A Comedy of Terrors

VII.

A BAFFLED FLIGHT.

CARROL fled from Montreal in disguise, and concealed himself for some days in New York. Even here, however, he did not feel safe from the consequences of his crime, and so he resolved to fly to Europe. After some consideration, he decided to take the steamer to Havre, and go to Paris first. On the day for her departure he went on board at an early hour, and shut himself up in his state-room, waiting for the vessel to start. Here he remained for hours, listening to the noises around him, and peering stealthily through the glass to watch the movements on the wharf, while all the time he was tormented by an agonizing dread of arrest.

But the long-delayed moment of departure came at last. The lines were cast off, and the steamer, leaving the wharf, moved on down the harbor. Then Carrol ventured forth, and went up on deck.

Just as his foot touched the deck, he found himself face to face with a passenger who was on his way to the cabin. The passenger stopped short, and so did Carrol, and the two gazed at each other with unutterable surprise.

“ Carrol ! by Jingo ! ”

“ Grimes ! Good Lord ! ”

At such an utterly unexpected meeting, it is difficult to say which of these two felt the greater astonishment. The peculiar circumstances under which they had parted made a future meeting seem among the remotest of possibilities for many a long day. Grimes had characterized it as an eternal farewell, and Carrol, in all his thoughts of the possible acquaintances whom he might encounter, had never dreamed of this one. Yet this one was actually the only one whom thus far he had met ; and he found him in the very place where he had not expected to meet any acquaintance at all. He had hoped that his parting from the shore would rid him of everything connected with the most terrible event of his life ; yet here, the moment that he ventured to emerge from his hiding-place, he found himself confronted by the very man who was most closely connected with that event; not merely one who was acquainted with it, but its very prompter and instigator. Yet in Carrol’s mind the meeting caused pleasure rather than pain. He had been alone so long, brooding in secret over his troubles, that the sight of one whom he could trust was inexpressibly soothing ; and he wrung Grimes’s big hand as he had never before wrung the hand of any man.

“Wal,” cried Grimes, “of all the events that have ever occurred, this strikes me as about a little the darn’dest that I can think of; I declare, if it ain’t the cur’ousest coincidence — ! ”

And Grimes paused, fairly overwhelmed.

“ I took this steamer,” said Carrol, hurriedly, “because it happened to be the first one that was leaving.”

“ Wal, for that matter, so did I ; but who ’d have thought of you goin’ to Europe ? ”

Carrol’s face, which for a moment had lighted up with a flush of pleasing excitement, now grew dark again, and the sombre cloud that had hung over it ever since that night of horror once more overspread it.

“ I ’ve come,” said he, with some hesitation, “because Europe — seemed to me the — the best place that I could go to.”

“ Wal, so did I,” said Grimes ; “ especially France. That’s the country for me. I’ve thought all the world over, and decided on that one spot.”

“ When did you leave Montreal ? ” asked Carrol, after a pause.

44 Why, the very mornin1 after I left you.”

“ The morning after ? Why, I left then.”

14 You did ? What train ?”

44 The first one.”

44 Why, that’s the very train I travelled in.”

“ Was it ? ” asked Carrol, drearily.

44 Yes, it was, and I can’t understand why I did n’t see you.”

44 Very strange,” said Carrol, in a low voice, raising at the same time his white face, and glancing furtively around.

44 Wal, it’s darned queer, too,” said Grimes ; 44 and I ’ve been in York ever since. Have you ? ”

44 Well — yes — that is — I ’ve had some — some business — you know,” said Carrol, in a confused way.

There was something in Carrol’s manner that struck Grimes. Thus far he had been too much occupied with the surprise of this unexpected meeting ; but now that the first surprise was over, he was open to other feelings ; and the first feeling that came to him was simply a repetition of the former emotion of surprise, suggested, however, by a different cause. His attention was now arrested by the change in the tone, manner, and appearance of Carrol ; and he looked at him earnestly, searchingly, and wonderingly. He saw a face of extreme paleness, which already bore marks of emaciation and of suffering. His hair, as it straggled from beneath his hat, did not seem to have been brushed ; his mustache was loose and ragged ; there was a certain furtive watchfulness in his eyes, and a haunted look in his face, that gave to him an appearance totally different from that which had characterized him in the old easy days of yore. All this was taken in by Grimes at one glance.

The result of this one glance was very marked in Grimes himself. A change came over him in an instant, which was as marked in its way as the change that had come over Carrol. The broad content, the loose insou-ciance, and the careless bonhommie of his face were succeeded by an expression of deep concern, of anxiety, of something, in fact, that looked like self-reproach, and seemed to verge upon that remorse which was stamped upon the face of his friend. His teeth compressed themselves, he frowned, and the trouble of his soul could not be concealed.

“What’s the matter?” asked Carrol. 44 Why do you look so?”

44 Why, man, it’s you that looks so, as you say. What’s the matter with you ?” said Grimes, in a hesitating voice. 44 You look as if you ’d seen a ghost.”

Carrol shuddered.

44 What has happened ? ” asked Grimes, anxiously. 44 How did it end? Is this what sent you away ? ”

Carrol looked wildly around, and then said in a hurried voice, 44 Hush ! Come away from here. Come down to my state-room. I ’ll tell you all about it.”

A terrible secret borne in one’s own heart will always bear down that heart by its weight; and it was this that Carrol had endured. The meeting with his old friend had been instinctively welcomed ; and now that he had him alone, he availed himself eagerly of that precious and soothing relief which is always found when the dread secret can be revealed safely to one who is trusted. And so, in the seclusion of his state-room, he told Grimes his story, omitting those unnecessary particulars about his own superstitious fancies, and confining himself simply to what he considered the facts of the case.

To all this sad confession Grimes listened with a strange and a disturbed countenance. There was in his face true sympathy and profound compassion ; but there was something more. There was perplexity and bewilderment. Evidently there was something in the story which he did not comprehend, and could not. He felt puzzled. He looked so; and as Carrol approached the crisis of his story, he interrupted him with frequent questions.

“ Do you mean to say,” he asked, as Carrol ended, “ that you really believe you killed him ? ”

“ Have n’t I told you that ? ” groaned Carrol.

“ But — but — is n’t there some darned mistake about it all?” asked Grimes.

“ Mistake ! O heavens ! What would n’t I give if I could only hope that there might have been ! But that is impossible. O no ! There is always ringing in my ears that horrible rushing sound of his fall.”

“ But it may have been something else.”

“ Something else ! ” repeated Carrol, in a despairing tone. “ O no ; my senses could not have deceived me ! ”

“ Now, look here,” cried Grimes, with a certain sort of feverish impatience, “did you see him?”

“ See him ? What nonsense ! How could I ? ”

“ The flash of the pistol would show him.”

“ Flash of the pistoi ! I tell you my brain was full of a thousand images, and every one of them represented him.”

“ Had you been drinking much that day?” asked Grimes, after a thoughtful pause.

“ Yes ; of course. You might have supposed that.”

“ Very much ? ”

“ Yes.”

Grimes paused again.

“ Did n’t you go over,” he asked, “ to find out whether it was him or not ; to assure yourself of the fact, you know ? Did n’t you touch him?”

“Touch him!” cried Carrol, in a voice of horror. “ What ! Touch him ! Good heavens ! ”

“Wal,” said Grimes, “you really don’t know this,”

“ As sure as there is a heaven above us, I do know it,” said Carrol.

Grimes said no more. He leaned forward, and buried his face in his hands. Carrol reclined back against the wall of the state-room, and gave himself up to the terrible memories which had been once more aroused by his narration. At last he gave a heavy sigh, and started to his feet.

“ Come,” he said, “ I can’t stand this. Let’s go out. I ’m suffocating. Come out on deck. I must have some fresh air. Come.”

Grimes rose to his feet without a word, and followed Carrol as he led the way. On his face there was the same expression of anxiety and bewilderment which has already been mentioned. In this mood he followed Carrol to the upper deck.

“ Come,” said Carrol, “ let’s go aft. There are fewer people there, and we’ll be more by ourselves.”

He led the way aft, and Grimes followed.

As they approached the stern, they saw two ladies sitting there whose backs were turned towards them. The ladies were gazing in silence at the receding shores, and Carrol drew Grimes to a place on the side of the steamer which was about a dozen yards away. Standing there, the two friends instinctively turned their eyes toward the land behind them, and looked at it in an abstracted way ; for each one was so absorbed by his own thoughts, that his gaze was fixed rather upon vacancy than upon any definite object.

At length, one of the ladies said something to the other, after which they both rose, and turned as if with the intention of leaving the place. As they turned, their eyes wandered about and finally rested for an instant upon Grimes and his companion.

It was only for an instant that their glance fell upon these two men, but that instant was enough to allow of a profound sensation. The deep rich complexion of one of the ladies grew deeper and richer, as a flush passed over all her beautiful face ; while at the same time that beautiful face assumed an expression of astonishment, embarrassment, and almost dismay, that was very much in contrast with its former air of good-natured content. For a moment she hesitated in her confusion, and then bowed. The other lady showed equal feeling, but of a totally different kind. Her face was very pale and very sad ; and as she saw the two friends, a flush passed over it, which was followed by a mournful, earnest look of mute inquiry and wonder.

Grimes looked amazed, but took off his hat and bowed ; after which he hesitated, and seemed on the point of approaching the ladies. But he looked around for a moment to see Carrol. Carrol, on his part, had seen the ladies, and certainly his amazement was fully equal to that which was felt by any of the others. Already he had experienced one surprise at meeting with Grimes. This meeting was a much greater shock, for he had not the faintest idea that Mrs. Lovell and Miss Heathcote had contemplated leaving Montreal. But the sight of Miss Heathcote’s face, after the first surprise, only served to deepen the darkness that had closed around his soul. For a moment he regarded her with a hard, cold stare of wonder ; and then, without a word, without a sign, he turned abruptly and walked away. As Grimes looked around after his friend, he saw him thus walking off; for a moment he hesitated, and then, with another bow to the ladies, he walked off after him.

VIII.

AT HIS MERCY.

MRS. LOVELL and her sister stood for some moments in silence, with their eyes fixed upon the retreating figures of these two men, and varying feelings animated them at this sudden and unexpected meeting. Mrs. Lovell at length flung herself impatiently into a seat and patted the deck with her little foot ; while Maud stood like a statue, erect, rigid, with every trace of color gone from her face.

“ Have you your salts, Maudie dearest ? ” asked Mrs. Lovell, at length.

Maud did not seem to hear her, for she made no reply.

Mrs. Lovell repeated the question.

“ No,” said Maud, abruptly.

Mrs. Lovell heaved a deep sigh.

“ I’m sure,” said she, “ I ’ll never get over this ; but, at any rate, we may as well carry out our intention of going below. We ’re safer there, you know, Maudie. And who’d have thought it ! Who would have thought it ! O dear ! of all the strange and unfortunate coincidences ! O dear me, Maudie clearest, what shall I do ! ”

To this appeal, which was uttered in quite a heart-rending tone, Maud made no reply. Indeed, she did not seem to have heard it. She stood as statuesque as before, with her face turned toward the retreating form of Carrol. She watched him till he was out of sight, and even after he was lost to her view she stood looking in that direction.

“ Maudie,” said Mrs. Lovell, at last, in as impatient a tone as was possible for her to use.

Maud sighed.

“Well,” said she, turning around, and looking at her sister in an absent way.

“ O Maudie darling, what in the world am I ever to do!” said Mrs. Lovell, mournfully.

“ I suppose,” said Maud, in a deliberate voice, “ we may as well go below, as we first proposed.”

“ You are so awfully cold and unsympathetic,” said Mrs. Lovell, in a reproachful tone.

Maud said nothing.

Mrs. Lovell, thereupon, rose to her feet, and stood for a moment looking forward along the line of retreat of Grimes and Carrol, with an expression of refined and ladylike despair that was uncommonly becoming to her.

“Well,” said she, with a sigh, “I see no signs of them now ; I dare say they will have the good taste to keep out of the way for the present; and so, Maudie, I think we had better go below at once.”

“Very well,” said Maud, in a low voice ; and thereupon, the two ladies sought the seclusion of their stateroom, which they reached without again encountering the two gentlemen.

Here a long silence followed, which was at length broken by Mrs. Lovell.

“O dear!” she said, with a little sigh. “ He has tracked me after all, and how he ever managed to do it is more than I can tell, I ’m sure. And the worst of it is, it was the very thing I was afraid of. You remember, Maudie dear, I proposed at first to take a Cunard steamer to Liverpool. And you remember that I changed my mind and took this one. You know I told you that I changed my mind because I preferred going to France direct. Well, you know, Maudie darling, it was nothing of the kind. That was n’t my reason at all, you know.”

“ What was it ? ” asked Maud.

“Why, you know, I really was quite frightened at the idea that Mr. Grimes might manage to find out how I had gone. I felt sure that he would follow me. He ’s one of those dreadful men of one idea, you know ; and I know that I’m the only idea he has in his poor old head. Well, I was so dreadfully frightened at the idea of his following me, that I changed my plans and took this steamer. I thought it was a very lucky thing, and I felt quite sure, you know, that he would n’t find me at all. If he attempted to follow me he would be carried to Liverpool, and I would go to Havre, and I knew that he could never track me from one place to the other. He would have to go all the way back to America, you know, before he could gain the slightest clew to my proceedings ; and even then it would have been very, very hard. But, O dear ! how foolishly sanguine I was ! I come here. I embark. I am just leaving the shore, and thinking with a kind of pity about the poor fellow, — who really has no end of claims to my esteem, — when suddenly I turn round, and as I live ! there he is, standing just before me. I declare to you, Maudie darling, it was a perfect wonder that I did n’t drop down senseless. I ’m sure, my heart never beat so fast in all my life. Did n’t I look dreadfully discomposed, Maudie dear ? ”

“ O no, I think not,” said Maud, absently.

“ Well, I really felt so, you know, — as embarrassed as possible ; quite like some raw school-girl, detected in some fault, you know. And now — O dear ! what am I ever to do ! what am I ever to do! I’m sure, it’s really quite cruel in you, Maudie dear, to be so very, very indifferent. You are far, far too self-absorbed.”

To this Maud made no answer.

“ The worst of it is,” continued Mrs. Lovell, “we are out at sea, positively on the ocean itself. If we were only at the wharf, I would go ashore at once, and leave all my luggage behind, — I positively would. Now, would n’t you, Maudie, if you were in my place? Would n't you, now ? Say.”

“ Yes,” said Maud, dreamily.

“ But no ; there’s nothing so good as that. Here I am, positively at his mercy. Did you notice, Maudie dearest, how very, very triumphant he looked ? ”

“ No.”

“Well, he did then ; and very, very unpleasantly so, indeed. It’s bad enough, I ’m sure, for one to have power over one, but to go and assert it in such a particularly open way is really cruel. It really reminds me of those lines of poetry that some one made, that it was something or other to have a giant’s strength, but very, very naughty to use it like a giant. I dare say you remember the lines, Maudie.

“ But I know another reason,” said Mrs. Lovell, after a thoughtful pause, — “ another reason why he looked so triumphant. He’s got that dreadful chignon with him. I saw it in his face. It was just as if he had said so to me in so many words. And how dreadful it is, Maudie, for a discarded lover to be carrying about a lock of his lady’s hair. It’s really awful, you know.”

“ O well, you know, it is n’t your own hair.”

“Well, it’s as much mine as most people’s, you know. Really, one hardly knows what really is a lady’s hair now, and so it’s all the same ; but I do wish, Maudie, that it was n’t so very much. It’s a whole head, Maudie dear. And only to think of his having it now in his trunk, or his valise, or his carpet-bag. But I dare say he has a casket made on purpose to keep it in. Really, Maudie dear, do you know, it makes me feel quite agitated when I think of it. It’s so very improper. And I could n’t help it. I really had to give it to him. And it makes me feel as though it gave him some sort of a claim on me.”

“ I’m sure, your fears seem quite unnecessary to me,” said Maud. “ You can do as you please.”

“ O, it’s all very well to talk that way, Maudie ; but then, you know, he has such a strange power over me, that I’m afraid of having him near me, and I know that I shall be in a state of constant terror all this voyage. Of course, he ’ll bother me all the time; and I ’ll have to be always planning to keep out of his way. And how can I do that ? I must shut myself up here, a prisoner; and what good will that do ? Besides, I can’t make a prisoner of myself in that way ; I really can’t. I must go about on deck, and so I shall constantly fall in his way. And I can’t help it. Only, Maudie dear, you must always, always be with me. You must never, never let me be alone.”

“ O, we shall be always together,” said Maud. “ As to staying below, that is absurd.”

“ Well, really to me,” continued Mrs. Lovell, “ there is something perfectly appalling in this man’s mysterious knowledge of my movements. Think how he tracked me all through Canada to Montreal. That was wonderful enough, but it was nothing to this. For you see I tried as hard as I could to baffle him completely. I really cannot think of one single trace that I could have left. My friends all think that I have gone in the Cunard steamer, and I myself did not really know that I was going in this one till yesterday, and I did not take my passage till the last moment. Really, Maudie, it frightens me. I ’ll tell you what I think, — I think he must have agents.”

“ Agents ? ”

“ Yes, agents. I don’t know what agents are, but I know they ’re something dreadful, something like spies or detectives ; only they are in private employ, you know. And he must have quite an army of them. And only think of an army of those terrible agents watching all my movements, spying my actions, listening to my words, and reporting everything to him. It’s awful.”

“ Well, really now, Georgie,” said Maud, “you are going too far, you know. He could easily have found out this by himself.”

“ I ’m sure I don’t see how he could.”

“Why, he could easily have gone about and seen the lists of passengers on each boat, before starting. I dare say he heard in Montreal that you were going to Europe, and so he has watched the principal steamers ; and as he found your name on the passenger-list of this one, he sailed in it himself.”

“ Well, then, all I can say is, I think it is really very, very rude in him. I thought he had such delicacy, you know, and such a fine sense of honor, — really exquisite, you know. He seemed to be so very delicate in his sense of propriety and honor and all that, — on one occasion, — when he might have — might have acted so very much more for his own interest, by being a little less punctilious, you know. And I really don’t know how to harmonize such delicate conduct on one occasion with the very inconsiderate and really alarming behavior of this.”

“ I think, perhaps, you have given him credit for what did not belong to him,” said Maud. “What you considered a delicate sense of honor may have been a kind of obtuseness, or bluntness of perception, or honesty, or something of that sort, you know.”

“ O, well, it would n't interfere with my esteem for him, you know. I would n’t lay very great stress upon a very fine sense of honor ; that is, I mean, I don’t think that it is necessary for a man to form his conduct toward ladies after the fashion of Sir Charles Grandison. And do you know, Maudie darling, I really don’t know but that I should rather prefer having him just a little dishonorable. I really think it’s rather nice, you know.”

“Nice!” exclaimed Maud, in a strange tone.

“Well, at any rate, they are all so,” said Mrs. Lovell. “ The men, I mean. What they are chiefly wanting in is that peculiar sense of honor for which we women are distinguished. Men never form strong and intimate friendships like women. They never can thoroughly trust one another. They never defend the weak of their own sex. They can never keep one another’s secrets. They take a spiteful and malicious pleasure in tearing one another’s reputations to pieces, and in displaying their weakness to the world. Petty spite, small scandal, and ungenerous and censorious obversation of one another are almost universal among them. They are terribly inclined to jealousy, and are fearfully exigent. O, I assure you, I have always had a very, very low opinion of men ! When I was a little girl, my governess gave me a proof-book. Each page was headed with a statement about the nature of man. The first page was headed, “ Man is corrupt ” ; the second, “ Man is sinful ” ; the third, “ Man is a child of wrath ” ; the fourth, “ Man is weak”; the fifth, “Man is desperately wicked ’ ; and many more. Now, you know, Maudie, I had to find texts from the Bible to prove all these; and I found no end of them, and I filled the book ; and really, when I had finished, the impression that was left on my mind about man, Maudie darling, was that he was very, very shocking, and that it was a great pity that he was ever created. And I don’t want ever, ever to be married again. And I ’m dreadfully uneasy ; for, you see, Mr. Grimes is so awfully determined, and so fearfully persevering, and I’m so wretchedly weak, that really I almost feel as though I am lost. And now, here he is, and what am I to do ? You must stay with me always, always, you know, Maudie dear; and not leave me alone for even so much as five minutes.”

“ O well, Georgie, you know, I am always with you, and I’m sure you need never be alone, unless you run off by yourself.”

“ Yes, but that’s the very thing I mean. You must never let me run off by myself. I can’t trust myself. I have no end of foolish impulses ; and you see Mr. Grimes has me here quite in his own power. Here he is, with his great face and beard and voice, and his great, big eyes, carrying my chignon with him ; and I know exactly what he’s going to do. He ’ll put himself where I can see him, and pretend not to annoy me, and then he’ll look so pathetic that he ’ll make me awfully sorry for him ; and then, you know, I’m so good-natured, and I ’ll feel so sorry for him, that I ’ll manage to draw him to me ; and then he ’ll begin a system of silent adoration that will be simply intolerable. I can’t bear to be adored, Maudie dear.”

“ I ’m sure, Georgie,” said Maud, with a weary sigh, “ I ’ll do all that I can. I think you are really giving yourself a great deal of unnecessary trouble. I ’ll always be with you, unless you choose to run away.”

“ Yes, but, Maudie dear, you must watch me, and follow me up, for, you know, you would n’t like to lose me, — now, would you, Maudie ? and I’m the best sister you have and the most loving. To be sure, you have no other sister; but then, you know, I mean, even if you had twenty sisters, none of them could love you as I do. Now could they, Maudie ? But, my poor darling ! what is the matter with you ? ”

And Mrs. Lovell, whose protestation of affection had caused her to turn her thoughts more particularly to her sister, now noticed something about her which shocked her. She was excessively pale, and there was a suffering visible in her face which was more striking than the ordinary expression of mere dejection which had characterized her recently. In an instant all Mrs. Lovell’s fears for herself fled away in deep anxiety about her sister.

“ You poor darling ! ” she cried. “ How foolish I have been ! I have n’t thought of you. And I might have known. Really, Maudie, I did n’t think of Mr. Carrol being here too. But how very, very odd! And how cruel it is too! What in the world could have made him come ! With him it is different; he has treated you most shockingly, and has shown no desire to make amends. Why should he follow you ?”

“ I’m sure I don’t know,” said Maud, with a dreary sigh.

“ He’s a heartless, cruel, miserable, man,” cried Mrs. Lovell, vehemently. “Just at the very moment when you might hope for change of scene and all that to distract your thoughts, he comes forcing himself upon your notice, to show you how indifferent he is. The wretch! O Maudie, never, never can I forgive him for the grief he has caused you. Of course this is all his mean and ungentlemanly spite.”

Maud was silent.

“After you had stooped so low too, Maudie. You actually descended to an explanation, and he did n’t deign to answer it. He could n’t forgive the offence to his dignity, even after he must have seen that the offence was never really committed. Or perhaps he knew he had done you a deep wrong, and was too proud to acknowledge it. Of course that was it, unless, indeed, he may have repented of his proposal altogether, and chose this way of getting out of it. But what makes him follow us? In any case it seems a strange course. Nothing but petty spite can account for it, and that is the most probable cause ; for do you know, Maudie, that is the way with men. O, it is, I assure you ! They are very much influenced by all the smaller passions, such as jealousy, envy, malice, and miserable spite. Nearly all men are more or less spiteful ; and it is this feeling of spite that has brought him here. But, Maudie dear, will you really allow yourself to be made unhappy by such an unworthy creature ? Can’t you fall back upon your pride, and look at him with that utter indifference which he deserves ? O dear, Maudie, how I wish I could give you a little of my strength of character! ”

Maud said nothing for some time, and when at last she did speak it was in a low monotone, which sounded rather as if she were uttering her thoughts aloud, than as if she were addressing a remark to her sister.

“Yes, he must have received my letter. He must know now exactly how it happened. I expected that he would have come at once to me. But he would n’t ; and I waited for days that seemed ages. He was offended perhaps because even a mistake had arisen, and his pride could not bend so far as to come to a reconciliation. He has thought of me ever since with the resentful and angry feeling that he expressed in his last letter. Having written that, he could not retract it. It seemed to him as though he might be confessing that he had been in a wrong. He has chosen rather to let the error remain, and for the sake of a foolish and frantic self-conceit, to sacrifice me. It was that which I saw in his face to-day. Why he has followed me I can’t imagine, unless he has been prompted by that same self-conceit which now leads him to show himself to me, so that I may see how indifferent he is to me. No doubt he wants me to feel that he is ashamed of the love that he once professed. He has evidently followed me with a purpose, and it could not possibly have been an accident, for he came deliberately to show himself almost as soon as we had left the wharf. He put himself in a place where I should be sure to see him, and as I turned round he fixed upon me that cold, cruel stare, the remembrance of which haunts me even now. But O, Georgie! did n’t you see how fearfully he has changed? How pale, how awfully pale he is ! ”

“ Is he ?” said Mrs. Lovell, in an indifferent tone. “Well really, I scarce noticed him at all. I was too confused, you know.”

“ Well,” said Maud, after another long silence, “ I am not one of those who can be meek under open insult and contempt. He shall find that the scorn which he is so eager to show can be met by equal scorn from me. He shall see no weakness in me. I will show him that life has other things for me of far more value than a silly sentiment.”

“ O Maudie ! my dear darling ! ” burst forth Mrs. Lovell, enthusiastically. “ How I love to hear you talk so ! That’s right ; be a grand, great, bold, brave, wise woman. Do you know, darling, that is my highest ideal of humanity ? And only to think of you being all that! I’m sure I try hard,” she continued in a plaintive voice, — “I try hard to be that myself, but I’m sometimes a little afraid that I don’t succeed so well as I wish to. But I intend now to begin again ; let’s both of us begin, Maudie; let’s be both of us great and grand and bold and brave and wise. Will you, Maudie dearest ? Say yes, darling.”

“ I don’t know I’m sure,” said Maud, absently. “ I ’ll do whatever you wish, Georgie, of course.”

“ And so you do, you precious ; and so we ’ll both of us make our lives sublime. For my part, I despise men more than ever,” continued Mrs. Lovell, suddenly darting aside from the idea with which she started, and reverting to her favorite topic ; “but then if they are false and fickle and weak, why, we should remember that it is the common failing of their sex, should n’t we, Maudie dear ? But, Maudie, do you intend to avoid him ? ”

“ Avoid him ?” asked Maud.

“ Yes ; do you feel at all weak about seeing him ? ”

“ There is no danger,” said Maud, “ but that I shall always have pride enough to sustain me against the open scorn of any one. He shall not find me trying to avoid him ; I shall let him see that he cannot persecute me, for the simple reason that I will not allow myself to be persecuted. And he shall find that his presence in this boat will not make me vary one hair’s breadth from my usual course.”

IX.

AN APPARITION.

WHEN Carrol turned away at that unexpected meeting with Miss Heathcote, he was quite overwhelmed with the new emotion that it called up within him, and had the most indefinite idea in the world of what he was to do. He wandered, therefore, in a blind, vague sort of a way, until he found himself in his state-room. Grimes, too, who was equally confused, indulged in an equally vague course of wandering, and instinctively following his friend, he entered the same enclosure, and then, shutting the door, the two sat in silence, looking at one another.

“ Wal,” said Grimes, at length, “ ain’t this rich ! Of all the darn’dest! Only to think of everybody tumbling in here together in this here boat, and at the very beginnin’ of the voyage, too ! It does beat all creation ! ”

“ I don’t understand it all,” said Carrol, moodily. “ How the Devil did she get here, of all places ? When did they leave ? What did they leave for ? Where are they going ? ”

“ You need n’t ask any more questions of that sort,” said Grimes, “ I give it up at the outset. I’m nowhar. Don’t direct any of your observations to me.”

And Grimes began to rub his shingled hair in a most violent manner, and then a long silence followed.

“ I see how it is,” said Carrol, at length. “ It’s beginning to be intelligible, though the Devil himself must have contrived that she and I should find ourselves in the same boat. But I see how it is. She has heard about — about that affair, and has got a bad fright. She is in deep affliction. She looked sad enough, by heaven ! and had enough sorrow in her face to suffice for a dozen Frenchmen; she’s mourning over her vanished coronet. This great calamity has spoiled her game. She finds that her comedy has become a tragedy. It’s the town talk; she has fled from people’s tongues. Aha ! what a fright she must have had when she saw me ! Perhaps she will inform on me ; I should like that; I should have her hauled up as chief witness ; but there’s no danger of that; she would n’t dare to do it. O no, she ’ll pray for my escape from a trial, out of consideration for her precious self! By heaven ! she ’ll begin by this time to learn that she made a slight mistake when she first undertook to make a decoy duck of me!”

“ See here, my son,” said Grimes, “listen to me for a moment. I don’t like this. I acknowledge that you’ve had a hard row to hoe, but at the same time I swear I won’t set here and hear you abuse a young woman in that infernal fashion. What’s the use of bein’ a live man if one’s goin’ to talk like a darned jackass ? Now I dare say she ’s not acted altogether on the square; but at the same time that does n’t give you any right to use such language as you do. I don’t believe anythin’ of the sort. I judge her by her face, and I say that a woman with a face like hers can’t be the infernal fiend that you make out. She can’t do it, nohow. Besides, even if she was, she’s a woman, and for that very reason she had ought to be sacred from abuse and slander and defamation. My idee is that women as a general thing have a precious hard time of it on this planet, and if one of them doos n’t happen to turn out just as we like, we had n’t ought to pitch into her in that red-hot style. And finally, let me impress upon you the fact, which has been made known to me by a long and profound study of human nature, that no human bein’ that has given himself up to iniquity and meanness and baseness can ever have such a face as the face that belongs to that young woman. It can’t be done, nohow.”

During these remarks Carrol stared gloomily at Grimes, but the latter took no notice of him. Grimes himself had on his broad honest face a gloom but little inferior to that of Carrol. There was once more visible in his expression that bewilderment and perplexity which had shown itself before on listening to Carrol’s story. The encounter with the ladies had evidently created a new puzzle which had joined itself to the former one, and complicated it. So he sat in silence, involved in his own thoughts, and struggling to emerge from his bewilderment.

Carrol meanwhile sat with his head buried in his hands. At last he raised it, and said as if to himself, “What are they doing here ? How did they happen to come on this boat ? ”

Grimes started up.

“ Wal,” said he, “that’s easy answered. In the first place, they have as much right here as you or me. In the second place, I beg leave to call your attention to the fact that this is a free country. Women have a hard time of it as a general thing, but after all they have certain inalienable rights, among which may be mentioned as self-evident truths their natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the privilege of travellin’ wherever they darn please, so long as they ’re able to pay their way.”

“ It’s hard to have them here. It’s damned hard,” said Carrol.

“ O, you need n’t blame her. ’T ain’t likely she did it on purpose.”

“ I should hope not.”

“ Depend upon it, she would n’t have come by this boat if she ’d ’a’ known you were on board.”

“No, I don’t see how she could wish to be so close to me.”

“She came because this boat was the first and directest, and because her sister brought her. As for you, my son, don’t be alarmed. The boat’s large enough for you two. You can avoid her. Go forward when you are on deck, and let her stay astern. And at the same time, let me advise you to try and get out of that infernal habit of vilifying her. For my part, I think there’s a mistake somewhere or somehow, and so I never believe half of what you say on that subject. Your suspicions are false somehow, I do believe. Why, man, that face of hers is enough for me ; I believe in faces, I do ; and I tell you what, if ever there was nobility of nature stamped upon any face, it ’s on hers. How is it possible that any one with such a face can be what you say ? ”

“O, damn it, man ! ” burst forth Carrol, “don’t talk to me about her face. Don’t I know it better than you do ? Don’t I know every feature by heart ? Won’t I always have to remember it? Have n’t I thought all the time of the horrible contrast between her face and her nature ? I tell you, it was her face that lured me to destruction. Destruction ? Yes ; and mind you, when I say that word I mean it. Look at me. Have you forgotten what I told you a short time ago? Let me tell you now, what I owe to that face of hers, which you think so noble. I ’ll speak of her for the last time, and promise never to mention her again.”

Carrol drew a long breath. His agitation was excessive. He spoke quick and short. His face was white, and his lips bloodless, while his gestures, which were formerly few and far between, were now vehement and frequent.

“First of all,” he continued, “she encouraged me, and led me on,— she led me on,” he repeated savagely, “ till I was too far gone to haul off easily, and then picked up that Frenchman. She encouraged him too, and secretly. She fought me off judiciously, so as not to lose me, and at the same time she stealthily cultivated him. She used me as her infernal decoy to work upon him. She played with my most sacred feelings and trifled with my life for no other reason than her own insatiable but silly vanity. At last I proposed. She rejected me, but accepted the other. You know the result. I need n’t go over that again.”

Carrol paused, in terrible excitement ; his breathing was quick and spasmodic ; and his set brows and clenched hands showed the intensity of his feeling.

“Here am I,” he exclaimed. “Look at me now. Look at me. What am I ? Think of my position a few days ago, and then think of me now. What am I ? What?” he repeated. “Why this, — I’m an outlaw, —a fugitive, — hunted down, — forced to fly, — an exile forevermore, — my life forfeited. Life is for me only a curse. Death is welcome. What am I ? ” he continued. “ I’m a murderer ! ” he answered, in a low, thrilling voice. “That’s what I am. I bear on my brow the mark of Cain. A murderer! A murderer! Abhorred of man, and accursed of God ! ”

He stopped, overwhelmed by his agitated feelings, and again buried his face in his hands.

To all this Grimes had no answer to make. In fact, as he sat there, erect and rigid, with his eyes fixed upon the bowed form of his friend, there seemed in him some portion of that emotion which convulsed the other. His old look of bewilderment came over his face, and with it there came an expression of trouble, and grief, and deep concern, and self-reproach. He did not utter one single word.

At last Carrol started up.

“ I can’t stand this,” he exclaimed, “ I feel half suffocated. I must go on deck.”

With these words he opened the door and went out. Grimes did not follow him, but sat there, motionless and thoughtful. He only moved once to shut the door, and then, resuming his former position, he gave himself up to his perplexed thoughts.

When the steamer left the wharf it was midday, but hours had passed since then. It was now twilight. All around extended the broad surface of the ocean, over which the steamer forced her way, urged on by the mighty engines whose dull rumble sounded from below. Carrol reached the deck, and stood for some minutes looking around. Overhead was the clear sky ; all around was the dark water. The sun had set, and the shadows of night were descending, but objects were still discernible.

Carrol looked around, and then strolled slowly forward about half the length of the vessel. There he stopped and sat down, and gave himself up to his gloomy thoughts.

His sudden meeting with Grimes had been a relief to the strain of his feelings, and even the excitement of seeing Miss Heathcote had only served to distract his mind from the one dark subject on which it incessantly brooded. But now the relief and the distraction had passed, and the old inevitable remorse returned, and with the remorse came the harrowing fear of retribution ; such feelings as these now filled his soul as he sat here, and withdrew his attention from the scene around. The darkness which was descending over that scene was analogous to the darkness that was overshadowing his mind.

Bitter indeed were his thoughts, and dark and sad and despairing. This, then, was the possibility of life, that the folly of a moment could blight it all, a short instant of self-forgetfulness, and then came inexorable Fate, dragging him down to crime and remorse and ruin and despair. For him there was absolutely no remedy. No sorrow, no repentance, could now avail. The deed was done. The inevitable consequences must be his. The wages of sin are death, and so, it seemed, are the consequences even of folly.

From these meditations he sought refuge in that which was now his chief resort from the gloom of his soul, — his brandy-flask. As he unscrewed the stopper he thought grimly of a saying which he had once heard from Grimes.

A murderer,” said he, “ always turns out bad. You see most people after murder take to drink ; and they do, as a general thing, drink hard, and turn out poor cusses. Therefore I would n’t advise anybody to commit murder if he can help it.”

The flask was slowly uncorked. Holding the stopper in his right hand, Carrol raised the flask in his left. At the same moment he raised his head, and his mouth was already parted to receive the approaching liquor, when suddenly in the very crisis of this act his attention was arrested by a figure that stood on the opposite side of the ship, directly facing him.

He was sitting about a half-dozen yards aft the funnel. Behind the funnel a lamp was suspended, whose light shone down through the gloom. It shone upon Carrol, and it shone also upon the figure which bad arrested his attention at that critical moment.

Human experience has taught us that there is many a slip between the cup and the lip; and human experience also teaches us that when a slip takes place under such circumstances, it is the result of something serious. Now, when the cup is such a nature as this of Carrol’s, and when the lip belongs to a man who is filled with a desperate craving for this cup, as the only solace to his despair, why, then, it stands to reason that the union of the two can only be prevented by something of the most astonishing kind.

It was evident that Carrol saw in this figure something that was sufficiently astonishing to arrest the progress of his hand.

The figure stood there, indistinct in the gloom ; but the light from the lantern shone upon its face, leaving the rest of it less visible. On its head was a very commonplace felt hat ; but the face that was revealed beneath it was not at all commonplace. It was a very pale face ; it had a short beard and a mustache ; and the eyes were wide and staring, and fixed on Carrol. To Carrol there seemed a horrible meaning in those wide-staring eyes, with their fixed gaze ; something not of this earth, something that was the natural result of his crime. In an instant there flashed through his mind the memory of that Night of Horror, in the old house, face to face with his enemy ; again the agony was renewed, his senses again were maddened by that dread scene ; once more there resounded the thunder of the exploding pistol, followed by that abhorrent noise of the fall of the victim. The renewal of that horror unnerved him. The flask fell from his hand. He started to his feet, and staggered forward toward the figure, under the influence of a terrible fascination.

James DeMille.