XXIX
To Arthur, half-way across the lake, considering just what he should sayto the trespassers, the sudden sight of the person whom of all personsin the world he least expected and most wanted to see was a staggeringphysical shock. He almost fell out of his canoe. And if he had done thathe might very likely have drowned, so paralyzing in effect were thosefirst moments of unbelievable joy and astonishment. Then she waved herhand to him and swiftly crossed the beach, and he began to paddle like amadman. When the canoe beached with sudden finality, Arthur simply madea flying leap to the shore and caught her in his arms.
Then he held her at arm's length, and if eyes could eat, these wouldhave been the last moments upon earth of a very lovely young woman.
Then a sort of horror of what he had done and of what he was doingseized him. His hands dropped to his sides and the pupils of his eyesbecame pointed with pain. But she said:
"It's all right, Arthur; don't look like that. My husband is dead."
"Dead?" said Arthur, his face once more joyous as an angel's. "Thank Godfor that!"
And why not thank God when some worthless, cruel man dies? And why notwrite the truth about him upon his tombstone instead of the conventionallies?
"But why didn't you write to me?" demanded Arthur.
"It had been such a long time since we saw each other. How did I knowthat you still cared?"
"But how could I stop caring--about you?"
"Couldn't you?"
"Why, I didn't even try," said Arthur. "I just gave it up as a bad job.But how, in the name of all that's good and blessed, do you happen to bein this particular place at this particular time? Did you, by anychance, come by way of the heavens in a 'sweet chariot'? I came to ejecttrespassers, and I find you!"
"And I came to spy on you, Arthur, and to find out if you still cared.And if you didn't, I was going to tie a stone round my neck and lie downin the lake. Of course, if I'm a trespasser----"
They had moved slowly away from the shore toward the tents. From one ofthese a languid, humorous voice that made Arthur start hailed them. Andthrough the fly of the tent was thrust a beautiful white hand and thehalf of a beautiful white arm.
"I can't come out, Arthur," said the voice; "but good-morning to you,and how's the family?"
"Of all people in the world," exclaimed Arthur; "my own beautifulmamma!" And he sprang to the extended hand and clasped it and kissed it.
"Your excellent stepfather," said the voice, "is out walking up anappetite for breakfast. I hope you will be very polite to him. If ithadn't been for him, Cecily would have stayed in London, where we foundher. He wormed her secret out of her and brought her to you as apeace-offering."
There was a deep emotion in Arthur's voice as he said:
"Then there shall always be peace between us."
The hand had been withdrawn from the light of day; but the languid,humorous voice continued to make sallies from the brown tent.
"We didn't want to be in the way; so, remembering this bit of property,we just chucked our Somali outfit into a ship, and here we are! I wasdreadfully shocked and grieved to hear that you were all quite broke andhad started an inn. In New York it is reported to be a great success, isit?"
"Why, I hope so," said Arthur; "I don't really know. Mary's head man.Maud keeps the books; the triplets keep getting into mischief, and Eve,so far as I know, keeps out. As for me, I had an occupation, but it'sgone now."
"What was your job, Arthur?"
"My job was to have my arm in imagination where it now is in reality."
"Cecily!" exclaimed the voice. "Is that boy hugging you publicly? Am Iabsolutely without influence upon manners even among my own tents?"
"Absolutely, Princess!" laughed Cecily.
"Then the quicker I come out of my tent the better! You'll stop tobreakfast, Arthur?"
"With pleasure, but shan't I get word to the girls? Of course, theywould feel it their duty to call upon you at once."
"I should hope so--as an older woman I should expect that much of them.But, princess or no princess, I refuse to stand on ceremony. In my mostexalted and aristocratic moments I can never forget that I am theirmother. So after breakfast _I_ shall call on _them_."
At this moment, very tall and thin, in gray Scotch tweeds, carrying avery high, foreheady head, there emerged from the forest PrinceOducalchi, leading by the hand his eight-year-old son, Andrea, andsinging in a touching, clear baritone something in Italian to the effectthat a certain "Mariana's roses were red and white, in the market-placeby the clock-tower!"
Andrea wore a bright-red sweater, carried a fine twenty-bore gun made bya famous London smith, and looked every inch a prince. He had all theDarling beauty in his face and all the Oducalchi pride of place andfame.
"Mr. Darling, I believe?" asked the prince, his left eyebrow slightlyacockbill. "I have not had the pleasure of seeing you for some years,but I perceive that you are by way of accepting my peace-offering."
"I was never just to you," said Arthur, a little pale and looking veryproud and handsome, "and you have been very good to my mamma and youhave been very good to me. Will you forgive me?"
"I cannot do that. There has been nothing to forgive. But I will shakehands with you with all the pleasure in the world--my dear Cecily, doeshe come up to the memories of him? Poor children, you have had a sadtime of it in this merry world! I may call you 'Arthur'? Arthur, this isyour half-brother, Andrea. I hope that you will take a little time toshow him the beautiful ways of your North Woods."
Arthur shook hands solemnly with the small boy, and their stanchly meteyes told of an immediate mutual confidence and liking.
"I've always wanted a brother in the worst way," said Arthur.
"So have I," piped Andrea.
And then Princess Oducalchi came out of her tent, and proved that,although her daughters resembled her in features, simplicity, and graceand dignity of carriage, they would never really vie with her in beautyuntil they had loved much, suffered much, borne children into the world,and remembered all that was good in things and forgotten all that wasevil.
"Mamma," said Arthur, "is worth travelling ten thousand miles to see anyday, isn't she?"
"On foot," said Prince Oducalchi, "through forests and morasses infestedwith robbers and wild beasts."
The princess blushed and became very shy and a little confused for a fewmoments. Then, with a happy laugh, she thrust one hand through herhusband's arm, the other through Arthur's, and urged them in thedirection of the tent, where breakfast was to be served.
Andrea followed, with Cecily holding him tightly by the hand.
"If we had not been buried in Somaliland at the time," said Arthur'smother, "we would never have let this 'Inn' happen. I'm sure you wereagainst it, Arthur?"
"Of course," said he simply. "But with sister Mary's mind made up, andthe rest backing her, what could a poor broken-hearted young man do? Andit has worked out better than I ever hoped. I don't mean in financialways. I, mean, the sides of it that I thought would be humiliating andobjectionable haven't been. Indeed, it's all been rather a lark, andMary insists upon telling me that we are a lot better off than we were.We charge people the most outrageous prices! It's enough to make a deadman blush in the dark. And the only complaint we ever had about it wasthat the prices weren't high enough. So Mary raised them."
"But," objected Prince Oducalchi, "you, and especially your sisters,cannot go on being innkeepers forever. You, I understand, forinstance"--and his fine eyes twinkled with mirth and kindness--"arethinking of getting married."
"I am," said Arthur, with so much conviction that even his Cecilylaughed at him.
"When I divorced your poor father," said the princess, "he happened tobe enjoying one of his terrifically rich moments. So, in lieu ofalimony, he turned over a really huge sum of money to me. When I marriedOducalchi and told him about the money, he made me put it in trust foryou children, to be turned over to you after your father's death. So yousee there was never any real need to st
art the Inn--but of course wewere in Africa and so forth and so on-- If you've finished your coffee,I'm dying to see the girls. And I'm dying to tell them about the money,and to send all the horrid guests packing!"
"Some of the horrid guests," said Arthur, "won't pack. Of course, thegirls think that I only study frogs and plants; but it's a libel. Whentwo and two are thrust into my hands, I put them together, just asreally sensible people do. You will find, mamma, a sad state of affairsat the camp."
Princess Oducalchi began to bristle with interest and alarm.
"Andrea," said his father, "have a canoe put overboard for me."
Andrea rose at once and left the breakfast tent.
"Now, Arthur," cried the princess, "tell me everything at once!"
"Gay," said Arthur, "is in love with a young Englishman, and knows thatshe is. He had to go home to be made an earl; but I think she isexpecting him back in a few days, because she is beginning to take aninterest in the things she really likes. Mary is in love with SamLangham, and he with her. They, however, don't know this. Phyllis hasforsaken her garden and become a dead-game sport. This she has done forthe sake of a red-headed Bostonian named Herring. Lee and a young fellownamed Renier are neglecting other people for each other. And our sedateMaud, formerly very much in the company of two fiery Southerners, is nowvery much in the company of one of them, Colonel Meredith, of SouthCarolina. The other Carolinian, Mr. Bob Jonstone, sprained his wrist theother day, and it seems that sister Eve was intended by an all-wiseProvidence to be a trained nurse. But in the case of those lastmentioned there are certain mysteries to be solved."
At this moment Andrea appeared at the tent opening and announced in hispiping child voice: "The canoe is overboard, papa."