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Random documents with unrelated
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therefore, is all that he asserted it to be,” and with this I placed my
notes before my chief.
“You are thoroughly convinced of that?”
“Yes, I am; but of course you will see the papers he has to
show, and may find error or fraud where I was unable to detect
either.”
“All right, I shall see him then.”
“There is one thing further, Mr. Hemster. He offered me two
hundred thousand dollars, then two hundred and fifty thousand, if I
would conceal from you the fact that he had formerly defrauded
me.”
“Yes, and what did you say?”
“I refused the money, of course.”
The old gentleman regarded me with an expression full of pity.
“I am sorry to mention it, Tremorne, but you are a numskull.
Why didn’t you take the money? I’m quite able to look after myself.
It doesn’t matter in the least to me whether or not the man has
cheated everyone in the United States. If he cheats me as well, he’s
entitled to all he can make. ‘The laborer is worthy of his hire,’ as the
good Book says.”
As I had used this quotation to his daughter, I now surmised
that she had told her father something of our stormy conversation.
“Quite true, Mr. Hemster, but the good Book also says, ‘Avoid the
very appearance of evil,’ and that I have done by refusing his bribe.”
“Ah, well, you don’t get anything for nothing in this world, and I
think your duty was to have closed with his offer so long as you told
me the truth about the documents I sent you to search.”
“He is a man I would have nothing whatever to do with, Mr.
Hemster.”
 “There’s where you are wrong. If he happens to possess
something I want, why in the world should I not deal with him. His
moral character is of no interest to me. As well refuse to buy a
treatise on the English language because the bookseller drops his
‘h’s.’ I am very much disappointed in your business capacity, Mr.
Tremorne.”
“I am sorry I don’t come up to your expectations, sir; but he is a
man whom I should view with the utmost distrust.”
“Oh, if you are doing business with him, certainly. I view
everyone with distrust and never squeal if I’m cheated. Tell me
about this deal with Cammerford in which you lost your money.”
I related to him the circumstances of the case, which need not
be set down here. When I had finished Mr. Hemster said slowly:
“If you will excuse me, Mr. Tremorne, never say that this man
swindled you. Such an expression is a misuse of language.
Everything done was perfectly legal.”
“Oh, I know that well enough. In fact he mentioned its legality
during our interview this morning. Nevertheless, he was well aware
that the mine was valueless.”
“What of that? It wasn’t his business to inform you; it was your
business to find out the true worth of the mine. You are simply
blaming Cammerford for your own carelessness. If Cammerford had
not got the money, the next man who met you would; so I suppose
he sized you up, and thought he might as well have it, and, to tell
you the truth, I quite agree with him. Now, if I told you this bag
contained a thousand dollars in gold, would you accept my word for
it without counting the money?”
“Certainly I would.”
The old gentleman seemed taken aback by this reply, and stared
at me as if I were some new human specimen he had not met
before.
 “You would, eh?” he cried at last. “Well, you’re hopeless! I don’t
know but you were right to refuse his bribe. The money would not
do you the least good if you got it again.”
“Oh, yes, it would, Mr. Hemster. I should invest it in Government
securities, and risk not a penny of it in any speculation.”
“I don’t believe you’d have that much sense,” demurred the old
gentleman, turning again to his desk. “However, you have served me
well, even if you have served yourself badly. I will write a letter to
Cammerford and let him know the terms on which I will join his
scheme.”
“You surely don’t intend to do that, Mr. Hemster, without seeing
the documents yourself?”
“Oh, have no fear; you must not think I am going to adopt your
business tactics at my age. Run away and let Hilda give you some
lunch. I shall not have time for anything but the usual sandwich. My
daughter’s gone ashore. She wants lunch at the Nagasaki Hotel,
being tired of our ship’s fare. I’ll have this document ready for you to
take to Cammerford after you have eaten.”
Nothing loth, I hurried away in search of my dear girl, of whom I
had caught only slight glimpses since her sudden dismissal by
Gertrude Hemster. I was glad to know that we should have the ship
practically to ourselves, and I flatter myself she was not sorry either.
Lunch was not yet ready, so I easily persuaded her to come upon
deck with me, and there I placed the chairs and table just as they
had been at the moment when Miss Hemster had come so
unexpectedly upon us.
“Now, Hilda,” I began when we had seated ourselves, “I want an
answer to that question.”
“What question?”
“You know very well what question; the answer was just
hovering on your lips when we were interrupted.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
 “Hilda, there was an expression in your eyes which I had never
seen before, and if your lips were about to contradict the message
they sent to me——”
“Seemed to send to you,” she interrupted with a smile.
“Was it only seeming, then?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m very much disappointed with myself. I
don’t call this a courtship at all. My idea of the preliminaries to a
betrothal was a long friendship, many moonlight walks, and
conversations about delightful topics in which both parties are
interested. I pictured myself waiting eagerly under some rose-
covered porch while the right person hurried toward me,—on
horseback for choice. And now turn from that picture to the
actuality. We have known each other only a few days; our first
conversation was practically a quarrel; we have talked about finance,
and poverty, and a lot of repulsive things of that sort. If I were to
say, ‘Yes,’ I should despise myself ever after. It would appear as if I
had accepted the first man who offered.”
“Am I the first man, Hilda? I shall never believe it.”
“I’m not going to tell you. You ask altogether too many
questions.”
“Well, despite your disclaimer, I shall still insist that the right
answer was on your lips when it and you were so rudely chased
away.”
“Well, now, Mr. Tremorne——”
“Rupert, if you please, Hilda!”
“Well, now, Prince Rupert, to show you how far astray you may
be in predicting what a woman is about to say, I shall tell you
exactly what was in my mind when the thread of my thought was so
suddenly cut across. There were conditions, provisos, stipulations,
everything in the world except the plain and simple ‘Yes’ you seemed
to anticipate.”
 “Even in that case, Hilda, I am quite happy, because these lead
to the end. It cannot be otherwise, and all the provisos and
stipulations I agree to beforehand, so let us get directly to the small
but important word ‘Yes!’”
“Ah, if you agreed beforehand that would not be legal. You could
say you had not read the document, or something of that kind, and
were not in your right mind when you signed it.”
“Then let us have the conditions one by one, Hilda, if you
please.”
“I was going to ask you to say no more at present, but to wait
until I get home. I wanted you to come to me, and ask your
question then if you were still in the same mind.”
“What an absurd proviso! And how long would that be? When
shall you reach your own home?”
“Perhaps within a year, perhaps two years. It all depends on the
duration of Mr. Hemster’s voyage. Of course it is quite possible that
at any minute he may make up his mind to return. I could not leave
him alone here, but once he is in Chicago he will become so
absorbed in business that he would never miss me.”
“There is an uncertain quality about that proviso, Hilda, which I
don’t at all admire.”
“Now, you see how it is,” she answered archly; “my very first
proposition is found fault with.”
“On the contrary, it is at once agreed to. Proceed with the next.”
“The next pertains more particularly to yourself. I suppose you
have no occupation in view as yet, and I also suppose, if you think
of marrying, you do not expect to lead a life of idleness.”
“Far from it.”
“Very well. I wish that you would offer your services to Mr.
Hemster. I am sure he has great confidence in you, and as he grows
older he will feel more and more the need of a friend. He has had no
real friend since my father died.”
“You forget about yourself, Hilda.”
“Oh, I don’t count; I am but a woman, and what he needs near
him is a clear-headed man who will give him disinterested advice.
That is a thing he cannot buy, and he knows it.”
“I quite believe you, but nevertheless where is the clear-
headedness? He has just asserted that I am a fool.”
“He surely never called you that.”
“Well, not that exactly, but as near as possible to it, and
somehow, now that I am sitting opposite to you, I rather think that
he is right, and I have been quixotic.”
“Now I come to another condition,” Hilda said with some
perceptible hesitation. “It is not a condition exactly, but an
explanation. I have often wondered whether I acted rightly or not in
the circumstances, and perhaps your view of the case may differ
from the conclusion at which I arrived. The one man with whom I
should most naturally have consulted in a business difficulty—Mr.
Hemster himself—was out of the question in this case, so I tried to
imagine what my father would have had me do, and I acted
accordingly, but not without some qualms of conscience then and
since. I fear I did not do what an independent girl should have done,
but now that we have become so friendly you shall be my judge.”
“You will find me a very lenient one, Hilda; in fact the verdict is
already given: you did exactly right whatever it was.”
“Sir, you must not pronounce until you hear. We approach now
the dread secret of a woman with a past. That always crops up, you
know, at the critical moment. I think I told you my father and Mr.
Hemster were friends from boyhood; that they went to school
together; that their very differences of character made the friendship
sincere and lasting. My father was a quiet, scholarly man, fond of his
books, while Mr. Hemster cared nothing for literature or art, but only
for an outdoor life and contest with his fellow men. It is difficult to
imagine that one so sedate and self-restrained as Mr. Hemster now
seems to be should have lived the life of a reckless cowboy on the
plains, riding like a centaur, and shooting with an accuracy that
saved his life on more than one occasion, whatever the result to his
opponents. Nevertheless, in the midst of this wild career he was the
first, or one of the first, to realize the future of the cattle business,
and thus he laid the foundation of the colossal fortune he now
possesses. I can imagine him the most capable man on the ranch,
and I believe he was well paid for his services and saved his money,
there being no way of spending it, for he neither drank nor gambled.
While yet a very young man an opportunity came to him, and he had
not quite enough capital to take advantage of it. My father made up
the deficit, and, small as the amount was, Mr. Hemster has always
felt an undue sense of obligation for a loan which was almost
instantly repaid. When my father died he left me practically
penniless so far as money was concerned, but with a musical
education which would have earned me a comfortable living. Shortly
after my father’s death the manager of our local bank informed me
that there had been deposited to my order one hundred thousand
dollars’ worth of stock in Mr. Hemster’s great business. Now the
question is, Should I have kept that, or should I have returned it to
Mr. Hemster?”
“I beg your pardon, Hilda, but there is no question there at all.
Your father, by reason of his most opportune loan, was quite
honestly entitled to a share in the business the creation of which his
money had made possible.”
“But the sum given to me was out of all proportion to the
amount lent. It is even more out of proportion than the figures I
have mentioned would lead you to suppose, for the interest paid is
so great that such an income could not be produced by four or five
times the face value of the stock. Then Mr. Hemster was under no
obligation to have given me a penny.”
 “Surely a man may be allowed to do the right thing without
being legally bound to do it. I hope you accepted without hesitation.”
“Yes, I accepted, but with considerable hesitation. Now, I think
Mr. Hemster would be greatly annoyed if he knew I had told you all
this. His own daughter has not the slightest suspicion of it, and I
imagine her father would be even more disturbed if she gathered
any hint of the real state of affairs. Indeed, I may tell you that she
has dismissed me since this Japanese Countess came.”
“Then we are in the same plight, for the young lady ordered me
to resign.”
“And are you going to?”
“Not likely. She didn’t engage me, and therefore has no standing
in the contract. But, to return to ourselves, which is always the
paramount subject of interest, this dread secret, as you called it,
puts an entirely different complexion on our relations. You must see
that. Here have I been suing you under the impression that you
were a helpless dependent. Now you turn out to be an heiress of the
most pronounced transatlantic type. You once accused me of being
dull in comprehension.”
“I never did.”
“Well, people do accuse me of that; nevertheless I am brilliant
enough to perceive that this is a transformation scene, and that the
dreams which I have indulged in regarding our relationship are no
longer feasible.”
Hilda clasped her hands and rested her elbows on the wicker
table, leaning forward toward me with an expression half quizzical,
half pathetic.
“I never called you dull, Mr. Tremorne——”
“Rupert, if you please.”
“——but I did think you slightly original, Rupertus. Now, your
talk of all this making a great difference is quite along the line of
conventional melodrama. I see you are about to wave me aside.
‘Rich woman, begone,’ say you. You are going out into the world,
registering a vow that until you can place dollar for dollar on the
marriage altar you will shun me. Now I have read that sort of thing
ever since I perused ‘The Romance of a Poor Young Man,’ but I
never expected to encounter in real life this haughty, inflexible, poor
young man.”
“Rich woman, there are many surprises here below, and of
course you cannot avoid your share of them. However, I shall not so
haughtily wave you aside until you have answered that important
question with a word of three letters rather than one of two. I
cannot refuse what is not proffered. So will you kindly put me in a
position to enact a haughty poor young man by saying definitely
whether you will marry me or not?”
“I reply, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes,’ and a thousand other yes’s, if you
wish them. Now, young man, what have you to say?”
“I have this to say, young woman, that your wealth entirely
changes the situation.”
“And I maintain it doesn’t, not a particle.”
“I will show you how it does. I was poor, and I thought you were
poor. Therefore it was my duty, as you remarked, to go out into the
world and wring money from somebody. That, luckily, is no longer
necessary. Hilda, we may be married this very day. Come, I dare you
to consent.”
“Oh!” she cried, dropping her hands to her side and leaning back
in her creaking chair, looking critically at me with eyes almost veiled
by their long lashes, a kindly smile, however, hovering about her
pretty lips. “You are in a hurry, aren’t you?”
“Yes, you didn’t expect to clear the way so effectively when you
spoke?”
Before she could reply we were interrupted by the arrival of Mr.
Hemster, who carried a long sealed envelope in his hand. He gazed
affectionately at the girl for a moment or two, then pinched her
flushed cheek.
“Hilda, my dear,” he said, “I never saw you looking exactly like
this before. What have you two been talking about? Something
pleasant, I suppose.”
“Yes, we were,” replied Hilda pertly; “we were saying what a nice
man Silas K. Hemster is.”
The old gentleman turned his glance toward me with something
of shrewd inquiry in it.
“Hilda,” he said slowly, “you mustn’t believe too much in nice
men, young or old. They sometimes prove very disappointing.
Especially do I warn you against this confidential secretary of mine.
He is the most idiotically impractical person I have ever met. Would
you believe it, my dear, that he was to-day offered two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars if he would merely keep quiet about something
he knew which he thought was his duty to tell me, and he was fool
enough to refuse the good and useful cash?”
“Please tell Miss Stretton, Mr. Hemster, that the good and useful
cash bore the ugly name of bribe, and tell her further that you would
have refused it yourself.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I don’t want the girl to think me
quite in my dotage yet. Such a sum is not picked up so easily every
day on the streets of Nagasaki, as I think you found out a while
ago.”
“It may be picked up on board a yacht,” said Hilda archly, smiling
up at him.
“Ah, you’re getting beyond me now. I don’t know what you
mean, Hilda,” and he pinched her cheek again.
“And now, Mr. Tremorne, I am sorry to send you away again
without lunch, but business must be attended to even if we have to
subsist on sandwiches. How old a man is this Cammerford?”
 “About forty, I should think.”
“Does he strike you as a capable individual?”
“Naturally he does. He has proved himself to be much more
capable than I am.”
“Oh, that’s no recommendation. Well, I want you to take this
letter to him; it is my ultimatum, and you may tell him so. He must
either accept or refuse. I shall not dicker or modify my terms. If he
accepts, then bring him right over to the yacht with you; if he
refuses, you tell him I will have him wiped out before he can set foot
in San Francisco.” He handed me the sealed envelope.
“You see you were in at the beginning of this business, so I’d
like you to be on hand at the finish. I’m sorry to make an errand-boy
of you, Tremorne, but we are a little distant from the excellent
messenger service of Chicago.”
I rose at once, placed the envelope in my inside pocket, and
said:
“I shall do my best, Mr. Hemster, although, as you have
remarked, I seem to be little more than a messenger-boy in the
negotiations.”
“Oh, not at all; you’re ambassador, that’s what you are; a highly
honourable position, and I feel certain that as you are not
particularly fond of Cammerford your manner will go far toward
showing him his own insignificance. When he once realizes how
powerless he is, we’ll have no further difficulty with him.”
I laughed, received a sweet smile from Hilda and a kindly nod
from Hemster, then turned to the gangway and was in the ever-
ready naptha launch a moment later.
Cammerford was not expecting me, so I had to search for him,
and at last ran him down at the equivalent of the American bar
which Nagasaki possesses for the elimination of loneliness from the
children of the Spread Eagle.
 “Have a drink with me, Tremorne,” cried Cammerford, as genially
as if we were the oldest possible friends.
“Thanks, no!” I replied. “I’d sooner meet the muzzle of a
revolver than imbibe the alleged American drinks they furnish at this
place. You see, I know the town; besides, I’ve come on business.”
“Ah, is the old man going to see me, then?”
“That will depend on your answer to his letter which I have here
in my pocket. May I suggest an adjournment to your rooms in the
hotel?”
“Certainly, certainly,” muttered Cammerford hastily, evidently all
aquiver with excitement and anxiety.
When we reached his apartments he thrust out his hand eagerly
for the letter, which I gave to him. He ripped it open on the instant,
and, standing by the window, read it through to the end, then,
tossing it on the table, he threw back his head and gave utterance to
a peal of laughter which had an undercurrent of relief in it.
“I was to tell you,” said I, as soon as I could make myself heard,
“that this document is by way of being an ultimatum, and if you do
not see fit to accept it——”
“Oh, that’s all right, my dear boy,” he cried, interrupting me.
“Accept it? Of course I do, but first I must tender an abject apology
to you.”
“There is no necessity, Mr. Cammerford,” I protested, “I hope
that is not a proviso in the communication?”
“No, my dear boy, it is not. I offer the apology most sincerely on
my own initiative. Actually I took you for a fool, but you are a
damned sight shrewder man than I am. I told you when you were
here that I could not get on to your game, but now I see it straight
as a string, and I wonder I was such a chump as not to suspect it
before. Tremorne, you’re a genius. Of course your proper way of
working was through the old man with that cursed high-bred air of
honesty which you can assume better than any one I ever met. That
kind of thing was bound to appeal to the old man because he’s such
an unmitigated rogue himself. Yes, my dear boy, you’ve played your
cards well, and I congratulate you.”
“I haven’t the least idea what you are driving at,” I said.
“Do you mean to tell me you don’t know what is in this letter?”
“The letter was delivered to me sealed, and I have delivered it
sealed to you. I have no more notion what it contains than you had
before I handed it to you.”
“Is that really a fact? Well, Tremorne, you’re a constant puzzle
and delight to me. This world would be a less interesting place if you
were out of it. It is an ever-recurring problem to me whether you’re
deep or shallow; but if you are shallow I’ll say this, that it cuts more
ice than depth would do. Well, just cast your eyes over the last
paragraph in that letter.” He tossed across the final sheet to me, and
I read as follows:

“The condition under which I shall treat with you is this:

You will place at once in the Bank of Japan, to the order of
Rupert Tremorne, the five hundred thousand dollars you
borrowed from him, together with interest compounded for
three years at six per cent. If, as is likely, you are not in a
position to hand over such a sum, you may pay half the
amount into the Bank of Japan here, and cable to have the
other half similarly placed in the First National Bank of
Chicago. The moment I receive cable advice from my
confidential man of business in Chicago that the money is in
the bank there, or the moment you show me the whole
amount is in the bank here, I shall carry out the promises I
have made in the body of this letter.
“Yours truly,
“Silas K. Hemster.”

The look of astonishment that doubtless came into my face must

have appeared genuine to Cammerford as he watched me keenly
across the table. I handed the letter back to him.
“I assure you I know nothing of this proviso.”
“In that case,” said Cammerford airily, “I hope you will have no
objection to paying me back the money when once you have
received it. I trust that your silk-stockinged idea of strict honesty will
impel you toward the course I have suggested.”
“I am very sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Cammerford, but
circumstances have changed since I saw you last, and, if you don’t
mind, I’ll keep the money.”
Cammerford laughed heartily; he was in riotous good humour,
and I suppose his compensation in this trust-forming business would
be so enormous that the amount paid into the bank seemed trifling
by comparison.
“I should be glad,” said I, rising, “if you would pen a few words
to Mr. Hemster accepting or declining his offer.”
“Of course I will, dear boy,” he replied, taking the latest pattern
of fountain pen from his waistcoat pocket; “you are the most
courteous of messengers, and I shall not keep you two shakes.”
Whereupon he rapidly scrawled a note, blotted it, sealed it, and
handed it to me.
He arose and accompanied me to the door, placing me under
some temporary inconvenience by slapping me boisterously on the
shoulder.
“Tremorne, old man, you’re a brick, and a right-down deep one
after all. I’m ever so much obliged to you for lending me your
money, although I did not think it would be recalled so soon, and I
did not expect the interest to be so heavy. Still, I needed it at the
time, and put it where it has done the most good. So long, old
fellow. You will imagine yourself a rich man to-morrow.”
“I imagine myself a rich man to-day, Mr. Cammerford.”
 CHAPTER XX

O
n reaching the yacht I went directly to the old gentleman’s
office and handed him Cammerford’s letter, which he
tore open, read, and tossed on the desk.

“Mr. Hemster,” said I, while an emotion which I had not

suspected myself of possessing caused my voice to tremble a little;
“Mr. Hemster, I don’t know how I can thank you for what you have
done for me to-day.”
“Oh, that’s all right, that’s all right!” he said gruffly, as if the
reference annoyed him. “What you need is a guardian.”
“I think,” said I, “I have secured one.”
The old gentleman glanced up at me quickly.
“Is that so? Well, if the land lays as I have suspected, I
congratulate you. Yes, and I congratulate Hilda also. As for a
guardian, you have chosen a good one, and now don’t begin to
thank me over again, but go and tell her all about it.”
Thus dismissed, I went to the saloon, and there found the lady
of whom I was in search, and persuaded her to come up on deck
with me. In spite of the vexatious interruption to which we had been
forced to submit at this spot, I had become attached to the locality
of the two chairs and the wicker table.
“I like this place,” said I, “for its associations, and yet I am
certain, the moment we begin to talk, Mr. Hemster will order me
overboard, or his daughter will tell you to go down below.”
 “There is no immediate danger,” answered Hilda. “Mr. Hemster is
busy, and his daughter has not returned from Nagasaki; I suspect,
however, that you should be down in the office helping your chief,
rather than up here frivolously gossiping with me.”
“I am obeying orders in being up here. My chief, as you call him,
told me to search you out and tell you all about it.”
“All about what?”
“Did you tell Mr. Hemster anything of our conversation after I
left?”
“Not a word. Poor dear, his mind was occupied with other
matters. He talked about you, and fished,—in, oh, such an awkward
way,—to find out what I thought of you. He gave me much good
counsel which I shall ever treasure, and he warned me to beware of
fascinating young men, and not allow myself to become too deeply
interested. Indeed I yearned to let him know that his caution was
already too late; but, not being sure whether that would ease his
mind or cause it greater anxiety, I held my peace. I wish you would
tell him. Perhaps I should do it myself, but I cannot find the exact
words, I am afraid.”
“I’ll tell him with great pleasure. No, to be honest, I have already
told him.”
“Really, and what did he say?”
“Oh, he said I needed a guardian, and I informed him I had
already secured one. He twigged the situation in a moment,
congratulated me on my choice, and ordered me to come and tell
you all about it.”
“Tell me all about what? I’ve asked you that before.”
“Why, about the money with which we are to start
housekeeping. Mr. Hemster estimates that it will amount to
something more than half a million.”
 Hilda sat back in her chair with a remote resemblance to a frown
on her pretty brow.
“That was what you were discussing with Mr. Hemster, was it?”
she said primly.
“Of course. Don’t you think it most important?”
“I suppose it is.”
“He certainly thought so, and looked on me as very fortunate
coming into such a tidy sum so easily.”
“Easily! Did he, indeed?”
“Yes, he’s awfully pleased about it, and so am I.”
“I am delighted to hear it.”
“He said you would be, and he regards me as more than lucky,
which, to tell the truth, I acknowledge that I am. You see it was
such a complete surprise. I hadn’t expected anything at all, and to
find myself suddenly the possessor of such a sum, all because of a
few words, seemed almost too good to be true.”
Hilda was leaning back in her chair; there was no question about
the frown now, which was visible enough, and, as I prattled on, the
displeasure in her speaking eyes became deeper and deeper.
“All because of a few words!” she murmured, as if talking to
herself.
“Certainly. Plain, simple, straightforward words, yet look what an
effect they had. They practically make me an independent man,
even rich, as I should count riches, although I suppose Mr. Hemster
wouldn’t consider the amount very important.”
“Probably not, but you seem to look upon the amount as very,
very important,—even of paramount importance, I should say.”
“Oh, not of paramount importance, of course, but nevertheless I
shall always regard this day as the most fortunate of my life.”
“Really? Because of the money, I suppose?”
 “Now, Hilda,” I protested, “you must admit that money is
exceedingly necessary.”
“I do admit it. So Mr. Hemster was more pleased about your
getting the money than anything else?”
“Oh, I don’t say that, but he certainly was delighted with my
luck, and what true friend wouldn’t be? I am sure my people at
home will be overjoyed when they hear the news.”
“Because of the money?” reiterated Hilda, with more of irritation
in her tone than I had ever heard there before.
“Why not? Such a lump of gold is not won every day.”
“By a few simple words,” suggested Hilda tartly.
“Exactly. If you choose the psychological moment and use the
right words they form a great combination, I can tell you, and
success is sure to follow.”
“Deserving man! I think those that called you a fool were
mistaken, don’t you?”
“Yes, I rather imagine they are, and in fact that has been
admitted.”
“So you and Mr. Hemster have been discussing this money
question down in your office?”
“Yes, at first, of course. I began about the money at once, and
thanked him sincerely for what he had done.”
“You were quite right; if it had not been for him there would
have been no money to make you so jubilant.”
“That’s exactly what I told him. ‘Mr. Hemster’ said I, ‘if it had not
been for your action I should never have got a penny.’”
“Well,” said Hilda, with a little break in her voice that went right
to my heart and made me ashamed of myself, while the moisture
gathered in her eyes, “and so you and Mr. Hemster at last got to me,
and began to discuss me after the money question had been
exhausted. Really, I suppose I should be thankful to have received
so much attention. I wish I had known that gold occupied so large a
space in your thoughts, and then I should have entered more
accurately into particulars. I told you the amount was two or three
times the face value of the stock, but it is what you say, over half a
million, and now if you don’t mind I shall go downstairs for a while.”
“I do mind. I want to speak to you, Hilda.”
“I would rather not talk any more just now. If you are wise you
will say nothing until I have had time to think it all over.”
“But I never claimed to be wise, Hilda. Sit down again, I beg of
you. Indeed you must, I shall not let you go at this juncture.”
The flash in her eyes chased away the mist that had veiled
them.
“Sir,” she cried, “you are only making matters worse. If you have
any care for me, say no more until I see you again.”
“Hilda,” said I, “I can make it all right with you in five minutes.
What will you bet?”
“If you are jesting, I am tired of it. Can’t you see I don’t want to
talk. Don’t you understand you have said enough? Do be content. I
wish I hadn’t a penny of money, and that I had never told you.”
I now became aware that I was on the horns of a dilemma; I
had gone too far, as a stupid man will who thinks he is on the track
of a joke. The dear girl was on the verge of tears, and I saw that if I
suddenly proclaimed the jest her sorrow would turn into anger
against me, and my last state might be worse than my first. I had
got this joke by the tail, and the whole dilemma arose through not
knowing whether it was safer to hang on or let go. I quickly decided
to hang on. I trusted to escape by reason of our national reputation
for unreadiness, and determined to stand to my guns and proclaim
that all along I had been speaking of my own fortune and not of
hers. My obtuseness she would pity and forgive, but ill-timed levity
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