_CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO_
Night came as a blessing to Ruth, for the scenes of the early day hadexhausted her. At the very moment when David succumbed to herdomination, her own strength began to fail. As for Connor, it wasanother story. The great dream which had come to him in far away Lukin,when he watched the little gray gelding win the horse race, was nowverging toward a reality. The concrete accomplishment was at hand. Oncein the world it was easy to see that David would become clay, molded bythe touch of clever Ruth Manning, and then--it would be simply a matterof collecting the millions as they rolled in.
But Ruth was tired. Only one thing sustained her, and that was theburning eagerness to humble this proud and selfish David of Eden. Whenshe thought how many times she had been on the verge of open admirationand sympathy with the man, she trembled and grew cold. But through thefate of poor little Timeh, she thanked Heaven that her eyes had beenopened.
She went to her room shortly after dinner, and she slept heavily untilthe first grayness of the morning. Once awake, in spite of the earlyhour, she could not sleep again, so she dressed and went into the patio.Connor was already there, pacing restlessly. He had been up all night,he told her, turning over possibilities.
"It seems as though everything has worked out too much according toschedule," he said. "There'll be a break. Something will happen andsmash everything!"
"Nothing will happen," she assured him calmly.
He took her hand in his hot fingers.
"Partner"--he began, and then stopped as though he feared to let himselfgo on.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"On his mountain, waiting for the sun, I guess. He told the servants awhile ago that he was leaving to-day. Great excitement. They're allchattering about it down in the servants' house."
"Is no one here?"
"Not a soul, I guess."
"Then--we're going into that Room of Silence!"
"Take that chance now? Never in the world! Why, Ruth, if he saw us inthere, or guessed we'd been there, he'd probably murder us both. Youknow how gentle he is when he gets well started?"
"But how will he know? No one is here, and David won't be back from themountain for a long time if he waits for the sun."
"Just stop thinking about it, Ruth."
"I'll never stop as long as I live, unless I see it. I've dreamedsteadily about that room all night."
"Go alone, then, and I'll stay here."
She went resolutely across the patio, and Connor, following with anexclamation, caught her arm roughly at the door.
"You aren't serious?"
"Deadly serious!"
The glitter of her dark eyes convinced him more than words.
"Then we'll go together. But make it short!"
They swept the patio with conscience-stricken glances, and then openedthe door. As they did so, the ugly face of Joseph appeared at theentrance to the patio, looked and hastily was withdrawn.
"This is like a woman," muttered Connor, as they closed the door withguilty softness behind them. "Risk her life for a secret that isn'tworth a tinker's damn!"
For the room was almost empty, and what was in it was the simplest ofthe simple. There was a roughly made table in the center. Five chairsstood about it. On the table was a book, and the seven articles made upthe entire furnishings. Connor was surprised to see tears in the eyes ofRuth.
"Don't you see?" she murmured in reply to his exclamation. "The fourchairs for the four dead men when David sits down in his own place?"
"Well, what of that?"
"What's in the book?"
"Are you going to wait to see that?"
"Open the door a little, Ben, and then we can hear if any one comesnear."
He obeyed and came back, grumbling. "We can hear every one except David.That step of his wouldn't break eggs."
He found the girl already poring over the first page of the old book, onwhich there was writing in a delicate hand.
She read aloud: "The story of the Garden of Eden, who made it and why itwas made. Told without error by Matthew."
"Hot stuff!" chuckled Connor. "We got a little time before the sun comesup. But it's getting red in the east. Let's hear some more."
There was nothing imposing about the book. It was a ledger with ahalf-leather binding such as storekeepers use for accounts. Time hadyellowed the edges of the paper and the ink was dulled. She read:
"In the beginning there was a man whose name was John."
"Sounds like the start of the Bible," grinned Connor. "Shoot ahead andlet's get at the real dope."
"Hush!"
Without raising her eyes, she brushed aside the hand of Connor which hadfallen on the side of the ledger. Her own took its place, ready to turnthe page.
"In the beginning there was a man whose name was John. The Lord lookedupon John and saw his sins. He struck John therefor. First He took twodaughters from John, but still the man was blind and did not read thewriting of his Maker. And God struck down the eldest son of John, andJohn sorrowed, but did not understand. Thereat, all in a day, the Lordtook from John his wife and his lands and his goods, which were many andrich.
"Then John looked about him, and lo! he was alone.
"In the streets his friends forgot him and saw not his passing. Thesound of his own footfall was lonely in his house, and he was left alonewith his sins.
"So he knew that it was the hand of God which struck him, and he hearda voice which said in the night to him: 'O John, ye who have been toomuch with the world must leave it and go into the wilderness.'
"Then the heart of John smote him and he prayed God to send him not outalone, and God relented and told him to go forth and take with him threesimple men.
"So John on the next morning called to his Negro, a slave who was allthat remained in his hands.
"'Abraham,' he said, 'you who were a slave are free.'
"Then he went into the road and walked all the day until his feet bled.He rested by the side of the road and one came who kneeled before himand washed his feet, and John saw that it was Abraham. And Abraham said:'I was born into your service and I can only die out of it.'
"They went on together until they came to three robbers fighting withone strong man, and John helped this man and drove away the robbers.
"Then the tall man began to laugh. 'They would have robbed me because Iwas once rich,' he said, 'but another thief had already plundered me,and they have gotten only broken heads for their industry.' Then Johnwas sorry for the fortune that was stolen.
"'Not I,' said the tall man, 'but I am sorry for the brother I lost withthe money.' Then he told them how his own brother had cheated him.'But,' he said, 'there is only one way to beat the devil, and that is tolaugh at him.'
"Now John saw this was a good man, so he opened his heart to Luke, whichwas the name of him who had been robbed. Then Luke fell in with the twoand went on with them.
"They came to a city filled with plague so that the dead were buried bythe dying and the dog howled over his master in the street; the son fledfrom the father and the mother left her child. They found one man whotended the sick out of charity and the labor was too great for even hisbroad shoulders. He had a broad, ugly face, but in his eye was a clearfire.
"'Brother, what is your name?' said John, and the man answered that hewas called Paul, and begged them for the sweet mercy of Christ to aidhim in his labors.
"But John said: 'Rise, Paul, and follow me.'
"And Paul said: 'How can I follow the living when the dying call to me?'
"But John said: 'Nevertheless, leave them, for these are carrion, butyour soul in which is life eternal is worth all these and far more.'
"Then Paul felt the power of John and followed him and took, also, hisgray horses which were unlike others, and of his servants those whowould follow him for love, and in wagons he put much wealth.
"So they all rode on as a mighty caravan until they came, at the side ofthe road, to a youth lying in the meadow with his hands behind his head
whistling, and a bird hovering above him repeated the same note. Theyspoke to him and he told them that he was an outcast because he wouldnot labor.
"'The world is too pleasant to work in,' he said, and whistled again,and the bird above him made answer.
"Then John said: 'Here is a soul worth all of ours. Rise, brother, andcome with us.'
"So Matthew rose and followed him, and he was the third and last man tojoin John, who was the beginning.
"Then they came to a valley set about with walls and with a pleasantriver running through it, and here they entered and called it the Gardenof Eden because in it men should be pure of heart once more. And theybuilt their houses with labor and lived in quiet and the horsesmultiplied and the Garden blossomed under their hands."
Here Ruth marked her place with her finger while she wiped her eyes.
"Do you mean to say this babble is getting you?" growled Ben Connor.
"Please!" she whispered. "Don't you see that it's beautiful?"
And she returned to the book.