asked Barbara.
The question was eminently practical. It came within the scope of thesenator's understanding. After all, he was not to be cast into outerdarkness. His smile was complacent. He answered airily:
"Anything you like," he said; "a million dollars?"
The fingers closed upon his shoulders. The eyes, still frightened, stillsearched his in appeal.
"Then for my wedding-present," said the girl, "I want you to take thatmillion dollars and send an expedition to the Amazon. And I will choosethe men. Men unafraid; men not afraid of fever or sudden death; notafraid to tell the truth--even to _you_. And all the world will know.And they--I mean _you_--will set those people free!"
Senator Barnes received the directors with an embarrassment which heconcealed under a manner of just indignation.
"My mind is made up," he told them. "Existing conditions cannotcontinue. And to that end, at my own expense, I am sending an expeditionacross South America. It will investigate, punish, and establishreforms. I suggest, on account of this damned heat, we do now adjourn."
That night, over on Long Island, Carroll told his wife all, or nearlyall. He did not tell her about the automatic pistol. And together ontiptoe they crept to the nursery and looked down at their sleepingchildren. When she rose from her knees the mother said, "But how can Ithank him?"
By "him" she meant the Young Man of Wall Street.
"You never can thank him," said Carroll; "that's the worst of it."
But after a long silence the mother said: "I will send him a photographof the children. Do you think he will understand?"
Down at Seabright, Hastings and his wife walked in the sunken garden.The moon was so bright that the roses still held their color.
"I would like to thank him," said the young wife. She meant the YoungMan of Wall Street. "But for him we would have lost _this_."
Her eyes caressed the garden, the fruit-trees, the house with wide,hospitable verandas. "To-morrow I will send him some of these roses,"said the young wife. "Will he understand that they mean our home?"
At a scandalously late hour, in a scandalous spirit of independence,Champ Thorne and Barbara were driving around Central Park in a taxicab.
"How strangely the Lord moves, his wonders to perform," misquotedBarbara. "Had not the Young Man of Wall Street saved Mr. Hastings, Mr.Hastings could not have raised your salary; you would not have asked meto marry you, and had you not asked me to marry you, father would nothave given me a wedding-present, and----"
"And," said Champ, taking up the tale, "thousands of slaves would stillbe buried in the jungles, hidden away from their wives and children, andthe light of the sun and their fellow men. They still would be dying offever, starvation, tortures."
He took her hand in both of his and held her finger-tips against hislips.
"And they will never know," he whispered, "when their freedom comes,that they owe it all to _you_."
* * * * *
On Hunter's Island Jimmie Reeder and his bunkie, Sam Sturges, each onhis canvas cot, tossed and twisted. The heat, the moonlight, and themosquitoes would not let them even think of sleep.
"That was bully," said Jimmie, "what you did to-day about saving thatdog. If it hadn't been for you he'd ha' drownded."
"He would _not_!" said Sammy with punctilious regard for the truth; "itwasn't deep enough."
"Well, the scout-master ought to know," argued Jimmie; "he said it wasthe best 'one good turn' of the day!"
Modestly Sam shifted the limelight so that it fell upon his bunkie.
"I'll bet," he declared loyally, "_your_ 'one good turn' was a betterone!"
Jimmie yawned, and then laughed scornfully.
"Me," he scoffed, "I didn't do nothing. I sent my sister to themovies."
* * * * *
+-------------------------------------------------------------+|Transcriber's note: || ||Unusual spellings appearing in the original text have been ||retained. |+-------------------------------------------------------------+
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