A KNIGHT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY - Edward Payson Roe (best color ebook reader TXT) 📗

Thrust Out Sidewise, He Fixed

His Right Eye On His Employer With The Expression Of Sardonic

Contemplation, And Then Delivered himself As Follows:

 

 

 

"The Takin' Up A Few Minits O' Yer Toime Is A Moighty Tirrible Waste,

But The Sindin' Of A Human Bain To The Divil Is No Waste A' Tall A'

Tall: That'S The Way Ye Rason, Is It? I Allers Heerd That Yer In'Ards

Were Made O' Cast-Iron, And I Can Belave--"

 

 

 

"Leave This Office," Thundered mr. Arnot.

 

 

 

"Begorry, Ye Can'T Put A Man In jail For Spakin' His Moind, Nor For

Spakin' The Truth. If Ye Had Given Me A Chance I'D Been Civil And

Obadient The Rist O' Me Days. But Whin Ye Act To'Ard A Man As If He Was

A Lump O' Dirt That Ye Can Kick Out O' The Way, And Go On, Ye'Ll Foind

That The Lump O' Dirt Will Lave Some Marks On Yer Nice Clothes. I Tell

Ye Till Yer Flinty Ould Face That Ye'R A Hard-Hearted riprobate That 'Ud

Grind A Poor Divil To Paces As Soon As Any Mash-Shine In all Yer Big

Factories. Ye'Ll See The Day Whin Ye'Ll Be Under Somebody'S Heel

Yerself, Bad Luck To Yez!"

 

 

 

Pat'S Irate Volubility Flowed in such A Torrent That Even Mr. Arnot

Could Not Check It Until He Saw Fit To Drop The Sluice-Gates Himself,

Which, With A Contemptuous Sniff, And An Expression Of Concentrated

Wormwood And Gall, He Now Did. Lifting His Battered hat A Little More

Toward The Perpendicular, He Went To The Cashier'S Desk, Obtained his

Money, And Then Jogged slowly And Aimlessly Down The Street, Leaving a

Wake Of Strange Oaths Behind Him.

 

 

 

Thus Mr. Arnot'S System Again Ground Out The Expected result; But The

Plague Of Humanity Was That It Would Not Endure The Grinding Process

With The Same Stolid, Inert Helplessness Of Other Raw Material. Though

He Had Had His Way In each Instance, He Grew More And More Dissatisfied

And Out Of Sorts. This Vituperation Of Himself Would Not Tend To Impress

His Employes With Awe, And Strike A Wholesome Fear In their Hearts. The

Culprits, Instead Of Slinking away Overwhelmed with Guilt And The Weight

Of His Displeasure, Had Acted and Spoken As If He Were A Grim Old

Tyrant; And He Had A Vague, Uncomfortable Feeling That His Clerks In

Their Hearts Sided with Them And Against Him. It Even Occurred to Him

That He Was Creating a Relation Between Himself And Those In his Service

Similar To That Existing Between Master And Slaves; And That, Instead Of

Forming a Community With Identical Interests, He Was On One Side And

They On The Other. But, With The Infatuation Of A Selfish Nature And

Imperious Will, He Muttered:

 

 

 

"Curse Them! I'Ll Make Them Move In my Grooves, Or Toss Them Out Of The

Way!" Then, Summoning His Confidential Clerk, He Said:

 

 

 

"You Know All About The Affair. You Will Oblige Me By Going To The

Office Of The Justice, And Stating The Case, With The Prisoner'S

Admissions. I Do Not Care To Appear Further In the Matter, Except By

Proxy, Unless It Is Necessary."

 

Chapter XII (A Memorable Meeting)

Mrs. Arnot Had Looked upon Haldane'S Degradation With Feelings Akin To

Disgust And Anger, But As Long, Sleepless Hours Passed, Her Thoughts

Grew More Gentle And Compassionate. She Was By Nature An Advocate Rather

Than A Judge. Not The Spirit Of The Disciples, That Would Call Down Fire

From Heaven, But The Spirit Of The Master, Who Sought To Lay His

Healing, Rescuing Hand On Every Lost Creature, Always Controlled her

Eventually. Human Desert Did Not Count As Much With Her As Human Need,

And Her Own Sorrows Had Made Her Heart Tender Toward The Sufferings Of

Others, Even Though Well Merited.

 

 

 

The Prospect That The Handsome Youth, The Son Of Her Old Friend, Would

Cast Himself Down To Perish In the Slough Of Dissipation, Was A Tragedy

That Wrung Her Heart With Grief; And When At Last She Fell Asleep It Was

With Tears Upon Her Face.

 

 

 

Forebodings Had Followed laura Also, Even Into Her Dreams, And At Last,

In A Frightful Vision, She Saw Her Uncle Placing a Giant On Guard Over

The House. Her Uncle Had Scarcely Disappeared before Haldane Tried to

Escape, But The Giant Raised his Mighty Club, As Large And Heavy As The

Mast Of A Ship, And Was About To Strike When She Awoke With A Violent

Start.

 

 

 

In Strange Unison With Her Dream She Still Heard Her Uncle'S Voice In

The Garden Below. She Sprang To The Window, Half Expecting To See The

Giant Also, Nor Was She Greatly Reassured on Observing an Unknown Man

Posted in the Summer-House And Left There. Mr. Arnot'S Mysterious

Action, And The Fact That He Was Out At That Early Hour, Added to The

Disquiet Of Mind Which The Events Of The Preceding Night Had Created.

 

 

 

Her Simple Home-Life Had Hitherto Flowed like A Placid Stream In sunny

Meadows, But Now It Seemed as If The Stream Were Entering a Forest Where

Dark And Ominous Shadows Were Thrown Across Its Surface. She Was Too

Womanly To Be Indifferent To The Fate Of Any Human Being. At The Same

Time She Was Still So Much Of A Child, And So Ignorant Of The World,

That Haldane'S Action, Even As She Understood It, Loomed up Before Her

Imagination As Something awful And Portentous Of Unknown Evils. She Was

Oppressed with A Feeling That A Crushing Blow Impended over Him. Now,

Almost As Vividly As In her Dream, She Still Saw The Giant'S Club Raised

High To Strike. If It Were Only In a Fairy Tale, Her Sensitive Spirit

Would Tremble At Such A Stroke, But Inasmuch As It Was Falling On One

Who Had Avowed passionate Love For Her, She Felt Almost As If She Must

Share In its Weight. The Idea Of Reciprocating any Feeling That

Resembled his Passion Had At First Been Absurd, And Now, In view Of What

He Had Shown Himself Capable, Seemed impossible; And Yet His Strongly

Expressed regard For Her Created a Sort Of Bond Between Them In spite Of

Herself. She Had Realized the Night Before That He Would Be Immediately

Dismissed and Sent Home In disgrace; But Her Dream, And The Glimpse She

Had Caught Of Her Uncle And The Observant Stranger, Who, As She Saw,

Still Maintained his Position, Suggested worse Consequences, Whose Very

Vagueness Made Them All The More Dreadful.

 

 

 

As It Was Still A Long Time Before The Breakfast Hour, She Again Sought

Her Couch, And After A While Fell Into A Troubled sleep, From Which She

Was Awakened by Her Aunt. Hastily Dressing, She Joined mrs. Arnot At A

Late Breakfast, And Soon Discovered that She Was Worried and Anxious As

Well As Herself.

 

 

 

"Has Mr. Haldane Gone Out?" She Asked.

 

 

 

"Yes; And What Perplexes Me Is That Two Strangers Followed him To The

Street So Rapidly That They Almost Seemed in pursuit."

 

 

 

Then Laura Related what She Had Seen, And Her Aunt'S Face Grew Pale And

Somewhat Rigid As She Recognized the Fact That Her Husband Was Carrying

Out Some Plan, Unknown To Her, Which Might Involve A Cruel Blow To Her

Friend, Mrs. Haldane, And An Overwhelming Disgrace To Egbert Haldane. At

The Same Time The Thought Flashed upon Her That The Young Man'S Offence

Might Be Graver Than She Had Supposed. But She Only Remarked quietly:

 

 

 

"I Will Go Down To The Office And See Your Uncle After Breakfast."

 

 

 

"Oh, Auntie, Please Let Me Go With You," Said Laura Nervously.

 

 

 

"I May Wish To See My Husband Alone," Replied mrs. Arnot Doubtfully,

Foreseeing a Possible Interview Which She Would Prefer Her Niece Should

Not Witness.

 

 

 

"I Will Wait For You In the Outer Office, Auntie, If You Will Only Let

Me Go. I Am So Unstrung That I Cannot Bear To Be Left In the House

Alone."

 

 

 

"Very Well, Then; We'Ll Go Together, And A Walk In the Open Air Will Do

Us Both Good."

 

 

 

As Mrs. Arnot Was Finishing Her Breakfast She Listlessly Took Up The

Morning "Courier," And With A Sudden Start Read The Heavy Head-Lines And

Paragraph Which Pat'S Unlucky Venture As A Reporter Had Occasioned.

 

 

 

"Come, Laura, Let Us Go At Once," Said She, Rising Hastily; And As Soon

As They Could Prepare Themselves For The Street They Started toward The

Central Part Of The City, Each Too Busy With Her Own Thoughts To Speak

Often, And Yet Each Having a Grateful Consciousness Of Unspoken Sympathy

And Companionship.

 

 

 

As They Passed down The Main Street They Saw A Noisy Crowd Coming Up The

Sidewalk Toward Them, And They Crossed over To Avoid It. But The

Approaching Throng Grew So Large And Boisterous That They Deemed it

Prudent To Enter The Open Door Of A Shop Until It Passed. Their Somewhat

Elevated position Gave Them A Commanding View, And A Policeman'S Uniform

At Once Indicated that It Was An Arrest That Had Drawn Together The

Loose Human Atoms That Are Always Drifting about The Streets. The

Prisoner Was Followed by A Retinue That Might Have Bowed the Head Of An

Old And Hardened offender With Shame--Rude, Idle, Half-Grown Boys, With

Their Morbid Interest In every Thing Tending To Excitement And Crime,

Seedy Loungers Drawn Away From Saloon Doors Where They Are As Surely To

Be Found As Certain Coarse Weeds In foul, Neglected corners--A Ragged,

Unkempt, Repulsive Jumble Of Humanity, That Filled the Street With

Gibes, Slang, And Profanity. Laura Was About To Retreat Into The Shop In

Utter Disgust, When Her Aunt Exclaimed in a Tone Of Sharp Distress:

 

 

 

"Merciful Heaven! There Is Egbert Haldane!"

 

 

 

With Something Like A Shock Of Terror She Recognized her Quondam Lover,

The Youth Who Had Stood At Her Side And Turned her Music. But As She Saw

Him Now There Appeared an Immeasurable Gulf Between Them; While Her Pity

For Him Was Profound, It Seemed as Helpless And Hopeless In his Behalf

As If He Were A Guilty Spirit That Was Being Dragged away To Final Doom.

 

 

 

Her Aunt'S Startled exclamation Caught The Young Man'S Attention, For It

Was A Voice That He Would Detect Among A Thousand, And He Turned his

Livid Face, With Its Agonized, Hunted look, Directly Toward Them.

 

 

 

As Their Eyes Met--As He Saw The One Of All The World That He Then Most

Dreaded to Meet, Laura Romeyn, Regarding Him With A Pale, Frightened

Face, As If He Were A Monster, A Wild Beast, Nay, Worse, A Common Thief

On His Way To Jail--He Stopped abruptly, And For A Second Seemed to

Meditate Some Desperate Act. But When He Saw The Rabble Closing On Him,

And Heard The Officers Growl In surly Tones, "Move On," A Sense Of

Helplessness As Well As Of Shame Overwhelmed him. He Shivered visibly,

Dashed his Hat Down Over His Eyes, And Strode On, Feeling at Last That

The Obscurity Of A Prison Cell Would Prove A Welcome Refuge.

 

 

 

But Mrs. Arnot Had Recognized the Intolerable Suffering and Humiliation

Stamped on The Young Man'S Features; She Had Seen The Fearful, Shrinking

Gaze At Herself And Laura, The Lurid Gleam Of Desperation, And Read

Correctly The Despairing Gesture By Which He Sought To Hide From Them,

The Rabble, And All The World, A Countenance From Which He Already Felt

That Shame Had Blotted all Trace Of Manhood.

 

 

 

Her Face Again Wore A Gray, Rigid Aspect, As If She Had Received a Wound

That Touched her Heart; And, Scarcely Waiting For The Miscellaneous

Horde To Pass, She Took Laura'S Arm, And Said Briefly And Almost

Sternly:

 

 

 

"Come."

 

 

 

Mr. Arnot'S Equanimity Was Again Destined to Be Disturbed. Until He Had

Commenced to Carry Out His Scheme Of Striking Fear Into The Hearts Of

His Employes, He Had Derived much Grim Satisfaction From Its

Contemplation. But Never Had A Severe And Unrelenting Policy Failed more

Signally, And A Partial Consciousness Of The Fact Annoyed him Like A

Constant Stinging Of Nettles Which He Could Not Brush Aside. When,

Therefore, His Wife Entered, He Greeted her With His Heaviest Frown, And

A Certain Twitching Of His Hands As He Fumbled among His Papers, Which

Showed that The Man Who At Times Seemed composed of Equal Parts Of Iron

And Lead Had