Bright Arrows (25 page)

 

Lance Lorrimer was on his way home on the midnight train. He had been on a business trip to New England for the bank and had been working over the notes he had taken while away. He had them in pretty good shape now, and he was numbering his pages and tying up his files so that there would be no confusion when he came to report at the bank in the morning. Suddenly he became aware of what the man in the seat in front of him was saying. It is wonderful how a familiar name can catch one's ear in a place where it is unexpected. And the name that was mentioned had been much in his thoughts during the last few days.

"That Thurston dolly has been getting herself engaged lately, I hear. Beats all how the news gets around. I don't suppose I'd have heard much about it if it hadn't been for Sam. He's been substituting on the mail route for Jacoby Winters for the last fortnight ur so, while Jacoby had the flu, an' he told me. He said as how this here guy from New York had been writin' letters an' even postcards. Most of 'em was postcards it seems, else he wouldn't have knowed so much about their affairs. Yes, sir, the expensive kind of postcards, all photographs and colored pictures on 'em, mostly Palm Beach. He'd been writin' them all the season. He's seen 'em off'n on. Of course, he wasn't supposed to mention it, and he was usually very particular, though, of course, we home folks don't count. And so he'd come in to supper and he'd say, 'Well, that Eden Thurston got another bunch o' mail today,' he'd say, 'an' two postcards. My but that guy does waste money!' He tells her how he's always watching for her answers, and how the day isn't nothin' when she don't write, an' all that slob, ya know. An' he says he's comin' pretty soon, an' he'll tell her more. An' he says they'll have some trip pretty soon, an' fer her not to waste her time gettin' stuff fer the journey. He'll he'p her pick it out when he comes."

"You don't say!" the other man exclaimed. "Strange, I've never heard anything about her bein' engaged."

"Well, I guess it's an 'ngagement, all righty. Tom said it sounded a lot like it. And they say he's been ta see her twicet this spring. Oncet about six weeks ago, only stayed a day. Then jus' this week. Seems his mother's awful sick, an' they got two nurses. He must have a pile of money. He's figuring on a trip to Californy, mebbe he means the weddin' trip, an' wants her to be all ready when he calls up."

"Does sound like it, don't it? Wal, I'm certainly s'prized. Her papa useta be so keerful to her. But now he's gone, an' she's got money aplenty, it's not strange the young men should come around after her. Pretty girl, too."

"Certainly is," said the other man. "Don't b'lief there's a prettier, ner a richer girl in the hull down of Glencarroll!"

"That's right! But I thought there was another feller she was 'bout promised to. Caspar Carvel, wasn't that his name?"

"Yes, that's the name. But he went to war. Hasn't been seen back in three years, has he?"

"Yes, he has," said the other. "I saw him myself just last week comin' out of the Thurston house. Seems to me that girl has got more than her share of men. And I don't suppose that is a whole tale, either. A girl as pretty as that ought to have a lot of beaus."

"Yes, but, you see, that Thurston girl never was one to flirt. She went around with that Caspar Carvel in school years, but I haven't seen her around much with any fella lately. She stuck by that sick father of hers. She never seemed to leave him. She wasn't around anywhere while he was alive."

"Yes, I'll own she was a faithful daughter. And he was a good man, her father. He done his best to bring up that girl right. I guess he done a pretty good job of it, too. She's a modest-appearing girl, and I hope to goodness she gets a good husband."

"Well, the guy I saw comin' away from the house seemed like a nice-appearin' fella."

"Well, if what you say is so, then I suppose we'll be havin' a high-flyin' weddin' pretty soon."

"Seems like! Wal, I wish 'em luck! Say, did you see the price of potatoes is goin' up? An' just after I sold my crop below what I was reckonin' on. If that ain't the doggonedest luck ever. But that's the way things allus hit me."

But Lance Lorrimer heard no more. His thoughts were off on the news he had been hearing. Was this true? Could it all be true? His heart sank.

There was no further gossip in the seat in front of him, but Lance would not get away from it. It was perhaps the first time that he had realized how very much Eden was beginning to mean in his life, and now that it had come in this breathtaking way, he took it full in the face and let it roll over him.

He had recognized when he first saw her how sweet she was, and how beautiful, but he also knew how rich she was, and he had not considered her in the light of a possible partner for himself. His years in college and war service had put him in too serious surroundings to leave him time for considering romance, and he was not one who looked at every girl as a possible future bride. In spite of the loveliness of Eden, he had thought of her as scarcely more than a child at first. And later, when he knew her age, on account of his familiarity with her financial status, he had thought of her as a wealthy young woman, entirely out of his class. For although he had done well so far--he was already in an enviable job with a fine outlook--he was not one who thought of himself so highly that he reached forward to marry a rich wife. It was only when Eden began to ask him questions on religious themes that his interest grew greatly. Even before he realized how much he was enjoying her society, he must have been harboring a happiness that his wisdom and his caution would never have approved in another.

So this revelation that Eden was pledged to another--a man among the wealthy, a fitting one to place her in a notable position, suitable to her worth--was a shock to him.

For a long time he sat with closed eyes and thought the thing over, going back to his first meeting with Eden, her fine reactions to all that had happened. And then those questions she had asked him. How they thrilled him now again as he thought them over. He had never seen a girl before who would have asked questions like that: "Please tell me how I can get to know Jesus Christ? What does the verse mean, 'As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive'? " What a companion a girl like that could be for a man! And this man to whom she was supposed to be engaged, was he a Christian man? Would he know how to lead and help her aright? Or would he be a worldly man who would lead her into ways far from God? Oh, the heartache in that thought! Another man to lead her, and how he would like to be the one! How they could study God's Word together! To see her eyes shine at a new thought as he had already seen them once or twice, to share her study and her joy, and her worries! He had never really taken time to go into such beautiful thoughts. Except in a general way, he had never dwelt much on thoughts of marriage. He had hoped in a dim way that someday he would have a happy home of his own, but as yet such dreams had not taken definite form. Now, however, in the light of what he had just heard, it suddenly seemed as if a great door had been opened into a beautiful place that he had never glimpsed before, and then the next instant the door had been slammed in his face.

For a little while he lay back with his eyes closed, trying to take deep breaths and get control of himself. Trying to get into a normal state of mind. Trying to tell himself he wasn't in love with this girl, nor any girl. He was just crazy, thinking such thoughts.

And if he did admire her greatly, he certainly wanted her to be happy, didn't he? Happy with the man of her choice. She wasn't for him, of course. He had never started out to win her. Perhaps this other man who was said to be engaged to her was an old friend of years, someone her wonderful father had known and approved, in which case he had no right to think of her any more than if she were married. Modern marriage and divorce were not for Christian young people. That girl with the wonderful face and the light of Christ in her eyes would never give her life to a man of the world, never choose for a life companion one who was not worthy of being her husband.

But there! There was no use in wasting time arguing about a thing like that. It wasn't in his hands to settle of course, and the only possible business that could be his in the whole matter was that he should look out that his own heart interest should not be found in territory that belonged to someone else. This love, or possible beginning of love, must be rooted out and stand away where it belonged. No man had a right to barge in and set his love upon a girl someone else had won. Equally, of course, he should have found out how it was with this lovely girl whom he admired. And yet how could he? He hadn't dreamed of trying to win any girl for himself at that stage of the game.

Well, perhaps this was all just an emotional upset, startled into being, or shocked into being, by hearing this news about Eden in such a crude way from strangers' lips. And perhaps he was just very tired. It all might not seem so important, or so startling, when morning came and normal conditions were restored, with a good night's sleep and a real breakfast. For he hadn't been taking much time to eat in the past forty-eight hours.

This was all just foolishness, of course. He must get this straight at once. Then with his eyes still closed he took the matter to his place of refuge, where he had always found relief from trouble since ever he had surrendered to his risen Lord.

Lord, You have shown me something that I did not know I was getting into. Deal with me as You see fit. Whatever is for Your glory will be my best good. I know You can work it out. Help me always to be utterly yielded to Your will.

That was his prayer, and later he slept and awoke much rested.

The morning brought a graver aspect. He had lost nothing, for what had seemed lost last night was not really his, and now he could surely rest this matter in wiser hands than his own. But he must let it rest until the Lord would show him which way to go. Nevertheless, if a way opened for him to help Eden to a wider knowledge of the Word of God, he must do all he could for her, no matter how soul trying it might be for himself.

With that conclusion he went forward into his morning in the hometown--went to his bank, went through the rounds of the day, spent some hours in court and in the bank. And when the thought of Eden came to mind, as it did during the day, he just laid it down in the Other hands, knowing it was taken care of and he need not worry about it. The Lord was able to change his own feelings, make them fitting for His work, or He was able to work out something beautiful, somehow, for His glory.

Yet he would not, for his own pleasure, put himself in Eden's way, nor try to seek her company.

So it was that Eden wearied wistfully and wondered why he did not come again. Then upbraided herself and tried to be satisfied. She had no business to be so anxious for another opportunity to talk with Mr. Lorrimer. The questions she wanted to ask him she might learn somewhere else, perhaps, so the Lord could show her the answers through His Word. So much she had thoroughly received from Him. There were other teachers that could be sent to her, if there were reasons why Lance could not come.

Tabor was up and around the house now, attending to most of his old duties, even driving the car sometimes, and the ghastly night of robbers and alarms was almost forgotten. Tabor smiled and went about like a saint, and the rest of the servants looked upon him with almost reverence. Some of them whispered together that he almost seemed to have a measure of the spirit of their old master, Mr. Thurston, upon him. When Eden heard it, she smiled sweetly and told Tabor about it, at which Tabor was greatly pleased.

But there was one worry that Tabor and Janet had in common, and that was lest one of the two former admirers of Eden would come back sometime and somehow win her for himself, and that seemed nothing short of a catastrophe.

But one day Eden dug it out of Janet what it was she worried about and why she couldn't sleep some nights. When finally Janet told her, deprecatingly, Eden laughed.

"Poor Janet! Are you worrying about that? How silly! Why did you think I would fall for either of those boys? You know what Caspar said and did. You surely don't think I would ever go back to being an intimate friend of his? No, Janet, never, never,
never
! And as for the other one, he's a nice, pleasant man when he gets his own way, I guess, but I didn't love him, and I'm glad he's gone to California. I hope he never comes back. I have seen all of him I want to see. So rest your heart. You'll have to find somebody better than either of those two before you can get rid of me. Come on now, Janet, and smile. Let's be happy while we are here on earth. We can't make everything always the way we would like to have it, but Tabor is well, and we are all together again. If I only could get over thinking about those Fanes sometimes at night when I'm going to sleep, I would be satisfied. But the Lord kept us from them before, I guess He can keep us always."

"Sure He can, my dear leddy. He can, an' He wull."

The next day Janet told this worry of Eden's to Tabor, and Tabor suggested that maybe they ought to tell her now about what had happened to Ellery. He volunteered to ask Mike about it.

But the very next week Mike came down to talk with Tabor.

"And you don't know what's come of the old un," he said to his worried listeners.

"Ye mean that Fane wumman?" put in Janet anxiously.

Mike bowed solemnly.

"The same," he said. "Just three days before her trial was ta come up she sneaked some sleeping tablets out of the matron's medicine closet and took a big overdose. And when mornin' come, she didn't wake up."

Janet, incredulous, stared at him.

"Yeh mean the wumman is
deid
?"

"She is," said Mike, "an' that's one less we've got to worry about. And I think the young lady should be told."

So Janet told Mr. Worden, and Mr. Worden talked it over with Lance Lorrimer, and they decided that it was time Eden knew.

So Janet told Eden. Mr. Worden thought she would best know how to tell the story to her nursling without filling her with horror. So Janet went up with Eden's breakfast next morning and began the story: