The Witness, Grace Livingston Hill Lutz [the little red hen ebook .TXT] 📗
- Author: Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
Book online «The Witness, Grace Livingston Hill Lutz [the little red hen ebook .TXT] 📗». Author Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
Veranda, But Saw No Sign Of Any One In The Wind-Swept Darkness. The Moon
Had Risen Enough To Make A Bright Path Over The Sea, But The Earth As
Yet Was Wrapped In Shadow.
Down In The Field, Beyond The Outbuildings, He Heard A Whirring Sound,
And As He Looked A Dark Thing Rose Like A Great Bird High Above His
Head. The Bird Had Flown While The Flying Was Good. The Lady Might Face
Her Difficulties Alone!
Courtland Stood Below In The Courtyard, While The Moon Arose And Shed
Its Light Through The Sky, And The Great Black Bird Executed An
Evolution Or Two And Whirred Off To The North, Doubtless Headed For
Seattle Or Some Equally Inaccessible Point. A Great Helpless Wrath Was
Upon Him. Dolt That He Had Been To Let This Human Leper Escape From Him
Into The World Again! A Kind Of Divine Frenzy Seized Him To Capture Him
Yet And Put Him Where He Could Work No Further Harm To Other Willing
Victims. Yes, He Thought Of Gila As A Willing Victim! An Hour Before He
Would Have Called Her Just Plain Innocent Victim. Now Something In Her
Face, Her Attitude, As She Saw Him And Walked Away With Her Guilty
Partner, Had Made Him Know Her At Last For A Sinful Woman. The Shackles
Chapter 29 Pg 175Had Burst From His Heart And He Was Free From Her Allurements For
Evermore! He Understood Now Why She Had Bade Him Choose Between Herself
And Christ. She Had No Part Nor Lot In Things Pure And Holy. She Hated
Holiness Because She Herself Was Sinful!
It Was Midnight Before Gila And Tennelly Came Forth, Tennelly Grave And
Sad, Gila Tear-Stained And Subdued.
Courtland Was Sitting In The Big Chair Before The Fireplace, Though The
Fire Was Smoldering Low, And The Elevator-Boy Had Long Ago Retired To
Slumbers On A Bench In A Hidden Alcove.
Tennelly Came Straight To Courtland, As Though He Had Known He Would Be
Waiting There For Him. "I Am Going To Take Gila Down To Beechwood. You
Will Come With Us?" There Was Entreaty In The Tone, Though It Was Very
Quiet.
"Shall I Take My Car?"
"No. You Will Ride With Me On The Front Seat. Is There A Maid Here That
I Can Hire To Go With Us? We Can Bring Her Back In The Morning."
"I'll Find Out."
That Was A Silent Ride Through The Late Moonlight. The Men Spoke Only
When It Was Necessary To Keep The Right Road. Gila, Huddled Sullenly In
The Back Seat Beside A Dozing, Gray-Haired Chambermaid, Spoke Not At
All. And Who Shall Say What Were Her Thoughts As Hour After Hour She Sat
In Her Humiliation And Watched The Two Men Whom She Had Wronged So
Deeply? Perhaps Her Spirit Seethed The More Violently Within Her Silent,
Angry Body Because She Was Not Yet Sure Of Tennelly. Her Tears And
Explanations, Her Pleading Little Story Of Deceit And Innocence, Had Not
Wrought The Charm Upon Him That They Might Had Not Aquilar Been Known To
Him For The Past Two Weeks, A Stranger Who Had Been Hanging About Gila,
And Who Had Been Encouraged Against Her Lover's Oft-Repeated Warnings. A
Certain Mysterious Story Of An Unfaithful Wife Put An Air Of Romance
About Him That Tennelly Had Not Liked. Gila Had Never Seen Him So
Serious And Hard To Coax As He Had Been To-Night. He Had Spoken To Her
As If She Were A Naughty Child; Had Commanded Her To Go At Once To Her
Aunt In Beechwood And Remain There The Allotted Time. She Simply _Had_
To Obey Or Lose Him. There Were Things About Tennelly's Fortune And
Prospects That Made Him Most Desirable As A Husband. Moreover, She Felt
That Through Marrying Tennelly She Could The Better Hurt Courtland, The
Man Whom She Now Hated With All Her Heart.
They Reached Beechwood At Not Too Unearthly An Hour. The Aunt Was
Surprised, But Not Unduly So, For Gila Was A Girl Of Many Whims, And
That She Came At All To Quiet Beechwood To Rest Was Shock Enough For One
Day. She Asked No Troublesome Questions.
Tennelly Would Not Remain For Breakfast, Even, But Started On The Return
Trip At Once, With Only A Brief Stop At A Wayside Inn For Something To
Eat. The Elderly Attendant In The Back Seat Was Disappointed. She Had
No Chance To Get A Bit Of Gossip By The Way With Any One, But She Got
Chapter 29 Pg 176Good Pay For The Night's Ride, And Made Up Some Thrilling Stories To
Tell When She Got Back That Were Really Better Than The Truth Might Have
Turned Out To Be, So There Was Nothing Lost, After All.
It Was Tennelly Who Broke The Silence Between Them When He And Courtland
Were At Last Alone Together. "She Only Went For A Ride In His
Aeroplane," He Said, Sadly. "She Had No Idea Of Staying More Than An
Afternoon. He Had Promised To Set Her Down At The Next Station To
Beechwood, Where Her Aunt Was To Meet Her. She Was Filled With Horror
And Consternation When She Found She Must Be Away Overnight. But Even
Then She Had No Idea Of His Purpose. She Says That Nobody Ever Told Her
About Such Things, She Was Ignorant As A Little Child! She Is Full Of
Repentance, And Feels That This Will Be A Lesson For Her. She Says She
Intends To Devote Her Life To Me If I Will Only Forgive Her."
So That Was What She Had Told Tennelly Behind The Closed Doors!
Before Courtland's Eyes There Floated A Vision Of Gila As She First
Caught Sight Of Him In The Office Of The Inn. If Ever Soul Was Guilty In
Full Knowledge Of Her Sin She Had Been! Again She Passed Before His
Vision With Shamed Head Down-Drooped And All Her Proud, Imperial Manner
Gone. The Mask Had Fallen From Gila Forever So Far As Courtland Was
Concerned. Not Even Her Little, Pitiful, Teary Face That Morning, When
She Crept From The Car At Her Aunt's Door, Could Deceive Him Again.
"And You _Believe_ All That?" Asked Courtland. He Could Not Help It. His
Dearest Friend Was In Peril. What Else Could He Do?
"I--Don't Know!" Said Tennelly, Helplessly.
There Was Silence In The Room. Then Tennelly Did Realize A Little!
Perhaps Tennelly Had Known All Along, Better Than He!
"And--You Will Forgive Her?"
"I _Must_!" Said Tennelly, In Desperation. "Court, My Life Is Bound Up
In Her!"
"So I Once Thought!" Courtland Was Only Musing Out Loud.
Tennelly Looked At Him Sadly.
"She Almost Wrecked My Soul!" Went On Courtland.
"I Know," Said Tennelly, In Profound Sorrow. "She Told Me."
"She _Told You_?"
"Yes, Before We Were Engaged. She Told Me That She Had Asked You To Give
Up Preaching, That She Could Never Bear To Be A Minister's Wife. I Had
Begun To Realize What That Would Mean To You Then. I Respected Your
Choice. It Was Great Of You, Court! But You Never Really Loved Her, Man,
Or You Could Not Have Given Her Up!"
Courtland Was Silent For A Moment, Then He Burst Out: "Nelly! It Was Not
That! You _Shall_ Know The Truth! She Asked Me To Give Up _My God_ For
Her!"
"_I Have No God_," Said Tennelly, Dully.
A Great Yearning For His Friend Filled The Heart Of Courtland. "Listen,
Old Man, You _Mustn't_ Marry Her!" He Burst Out Again. "I Believe She's
Rotten All The Way Through. You Didn't See And Hear All Last Night. She
_Can't Be_ True! She Hasn't It In Her! She Will Be False To You Whenever
She Takes The Whim! She Will Lead You Through Hell!"
"You Don't Understand. I Would _Go_ Through Hell To Be With Her!"
Tennelly's Words Rang Through The Room Like A Knell, And Courtland Could
Say No More. There Was Silence In The Room. Courtland Watched His
Friend's Haggard Face Anxiously. There Were Deep Lines Of Agony About
His Mouth And Dark Circles Under His Eyes.
Suddenly Tennelly Lifted His Hand And Laid It On His Friend's. "Thanks,
Court. Thanks A Lot. I Appreciate It All More Than You Know. But This Is
My Job. I Guess I've Got To Undertake It! And, _Man_! Can't You See I've
_Got_ To Believe Her?"
"I Suppose You Have, Nelly. God Help You!"
When Courtland Got Back To The Seminary He Found A Letter From Mother
Marshall.
Chapter 30 Pg 177Anticipation. Here At Least Would Be A Fresh, Pure Breath Of Sweetness.
His Soul Was Worn And Troubled With The Experience Of The Past Two Days.
A Great Loneliness Possessed Him When He Thought Of Tennelly, Or When He
Looked Forward To His Future, For He Truly Was Convinced That He Never
Should Turn To The Love Of Woman Again; And So The Dreams Of Home And
Love And Little Children That Had Had Their Normal Part In His Thoughts
Of The Future Were Cut Out, And The Days Stretched Forward In One Long
Round Of Duty.
Dear Paul [It Began, Familiarly]:
This Is Stephen Marshall's Mother And I'm Calling You By
Chapter 30 Pg 178Your First Name Because It Seems To Bring My Boy Back Again
To Be Writing So Familiar-Like To One Of His Comrades.
We've Been Wondering, Father And I, Since You Said You
Didn't Have Any Real Mother Of Your Own, Whether You
Mightn't Like To Come Home Christmas To Us For A Little
While And Borrow Stephen's Mother. I've Got A Wonderful
Hungering In My Heart To Hear A Little More About My Boy's
Death. I Couldn't Have Borne It Just At
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