CHAPTER XXIII.--A CHANGE OF HEART.
Next morning, they dressed hurriedly, reproaching themselves that theyhad slept so late.
"What's to be done?" cried poor Miss Campbell, half distracted as sherushed about her room. "Shall we telegraph her father?"
"How do we know he hasn't kidnapped her?" suggested Mary.
"Suppose we telegraph Mr. Moore?" said Elinor.
"But where is Mr. Moore? He has never written a line in answer to ourletters. That's why I am uneasy. That poor girl was growing more unhappyevery day."
"Shall we notify the police of Sacramento, then?" put in Billie.
"That would be a good idea, but we must see Pasquale first. Send him uphere at once, Billie," called Miss Campbell as the young girl departed,pinning on her hat as she ran down the narrow steps outside.
A hundred conjectures flashed through their minds as they hastened toget into their clothes. Could Evelyn have done anything rash andfoolish? But Miss Campbell felt sure the girl was much too thoughtfuland unselfish to have involved them in a trouble of that sort. No, itwas that Stone man, her father, who had spirited her away.
Pasquale appeared at the door. His face was an impenetrable mask,through which his small eyes twinkled like the eyes of an animal.
"Pasquale," cried Miss Campbell, "what are we to do? Where has the younglady gone? Have your men really brought no news whatever?"
"No news, Signora," he replied, rubbing his hands.
"Don't stand there blinking at me," she cried. "Tell me what I must do.Is there no telegraph station up here?"
"No, Signora, but breakfast, ita is served, Signora."
"Breakfast! Don't talk to me about breakfast when I'm half distracted.Have some coffee ready and send around the motor car. We will start atonce for Sacramento or some town where we can telegraph."
"The Signora will pleasea have breakfast," continued the imperturbableItalian.
Miss Campbell was tying on her blue veil ready to leave the instant theyhad swallowed their coffee.
"Have the bags carried down," she cried, "and strapped on the car."
"The Signora willa be pleased with breakfast. It is Americana breakfast,made specialmente for Signora and the young ladies--the chickenbroila--Signora."
"The man will drive me mad," cried Miss Campbell rushing down stairswith veils flying, her hand bag in one hand, her coat in the other,followed by the girls who had been struggling to pack their suitcasesand get away as soon as possible.
At the bottom of the steps, they met Lucia, smiling and fresh in spiteof her dissipations of the day before.
"The ladies will please enter for breakfast," she said.
Back of them came Pasquale without any suitcase at all.
"On the terrace, Signora. Ah, the terrace, it is bella, bella, in themorning. Sacremen--you will see her on a clear day. Ah, madama, Ientreata you to step forth on the terrace."
Pasquale and Lucia stood in the most theatrical attitudes imaginable,their hands outstretched, exactly like two opera singers when they hadreached the closing notes of a grand duetto.
"Ah, Signora, thisa gooda breakfast,--chicken broila--questa bellavista--"
"Good heavens, the man is mad. They are both perfectly mad," cried poorMiss Campbell rushing to the terrace and almost into the arms of--Oh,horror of horrors! Oh, unspeakable disgrace! John James Stone, whoactually held her imprisoned in his iron embrace and looked down intoher face with an expression so tender that Nancy and Mary were obligedto retire into the hall for a moment where they fell on each other'snecks and laughed immoderately.
"Release me, sir! How dare you?" cried the excited little woman, lookingaround to see if anyone else had been a witness of this disgracefulencounter.
There was, indeed, quite an audience. Daniel Moore, leaning on a cane,his other arm clasped in Evelyn's, stood close at hand; also the fourMotor Maids, Pasquale chuckling with joy and Lucia smiling broadly.
"Evelyn, my dear, you have given us such a fright. Where did you comefrom," exclaimed Miss Campbell, almost in hysterics. "And Daniel Moore,too."
"It's a good ending to what might have been a very tragic affair, MissCampbell," replied Daniel. "Evelyn was kidnapped last night by EbenezerStone but as luck would have it, Mr. Stone and I were making the tripfrom Sacramento to catch you here and we met them on the road lastnight. They had an accident, in fact, and stopped our car for assistancewithout knowing whom we were. Unfortunately, I couldn't fight thatscoundrel, Ebenezer," he continued, clenching his fist and growing verywhite.
"Have you been ill?"
"He has been very ill," put in Evelyn, clasping his arm and leaning onhim.
"Too ill even to know that Evelyn was not married," went on Daniel."That little wretch of a mare when she dragged me around by my leg,injured my hip. I owe my life to Miss Billie, and I ought to be thankfulthat the injury was no worse. The worry about Evelyn and the arrest inSalt Lake City precipitated matters, I suppose and I have been in thehospital ever since, until the day before yesterday. It didn't seem tomatter much with Evelyn married to that--to that----"
"Never mind," said Evelyn soothingly. "Father and I never really didlike him. Did we father?"
This was rather straining a point but Mr. John James Stone was quiteequal to it. The truth is the stony old Mormon had suffered a change ofheart.
"Ebenezer is a cold blooded scoundrel," he observed in a tone ofconviction which brought covert smiles even to the lips of his longsuffering daughter.
"But, please, tell me quickly how you and Mr. Stone came to meet?"demanded Miss Campbell, the answer of which question they were allburning to know.
Mr. Stone cast upon the charming little spinster a glance so meltingthat it was impossible for the Motor Maids to keep from laughing.
"They have you to thank for that, Miss Campbell," replied the big man."I am completely won over, I assure you, madam. A charming woman is themost powerful influence in the world."
An expression of amazement passed over the spinster's face, followedalmost immediately by one of intense amusement and embarrassment. Therewas a strained silence. Then Pasquale, clearing his throat several timessignificantly, announced breakfast.
In spite of the fatigue and nervous strain of the past six hours,everybody was hungry and Evelyn Stone was the most joyous member of thebreakfast party. The shadow which had darkened her entire young life wasdispelled. She had never dreamed that hidden deep somewhere behind thatgranite exterior her father had a real flesh and blood heart.
It was Miss Campbell who had discovered it and it was Miss Campbell whomust now pay the penalty of her discovery.
No one ever knew exactly what conversation passed between her and theMormon gentleman on the terrace that morning after breakfast. But theyguessed that the little spinster had received a declaration of love andan offer of marriage. At any rate, half an hour later, she shut herselfinto her room and refused to appear again until dinner time.
As for Mr. Stone, he took an automobile ride with the Motor Maids andmade himself most agreeable. On the way home, he bought everything hecould find in the way of fruit and flowers for the little lady who hadtouched his heart. He was as frankly and openly in love as a boy, andlove which comes to those past fifty is of an extremely poignant nature.
But Miss Campbell had no intention of wedding even a reformed Mormon andsettling in Salt Lake City.
"Never again will I enter that hateful place except in chains as aprisoner," she had repeated many times, and her old lover, whose youthhad been renewed like the eagle's and whose character had been strangelytransformed, entreated in vain.
CHAPTER XXIV.--SAN FRANCISCO AT LAST.
It was just at sunset, a time pre-arranged by Mr. Stone, who now thoughtof everything, when the two automobiles paused on the brow of a hillnear Berkeley.
Spread before them was the glorious panorama of San Francisco Bay. SanFrancisco, at one end of the peninsula, was shimmering gold in the lastrays of the sun as it sank in the ocean at th
e very entrance of theGolden Gate. The whole scene might have been painted with a brush dippedin gold so glorified were the surrounding hills and bay by the sun'srays.
It was all very much like a dream, unreal and strange as they hastenedup and down the hilly streets of San Francisco and finally came to astop at the St. Francis Hotel.
It was the end of their trip across the continent; the end of the summerand the beginning of happiness for their new friends. To-morrow therewould be a wedding at which four Motor Maids would act as bridesmaidsand Mr. John James Stone would give his daughter to Daniel Moore with areal fatherly blessing.
The bridegroom gave a dinner that night to the bridal party. It was agrand affair, a real dinner party. The girls wore their very bestdresses and carried bunches of violets sent by that abject andthoughtful lover, Mr. Stone.
During the dinner which was given in one of the pretty private diningrooms of the St. Francis, John James Stone rose in his might and made aspeech, just as if they were the most distinguished company in theworld.
"Miss Campbell," he said, and that lady stirred uneasily under the fireof his ardent black eyes, "and young ladies, I feel that I cannot letthis delightful evening slip by without taking the opportunity to thankyou for a gift which I count as the most precious I have ever receivedin my whole life."
He spoke with the tone of an orator, his voice, vibrating and deep,rising and falling like the sound of the waves on the seashore, and hiswords were somewhat Biblical, after the manner of the Mormonspeechmaker.
"All my life I have been as one walking in the dark," he continued."Even my daughter was a shadow to me. Only one thing was real. Money!And now I have lost a great deal of my money. It has slipped from myfingers into the hands of another man, who, thank God, has not forcedhimself into my family and never will. But I have received something inplace of my fortune which is now and always will be of infinitely morevalue to me than money. The darkness is lifted and I stand in the light.I feel as one who has been groping in the night and have now turned myface toward the rising sun. You have made me the gift of sight. Thisgracious little lady," he continued, turning to Miss Campbell, "whosespirit and courage first aroused my admiration and then a deeperfeeling," he placed his hand on his heart with the most unblushingcandor. It was difficult for the other members of the party to hidetheir smiles. "This elegant little lady although she will not consent tomake me the happiest of mortals has at least succeeded in inspiring mewith a new content.
"Will she therefore and the young Motor Maids--" he paused and smiled atthis expression which he had caught from the girls--"do me the honor toaccept a slight token of my gratitude?"
The Mormon produced a package which he had been concealing under hischair. That the souvenirs had been planned long beforehand was evident,for the boxes bore the stamp of Salt Lake City.
The souvenirs were jewels and very beautiful. For each of the MotorMaids was a ring set with a deep yellow topaz, the setting and stonerepresenting the "All-Seeing Eye," the Mormon symbol carved on theTemple and in many other places in Salt Lake City. This was anespecially appropriate choice since it might also stand for the Comet'sall-seeing eye which had guided them safely across two thousand miles.
Miss Campbell's present was a beautiful topaz brooch and representednothing except the deep regard of the giver.
They were obliged to accept these gifts, strange as it seemed to them tobe receiving presents from one so recently a bitter enemy. But then,like Jim Bowles, Mr. Stone was a reformed character. Love hadtransformed his whole being.
Only two more incidents remain to be told before this history comes toan end. One of them concerns Peter Van Vechten, who, the girls learnedat the hotel, never reached Chicago, although he succeeded in flyingpast the Rocky Mountains. But no else in the race reached the goal andhe proceeded farther than any of the other aeroplanists. The young manwas the grandson and only heir of one of the richest men in America.
"And we took him for a thief," said Billie, sadly.
"I never did," said Mary.
The other occurrence will show that life is full of coincidences andthat if our memories are good and our impulses kind, we can always helpsomeone.
The morning of the wedding Elinor was waiting for her friends at awindow at one end of the hotel corridor. Someone else was waiting therealso, but the two had not even glanced at each other so engrossed werethey in their own thoughts. A door opened and a voice called:
"Elinor."
"Yes?" called two voices at once and two girls turned and faced eachother.
"I beg your pardon," they both began at the same moment and pausedlaughing.
"My name is Elinor," began one.
"So is mine," finished the other.
Then they laughed again, politely and pleasantly.
"Do you know. I think we look very much alike," began the strange girl.Her voice was English. "I am older than you, many years, I shouldimagine, but still we have the same profile."
The two girls sat down on the window sill and began to talk.
"Are you visiting in San Francisco?" began Elinor Butler.
"No, not visiting, only--well, we have been traveling--we have been to agreat many ranches through the West----"
Our Elinor gave the new Elinor a long, careful scrutiny.
"Her name is Elinor. She looks like you----" a voice said in her mind.
"Are you not looking for a friend?" she asked presently.
"But, how did you guess?" exclaimed the other girl, clasping her handswith great agitation.
"And his name is Algernon de Willoughby Blackstone Winston?"
"Yes, yes," cried the English Elinor. "How did you know?"
"I know because I reminded him of you," answered Elinor Butler, "andbecause my name is Elinor."
Then she gave the English girl the address of Steptoe Lodge.
"It is in answer to my prayers--my meeting you," cried the older girl."Only it has taken such a long time. If only one has the patience towait; but it has been very hard. Once we heard of his being in Canada,but when we went to fetch him, his father and I, he had gone and left notrace whatever. We were told that there are a great many youngEnglishmen on ranches in the Western States and we have been to--Oh,hundreds of places. Lord Blackstone has had detectives looking for him.But you see he changed his name and we have had no success."
"You will be certain to find him this time," said Elinor, "only when yougo to fetch him, don't tell him beforehand. Take him by surprise."
The two girls looked into each other's eyes, and smiled and pressedhands and--kissed.
"With all my heart I thank you a thousand times," said the EnglishElinor.
"I hope you will be very, very happy," said the American Elinor.
Once more they kissed, as dear friends about to be separated for a longtime, and Elinor Butler hurried to join her friends at the elevator. Onthe way, she caught a glimpse through an open door of a splendid lookingold man leaning on a cane. He was very tall with the slight stoop of anold soldier, and as he glanced in her face, she saw that his eyes werethe same as those of the cowboy's who had sat out a dance with her onenight in the courtyard of Steptoe Lodge.
At last the story is done. The journey across the continent has not beenan unprofitable one. Through the kindly efforts of Miss Helen Campbelland the Motor Maids, lovers long separated have been reunited; hearts ofstone melted into flesh and blood, and bad men transformed into good.
Before they left San Francisco, our young girls on a lark one dayconsulted a crystal gazer. She was only a common fortune teller butsometimes these wandering Gipsy souls make correct guesses.
"In the crystal," she said, "I see a great stretch of water. There is aship on it. The waves are rough. I see foreign countries. You will takea long journey across the ocean. I see a flash of red like a shootingstar----"
"The Comet," laughed Billie.
Perhaps, like the Motor Maids, you will be skeptical of the crystalgazer's predictions concerning their future.
But she spoke the truth asyou will find for yourself if you read the next volume of this series.In the new book the Motor Maids will wander in their Comet through theBritish Isles and there many interesting and delightful adventures awaitthem.
As the story ends, we find them gathered together in Miss Campbell'ssitting room at the Hotel St. Francis. On the next day they are to takethe train for home. Mr. Stone is with them, and they are listeningsilently to a song Elinor is singing at the piano. It is a Gipsy song,and very appropriate. Our four girls after their summer wanderings haveturned into Gipsy lasses, brown skinned clear-eyed daughters of theZingari.
As they listen to the thrum of the accompaniment, the walls of thelittle parlor fade away and once more they find themselves around thecamp fire under the stars on the plains.
Here is the song Elinor sang to her friends.
"'The white moth to the closing vine, The bee to the open clover, And the Gipsy blood to the Gipsy blood Ever the wide world over.
"'Ever the wide world over, lass, Ever the trail held true, Over the world and under the world And back at the last to you.
"'Out of the dark of the gorgio camp, Out of the grime and the gray, (Morning waits at the end of the world), Gipsy, come away.
"'The wild hawk to the wind-swept sky, The deer to the wholesome wold, And the heart of a man to the heart of a maid, As it was in the days of old.
"'The heart of a man to the heart of a maid--Light of my tents, be fleet! Morning waits at the end of the world, And the world is all at our feet!'"
THE END
Motor Maids Series
Wholesome Stories of Adventure
By KATHERINE STOKES.
Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid
THE MOTOR MAIDS' SCHOOL DAYS.
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Billie Campbell was just the type of a straightforward, athletic girl tobe successful as a practical Motor Maid. She took her car, as she didher class-mates, to her heart, and many a grand good time did they haveall together. The road over which she ran her red machine had many anunexpected turning,--now it led her into peculiar danger; now intocontact with strange travelers; and again into experiences by fire andwater. But, best of all, "The Comet" never failed its brave girl owner.
THE MOTOR MAIDS BY PALM AND PINE.
Wherever the Motor Maids went there were lively times, for these werecompanionable girls who looked upon the world as a vastly interestingplace full of unique adventures--and so, of course, they found them.
THE MOTOR MAIDS ACROSS THE CONTINENT.
It is always interesting to travel, and it is wonderfully entertainingto see old scenes through fresh eyes. It is that privilege, therefore,that makes it worth while to join the Motor Maids in their first'cross-country run.
THE MOTOR MAIDS BY ROSE, SHAMROCK AND HEATHER.
South and West had the Motor Maids motored, nor could their education bytravel have been more wisely begun. But now a speaking acquaintance withtheir own country enriched their anticipation of an introduction to theBritish Isles. How they made their polite American bow and how they werereceived on the other side is a tale of interest and inspiration.
Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price.
HURST & COMPANY--Publishers--NEW YORK
GIRL AVIATORS SERIES
Clean Aviation Stories
By MARGARET BURNHAM.
Cloth Bound. Illustrated. Price, 50c. per vol., postpaid
THE GIRL AVIATORS AND THE PHANTOM AIRSHIP.
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Roy Prescott was fortunate in having a sister so clever and devoted tohim and his interests that they could share work and play with mutualpleasure and to mutual advantage. This proved especially true inrelation to the manufacture and manipulation of their aeroplane, andPeggy won well deserved fame for her skill and good sense as an aviator.There were many stumbling-blocks in their terrestial path, but theysoared above them all to ultimate success.
THE GIRL AVIATORS ON GOLDEN WINGS.
That there is a peculiar fascination about aviation that wins and holdsgirl enthusiasts as well as boys is proved by this tale. On golden wingsthe girl aviators rose for many an exciting flight, and met strange andunexpected experiences.
THE GIRL AVIATORS' SKY CRUISE.
To most girls a coaching or yachting trip is an adventure. How much moreperilous an adventure a "sky cruise" might be is suggested by the titleand proved by the story itself.
THE GIRL AVIATORS' MOTOR BUTTERFLY.
The delicacy of flight suggested by the word "butterfly," the mechanicalpower implied by "motor," the ability to control assured in the title"aviator," all combined with the personality and enthusiasm of girlsthemselves, make this story one for any girl or other reader "to gocrazy over."
Any volume sent postpaid upon receipt of price.
HURST & COMPANY--Publishers--NEW YORK
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