The Avalanche - Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (free ebook reader for ipad .TXT) 📗
- Author: Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
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"How Would You Like This For The Touch Of Pink!" He Took The Immense Ruby
From His Pocket And Tossed It Into Her Lap.
For A Moment She Stared At It With Expanding Eyes, Then Gave A
Little Shriek Of Rapture And Flung Herself Into His Arms, The Child
He Had Married.
"Is It True? But True? Shall I Wear This Wonderful Thing? The Women Will
Die Of Jealousy. I Shall Feel Like An Empress--But More, More, I Shall
Wear This Lovely Thing--I, I, Helene Ruyler, Born Perrin, Who Never Had A
Franc In Her Pocket In Rouen! Price! Have You Changed Your Mind--But No!
I Cannot Believe It."
That Was It Then! He Watched Her Mobile Face Sharply. It Expressed
Nothing But The Excited Rapture Of A Very Young Woman Over A Magnificent
Toy. There Was None Of The Morbid Feverish Passion He Had Dreadfully
Anticipated. His Spirits Felt Lighter, Although He Sighed That A Bauble,
Even If It Were One Of The Finest Of Its Kind In The World, Should Have
Projected Its Sinister Shadow Between Them. It Had A Wicked History. But
Helene Saw No Shadows. She Held It Up To The Light, Peered Into It As It
Lay Half Concealed In The Cup Of Her Slender White Hands, Fondled It
Against Her Cheek, Hung The Chain About Her Neck.
"How I Have Dreamed Of It," She Murmured. "How Did You Come To Change
Your Mind?"
"I Thought It A Pity Such A Fine Jewel Should Live Forever In A Safe; And
It Will Become You Above All Women. Nature Must Have Had You In Her Eye
When She Designed The Ruby. I Had A Sudden Vision ... And Made Up My Mind
That You Should Wear It The First Time I Was Able To Take You To A Party.
I Must Keep The Letter Of My Promise."
"And I Can Only Wear It When You Are With Me?"
"I Am Afraid So."
"I'm You, If There Is Anything In The Marriage Ceremony." Then She Kissed
Him Impulsively. "But I Won't Be A Little Pig. And I Can Tell Everybody
Between Now And The Thornton Fete That I Am Going To Wear It, And I Can
Think And Dream Of My Triumph Meanwhile. But Why Didn't You Let Me Know
You Were Down? It Is Sunday, Our Only Day. I Overslept Shockingly. I
Didn't Get Home Till Two."
"Two? Do You Dance Until Two Every Night?"
"What Else? They Lead Such A Purposeless Life Out Here. We Sometimes Have
Classes--But They Don't Last Long. I Have Almost Forgotten That I Once
Had A Serious Mind. But What Would You? It Is Either Society Or Suffrage.
I Won't Be As Serious As That Yet. I Mean To Be Young--But Young! For
Five More Years. Then I Shall Become A 'Leader,' Or Vote For The
President, Or Ride On A Float In A Suffrage Parade Dressed As The Goddess
Of Liberty, With My Hair Down."
He Laughed, More And More Relieved. "Yes, Please Remain Young Until You
Are Twenty-Five. By That Time I Hope The World Will Have Adjusted Itself
And I Shall Have The Leisure To Companion You. Meanwhile, Be A Child. It
Is Very Refreshing To Me. Come. I Must Lock This Thing Up. I Have An
Interview Here With Spaulding In About Ten Minutes."
She Gave It Up Reluctantly, Kissing It Much As She Had Kissed Him During
Their Engagement; Warm, Lingering, But Almost Impersonal Kisses. The Ruby
Seemed Miraculously To Have Restored Her Beaten Youth.
She Sat On The Edge Of A Chair As He Opened The Safe And Placed The Jewel
In Its Box And Drawer.
"There Is One Other Thing I Wanted To Ask," He Said As He Rose. "Is Your
Allowance Sufficient? It Has Sometimes Occurred To Me That You Wanted
More--For Some Feminine Extravagance."
The Light Went Out Of Her Face. He Wondered Whimsically If He Had Locked
It In With The Ruby, And Once More He Was Conscious That Something
Intangible Floated Between Them. But She Looked At Him Squarely With Her
Shadowed Eyes.
"Oh, One Could Spend Any Amount, Of Course, But I Really Have
Quite Enough."
"You Shall Have Double Your Present Allowance When These Cursed Times
Improve. And I Have Always Intended To Settle A Couple Of Hundred
Thousand On You--A Quarter Of A Million--As Soon As I Could Realize
Without Loss On Certain Investments. But One Day I Want You To Be Quite
Independent."
Her Eyes Had Opened Very Wide. "A Quarter Of A Million? And It Would Be
All My Own? I Could Do Anything With It I Liked?"
"Well--I Think I Should Put It In Trust. I Haven't Much Faith In The
Resistance Of Your Sex To Tempting Investments Promising A High Rate Of
Interest."
"I Have Heard You Say That When Rich Men Die The Amount Of Worthless
Stock Found In Their Safe Deposit Boxes Passes Belief."
"Quite True. But That Is Hardly An Argument In Favor Of Trusting An Even
More Inexperienced Sex With Large Sums Of Money."
She Laughed, But Less Naturally Than When He Had Been Seized With An
Unwonted Spasm Of Jealousy. "You Will Always Get The Best Of Me In An
Argument," She Said With Her Exquisite Politeness. "Really, I Think I
Love Being Wholly Dependent Upon You. Here Comes Your Detective. What
A Bore. But At Least We Lunch Together If We Do Have Company. And
Thank You, Thank You A Thousand Times For Promising I Shall Wear The
Ruby At Last."
She Slipped Her Hand Into His For A Second, Then Left The Room, Smiling
Over Her Shoulder, As The Locally Celebrated "Jake" Spaulding Entered.
Both Ruyler And His General Manager Had Thought It Best To Have Their
Cashier Watched. There Were Rumors Of Gambling And Other Road House
Diversions, And They Proposed To Save Their Man To The Firm, If Possible;
If Not, To Discharge Him Before He Followed The Usual Course And Involved
Ruyler And Sons In The Loss Of Thousands They Could Ill Afford To Spare.
Chapter 3
I
On The Following Day Ruyler, Who Had Looked Upon The Whirlwind Of Passion
That Had Swept Him Into A Romantic And Unworldly Marriage, As Likely To
Remain The One Brief Drama Of His Prosaic Business Man's Life, Began
Dimly To Apprehend That He Was Hovering On The Edge Of A Sinister And
Complicated Drama Whose End He Could As Little Foresee As He Could Escape
From The Hand Of Fate That Was Pushing Him Inexorably Forward. When Fate
Suddenly Begins To Take A Dramatic Interest In A Man Whose Course Has Run
Like A Yacht Before A Strong Breeze, She Precipitates Him Toward One Half
Crisis After Another In Order To Confuse His Mental Powers And Render Him
Wholly A Puppet For The Final Act. These Little Earth Histrionics Are
Arranged No Doubt For The Weary Gods, Who Hardly Brook A Mere Mortal
Rising Triumphantly Above The Malignant Moods Of The Master Playwright.
He Lunched At The Pacific Union Club And Caught The Down-Town California
Street Cable Car As It Passed, Finding His Favorite Seat On The Left Side
Of The "Dummy" Unoccupied. He Was Thinking Of Helene, A Little
Disappointed, But On The Whole Vastly Relieved, Congratulating Himself
That, No Longer Haunted, He Could Give His Mind Wholly To The Important
Question Of The Merger He Contemplated With A Rival House That Had Limped
Along Since The Disaster, But Had At Last Manifested Its Willingness To
Accept The Offer Of Ruyler And Sons.
It Was A Moment Before He Realized That His Mother-In-Law Occupied The
Front Seat Across The Narrow Space, And Even Before He Recognized That
Large Bulk, He Had Registered Something Rigid And Tense In Its Muscles;
Strained In Its Attitude. When He Raised His Eyes To The Face He Found
Himself Looking At The Right Cheek Instead Of The Left, And It Was
Pervaded By A Sickly Green Tint Quite Unlike Madame Delano's Florid
Color. She Was Listening To A Man Who Sat Just Behind Her On The Long
Seat That Ran The Length Of The Dummy. Although The Day Was Clear, There
Was Still A Sharp Wind And No One Else Sat Outside.
Ruyler Knew The Man By Sight. Before The Fire He Had Owned Some Of The
Most Disreputable Houses In The District The Car Would Pass On Its Way To
The Terminus. The Buildings Were Uninsured, And He Had Made His Living
Since As A Detective. Even His Political Breed Had Gone Out Of Power In
The New San Francisco, But He Was Well Equipped For A Certain Type Of
Detective Work. He Had A Remarkable Memory For Faces And Could Pierce Any
Disguise, He Was As Persistent As A Ferret, And His Knowledge Of The
Underworld Of San Francisco Was Illimitable. But His Chief Assets Were
That He Looked So Little Like A Detective, And That, So Secretive Were
His Methods, His Calling Was Practically Unknown. He Had Set Up A Cheap
Restaurant With A Gambling Room Behind At Which The Police Winked,
Although Pretending To Raid Him Now And Again. He Was A Large Soft Man
With Pendulous Cheeks Streaked With Red, A Predatory Nose, And A Black
Overhanging Mustache. His Name Was 'Gene Bisbee, And There Was A
Tradition That In His Younger Days He Had Been Handsome, And Irresistible
To The Women Who Had Made His Fortune.
Ruyler Was Absently Wondering What His Haughty Mother-In-Law Could Have
To Say To Such A Man When To His Amazement Bisbee Planted His Elbow In
The Pillow Of Flesh Just Below Madame Delano's Neck, And Said Easily:
"Oh, Come Off, Marie. I'd Know You If You Were Twenty Years Older And
Fifty Pounds Heavier--And That's Going Some. Bimmer And Two Or Three
Others Are Not So Sure--Won't Bet On It--For Twenty Years, And, Let Me
See--You Weighed About A Hundred And Thirty-Five--Perfect Figger--In The
Old Days. Must Weigh Two Seventy-Five Now. That Makes One Forty-Five
Pounds Extra. Well, That And Time, And White Hair, Would Change Pretty
Near Any Woman, Particularly One With Small Features. You Look A Real Old
Lady, And You Can't Be Mor'n Forty-Five. How Did You Manage The White
Hair? Bleach?"
Ruyler Felt His Heart Turn Over. The Frozen Blood Pounded In His Brain
And Distended His Own Muscles, His Mouth Unclosed To Let His Breath
Escape. Then He Became Aware That The Woman Had Recovered Herself And
Moved Forward, Displacing The Familiar Elbow. She Turned Imperiously To
The Motorman.
"Stop At The Corner," She Said. "And If This Man Attempts To Follow Me
Please Send Back A Policeman. He Is Intoxicated."
The Car Stopped At The Corner Of The Street Opposite The Site Of The
Old Saint Mary's Cathedral, A Street Where Once Had Been That Row Of
Small And Evil Cottages Where French Women, Painted, Scantily Dressed
In A Travesty Of The Evening Gown, Called To The Passer-By Through The
Slats Of Old-Fashioned Green Shutters. That Had Been Before Ruyler's
Day, But He Knew The History Of The Neighborhood, And This Man's
Interest In It. He Was Not Surprised To Hear Bisbee Laugh Aloud As
Madame Delano, Who Stepped Off The Car With Astonishing Agility,
Waddled Down The Now Respectable Street. But She Held Her Head
Majestically And Did Not Look Back.
Ruyler Squared His Back Lest The Man, Glancing Over, Recognize Him. That
Would Be More Than He Could Bear. As The Car Reached Front Street He
Sprang From The Dummy And Walked Rapidly North To Ruyler And Sons. He
Locked Himself In His Private Office, Dismissing His Stenographer With
The Excuse That He Had Important Business To Think Out And Must Not Be
Disturbed.
Ii
But Business Was Forgotten. He Was As Nearly In A State Of Panic As Was
Possible For A Man Of His Inheritance And Ordered Life. He Belonged To
That Class Of New Yorker That Looked With Cold Disgust Upon The Women Of
Commerce. So Far As He Knew He Had Never Exchanged A Word With One Of
Them, And Had Often Listened With Impatience To The Reminiscences Of His
San Francisco Friends, Now Married And At Least Intermittently Decent, Of
The Famous Ladies Who Once Had Reigned In The Gay Night Life Of San
Francisco.
And
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