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23 chapters
DROWSY
DROWSY
By John Ames Mitchell Author of "The Last American," "Amos Judd," "Pines of Lory," "Pandora's Box," etc. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANGUS MACDONALL AND THE AUTHOR NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1917, by John Ames Mitchell All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages...
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To the Reader
To the Reader
This is not a fairy tale. The wonders of to-day, we are told by scientists, will be to-morrow the common things of daily life. Wireless telegraphy, it appears, is but the crude beginning to a deeper knowledge of the mysteries that surround us. Waves of thought, like waves of light, obedient to our will, may supplant the spoken word and the written message. And we learn that Space, the borderless abyss through which we move, is vibrant with electric life. But still unsolved is the mystery of the
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I THEIR OWN AFFAIR
I THEIR OWN AFFAIR
Breath of Scandal. Imperishable zephyr! Dispenser of delight to all:—save those it touches. Floating in playful sport around the globe, it does little harm to callous sinners. But it blights, with a special and vociferous joy, superior persons. The higher and more immaculate the victim the greater the general mirth. In the wake of pleasure it may have, at times, a comic side; at other times it kills—and with agonies that are not for publication. In a certain month of May it loitered up the easte
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II HOW THE ACQUAINTANCE BEGAN
II HOW THE ACQUAINTANCE BEGAN
Seven years have passed. Under the arching elms in a Massachusetts village, one Sunday morning in July, various persons were moving toward a house of worship. The house of worship was white, with a portico of Ionic columns. Among the branches of the elms a noisy congregation of non-sectarian birds seemed to be laughing at the Orthodox bells. Dr. Alton, leading his little son by the hand, was walking beside the parson. Dr. Alton was but little over thirty years of age. His son was nearly seven. W
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III UNCLE HECTOR'S VERDICT
III UNCLE HECTOR'S VERDICT
It so happened a few days later that this acquaintance was renewed. Cyrus, sitting on the doorstep of a house in the village, waited for his father, who was visiting a patient within. Two little girls came along, arm in arm. They stopped in front of him. One of them said: "A new boy." The other said: "Isn't he funny!" In one of these persons Cyrus recognized the girl who made faces at him in church. As they stood smiling, brimming over with mischief, he arose, lifted his hat and made a sweeping
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IV MATRIMONIAL
IV MATRIMONIAL
A June morning. The sky, this morning, is the bluest blue; the air delicious. There is fragrance in it, of buds, new grass and flowers. Also, in the air, is the joy of living, and the promise of even better things to come. But Ruth Heywood, sitting upon the front door step of her father's house, seemed oblivious to the surrounding rapture. Her thoughts were solemn. Half an hour ago she had witnessed a marriage in her own parlor. Her father, a clergyman, had united two lovers in the bonds of matr
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V HE MEETS TWO LADIES
V HE MEETS TWO LADIES
Miss Anita Clement was the maiden lady who had rented, with her two unmarried sisters, Mr. David Lothrop's house at the west end of the village. She had a girlish figure, good features and soulful eyes. Her exact age was somewhere between twenty-five and forty. This lady's delicate beauty was impaired a trifle by a nervous mouth which told, in spite of all efforts to the contrary, that its owner was easily annoyed, and was a stranger to the various blessings of a tranquil spirit. She had no sens
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VI HE ALMOST GETS RELIGION
VI HE ALMOST GETS RELIGION
Cyrus was in bed. The history of the case is instructive and should be a warning to other champions. On a certain afternoon in the fourteenth year of this hero's life the home team had met and defeated the baseball club from a neighboring village. The score was twenty to thirteen. Such a victory deserved celebration. So Cyrus, with half a dozen fellow champions, went to Mrs. Turner's little ice cream parlor and regaled themselves. Each boy had three ice creams, and as the money still held out th
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VII TOWARD THE LIGHT
VII TOWARD THE LIGHT
The snow lay deep—and still it fell. On a low stone wall by the roadside Ruth Heywood sat in solemn meditation. With melancholy eyes she watched the door of the little red school house a hundred yards away. On the porch of that school house shivered Zac, also waiting. He, too, kept his eyes on the door, but he had no intention of rebuking the prisoner—should he ever appear. Why try to improve an already perfect thing? Above Ruth's head the North Wind, moaning through the leafless branches of the
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VIII A WORKER OF MIRACLES
VIII A WORKER OF MIRACLES
Something of a liar was Cyrus, in emergencies, but he told the truth when he said "lots of things have been done that never were done before; and mighty surprisin' things, too!" History bears him out. The stories of Grimm and Andersen are commonplace events besides the victories of Science. Interesting, indeed, would be the views of Galileo on wireless telegraphy, or Botticelli's opinion of the "movies," or even what language the British commander might have used at Bunker Hill had the Yankees e
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IX DREAMS?
IX DREAMS?
It was the very next morning that Ruth's father, the Rev. George Bentley Heywood, received an urgent appeal from China to fill a vacancy in the missionary field. Ten days after receiving the message he, his wife and tearful daughter, were on a train for San Francisco. The days that followed were solemn days for Cyrus. And it so happened that the next ten years were solemn years for Longfields. A new railroad carried through a neighboring town left the village stranded. The young men began to lea
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X THE FARTHEST TRAVELER
X THE FARTHEST TRAVELER
One sultry morning about six weeks later, Luther Dean got off a train at Springfield. Along the shady side of the main street he walked. He walked faster than usual. His eyes, his hot, perspiring face and general manner showed suppressed excitement. And why not? Wealth, and without labor, would soon be his. A few blocks from the station he turned into another street, then, not far from the corner he entered a small shop. On the front window of the shop were these words: I. KATZ ELECTRICAL CONTRA
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XI UNSIGHT UNSEEN
XI UNSIGHT UNSEEN
"After midnight, Uncle George, and miles from anywhere, so do please hurry." These were parting words to an uncle as he started back to the nearest house—perhaps a quarter of a mile away—to get gasoline for his motor. Alone in the car, the waiting woman began to realize the extraordinary darkness that enveloped her. Along the road, in front, the two head lights sent their beams of light. But elsewhere, on either side, behind her and above, the black air seemed almost threatening in its silence.
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XII "INCREDIBLE!"
XII "INCREDIBLE!"
A prosperous , self-reliant man, well built, well dressed and well pleased with himself, sat at a desk in his private office. It was the senior partner of the firm—a well known firm of Fifth Avenue jewelers. Being a wise man, he was wise enough to enjoy a reasonable pride in his own wisdom; also in his own pleasing personality, and in his own good face and figure. Now, sixty years of age, he had, moreover, enjoyed a quarter century of success—the reward, perhaps, of his own foresight in being th
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XIII A MESSAGE
XIII A MESSAGE
To be lifted, suddenly, from poverty to wealth, is delightful. Especially delightful when preceded by a preliminary course of self-denial. For Cyrus and his father there was now an end, at last, to the orthodox but discordant partnership between Pride and Want. Vaulting ambition has its uses. So have rags and hunger. And there are times, as in the case of Cyrus, when they pull together. But now had come the harvest. And the prosperity was real: the checks from the Senior Partner were not a dream
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XIV OVER SEAS
XIV OVER SEAS
There was music in Cyrus. As a boy, however, he could never get it out. With no voice for singing his main relief was in whistling and humming and in drumming with his fingers. Which, of course, made him more or less of a nuisance at times. When he grew up his voice improved. Not enough to outshine the nightingales, but it served for domestic purposes. At church, for instance, he joined the congregation in the hymns. His voice, in speaking, was low, with a pleasant quality, and was more than sat
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XV A GARDEN OF WONDERS
XV A GARDEN OF WONDERS
When Cyrus stepped out of his machine he stood for a moment unsteady on his legs; a usual condition in a sudden change of air after hours of bewildering speed. So far as he could judge he was in the grounds of an institution of some kind—a monastery, a college, a convent, or possibly a summer palace. Along the side of the garden overlooking the sea, which lay far below, ran a wall. On this wall at regular spaces stood statues of ecclesiastical persons, presumably Saints. They stood back to the s
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XVI THE SOUL OF A SONG
XVI THE SOUL OF A SONG
Within , at one side of the room, a group of forty sisters, more or less, sat listening to the song. The room was spacious. Against its white walls hung various paintings by old masters. The further wall, facing the western windows, was partly covered by an enormous tapestry representing Esther and her handmaidens before King Ahasuerus. The king was on a throne, amid the splendors of his court. Now, at this hour, its colors were all aglow at the touch of the sinking sun. Between the three long w
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XVII "I MEAN IT"
XVII "I MEAN IT"
Six hundred miles an hour, to old-time travelers, might seem fast. High up in the air, however, some miles above the earth with nothing beneath but the Atlantic Ocean, it seems a moderate pace. There are none of the usual landmarks to gauge one's speed; no telegraph poles, houses, or towns. The few ships one passes, seen far below, are movable objects with no definite relation to your own progress. Also, in a practically air tight conveyance no wind can beat against your face. While three hours
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XVIII THE CAÑON OF DESPAIR
XVIII THE CAÑON OF DESPAIR
As to human wisdom, the best that can be said is that some of us are less crazy than others. Also, that the habitually foolish person, he who is foolish by preference—or by unalterable Fate—is less disturbing than your usually sensible friend who suddenly becomes fatuous. This was realized by Joanna during the next few days. Cyrus caused her serious alarm. On his new and larger air craft he worked with such feverish haste that he forgot to eat or go to bed until reminded of those habits. In the
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XIX A YOUNG MAN TALKS
XIX A YOUNG MAN TALKS
Ruth was in earnest when she told Cyrus of her intention to become a nurse. Some experience in that line, while in Europe, had fitted her for the work and she found little difficulty in securing a position in a Worcester Hospital. Possibly her prepossessing appearance was a help. The Superintendent, being human, was not immune, perhaps, to the influence of an interesting personality, especially in combination with an attractive face and voice and figure. After this interview at the hospital, abo
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XX ANOTHER MESSAGE
XX ANOTHER MESSAGE
When Ruth left the train and took the stage for Longfields her spirit was in revolt—in revolt against herself, against Cyrus and against the progress of the vehicle. But any vehicle, however fast, would have been too slow on that afternoon. She left the conveyance at Cyrus Alton's driveway. This was her first visit to the Alton's home since her sudden departure, so many years ago. And now, as she walked toward the house, almost every foot of ground, every object in the spacious yard, the old map
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XXI ABOVE THE CLOUDS
XXI ABOVE THE CLOUDS
Ruth's first night on duty at the hospital, ten days later, was eventful. She had the care of two patients, each in a room by himself, with an open door between. One of these patients was a man with a broken arm, a displaced rib, a bandaged head and wandering brain. He made no trouble and was perfectly quiet, except an occasional mumbling to himself. The other patient, the one who appealed more strongly to her sympathies, was a boy about fifteen. Both legs had been broken in an automobile collis
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