Active Service, Stephen Crane [classic books for 11 year olds TXT] 📗

But He Walked toward The Door

Into The Corridor And Did Not In any Wise Heed her.

 

" Harrison! " She Called. " Where Are You Going? "

 

He Turned a Troubled face Upon Her,  And,  As If She

Had Hailed him In his Sleep,  He Vacantly Said:

"What ? "

 

"Where Are You Going?" She Demanded with Increasing

Trepidation.

 

He Dropped heavily Into A Chair. "Going?" He

Repeated.

 

She Was Angry. "Yes! Going? Where Are You

Going? "

 

"I Am Going-" He Answered,  "I Am Going to

See Rufus Coleman."

 

Mrs. Wainwright Gave Voice To A Muffled scream.

" Not About Marjory ? "

 

"Yes," He Said,  "About Marjory."

 

It Was Now Mrs. Wainwright'S Turn To Look At Her

Husband With An Air Of Stupefaction As If He Had

Opened up To Her Visions Of Imbecility Of Which She

Had Not Even Dreamed. " About Marjory!" She

Gurgled. Then Suddenly Her Wrath Flamed out.

"Well,  Upon My Word,  Harrison Wainwright,  You

Are,  Of All Men In the World,  The Most Silly And Stupid.

You Are Absolutely Beyond Belief. Of All Projects!

And What Do You Think Marjory Would Have To Say Of

It If She Knew It ? I Suppose You Think She Would Like

It ? Why,  I Tell You She Would Keep Her Right Hand

In The Fire Until It Was Burned off Before She Would

Allow You To Do Such A Thing."

 

" She Must Never Know It," Responded the Professor,

In Dull Misery.

 

" Then Think Of Yourself! Think Of The Shame Of

It! The Shame Of It ! "

 

The Professor Raised his Eyes For An Ironical Glance

At His Wife. " Oh I Have Thought Of The Shame

Of It!"

 

" And You'Ll Accomplish Nothing," Cried mrs. Wain-

Wright. " You'Ll Accomplish Nothing. He'Ll Only

Laugh At You."

 

" If He Laughs At Me,  He Will Laugh At Nothing but A

Poor,  Weak,  Unworldly Old Man. It Is My Duty To Go."

 

Mrs. Wainwright Opened her Mouth As If She Was

About To Shriek. After Choking a Moment She Said:

" Your Duty? Your Duty To Go And Bend The Knee To

That Man? Yourduty?"

 

"'It Is My Duty To Go,"' He Repeated humbly. "If

I Can Find Even One Chance For My Daughter'S Happi-

Ness In a Personal Sacrifice. He Can Do No More Than

He Can Do No More Than Make Me A Little Sadder."

 

His Wife Evidently Understood His Humility As A

Tribute To Her Arguments And A Clear Indication That

She Had Fatally Undermined his Original Intention.

" Oh,  He Would Have Made You Sadder," She Quoth

Grimly. "No Fear! Why,  It Was The Most Insane

Idea I Ever Heard Of."

 

The Professor Arose Wearily. " Well,  I Must Be

Going to This Work. It Is A Thing to Have Ended

Quickly." There Was Something almost Biblical In his

Manner.

 

" Harrison! " Burst Out His Wife In amazed lamenta-

Tion. You Are Not Really Going to Do It? Not

Really!"

 

" I Am Going to Do It," He Answered.

 

" Well,  There! " Ejaculated mrs. Wainwright To The

Heavens. She Was,  So To Speak,  Prostrate. " Well,

There! "

 

As The Professor Passed out Of The Door She Cried

Beseechingly But Futilely After Him. " Harrison." In

A Mechanical Way She Turned then Back To The Mirror

And Resumed the Disarrangement Of Her Hair. She Ad-

Dressed her Image. " Well,  Of All Stupid Creatures

Under The Sun,  Men Are The Very Worst! " And Her

Image Said This To Her Even As She Informed it,  And Afterward

They Stared at Each Other In a Profound And

Tragic Reception And Acceptance Of This Great Truth.

Presently She Began To Consider The Advisability Of

Going to Marjdry With The Whole Story. Really,  Harrison

Must Not Be Allowed to Go On Blundering until

The Whole World Heard That Marjory Was Trying to

Break Her Heart Over That Common Scamp Of A Coleman.

It Seemed to Be About Time For Her,  Mrs. Wainwright,

To Come Into The Situation And Mend Matters.

Chapter 26

When The Professor Arrived before Coleman'S Door,

He Paused a Moment And Looked at It. Previously,

He Could Not Have Imagined that A Simple Door Would

Ever So Affect Him. Every Line Of It Seemed to Express

Cold Superiority And Disdain. It Was Only The Door Of

A Former Student,  One Of His Old Boys,  Whom,  As The

Need arrived,  He Had Whipped with His Satire In the

Class Rooms At Washurst Until The Mental Blood Had

Come,  And All Without A Conception Of His Ultimately

Arriving before The Door Of This Boy In the Attitude Of

A Supplicant. Hewould Not Say It; Coleman Probably

Would Not Say It; But-They Would Both Know It. A

Single Thought Of It,  Made Him Feel Like Running away.

He Would Never Dare To Knock On That Door. It Would

Be Too Monstrous. And Even As He Decided that He

Was Afraid To Knock,  He Knocked.

 

Coleman'S Voice Said; "Come In." The Professor

Opened the Door. The Correspondent,  Without A Coat,

Was Seated at A Paper-Littered table.  Near His Elbow,

Upon Another Table,  Was A Tray From Which He Had Evidently

Dined and Also A Brandy Bottle With Several

Recumbent Bottles Of Soda. Although He Had So Lately

Arrived at The Hotel He Had Contrived to Diffuse His

Traps Over The Room In an Organised disarray Which

Represented a Long And Careless Occupation If It Did

Not Represent T'Le Scene Of A Scuffle. His Pipe Was In

His Mouth.

 

After A First Murmur Of Surprise,  He Arose And

Reached in some Haste For His Coat. " Come In,  Professor,

Come In," He Cried,  Wriggling deeper Into His

Jacket As He Held Out His Hand. He Had Laid Aside His

Pipe And Had Also Been Very Successful In flinging a

Newspaper So That It Hid The Brandy And Soda. This

Act Was A Feat Of Deference To The Professor'S Well

Known Principles.

 

"Won'T You Sit Down,  Sir ? " Said Coleman Cordially.

His Quick Glance Of Surprise Had Been Immediately

Suppressed and His Manner Was Now As If The Pro-

Fessor'S Call Was A Common Matter.

 

" Thank You,  Mr. Coleman,  I-Yes,  I Will Sit Down,".

Replied the Old Man. His Hand Shook As He Laid It On

The Back Of The Chair And Steadied himself Down Into

It. " Thank You!" -

 

Coleman Looked at Him With A Great Deal Of Ex-

Pectation.

 

" Mr. Coleman ! "

 

"Yes,  Sir."

 

" I--"

 

He Halted then And Passed his Hand Over His Face.

His Eyes Did Not Seem To Rest Once Upon Coleman,

But They Occupied themselves In furtive And Frightened

Glances Over The Room. Coleman Could Make Neither

Head Nor Tail Of The Affair. He Would Not Have Believed

Any Man'S Statement That The Professor Could

Act In such An Extraordinary Fashion. " Yes,  Sir," He

Said Again Suggestively. The Simple Strategy Resulted

In A Silence That Was Actually Awkward. Coleman,  Despite

His Bewilderment,  Hastened into A Preserving

Gossip. " I'Ve Had A Great Many Cables Waiting for

Me For Heaven Knows- How Long And Others Have Been

Arriving in flocks To-Night. You Have No Idea Of The

Row In america,  Professor. Why,  Everybody Must

Have Gone Wild Over The Lost Sheep. My Paper Has

Cabled some Things That Are Evidently For You. For

Instance,  Here Is One That Says A New Puzzle-Game

Called find The Wainwright Party Has Had A Big Success.

Think Of That,  Would You." Coleman Grinned

At The Professor. " Find The Wainwright Party,  A

New Puzzle-Game."

 

The Professor Had Seemed grateful For Coleman'S

Tangent Off Into Matters Of A Light Vein. " Yes?" He

Said,  Almost Eagerly. " Are They Selling a Game Really

Called that?"

 

" Yes,  Really," Replied coleman. " And Of Course

You Know That-Er-Well,  All The Sunday Papers Would

Of Course Have Big Illustrated articles-Full Pages-

With Your Photographs And General Private Histories

Pertaining mostly To Things Which Are None Of Their

Business."

" Yes,  I Suppose They Would Do That," Admitted the

Professor. " But I Dare Say It May Not Be As Bad As

You Suggest."

 

" Very Like Not," Said Coleman. " I Put It To You

Forcibly So That In the Future The Blow Will Not Be Too

Cruel. They Are Often A Weird Lot."

 

" Perhaps They Can'T Find Anything very Bad About

Us."

 

" Oh,  No. And Besides The Whole Episode Will Probably

Be Forgotten By The Time You Return To The United states."

 

They Talked onin This Way Slowly,  Strainedly,  Until

They Each Found That The Situation Would Soon Become

Insupportable. The Professor Had Come For A Distinct

Purpose And Coleman Knew It; They Could Not Sit

There Lying at Each Other Forever. Yet When He Saw

The Pain Deepening in the Professor'S Eyes,  The Correspondent

Again Ordered up His Trivialities. " Funny

Thing. My Paper Has Been Congratulating me,  You

Know,  Sir,  In a Wholesale Fashion,  And I Think-I Feel

Sure-That They Have Been Exploiting my Name All

Over The Country As The Heroic Rescuer. There Is No

Sense In trying to Stop Them,  Because They Don'T Care

Whether It Is True Or Not True. All They Want Is The

Privilege Of Howling out That Their Correspondent Rescued

You,  And They Would Take That Privilege Without

In Any Ways Worrying if I Refused my Consent. You

See,  Sir? I Wouldn'T Like You To Feel That I Was Such A

Strident Idiot As I Doubtless Am Appearing now Before

The Public."

 

" No," Said The Professor Absently. It Was Plain

That He Had Been A Very Slack Listener. " I-Mr. Coleman-"

He Began.

 

"Yes,  Sir," Answered coleman Promptly And Gently.

 

It Was Obviously Only A Recognition Of The Futility

Of Further Dallying that Was Driving the Old Man On-

Ward. He Knew,  Of Course,  That If He Was Resolved to

Take This Step,  A Longer Delay Would Simply Make It

Harder For Him. The Correspondent,  Leaning forward,

Was Watching him Almost Breathlessly.

 

" Mr. Coleman,  I Understand-Or At Least I Am Led

To Believe-That You-At One Time,  Proposed marriage

To My Daughter? "

 

The Faltering words Did Not Sound As If Either Man

Had Aught To Do With Them. They Were An Expression

By The Tragic Muse Herself. Coleman'S Jaw Fell And He

Looked glassily At The Professor. He Said: "Yes!"

But Already His Blood Was Leaping as His Mind Flashed

Everywhere In speculation.

 

" I Refused my Consent To That Marriage," Said The

Old Man More Easily. " I Do Not Know If The Matter

Has Remained important To You,  But At Any Rate,  I-I

Retract My Refusal."

 

Suddenly The Blank Expression Left Coleman'S Face

And He Smiled with Sudden Intelligence,  As If Informa-

Tion Of What The Professor Had Been Saying had Just

Reached him. In this Smile There Was A Sudden Be.

Trayal,  Too,  Of Something keen And Bitter Which Had

Lain Hidden In the Man'S Mind. He Arose And Made A

Step Towards The Professor And Held Out His Hand.

"Sir,  I Thank Yod From The Bottom Of My Heart!"

And They Both Seemed to Note With Surprise That

Coleman'S Voice Had Broken.

 

The Professor Had Arisen To Receive Coleman'S Hand.

His Nerve Was Now Of Iron And He Was Very Formal.

" I Judge From Your Tone That I Have Not Made A Mis-

Take-Somcthing which I Feared."

 

Coleman Did Not Seem To Mind The Professor'S Formality.

" Don'T Fear Anything. Won'T You Sit Down

Again? Will You Have A Cigar. * * No,  I Couldn'T

Tell You How Glad I Am. How Glad I Am. I Feel Like

A Fool. It--"

 

But The Professor Fixed him With An Arctic Eye And

Bluntly Said: " You Love Her ? "

 

The Question Steadied coleman At Once. He

Looked undauntedly Straight Into The Professor'S Face.

He Simply Said: " I Love Her! "

 

" You Love Her ? " Repeated the Professor.

 

" I Love Her," Repeated coleman.

 

After Some Seconds Of Pregnant Silence,  The

Professor Arose. " Well,  If She Cares To Give Her Life To

You I Will Allow It,  But I Must Say That I Do Not Consider

You Nearly Good Enough. Good-Night." He

Smiled faintly As He Held Out His Hand.

 

" Good-Night,  Sir," Said Coleman. " And I Can'T

Tell,  You,  Now-"

 

Mrs. Wainwright,  In her Room Was Languishing in a

Chair And Applying to Her Brow A Handkerch-Ief Wet

With Cologne Water. She,  Kept Her Feverish Glarice

Upon The Door. Remembering well The Manner Of Her

Husband When He Went Out She Could Hardly Identify

Him When He Came In. Serenity,  Composure,  Even

Self-Satisfaction,  Was Written Upon Him. He,  Paid No

Attention To Her,  But Going