remorse Her eyes as he came to .

,

her were so rebukin g s o piteous t ha t he could ha v e

, , ,

wep t He fel t a s if sinkin g do wn t hrough some abyss

. .

Drowning he grasped a t s t raws

, .

” ’
Muriel he said I won t believe y ou have p ro m
, ,

ised I S i t Tom ?
.

She nodded t rying t o smile t hrough a mist o f t ears

, .

Then wha t can I say Muriel ? Tom s worth thou ,

’

”
s ands of me B a rr y tried to smile t oo though his
.
, ,

“
mind was dazed and his soul in t orment I can only .

hope y o u ll be happy If I eve r again pray t ha t will

’
.
,

”
be my prayer .

He t u rned away leaving h e r alone a t t he window ,

looking ou t in t o the darkn ess .

In t he hall he me t Mr Beekman who was e vidently .

,

coming for him Mr B ee km an started t o help him up

. .

stairs bu t Bar ry quie t ly pro t es ted t ha t he needed no

,

assistance S tanding off and sc rutinising him Mr

.
, .

Beekman saw t hat t hough his eyes were feverishly ,

[ 1 44 ]
 BARRY GO RD O N
”
Wha t h a v e you decided ? asked M r Beekman un .

easily .

The trut h is M r B eekman I ve decid ed to ligh t

, .
,
’

ou t
.

Mr Beekman s t arte d a li tt le bu t almos t ins t antly

.
,

reco v ered his composu r e .

”
Ligh t ou t for where ?
”
The wo rld sai d B a rry , .

Mr B eekm an l oo ked amused

. .

’
T h e w or ld s fairly wide y ou know , .

The wider the be tter I v e always dream ed abo u t

.
’

this Ev er since my fa ther s death I v e been gr owin g

.
’ ’

”
more r estless .

Barry began pacing b ack and for th in t he g rea t ,

sq uare hall M r Beekman takin g up a s ta nd on a huge

. .
,

tiger-skin ru g wi t h his back t o an imposin g firepla ce

dev oid of fire s t udied him c a refully
, .

” “
Some t imes a t college persis ted B arry I went
, ,

alm o st mad wit h t hi s desi re t o d rop i t all and St art

out fo r nowhe re —for e v erywhere I g ot maps and .

planned trips all o v er the world I v e read bus h els of .

’

books of t ravel in half a dozen languages The r e a r e .

”
t housands of t hin gs and places I ve dreamed abo u t ’
.

His eyes were lit Up and his cheeks flushed And now .

’ ”
I swea r I m goin g t o see them !
Mr Beekm an fro wned be wildered by this outb urs t
.
, .

See what ? h e ask ed .

1 46
 BARRY GORDON
B arry paused in hi s res tless march and ga z in g , ,

through t he doorway in t o t he large dim mirror began , ,

t o smile as i f seein g in its depths far visions one aft e r ,

another appea r in g and dissol v ing before him He came .

and faced M r Beekm an The t wo as usual in t hei r

. .
,

duels s t o od t hr ough t he whole in te rview B arry t oo

, ,

impat ien t to sit Mr Beekman too alert . ,

. .

Ba r ry spoke more and more fluen t ly h is voi c e r eso ,

nan t and l ow his brain nearly sober bu t his soul half

, ,

in toxica t ed wi t h a sudden powe r of t alk He began .

,

as i t were t o lis t his visions ,

”
I wan t t o see he said swiftly t he Taj M ahal a t
, ,

Agra the G e ne r alif e and Cou rt of the Lions at Gra

,

nada I wan t to se e the ruin s o f Ca rt hage and the

.

Greek thea t re a t Ta o rmina with t he m o on fadin g abov e

E tna as the sun rises o ver the Calabrian hills I want .

to look up at t he Matterho rn Fuj iyama the grea t , ,

pyramid of Cheops And I wan t t o put a riddle t o the .

Sphinx .

M r Beekman shi ft ed much dis t urbed

.
, .

What riddle ?
Bar r y sh ru gged .

I shall S imply a sk her : Why ? —the e t e rnal

W hy
‘ 3,
?
“
And she being the e t ernal feminine , said Mr , .

Beekman wi t h a fo rced smile will answer : Just be ,

ca use .
’

[ 1 47 ]
 BARRY GORDON
B a r ry laughed in co nseq uen t ly an d made a wr y gr i ,

mace .

”
Then I ll s c ra t c h h e r ne c k said h e
’
and make , ,

her pur r
” ’
Bar ry said M r B eekman
, you re a ca se
.
, .

Yes an d t he Sphinx is a ca t
,
.

”
There s no need of your consult ing her p r o tested
’
,

Mr B eekman
. Pu t yo ur problems to me and I ll try
.
,
’

”
t o help you work them ou t .

Barry shook his head sadly .

N 0 one can help me M r Beekman M y fa the r , . .

talked t o me befo re he di ed in a way that ough t to ha v e

”
kept me from drin king A deep shadow cros sed Barry s .
’

“
eyes . As a ma tt er of fact i t did keep me straight a ,

whil e bu t some t imes I nearly wen t cra zy with restless

,

”
ness Again he shrugged carelessly and laughed
. And .

t o-day I dropped the whole t hing and fairly di v ed in to

t he pun ch bo wl !
-

His manne r again grew serious mo od follo wing m oo d ,

with e v ery im pulse of hi s volatile na t ure .

M r Bee kman if my own fa ther coul dn t help me

.
,
’
,

how can you ? No ; wha t I need is life—t he world— art !

’
Oh you don t kn ow how I long t o see all the paintin gs
,

and s t at ues— all the mas terpieces !

He moved away wal ked t o and fro again t hen
, ,

pau sed and once more ga zed a t t he vis i o ns ap pea r ing

and dissolving in t he dis tan t mirr or .

1 48
 B ARRY GORDON
in N Ot re Dame gui tars in N ap les and to m -t o ms in
, ,

”
Timbuc t oo He laughed again wi t h whimsi cal i rr e
.
,

“
sponsible mi r t h Yes I really mus t hea r to m -t oms
.
,

in Timbu ctoo !
He p aused and s u ddenly cha n ged His fa ce clouded .

and paled ; his muscles relaxed ; his h umour and fie ry

vehemen ce lef t him He l o oked iner t and help less
. .

C rossing the hea rt h he li ft ed his a rms t o the man tel

,

shelf and buried his face in them After all his men tal .

pi ct ures all t he glory and beauty and c omedy of his

,

visions t here came a c rushing sense of loneliness Ti ll

, .

now he had always wandered over t he wo rld hand in

h and as i t were with Muriel In e v ery dream she had

, , .

been t he moving spi r it the inspira t ion t he deeper lure ;

, ,

bu t n o w t he vi sions were withou t a so ul and much a s , ,

he had made o f them in this impet uous talk he saw a t ,

l as t wit h a sicken ing di sillusion tha t all t hei r co l o ur

, , ,

r hyt hm and beau t y were gone

, .

He t u rned from t he m an t el wi t h a new and g rim

sort o f re c klessness ; and M r Beekman was remin ded .

of the por tr ai t o f General Nicholas Go rdon—a wolf o f

a man .

B a r ry glan ced down a t t he t iger-S kin befor e th e fi re

place .

“ ’ ”
I d like t o bag a few of t hese chaps ! h e said ,

frowning into the glass eyes Then he looked up and .

“
t ensely faced M r Beekm an I want t o go in to th e
. .

1 50 ]
 B ARRY GORD ON
’
wilds Wh e r e t he map is blank and no man s been I
. ,

”
wan t t o go He flun g back his head and squared his
.

”
powerful sh o ulders And where ver there s fighting
.
’
,

he cried recklessly his bl oo d leapin g wi t h the words

, ,

”
by God I wan t t o figh t !
,

M r Beekman smiled not withou t admi rat i o n and

.
, ,

laid a s t rong white hand o n Barry s a rm ’

.

My bo y you r e t oo fiery for these t imes Cur b

,
’
.

yourself Train yourself Ha rness you r energy If yo u

. . .

d o I can use you in business in politi c s You need po w

, , .

e rf ul influen ces to ha mmer you into shape W i t h this .

na t ure of yours properly equipped and confin ed to s teel

”
rails like a loc o m ot ive I c an d o a l ot wi t h you
, .

B arry laughed .

You can t run a horse on r ails like a loc om ot ive

’
.

He goes on h oof s no t wheels S o do I go on hoofs

, .

”
like t he de v il !
M r Beekman ign ored thi s levity
Tom s learning the technical par t—
. .

“ ’
e nginee r ing I .

can s t ar t you on the human par t— the upper stra t um

from which men of imagin ation and pot en ti al forc e p la y
”
t he game and move the pawns .

Ba r ry sh oo k his head .

I d ge t im pa t ient send the ch essbo a rd flying

’
, ,

and brea k up t he game No Mr Beekman I ve go t .

, .
,
’

to get ou t in t o wide expanses—t he Western plains or

E as te rn dese rt s I want t o b e free ; I need to be f ree
.

1 51
 BARRY GORDON
” “
free ! h e cr ied passi o na t ely The o nly po we r ful in .

fluenc es t ha t c an h amme r m e in to s ha p e a r e t he f o u r
”
winds of heaven !
Mr Beekman fel t utte rly a t a l o s s In t he bringing
. .

up of male you t h he was inexpe rien c ed ; he had never

had a son All his life he had managed men in t he mass
.
,

b uil t railr o ads gu ided poli t i cal p ar t ies bu t t he fi ne

, ,

s t eel of hi s c ha rac t er had neve r been pitted against any

quali ty o f human na t ure as large and ho t as this To .

t ry and harness Barry see med like t rying t o pu t hand

cu ff s on a flame .

Never t heless he did not ou t wardly be tr ay his disad

,

van t age .

” “
Barry he said im pa ssively
, unde r t he t e rms of ,

’
your father s will even your in come is in my con t rol
until you re t hirt y years old W ell and goo d ! You Go r
’
.

dons have always been spoiled by money and the ind ul

’
gen t weakness of you r family and friends W e ll see .

wha t se v eral years of pove rty will d o -several yea r s

”
roc k bo t tom He spoke a s if t o himself his eyes nar
.
,

rowin g Tha t migh t work well You might find your

. .

sel f You migh t come ou t of i t a man o f cha racter a

.
,

”
man o f mark He loo k ed up a t Ba rry wi t h swift deci
.

” ”
sion . If yo u go he said you go without a penny ! , ,

Ba rr y s t ar t ed fr o wned a nd bi t his lip , ,

.

”
Do you me an tha t ?
”
I me an i t .
 C HAPTE R VII

A N A N X I O U S E V E N IN G . MR . B EE KMA N P LAY S PA T IE N C E .

A LE TT E R F RO M N OW H E R E

HADOW S o f an x iety brooded t ha t nigh t o v e r

the B eekm an family B arry with ou t a word
.

had gone ou t j us t aft e r t he reception and ,

though it was long pas t midni g h t he had not retu rned , .

The house was p rofoundly silen t Nothing rec alled .

Mu riel s début sa v e a faint odour o f massed flowers as

’
,

c endin from down -s tairs

g .

”
Tom said Mrs Beekman sniffin g the air
, . please
, ,

”
shu t the door That odou r s like a funeral !
.
’

In the lib r a ry whe re they sa t the gloo m lay even

, ,

dee p er than in t he othe r emp ty roo ms As a rule t his .

,

library seemed a sanc t uary with many influences In its .

rich atmospher e there was personality ; in its well -bo und

b ooks that l ined the wall s from floor t o ceil in g spiri t
and in tell ect ; in i t s wide w oo d fire a big hea rt He re .

and t here huge leather lounging chairs ofle r ed com

'

for t in g a rms and prodigious laps — l ike grea t mo t he rs .

Tables wi t h b ooks magazines and the photographs of

, ,

f riends gave e vidence o f the con v entional e v eryday li fe

of a rich and yet con ten t ed fa mily Bu t t o— nigh t the r e .

1 54
 B ARRY GO RDO N
was n o ease in the r oom s quie t The silen c e was res t
’
.

less They were all wai t in g

. .

Muriel glan ced wea rily a t her fa t her He wa s t ry .

in g t o read his E vening P o st ; bu t she could tell by

his absent lo o k tha t t o -night t he quo t a t ions in the
finan cial c olumn s we r e as me aningless to him a s hiero
glyphs .

She glan ced d ully a t he r m oth e r Mr s B eekman as . .

,

us u al sat rigid in a s t raight-bac ked chai r unde r an

,

elect ric ligh t wi t h a plain green sh ade Thi s corne r .

st em l proclaimed i t self hers In an alcove far fro m

y .
,

the fire it aff orded her a sor t of office where on a desk

, , ,

numerous ethical and soc iological pamphlets were nea t ly

piled he r c orrespondence nea tly pigeonholed In a c hai r
, .

opposi t e her lay a green Ch in tz workbag She was ne rv .

ousl
y kni tt in g washrags for the poo r .

Muriel res t lessly looked away The mec hani cal dance .

of t he s t eel needles was as i r ri t at in g as th e t i ckin g of

the clock .

She sat curled up in o ne of the big a rm chai rs by

th e fi r e not even pret ending to read n ot once glan cing
, ,

a t T om who sat nea r wa t chin g over her wi t h a new

, ,

m o odin ess for eign t o his na ture To him she seemed .

so ethereally al oof that th ough he l o n g ed to t ry to co m

,

f ort her he did n ot dare , .

For this forbearan ce Muriel fel t g r at eful t o him .

T alk wo uld have dr iven her mad She was l os t in a grea t

.

1 55
 B ARRY GOR D ON
void She fel t numb and unreal and very lonely Her
. .

father and mot her and T om were n o more than gh o s t s .

Wha t was Tom s guarding lov e to her n o w ? Wha t were

’

her father s t enderness her mother s s t ern ca re of he r ?

’
,
’

In all her small t roubles these had upheld and s tr en gt h

ened her Her high s t rung t emperamen t instead of
.
-
,

making her independent had made her lean yieldingly ,

in t rivial matt ers on people who loved her Bu t t o-nigh t .

there was no one in the world who could bring her out
o f her gr e a t loneliness and make her happy .

N o one ?
Waves of ho t c olour surged up suddenly t o her t em
p les She t hough t of t he momen t when Barry had held
.

her in his arms .

She closed her eyes It was as if she felt h s lips on

.
i

hers again— but n ow her hear t responded The kiss was .

like a red flower in the grea t v oid Bu t the flower had .

died .

Tom heard a S ha rp c a t ch in her breat h and was trou

bled .

” “
Muriel he said wha t s the matter ? Don t you
, ,
’ ’

feel well ?
Mrs Beekman glan c ing a t t he t wo c omp ressed her
.
, ,

thin li p s Tom was ti r ing Mu r iel The girl s nerves were

. .
’

unstrung Oh the vanit y of these débuts ! The folly of

.
,

t hese love a ff airs !

“ ” “
Tom said Mrs Beekm an suddenly
, I m really
.
,
’

1 56
 B AR RY G OR D ON
She sighed and res umed her work The a ttemp t had
, .

failed Muriel did no t s t ir or open her eyes She had not

. .

even hea r d wha t her mot her had said .

Tom gazed d o wn a t he r forl or nly dumbly w o nde r ,

ing wha t he r t hough t s we re As a matte r of fa ct Muriel .

,

had forgotten his presence She was utte r ly alone in .

,

t he gray v oid Slowly a r isin g t ide o f tea rs o ve r

.

b r imm ed he r eyes and one dro p s to le out u nder her

,

lowe red lashes .

Tom woe beg o ne ben t c loser t o her

-
, , .

” “
Mu riel he whispered , don t ! Wh a t s t he ma t
,
’ ’

”
t e r ? He longed to cons o le her but t he fac t tha t ,

B arry s non —
’
appearance seemed to be the cause o f her
despondency de t erred him Ex a ct ly wha t Bar ry had .

d o ne h e co uld no t make ou t—e viden t ly some t hin g which

n one of t hem cared t o dis cu ss He felt be wildered and .

helpless As a rule she had leaned on him confided in

.
, ,

h im He had blindly believed t ha t he unders t ood her

. .

B u t t o—night she wa s wrapped in a sad rese rve which

he did no t da re to pen et ra t e .

Ye t somethin g mus t be d o ne He co uld bea r i t no .

longer Wi t h an instin c t ive appe al h e cr ossed to M r s

. .

Beekm an and said in an under t one

,

”
M uriel s cryin g ’
.

He had a way t ha t wen t t o pe o ple s h ea rt s Mrs ’

. .

Beekman looked v ery uncomfo rt able Rollin g up her .

washrag she poked the needl es thr ough it and dr opped

,

1 58 ]
 BARRY GORDON
i t in to the Chin tz bag As she looked o ve r at Muriel he r .

bleak face softened She rose and went t o her . .

“ ” “
Dear child she said you r e ti r ed I t s all t he
, ,
’
.
’

exci t emen t — t he crowd Come t o bed . .

Muriel lightly sprang up dashed away her t ears and ,

smiled .

—
,
’”
No I m no t tired not a bi t S he said her pride , ,

stingin g he r in t o self-defence Come le t s do some .

,
’

t hing Tom you re an owl !

.
,
’

She t u rned away and drift ed idly abou t the room ,

taking up a magazine here and glancing a t i t s pic t ures ,

a b ook there and tossing i t aside unop ened .

M r s Beekman could stand the strain no longer She

. .

wen t to her husband and confr on t ed him .

“
Frank why don t we speak ou t ? All t he e v ening
,
’

we ve been t hinking o f o ne t hing only and yet we

’
,

hav en t dared t d mention i t W e re moral c owards W e re

’
.
’
.
’

— — ”
afraid t o face facts our thou g ht s our fears Her pale
'

” ’
blue eyes were wide with anxiety W here s B arry ? .

Mu riel glan ced up from a magazine Tom looked at .

Mr Beekman The dropping o f a pin would ha v e been

. .

audible The t icking o f the clock was appalling Mr

. . .

Beekman t he picture of discomfor t shi ft ed in his chair

, , ,

shrugged and forced a smile , .

My dear how should I know ? A r e y o u w o rried ?

,

Yes ; and so a re you .

He t ried to look surp rised .

1 59
 B AR RY G OR D ON
I worried ? Why should I be ? N onsen se .

I can t unders t and i t persis t ed Mr s Beekman

’
, . .

He so r arely s tays away from dinne r wi thou t telling

us Aft er all t ha t happened to day you must con fess
.
-
,

”
i t l oo ks serious She suddenly sh ot a glan ce a t M u riel
. .

Where is he ?
Muriel shook he r head in S il en ce M r s B eekman . .

t urned t o Tom .

W here is he ?
Tom sa w t ha t Mu r iel wai t ed breat hless fo r his answer .

”
I don t know he said doggedly ; then in spi t e of
’
,

his g rowing j ealousy his kind hea rt pre v ailed Fo r M u .

riel s sake he made ligh t of i t I ca ll it much ado abou t

’
.

”
no t hing he said , He s gone t o t he theatre of course
.
’
, ,

and t o supper aft erwa rds He told me he was go ing .

”
every blessed nigh t when he came t o N ew Yo rk .

M r s Beekman frown ed
. .

”
He s too fond of pleasure she mut t e r ed He
’
, .

”
wastes his money and his t ime Ne vertheless she look ed .
,

re assured and Mu riel t oo brightened One and all they

, , , .

were wa rmed by t he r ay of hope dim and art ificial ,

t hough i t was .

.
—
Mr Beekman r o se fet ched his card t able from th e
,

co rner un folded i t and resea t ed himself com fortably

, ,

in his armchai r Then he li t a cigarette and fell t o shuf

.

fling t he pack fo r a game of pa t ien ce .

”
A game said he v ery app r opria t e a t p r esen t
, , .

1 60
 BOOK IV

TH E R OLL I N G S TO N E
 B ARRY GORD ON
de r abo u t t he kin gd o ms o f the deep ; or w r ec ked more ,

hop elessly in the s tr ee ts o f L o ndon y o u mi gh t s tand ,

and l is t en t o a p r ea cher o n a barrel and be warned in ,

s triden t co ckney of a kingd o m deepe r ye t— the old bib

lica l hell ; o r in any ca t hed r al o f an E as t e r S unday
m or n ing y o u migh t fan cy yourself floa t ing on the wings
of the music to the old biblical hea v en ; but if yo u want ed
pleasure S heer p leasure this was the only place for it
, ,

this Pa ris .

I f you were willing t o wai t un t il you d i ed you coul d ,

obta in pro mises o f ul t imat e sa t isfac t ion a l mos t any

where Chris t ian p ries t s Buddhis t pries t s Shin t o
.
, ,

pries t s V o odoo pries t s— all would promise you some

,

sor t of paradise or Nirvana E ven t he s triden t evan

.

g e l ist fished wi t h a baited hook Bu t if you to ok

. you r
s a t isfac t ion now t hey would o ne and all consign you
,

t o t hei r favouri t e hells o r else to no t hingness — excep t

t his ar ch -pries t ess of plea sure t hi s wan t on q ueen o f t he
,

cities of t he world — t hi s Paris .

W he r e else could you live life ? W here else coul d you

forge t the pas t laugh a t the future and clasp the pres
, ,

en t in your a rms in unashamed abandonment ? He re a t

leas t the devil was no hyp o crite An d where else could .

you gra t ify e v ery mood inn oc en t as well as dan g erous ?

,

Here were t he deligh t s o f co m p any— ar t t alk literary ,

t alk socie t y t alk ; he r e we r e t he deligh t s o f soli t ude

, ,

medi t at i on and wo rk ; and he re we re t he delight s o f

,

1 66
 B ARRY GO RDO N
t he out — O f -d oo rs — t he sigh t o f this ho l ida y Pa r is c rowd ,

wi th its streams of ca r riages i t s b ril liant Women d r iving

, ,

ou t t o be seen—women alone t ill nigh t ; its bourgeoisie

—thin husbands and fa t wives fi v e o r six in one c on ,

vey anc e the women giggling a t the t igh t fit ; its nonde

,

script well -dressed pairs with t heir subtle prelim inary

, ,

flir t at ions t he sparkle o f the women s eyes t he vivacious

’
, ,

ges t ures o f their hands the irony o f their mou ths the
, ,

chatter and laugh t er as they drove by ; and then i t s chil

dren—t he pale Paris children now and again pausing ,

in their play and wa t chin g it all from the curb s o lemnly ,

.

As he glanced a t t he children one of t hem p ar t icu ,

l a r ly at t racted his attention She was a dain t y thin

.
, ,

fashionable lit tle girl dressed in s t archy white with bare ,

legs white socks and flu t tering ligh t bl u e ribbons He

, , .

wondered w h a t t he child was t hinking of she l oo ked so ,

grave as she wa t ched t he pagean t .

One small hand hung passive a t her S ide in the o t he r ,

she ab sently held capti v e by a long t hread a bright

red t oy balloon which bobbing back and fo rth high
, ,

o ve r her head seemed ve ry in co n g ruo us above so serious

,

a youngster .

The litt le ballo o n h eld his ga z e fascinated He .

looked a t it musingly reminiscently and smiled

, , .

But e v iden tly the child had forgo t ten its exis t ence .

Her thought s or un t hinking wondermen t seemed a t

las t wholly to wi thdraw her from t he mat e r ial world .

[ 1 67 ]
 B AR RY GORDON
A t al l even t s he r finge r s rela x ed t he t hread slipped and , ,

t he ba ll oo n j um ped up wards .

The li tt le girl a t once all child j umped aft e r i t

, , ,

bu t t he l o s t t hread was already bey o nd her reach .

The sp ect a t o r on th e c hair spran g across the pa th

and clu t ched at it .

”
Mon sieur ! Mon sieu r ! cried t he li tt le Pa risian ,

s t anding on tip -t oe and reaching up a fu t ile h and .

V ite ! Ah mon pauvr e ballon

,

Too la t e ! Th e ba lloon c augh t by t he bree z e w en t

, ,

ailin g ove r th e w ood s h igh into the sky— a t iny t ouch

o f c r imson .

The cen t re o f an am u sed g r oup they s t o od and ,

wa t ched i t he wi t h a queer r eminis c en t smile the child

, ,

at firs t t oo bewildered and fascina t ed by it s fading as

c en t t o cry Bu t as i t vanished beyond t he t rees she
.

began to sob silen t ly He fel t un co mfor table and too k

.

her hand lo oking abo ut f o r her nu rse

, .

”
N e v e r mind he said half t o himself
, I t always .

”
happens Wha t else can y o u expec t ?
.

He spoke in E n glish an d the child no t u nderstand

, ,

ing grew frigh t ened She drew away her hand Then
, . .

f o r tuna t ely he r fa t bo nne all gingha m and cap and,

s t reaming ribb o ns c ame billowin g t o he r and too k h er

,

in h er a rms .

Telle e st la vie said t he man s miling

, and t he , ,

”
ultimate grea t co mforting nurse is dea th .

[ 1 68 ]
 B ARRY GORD ON
T h e l o ok she men t ioned s t ole again in t o his fa ce .

”
I was remembering he said , a cer ta in ve ry la r ge ,

”
and r io t ous ball o on a c r azy ad v enture I once had
, .

K i tty sparklin g wi t h in t e r est res t ed he r hand invit

, ,

ing ly on t he sea t beside her .

C o me and drive with me and tell me abo u t i t .

He S to od hesi t ant a moment one foot on t he c arr iage ,

s t ep and Ki tt y tact fully waited withou t urging him

, .

Judging by his well-cut E nglish travelling suit he ,

was comfor t ably off Since she knew he could not have
.

ye t drawn o n his inheritance his work as they had all , ,

supp o sed mus t have yielded him a fai r income But

, .

t hough h e wa s barely t wenty -seven he looked well o v er

thir ty Ins t ead of t he mercuri al imaginati v e impulsive
.
, ,

y ou t h she had once kn o wn she saw before her a man

,

w ho se dark eyes seemed deeper se t and colder ; a man

with a bronzed weather-beaten skin clean -shaven save ,

fo r a bro wn mous t ache which was r athe r coarse and not

,

heavy enough to hide a grim look abou t his sensi tive

mouth ; a man in fac t somewha t hardened by exp e r i
, ,

ence Ye t Kit ty no t iced t ha t despite this hardness and

.
,

the shad o ws t ha t kep t c r o ssing his face he had t he ,

grace o f th e bo rn wande rer t he ease of an a cquired ,

fatalism He seem ed in s hort one of t he rares t of human

.
, ,

anomalies—a lovable S t oi c .

”
You v e l oo ked life in th e fa c e she said
’
and so , ,

”
have I .
 B ARRY G O R DO N
The words were spo ken s o gently with so much c om ,

prehension and yet implied such a careful considera

,

tion o f his feelings because she had feelings t oo that , ,

he smiled gratefully steppe d into the carriage and

, ,

seated himself beside her .

Kitty flushed with pleasure .

W here shall we drive ?

Anywhere ”
he answered ,
“
Around the world if .
,

”
you like .

”
Bu t that laughed Kitty with the faintes t hint of
, ,

a sidelong look at him would necessitate crossing the

,

”
A tlantic .

”
Oh all right he said with a trace of his old reck
, , ,

”
lessness that delighted her L et s ! .
’

She looked up at the coachman .

A l Amer ique she ordered whimsically

’ ”
, .

The coachman leaned s t ill fu rther sideways and back

wards doubtin g his ears
,
.

”
Oh anywhere laughed Kitty with a gesture U p
, , .

”
and down .

Though in her haste to make off with her capti v e

She had lapsed to her mother tongue this proved more ,

intelligible to the coachman and Ki tty s t riumphant ,

’

drive b egan .

In one sense She already r egarded i t in this light .

Aside from he r friendl y pleasure at seeing Barry she ,

derived a very feminine sat is fac t ion at being even f or ,

[ 1 71 ]
 BARRY GORD ON
an ho u r the c omp anion of a man a bo u t whose name s o
,

much curiosity gossip and mystery had cen t red at

, ,

home Others might conj ectu re and repeat hearsay but

.
,

she wo uld Speak wi t h authori t y .

B arry Gordon ? Oh yes I s aw him myself— too k a , ,

long drive with him in Paris .

A t first it look ed as if this would be her only rewa rd .

Lon g they drifted up and do wn t ill t he s t reams o f car ,

r ia es and pedest rians floa t ed away from them into the

g
heart of Paris and the green -gold ligh t under the trees
,

in t he Bois faded into purple shad ows and the skele t on ,

tower and the Arc de Triomphe were dream structures

built of the dusk and along the Champs E lys ees the
,

lights of houses kindled one b y one like eyes o p ening ,

and wat ching them .

Ye t they t alked t he tri vial tal k o f t he to wn their ,

topics the long black glo v es of Y v et t e G uilbert the ,

beauty o f Ca v alieri the drooping hair of C l éo de

,

M e r ode the current plays and songs t he race s a t Lo ng

, ,

champs t he la t es t in ternational marriage Ki t ty felt

, .

disheartened There was no t hin g for it she finally de

.
,

cided bu t a gentle appeal Afte r a long silen ce she said :

, .

Ba rry why shoul d we frit t er away thi s d ri v e ? I

,

shall ne v er forgi v e myself !

He patted her h and .

“
Never mind Kitty I ll fo r give you In fa ct I
, .
’
.
,

couldn t have forgi v en you i f you hadn t f rittered it

’ ’

1 72
 B AR RY GORD ON
p r ivileges O n the other ha nd if i t succeeds— well— half
.

a loaf s bet ter than n o bread Come and dine with me

’
.

and talk t o m e — no t confiden t ially i f you don t feel like ,

’

it and n o more personally than you wan t to Come ;

, .

”
we ll talk t hings ove r a s man and man !
’

Her plea succeeded because for all he r real and ,

almos t pathetic since r ity she t a ct fully used the old ,

Platonic appeal the indescribably t elli ng appeal of a

,

woman o ff e ri ng t o a man a man s companionship ’

.

“
All right K itty Whe re shall we break ou r half
, .

loaf ? I mus t dress .

She demurred a t this fearing she migh t l o se him

, .

”
Then dine with me he suggested already growin g
, ,

“
gayer . W e ll g o ac r oss the ri v e r t o the older Paris
’
.

The Café de la Paix isn t the place t o wear clo thes lik e
’

these and b reak half loa v es Instead of champa gne and .

p ate s I v ot e f or Burgu ndy and ro as t duck That s a .

’

”
be fl e r be g inning for a solid f riendship .

Kitty nodded in radiant co nsent Though she was no t .

altogether fond of the din g y Qua rter fu l b o died wines

l -
,

and raw game she would have e v en tackled a bee f at

,

a barbe cue had a beef bee n the ne cessary symbo l of thei r

new friendship s solidity
’
.

Wher e B a rry ?
,

He leaned for wa r d to the coa chman .

“ ”
Au Café Col ombe rt ! he orde red wi th an ea g e r
ne ss that wa rm ed h e r .

1 74
 CHAPTE R II

D U C K A N D B U RG U ND Y P LA T O NI C S I N P ARIS
. . K I TT Y
T A CT F U L L Y P U M PS H E R CA PT I V E

H E Café Col ombert wa s almost empty Too ex .

pensi v e for the a verage student and t oo dingy

,

f or r ich American s i t was patronised only

,

by those willing t o dispense with mere glitt er fo r the

sake o f real maste rpieces in the culinary art .

The p r op rie to r his serious face mellowing when he

,

saw Barr y led them with an air hospitably g ra c ious

, , ,

to a co rner table This fine old hos t was a bene v olent

.

looking man with a kindly dignity by no means unim

,

pressi v e ; a man wi t h deep dreamy blue eyes and a great

,

mane of sil v ery hair He had a sligh t s t oop cau sed

.
,

pe rhaps by year s of inven t ion and countless c rucial

momen t s when bending ov er the c oncoc t ions of his
,

chef he himself tas t ed and subtly seasoned t hem in

, ,

fusing in t o them th e pe r s o nal t ou ch t ha t had won him

fame .

He recei v ed Barry s suggestions wi t h grav e interest

’

and finally with the pleas ed nod of the born res taurant
keeper who reco gnises nice discriminat ion in a guest .

As he left them Ba rry smiled .

1 75
 BARRY GORDON

Fran cois knows he s aid tha t in tru e a rt s imp li

, ,

”
c ity is t he hi ghest achievement They so ciably be gan .

nibbling b read callin g it their half l oaf But Franco is

, .

”
is very v ersatile p ursued B arry , He ca n coo k eggs .

two hund red and n ineteen diff e rent ways He nam es .

t hem after his n otable guests On the list you ll find .

’

royalty ar t is t s m u sicians au t ho rs all m o re or less wel l

, , , ,

”
known .

How abo ut B arry Gordon ? casually asked Ki tt y

”
,

- “
drawing off he r fawn coloured glo v es H as F ran co is .

”
included Ba r ry Go rdon on his roll of fame ? She shot
”
a quick gl an ce a t him Ah he has ! she exclaimed
.
, .

You should twirl you r m oust ache downwa rds ins tead
”
o f straigh t The corners of your mouth betray you
. .

”
How d o y ou like it ? he asked smiling .

—
W ha t your mousta che I lo v e it !
? ”

” ”
No he laughed ; my bo ok
,
.

Oh you mean The Ad v entures of a Rolling

,

S t one
Yes ; tha t s t he only one I v e wri tten—or ev er shall
’ ’
,

proba bly .

”
I l ov e tha t t oo she answe red
, , How t hrilling it .

is ! What a sale it s ha ving ! I didn t dare mention it

’ ’
,

though b ecause I t hought it might

, She hesita te d .

”
You though t i t might be a sore subj ect be con ,

”
cluded f or her The criticis m s were so harsh
. .

She sh rugged c arelessly .

1 76
 BARRY GORDON
be fo r e him h e looked wi th wande r ing t h o ughts
o ff .

Ki tty co ve rt ly St udying him sa w ligh ts and shadows

, ,

cross his eyes His r eminis cence s were e v ident ly fi lled

.

wi t h the spi ri t of an adven turo us libe rt y s o mewha t

ma rred by r egre t .

”
B ot h he answe red at las t They spent a momen t
, .

ex t rica ting t he mullets ba ckbo nes Then he suddenly

’
.

looked up his fa ce grew tense and a ques tion forced

, ,

itself f ro m him agains t his will How d o ot her peo ple .

t ake i t ? How doe s

K i tty s pulses quickened
’
.

”
One can only c onj ec t u re she r eo l ied withou t ,

meet ing his ga z e ; bu t the ve ry day after you r b oo k

appeared he r long engagemen t to Tom whi ch I fan c y
, ,

h ad been only a s o r t o f pr iva t e unders ta n ding was sud ,

”
d enly announ ced !
B a rry t urned qu ietly to th e wai t e r .

”
B ring th e wine h e said As he t urned again t o
, .

K i tty he tried to smile She s happy isn t s h e ?

.
’
,
’

Kitt y r ais ed h e r ey eb ro ws shr ug g ing ,

.

—
She seems pa ssi v ely so not ve ry Ki tt y t hough t
”
.

that the trut h—th e no t ve ry —would pleas e him but ,

e v iden t ly i t did no t A l o ok so helpless and l o s t dark

.

ened his intense fa ce as he glan ced impa tien tly for the
,

wai te r th at K i tty wi th ou t unde r s tanding he r sym

, ,

pa thy added qui c kly : T o m s away you k no w Pe r

,
’
,
.

haps th a t s i t ’
.

1 78
 BA R R Y GORD ON
The wait e r filled t heir glasses wi th t he ri ch red wine .

Ba rr y S lightly incl ined his head t owards he r befo r e t hey

drank Then as he sipped the Bu r gu ndy h e asked
.
, ,

quiet ly
“
Whe r e ha s h e gon e ? His v o i ce fell
” “
D ea r old .

Tom !
To M oro cco .

”
To M orocco ! he e x claim ed in su rp r ise .

Y es Y ou remember
. Mr Beekman s railro ad .
’

proj ect ? Surely you v e read in the newspapers abou t

’

”
the Beekman Roche Syndi cate ?
-

Barry se t down his glass bu t kep t t he s t em be ,

t ween his fin gers and still glanced into the w ine s red
,
’

depths .

I think I did see something bu t I m no t int erest ed ,

’

in ruining the wonderful expanses o f Af rica with rail

”
roads Tom s su r veying I suppose ?
.
’
,

”
Y es Afte r he g raduated
. said Ki tty Mr Beek , , .

'

man ga v e him a chance a t const ruction -work in the

W est He made great headway Bu t p robably you al
. .

”
ready know all t his from letters ?
The old los t look crept into B a rry s eyes ’

No ; I v e no perma nen t addr ess y ou see He drank

’
, .

”
again . Tell me .

”
I don t know much abo u t i t she resumed butter
’
, ,

ing a morsel of crust I be lie v e the Sultan has granted

.

r ail ro ad concessions to a French and Ameri can s y n di cat e

[ 1 79 ]
 BARRY GORDON
o f wh i ch Mr Beekman is the ruling S pi rit Ab o u t a
. . .

m o n th ag o he sen t T o m out t he r e with a party o f en

”
g inee rs .

B arry f ro w n ed .

M oro cco s not ve ry s afe a t p resent

’
.

N o ; bu t t his may mean a lo t to T om if the plan ,

p ro v es p r act icable They a r e su rveying the pr opo sed

.

rout e w hich is quite long I m no t exa ct ly su r e whe re

, .
’

i t is I t runs all the way f ro m s o mewhe re t o s o mewh e re

.

”
else al o ng the sou t h coas t o f the Medi te r r anean .

B ar ry emp t ied his glass and n od ded as he refilled it , .

”
Y es ; f r om Cape Sp a r t el to O ran He laughed bi t .

t e rly and she saw t hat a slight change so sub t le as to

, ,

be al m o s t unno t iceable h ad c o me o v er him She could , .

n o t defin e i t ex c ep t tha t p erhaps his dark eyes were if ,

possible mo r e exp r essive t han before Perhaps i t was

, .

t he wine ; perhaps i t wa s t he deepening o f their c om

p i
an ons hip .

”
Yes he repeated bitte rly
, from Cape Sp art el ,

to O r an—and t he coun t ry will be ruined by American

t ourists and French crimin als ! Mr Beekman means .

well Like Cecil Rhodes he thinks in c o ntinents Bu t he

.
, .

isn t personal ; h e is n t human My fa t her w ould never

’ ’
.

have planned a railroad in Morocco He w ould ha ve .

done a s I ve done He w o uld ha v e lived t here wi t h t he

’
.

natives He would have ridden their horses and go n e

.

pig-s t i c king and roved through t he coun t ry makin g

, ,

[ 1 30 ]
 B AR RY G OR D ON
Th ro u g ho u t t he res t of t hei r repas t they talked mo re
fr eely and intimately D rawn ou t by her com radeship
.
,

his t on gue loosened by the strong wine B arry no t only ,

ans wered he r t a ct fully pu t ques t ions bu t soon be g an,

to v ouchs afe in fo rma t ion and co nfi de nce s By t he t ime .

t he salad had been disposed of and an excell ent Camem

be r t cheese lingeringly eaten Ki tt y h ad learned much
, .

Piecing toge t her this and that wi th the ad ventures so

r acily sket ched in his book she ob tained a v i vid bi rd s
,
’

eye imp r es sion of t he se v en years .

The scroll wa s rapidly unrolled He t old his st o r y

.

wi t h such a ligh t t ouch such a gay whimsicality tha t

, ,

Kitty only now and then had a gl impse of th e blac k

despai r t ha t had dogged him th rough t he world as in
e vit abl as his own shadow One t hing onl y he withheld
y .

— his memo ries of his incessan t gr inding ba ttles wi th

himself ; his repeated confli ct s agains t d rink and o the r
tempta t ions ; and all his dire failu res in the se s truggles .

He t old e v er ything else as impersonally as if speakin g

of anothe r man ; yet the mirage he conj u r ed up wa s
e ven more vi v id than presen t real i t ies His ta lk was even
.

r acier than his book ; and Ki t ty brea t hlessly lis t ening

,

t o it followed him from land to land wi t h intense in

,

t ere st , her imaginati v e faculty fev e r ishly s t imula ted .

Neve r h ad she hea rd s o en th r all ing a na rrative .

[ 132 ]
 CHAPT E R III

B AR R Y S A MA! IN G AD VE N T U R E S TH E C A B R A C E
’
. .

A V OYA G E T O TH E ST AR S . A F RI C A N N IG HTS .

NAOM I TH E F A W N

T the outset Barry had worked his way acros s

the Atlantic on a cattle-ship and had spent ,

a mon t h on the Liverpool wha rves Then to .

London where he a rrived as luck would have it on

, , ,

Derby Day He drifted with the thousands t o the g reat

.

r ace Chara ct erist ically he s taked his all on a ho rs e

.
,

t hat pleased his eye The horse won That gave him c ash
. .

and a breathing spell .

One night in a public-house he fell in with a kind red

, ,

pirit— one Richard Dashwood a younge r son with a ,

s hilling in his pocket and a flash of inspiration in his

eye.

Suddenly this devil o f a fellow had decid ed on an

astou nding move He was going to try and make a
.

li v ing He thought i t would be ripping to rag around

.

London d riving a hansom cab .

Bar ry too k t o the plan a t on c e and spli t up his ,

Derby money into halves In less than a week they were .

L ondon ca b b ies His book contained sk etch es o f t hese

.

adven t u res —the s tory o f the eloping co uple the mys ,

1 83
 B AR RY GOR D ON
t e ry of th e f u gi t ive f ro m the R us sian E mbas sy t he ,

mystery of t he foundling left in his c ab .

Then came co medy and calami t y His account of th e .

dis g raceful and exciting cl ima x o f his ca reer as cabby

had made t wo con t inents laugh .

One nigh t Dashwo od and he wer e cru i s ing al o ng the

V i ct o ria E mbankmen t on t hei r hans o ms and again in ,

Das hwo o d s eye t he re was inspi r at ion Their pu rses we re

’
.

fa t t ha t night and t heir h umou r ro is t e ring

, .

”
To t he tu ne of a sovereign said Richa rd ,f ro m ,

—
he re t o Char ing C ro ss at a gallop ! sa id he” “
No .

”
Ame r i can t rott ing race for me !
”
Done ! c ried Barry ca t ching fire a t o n ce
, .

Pi t chin g like ships a t sea the han soms wen t b umping

,

and rumbling th ro ugh the da rk O n t he o ne ha nd t he .

rive r wi th its yellow lights and bla ck ba r g es trailed

, ,

by ; o n the othe r t he big hot els and h o us es h urt led pas t

like m o untains o n th e ru n The night w as full o f flying
.

hors e-f oam the bea t of hoofs t he c r ack o f whi ps ; and

, ,

ea ch d ri v e r tipsier ye t with the motion kept seeing out

, ,

o f th e t ail o f his eye the ligh t o f the oth er s c ab j iggin g ’

hor ribly .

A t Waterl o o Bridge they wer e nec k and neck and th e ,

cr owd was running af t er them h oot in g and chee ring ,

.

Ahead unde r the Ch a r ing Cross railway b rid ge the

, ,

E mbankment was bl ac k wi th peo ple wai tin g for them ,

to co me .

1 84
 B A R RY G OR D ON
He now d ecided t o have a try at a rt By te achi n g the .

so n o f a F rench baker g oo d E nglish and the daugh ter ,

o f an Ameri can ba rt ende r po o r French he m ana ged t o ,

pay f or a dingy roo m in the Latin Quarter When he .

had a li ttle money h e lived like a fi g ht ing -c ock and

loafed ; when h e had none he worked But his pa inting .

h ad neve r amount ed t o much He never applied himself

.

and never to ok pains ; so his life in t he Q u ar t e r end ed

ingl o ri ously .

One day in a p ortrai t-class they we re paint ing a

, ,

”
model made u p a s Coquelin in Cyrano de Ber g erac .

The ot hers pr oduced p o rtrai t s of varying e x cellen ce or

medio c ri ty ; b ut Bar ry again inc o nsequen t thanks t o
, ,

n ume rou s pot a tions ca u gh t only one impression—the

,

n o se He be gan wit h the n o se and finished wi t h the

.

nose With o u t t he sli ght es t sugges t ion of the figu re or

.

the other featu res he proj ected from the dark b ack
,

grou nd an en ormous bo diless faceless nose t ha t almo st

, ,

filled the canvas .

Fouchet in wh o se s tudi o he was w o rking ins pe ct ed

, ,

his ma ster pie ce gravely .

I S t hat all y ou s ee ?
B a rry n odded .

”
And yo u p ain ted t his gigantic thing seri ous ly ?
” ”
As se ri ou sly said Ba rry
, a s C y rano wore i t
,
.

”
The n is this a n os e ? asked F ouchet i n mild sur
pri s e .
 B ARRY GORD ON
Wh at els e did you think ? demanded Ba rr y ho t ly , .

“ ”
I t ook it replied F o uche t wi thout a smile
, fo r ,

”
an imaginary ske t ch of Popocatepetl Then the .

master laid his hand on Barry s shoulder L ife is ’

.

”
short he said
, and ar t is long bu t t his nose is even
, ,

”
longer !
’ ”
Y ou can t j udge me by this p r o tested the s tudent , .

This is a mood ; that s all ’

.

”
A mood ? I t hough t you called it a nose !
”
L ook here Monsieu r Fouchet said Ba rry ex a s
, ,

er at ed tell me wha t y ou think o f me Y ou know my

p , .

work Shall I keep on ?

.

Fouche t stroked his point ed beard and frowned med

it at ively a t t he canvas Finally a smile played ac ross
.
,

the co rne rs of his m outh .

“ “
If you spend abo u t t en years said he t rim , ,

ming down this moody nose by no more say than one , , ,

millimet re each year and then t wenty years more filling

, ,

in the face and figure you may p rove yourself willing

,

to approach a rt with the se ri o us perseverance i t de

”
mands .

Then adie u , M onsieu r Fo u chet ! said Ba r ry im ,

The foll owing m o r ning Bar ry had s t rayed from the

Quar t er aimless and vagrant Now came the adven
, .

t ure so vividly recalled to his mind by th e little Pa risian

gir l s loss of he r ae rial toy
’
.

1 87
 B ARRY GOR D ON
As h e wandered ou t over the en v irons of Pa ris he ,

came by chance on t hree Fren chmen in a bad way They .

were surrounded by a small c rowd Two of t hem sat near .

a g as-t ank and a huge ballo o n ready fi lled On the .

ground lay the third j us t rec o vering f rom pa rt ial as

,

h x ia t io n due to a leak in the inflat ing -pipe The man

p y ,
.

was t oo weak t o s ta rt His f riends were in a grea t flust e r

.

o f impatience There was t alk o f a wage r and la ck o f

.

ballas t They sadly needed a subs t itut e

. .

Barry stepped forward ou t of the c rowd .

”
Where are you goin g ? he as ked .

They waved vaguely toward the south .

The ind efi nit eness of the g esture appealed t o him .

He p ut his sugges t ion in a way t a ct fully Fren ch and

ingratia t ing .

”
The eart h said he is a p o or pla c e Take me with
.
, .

”
you t o the stars !
The aeronauts looked him o ve r and hast ily whispered ,

t ogether In the end they accepted his off er Th ey in

. .

vit ed him into t he ca r wi t h t hem and c a rried him along ,

as ballast .

N eve r was a madder voyage They go t caught that .

day in a nort heast sto rm and something wen t w r ong ,

with a valve They could n ot descend They shot up

. .

inc r edible dista nces They we re swall owed in o ceans of

.

cloud Nigh t closed around t hem and t hey tore through

.

a bla c k infinity t he car trailing out sideway s afte r t he

,

[ 1 88 ]
 B ARRY GOR D ON
b ut to rise Th e m ot i on saved him In a moment h e wa s
. .

b reathing again and now became a c r eat u re made o f

,

no t hing bu t lungs and a rms and legs Then S lowly his .

wi ts r et ur ned and he knew he was in wate r Swimming .

high h e looked abo u t him N o t a S ign of the ball oon

, . .

On the one h and as far as t he eye coul d see there was

, ,

not hing but a c alm blue surfa ce o n the o the r a dense,

fores t .

When a t las t he gained the shore he lay down on

the ground in the sunl ight and as li fe slowly flowed
,

into him ou t of the vas t warm t h only one thing troubled

his m ind He wonde red how man y mil es he wa s f r om a
.

ciga rett e .

Of course h e knew nothing the n o f da t es o r places ,

bu t lat e r he learned this : He had go ne t o sleep p ro bably

somewhere ove r Spain and now he had awakened in
,

Lake Tchad in the hear t o f Af ri ca !

,

That ended t he adventure N eve r again did he see

.

the balloon The grea t gas -ba g semi -col lapsed had
.
, ,

probably dr agged itsel f off in t o t he f orest .

After that Barry had wandered th ro ugh Af ri ca fo r

years his long nomadic idleness br o ken on c e by a mad
,

raid on S o maliland wit h th e Abyss inians and te rmi ,

nat ed by a s o mew ha t scandal ous and ro mant ic a d

vent ur e —t he adven tur e in fa ct w hi ch ha d pe rha ps

, ,

impel led Muriel to announce her enga g emen t t o Tom .

One night dis gu ised as a Berbe r peasan t w o man he

, ,

[ 1 90 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
ventured in t o th e forbidden ci ty of Beni Aloo high i n ,

the Rif Moun tains on t he n ort h coast The dis g uise .

pro ved effec t ive He was really half A rab by t his t ime
.
,

and knew the ways and lingos of many peo ples .

The pilgrimage t o this forbidde n city whence no ,

white man had ever returned alive was no t without aim ,

.

Outside the walls he had seen a vision be autiful a s a

June e vening They said she wa s a Tangier Jewess
.

married t o a moun tain sheik whose name he did not

learn The called her Naomi the Fawn Her v eiled
. .

eye s and he r flee t ing whispe r were full of a light allure

ment .

On that summe r nigh t the begga r-woman at Naomi s ’

doo r did not beg in vain Nao mi led up B arry t o the

.

house— t op and there un v eiled Nea r a t hand in a t ree

.
, ,

a nightingale s a ng and N aomi drew weird faint music

, ,

from the strings o f a gi mbri The ai r was laden with .

intoxicat ing odours and Naomi s soft large eyes were

,
’
,

like fores t lakes a t midnight The spe ll o f th e Af rican

.

evening sec re t and magi cal s t ole through his senses

, ,
.

Naomi to o wa s lost in it They spen t en c hanted hours

, , .

on t ha t fa r fla t r o of in Beni Aloo .

Bu t t he re came a t e r rible momen t The t wo shadows .

were softly approached by a third shadow and sud ,

d enl y in t he dark there was a glimmer o f s t eel

, ,
.

Barry and Naomi s aw it and sprang up Then be gan .

a wild dan ce of daggers —a flight through t he house

1 91
 B A R RY GOR D ON
and s t r eet s t o the open co u nt ry ; then a ride bo th on ,

o ne hors e and t he to wn afte r them in full cry

, .

L u ckily f or Naomi he got he r sa fe t o Tan gie r They

, .

part ed wi t hin sigh t o f i t she assu ring him that he re ,

s he could find refuge with he r family .

Tha t seemed to be the end of the adventur e in Be ni

Aloo But B a rry to this day had foreb odings and did
.
,

not feel sure .

Leaving M oro cco h e had t aken steame r to Gibral ta r

,

and th ence t o Naples At Naples he had fall en l ow .

,

morally and physi call y In his ea rlier youth he had .

talked of s earching in Hercu laneum f o r t he los t poems

of Sappho but his excav at ions were v ery di ff eren t from
,

the d ream He g ot down t o the rock bo ttom of life and

.
,

his find was no t the expected po ems He found only sin .

and pain .

In the end he came near t o dying of a fever and ,

spen t weeks in hospital ra v ing and ho t as V esuvius , .

When a t last he r egained his senses there at his bed ,

side sa t Hicks Thi s old friend it seemed ha d obtained

.
, ,

through hi s fath er a modest po sition in the diplomatic

service He was a so r t of special a g ent o r messenger
.
, ,

cons t ant ly employed on foreign e rr ands Happening .

now t o be a t Naples he had hea rd of Barry in the hos

,

pital.

Hi cks dogged and staun ch as ever wa s immediately

, ,

f or cabling home .
 CHAPT E R IV

B A RR Y B U YS A N E VE N IN G P A PE R TH E N E W S O N T H E
.
'

F R O N T PAG E TH E C O U R S E O F H IS LI F E IS
.

S U D D E N L Y C H A N GED

AR RY looked across a t K it ty They wer e linger .

ing la t e over their cogn ac .

”
So here I am he said lightly raising his
, ,

t iny glass and t oas t ing her There s no t hing mo re t o

.
’

”
tell.

W ha t do y ou t hink of i t all B arry ? ,

He blew se v eral rin gs o f cigar-smoke and watched

them as cend Then he indicat ed the dis so l ving rin gs
.

with a ges t ure and bit te rly smiled

, .

”
Kitty he said
, t hat s what I think o f it That s
,
’
.
’

”
all it amounts to in t he end As he looked across at.

her the bit t erness left him and his eyes filled wit h a
,

soft light . Kitty this is the pleas an tes t ev ening I v e

,
’

”
spen t in the se v en years .

She smiled at him in a co m radely way .

I t hink I can say t he same Barry and yet , ,

A mis t gathered in her eyes and she found herself

blinking in spite of herself She felt inexpressi b ly weary
.

a t t hough t o f his wanderings sad at t h o ugh t of his

,

1 94
 B ARRY GORDON
sepa rat i on from Mu riel He caught h e r l oo k and said .
,

wit h a to uch of l o neliness

Forgive me Ki t ty ! I t was s u ch a relief t o tell i t all
,

—to u nbu rden myself I hope I haven t kept y ou t oo .

’

”
late.

”
N o n o she said ne rv o usly pulling on he r gloves
, , , .

I t isn t t hat I was only thinking tha t if Mu rie

’
.

He rose abru ptly .

Le t me help you wi t h yo ur coa t Ki tty , .

This was the firs t time she had a ct ually m enti on ed

M uriel s name and the t one in whi ch he s poke w arn ed
’
,

he r n ot to do so again .

The nigh t being clea r they decided t o walk t o ,

he r apar t men t As they s t rolled homewards Barry was

.

ve ry silen t and she began to fear that at the las t

,

she had openly o v rs t epped t he b o unds o f a mase n

e
line companionship She t ried to redeem herself by .

keeping t o safer t alk AS they passed a kiosk nea r .

the Pon t Neuf She asked him to b u y he r an e v ening

,

pape r .

”
I mad e a be t she said t ha t the Cid wo u ld win
, ,

to -day at L o ngchamps—a Paqu in d res s with Cat he rine

de L orinvill e Y ou rem embe r -she was one of t he Mor
.

—
ris o n twins u se d t o be a palli d lily N o w she s an art i .
’

fi cial or chid Poor Kate ! Mons ieu r l e co mte he r hus

.
,

”
band s eem s to p r efer ro se buds
,
- .

B a rr y rem embe r ed th e day w hen the Morriso n t wins

1 95
 B A RRY G OR D ON
h ad assist ed in m ixing up his brain and laughed mi rth ,

lessly .

”
Wha t be ca me o f the othe r ? he asked .

”
Oh She was l uckier replied K i tt y in a quie t er ton e
, , .

”
She died .

And w ha t be cam e of M eade ?

”
Had t o lea v e t own said Ki tt y t e rsely N ew York
, .

”
got t oo h ot f or him Played a shady game o f bridge
. .

And wha t about Pie rr e L oew ? asked Ba rry in a

”
st rained voi ce Did he try t hat po rt rai t ?
.

’
Yes but h e fail ed u tt e rly She can t be p ut o n can
, .

v a s He said h e coul d n o mor e pa in t her t han h e coul d

.

”
p ain t a s train of m usic .

Ba rry to ss ed a co in to the news -vende r and p i cked

up an evenin g pape r .

”
Le t s see if the re s g o ing t o be fighting anywhe re
’ ’
,

h e said ab rupt ly .

He glan ced t h rou gh t he main columns by the li ght

fr o m the ki o sk Ki tty sli p ped a han d thr o ugh his
.

arm .

“ ” “
You savage ! she laughed Look fo r the r a ces . .

A Paqu in d res s is m or e impo rta nt than all th e w ars i n

Ch ris te ndom !
He did n ot smile She sa w hi s fa ce u nde r the kiosk
.
,

lamp go whi te as dea th He was s ta ring at a cable

, .

d espatch o n the f ro nt p age .

”
My God ! he ej acul a te d .

1 96
 B A R R Y G OR D O N
gr o w rigid He was vaguely conscious t ha t she kep t
.

gripping i t with spasm odic cont ract ions of h e r fin gers .

Then as they finished t he cable his a rm and he r hand

, ,

rela xed and part ed .

Mechanically he folded t he paper and st u ck i t in his

po cket They crossed the bridge withou t S peaking Once
. .

o r t wice she heard him groan almos t inaudibly e vi ,

d e nt ly in p ro found grief .

As t hey came again in t o th e b righ t crowded s t ree ts

he seemed suddenly to t ake hea rt His step which a t .
,

fi r s t had been h eavy and slow beca me lighte r and ,

quicker .

”
Details are lacking ; det ails are lacking he kept ,

repeating dazedly t o himself Tha t s a sign ifican t fact

.
’
.

De tails are lacking—and the de t ails that are not lack

”
ing don t r ing t rue ! ’

He suddenly tu rned and stood facing her deeply ex ,

cited .

I don t believe i t ! he exclaimed

’
I don t— I w o n t .
’ ’

belie v e Tom s dead ! I kn o w t hose people —

’
know them
well They ha t e foreigne r s and ye t they fea r them
.
, .

Somehow they re lying ! I know they re lying ! Tha t re

’ ’

—
po rt t hey b r o u gh t t o Tangie r abo u t t he b u ial the a p
r

p rehension o f the c riminal wit hin an hou r t he execu t ion ,

at once—i t s all a blind Somehow i t s all a blind I

’
.
’
.

”
won t belie v e Tom s dead !
’ ’

Kitty wa s sobbing silently hea rt -b rokenly and for a , ,

1 98
 B ARRY GO RD O N
m o ment could not answe r As they walked o n again she
.

said at last :
”
B a rr y I loved h im !
,

Ba rr y was t o o p re oc cup ied t o not ice t he fall i n h e r

voi c e He t h ou ght She meant as a friend
.

”
Y es h e said
, ev ery o ne loved Tom
, .

Suddenly she saw him straighten u p wi t h a l o ok o f

a ct ivi ty and resolve .

“ ”
I s ha ll take t he fi rs t M ad rid e x p ress h e said , ,

and keep st raigh t on t o G ib ral t a r A few hours af t e r .

t hat I shall be in Tan gier .

A t t he do o r o f he r apart ment she turn ed t o h im and

firmly elo quently graspe d his hand
, .

G o d give y o u luck Barry , .

Tha t night he sat t ill dayligh t alone in the co rne r

o f a caf e readi n and -r eading the despat ch from
, g re

Tan gie r .

His sear ch i n M oroc c o was o ne o f the darkes t chap

ter s of Bar ry s life In spi t e of him old h opes r e-awoke
’
.
, ,

and he cou ld no t c rush them out Be ca u se of thes e hopes .

he fel t so disl o yal t o his bro ther so ashamed of thinking ,

of anyt hing bu t t he loss o f Tom that his inheri t ed curse ,

came ba ck u po n him Jus t when he S h ould have set forth

.

with eve ry facul ty ale rt he su ccumbed again t o the old

temp tat i o n He drank ha rd
. .

1 99
 BARRY GORD ON
Y e t he sough t fo r t he t ru th abou t Tom with g rim
pe rsev eran c e Desperat ely he tried t o get a t detailed
.

facts and prove Tom s deat h a lie bu t in vain At las t

’
, .

he was fo r ce d to accep t the sto ry which all the world

believ ed The fact seemed so ve ry plain so indisputably
.
,

plain.

A mon th la t e r worn out h e ret u rned t o N ew Yo rk

, ,

and d rifted int o the B eekman house o ne as

casually as if he had neve r bee n away .

[ 2 00 ]
 CHAPT E R I

T I M E A N D P R O P I N ! U I T Y SM O O TH TH E WA Y B U T MR S , .

B E E K MAN B LO C K S I T A N D B A RR Y H AS S E C RE T M IS
,
!

G I V I N GS. K I TT Y AGAI N T O TH E R ESC UE

R S B EEKMAN seated a t he r desk look ed

.
, ,

across a t h e r h usband with t roubled eyes He .

sat in his a rmchair t rying t o lose himself in

a co mpli ca t ed game of pat ien ce She n ot i ced t ha t he

.

was dealing ve ry slowly building very c a re fully on t he

,

proper cards c onside ring each play with a forc ed

,

att en t ion which sugges ted an att emp t t o rivet his

t ho u gh t s on this idle rec reat ion and save himself from
the fa r m or e serfous p roblem that now dis turbed thei r
lives.

M r s Beekman f ro wn ed and shi fted res t lessly His

. .

shall o w pas t ime vex ed her soul .

“ ” “
I really think she said a t las t
, yo u r game o f ,

—
s olitaire is almost a sin especially in t he morning ”
.

Her voi c e was que rul ou s s o licit ou s

, Y ou r e not gr ow.
’

ing old are y ou ?

,

Th e lines on h is forehead dee pened H e d rew h imself .

u p mo r e ale rtly in h is ch ai r .

- ” “
T o da y is a ho liday he replied im p assivel y
, It .

2 03
 B A R RY G OR D ON
seems t o me tha t as lon g as a man is capable of enj oy
”
ing his h o lidays i r resp o nsibly he s s t i ll y o ung ’
.

M rs Beekman sighed and r esumed the s t a v ing off of

.
,

age in he r own pe cu liar way In thi s defensive process .

the newe r the fad the be tter As long as theories c ame .

thick a nd fas t why should her mind deteriorate ?

With the a cq uired hard eagern ess of a wom an s eek
ing a ba rren refu ge she drew o u t f r om u nde r her d esk
,

a ta ll cylindri cal b rass ins t rumen t which she pla ced

,

before he r and impa t iently adj usted Presen tly she took .

f rom one of he r desk drawers a numbe r of slid es and , ,

fitting one afte r another in to pla ce ben t close to th e ,

inst rument Closin g one eye she pee r ed th ro ugh the cyl
.
,

inder with the o t her As this ex t raordinary investiga t ion

.

prog ressed she grew more and more f ascinated and ho r

,

r ifi ed A t las t She began mut te ring t o herself

. Awful ! ,

”
F ri ght ful ! Hideo us ! and other ej acula tio ns indicative
of plea s ed disgus t .

M r Bee kman his game spoil ed by these dis t u rbing

.
,

e x clamations l eaned back i n his chair and sta red a t

,

her.

”
What o n eart h a re y o u doing ? he asked in be
wildermen t W ha t is that thin g ?
.

She looked up a t him with fev e ri sh en thusiasm .

I ve j oin ed a society fo r promoting the use o f the

’

microscope Our obj ect is t o m ake the masses familia r

.

with germs — t o educate their pathol o gic sense W e .

2 04
 B A R R Y G OR D ON
t o t ake a s t and bec ause i f she loves him i t s y o u r fa ul t
,
’
.

Fo r the pas t t wo yea rs con t ra ry to my wis he s y ou ve

, ,
’

pe rmi tt ed him t o come he re E ve r sin ce he ret u rned

.

from ab ro ad y ou h ave let him see he r almost eve ry da y

and every evenin g They re alwa y s to geth e r Of co u rse
.
’
.

”
o u know t he inevi t able result !
y
M r Beekman n odded dumbly
. .

”
B u t I w o n t belie v e it ! she exclai med in vehe men t
’

p r o t es t I will no t belie v e she l ov es him ! M u riel lov ed

.

”
Tom If Tom had lived she w o uld h ave ma r ri ed him
. .

As she s po ke o f Tom he r co ld bl u e ey e s gre w m oist

, .

They l o ok ed like ice slowly mel t ing o n t he s ur fa ce .

How I wish t ha t migh t have bee n ! ”

M r B eekman s keen gla n ce fi xed on the ba re gr een

.
’
,

baize of t he ca r d -t able seemed t o be pie rc in g t he pas t

, .

“ ” “
N o he interpo sed ; S he ad mi red T o m but she
, ,

neve r really loved him In t he end I believe she w oul d

.

have ask ed h im to let h er brea k i t I believe she was .

”
be ginning to realise he r mis take .

Mrs B eekm an made a ge s tu re o f impa tien ce

. .

I wish She would realise this m istake If she m a rri es .

Ba rr y S he ll h ave t o div orce him be fore th e yea r s out

’ ’
.

Do we wan t t o see ou r da u g h t e r a divorced w o ma n like

you r co usin K i tty V an N ess ?
,

Mr B eekma n was s t ill s crutinising th e pas t as if he

.
,

had nea tl y se t i t out like his car ds o n t he baiz e c overe d

 B ARRY GORDON
“
Do y ou know , ”
he said , I belie v e K i tt y l o ved
”
Tom .

Yes ; bu t h e wa s fa r too good fo r he r He was almos t .

good en o ugh fo r M u riel Barry isn t t hou g h Wha t is

.
’
, .

he ? N o thing bu t a man abo ut t own an idle r a spend , ,

t hrift What does he do ? No t hing He lives a t the

. .

club was t es his money on his friends his pleasu r e his

, , ,

”
w ine.

M r B eekman s reply t o t his wa s sha rp and se ve re

.
’
.

”
You ar e u tt erly unj us t ! he said Ba rry is gen .

e r ous to a faul t—t ha t s all As t o t he wine e v er S in ce

’
.
,

he ca me back to us he ha s no t t ouched a S ingle d rop

,

o f anything int o xi catin g U nder M u riel s influence

.
’

Bar ry is a di ff e r ent man .

M rs B eekman lifted he r eyeb r ows and rega rded him

.

wit h f ri g id indigna t ion .

Then are you going t o le t them ma rry ?

He shifted uneasily and f r owned .

”
I t is n ot a q ues t ion O f lett ing t hem h e s aid They , .

a re no t boy and girl ; th e y a r e man and w o man I f they .

decide to marry t hey will d o so B a r ry has candidly .

to ld me t his He says the r e a re r easons why he cannot

.

ask Muriel I s up po se he means his t endencies But

. .
,

aside f ro m th at he said i f M u r iel w o uld ha v e him n ot h

,

ing could sta nd bet wee n th em As po litely as po ssible .

he im pli ed tha t no one bu t Mu riel w o uld be consul ted .

He even said outr igh t I f M rs Bee kman goes too fa r

, .

2 07
 B A R R Y G OR D O N
in he r opp o si t ion She may regr et i t If I h ave to I ll .
,
’

c a rry M u riel off ! ’

Mrs Beekman s fa ce was pallid wi th an ger

.
’
.

“ ”
As long as there s a drop of bloo d in my b ody ’
,

”
she exclaimed he shan t do t hat !,
’

She drifted to the window a nd stared ou t across the ,

avenue It was a day late in t he spring and th e park

.
,

was like a green oasis in t he barren town Bu t Mr s . .

Beekman s eyes we re unseeing Long she s too d t here

’
.

in blind mu t e rebelli on
, .

At this j unct ure as luck would ha v e it Kitty Van , ,

Ness dr opped in from her morn ing stroll and always , ,

breezily informal with her cousi ns appea r ed unan ,

noun ce d in t he library .

As M r B eekman rose and greeted Ki tty hi s wi fe

.
,

t u rned from t he window She bo wed frowning She wa s .

, .

i n no mood for pleasan t r ies To her Kitty s cos tu me .

,
’
,

—
pa rasol and glo v es all o f a deli ca t e ecr u shade in tune ,

wit h her flaxen hair and the sp ring mo rning— ins t ead
of con v eying a sat isfying imp ression s eemed me rely a ,

vague blur .

Ki tt y felt the strain of the moment .

”
’
I m afraid I m int ruding she said art les sly Pe r
’
, .

”
haps I d be tter g o
’
.

Mrs Beekman was too abstract ed even t o obj ec t to

.

he r p resen ce .

No Ki tty ; it s nothing p ri v at e W ha t I have to

,
’
.

2 08
 B AR RY G OR D ON
”
alone He wen t t o the d oor
. I ha v e an engagemen t .

”
a t t he club this mornin g he said quietly He b o wed , .

”
to Kit t y Van N ess If y ou ll forgi v e me Ki tt y.
’
, .

As he left t hem M rs Beekman d rew a deep sigh a nd

, .

t u rned t o Kitty wearily .

I t seems rude for us bo th t o leave you she said ,

’
bu t as you r e one o f the family y ou ll unde rsta nd ’
.

I feel it s my duty t o t ell M u riel wit h o u t delay W on t

’
.
’

”
y o u wait ?
Kit ty swin ging he r pa rasol saun te red to t he win
, ,

d ow .

”
Yes perhaps I will , she said lightly Don t , .
’

”
bother abou t me .

Lef t alone Kitty s too d t he re many minu tes l oo king

,

ou t The pa rk was full o f ho l iday -makers f r om meaner

.

qua rt ers o f the t own Out in the sunshine child ren were.

busy wi t h games and o ve r t he clea r blue water o f the

,

pond t oy sailboats gaily v oyaged In t he shade o f the .

trees the pa r ents idled t he day away glad o f res t and ,

air.

Ki tty kep t glancing wat chfull y down t he a venu e .

Suddenly She turned cr ossed the library and has , ,

t ened down -s tai rs .

She met Barry ou ts ide in t he ves tib ul e befo re he had ,

rung As she greeted him her b right nes s was unusually

.
,

clou ded ; the r e was honest a ff e ctionate tr ouble in he r ,

warm blue eyes She c losed the doo r behind he r

. .

2 10
 B ARRY GORDON
” “
Ba rry She said in a l ow v oice
, if y ou hop e eve r ,

to be happy grasp hap piness n o w ! ,

”

A shadow cro ssed his fa c e bu t he was little dis t u rbed , .

She had u rged him sim ila rly many times He sh oo k his .

head .

N o Kitty ; even if M u riel s willing I ca n t do it

’ ’
.
,
!

I ve often t old you why

’
.

” “
Yes ; bu t that possibility she repli ed sadl y is , ,

”
too rem o te I m afr aid to be c o nside r ed
,
’
,
.

No it is not I tell y ou I ve neve r been w hol ly co n

, .
’

vince d I v e a feeling t ha t even n o w

’
.

“ ”
A mere feeling broke in Ki tty tha t p reys o n
, ,

’
you and ma kes yo u dwell on i t Unf ort unately t he re s .

”
nothing t o warran t it The fa ct s are all t o o c lea r . .

He sh oo k his head Th o se pe ople c an make black .

”
look like whi t e .

”
B ut y ou went t he re she pe r sisted uneasily Yo u , .

found his dr awing-inst r umen ts his clothes even his , ,

grav e Y ou did all y ou could

. .

She sa w him flinch and bit e his lip .

Yes that s true I did ! I tried h a r d to ge t a t th e

,
’
.

facts G od knows I tri ed ha r d ! Bu t the ungo ver nable

.

”
hopes I had seemed so unwo rthy of me tha t I d rank .

He passed a hand weari ly across his eyes The less .

said about tha t sea r ch the be tter K itty The fac t re , .

mains I can t in honou r ask he r—unless I t ell he r o f

,
’

”
my doubts and gi v e her a chance t o wai t f or T o m .

211
 B ARRY GOR D ON
Ki tty smiled a t him ir onrca
’
I t s quee r how yo u black sheep baa ab out h onour !
What s the use o f t el ling her ? I t will onl y make he r un
’

happy B esides t here s not hing to tell e x cep t a lo t of

.
,
’
,

”
vague i ma ginin gs .

He shru gged helplessly .

Vagu e ? Y e s but you re a w o man and sho uld ap

’
,

'

r e c ia t e the di s q uiet ing c flec t of a st r ong p resentimen t

p .

I admi t my feeling is un reasonable bu t i t is so insis ten t ,

tha t wha t do you thi nk I v e done ? I ve ac t ually w ri tten ’ ’

t o Hicks a t the Sta te Depa rt ment in W ashingt on ask ,

ing him to keep in co ns ta nt t ouch with a ff airs in M O

r occo If any t hing suspicious comes t o ligh t he s prom
.
,
’

”
ised t o l et me know a t once .

Barry s ey es narrowed His voi c e fell lowe r It sou nd

’
. .

ed s train ed and unnat ural .

Sup po se tha t happe ns Kitty ! Suppo se Tom rises ,

from t he dead And suppo se her dea d lo v e fo r him rises

.
,

”
t oo and S he finds herself tied to me A spasm of pain
, .

crossed his face a t remo r r an th ro ugh him Then

, .

again h e s hoo k his head N o Kitty no ! You see I .

, ,

can t do it Mu riel s happiness means more t o me t han

’
.
’

”
anyt hing in li fe .

Ki tty h ad wi thheld the needed stab until he had h ad

his say N ow suddenly she deli v ered it with swif t force
. .

“
Ba rr y here s news Muriel goes ab ro ad t hi s very
,
’
.

week He r m othe r ha s de cided to take her away f ro m

.

2 12
 CHAPT E R II

B A R R Y A N D M U RI E L . TH E MA N I N TH E T RAI N .

TH E F A T E S SP IN F A ST

ARRY waiting fo r Mu riel in the lib rary paced

, ,

restlessly back and forth .

W ould she ha v e him ?

The q uestion set his t houghts a t work fo r a clue t o
her feeling bu t in vain
,
.

She was not the mere will -o -the— wisp of old On ’

.

his re t u r n t wo yea rs back he had a t on ce fo u nd her

more t an gible The brigh t haze o f d r eam-s t u ff had
.

dissolved r evealing t o him a vi vid sunl i t woman Yet

, , .

she wa s still slender and s t rikingly piquant he r foo t ,

St ep ligh t he r moods variable

, .

Sometim es he r changeful eyes seemed sad and in he r ,

v oice th ere l ingered a quality as of shadows But he .

could no t t ell i f t his oute r wistfulness hid a deeper

m ourning or if she really felt no greater grief and
, , ,

being so true c ould no t exaggerat e by a single t ea r

,

the dept h of her so rro w .

They spoke freely o f T om bu t with less and less f t c

,

q u enc
y. B ot h healthy and with the
, long reaches o f the
fu ture st ill before them their companionship fill ed t hei r
,

2 14
 B ARRY GORD ON
lives B ut he fea red she gran t ed him thi s companionshi p
.

so generously merely because she relied on him t o un

d er sta nd that beyond it there could be no t ie be tween
them I n a word perhaps she ga v e him so much because
.
,

S he had so little to gi v e him .

The ol d shadows passed across his face What dif .

ference did i t make ? Ev en if she did love him he ,

could not as k her .

As he paced to and fro his eye was caught by the

S hinin g brass microscope on M r s Beekman s desk .
’
.

The thing looked so out of place amid the large com

fort o f this li b ra ry that he stopped and glanced at
it gl ad o f anything ex t ernal on which t o focus his
,

He smiled with bi tt er i ro ny The thin g s tarted an .

unpleasant train of thought I t sugges ted bacilli and .

disease and all thin gs loathsome to a man with his

splendi d cons t itution And diseas e suggested ev il
. .

E ven in c rucial moments Barry had a way of think

ing of li fe in the large He did so now with a pessimism
.

fo cussed on the micros cope .

In the old days men had been men now they we re

'

docto r s patien ts Once they had been healthy now they

’
.
,

were hygienic Onc e t hey had ga z ed with rap t u re at

.

Raphael s Madonnas now they peered with curiosity

’
,

at microbes On ce they had been inspi red by faith hope

.
, ,

and chari ty now they were debased by agnos ti cism

, ,

2 15
 BARRY GORDON
pa t h o l o gy and philan t h r opy The smalle r th e age the
, .

bigger the words .

Bar ry S huddered as he s t ared a t Mrs Beekman s .

’

sinis t er t oy He would have liked to throw the thing

.

ou t of the window But he only smiled cynically That

. .

would hav e been sacrile ge In the old d ays sacrile g e

.

—
mean t the ab u se of something sacred fo r ex ample a ,

crucifix Bu t t he mi cr os c ope was t he c ruc ifix of to -day

.

—a symbol of men s sublim e fai th !’

He passed a hand ove r t he co ld sm o oth tu be and his

pe ssimism deepened .

Oh i t mean t a l ot this nea t ins t rument ! Could it s

, ,

lenses be made p owe r ful eno u gh one migh t look through

it and find ou t the t ruth abo u t a man— see t h e an ces t ral
germ in a d rop of his blood—the ge rm of evil—the devil
himself !
Barry drew a short ha r sh laugh His th o ughts were .

fan t astic and ironical .

Yes ; the devil was a mi cr obe ; no thin g more nor

less !
He ben t fo rwa r d and h eld an eye t o the ins trumen t .

As he saw one of Mrs B eekman s S pec imens he made

.
’

a wry face Yes the Bible was r igh t aft e r all The de v il
.
, .

had ho rns and a tail b ut the ho rns we re like a snail s

,
’

and t h e tail was like a t adpole s ! ’

A S Barry s t raight en ed up his sa rdoni c hum our left

,

him Could a man be beaten by one of these spec ks o f

.

2 16
 BARRY GORDON
As B a rry awai ting h e r answe r s t o o d ga z ing a t h er
, , ,

his l oo k g rew alm o s t re sen t ful Why did h e repe a tedly .

h ave fr esh im pressions of he r—imp re ssi o ns so f req uen t

and vivid t ha t i t seemed as if e v e ry day he sa w her f o r
t he fi rst t ime ? Th is was t he r a re magic o f Mur iel—sh e
was
He r e a t thi s ve ry m o men t all u n cons ci ous l y she was
, ,

b r and ing on his hea rt a new image E ven h e r cl oth es .

we re pa rt o f i t her d r ess was so mu ch a p a rt of her

,

inner self .

She w ore a cl o t h walk ing s uit o f a pale t u rquoise

bl u e and a pi qu an t hat o f th e s am e c ol ou r On e han d
, .

p re s sed h e r h eart t o qui et i t t he othe r d ro oped ove r th e

,

mant el -s helf t he fi nge rs toy ing wit h a pai r of l o ng

,

whi t e gl o v es that hun g d o w n l oos ely H er head too , .

,

d roo ped and h e r lashes

, .

He r g ra ce to r tured him .

”
Muri el he r epea t ed desper a tely
, a re y ou going ,

to le t them take y o u away f ro m me ?

She ra ised h e r eyes smiling and t he smile was a
, ,

fain t cha lle n ge .

‘C
Are y ou ? 39

D az ed h e sta rt ed sl owly t owa r d h e r h esi tant and st il l

, ,

s truggl ing .

” ”
No he repli ed in a strai ne d voi ce
, I am not ! ,

S o mething in his t one m ade he r shiver unacc ount

ably He r fa ce l o s t co l o u r The challen g ing s mile f aded
. . .

218
 B AR RY G OR D ON
”
Wai t B a rry she implo r ed him qui ckly
, , I did n t .
’

kn o w w h at I was sa y ing Pe rha ps it is be s t to g o . .

He r w or ds were instin ct ive unreas o ning ; he r v o i ce ,

ha d the quali ty o f shad ows in i t and gave him pa u se .

But his blood r an ho t n o w and set him o n fi re .

No ! he cried I ca n t le t y o u g o If yo u leave me
,
’
.

alone again—if I ve g ot t o live in this world wi tho u t

’

y ou—Muriel I c an t —
,t hat s all ! I t r ied a ’
l o ng t ime ’

to fo rge t y o u t ried fo r seven y ea rs to kill my love fo r

,

yo u ; b u t I couldn t His to ne softened

” ’
. Always yo ur .

”
voi ce spoke t o me y o u r eyes lo oked a t me He d rew
, .

hims elf up quiet ly M u riel I am my love fo r y o u

.
, .

”
That is all the re is to me .

Again he star t ed t oward her b ut his in t ensi ty f r igh t ,

ened her .

“ ” “
B a rry n ot yet she repeat ed fal t e ringly
, , Ah .

”
wai t !
“ ” ”
No h e said
, No w ! .

Sh e sway ed like a fl owe r in a gale b ut he was gro w ,

ing re ckl es s .

Li tt le he k n ew th e gathe ring for ce of this wind o f

des tiny Li tt le he imagin ed t he invi s ible thre ads al rea dy
.

ex t ending o utw ar ds to ot he r peo ple and o the r pla ce s .

B u t th e g r ay Fa t es s p in nin g and win din g an d c lip

,

ping thos e thr ea ds s ur ely l oo k ed d o wn wi t h s hrou ded

,

t ri ump h a t th e tangle th ey had sp r ead a roun d

[ 2 19 ]
 BARRY GORD ON
In a t rain from Washin gt on a man sat al o ne in the
smoking c ompart ment c onsumed with impa t ience for his
j ou rney s end He had a nervous look He was sit ting
’
. .

fo r war d on the edge of his seat He was f ro wning at .

the flying landscape He was gnawing and fum bling his

.

cigar He seemed t o feel t hat by mere energy of will

.

he co uld make the t rain go faster Time and again he .

pas sed a hand acr o ss his red hair rumpling it t i l l i t ,

looked like a fi r e in a wind Time and again he con

.

sul t ed a railway and s t eamship guide his b rown f rec , ,

kl ed face w rinkled as t he S hell o f a walnut Time and .

again he t ook from his b reas t -po cket a large lett e r-case
and reread t he numerous papers it contained .

As the tr ain r umbled int o the s ta t ion a t Je rsey City

h e clapped his ha t on caugh t u p his bag j um ped off
, , ,

and made hastily fo r the ferry .

When a t las t he set foot in New Y ork h e hailed a

cab gave th e name o f a c lub o n Fi fth Avenue and
, ,

dived in .

” “
Muriel said Ba rry
, I nee d y ou a s much as I
,

”
need breath in my lun gs I v e got to have you ! His
.
’

voice b roke And yet

.

As he mo v ed toward her inten t only on taking her

,

in his arms it suddenly s eemed t o him tha t a shadow fell

,

between t hem impossi ble to cross— the shadow of Tom

, .

Wit h a grea t e ff ort he curbed himself and s topp ed , .

220
 BARRY GORDON
”
M u riel forgi v e me ! h e said
, .

Then he came even nearer t o he r so cl o s e tha t her ,

fragrance stole t hrough his senses .

Suddenly all the fire of his race l eap t u p in him bu t ,

his manner was intensely quiet his v o i ce l o w , .

Mu riel marry me t o-day ! That s the way ou t o f

,
’

it Then they can t t ake y o u away fro m me I ve a

.
’
.
’

feeling it s now o r never I won t let you wait N o no t

’
.
’
.
,

e v en t o see your father and mother If y ou did there .

would be no end of talk and trouble Come ! I t is not .

u nfair t o them I wa r ned them I d ask y ou t o do t his

.
’

if you r mother d rove me t o it -and she h as ! Co me ,

”
M u riel !
Her eyes were melting warming He r wh ole pe rson
, .

seemed to give ou t ligh t It was as i f the long darkn ess

.

o f his li fe steadi ly li fted and all aro und him spr ead a
wide and gradual day time .

He lowered his gaze from her eyes t o her lips and , ,

as for a fleeting insta n t he watched them pa rt t o spe ak ,

he remembe red a single perfec t poppy he had once

plucked nea r an eastern sea .

”
If I do she asked
, wi l l you go on fighting you r
,

old failing with all you r stren gth ?

Yes Muriel wi t h all my strength
, , .

Her eyes met his t rustfully her answer was simple ,

as a child s ’

Barry I love you '

,
 B AR RY GOR D O N
Then f or a mom en t neither of them t hought or s po k e .

He knew only t hat he m ade her his she tha t his arms ,

crushed he r And this t ime her lips instead of t urning

.
,

t o ice as they had w hen h e had kissed her yea rs ag o ,

faintly responded .

The ethereal sweet ness of this response t ouched his

fines t fibres After the one passionate kiss he took her
.

hand quietly and bent down t o it as if in the practice of ,

some ritual long familiar t o him in spirit There wa s a .

moment of deep silence Then she breathed shyly .

!

”
L et s go to the old farm Barry
’
,
.

As he r aised his he ad his face was t r a ns fi g ur ed .

”
Yes he said
, t o the ol d farm
, .

I ll l ea v e them good—
’
bye she s aid and has tening ,
9,
, ,

t o t he desk scr ibbled a not e

,

DEAR FATH ER : Barry and I have decid ed t o ge t marr ied im

mediately It seems best Once it is forever settled mother I m
. .
, ,
’

s ur e will become resigned and t ry t o know the real Barry as y ou

,

and I know him We are going t o the old farm f or our honey
.

moon Do write t o us
. .

Your devoted and happy daughte r ,

M U RI E L .

Ask mother t o write t oo —forgiving u s . Lo ve t o y ou both .

L et me add a line , said Barry and did so , on the

same sheet

DEAR M R B EEKMAN : You

. have been my father s best friend ’

223
 B A R RY G OR D ON
and mine I ask for a test of your friendship now —your trust
. .

Thanks t o Muriel I s hall be worthy of it

, .

Yours ,

Wh ile t hey wro t e this brief farewe ll the Fates were

spinning and winding and c lipping thei r t hreads with
e v er-increas ing alac rity The red -he aded man in the ca b
.
,

afte r has t ening fran tica lly from club t o club o n his way
up to wn had at las t c ried Mr B eekman s add res s to the
, .
’

phlegmatic dri v e r and wa s coming hu rr iedly up the

a v enue
.

As Mu riel and B arry wen t out in t o the sp ring morn

ing they we r e as light-hea rted as the child ren making
holiday in t he opposite park .

T urnin g into a side street , they failed t o notice a

cab that st opped a t t he house they had j ust left .

[ 22 4 ]
 B AR RY GOR D ON
B a rry d rew closer and sp o ke in a low voi ce t o M u riel s ’

reflec t ion .

”
Tha t s the way I used to see y ou
’
h e said , .

The wo rld flew by S cenes chan ged I kn ocked abo ut

. .

f or years bu t I always saw y ou Mur iel in th e hea rt o f

, , ,

”
it all He tu rned to he r as if al m o s t fearing to tes t
.

the reali ty of he r compani o nship Then he smiled . .

”
N ow it s diffe r en t isn t i t M uriel ?
’ ’
, ,

The t wo had had lun ch on t he t rain a mem orable and ,

dilat o ry repas t Thei r talk fo r t h e m ost pa rt had bee n

.

light They agr ee d t ha t t he cler gyma n who had j us t

.

married them was the mos t l o v able o ld soul on ear th .

They rej oiced in the fact t ha t n o h o u se se rvants we r e

ye t a t the farm They agreed t ha t they p refe rred camp
.

ing out th ere by themselves She had sen t a t elegr am t o .

Peter Bes t the gardener and they lau ghed as t hey pic
, ,

t ured his s u rprise a t sigh t of h er new si g natur e Mu ,

”
r iel Go rdon They talked too of places t hey would
.
, ,

visit sigh t s t hey would see t he in t ima t e r o vin g li fe

, ,

th ey would li v e to gethe r .

Afte rwa rds Muriel remembe red al m o s t wo r d for wo r d

thi s low v oiced happy c o nversa t i o n Bu t t he m em o ry was
- .

haunting As she looked back o n their wedding j ou rney

.

she could see Nemesis f o llowing them Though t hey fel t .

s o free t hey we r e fe tt e r ed by the Fa t es t hreads

,
’
.

Pu r suing th em i n a train t hat h ad left N ew York

22 6
 BARRY GO R DO N
two hours after theirs sat the r ed -headed wal nu t-fa ced
, ,

man and M rs Beekma n . .

N ow and again M r s Beekman would d raw f ro m he r .

bag her daughter s farewell missi v e and read i t t hrough

’
,

bitter tears .

Poo r Muriel ! W hat madness ! she kep t mu tt ering

to herself She s out of her head There s no in sanity
.
’
.
’

”
like infatuation !
Once M r s B eekman tu rned to he r fellow p ur s u e r and
.

asked if they migh t n ot ca tc h the ru naway cou ple

sooner by sending a telegram t o some s t a t ion ahead ;
but he said they had perhaps g o ne by anothe r route ,

and that anyway t he matter could not be explained by

Mrs Beekma n ben t close r t o

. him and asked que rn
l ously :

Mr Hicks ca n t y o u a t leas t give me s o me i nk

.
,
’

”
ling ?
He shook his head .

My orders are very po si t i v e I can s ay noth ing .

except t o Barry himself .

W ith a deep sigh M r s Beekman turn ed her back o n .

him pulled down the wi ndow-shade and sat l ong wi th

, ,

he r eyes closed the ve ry pi cture o f acid w oe

, .

The u ns u spe ct ing fugi t ives we re now at the end o f

their j ourn ey O n a rriving at B oston th ey h ad ca u ght
.

22 7
 B ARRY G OR D ON
a tr ain j us t lea ving fo r the vill age n ea r the B eekman
fa rm A t the st at i on they we re met by Pet er B es t wh o se
.
,

ge t-up would have made t hem laugh had i t n ot been

assumed in t hei r ho nour The coachm an had no t ye t
.

c o me f ro m New Yo rk f or th e s ummer s o Pete r had ,

donned a di s ca rded suit o f livery a chok ing collar and , ,

s ta r ched c r avat St iflly trussed y e t proud of the occa

.

sion he sa t bol t up righ t in the s tation -ca rr iage a nd

, ,

t ouch ed a finge r t o the co ac hman s uncomfo rtable to p ’

h a t He was s o overwhel med by t hei r sudden ar ri v al tha t

.

he c ould only s t ammer s o me unin t elli g ible g ree ting .

A t th e h o u se his wife , a marvel of respectabil i t y

and neat ness was even m or e imp r essive To M u riel s
, .
’

deligh t s h e d r opped t hem a curt sey doubtless pra c tis ed ,

y ears ago in t he old c ountry and now g r own quain t ly

unplian t thr o ugh l o ng di suse This pain ful r i t e per
.

f ormed Mr s Be s t seemed mu c h relieved and grew even

, .

t al ka t ive .

Dinne r ? Y es all pr e p a r ed —leas t ways no t dinne r

,

e x a ctly A s o r t o f sup pe r or ig h t ea N othin g fancy

.
’
.

t o be s ur e bu t all f r om th e fa rm She had broiled a

, .

”
s p rin g chicken weighing f ull t wo po und ; she d
,
’

c ooked s o me fa t green spa r rowgras s she d se t a ’

c ou p le of t umblers of th e mo r ning s milk ; she d made ’ ’

a cake and p icked a bowl ful o f Pete r s priz e s t raw ’

berries .

This was the dele ctable m eal they a te ou their wed

2538 ]
 B A RRY GOR D ON
shape which fairly shout ed good luck a t t hem the th ing ,

wa s unpleasan tly sugges t i v e There wa s some thing f u

.

ner e al in t he purple ini t ials on the white backgro und ,

some thing almost unbe a r able in the heav y f ra gran ce of

t he massed flowers .

M u r iel S hudde red r eminded of a similar odou r whi ch

,

had s t olen ups tairs t hat night after he r débu t yea rs

before .

Wi t h a mutual inst inct of escape they d rifted out ,

in to t he O pen nigh t and wandered o v e r the old farm .

And soon the soft wa rm air the deep sereni ty o f t he ,

s t a rlight , t he myst e ry of t he e vening and t hei r love re ,

s tor ed the enchant ment .

Along f amilia r p a t hs they wandered renewing th ei r ,

int imacy wi th every landmark .

They passed the barn with i ts mun ching cattle and

sweet hay .

”
Thi s is whe r e we firs t met he said that Ap ril , ,

m orning .

- ”
Y es B ar ry ; t his wa s the bi rt h place of ou r love
,
.

Bu t no t fa r off the sight of the emp ty dog-kennel

r eminded t hem fo r a momen t o f the big St Be r nard now .

l o ng dead ; and Ba rry r emembe ring the nigh t when that

,

o ld wa t ch-d o g had ba rked ala rms r emembe red Tom He , .

recalled how manf ully Tom had come t o him and apo l
“ ”
o g ised fo r his lack o f spi rit B a rry h e h ad said
.
,

”
sim ply , y ou re a b r ick and I m not
’
,
’
.

[ 230 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
It was as if Tom s bo yish aff ect ionate voice had
’
,

spoken the wo rds bu t yes t erday .

Bar ry fell silent Mu riel who hung on his a rm felt

.
, ,

his muscles c o n t ract mechanically She drew him away . .

Then the ev ening and thei r love on ce mo r e cl aimed

t hem.

Ret u rning t o the house they paused at the familiar ,

grove walled by pines that pie rce d the sky and s eemed
to drain it of the liquid sta rligh t filte ring through the
branches Into th is magi c interio r they passed and for
.

a long momen t here they s to od firs t l oo king u p then , ,

a t each other .

” “
Muriel Barry said at last
, t his eart h and sky , ,

these t rees and sta rs are all nothing bu t dus t unde r the
,

”
feet of love !
Once mo re his\ey es me t he rs and thei r ga z e mingled .

Then like a sudden flame surrounding her he clasped ,

her and kiss ed her yielding lips again and again The .

aromatic scen t o f the pine needles rose all around th em .

”
Ba rry I m faint she whispered
,
’
, .

With an a rm about her he led her from the gr ove i nt o

the house .

Pet er and Mrs B es t had n ow gone to th eir co tt age

.

for the nigh t and t he h ouse was emp ty

, .

Ba rr y wai ted alone down s tairs t o blow out the lamps

- .

This done he remembe red that he had negle ct ed t o l oc k

,

t he windows and d oor s Str iking a mat ch he saw a can

.
,

23 1
 B AR RY G OR D ON
dle o n th e dinin g-r oo m man tel s h elf and li g htin g i t , , ,

wen t th e rou nds th en candle in h and s t a rted to go u p

, , ,
.

B u t a t the m o men t o f his sett ing f oot on t he sta i rwa y

he hea rd a q ui ck rumble o f wheels o n t he f ront d ri v e .

Hesit at in g h e lis t ened

, .

The rumble cea sed and h e h e ar d f o ot s te ps o n t he

por ch Th en s o mewhe re deep in the bo wels o f th e ho u se
.
, ,

an old -fashi o ned bell j angled and j an gled .

Wh ile h e s tood t he r e in s u rp rise M u riel ca me to the ,

to p of t he s ta i rs S h e was in a w ra ppe r and he r dark

.
,

ha i r h un g l oo se about h e r s hou lde rs .

B a rry who d o y ou su ppose i t is ?

,

”
I can t ima gine he said
’
, .

” “
I d co me down
’
s h e w hispe red , but I As ,

s he st epped ba c k s h e call ed in a t imid voice : B e ve ry

”
ca reful Ba r ry ; i t may be a bu r glar
, .

“ ”
Burgla rs d o n t r i n g t he hell ’
he lau ghe d ; and ,

Mur iel went ba c k to h e r bed roo m .

R etu rning t h r o u gh th e ha ll he u nbo lt ed t he d oor , ,

o p ened it and ho lding up hi s c andl e s ta red o u t The

, , , .

candle-flame flicke r ed in t he drau ght He saw t wo fi g .

ures — a m an and a wo man —bu t fail ed t o re co gnise

t hem in th e un ce rta i n ligh t .

“ ”
Who i s it ? h e a sked quiet ly .

The invade rs bo ne d o wn on him and enter ed the hall ,

Mrs Beekma n in th e le a d Hi cks turnin g to clo s e the

.
,

d oor .
 B ARRY GORD ON
Suddenl y Muriel again a t the h ead o f t he stair s
, ,

c alled :
Wh a t is i t B a rry ? Shall I come d o wn ?
,
'

He co n tro lled himself and m ana ged to c all back

lightly
N o ; j us t a min ut e Mu r iel , .

If y ou go said Hicks in a l ow voi ce

, I g o wi th ,

’
you Th o se a r e my o rd ers There s a fas t steame r from
. .

N ew Y ork a t t en to-mo rr ow mo rning I t old them at .

th e c lub t o p ack y o ur c l oth es We can take t he mid

.

”
n igh t tr ain to nigh t f ro m B o s t on
- .

B ar ry s t a red a t h im defiantly alm os t with h a tred

, .

”
D o y ou kn o w w ha t you are asking ?
”
Y es, said Hicks ho a rsel y ; b ut I p ro mis ed you
”
I d come and I ha ve !
’

B a rry laughed a l ow bitt e r laugh then his fa ce da rk ,

en ed again and he flung away t oward the s tairs .

”
G e t so me o ne else !
”
B a rry ! Hi cks foll o wed him close and said s o me
t hing whi ch Mrs B ee kman coul d n ot hear bu t whi c h
.
,

B a rr y hea rd so plainly t ha t every word seemed like the

thru s t of a knife The S tat e Departmen t says y ou are
.

t he only man who kn ows the ro pes ove r t here in M 0

ro cco well eno u gh to under take t he res c ue Open f o rce .

’
w o n t w o rk I t w o uld only add t o T o m s dange r
.
’
.

Barry s too d s ta r ing a t him s u llenly .

” ”
Well said Hi cks
, wh at are y ou g o i n g t o d o ?
,

23 4
 B ARRY GORDON
“ ’
He t o o k ou t his wa t ch and consulted i t We ve g ot .

”
t o lea v e here immedia t ely His dry v o ice c racked . .

”
Ba r ry for God s sake c ome !
,
’
,

Then Mu riel once more at the t op of the st ai rs c alled

, ,

d o wn :
Ba r ry what are you doing ? Who s down there ?
,
’

Mas te ring his voice he again called back mechan

ica ll y
”
Ju st a minu te Muriel ; j us t a minu t e ! and they
,

heard her slowly returning t o he r room .

Suddenly something unpleasan t to see wen t out o f

’
Barry s fa c e and left i t purified .

”
Is the c arriage still here ?
”
Y es said Hi c ks, .

T hen—o ne momen t .

Hicks unde r s to od .

“ ”
Warn them t o keep it dark he cautioned him , .

”
If t his be came p ubli c th ere migh t be war He with
, .

drew to the porch .

Bar ry turned qui ckly to M rs Beekman and said in .

a low v o ice :
“
No t a wo rd of this please to any one bu t the , ,

family I go to N ew Y ork t o -nigh t and s t ar t fo r M O

.

” ’
r occo t o morrow mo r nin g T o m s alive ! .

M r s Beekman s t a red a t him vagu ely

.

” ’
He s still a pri son er s aid B a rry
’
a n d we ve got , ,

”
to try to save him .

23 5
 BARRY GORD ON
M rs B eekman was u tte rly benum bed He r mind re
. .

fused to r eason Barry had eloped wi th he r daugh te r

.

and she had pursued in blind an ger B u t now that he .

was th r eat ening t o forsake Muriel o n t he ve ry day of

thei r ma rriage he r m at e rnal l o ve with all i t s virile in
,

co nsis t en c y made he r q ui te a s bi tt e r agains t h im fo r this

m ad deser t ion Wha t t he cause wa s she co uld no t t ake
.

in His talk o f Tom co min g t o life again seemed a mere

.

fan t asti c nightma re .

”
Barry y o u re n ot going away ? she said feebly
,
’
.

”
Y es He c au gh t u p his ha t
. .

”
N o t wi t h out seeing M u riel ! she p rotest ed in
ama z emen t .

Y es ! He gave h e r th e candle w h i ch she took wi th ,

ou t knowing that she t ook i t Go up please and tell .

, ,

her His voi ce trembled ; h is fa ce was h agga rd

”
. Tell .

”
h er I h ad doubt s all along Then she will u nde rs ta nd . .

M rs Beekman was distra ct ed

. .

”
Ba rry it s monst rous to lea ve like this !
,
’

N o ; I mu s t ! Can t y o u realise ? If I see he r I m

’
,
’

”
lost !
She t u rned q ui ckly t o ca ll M uriel .

No he ex claimed I fo rbid i t ! My G od it s t oo
.
,
’

”
m u ch t o ask o f any man !
He ga z ed up the s tairs a momen t a goni sed His lips , .

m oved in a dumb goo d-bye Then tur ning he left t he .

, ,

h o use .

[ 23 6 ]
 CHAPT E R I

A H U DIA N ST E W , AN D OF C E R T AI N T RA VE LL E R S W H O
S O U G HT A MA N NAM E D B AR RY GO RDO N

N DE R a cloudless summe r sky and burning

s un Tangier s market -place teemed with life
,
’
.

Ev er since early morning the c ro wd had g r o wn .

From thei r outlying homes whole families had j ou rneyed

hithe r with produce f or the town M ile on mile hou r .
,

on hour the sluggish streams had wound t heir way

,

hither the patriarchs leading files of lusty sons and

,

weary daughters the men on camels mules horses the

, , , ,

women freighte d with burdens and t rud g ing barefoo t

through the scorching dus t .

For t o— day wa s marke t —day and t he grea t 8 6k a ,

second Mecca and Mammon outri v a lled Mah o me t in

,

their h eart s .

Hither to th is lus t rous whi te city set on a hill be t ween

,

s ea and dese rt they had come f or years each week and

,

th ro nged the market Hither f or centuries on cent uries

.

their ances t ors had come before them in j us t the same

way—the patriarchs leading hale y o uths and t i red gi rls ,

t he youths mounted and t he girl s afo ot Thi s was thei r .

w orld t his crowd ed sok the world t hey craved a fter t he

, ,

23 9
 B A R R Y G OR D O N
lonelines s o f their zereebas the turbulent int e rco u rse
,

t hey hunge red fo r after the quie t o f h o me s safely dis

ta n t from highways where thieves r ode .

Bu t the a rrivals were no t all pr odu ce-sellers Wa te r .

ca rrie r s we r e ab ro ad wi t h filled go a t-skins and j ingling

cups A rt isans had c ome and migr a t o ry t radesmen
.
, .

Deser t A r abs had ridden in from fa r oases and oth e rs ,

we re he re to wh o m the m o s t fe rt ile soil wa s human na

t ure the bes t o f weapons wi t Juggle rs h ad come and
,
.

snake c ha rme rs glass -ea t er s sc orp i o n -ea ter s and all

-
, ,

manner of self-t o rt urers Sain ts h ad come and h oly

.

doc t ors ; o ut laws h ad c o me and mins t rels and t ell

, ,

e rs of t ales —vagrants whose only marke table s t u ff

lay hid in t he b r ain s behind thei r hum o r o us da r k
eyes .

And now under a l ow hot coba l t sky t ha t o ve rh un g

, ,

t he sok like a canopy shutt ing ou t highe r ai r th ese pe o ,

p le haggled whispe red sh r ieked j ostled j oked and

, , , ,

cursed t ill as mot ley a c rew as the world holds had set
,

pandem onium loose E ve rywhe re ro se the cry of the

.

swe t meat ve nde rs the t hunde r o f p owde r-play the

e -
, ,

clam our o f t he t bal or d ru m I t was as if the Af rican sun

’

h ad ene r gised a vas t h o dge—

.

podge o f n ois es smells , ,

col ours ; as though i t had set bo iling and bubblin g an

immense st ew of humanity .

B ut th e g en e ral m o vemen t was ve ry sl o w It la cked .

t he hurr y of yo unge r ra c es The p la c e was f r ee of .

2 40
 B A RRY G OR D ON
exci teme nt a s she d rank in t he s cene It s l ike a g igan
, .
’

” “
tic kaleidoscope she mused , a kaleid o sco pe in a ,

”
sto rm N o wonder Barry loves i t !
.

Ki tty alone of all t he family was not wholly nu

, ,

happy The re wa s a ba re chance tha t Tom might come

.

back int o he r life —Tom t he one bo y in a world of ,

men old in years or e v il ; Tom who s t ood fo r you th

,

and brigh t innocence and e v e ryt hing else ou t o f which

she had been cheat ed by o thers L o ng ago she had .

warmed to him and e ver since had id o lised him in mem

,

ory And now she had h o pes of seeing him again in flesh
.

and blo o d and no longe r t he p ro pe rt y o f another

,

woman .

Two nat ives came elbowing th ei r way t h ro ugh the

crowd .

”
Hire a guide ! t hey cried impo r t unately Take a . .

”
gu ide !
One was a s mall man kee n — fea t u red gray -eyed and
, , ,

almost white He wore E uropean dress sa v e fo r a blue

.

t asselled fe z cocked on his coarse black ha ir .

”
My name is Abdul said be wi th a j erky bow , I .

”
am the bes t of guides .

His companion supercilio u sly smiled down o n him ,

then bo wed with a grand ai r t o Ki tty and M rs Beek .

ma n .

”
I am Has san he announced loftily , the mos t r e ,

nowned o f all guides in Mo r occo I take tr avelle rs in t o .

2 42
 B ARRY GOR D O N
the deser t I engage mules camels soldiers I am
.
, , .

like a wind t ha t blows everywher e —into the secre t

places .

Abdul utt ered a clicking sound with his t on gu e .

A wind ? No ; he is like a t rumpe t that blows t oo

l oud He is a Tunisian ; I am an E gypt ian a s ch olar
.
, ,

an inte rp reter .

Mrs Beekma n tu rned gra vely t o Ki tt y

. .

The question is Whe ther t o engage a Tunisian or

”
an E gyptian .

Kitty thought i t best to hire t hem both They migh t .

be of aid in the p resen t s earch She glanced ac r oss the .

marke t t oward a large whi t e hou se su rrounded by

gardens .

W e re going o v er there to t he B rit ish E mba ssy

’
,

she t old the gu ides to ask abou t a f riend Help us

w
, .

”
through the cro d please , .

They had b ut j us t s t a rted when t hey we r e ove rtaken

by Mr B eekman
. .

”
No t a t race ! he said Mu riel s h eart -broken .
’
.

Turning t o Abdul he asked in a l ow voice : Ha v e yo u

seen an American he re named G o rdon—M r Ba r ry Go r .

”
don ? He c ame on a se cret mission .

The question pu t a t random t hat day to scores of

,

nati v es a t las t s eemed t o hi t the mark It was so un

, .

expected that though the guide locked his lips his

, ,

eye-l ids fluttered .

2 43
 B A R R Y G O R DO N
’
Mr B eekman s keen sc ru t iny did no t lose th e t ell
.

tale l oo k He tu rned t o his w ife and K itt y

. .

”
Y ou r othe r guide he said will ta ke yo u to the
, ,

”
embas sy I wan t t o speak t o this one
. .

As they lef t him he led Abdul aside to the outski rt s

,

o f the marke t-pla ce .

“ ”
Y o u have seen Mr G or don he s aid pos i tively.
, .

”
Whe re is he ?
Abdul narrowed his small blue eyes .

Those who come t o Morocco on sec ret missions ,

h e replied a re ne v e r seen
, Th ey blind ou r eyes with .

t he glitt e r of thei r go ld and with its magi c cas t spel ls

,

”
upo n our t ongu es .

”
Ah ! said Mr Beekman with a sligh t lift o f his
.
,

fine gray eyeb ro ws Mr Gordon has feed you t o kee p

. .

”
dark abou t him He to uched the breast of his coa t
.

”
significan tly I ll fee you double to t ell me
.
’
.

Abdul s fa ce was kno tt ed with cupidi ty

’
.

” “
The ma gic of the rich said he is subj e ct t o t he
, ,

magi c of the r iche r There s a saying that a li ttle money

.
’

is as po we rful as a pasha ; much money as powerful as

”
t he S ul t an He blinked but then he opened his eyes
.
,

t o a wide r hones te r gaze drew himself up and shook

, , ,

hi s litt le head wi th su c h emphat i c r efusal tha t the ta ssel

on his fez danced .

Mr B eekm an perp l ex ed and di sappo int ed said

.
, ,

wearily
4 2 4 4 ]
 CHAPT E R II

B AR RY G R O P E S T OWAR D TH E LIG HT TH E S P IRI T O F T H E

.

S W O R D A N D TH E S P I R I T O F TH E M AR KE T -P LA C E .

H OW A WO MA N H I D I N A B O O TH A N D LIS T E NE D

WEEK in M o r occo and no real clue un t il

,

t o -day V isits t o the Sulta n s minis t ers in

.
’

Tan gie r con fe ren ces with t he pas ha in

, ,

terminable int erviews with the foreign cons uls hard ,

rides int o the coun t ry fla ttering gi fts to kaids and

,

sheiks h o u rs spe n t in idle bu t inquisitive good -fellow

,

ship wi th all s o r t s and degrees of nati v es — ye t nothing

definite un t il this afternoon .

Th e firs t and only news o f Tom was t ha t which had

bee n cabled from Moro cco t o W ashingt on .

One nigh t a n a t i v e from t he Rif Mountains had come

to the Ame rican Co nsulat e The man appeared t o be a
.

secre t agen t of the Kabyles or o f othe r hill tribesmen .

He disclosed the fa ct t ha t Tom though still a prisoner

,

somewhere in t he wild fastnes ses that faced G ib ralt a r ,

was ali v e The proof—a scrap o f pape r to rn from a

.

carne t or book— bo re merely the da t e and Tom s signa ’

ture has tily scribbled

, .

Unlu ckily the native g uard a t the co ns ul at e had pe r

2 46
 B A R R Y G OR D O N
mit t ed this man to escape before Barry s a rr ival and ’
,

there was no t racing him Bu t his news had esta blished

.

in a general way the locality o f Tom s prison Mo re ’

.

over it had suggested the identity of his cap tor s

, .

This suggestion coincided with the earliest theo ry

of the cri me It accorded t oo with the suspi cion Ba rr y
.
, ,

had expressed so vehemently t o Kitty Van Nes s th at

nigh t two years ago in Paris .

The mountain count ry was the s t ronghold o f Ali

Hamed t he pretender t o the th r o ne Ali Hamed was
, .

beyond doubt the man who had captured Tom Yet this .

daring Berber Chieftain was not a bandit of the usual

type Though an outlaw cruel even t o t ort ure he had
.
, ,

never s to oped t o c o mmon crimes Moreov er he was not .

,

a s trat egis t His was the true Mohamm edan spi r it— the
.

spirit of the drawn swo rd He could not have planned

.

the c lever hoax that had hidden the abduction— Tom s ’

death his grave t he execution o f his murderer No ; he

, , .

had s ome wily accompli ce with enough money and power

t o control s ec retly certain of the nati v e troops .

Thanks to Hicks many fact s had been gleaned as

,

t o po lit i ca l conditions ; and thanks to Barry s v ivid

,
’

imagina t ion these facts had bee n gradually vi t alised

,

with meaning .

’
Ali s a c c o mplice was p r obably also his finan cial backe r .

Three ye ars ago m o ney ha d been s ec retly loaned to the

p re tender This h e had s p ent on an imm ediat e up risin g
. .

2 47
 BARRY GORDON
”

Bu t th e u p rising failed and he f o und himself unable t o

,

repay the man who had ba cked him Tha t secre t cr ed .

it or had p r obably t hen suggested tha t Ali should c ap ~

'
.

ture some agen t of the rich B eekman -R och e Syndi cate

and t ry fo r a r ans o m to clear the debt .

The capt u r e was m ade but the wide publici ty had

,

ne cessi ta ted pat ience To emb ro il Morocc o with foreign

.

p o wers would ruin t heir chan ces Their only hope w

.as

t o wait t ill the clamour subsided and then begin cautious

negot iations .

W ith this in view t he p rin cipal o f the pa rt nership

,

who supplied the brains and money had planned the

dea t h hoax and bribed the Sultan s t ro ops to ca r ry i t ’

thr ough That had allayed all suspi ci o n B ut the loan

. .

was s till unpaid .

They wai t ed t w o yea r s—kept Tom in c ap t ivi ty t wo

whole years — not darin g to a ct .

Bu t now a t last they had co ve rt ly mad e a m o ve Th ey .

had sent th at man to the co nsulate with secret news ,

relying on the co nsul s go od sense to keep it pri v ate In

’
.

this they were not disappoint ed To the world at large .

the a ff air was s t ill a closed t ragedy .

This was the s tory pie ced t oget her by Ba rry and .

Hi cks Bu t they we re still hopelessly in the dark As yet

. .

t here had been no men t i o n o f a r ansom A t p resen t the .

cons pirat ors we re d o ub tless hiding th eir t ime to o cau ,

~

ti o ns t o m o ve furth e r .
 B ARRY GORDON
l egged on the threshol d o f his d oor in d ole ntly o ver -lay,

ing on a li tt le ho ll o w gour d a deli c a te tra ce ry o f s ilve r .

The t hing w hen finis hed was to be a kief-box It w ould .

h ang b y silve r ch ains like a chatelaine pu rs e have a ,

silve r s topper and co nt ain seve r al pipefuls o f the s ma ll

,

in t o xi ca t ing gr an ules P r obably fo r weeks or even

.

m o nths Umlai ha d been working on it applying d r eam ,

ily the e x qu isit e silve r tra ce ry and fi tt in g togethe r the

infinites imal links in t he li tt le chains .

B ar ry leaning idl y against t he d oo r-pos t looked

, ,

down on the large white tu rban and voluminous whi t e

bu rnou s that clo thed hi s fr iend B oth were as snowy as
.

his l o ng bear d and see m ed to symboli se t he pu rity o f his

,

nat u re.

”
Y es h e answe red a t last ;
, bu t Ali s an ces tors w er e ’

o nce rich His family still holds t he great key to a

.

pal ac e in Gr anada I have seen pi ct u res of the key em

.

b ro ide r ed i n gold on the head -gea r o f their women They .

”
lived t he re centu ries befo re the Spania rds .

He set d o wn his work The day wa s balmy and full

.

of sunlight Beside him on t he g ro und stood a little vase

.

of Andalusian po tt ery cont aining a single c r ims on ro se .

He t ook t he r ose and h olding it to his n ostrils ga zed

, ,
'

ofl dreamily ac r oss t he blue and t ran q uil wa te rs of th e

M edite rranea n .

After a m o men t be replaced the rose i n the v as e a nd

re sum ed his w ork on t he kief-box .

[ 2 50
 B A RRY GOR D ON
B a rr y filled an old brier—roo t pipe wi t h t obac co and
began sm oking t o ease his imp atience .

”
I t is r epo r ted he said casually, tha t only t w o o r
,

th ree y ea r s ag o Ali Ham ed was well supplied with

funds .

Uml ai t appe d the silve r t ra cery o n the gourd with his

small hammer and said nothing .

U nderstanding the ways of this slow-spe aking quick ,

thinking old des cendant o f the p r ophet Ba rry wait ed ,

and smoked in silence Those were long almost unbear

.
,

able moments The r e was no hurrying t hese people no

.
,

fo rcing them Once th eir lives had attained t his sens uou s
.

rhy thm any thing sudden would have seemed imp ert i
,

nen t.

Umla i forge tt ing B a rry s presen ce once more set

,
’
,

aside his work This t ime he took up a small stringed

.

instrument called a gimbri On t his he began t o play

.

t o himself while ga z ing off again over the sea The .

m u si c was fain t and mono t onous the th ree strings weav

,

i n g as i t were the mere shadow of a t une Yet there was .

a l ow wild plain t in i t that echoed in Bar ry .

A t las t Uml ai ben Mohammed laid aside his g imb ri

a n d again resumed his indolent t apping o n the kief-box .

Then h e finally answered ; and his answer though it ,

a t firs t seemed vague diplomat ically c onveyed a world

,

o f in tell igence .

”
At Tangie r he said in a l ow voi ce
, the re is in ,

2 51
 BARRY GORDON
t he Ciag ree n whi ch yo u ca ll the Street o f t he Silve r
,

smi ths a c e rtain b o oth close t o the mo sque It is o wned

, .

by a ri c h Jew named Ib rahim Doub t l e ss y o u ha ve seen.

”
him and talked wi t h him .

Barry nodded wonderin g , .

Y es freq u en t ly ; b ut h e kn o ws n o thing
, .

Umla i smiled .

He may he an admirable man but h e s kilf ull y ,

avoids pu rchasing my kief-bo xes Re c en t ly I have f ou nd .

”
ou t why B arry be nt cl ose r and Umla i l o we red his
.
,

voice s t ill mo r e I t is because he fea rs I am a s py He

. .

”
has hea r d tha t y o u and I a re friends .

B a rry looked puzzled a momen t th en gradually his ,

fa ce cleared So t here in the m ain s tree t o f Tan gie r a

.
,

whole week unde r his ver y eyes was th e man a t the b ot ,

to m of all thei r suffering !

”
Uml ai he n M ohammed he said ,I th ank you out ,

”
o f my hea rt !

He rode ba ck t o Tan gie r wi t h all s peed and now ,

stood ligh t ly co nversin g with Ibrahim ac r oss the

coun t e r o f that pro spe ro us merchan t s boo t h He was ’
.

s t ill in his riding-s ui t an d d u sty t ravel -s tained and

, ,

t ired bu t his wi t s we re sh a rp and his p l uck ready

, .

This Moo rish Jew wi th wh o m h e h ad t o de al was

middle -aged and rathe r po rt ly He wo re th e bla ck ga ber.

dine and skull — c ap o f his race Hi s bla ck mo ust a che and

.

full bla c k be a rd h eavily masked his m outh chin, a n d ,

[ 252 l
 B ARRY GO RD ON
intri cat e en g raved design The swo rd was co mm o n
, .

enough b ut Barry seeing i t edge down signifi cantly

, , ,

over him smiled with dry humour

, .

“ ”
Fine swo rd that he obs erved carelessly
, , .

Ibrahim n o dded .

“ ”
A g reat bargain he declared leaning f orth o ve r , ,

t he counter and twisting his neck to look up admi rin gly

at the weapo n The blade is t rue Damas ce ne the s cab
.
,

bard very valuable In some pa rt s o f Africa shells y ou

.
, ,

know a r e st ill used for money

, .

Ba r ry n odded and on the spur of the moment said

,

with a shade o f meaning

They go well together Ibrahim—m o ney and t he ,

”
sword .

The J ew d r ew back in his bo oth Otherwise he be .

t r ay e d no sign Bu t his answer was not wi thou t sig

.

nifi c anc e .

Yes and he who would con t end again st thei r po wer

risks all .

Barry sh r ugged indi ff erent to the impli ed th rea t

, .

They were now alone t he Street of the Silve rsmi t hs be ,

ing alm os t deserted in fa v our of the market -place .

”
I don t come to contend with you said Barry
’
, ,

but to ask y ou to aid me in ob taining the freed o m o f

”
my bro ther .

Ibrahim c ame ou t from the interior o f his b oo t h to

keep be tt e r wa t ch on the stree t and occasional pas se r sby .

254
 BA RRY GORD ON
Is you r brother in prison ? I hav e not heard .

”
Oh yo u have not heard said Barry d ryly
, , Then .

I ll tell you He has been Ali Hamed s capt i v e for ov e r

’
.
’

two years I though t him dead bu t I ve lately be en t old

.
,
’

”
he is still li v ing .

I brahim raised his black eyeb rows s troked his bla ck ,

bea rd .

You int erest me This is like nigh t in t he fo res t s

.

o f t he sou t h a world of darkness filled with unkn o wn

,

”
things .

P erhaps yo u can shed ligh t on i t suggest ed Ba rry ,

ironica lly .

Ibrahim pondered the case heavily impassi v e , .

“
Y ou say your brother is a capti v e and has been ,

mourned as dead though ali v e This fills me wi t h wo n .

”
der This is like a story t old t o a child
. .

\
”
Then pre ten d y ou are a child said B a rry wi th ,

“ ”
mocking significance and be lie v e it , .

“
A man may believe and yet know nothing said ,

I brahim He drew closer and lowered his v oice

. Faith .

is beyond price ; bu t knowledge being inferio r has a , ,

”
value .

Barry felt a t hrill o f sa t is fa ct ion The J ew was show .

ing his hand a t last But the game was deep I brahim
. .

must hav e been wait ing f or this daily hoping f or this ,

chance Yet he had done no thing to bring i t abou t

. .

Had he ? Perhaps he had .

2 55
 BARRY GORDON
Ba rry t u rned t o the booth a gain t o ying meditat i v ely,

wi t h some of the knickknacks on the counter The game .

was s o deep tha t i t seemed un fa th omable Perhaps aft er .

all t he Jew had caugh t him by the subt les t move ima g
inable B a rry t ook up a kief box and began t wis ting
.
-

and unt wis t ing i t s delica t e silver chains His brow wa s .

drawn his eyes were baffled The game was e v en so deep

, .

tha t perhaps Ibrahim had refused to buy Umla i s kief ’

boxes o n purpose t o an tago nise t he S ilversmi th and

bring about thi s very in t erview !
B arry utt ered a sho rt laugh He l oo k ed up at Ib r a .

him with a sudden bold candou r .

” '

I p rided myself said he on t racing this a fla ir

, ,

”
t o y ou bu t all the time y ou have been fishing fo r me !
,

Ibrahim made a dep r ecat o ry ges t u r e .

Oh y es yo u ha v e said Barry calmly His glance

, ,
”
, .

grew sharper Ibrahim I know this case from A t o !

.
,
.

You loaned m o ney t o t he P re tender His up rising failed .

and he could not r epay you A t you r suggestion h e t ook

.

m y b r ot he r capt i v e You wan t ed a ransom but y o u got

.
,

s ca red S o yo u decided to con t ri v e the lie abo u t my

.

bro the r s dea th Yo u did i t so well tha t the world be

’
.

lieve d Then yo u wai t ed t wo y ears Then a t last you

. .

plu cked up c oura ge and sen t a man to the consulate .

The n I came as yo u knew I would and y o u fished fo r

, ,

” “
me ! B arry smiled darkly And n o w t ha t I m nib
.
’

”
bling yo u re hoping for a go od haul
’
.

2 56
 BARRY GORDON
” “
is wi t h his
’
The h o me of a Jew s hear t he said , ,

family The re you ha v e no claim on my h ospi tality

. .

The h o me of a Jew s b rain is his sh o p He r e I wel c ome

’
.

you .

Barry fel t his h o pe d eaden un de r t he weigh t of this

answer .

”
Then name you r p rice he said ha rshly in co ld
, ,

”
money !
But Ib rahim s till preferred t o t emporise
”
Cold money ? he echoed smiling Mo ney is , .

n e v er cold I t breeds a passion h o t a s love

. .

”
Y es said Ba rry
, and a s cru el Name you r p ri ce
, . .

Are you t rying t o es t ima t e my paying ca pac i t y ?

IVha t s y our moti v e in wait ing ? You have golden
’

dreams of po wer eh ? No Ibrahim if you see it as i t is

, , , ,

”
i f y ou see it wi th any com p assion it s a night ma re ,
’
.

B arry s tone was bitterly c o ld

’
The cen t ral figu re of .

you r d r e am is my bro ther— a poor dev il o f a p risoner

perhaps half-sta r ved half-naked— so low in luck t hat
,

”
by now he is probably c urs m g his God .

I brahim shook his head .

”
No he said smiling sua v ely
, , I prefe r t o think ,

of that po or prisoner set f ree I think of his hap .

p in ess at being r eleased hi s re t u r n to life man

, ,

”
h ood and t he world The words fl owed f r om the J ew
.

with oily smoothn ess He wav ed his long da rk hand .

”
a s if pi ct u r in g t he capti v e s release I think of him ’
.
,

2 58
 B ARRY GOR D ON
'

said he as for t he first t ime he walks out into this

,

sunshine .

”
St op ! ej acul ated Barry with sudden desperat i o n .
l

Drop all that ! You nee d n t try to play o n my feelings

’
.

’
I suppose y ou think my heart s my purse and if y ou ,

cut it open money will come pouring out For God s

,
.
’

sake name your price !

,

Ib rahim fell silent his swa rt hy face unreadable It

, .

was as if the spreading darkness of his sec ret proj e cts

and calculations hung v isibly before him Even his full .

black beard and moustache seemed as it were dense , ,

shadow s outcropping from his abysmal d epths But his .

eyes were so lacking in expression so like stony solids , ,

that they masked those depths impenet rably .

“ ” “
Ibrahim said B arry with strained cal mness
, if ,

you don t come to the point I ll fight my way to your

’
,
’

”
capti v e I ll call on the Ameri can Go vernment !
.
’

Then f or the first time Ibrahim laughed aloud a l ow , ,

short dry laugh u tt erly to neless like t he knocking of

, , ,

wood against wo od .

“ ”
Fight your way ? he said scoffi ng ly Ha v e yo u .

seen the gr ay horses of Ali Hamed ? Have y o u seen Ali s ’

aim with a rifle—a rifle made in y our Ch ris t ian Amer

ica ? h e snee r ed N o ; if you h ad y ou w o uld be less
.

eage r to figh t y o u r way He can s hoot an inse ct o n t he

.

”
wing .

Bar ry met snee r wit h snee r .

[ 2 59 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
”
That fo r him and you ! he said snapping his ,

fingers . Ali will find more than an insect to deal with

”
i f you and I can t come to t erms at once He m ade as
’
.

i f to tu rn on his heel You r price o r I cable t o W ash

.
,

ing t on You know what t ha t means I t means a dozen

. .

warshi p s he re in Tangier harbo ur It means your to wn .

bombarded your home dest royed It means that this

, .

shop o f yours and all t his t ruck with which y ou swin

,

”
dle foreigners will be utterly wiped out He s miled
, .

mockingly tauntingly , N o remunerati v e tradi ng

.
,

I brahim No foreigners paying twenty do lla r s for a

.

sword wort h two or fifty for an amulet wo rth fi v e or a

, ,

hundr ed for a necklace wo rth t en No thousand per ce n t . .

profit Ibrahim— no t by a long sight N o fo reigners at

, .

all as cus t omers ; b ut nat i v es — your own people — look

ing for bargains You understand — bargains sca t
.
,

t e r ed in t he streets by foreign guns —b ro ken neck la c es ,

scorch ed silks cracked j ewe l s ! I v e seen these devas ta

,
’

tions before now Can t you ima gine t he scene

.
’
? —the
”
pretty di so r der ? He smil ed dr yly What w re ckage !
—mer c han dise mixed in with fragmen t s o f human
.

—
b o dies v ery possibly s o me o f yo ur own body ! ”

He laugh ed g r im ly ; but Ib r ahim Sh uddered clu tc hed ,

a t his a rm and began to protest agains t this ho r rible

,

outbur s t .

E n ou gh ! F or give me !
B a rry d rew away his a rm with o pen ave rs i on He w as .

[ 2 60 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
dom o f e xper ien c e and t he ins tin cts of res tr aint b red in
him by his seven y ears c onflic t wit h life were like s teel
’

c hains o n him c u rbing his impulses

, .

He began pacing up and down his ga z e o n the ,

gr ound his facial mus c les working his t eeth in his

, ,

u nder lip his whole lo o k and bea r ing th o se o f a man

,

in a t ragic quandary .

From far up the stree t c ame t he t um u l t of the ma rke t .

On b ot h sides t he bare whi t e houses shut out ai r Tho ugh .

the sun was low its brazen rays flow ed m o lten t hr ough
,

t he town Tan gie r wa s a furnace and a babel

. .

Ibrahim hi s back to his shop s t o o d impassively

, ,

watching the American They were both t o o engros sed.

t o notice a m ov emen t in t he b ooth F ro m behind i t a .

woman s t ole in a t the fa r side Th o ugh she was a J ewess

.
,

she was veiled And t hough f or several years her beauty

.

had brought large cus t om t o this very boo th she now ,

concealed herself in it wit h the utmost sec recy Silen t .

as a shadow she slipped behind t he silks han ging a t

the side and waited brea thl ess with an x ie ty
, , .

Suddenly B a rr y t u r ned t o Ibrahim .

One thing I ask : le t me see my b rothe r face to fa ce ,

”
if only for a momen t .

No ; you w o uld try t o r escue him .

W ha t if I did ? Su r ely y ou and Ali c o uld p re v en t

The J ew t houghtfully s t roked his be ard ; t hen h is

2 62
 BARRY GORDON
B arry nodded He knew the type This trader would
. .

commi t any wrong save a breach o f con t ract .

”
We won t haggle o v er this he said at length
’
I
, .

have a friend here in Tangier who s in constant touch ’

with the U nited States Go v e r nmen t Break your wo rd .

,

”
and y ou know the penalty He weighed the proj ect .

carefully .

Meanwhile Ibrahim s eyes gleamed He kep t a grave

’
.

front but he was laughin g in his sleeve The sum

, .
,

though not a twentieth part of the demanded ransom ,

would discharge the full amount o f Ali s debt to him ! ’

And the capti v e would stil l be theirs .

”
I name two c onditions he said The first : That
, .

sa v e f or the escort o f my men you go alone The second : .

”
That y ou g o unarmed .

Finally Barry looked up .

W ill you give me a written passport ?

”
Yes .

”
Done then ! said Barry ; and the silks han g ing ,

in the bo oth trembled , .

But the men were t oo e ngrossed t o notice Their c on .

tract closed they s t ood a moment facing each other

,

with keen antagonism the Jew ironical and secretly

,

pleased Barry grim and no less impenetrable

,
.

Then I brahim r e-entered his booth and seating him ,

self at the counter be gan his letter to Ali Hamed

,
.

B arry wen t a t on c e t o the bank .

2 64
 B AR RY GORD ON
Silent ly the woman slipped out behind Ib rahim and
has t ened t o a small fandak or s ta b le o n the out skirt s of
the town At the entrance she utte red a l ow call and a
.
,

horse whinny ing gladly came out t o her M ounting int o

, , .

the saddle man -wise she r ode off swiftly t oward the ,

east.

I n the meantime Barry r eturned to Ib rahim wi t h a

cert ified cheque Across the coun te r of the bo ot h t hey
.

made a tent ative exchange Ib rahim examining the ,

cheque B arry t he passport which t ranslat ed read as

, , , ,

follows

This shall protect the American who he ars it ! him and him ,

only ) and shall admit him ! him and him only ) t o the presence
, ,

o f Ali Hamed s co m anion This shall also assure the American

’

p .

wh o bears it ! him and him only) a safe return

, .

I B RAH IM THE LE ND ER , .

B o t h satisfi ed I brah im t hru st the ch eque under his

,

ga berdi ne Barry the lette r into his breast-po cket That

, .

closed the ba r gain .

”
My men said Ib rahim will come for you t o the
, ,

”
south of t he market place at s undown
- .

A s B arry t u rned off through the side s treet he met

Hicks who was e v idently seeking him Hi cks appeared
, .

greatly agi tated .

”
Barry he said they re here They v e followed us
, ,
’
.
’
.

2 65
 B ARRY GORDON
I saw them a t the sok—
and M rs Beekm an and M rs
Mr . . .

Van Ness !
Ba r ry seem ed dazed .

And
Of course said Hi cks , y ou r wi fe must be here , ,

”
t oo They are proba bly at the Hotel G r anada He took
. .

B a rry s a rm
’
Come we ll g o there
.
,
’
.

” ’
No said Ba rr y
, I ca n t It s out of the question
,
.
’
.

He spoke qui ckly t ersely I ve found our man He s

, .
’
.
’

a Jew in the bo oth near the m os que He demanded a .

r a nsom The sum was fabulou s —t wo or th ree times

.

what I m w o rth Bu t I ve arranged t o see Tom He s

’
.
’
.
’

somewhe r e in t he Rif Mountains .

Hi cks frowned .

“ ”
The Rif Moun t ains ! Ali s s t r ongh o ld ! He d rew ’

”
himself up staunch loyal
, Wh en d o we star t ?
, .

B ar ry smiled gratefully .

Thanks Jim bu t excep t fo r a native es c ort I go

, ,

”
al one .

”
Al o ne ! cr ied Hicks M an you re mad ! What s .
,
’ ’

you r plan ?
B a rry aver ted his ey es He wi thd rew his arm from .

hi s friend s res tr aining grasp

’
.

C o me There s no t mu c h time They mee t me at

.
’
.

”
t he sou t h of the market place at sundown
- .

”
B a rry cried Hicks
, you re a fool ! I shall go to ,
’

”
y our family Pe rhaps you ll a t least lis t en to your wife
.
’
.

2 66
 CHAPT E R III

AT TH E SO U T H or TH E M A RK E T -P LAC E AT S U ND OW N .

G OD PI T Y W O M E N ! THE CA LL To P R AY E R

I CKS, st opping firs t a t the cable office sent ,

an urgen t message to W ashington then w en t ,

at on ce t o t he Hotel Granada .

In th e p r ivacy o f Mr Beekman s room he took bu t a

.
’

moment t o explain the a ff air to M uriel and he r father .

He t old t hem the salien t fa cts so quickly and suc cinctly

that thei r firs t relief a t seeing him las ted but a moment .

W ith e v ery word he spo ke their anxiety g rew Though .

Mr Beekman was thought ful and im p assi v e Hicks saw

.
,

his thin lips twi t ch and his brow all a t once age under
the s t rain .

As fo r M uriel t he change in her shocked him Her

,
.

face was drawn he r eyes we re hollow and circled with

,

shad o ws he r lips bloodless All buoyancy and sparkle

, .

had g o ne o u t o f her and all beauty save t he piteous ,

haunt ing beau t y whose ou t er ex p ression is unbeautiful ,

whose key -no te is pain .

Yet he could no t spare h e r The case was too grave

. ,

t he danger t oo imminent .

[ 2 68 ]
 B ARRY GORDON
”
Ba rry s plan is mad’
, he said in co nclusi o n ;
c idal !
The word stabbed her int o action Her eyes li t up .

feverishly .

”
N o ; the ransom !
Mr Beekman nod ded
. .

”
Yes ; any amount and at on ce ! ,

Muriel was on fire with impati ence .

W here can I find Barry ?

”
He s to meet his escort said Hicks
’
at the south , ,

—
of t he marke t place at sundown
”
.

She turned to the window and shot a glance at the

western sky .

The sun immense and blood -red hung almost on a

, ,

level with her eyes .

Blinded she tur ned to the door led the way down ,

stairs and out into the street .

Hicks and her fat her made f or the booth near the
mosque she f or the market
, .

As it was now late and the crowds were returning

from the sok Muriel had t o work her way up -stream
,

against a vast tide of humanity But though she was .

pressed by the lowest sc um of A frica though she was ,

j ostled by men in filthy sacking full o f rents that r e

v ealed great streaks o f brown and black skin s carred ,

with disease and caked with dust and though now and ,

again she found herself wedged be tw een horses and

[ 2 69 ]
 BARRY GORD ON
mules wh o se cursin g riders wrangled fo r passage
through the nar r ow streets she never falte red ne v er
, ,

flinched in her struggle up -s t ream How she passed .

t hem even the nati v es mus t have wondered She must .

have seemed l ike a spirit melting in and out and

onward s o swiftly so elusively that n ot even the
, ,

wall s of the kasbah t hei r for t ress could have stopped

, ,

her .

When at las t she gained the market -place and c r o ssed

it she cam e upo n B arry in a copse of tree s
, .

For a m o men t he did n ot see her did n ot hear her ,

.

Busy abo u t his horse he was looking to the girths o f

,

the saddl e the s t rength of th e reins the adj us tment

, ,

o f the bi t .

”
Ba rry !
He tu rned bared h is head and smiled as i f he had
, ,

left he r bu t a moment before Outwardly he t ook i t with

.

s o much ease t ha t t he meeting recalled hi s return a fter

his seven years of wandering—the evening when he had

walked in and gree t ed t hem off -hand as if afte r merely
a b rief absence Thi s n o nchalan t quality in him im
.

press ed her now even m or e than i t had t hen It sh o wed .

her the spirit in him o f world citizenship the spi ri t of ,

fata lism the spi ri t o f his ad vent urous an ces tors the
, ,

spiri t of a lar ge int im acy wit h life and death .

B u t his eyes as they me t hers betrayed feelin gs far

, ,

deepe r On ce m ore they had the old los t look

. .

2 70
 BARRY GORDON
he r as if rebuking her for this in t rusion But to Muriel .

t he animal was unreal— a shining cloud— a beautiful

but evil phantom waiting impat iently t o take Bar ry
away from her .

B arry drew the horse s head close r ’

.

”
Pat her Muriel he said des perately
, , Pa t he r . .

Muriel reco iled and he le t t he mare ou t again t o the

,

length o f the r eins .

They s t ood at the edge of the cops e o f t rees The .

market -place was desolate n ow— merely a large expanse

o f dust c r ossed by e v e r-lengthening shadows In the .

distance hooded figu res drew away silently into the whi t e
city beyond— ghosts ret urning to t hei r t ombs .

W ith a sudden impulse Muriel came bet ween Ba rry

and his horse and intercepted his gaze .

Oh Barry why did y o u lea v e me tha t nigh t with

, ,

ou t a word ?
For a momen t he was mu t e mustering all his strength
,

t o resis t the t empt at ion of he r nea rness t o him Then .

he said quietly :
If I had allowed myself t o see you I migh t no t ,

—
have come here at leas t until too lat e Muriel he ”
.
,

”
added almos t inaudibly I loved y ou t oo much
, .

He saw as i t were a wave o f life pass ove r her and

, ,

ebb away .

”
I was y ours then she t old him as I am now
, , .

He s hoo k his head .

2 72
 B ARRY GORDON
Only n ominally .

”
You and I are married she said l ooking u p a t , ,

him bashfully under he r lashes .

”
Yes he replied , because I de ceived you , .

She raised her head with a quick toss and her eyes
flashed co nt radicti o n .

You have never dec ei v ed me ! You r d o ubt abou t

”
Tom s death was a mere p resent iment
’
.

”
Y es said Ba rry
, but the presentimen t was v ery ,

strong Yet I ne v e r mentioned it t o you Silence they

. .

”
sa
y is g o lden Mine was a leaden lie . .

” “
No she rej oined ; y ou were silen t because you
,

wanted to spa r e me You did not wan t to make me un .

”
happy
He r plea on his behalf rang wi t h spi ri t and c onvic
t ion but Bar ry shook his head
, .

” “
That he replied ,is what I used to say to my ,

”
self a s a sop for living the lie His face darkened
, . .

Mu riel the dee per motive was this : I did no t wan t

,

t o lose y ou .

M u riel qui v ered and lowered he r eyes She looked .

down thoughtfully at the dus t now yellow in the long ,

oblique rays of the se t ting sun Then she gazed up at .

him dum bly and he saw tha t she was not unimpressed
,

by his confession He r look was altogethe r sad and once

.
,

again she unc o nsciously branded o n his h ea rt a new

imp ression .

[ 2 73 ]
 B ARRY GORD ON
S h e was wea ring a da rk bl u e hat and tr avelling sui t .

B eh ind her unde r the trees the dusk had gathered thi ck ,

bu t t here were s t ill la r ge pa tches o f g o lden sunli g h t .

O n th e y ellow ground at h e r fee t lay shadows in huge

bl ot s In t he blend ed glow and gloom the shade seemed
.

tin ged with deep purple likewise her dark d ress and —
hai r In th e hea rt of t his purple gloom her face lit
.
,

by t he ligh t th rough the leaves wa s like the face o f ,

a lo v ely spirit weary and pale , .

When p resent ly s h e h eld ou t he r hand t o him in

forgi v eness he fel t as th ough that small whi t e hand
,

to uched his hea rt -s trin gs and made them v ib ra te with

pain .

O n c e more wit h child like simplici t y she said t o him

”
Ba rry I love you ! ,

Ba rry t rembled He for ced himself t o refuse th e

.

pro ffered clasp fearing the c on tac t o f their palms He

, .

t urned half away with a p ret ence o f examining the reins

looped on his arm .

”
Y e s be ca u se I m y o u r h usband
, he said finge ring
’
, ,

“
t hem ne rvously Yo u re loyal Muriel to your ma r
.
’
, ,

”
r ia g e vows .

No ; I lov ed y ou befo re .

Tha t wa s before you knew Tom was s till ali ve Wai t .

till Tom comes back to you Tom s wo rt h thousands of .

’

me He has tr ai ts that w o ul d give any woman con

.

”
fi dence safety and peace He t urn ed ba ck t o her mee t
, , .
,

2 74
 B ARRY G OR D ON
was a not e o f an guish S he slipped her hand through .

his arm .
“
Ba rry wait Take time Tom is held for ransom
, . . .

Fathe r will pay i t How m uc h be tter how much s afe r

.
, ,

”
t o do that !

He d r ew away f ro m he r h and t hen turned to f ace ,

he r , but st ood d umb a mo me nt , his g lance o n t be g round,

his fi nge rs cl e nched on t he re ins At las t he l ooked up .

“ ’
N o Muriel ; I v e got to go The re s a re as o n y ou
, .
’

”
ca n t gums He he sit a t ed a m o men t g a zin g a t her wi th
’
.
,

hopel a s y ear ning Then he fo rced fr o m himsel f a c o n

.

f ession f ar worse th an t he first He t o ld her quiet l y o f

th e dark e st bl ot o n hi s p a st .

“
Mur iel af t e r I le ft Ki tt y that nigh t in Pa r is when
,

fi r st we re ad t he news of Tom
dea t h, I be g an t o t hink
’
s

of y ou as I had not all owed m y se lf t o th ink o f y ou

Tom had w o n y ou F or tha t I don t blame myself Co n
.
’
.

side r in
g m y l ov e f or y ou i t was o nly hu man An y ,
.

th oug h t may come to any man The righ t or wron g .

depends on whethe r o r not he su rrend e rs to the th o ught

was wha t l did Thoug h
'
t fll it kindles int o deeda l hfi

tho ugh I be lie ved th at th e syn di ca te s e n ginee rs we re ’

I d o ? I sat alone in a Paris m f é t ill day break and dr ank

to l oo k f or To m to , t ry to s a v e him f or ou
y , I dr a nk
[ 27 6 ]
 BARRY GORDON
hard ! Thoug h I need ed a cle ar hr ain and ever
y f ac ul t y
al er t , I dr ank hard !
“
And t ha t was not aE I kep t it up . Thoug h I st r ove
i o g et at th e f ac t s , l dr ank ha rd !
“
5 0 1 did find Tom and ev e r sin c e the n the
not ,

mem o ry of th ose days and ni gh t s her e in Tan gie r has

hung on me lik e a mill st o ne You rememher j us t be fore
.

our wedding I asked you ab o ut yo ur love fo r Tom Tha t .

was whe n t he mem o r y las t cr op p ed up and ac cuse d me,

denyin g me the righ t to m m you without co nfessin g .

But the go ds cut short my happines s Hi cks c ame .

,

you blame me be ca us e I le f t you a t once ? Can you

blame me bec a use I am lea vin g you now ? No M ur iel , ,

-
y o u ea ni Do y our ealise t hat if , when I ca me her e at

the time of Tom s ca p t ure I had kep t so ber I might

’
, ,

ha v e f ound him and sa v ed him the se t w o et ernal yea rs

o f i mpr is onm e nt and perhaps ago ny ? Tha t s the point ’
.

A man s n o stro nge r than his grea t es t wm k ness My

’
.

one g re a t failing Muriel though I th ou ght I was fre e

, ,

”
o f it has wre cked us all !
,

tho ugh a b urd en h ad been lifte d .

”
Now I ve shown y ou my so ul he s aid
’
, .

Muriel stirred Throu ghout his simple co nfes sion she

.

[ 2 77 l
 B AR RY GORD ON
had s too d m oti o nless dro oping like a dying flowe r as
, ,

i f this weight he wa s casting off was des cending grad

ual ly on he r .

W hen a t las t she raised he r head h e s aw t hat she

had be co me res igned t o his going He r eyes were fil led .

with tea r s Ev idently she could s ca rcely tru s t herself to

.

speak B u t when finally she did reply he r voice was

.
,

full o f cou rage and s p i ri ted sympathy as if she under

B a rry y ou re ri gh t I t s you r only chan ce—you r

,
’
.
’

”
one salvat ion !
To he r surp ri se he laughed .

”
Salvation ? Muriel no he said ironically her sur
, , ,

render curiously embittering him D on t a ccuse me of .

’

hunt in g fo r a p asskey t o t he ba ck door of heaven How .

do y ou t hink I would lo ok in a halo ? Ten t o o ne I d ’

”
we ar i t ove r one ea r !
His bi tt er levi t y had n o e ff ec t on her Behind i t she .

sa w as never before th e man himself

, , .

“ ”
Barry she ,said quietly ignor ing his outburst , ,

you re to ha v e an esco rt aren t y ou ? When will you

’
,
’

”
come back ? Tell me ther e isn t much dange r ’
.

Again he a v ert ed his eyes bu t his answe r wa s ligh t ,

and reassu ring .

Dan ger ? W hy sho ul d the r e be ? I v e go t a pass ’

”
port .

A t t hese words suddenly as if in response several

, , ,

[ 2 78 ]
 B A R R Y G OR D O N
’
Ba rry s mare akin to i t all grew restless and pawed
, ,

the g ro und Her large eyes gazed at the h uman storm

. .

Her ea rs were lifted her nos t rils dilat ed her body quiv , ,

e ring wi th excitement She th r ust her nose unde r .

B arry s a rm
’
.

He laughed dr yly B ut Muriel had d rawn close to his .

side and was clinging t o him her eyes b linded by the ,

powder— fla she s her ears dea fened by the shots She was
, .

pall id as death He heard her breathin g fas t. .

Slowly and unconsciously he pu t an arm abo u t he r .

”
It isn t anything t o be a fraid o f he said quieting
’
,
i

ly. They are fi ring blank charges They call it laab .

cl ba r nd I t s merely po wder-play—a way of cele

.
’ ’

br a t ing That s a wedding pa rt y They re taking t he

.
’
.
’

bride t o the groo m s home She s i n that bo x on the ’

.
’

” “ ”
mule He drew a sigh
. G od pi t y w o men he said .
, ,

the world o v e r !
The procession was now leaving the marke t -place and ,

soon the tempes t of noise colour and motion had passed , .

In the dis t ance the yells and gun -shots were dying away .

But Muriel her spirit now a t the mercy of her sens es

, ,

was still t rembling The sight of those savage fanat ics .

,

s o exper t with t heir weap o ns and in every way s o hor

ribly el oquen t of des tru ct ive f orce ma de her h ea rt sink ,

and her pluck fail .

The s un was now half los t behind t he wes te r n sky

 BARRY GORDON
B a rry with d rew his arm fro m abo ut her and l oo ked
t oward the t own e x pe cta ntly Muriel unders ta nding .
, ,

t urned and faced him look ed u p a t him wi t h bes ee ching

,

eyes.

“ ” “
Barry I can t le t you g o s h e sobbed
,
’
These , .

people are murderous t errib le Oh I can t let you g o ! , .

,
’

Wait a t leas t a f e w moment s Come and find ou t wha t .

father has done I implore you , .

His gaze was still st e rnly set t oward the t o wn as if ,

he could not t r ust himself to look down at her .

”
N o he said ; if I wai t ed I migh t be t oo la t e
, ,
.

Too late ? Why ?

I migh t— that s all Don t ask me Mu ri el ’
.
’
,
.

I mus t ask y ou Tell me why Barry It isn t fai r

.
, .
’

to g o like this withou t telling me withou t explaining

, ,
.

”
I won t le t y ou I can t ! Oh Barry !
’
.
’
,

He had thou ght to spare her but his silen c e he saw ,

was crueller than c andour .

”
Muriel he said , this is the reason : Tom s in the
,
’

”
gra v est peril They may at any moment take his life
. .

A s he said i t he felt that her last hope was crushed ,

her las t plea withdrawn I n spite of himself he looked .

,

down a t her and saw in the now dense gloom such a

piteous figure a face so stained with tears so pallid with
, ,

suffe ring so ghost -like in the shadows reaching out t o

,

grasp her that his heart seemed suddenly t o crack and

,

break .

2 81
 B ARRY GORD ON
S he d rew back i nto t he sh adow He a n d his hor se .

s t oo d j us t beyond in t he open gl o w The ma r e h ad .

r ais ed her hea d and was ga zing toward the t own Ba r ry .

,

t o o had t urned and was wait ing tense in eve ry line

, , .

M uriel on ce mo re c ame close to him Bu t he s t oo d .

str aigh t shackli n g himself wi t h his wil l p o we r

, .

Sudde nl y th e ma re sta rted f orwa rd tu gged on the ,

r eins and began t o whinny .

Ba rry shading his ey es wi th his h and s t rained th em

, ,

t oward a dis tan t ga t e M uriel f o llow ed his g az e half

.

blindly t hrou gh h er t ears .

Out int o the o pen ro de a pa i r of ruflianly nat ives ,

h eavil y a rm ed Seeing him t hey halted midway in th e

.
,

m a rket -pla c e and waited .

Ba rry turn ed to Mu riel and she saw him swa y

,
.

”
Mu r iel be repea t ed b rokenly
, help me t o do this ,

”
t hing !
Da zed by his ap peal she drew ba ck a s t e p int o the
,

s hadows .

The s train o n him eased His face wa s filled wi th a

.

”
Dear Mu riel he said in a voi ce now ve ry qui et
, ,

y oii have shown me a vision few men see

”
.

Th o se we re his las t words a s he left he r Tur nin g h e .

th ru st his f oot in the s tirru p and swu ng up lightly in to

t he saddle .

In a m omen t he h ad j oined his es co rt B et ween t hem .

2 82
 CHAPTE R IV

TH E RID E . C A SS IM AND AC H M E T . NIG HT O N T H E E DG E

O F A C O N T IN E N T . A M O C K IN G VO I C E

H E ride seemed to Barry slower and more ar

d uous t han any in the pas t Befo r e now he had .

kn o wn the racking wear and tear o f lonely

j ourneys through this roadless land Often he had fol .

lowed sim ilar Afri ca n trails— rough world-old tracks ,

full of hum mocks and hoo f-holes M ore tha n once in .

the rainy season he had seen mules bo gged belly— deep

in the quagmire and left t o die More t han once in the .

surmner when t he hole s were baked by t he sun into ha rd

,

pitfalls he had seen a horse suddenly s t umble had hea rd

, ,

a leg-bo ne snap And be c ause the nati v e riders woul d

.

not waste powder and ball to sav e th ese s t r icken beas ts ,

he hims elf had ended their pa in .

Bu t with all these misad v entures he had nev er till ,

now felt so keenly the irk of slow and ca reful r iding .

Hither t o he had always h ad time and to S pare He .

had been an idle wanderer as t ruly nomadic as all the

,

countless generat ions of men and burden ed animals who

had beaten these t rai l s into the earth He had mo v ed from .

pla ce t o place as if in a sleep taking no th o ugh t o f the

,

[ 2 84 ]
 B ARRY G ORD ON
morrow But to -day his impatience kep t him st ark
.

awake .

A fter s kirt ing t he t own the nati v es halted in a wood

,

and dismounting b ade him do like wise Then they

, , .

stripped him and searched him for w eapons This done .

,

the ride was resumed one in the lead as guide t he o the r

, ,

in the rear to keep watch on B arry .

They were rugged mountaineers thes e men— a bo u t as ,

wild and murderous — looking a pair as he had e v er seen .

His years o f dangerous trav el had trained his eye

t o read faces quickly bu t with care This he had al r eady .

done in the presen t instance U po n first riding up to .

them in the market-place he had caught a sharp im

pression o f the t wo and now after se v eral hou rs he
,

thought he had a working kn owledge of their char

a c t ers .

The one who had taken the lead was the older — a tall ,

gaun t man Cass im by name From under his turban a

, .

great tangle of gr izzled hair rioted o v er his n eck and

shoulders His grim visage framed by this coarse
.
,

and uncouth mane looked like a rock in a thicket

, .

He was mounted on a b ay charger and carried a na

ti v e g un A t his wais t Bar ry saw the hilts of a brace
.

of daggers .

The man in the rear by name Achmet was less im , ,

pressi v e Perched high on a tra v elling pa ck on a mangy

.

mule he lo oked every inch an African derelic t a wo rth

, ,

2 85
 B AR RY GORDON
less d rifte r his flat, pock -ma rk ed fa ce sap ped bl oodless
,

by sensuali ty his bl ea r ey es the ey e s o f th e co nfi rmed

,

kief-smoke r and hasheesh-ea te r .

This Achmet B a rry de cided was Ib r ahim s o ne mis

, ,
’

take Th rough h im the thing mus t be d o ne

. .

The tra c k wo u nd be tween l o ng s t re tches of olive trees

and sc rub al o e As da rkn ess fell the g o ing was v ery
.
,

diffi cul t E ven wh en the m oo n r ose ove r the moun tains

.

ahead every s tep was a risk The play o f i ts be ams wi th

, .

t he sh adows made th e way so t ricky t ha t eve ry f oot

o f i t h ad t o be wa tc hed .

All t hat night and the nex t day they p ushed onwa rd .

As they r ode boys came ou t f r om t he ze r eebas pip

, ,

ing on reeds an d c ryin g after B a rry gay cu rses .

”
N zr a ni ! Ch r is tian ! Dog and so n of a dog ! they
’

“
mocked callin g t o ot hers
, Come and see t he N az
,

”
arene .

Then Achm et i n the r ea r would d ro wsily wave the m

bac k wi th taunts ins ul ting to M oo ris h y ou t hs .

”
S chwei ! Schwei ! Go to your mothe rs h e w ould ,

”
d ro ne Spawn of fleas !
.

Bu t s oo n the ze r eebas and fl at co unt ry we re left he

hi nd The riders had r ea ch ed t he foo t-hills Hou r afte r
. .

hour they r o de in single file withou t a word Then t he .

scene bec ame wilder bo lder They we re in the mo u n ta ins

, . .

Hour after ho ur they push ed onward and upwa rd the ,

as cent g ro wing cons ta ntly m o re p re c ipito us un til a t ,

[ 2 86 ]
 BARRY GORDON
fandak Barry h ad seen many o f t hese en c losed s to ck
.

ades bu t none so desolate o r an c ient as t his which t o

, ,

j udge b y it s decay mus t have da ted back t o the

days when p ira c y h ad fl o urished on t he sea below .

Doub tless th e Rif pi rat es had built the pla c e Ev er and .

anon swooping down on coas t wise v o yagers and climb

ing back burdened wit h boo t y t hey had fel t the need
,

o f half-way shelters be t ween t he sea and t heir mo u n ta in

lairs Doubtless many a capta in of a r akish ko rsan had

.

lodged here and wi t h him his mu rderous c rew But since

, .

t he decline of that hol d sea -brigan dage t he fandak had

been put t o t ame r u se Though t o— . night i t happened t o
be deser t ed ev idently on many recent night s it had
,

housed wayfarers bo und God knew when c e or whi ther .

As B arry fo llowed Cassim and Achmet under the arch ,

he noticed t hat the place s t ill ree k ed with t he smell of

recen t occupan t s —men and mules and ho r ses who had
spen t the nigh t here and slep t togethe r and fed t ogethe r
and t hen r esumed t heir res tless wandering nomads —
all.

As in mos t f a ndak s t he middle o f the inclosure was

,

open to the sky but a clois t r al passage r oofed t o afford

, ,

p rot e ct ion agains t inclemen t wea t he r margi ned the open

,

space .

This dark p as sage wa s e vidently familiar to Cassim

and Achmet They seemed t o ha v e proprietary rights
.

in the fandak St raigh tway they wen t to an o aken doo r

.

2 88
 B ARRY GOR D ON
at a corne r and Cassim d rew from unde r his haik a large
,

key Op enin g the door he entered a c lose t and b ro ugh t

.

o u t a feed of straw for the horses and mule Meanwhile .

Achmet who had entered with him emerged wi t h a

, ,

brazier fu ll o f charcoal and u ndoin g his p a c k set

, , ,

ab out prep aring a meal .

”
I g o a moment said Ba rr y in A rabi c
, t o t hink ,

”
and be alone .

Cassim bowed cons ent .

Barry drifted from the fandak Passing through t he .

s trip of oaks and palmett o sc rub he came out again on

the open ledge where they had dismounted Here on a .

r ock he seated himself and made his final plans .

Where these mountaineers were t aking him he could

not guess It migh t be e v en t o Beni Aloo
. a t own no ,

Christian had ev er entered— sa v e one .

A shadow crossed Barry s face He remembered a l ow ’

.

bred Berb er woman in the s t reets o f Beni Aloo ; also a

high bred Berbe r w o man on a roof in Beni Aloo - one
-

of those far flat roofs where intoxicat ing odours and

t he plainti v e musi c of the gimb ri snare the senses and ,

women clandestinely un v eil .

He the beggar woman had been charitably re cei v ed

, ,

t ha t evening by the lady on the roo f in Beni Aloo But .

the end had been a night ma re .

W hether or not he was now bound for this or any

o the r familiar lo ca lity he could no t t ell In the ol d days .

2 89
 B ARRY GORDON
he had co me f r om the southeas t No w he was co ming .

from t he wes t a n d t he lo o k o f it all was diff e r en t

, .

One t hing t h ou gh was certa in He was goin g a g ain

, , .

in t o the cou nt ry of the K abyl es o r hill t r ibes He was .

again on the m ove i n that ha za rd o us int ru sion which few

fo rei gne rs had a ttem pt ed and s till fewe r survi v ed .

B ut how di ff eren tly he was going now N o e xcit emen t .

,

n o hidden w eapo ns no ad v enturo us dis gu ise Me rely a

, .

decision in his mind cold and i rrev oca ble Ev en the fas t
, .
,

warm -bl ooded ride he had h o ped for had been denied
him The t est was d emanding th e calm es t san es t fo rces
.
,

of chara ct er .

Fa r bel o w him lay th e sea like a silver serpe nt

stret ched d ead in the m oonli ght All abo ut him over this .

pale wa rm M uslim world the air pulsed subtly as if wi t h ,

the bea t in g o f Al l ah s hear t Here and there a flo od of

’
.

moonligh t threw ou t in to relief many moun ta in crags

and se rried ridges Here and there i t was crossed by
.

black ra v ines and ca nons— grea t gashes of sh adow .

From one o r t w o fell infinitesimal gleamin g s tr eams t hat

t ri ckled o u twa rd into the gloom .

Ev e rywhe r e the enchantm en t o f the Moo rish nigh t

the ol d ind es criba ble enchan tmen t in whi c h h e co uld
nev e r lose himself again .

Ah y es he c ould ! He could lose himself he re f o r al l

,

e t erni t y Here be t ween the pill ars o f Hercules here in

.
,

the ga rden o f t he Hesperides he would lie a t rest Here

, .

[ 2 90 ]
 B ARRY GOR DON
B a rry rose .

Why do y ou call me h e said bi tterl y .

”
Why d o n t y o u ca ll me a d o g of a Ch r istian ?
’

Achmet ga z ed off va can t ly in t o th e m oo nlight .

”
We ar e p oor he answered bu t yo u R ourn
, i ha v e
,

”
m o ney t o buy kief and hasheesh He shot a glan ce a t .

Ba rry o u t o f t he co rne r o f his eye T h e l oo k was cr afty .

,

dange rou s cr iminal, .

Ba rr y smiled .

Y es Achmet bu t n ot wi th me n ot o n my pe rson
, , , .

N e v e rt heless o f wha t I have in Tangie r en ou gh sha l l

,

be you rs t o buy kief and has h ees h fo r the r es t of you r

” “
days That w o n t be long h e adde d d ry l y
.
’
, if you ,

”
keep a t i t .

Achm et t u rn ed and rega rded h im dazedly .

”
All ah kn o ws I canno t be bo ught he said t he light , ,

o f a long-los t manh oo d flickering in h is blear e y es .

”
Ihy eh ! Ihy eh ! Allah kn o ws !
I su gges t n o dish o nourable pu rch ase said Ba rr y ,

c o ldl y no real brea ch of c o ntract D oubtless you know

,
.

o f my bargain with Ibrahi m It admits an Ame rican

.

to t he c ap t ive and gu aran t ees an America n a safe r e

t u r n Goo d ! What ma tt e r that i t says t he Ame rica n ?
.

T o-day I am t he Ame ri can—you unde r s tand ? Bu t t o

m orr ow o n the ride back anot he r may be t he Ameri can
—you unders ta nd ?
Achmet gaz ed a t him s t upidly and sh oo k his hea d .

2 92
 B ARRY GOR D ON
N o Sidi ; bu t if i t is no breach and t ho u wil t fa tt en
,

”
my purse with mu ch kief m o ney the thing is done
-
, .

B arry nodded .

You wi ll he paid o n your retur n to Tan gier N ow .

wha t of Cas sim ?

Achmet smiled .

Cassim sm o kes li tt le kief ea ts little hasheesh bu t

, ,

”
he fights he kills
, .

Again Barry nodded .

I see he ca rr ies a native ca rbine H ow abo u t 8 L ee . .

M et f o rd or W inches t er ?
Achmet chuckled .

”
Fo r the price of a r ifle like Ali Hamed s he said ’
, ,

”
Cassim would sell t o thee his horse and his wi ves .

Barry laughed dryly .

”
I shall ha v e no use f or either he said My de
, .

”
mand is t rifling Come ! He led t he way back to t he
.

stockade .

There while t he m ule and horses mun c hed thei r s t raw

,

on the fandak c obbles the three men in th e clois t ral

,

passage d rank thick blac k coflee of Achmet s b rewing

'
’

and fed upo n a chicken he had stewed o ver t he b razie r .

This and a few dried fi g s and cakes sodden and tough ,

as cow-hide constitu ted t hei r firs t and las t meal be

,

t ween Tangie r and their destina t ion .

After they had finished t hey fell to sm o king Cassim ,

and Achm et kief in thei r long pipes B arry a ciga rett e , .

2 93
 B ARRY GORDON
N ow h e unfolded his plan t o t hem in de ta il The .

proj ec t wa s lu c kily s imple and suggested no lapse from

thei r p r imitive c ode Achm et sm oking d reamily and
.
, ,

now and t hen reso rt ing t o a small embo ssed h as heesh

cup beside him was soon s o befuddled by his vice so

, ,

gi v en o v er t o i t s so mnolen t delights t ha t tho u gh ts o f

,

an endless supply of them seemed t o fill him wi th a rare

rapt ure And a s fo r Cassim th e choice o f a Lee M et f o r d
.
,
-

or W inchester in exchange fo r so trifling a service

, ,

fairly t ransfi g ured his grim c oun tenan c e A single mo v e .

agains t the in terest s of Ali Hamed he migh t no t have

made fo r u n t old wealth bu t the scheme was u tterly
,

harml ess It was as if he had seen para dise

. .

Ba rry reading t hei r faces by the light of a candle

,

lante rn which A chmet had hung o v er him played on ,

their pe t weaknesses unt il the deal was clos ed In the .

matte r of pandering t o Achm et s v ices he had no t a

’
.

qualm The po or dog would get kief and hasheesh if

.

he had t o do murder f or it ; a nd as for Cassim if kill ,

he would he co uld kill more painlessly with a W in

,

cheste r t han a na t ive blunderbuss .

The a ffai r settled Achm et was fo r slingin g a c ot

,

f o r B arry in the clois t er ; bu t the air was so fetid unde r

the l ow roof that Barry declined and sa t th r ough the ,

nigh t in the fandak entrance his back agains t the wall

, ,

his sleepless s t aring eyes e v ery now and again on the

sq uat t ing figu res unde r t he lante rn .

[ 2 94 ]
 B ARRY GORD ON
His vigil reminded him of that nigh t seemingly cen ,

t uries a g o when he had watched over T om in the Beek

,

mans ba rn and had wakened t o find Muriel gazing

’
,

at him out o f the hea rt o f the dawn .

What a different to-morrow now awaited him !

When at last it came and the sun climbed above the
distant ranges t oward Algeria t he travellers resumed ,

their march .

Late in the afternoon Cassim called a halt within

sight o f a lofty and small white town so like many an ,

other eyrie in these mou ntains that Barry could not

determine whether or not he had ever before seen it .

Certainly not from this approach .

At a wo rd from Cassim B arry dismounted and Ach ,

met drawing from the mule-pack a long dj ella b or

,

hooded mantle of ro ugh gray cotton stuff threw it o v er ,

Barry s shoulders This was an expedien t which B arry

’
.

himself had often adopted I t protected a foreigner

.

from curiosity caused by E uropean costume Doubtless .

Ib rahim had ordered it fearing the unruly spirits in

,

Ali s hand But the next expedient was not so pl ea sant

’
. .

Achm et drew from the pack a s t rip of greasy shoddy

and tossed it t o Cassim Cassim then bound it abo u t
.

’
Barry s eyes and drawing forward t he hood helped him
, ,

up again into t he saddl e This done Cassim remoun t ed

.
,

grasped the gray s bridle and led on up a sharp ascent

’
, .

Fi nally h e drew r ein and ta king Bar ry s pass port

,
’

2 95
 B ARRY GORD ON
fr o m him again dism o un ted For a m o men t Barry was
, .

left in bla ck suspense He was dimly co nscious that Ach

.

’
me t s to od a t the ho rse s head and tha t se v eral low voices
were mu rmu ri n g not far away On ce he hear d a l ow .

exul t an t laugh.

B lind and helpless he wait ed Th en at las t an iro ni ca l

.

voice cl os e at hand said resonantly :

—
M a rhabba bi kum welcome to t hee N z rani ! ”
,
’

He was now o rdered t o dismoun t some one led away ,

his horse and the pa ss po rt was lightly th rust back

,

under his cloak .

Then th e voice said

Guide him t o ou r gu es t u nblind him an d lea ve them
, ,

”
together B u t wait near
. .

[ 2 96 ]
 BARRY GORDON
As be l owe red his glan ce i t fell o n a patch o f whi te
wall abu tting from the cliff In the middl e o f th is wall
.

he saw an oaken do o r Cassim with a large key was

.

f umbling a t t he lock Beside Cassim s t ood Achm et

.

holding h i s c andle-lant ern abo ve the keyhole .

S t unn ed by horr o r at sigh t o f this t om b-like cave ,

B arry as if in a nigh t mare s t ood waiting Then at

, , .

last the massive do o r was opened and t he t wo tu rning , ,

motioned him to ent e r .

If ever he had seen a death-t rap this was i t If ever , .

h e had s t o od at t he t h re shold of a dan g erous int erior ,

he sto od the re now Ye t he did not hesita t e An g uished

. .

with pi ty f or Tom a pity t hat to r tured his heart and

,

suddenly bu rned awake his Ol d long do rma n t bro ther , ,

l y love he pas sed swiftly th r ough the doo r way

, .

B ut n o w within he wa s forced to pause checked by ,

t he gl oo m .

A t o ne side in t he roc ky wall a deep small orifice , ,

cros s ed by i r on ba rs formed a natural window ; but the

,

m oo nligh t slanting in was so sickly the one streak of ,

i t a cros s the ca ve so thin and pa le tha t it only deepened ,

th e surr o unding dar kness .

This da rkness was fu r ther int ensified by a silence ,

no t like mos t silences merely nega tive b ut po sitive ag , ,

g r essive and shar p

, .

’
B arry s senses seemed to be st imulated abnormally .

Th en h e kn ew why the silence seemed so ac ut e Ju st .

[ 2 98 ]
 BARRY GORD ON
as the darknes s was intensifi ed by the streak of sickly
m o onbe ams the silence was intensified by an almos t in
,

audible sound .

He lis t ened He t hough t he hea rd a breathin g and a

.

d ripping— a faint distressed breathing and a slow drip

ping .

S training his eyes t oward the c o rner O f the cave he ,

though t he saw on the ground a form blacker than the

gene ral blackness .

The sight of t his s t ricken shape and the sound o f ,

its breathing and t he near-by drip filled his mind wit h ,

subtle horror his hea rt with a pity tha t was agony

, .

His ne rves grea t ly in need O f sl eep wer e s t rained almost

, ,

to breaking In tha t firs t moment he felt sickened as

.
,

i f with ac t ual nausea He broke into a cold swea t His

. .

head was spli t tin g His body was shaken by a chill

. .

Then it burned .

Fear ? Yes a momen t of exquisit e fear a moment at

, ,

the me rcy of imaginat ion a moment in the mids t o f a

,

whirl O f nightmare s t uff—gloom and flare ; silence ,

breathings drippings and all phantasmal te rr ors

, , .

Fear ? Y es bu t n ot cowardice The fear was full of

, .

courage .

With an eff or t he summ o n ed his will t o his aid and

drew himself up powerfully Then the fever and chill .

left him—lef t him s o sane and calm that ev en had some

p oor hide o us gh os t now r isen half fleshl ess fro m t he
[ 2 99 ]
 B AR RY GORDON
grave h e coul d have co mf o rted it wi th a large c om
,

passi o n .

A chm et b r ough t in t he lan t e rn hand ed i t t o him , ,

and wi thdrew .

Ba rr y held i t aloft and looked t owa r d the co r ner .

He saw a man huddled th ere The man lay on a ragged.

M oo rish cloak s pr ead on the ground He wa s on his .

side his ba c k t o the en t rance h is knees drawn up his

, , ,

a rms flung out and his face buried be t ween them He was
, .

d ressed in an O l d riding suit badly t orn and worn Ev ery .

now and t hen his whole b ody t wit ch ed mechani cally .

Not fa r from whe r e he lay the seepage of some mounta in

sp ring oozed through the roc k abov e and fell from a
ledge in glimmerin g drops t o the g r ound Ot he rwise .

th e gloom of the corner was un relieved save fo r a small

pa t ch of radiance where the lan t ern-li gh t to u ched the
’
man s hai r .

B a rr y drew a s t ep nearer holdin g fo rward t he lante r n

,
.

The hai r caught the li gh t and shone like go ld .

N o finder of hidden t reasu re no digger of buried ,

gold was ever more thrilled by a sudden gleam than

,

B arry was then .

Impet uously he s t a rt ed fo rward but s t opped short ,

.

The shock migh t be t oo severe Tom s t witching was the .

’

twi t ching of ne rv ous sleep Wake him t oo suddenly and

.

the ne rves migh t snap In Ba rr y s knockabout life he

.
’

had s een even j o y do murder .

300 l
 BARRY GORDON
“
himself s t a ring into va cancy
, The same cra zy ill u .

sion ! Pe rhaps i t comes when they re thinking o f me ’

r emembering me— tryi ng t o find me .

B arry dr ew cl o ser still .

—
T o m o ld man ”
.

Tom s eyes brigh t ened fever i shly ; his ch eeks red

’

d ened wi t h a sudden hectic flush He rose t o an alert .

half-sit t ing gpo st ure the palm of his hand on the ground
, .

Bar ry s voice ! Yes go on B a r ry I m listening

’
, , .
’
.

”
Talk to me .

Appa rently he though t t he voice came from an un

s een visito r He did no t seem to conne ct it with the
.

cloaked figure beside him Doubtless t o hi s dazed mind .

t his figu re was me r ely one O f his captors inte rrupting

his deares t dream Impa t iently he waved away the in
.

Leave m e alone h ere won t you ? My brothe r is ,

’

speaking to me If you v e got an atom of hea rt don t

.
’
,
’

”
wake me .

“ ’
Tom yo u are awake Quick ! Ge t u p ! Don t you
, .

want t o be free ?
Tom smiled bitterly still gaz ing in t o vacancy , .

—
Free ? Oh you re always saying that in these
,
’

dreams What s the use ? Talk t o me abo u t home abo ut

.
’

M uriel.

B a rry win ced and again laid a ha nd on his sh oul de r

-t hi s time with a firm p res sure .

[ 3 02 ]
 B ARRY GORD ON
Tom fo r G od s sake believ e the r eality o f this !
,
’
,

Prove i t ! L ook at me !
Slowly u nnat urally like a s o mnambulist obedien t t o
, ,

an outer voi c e Tom rose t o his fee t and ne r ving hims elf
, , ,

t u rned t o ga z e a t the speake r .

Barry shifted his p o si t ion fa c ed him and th r o win g , , ,

off t he cloak stood fully revealed in t he lantern ligh t

, .

Tom trembl ed The r e was a silence a m o ment of

.
,

awakening that seemed like a second birth full o f trav ,

ail and uphea v al It wa s nearly t en years since t hey had

.

seen each other more than t wo since Tom had left h o me

, .

”
Gi v e me a minu t e he said feebly t o ge t a gri p
, ,

”
on myself .

They st o o d face to face separate and mute waiting , ,

fo r the strain to slacken .

Fina lly Tom smiled but the smile was no t the boyish
,

smile of t he O ld days The sunshine in i t once cloudles s

.
, ,

now came filt ering through a mist .

”
B arry he said , I had given up hope, .

Barry s face was l ined his brows were drawn his eyes
’
, ,

were darke r t han the c avern .

’
S o had we b ut it s all right n o w
, .

I s i t ? Thank G od ! Say t ha t again Ba rry , .

T hey mo v ed to each o ther and grasped hands .

”
It s all righ t now B a rr y repeated quie t ly
’
, Cas .

s im will be here in a minute When he co mes y o u a r e .

”
f r ee
.

[ 8 08 ]
 BARRY GORDON
He d r ew apa rt f r om Tom and glanced abo ut at the
r ocky walls .

”
H o w l o ng ha v e th ey kep t y o u in thi s hole ?

N o t long I t hi nk W e are always on the mo ve

, . .

’
Good ! Then you re n ot p rison-killed You re well .
’

enough to ride ?
“
Y es Till r ec en t ly th ey ha v e t rea t ed me m or e o r
.

less t olerably I t s be en a la zy t o r pid life d rifting

.
’
, ,

”
from pla ce t o place wi th Ali Ham ed T o m s l oo k was .
’

’
still dazed his fa c ul t ies ine rt
, All the t ime I ve been .

”
ge tt ing s tu pide r dulle r m or e despai ring He smiled
, , .

mi rt hlessly On ce or t wi ce the re came a b reak ; o n ce o r

.

”
twi ce they cut up rough but I brough t i t on m y self , .

Barry wa s th inking planning , .

How ? he asked mechanically .

A spasm of pain cro ssed Tom s w o rn f ace ’

.

0 God ! s o me t imes I couldn t stand i t I m n ot

’ ’
.

’
like y ou Barry I can t mi x wi t h these peo ple A li tt le
, . .

hum o ur a li ttle fatalism a mere spark O f t heir fire and

, , ,

’ ’
I d have won t h eir friends hip Bu t I m t oo u nlike them ; .

’ ”
i t wasn t in me O ne night I t ried to es ca pe
. .

Bar r y was thinking planning gl an c ing a t th e barred

, ,

wind ow the massive d o or

, .

”
Y es and then ?
, he asked mechan ically .

Oh then we h ad a mi x -up There was only one of

, .

them awake He sa t smoking kief I must hav e been

. .

cra zed m urde rou s I sprang a t him P oo r devil his

, . .
,

3 04
 B ARRY GORDON
j us t he r e That s wha t c omes of l iving with t he s e
.
’

r uflia ns Yo u ge t dreamin g your own br o ther is a

.

thief !
Ba rry win ced laughed ha rshly then pursued hi s clean
, ,

cut course He mot ioned t owa rd the seepage in the

.

co rner .

Take a drink O f wa te r — plenty The ride s long the .

’
,

”
heat sh ri v elling .

Tom s t ill half dazed c rossed t o t he dam-p spot and

, , ,

turning up his mou th le t the drip from the j u t of r ock

,

t rickle int o i t .

Ba rry wen t t o the doo r and l oo ked out into the nig ht .

Close at hand he saw a shad ow I t was Achmet leaning .

indolen t ly agains t the wall .

Cass im is long in c o ming said Barry , .

I hy e said Achm et nev er t urning hi s d ro wsy gaz e

,

”
from vacancy The horses had t o be fed and wat ered
. .

”
You should watch the m o unta in side s aid B arry
-
,
.

”
Some one else migh t des c end .

Achm e t mo ving t o a v an ta g e-p o in t s hru gged

, ,

d i ff eren t ly
—
.

”
Wh oever c o mes comes h e m uttered The thing , .

”
is in Allah s hands’
.

Barry nodded and turned back These wo rds though .

,

murmu red by a kief-sodden d reamer somehow eased hi s ,

mind and light ened hi s hea rt The t hing .

h ands .

3 06 l
 B ARRY GOR D ON
When Tom turned f ro m the wet rock he l ooked r e
freshed and more alert
~
.

”
Tha t dri pping ha s be en horr ible he said Some , .

t imes it got on my b rain bu t the wa ter was a Godsend , .

”
I t mus t be a sp ring .

Yes Wha t t own a r e we unde r ?

.

I don t know I think you mus t have bee n he re be

’
.

fo r e Only an hou r or tw o ago s o me native woman came

.

”
to the wind o w and s p oke your name .

Bar r y s t a rt ed W hat ghost had risen ou t of his pas t ?

.

It seemed as if n o thing he had done wo ul d ever die .

Did she ? he said Wha t was hers ? .

Tom frowned unce rtainly At las t he answe red .

”
I t hink it was Naomi .

B arry looked bewildered and inc r edulou s .

Na o mi ! he exclaimed No she could neve r again .

,

be i n this region She li v es somewhere in Tan gier His

.
”
.

brow wa s drawn ; he hit his lip Where did she come .

from ?
She didn t t ell me replied Tom
’
, When s he saw .

”
her mis t ake she vanish ed .

Barry s eyes were dark with perplexity

’
.

She said nothing ?

”
One thing Tom s fa ce wen t a shade pa le r
.
’
.

W hat ? ”

She said Ali was g oing to ha v e me shot .

”
When ?
3 07
 '

BARRY GORDON
To -m orro w .

“
A sigh like a moan b r oke from B ar ry s h eart The n ’
.

i t was t rue Ibrahim had no t decei ved him

. .

’
If yo u hadn t come said Tom ’
I belie v e I d ha ve , ,

died gla d ly He drifted t o t he barred o rifice in the roc ks

.

where the woman had spoken t o him Wi th hi s hand on .

th e ba rs he looked ou t int o the m oo n l it world as i f to

”
assu re himself o f i ts wide libe rty Tell me he as ked .
,

witho ut t u r ning what ha v e you done ? How ha ve y ou

,

m ana g ed i t ? Are t hey ge tt ing a r ans o m ?

—
Y es a r ansom
”
.

What s the pri ce ?

’

”
N ever mind Tom Don t wor ry ab out tha t
, .
’
.

When s t he payment ? Now ?

’

— -
N o t o mo r ro w
”
.

Tom tu rn ed puz zled , .

I don t unders tand If t hey le t us go to nigh t

’
.
,

how 9,

He was in te rru pt ed by t he ap pea ranm of a sha dow

in the do orway .

Cassim is coming said Achmet , .

B a rry caught up fro m the g r ound the v oluminous

cloak on which Tom had l ain and quickly threw it o v er ,

’
his bro ther s shoulders .

” “
Cassim and Achmet he said will take you t o , ,

Tangier When you g et there gi v e them each fifty d ol

.
,

lars It s a tw o day s ri de bu t y ou ll ha v e f res h horses

.
’ ’
,
’
.

3 08
 BARRY GORDON
Barry sw or e under hi s breath caught up his man t le , ,

t hrew i t abou t him and drew the hood over his head
, .

Then fo r a m o men t th e two b r o the rs cl oaked al ike st ood , ,

face t o face .

Ba rry tr embled brea t hing h a rd ra ck ed by th e c las h

, , .

Will yo u go ?
No !
”
D on t be a fool ! I tell yo u I ha v e a pa sspo rt
’
.

Are you sure they would let y ou follow me ?

”
Tom I shall lea v e he re to mo rrow
,
-
.

Y ou swea r i t ?
r ’
X es j

But Tom co uld not bear t o lea v e him .

How ca n you swear it ? They migh t keep you Wh at .

could yo u do alone ?
”
Hark ! said Achm et suddenly .

They lis t en ed .

Foo ts t eps crunching on dry s t ubble came slowly down

t he pa ss .

D ri v en despera t e Barry drew from his breas t Ib r a

,

him s letter
’
.

”
This he whispered to Tom
, is my pa s sport It , .

guarantees me a safe ret urn U nless y o u go I des t r oy .

,

”
it.

He held the paper in bo th hands as if to tear it .

Stop ! s ai d Tom Y ou swea r tha t gu arantees you

.

”
a sa fe ret u rn t o Tangier ?
[ 3 10 ]
 BARRY GORD ON
Yes .

By a man whose guarantee is law t o th ese people ?

Yes Do you think I m lying ?
.
’

”
No I ll go
.
’
.

B ar ry grasped Tom s hand and w ru ng it ’

.

”
Thank God ! Good bye Tom !
-
,

Cassim dre w fo rt h the band of greasy shoddy and

blindfolded Tom then pulled the hood farther forward
, ,

masking his face with deep shadows .

The footsteps c ru nching on the dry s t ubble drew

closer to the cave .

”
Save by the gra ce of Allah said Ach m at impas ,

“
s ivel
y, it cannot b e done .

By t he grace o f Allah it shall ! said Barry no less ,

calmly ; and he slipped the passport into Achmet s hand ’

.

Then they started and j ust o u t side were chal lenged

,

by a low resonant ve l ce .

Barry listened There was a moment of dead silence

.
,

then they were evidently a llowed to pass He h eard their .

foo tst eps recede and die awa y .

But Ali was st ill near .

Ba rr y hearing him s t ir cro ssed quickly t o the win

, ,

dow no t to look ou t bu t t o keep his back t o t he en t rance

, ,

and co nceal the exchange .

Ali entering with a lant ern s t o o d and ga z ed a t the

, ,

h o oded figu r e .

B arry raised his hands to the bars as he had seen T om

3 11
 B ARRY GORDON
r aise his and gazed out as he had seen Tom ga z e out
, .

The po se was ex cellen t— typical of a man long capti v e .

And the cloak hid his figure its hood his da rk ha ir , .

But Ali ins t ea d o f t urning dr ew slowly nearer

, , .

B arry s blo o d raced in his veins His hear t beat

’
.

against his ribs He b r oke into a cold sweat If Ali

. .

discovered the t rick before the o the rs had a good s t art ,

T om was los t .

Suddenly to h is ama z ement Ali la u ghed —s o ftly

, , ,

i ronica lly .

”
M n he sa id
, o r I shoo t !
,

Th e game was up T o r efuse was senseless B a rry

. .

turned and faced him .

Ali raised the lante rn a momen t s cr u t inised him l ow , ,

ered it and aga in laughed .

B arry saw at once that thi s fam ous Berbe r rebel was
still in his p rime Tall and clad in a pu re white burn ous
.
,

that fell in shimmering folds about him he looked a ,

princely figu re The poise of his head was autocratic but

.
,

his bearing was full of ea se and gra ce and his eyes glow ed ,

with sardonic h umou r Th ough he had th r eatened t o

.

shoo t he had d r awn no weapo n If he ca rr ied one at all .

,

i t was unde r his bu rn ou s .

For a m o men t the tw o s tood m ut e fa c e t o fa ce Then , .

Ali s aid in A r abic

Did you think I did no t know ? Did y ou t hink Ach
met and Cassim w oul d not tell me ? Did y o u think t hey
3 12
 CHA PT E R VI

SA C R I F I C E A F R I CA N
’
T HE SP E L L or B A nnY s . TH E

G A RD E N . M U R IE L AN D TO M . B LA C K M AGIC

T was the fi rs t day afte r Tom s a rrival in Tan g ier ’

,

the thi rd since h e had lef t B a rry .

A t a wind o w o f t heir roo m in t he Ho t el G r anada

M r and M rs B eekman s tood side by side g azing ah
. .
,

sent l to ward t he e as t e rn moun t ain s Long they were

y .

silen t and moti o nless Fo r o n ce M rs B eekman was n ot

. .

th e c r ea t ur e o f h er nerves and fus sy in t ellec t A t las t .

when her husband tu rned t o her t he change impr essed ,

h im The lines in her face we r e n o longer puckered with

.

i rr i ta tion They had relaxed in to the symme t ry of unsel

.

fis h sadness On h e r chee ks th ere wa s a fain t co l our and

.
,

h e r m o u th thou gh s t ill th e meres t ghos t o f a Cupid s

,
’

bo w s eem ed kinder B u t t he deepes t chan ge was in her

, .

eyes Their i cy blue seemed melted by an inne r ligh t For

. .

o n c e she was no t pe tula n tly rep ressing he r la ten t w oma n

liness Tea r s we r e fall i n g as i f fr o m a f ountai n a t last
.

u nsealed .

As h e turned to her she t o o not i ced a ch ange She

, , , .

saw that his exp ressi o n had mellowed saw in his calm ,
 B ARRY GORDON
gr ay ey es p ro found fee ling and o n his p assionless lips
,

a trem or .

”
Nowadays h e s aid self-sacr ifi ce is out o f fashi o n
, , .

At a n y co s t says the w o rld gr asp happiness Greater

, , .

folly hath no man t ha n this t hat a man lay down his life
,

fo r his friends The world will c all him a fool Let it ! As

. .

fo r me I am proud t o have known tha t f oo l and t he

,

th ou ght of losing him is mo re than I can bear .

Mrs B ee kman drew even closer t o he r husband

. .

Do you think there is no hope ?

He sho o k hi s head .

The nea res t American warship is at Malta .

B ut the na tive tr0 0 ps

Again he shoo k his head .

They ve t ri ed fo r y ea rs to take Ali Hamed a nd have

’

He put an a rm abou t his wife and drew he r to him ,

drew her h ead d own on his sh o ul der Res t ing against .

him sh e wep t uncon tro llably s obbing o u t the heart so

, ,

long s t ifled I t was a rare moment a mutual m o ment

.
,

pe rhaps un pre c edented in all their yea rs of ma rried li fe .

As th e f ull mea ning of B ar ry s sa c rifice came t o t hem

’

they were now a t las t dr awn to gether and kn ew they ,

w oul d never again be separated All unwi tt ingly t he .

,

pr o digal they had tr ied to redeem was the ca u se of their

o wn redemption He had gone t o t hrow his life away as
.

lightly as a bo y run s to the sea and to sses in a s to ne and ,

81 5
 BARRY GORDON
a like elemen tal energy had been se t workin g by the ac t .

Ou tward fr o m tha t c entral deed circles were al ready ,

widening .

W hen M r B eekman ben t t o his wife and she ga z ed up

.

a t him their look seemed t o oblitera te t he yea rs They

, .

had seen a vision o f love .

Fa r on an eas t ward ro ad Tom and K itty we r e r et urn

ing from a long walk t owa rd the mo un ta ins when c e they ,

had h oped agains t h ope t o see Barry come I t was even .

ing the hour between sunse t and moon rise and the dark
, ,

had so deepened t hat even Muriel who h ad preceded ,

them wi t h H icks had now tu rned and was f o llowin g ,

t hem back t o Ta ngie r .

”
Oh i f I had only gu es s ed wh at h e meant said Tom
, , ,

when he t old me he was go in g t o pay them a ransom !

If I had only known befo re I go t h ere ! K i tty i f he ,

doesn t come by mo rn ing I shall ride b a ck t o him Fo r

’
.

his sake I v e waited all day t ry in g t o get t roops bu t

’
,

it s n o use I t mean s indefin i t e delay Th ese p e o ple are

’
. .

”
snails .

Ki tty thrus t h e r hand under Tom s a rm and cl un g ’

to him .

“ ” “
If yo u g o y o u go t o die she fal t e red not to
, , ,

”
save B a r ry I t s fu t ile senseless ! .
’
,

”
Y es b ut I mus t go, .

”
No T o m no ! I ca n t le t y o u ! He r b reath qui ck
, ,
’

3 16
 BARRY GORDON
of w r in kles appea r ed a t t he co rn ers o f he r eyes and
m o uth .

”
But Tom she pro tes t ed Mu riel l o ves Ba rr y not
, , , ,

y ou.

He in clined his head .

Sh e has always l o ved him .

”
Y es said Ki tty
, and if by any chance he co mes
,

back to her she ll love him ti l l she dies and afte r And
,
’
,
.

i f he does n t come bac k she ll l o ve his m emo ry So wha t

’ ’
.

abo u t you ? A r e you go ing to t ry t o be contented as Old

Faithful—Old T rusty—Old Dog T ray—thanking y our
sta rs when she speaks t o you— smiles a t y ou—pat s yo u
—feeds yo u with c rus ts of pi ty ? ”
”
N o said Tom q uietly ; i f I live I shall dev ote my
,

time to my pr o fession I ve been bu r i ed so long that every

.
’

interes t in li fe will have a new value I shall make fri ends .

,

money a plac e for myself i n the workshop o f the w orld

,
.

I shall p r ove myself a man Bar ry has set me an ex .

ample th at will always inspi r e me Fo r his sake and .

M uriel s and my o wn I sha ll try to p rove myself wo r thy

’

”
o f his s acr ifi ce .

’
K itty s hea rt was heavy .

”
I wis h you lu c k she said bu t I c an t bea r—I
, ,
’

can t
’

Then fo r the fi rs t time he felt the qui v e r o f he r hand

and n ot i ced t he subtle di s co rds in her voi ce Bu t he did .

no t und er s ta nd she hid her feelin gs so well

, .

3 18
 BARRY GORDO N
”
Kitty what s the ma tt er ? he asked
,
’
.

Kitty withdrew her hand t ossed her head and qu ick , ,

ened he r pace .

”
I don t know Oh it s nothing she said quickly
’
.
,
’
, .

Th o ugh she felt weary and life looked misty and gr ay ,

and full of o ld m en and worldly wisdom and wo rldly'

folly she was still blessed wi t h plu ck And now unde r

, .
,

the moving spel l cast on all of them b y Ba r ry s cou r a ’

eous a ct , t his pluck o f hers blo o med in t o th e r ares t

g
bra v ery of woman— a b ra v ery w hich in spi t e o f pi qu e , ,

could yet be ki nd .

G oo d luck Tom ! she said wi th a tone and man

,

ner full o f light friendliness I shall always be wishing .

you happiness—watching your success Go od-bye now .

, .

”
I t hink I shall g o away .

Go away ? he said in s urprise .

Yes fo r many reasons I ca n t s tand i t h e re m u ch

,
.
’

longe r The strain is t oo great and nobo dy needs me If

. .

I could do any thing i t would be di ff erent Tom I m as .

,
’

fond of Barry as yo u a re and I can t bea r t o s t ay here ,

’

and wait so helplessly Ther e s a t rain a t midnight from

.
’

Gibraltar to Paris I think I shall t ake i t to -nigh t If

. .

there s any news t hey can t elegraph t o me a t once

’
, .

Paris I think will do me good I need t he life the

, , .
,

—
sparkl e the old old sparkle o f everyt hing bu t t ears
,
”
.

At the las t there was a ca t ch in her voice but she ,

laughed i t down I t may seem selfish ; i t may seem

.

[ 3 19 ]
 BARRY GORDON
hear t less ; bu t I suppose I am selfi sh—yes and heart ,

”
less t oo
, .

Tom remembe red something preposterous M rs Beek .

man had said y ears before and the memory distu rbed ,

him .

W e r e you expec t in g t o go so soon ? he asked be ,

wildered .

” “
Half she answe r ed with a non ch al an t shrug
, I .

was n t su re I t seemed to me the odds were ev en bu t

’
.
,

”
now t he die is cast Her warm blue ey es were t ender
.

and indulgent She smiled at him as if a t a child the

.
,

disparity of thei r ages see ming grea t er t o her than be

fo re Yet it wa s n ot that he seem ed youn ger
. .

Suddenly she s t opped and repeat ed her airy fa r ewell .

- —
Go od bye Tom go od bye ! -
,

Stoppin g t oo he echoed t he part ing wo rd turn ed

, , ,

t o her affectiona tely and to ok her hand In that moment .

th ey t oo had a vision of lo v e bu t the lo v e was hopeless

, , , .

Ne v e rt heless it li fted them for a moment toward the

,

heigh t Barry had a tta ined .

Thus the circles ev er widened outward into infi nity .

B efo re Tom knew i t Kitt y had turned t o j oin Muriel

,

and Hicks .

Hicks was hea r t-broken Fo r once his face a nd .

crabbed t one had soft ened As they hastened home .

,

thin king perhaps t o find news awaiting them he sai d ,

to Kitty
 BARRY GORDON
and Ki t ty was o n a small paddle-wheel s t eame r cro ss ,

ing the St r ai t of G ibral ta r .

Ou t in the desert ed garden o f t he h o t el s too d Muriel

and Tom still s tra ining the ir eyes t owa rd the e as te rn
,

moun ta in s .

The sky wa s clea r save fo r a small far -o fl cl ou d -drift

'

.
,

The m oo n had risen and was fl ooding the ga rden Nea r .

them were a s to ne sea t and ta ble and all abo ut t hem ,

pa lms and dwarf orange t rees the o ran ges glimme ring ,

v aguely in the moonlight Bel o w them lay t he harbo ur .

and cu rving sho re the white f o am e v er steal ing a gainst

,

i t and wi t hd rawing To one side r ose t he ci t y pallid and

.

spe ctral on th e hill t he emerald mina ret of a m osq ue

,

impalin g the heavens .

Behind th em hidden by the pa lms and dwarf o r ange

,

t r ees a shadow s to le in f r om t he st r eet I t was Ib rahim

, . .

He alone had been embitt ered by B a r ry s sa crifice At ’

.

firs t all ha d been well He and Mr B eekman had a greed

. .

o n a ransom Then came t he news o f t he exchange of

.

cap t ives Ye t still all had seemed well One p risone r was
. .

a s v alua b le as ano t her The money lay al mos t within his

.

grasp B ut then came a st ran ge messa g e f ro m Ali

.

Hamed sayin g tha t now no ransom whatever wo uld be

,

”
a ccepted N o t fifty t imes my debt Ali had w r it ten
.
, ,

”
woul d buy this o t her man from me .

So the game was up t he money los t F ro m his d reams

, .

of gain and p o we r Ibrahim had been c ru elly awakened .

3 22
 B ARRY GORDO N
U suall y he a cc ep ted reverses with a bo wed h ead—t he
profound resi g nation of his race But thi s reverse was .

so gal ling he had been so cl everly t r icked t hat the sore

, ,

began to fes t er and malicious impuls es see t hed in his

glo omy depths .

Nor was this all He was not only revengeful but a n

.
,

xions and sad He was the vi ct im o f an other misfor t une

.
,

seemingly qui te sepa ra te but ev en w orse His heart had

, .

suffe red a mysteri o us family loss even m or e lam ent able

t han the loss of money .

Muriel was long silent he r an xio us face subtly trans

,

fi g ur ed by a look of adorati on cas t t owa rd the distan t

moun tains The darkness o f her suflering was relie v ed
'

as i f by a glowing light of inspiration and pride In the .

mids t of her grief there was j oy Her lov e had grown .

immeasu rably grea ter B a r ry s a ct had int ens ifi ed it into

.
’

a calm white hea t of worship and passion She loved him .

as she had never dreamed she could lo v e Unt il t o— day .

she had only groped in the dark trying to fi nd his true ,

nature lov ing him on faith belie ving in his l a t en t no

, ,

bil it y his hidden soul But now his so ul was no l onger

, .

hidden She seemed t o see him clot hed in its light —

. a

figu re imaged abov e the distant moun tains— fair mili ,

tant and str o ng .

Then she heard a stifled sigh and h e r thought s re ,

v erted t o Tom .

As she turned he saw that although her fa ce wa s wo r n

,

3 23
 BARRY GORDON
by in ten s e anxiety th e moi st li ght in her eyes was the
,

light o f a la r ge t enderness E vidently her though ts were

.

soli ci tous for him as well as fo r B ar ry She seem ed to .

fee l co mpelled to spe ak to him agai ns t her will .

When she did s o her v oice was v ery low bu t i ts coo l ,

swee t quality wa s like a br ea t h from the no rth p enet r at

ing thi s sensuo us African nigh t .

T o m I ve somethin g to say I t may not be neces

,
’
.

sa ry ; in fa ct I m su r e it is not But for y our sake as

’
.

well as my own i t s eems best Then the re ca n ne v er be

.

misundersta ndings The tru t h will be pe rmanen tly

.

”
co rded bet ween us Her voice soft ened with sympat hy
.
,

her eyes overflowed wi th sad a ff e cti o n fo r him I wan t .

to t ell you that I shall nev er forge t your old love fo r

'

me —
L
a l o ve to whi ch I now kn ow I never respo nded I .

wan t to tell you t ha t always in the futur e if y o u need

m e y ou ca n c ou n t on me as a loyal friend ; bu t as fo r
love -wh a te v er has happened wha t e v er d oes ha ppen
,

”
my wh ole soul is Ba rry s ! ’

Tom bo wed his h ead in submission t hen d r ew himself ,

'

up with an e flort to rega in his old s t u rdiness But when .

he sm iled his smile was like t he pale m oonligh t

, .

Of cou rs e M u riel How could I wish i t to be o the r

, .

”
wise ? In a way it mus t be as i f I had n ot co me back .

She held o u t he r hand t o him .

Y es Tom ; y o u ar e sta rt ing in the m orning to go

,

to him but even if you re tu rn sa fely even if we see

, ,

324
 B AR RY GORD O N
t he n sl o wl y i t re ce ded t o the wall and s tood t here in t he
da rk s way ing like a palm tree blown by a wind
, .

As the l over-like pair withdrew t o the ho t el Ibrahim , ,

wa t ch ing the s t ricken ghost again smiled and again

, ,

the smil e was like black magic G r ad ually unseas o nable

.

clouds cl o sed a cr oss th e moon the garden da rkened and

, ,

so ftly in t o the nigh t ca me the croo n ed lo v e-lamen t of the

p o rter
My love cares nothing for me .

M y love is a white cloud vanishi ng .

Her ey es are the eyes of a young gaze lle timidl y ,

gazin
g
, then ha s tenin
g away .

My love is a wall ed garden .

Her brea th is the breath of roses I cann ot pluck .

Her voice is like music heard onl y in a drea m .

He r kiss is withh eld and gi ven t o another .

My love is a sword that pierces my heart !

[ 3 26 ]
 CHAPT E R V II

TH E DE A T H or NA OM I , AN D THE J Ew s
’
V E N G EA N C E .

T HE A GO NY IN TH E GARD E N . DA W N

BRAHIM waited t ill the man came out of the

shadows ; then he rose approached him and asked , ,

impassi vely :
What miracle has happened ?
The answer was casual listless , .

.
— ”
None You re outdone Ib rahim that s all There
’
,
’
.

was no triumph in the voice The speaker seemed stupe .

fi ed
”
Y es ,adm itt ed Ibrahim slightly c owering under ,

the fact outdone Yet it seems inc r edi b le D id one o f

, . .

his men release you ?

The answer was mechanical dull , .

”
No one of his women
, .

Impossible ! W as there no t a gu a rd ?
Barry passed a ha nd across his eyes as if t o dispel
the fi g ment s of a nightmare He seemed t o be replying .

withou t volition as though fo r t he momen t mentally

,

c ontrolled b y Ibrahim .

Yes ; bu t the woman had a dagger .

Ibrahim smil ed ironica lly .

3 27
 BARRY GORDON
”
Doub t les s the s t ab was repaid wi th inte rest As he .

spo ke the moon came ou t and re v ealed his face U nd er .

his coarse black brows his eyes gleamed wi t h sat is f ac

tion ; between his mous ta che and b ea rd his lips were full
and very pink Ali mus t ha v e made short work of he r
. .

Barry S huddered and again pa ssed a hand across his

,

eyes Inst inctively he drew up his sleeves and glanced

.

a t hi s a rms From wrist t o elbo ws t he fl esh was crossed

.

wi t h ra gg ed gashes He rem embe red that his hands had

.

been boun d a t his back t ha t he had hacked the palmetto

,

co rds against the rocks behind him and qui ckly had g o t
loose But it was all unr eal
. .

He slipped his finge rs under the neck o f his shi rt and

felt a furrow ac ross his shoul der still damp He remem
, .

bered tha t a woman had brought hi s horse that he had ,

caugh t her up with him into the saddl e t o t ry t o get her

safely away ; remembered that they had ridden like mad
along the pas s o n the edge of the p recipice had r idden ,

like fury through a black v o id He remembered that the

.

gray mare was li t he a s a panthe r and had seemed t o ,

unders t and.

But then had come a sho t from behind Th e bullet had .

ploughed him here on t he sho ulder Ali mus t have bee n

.

t o o enraged to aim true .

But the second shot had come lower !

Ibrahim saw bead s o f sweat b r ea k ou t on his fore
head and glimmer in the moonl igh t His fa ce was .

3 28
 BARRY GORDON
aff ai r wou ld have ended Since tha t o ne night they had
.

n ot again see n ea ch othe r un t il n o w Naomi t h o ugh .

, ,

ha d nev er f or gott en him That was the pity o f it tha t

.
,

the imme dia te ca us e of he r death .

B ut Ib rahim saw one cause only His grief and ra g e .

we r e en ti re ly c entr ed on B ar ry Y e t he c u r bed him sel f . .

Afte r th e fi rst m oment when he had tu rned away he

m aint ain ed his habitual c alm S eeing that B a rry knew .

no thing of N aomi s pare n ta ge he though t i t bes t not

’
,

to dis c l o se him sel f as he r fat h e r t ill the m o men t wa s

ripe fo r vengean ce .

B arry n o l o nge r heeding him pa ced ba ck and f ort h

, ,

the g a rden A t length he st o pped a nd s ta r ed at t he

.

doo rway through whi c h M u riel and Tom had go ne .

”
And n o w to co me ba ck to this he mu tte red ,

brokenl y to himself n o w to come back to this !

,

He wen t t o the st o ne seat and sank d o wn o n i t fagged ,

t o t he soul I t was not only the long str ai n of the res cue
.

that had told on him nor t he st r ess and ho rr ors of the

,

subs equen t flight For five days and fou r nigh ts he had
.

had little f oo d and les s sleep Save for the d ull p ain s in
.

his head and the pi t of his stoma ch his b o dy seem ed to

have ce ased t o e xist L ikewise his will -power He was a
. .

man made en ti r ely of brain -s t uff and spir it -s t u ff and

r aw ne rves He had lost all sense o f balance and p ro
.

portion Ev erythin g large in life looked trivial every

.
,

thing trivial large .

330
 BARRY GO RD O N
The pict ure o f Muriel and Tom standing here in the
exotic night kissing each other had at once bra nd ed
, ,

itself on his naked soul Instead o f trying to reason he

.
,

accepted it as the crowni ng tragedy When they had .

kissed they had put the period t o his life That was all . .

T om had r isen from t he dead and her love had ris en t oo

, , .

W hat else could he ha v e ex p ected ? Always he had known

s h e lo v ed hi m— T om t he staunch t he sane t he reliable
, , .

All along he had known it was so had ad mitted it was ,

b es t .

What a fool to ha v e fought his way back ! The b loo d

o f others had bee n shed for him and li v es sa cr ifi c ed

to what end ?
Sitting there limply on the stone seat staring into ,

vacancy he cursed the charmed life he bore cursed the

, ,

fate that so often had sa v ed him from death Ah if .

,

A li s first shot h ad come t ruer ! Ah if he had died then !

’
,

— o r better yet in some earlier fight —o r e v en b etter

, , , ,

if he had never been born ! I f e v er a conclusion had b een

foregone this had I t was all s o consistent so diabo lica lly
.
,

well planned No ge ometrical problem could ha v e worked

.

o ut mo r e neatly .

Ibrahim drew neare r He longed t o t orture this man

.

to the very quick .

”
I see y ou regret your escape he said his v oice sti ll
, ,

harsh with emotion D oub tless y ou wish yourself b ack

.

in the keeping of Al i Hamed— e v en with the prospect o f

331
 BARRY GORDON
immed iate death Ali could ha v e ha rm ed y ou r b o dy o nly
.

- ”
this h o m e coming harms you r soul !
Ba r ry fr own ed up at him ange r flickering in his ey es , .

”
What have you t o do with i t ? he mu ttered with
“
dull irri ta t ion By wha t righ t d o y o u da re insin
.

nat c —J
h
’

I insinuat e nothing said Ib r ahim more smoothly , .

The t ruth is your courage has won my hea rt and fo r

, ,

you r sake I griev e Sin ce your brother s re t ur n I have

.
’

seen and heard much I fear he is more welcome here .

than you E very one has spoken o f i t My s on I pity

. .
,

you ? ’

Barry s t ruggled t o r ise bu t could no t He co ul d only , .

fr o wn up impo t ently at Ibrahim .

Pity me ? No You re pleased damn you ! I bel iev e

.
’
,

y o u re Fat e in the flesh you black c r ow s tandin g the re

’
, ,

smiling a t me !
Ibrahim raised hi s eyes in depreca tion .

No Could I hav e done so I would ha v e wa rned you

.

befo r e y o u entered this garden It would have bee n mor e .

”
kind .

Kin d ? said Barry hoa rsely What s the meaning .

’

of that wo rd ? I t has no place in the schem e of life .

His v oice fell and faltered The end of e v erythin g is .

”
cruel Suddenly he fumbled in his poc ket and took ou t
.

”
a coin Ib rahim he said
. i f there s a d ro p of hum an
, ,
’

’
bl oo d in you r veins d o me a kindness I ca n t d o i t
,
.

332
 BARRY GORDON
evenin g w h en he had re t u rned to Muriel af ter his long
wanderings the old crav ing had subsided And this sub .

s id enc e had been seemingly rendered permanen t on t heir

wedding day .

B u t now he r love was gone and the figh t finished .

Possibly he might have fough t on bu t why should he ?

,

The re was nothing for i t now but t o s ta rt ou t again like

a los t ghos t Once more th e old dereli ct li fe the aimless
.
,

drifting t he sin and p ain Once more t he futile a tt empt

, .

to lose himself somewhere in the great waste b o unded

by the poles and the sunrise and the sunset Bu t t he void .

would be e v en emptier than before In t he old yea rs .

she had never been his bu t now she had

, A day and an .

e v ening she had been his—almos t Bu t then the cup of

.

j yo had been ca ugh t away from him and now as though ,

by an unseen hand t his o t her cup was o ffered in i ts

,

stead .

W eakness ? Then let i t be ! His mind and spi r i t were

following his body int o numb non -existence He was done .

— done ! He had no senses no fa c ulties He was not a

, .

man He w as merely a va g ue blot on this moonlit garden

.

—a disfi gu rin g shadow on the ear th s fair fa ce ’

.

Go d ! How he lov ed her ! He lo v ed her as i f with an

elemental fo rce His love was like a thing mo v ed by
.

the central energy— kindled at the central flame He

lo v ed her like a man o f t he Middle Ages—a fanatic—a
.

fool !
334
 B ARRY GORDON
Bu t now he must go and forever keep to fa r pla ce s
a nd c hange hi s name She must never dr e am that he had
.

escaped from Ali Hamed .

How long he sat in thi s half stupo r he did no t know .

I t might have been a moment ; i t might have been hours .

All the lights were out in the hotel The p orter had no t .

seen him The door was closed

. .

Y e s the d oor was closed and only the gate to the

, ,

street stood open Y es t he ga t e to the street stood

.
,

open .

He took up th e glass of b randy and gazed deep int o

its fiery dep ths As he did so he uncons cio usly began to
.

move his lips mu ttering The wo rds had little meaning

, .

to him but as he s po ke them something prompted him

,

t o rise The thing he was mutte ring seemed t o be a sort

.

o f t o ast o r song—a song appropriate but s omehow d an

g e r ou s If
y ou offered this t oast you died The devil r e
.
, .

spo nded in person .

Barry laughed harshl y Nonsense ! Superstition !.

He tried to recall something N 0 there was no music .

,

to it . The music was lost like ev erything

else He was merely a p o or wret c h m utte ring a
song he could not sin g .

I nstinct ively he tried to pu t a little hu mou r into it ,

a little co nviviality and dash but the att empt wa s sickly

, .

Nevert heless he did su cc eed in raising his gla ss as if

pledging s o me o ne
335
 BARRY GORDON
Upfriends up !
, ,

To-night we sup ,

Th o t o-morrow we die of the re vel

’
.

Rise f or a toast
Th o to-morrow we roast
’
.

A health to

He s topped sh o rt He saw a pi ct u r e pain ted in fire

. .

Suddenly mem o ry awakened by the to ast flas hed a s cene

, ,

be fo r e his ey es He saw a man with a glas s simil arly

.

raised The man was facing a dark and mena cing por
.

t rai t Th e man was old and out of his mind Suddenly

. .

Barry hea r d the man s voice The voice was repeat ing
’
.

t hese very w o rds this very same to as t t o evil inca r

,

nate .

The voice was his fa ther s ’

.

Wha t was the meaning of th is pic tu re and t his v o i ce ?

It seemed a mi r a cle .

Lowerin g his glass he s t ood thinking Thi s t oo was .

, ,

a t ra g ic night This t oo was a night ch aotic with sha t

.
, ,

t er ed illusions An d the end t hough i t might no t co me

.
,

f or yea rs would be the sam e —if he drank He too

, .
, ,

woul d go down to t h e grav e—hope l essly beaten .

To do so seemed an out ra ge no t only against himself ,

bu t agains t his fa t her His fa t her had forewarned him

.

and fo re a rm ed him His fath er had l oo ked to him some

.

how t o re deem t hem bo th .

Suddenly Ba rry was to rn by a m ortal s tru ggle

33 6 l
 BARRY GORDON
f r om the depths of this abyss a dumb appeal to great
heights .

He felt as if he must die if he did not dri nk this

brandy The invisible hands we r e r ending his flesh—his
.

veins !
Muriel ! Muriel !
He did not spe ak her name aloud It was merely t he
.

q uick come and go o f his l ife-breath .

He set his glass down o n the table .

He ha d won !
He felt weak and inert but he had won This was
, .

all he knew ; he had saved his soul fro m hell Lit tle did .

he dream he had saved his body fr o m instan t death .

His fo rce o f will now steadily grew He crossed wit h

.

slow but sure s teps toward the open gat e — the gate to
his exile .

On t he way he paused and half turn ed staring The , .

door of the hotel had opened .

A woman approached him and cried out his n am e He .

recoiled .

”
W hy did y ou come ? he groaned How did you .

”
know ?
She seemed to be dazed hal f in a dream She seemed
, .

to doubt her sens es .

Ba rry ! Oh is it you Barry ! Can it b e you Barry !

, , ,

”
What has happe ned ? Her v oi ce was hushed and un
338
 B ARRY GORDO N
natural I m afraid the an xiety has driven me in
.
’

”
sane .

She paused in her approa ch and stared a t him nu

seeingly trying t o regain control of her senses
, .

I ve been up all night but oh I know I m asleep

’ ’
, , , .

A man seemed to come into my room He said he was .

your father He po inted t o the window I went and

. .

looked down I saw a shadow here in the garden

. .

“
She drew a step closer to him I s that what y o u .

—
are a mere shadow ? ”

”
Yes he faltered
, a mere shadow , .

She clos ed her eyes and then reopened them and s till , ,

seein g him b rightened Slowly her faculties awoke The

,
. .

vapours that had gathered abo u t her in her lon g vigil

gradually withdrew But the in visible barrier he seemed .

to be raising between them kep t her still half-daz ed and

apa rt from him .

”
Barry no I m not asleep ! No I m no t dreaming !
, ,
’
,
’

“
sh e exclaim ed It s really y ou I know it is But ’
. . .
,

oh what is the mat t er ? Ev ery minu t e I ha v e been pr a

, y
ing f or you and now you ha v e come back to me and
, ,

—
yet O Barry what is the matter ? ”
,

He smiled sadl y .

Muriel I sa w you with Tom

, .

Her eyes were piteous with bewilde rmen t .

“ ”
W ith Tom ? she asked dazed , .

Barry fel t bi tterly conscious that he had never lov ed

3 39
 BARRY GORDON
he r as h e l o ved her now His body min d and soul .
, ,

seeming slowly t o r egain co he r en t life fr o m he r pr esence ,

we r e all be in g played on by th e ag ony o f his p as sion .

”
Y es here he said br okenly
, , telling him yo u were ,

his .

M u riel look ed st up efi ed Then all at o n ce she unde r

.

s too d saw his mistake Instan tly she was b ro ad awake

, .
,

a real w oman in a real w o rld All he r spi ri t and cou r age .

ru shed bac k to he r flooding he r wi th vi v id l o ve and li fe

,

and li gh t .

”
Barry ! B a r ry ! she cried I was t elling T o m I .

l ov ed y ou ! She came very close t o him and his whole ,

”
body began t o relax I was saying g oo d bye t o him
.
-
,

she added ferven t ly f or ev e r—

, whe the r y o u had li v ed
o r died !
B a rr y sway e d shaken by happiness so a c ute and
,

s u dden th a t i t s eemed akin t o su ff e rin g Wh en he spoke .

,

his v o ice r an g wi t h a j oy pi t iful to h ea r .

” ”
Mur iel ! h e exclaimed O M ur iel ! O Go d ! .

He rela x ed u tte rly and sank a t he r fee t i n a swoon ,

s pen t by sleeplessness s t a rvat i o n and gladness

, , .

Instinctively she gla nced toward t he hotel fo r aid .

As she did so he r eye was caugh t by the glow o f t he

glass o f brandy .

His need seemed s o ur gen t th a t she did n ot hesitate .

She knew nothing of his re c ent s truggle o r the sec ret

p ois o n in t he glass She knew o nl y t ha t he had fain ted
. .

[ 3 40 ]
 BARRY GORDON
He migh t be dying of some hidden wound She caugh t .

up the glass h as t ened to him droppe d to her knees be

, ,

side him raised his head ou her arm and held the st imu
, ,

lant t o his lips .

He opened his eyes saw t he l iquid fi r e and t o o k t he

, ,

glass .

Muriel st eadied his hand .

But ins t ead of d rinking he po u red out the brandy

o n t he ground .

He lay back again his eyes closed , .

”
I t s not hing but a l ack of food and sleep he said
’
,

fee bly His v oice fell t o a whisper that was like a sigh
.
,

but she saw him smile It s not hing bu t this sudden

.
’

”
happiness .

Happin ess was hers too Silently i t overflowed h e r

, .

heart and eyes in a warm rain .

Sinking down b eside him in the Af rican garden she ,

dre w him t o her breas t and bath ed his fo rehead with he r

tears .

Gradually t o t he eas t o v e r the distant Rif M oun

tains gradually o v er the rugged region of his e xpia
,

tion r ose the light of dawn

, .

T H E E ND

[ 3 41 ]