Jess of the Rebel Trail Part 25

"Gabriel Grimsby. He called in to rest for a while this afternoon.

You met him, did you not?"

"Indeed I did, the rascal. But he is not anxious to meet me. I let him have ten dollars some time ago, and he has given me a wide berth ever since. What did Gabe tell you about Miss Randall?"

"Not very much. He merely said that she was a beautiful girl, much sought after, and moved a great deal in society. It seems that her parents wanted to force her to marry a man for whom she did not care, a Lord Somebody or other, and in despair she took her own life. Poor girl! it is very sad. You must have heard of it, John, and whether they have found her body."

John was listening intently to every word, at the same time watching the "Eb and Flo" bearing steadily up river.

"They have not found her body," he absently replied. "There is great excitement at Benton's wharf, and the river is now being dragged for her body."

"Dear me!" Mrs. Hampton sighed. "Her parents must be heart-broken."

"Heart-broken! H'm, they haven't any hearts to break. If they had, they wouldn't try to force their only daughter to marry a thing like Donaster."

"It is often done, though, John."

"I know it is. Some parents seem to think nothing of selling their daughters to the highest bidders. Imagine you, mother, doing such a thing if you had a daughter."

Mrs. Hampton turned her face toward the door lest John should detect the colour mounting her temples. But the young man noticed nothing out of the ordinary. He was looking out upon the river, watching the "Eb and Flo," now not far away. Presently he turned, and pulled out his watch.

"Why, it's five o'clock!" he exclaimed. "I had no idea it was so late.

I have to go to the quarry, mother, on--on business. I want to see someone there."

"To-night?" Mrs. Hampton asked somewhat surprised, for John seldom went to the quarry, and she could not imagine what business could take him there now.

"Yes, I must go at once. I shall tell you all about it later."

"But you must have some supper first, dear. Just wait, it will not take me long."

"Very well, then, mother. While you're getting it ready I will look after the car. And, say, could you let me have some money to-morrow?

I had only a little with me in the city, and besides having the car fixed, I had to get a new tire. I got it charged, promising to send the money as soon as I got home. I guess to-morrow will do, as I have not time to-night."

What Mrs. Hampton said in reply she did not know. Her brain was in a tumult as she made her way into the kitchen. How could she explain?

What should she say? John knew about the one hundred dollars they had in the house, and what reason could she give for spending it? And he wanted it the next day!

When supper was ready she called John and tried to be as bright and cheerful as possible as they both sat down to the table. It was a cosy dining-room, and through the open window drifted the delicate fragrance of field and garden. But Mrs. Hampton was oblivious to this now.

Amidst scenes of peace and beauty she was living in a world of misery, for a heavy heart makes the most beautiful surroundings a wretched mockery.

John was in excellent spirits and ate heartily. So intent was he upon his own affairs that he did not notice Mrs. Hampton's absent-mindedness.

"I may be away all night, mother," he told her, "so do not be uneasy.

In fact, I might not be home until to-morrow night. You can get along, can you not? I know it isn't fair to leave you all the work to do, but I shall make up for it when I come back."

"It must be very important business, John, that will keep you at the quarry so long. Is it a secret?"

"It is for the present. There is a surprise in store for you." The young man's face coloured as he spoke, and this the woman silently noted.

"Agreeable?" she asked.

"I hope so. Just you wait." His boyish laugh rang out as he rose from the table. He suddenly ceased, however, and turned to his mother.

"Oh, about that money order! It must go to-morrow. If I should not be back in time, would you mind sending it? But, no, perhaps I had better take the money with me now, and get it at the store on my way to the quarry. There will be time, and I don't want to give you all the trouble. You will have enough to do without anything extra."

"No, no, John, it won't trouble me one bit," Mrs. Hampton hastened to a.s.sure him. "I have to go to the store in the morning, and can get the money order as well as not. Leave it to me. It's the Empire Garage, I think you said, where it is to be sent."

"Yes, that's the place. And thank you very much, mother. There's the bill. It's quite large, I know, but it's the first I've had to pay for some time."

He laid the paper upon the table, and was about to leave the room, when a heavy step was heard upon the verandah. In another minute an excited woman stood before them. She was panting heavily, and her hair was in much disorder.

"Why, Mrs. Tobin, what's the matter?" Mrs. Hampton asked, alarmed at her visitor's agitation.

"They've left me! They've left me!" she wailed, sinking down exhausted in the nearest chair. "Oh, to think that I have come to this!"

"Who have left you, Mrs. Tobin?" John asked. "What do you mean?"

"Sam'l an' Eben, of course. They sailed right by, and never stopped.

What do you think of that?"

"That's nothing to worry about, Mrs. Tobin. They must have some good reason which they will no doubt explain later."

"You think so, do you?" the visitor demanded. "What makes you think there is a reason why they should go by without stopping?"

"I have no idea at all," the young man replied. "I only said that perhaps they had a reason."

"H'm, is that all you know about it? But I tell you there _is_ a reason, and I'm going to find out. If it wasn't for leaving Flo alone I'd foot it every step of the way to the quarry this blessed night; that's what I'd do."

"Come, come, Mrs. Tobin, there is nothing to worry about," Mrs. Hampton comforted. "Surely you can trust your husband. Don't get so excited.

Think of those poor people who lost their only daughter last night; drowned herself at Benton's wharf. What is your trouble compared to theirs?"

"Drowned herself, did you say?" and Mrs. Tobin held up her hands in horror. "Who was she? and why did she drown herself?"

"She was Mr. Henry Randall's daughter, who was greatly worried over some love affair, so I understand."

"Is that so? My lands! What's going to happen next? A girl drowned, and my husband and only son running away from me. It is terrible!"

With considerable effort John kept from smiling as he listened to Mrs.

Tobin. What to her was a very serious matter, was to him cause for amus.e.m.e.nt. He was quite sure why the captain had sailed by Beech Cove without stopping as was his custom. Neither could he blame him. Any man would do the same who might have the misfortune to be united to such a woman as Mrs. Tobin. The captain was only acting in self-defence in his dash by his home and the wife he had chosen. John pictured to himself the state of affairs on the "Eb and Flo" had Mrs.

Tobin gone aboard and there found the runaway girl. Explanation, he knew, would be useless, and it would be a very serious matter for the captain and his fair pa.s.senger. In fact, he felt quite proud of the captain's action, and considered him in the light of a hero. He pitied him as well, for he knew that he would have to face his wife's sharp tongue and searching questions upon his next visit home.

While the young man was thinking of these things, Mrs. Hampton was talking with her visitor. The latter was sipping a cup of tea, and nibbling at a piece of cake. She was becoming calmer under Mrs.

Hampton's soothing influence, and inclined to take a brighter view of the situation.

"Keep up courage, Mrs. Tobin," John told her as he turned to leave the room. "I must hurry away now. If I happen to see the captain I shall tell him of your anxiety. You might, indeed, worry if your husband had the habit of running off with some other woman. But he is too old and steady for such nonsense." John knew how this would arouse the woman, for jealousy was one of her chief characteristics.

"That is just what I do fear," Mrs. Tobin replied. "Sam'l was always a little soft about women, and there are too many bad hussies in the city. When a man is away from home as much as he is, you can never be sure what he's up to. Why, even now he might have one of them brazen creatures on board. No, there's no fool like an old fool when it comes to women."

"But Eben's with him, isn't he? The captain wouldn't surely cut up any capers with his son on board."