 Chapter 23 of initials only this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org initials only by Anna Catherine Green book 3 the heart of man chapter 23 Doris a young girl named Doris Scott the station master looks somewhat sharply at the man he was addressing and decided to give the direction asked there is but one young girl in town of that name he declared and she lives in that little house you see just beyond the works but let me tell you stranger he went on with some precipitation but here he was called off and sweetwater lost the conclusion of his warning if warning it was meant to be this did not trouble the detective he stood a moment taking in the prospect decided that the works and the works alone made the town and started for the house which had been pointed out to him his way lay through the chief business street and greatly preoccupied by his errand he gave but a passing glance to the rose on rose of workmen's dwellings stretching away to the left in seemingly endless perspective yet in that glance he certainly took in the fact that the sidewalks were blocked with people and wondered if it were a holiday if so it must be an enforced one for the faces showed little joy possibly a strike was on the anxiety he everywhere saw pictured on young faces and old argued some trouble but if the trouble was that why were all heads turned indifferently from the works and why were the works themselves in full blast these questions he may have asked himself and he may not his attention was entirely centred on the house he saw before him and on the possible developments awaiting him there nothing else mattered briskly he stepped out along the sandy road and after a turn or two which led him quite away from the works and its surrounding buildings he came out upon the highway and this house it was a low and unpretentious one and had but one distinguishing feature the porch which hung well over the doorstep was unique in shape and gave an air of picturesqueness to an otherwise simple exterior a picturesqueness which was much enhanced in its effect by the background of illimitable forest which united the foreground of this pleasing picture with the great chain of hills which held the works and town in its ample basin as he approached the doorstep his mind involuntarily formed an anticipatory image of the child whose first stitches in embroidery were like a fairies weaving to the strong man who worked in awe and possibly figured out bridges that she would prove to be at the anemic type common among working girls gifted with an imagination they have but scanned opportunity to exercise he had little doubt he was therefore greatly taken aback when at his first step upon the porch the door before him flew open and he beheld in the dark recess beyond a young woman of such bright and blooming beauty that he hardly noticed her expression of extreme anxiety till she lifted her hand and laid an admonitory finger softly on her lip hush she whispered with an earnestness which roused him from his absorption and restored him to the full meaning at this encounter there is sickness in the house and we are very anxious is your errand an important one if not the faltering break in the fresh young voice the look she cast behind her into the darkened interior were eloquent with the hope that he would recognize her impatience and pass on and so he might have done so he would have done under all ordinary circumstances but if this was Doris and he did not doubt the fact after the first moment of startled surprise how dare he forego this opportunity of settling the question which had brought him here with a slight stammer but otherwise giving no evidence of the effect made upon him by the passionate intensity with which she had urged this play he assured her that his errand was important but one so quickly told that it would delay her but a moment but first said he with very natural caution let me make sure that it is to miss Doris Scott I am speaking my errand is to her and her only without showing any surprise perhaps too engrossed in her own thoughts to feel any she answered with simple directness yes I am Doris Scott where upon he became his most persuasive self and pulling out a folded paper from his pocket opened it and held it before her with these words then will you be so good as to glance at this letter and tell me if the person whose initials you will find at the bottom happens to be in town at the present moment in some astonishment now she glanced down at the sheet thus boldly thrust before her and recognizing the O and the B of a well-known signature she flashed a look back at sweetwater in which he read a confusion of emotions for which he was hardly prepared ah thought he it's coming in another moment I shall hear what will repay me for the trials and disappointments of all these months but the moment passed and he had heard nothing instead she dropped her hands from the door jam and gave such unmistakable evidences of intended flight that that one alternative remained to him he became abrupt thrusting the papers still nearer he said with an emphasis which could not fail of making an impression read it read the whole letter you will find your name there this communication was addressed to miss Chalona but oh now she found words with the low cry she put out her hand in quick and treaty begging him to desist and not speak that name on any pretext or for any purpose he may rouse and hear she explained with another quick look behind her the doctor says that this is the critical day he may become conscious any minute if he should and were to hear that name it might kill him hey sweetwater perked up his ears who do you mean by hey mr. Brotherson my patient he whose letter but here her impatience rose above every other consideration without attempting to finish her sentence or yielding in the least to her curiosity or interest in this man's errand she cried out with smothered intensity go go I cannot stay another moment from his bedside but a thunderbolt could not have moved sweetwater after the hearing of that name mr. Brotherson he echoed Brotherson not Orlando no no his name is Oswald he's the manager of these works he's sick with typhoid we are caring for him if you belong here you would know that much there that's his voice you hear go if you have any mercy and she began to push to the door but sweetwater was impervious to all hint with eager eyes straining into the shadowy depths just visible over her shoulder he listened eagerly for the disjointed words now plainly to be heard in some nearby but unseen chamber the second ob he inwardly declared and he's a brotherson also and sick miss scott he whisperingly entreated as a hand fell in manifest despair from the door don't send me away yet i've a question of the greatest importance to put you and one minute more cannot make any difference to him listen those cries are the cries of delirium he cannot miss you he's not even conscience he's calling out any sleep he's calling her just as he has called for the last two weeks but he will wake conscience or he will not wake at all the anguish trembling in that latter phrase would have attracted sweetwater's earnest if not pitiful attention at any other time but now he had ears only for the cry which at that moment came ringing shrilly from within edith edith the living shouting for the dead a heart still warm sending forth its longing to the pierced and pulseless one hidden in a far-off tomb to sweetwater who had seen miss chalena buried his summons of distracted love came with weird force then the present regained its sway he heard her name again and this time it sounded less like a call and more like the welcoming cry of meeting spirits was death to end this separation had he found the true ov only to behold another and final seal fall upon this closely folded mystery in his fear of this possibility he caught at doris's hand as she was about to bow and way and eagerly asked when was mr brudersen take anneal tell me i entreat you the exact day and if you can the exact day more depends upon this than you can readily realize she wrenched her hand from his panting within patience and a vague alarm but she answered him distinctly on the 25th of last month just an hour after he was made manager he fell in a faint at the works the day the very day of miss chalena's death had he heard did you tell him then or afterwards what happened in new york on that very date no no we have not told him it would have killed him and may yet edith edith came again through the hush a hush so deep that sweetwater received the impression that the house was empty saved for the patient and nurse this discovery had its effect upon him why should he subject this young and loving girl to further pain he had already learned more than he had expected to the rest would come with time but at the first intimation he gave off leaving she lost her obstructed air and turned with absolute eagerness towards him one moment said she you are a stranger and i do not know your name or your purpose here but i cannot let you go without begging you not to mention to anyone in this town that mr brother son has any interest in the lady whose name we must not speak do not repeat that delirious cry you have heard or betray in any way our intense and fearful interest in this young lady's strange death you have shown me a letter do not speak of that letter i entreat you help us to retain our secret a little longer only the doctor and myself know what awaits mr brother son if he lives i had to tell the doctor but a doctor reveals nothing promise that you will not either at least till this crisis is passed it will help my father and it will help me and we need all the help we can get sweet water allowed himself one minute of thought then he earnestly replied i will keep your secret for today and longer if possible thank you she cried thank you i thought i saw kindness in your face and she again prepared to close the door but sweet water had one more question to ask pardon me said he as he stepped down on the wall you say that this is a critical day with your patient is that why everyone whom i have seen so far wears such a look of anxiety yes yes she cried giving him one other glimpse of her lovely agitated face there's but one feeling in town today but one hope and as i believe but one prayer that the man whom everyone loves and everyone trusts may live to run these works edith edith rose in ceaseless reiteration from within but it rung but faintly now in the ears of our detective the door had fallen too and sweet waters share in the anxieties of that household was over slowly he moved away he was in a confused yet elated condition of mind he was food for a thousand new thoughts and conjectures an orlando brotherson and an oswald brotherson relatives possibly strangers possibly but whether relatives or strangers both given to signing their letters with their initials simply and both the acknowledged admirers at the deceased miss chaluna but she had loved only one and that one oswald it not difficult to recognize the object of this high-hearted woman's affections in this man who struggled with the master destroyer had awakened the solicitude of the whole town end of chapter 23 book 3 chapter 24 of initials only this is a liberfox recording all liberfox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liberfox.org initials only by anna catherine green book 3 the heart of man chapter 24 suspense ten minutes after sweet waters arrival in the village street he was at home with the people he found there his conversation with doris in the doorway of her home had been observed by the curious and farsighted and the questions asked and answered had made him friends at once of course he could tell them nothing but that did not matter he had seen and talked with doris and their idolized young manager was no worse and might possibly soon be better of his own affairs of his business with doris and the manager they asked nothing all ordinary interests were lost in the stress of their great suspense it was the same in the barroom of the one hotel without resorting to more than a question or two he readily learned all that was generally known of oswald brotherson everyone was talking about him and each had some story to tell illustrative of his kindness his courage and his quick mind the works had never produced a man of such varied capabilities and all around sympathies to have him for manager meant the greatest good which could befall this little community his rise had been rapid he had come from the east three years before new to the work now he was the one man there of his relationships east family or otherwise nothing was said for them his life began and ended in derby and sweetwater could see though no actual expression was given to the feeling that there was but one expectation in regard to him and doris to whose uncommon beauty and sweetness they all seemed fully alive and sweetwater wondered as many of us have wondered at the gulf frequently existing between fancy and fact later there came a small excitement the doctor was seen riding by on his way to the sick man from the window where he sat sweetwater watched him pass up the street and take the road he had himself so lately traversed it was so straddle one and led so directly northward that he could follow with his eye the doctor's whole course and even get a glimpse of his figure as he stepped from the buggy and proceeded to tie up the horse there was an energy about him pleasing to sweetwater he might have much to do with this doctor if Oswald brothers and died but he was not willing to consider this possibility yet his personal sympathies to say nothing of his professional interest in the mystery to which this man and this man only possibly held the key alike forbade he would hope as these others were hoping and if he did not count the minutes he at least saw every move of the old horse waiting with dripping head and the resignation of long custom for the reappearance of his master with his news of life or death and so an hour two hours others were watching the old horse now the street showed many an eager figure with head turned northward from the open doorways women stepped looking in the direction of their anxiety and retreated to their work again suspense was everywhere the moments dragged like ours it became so keen at last that some impatient hearts could no longer stand it a woman put her baby into another woman's arms and hurried up the road another followed then another then an old man bowed with years and of tottering steps began to go that way haunting a dozen times before he reached the group now collected in the dusty highway near but not too near that house as sweetwater's own enthusiasm swelled at this site he thought of the other brothers and with his theories and active advocacy for reform and wondered if men and women would forego their meals and stand for hours in the king spring wind just to be the first to hear if he were to live or die he knew that he himself would not but he had suffered much both in his pride and his purse at the hands of the Brooklyn inventor and such despoliation is not a reliable basis for sympathy he was questioning his own judgment in this matter and losing himself in the mazes of past doubts and conjectures when a sudden change took place in the aspect of the street he saw people running and in another moment saw why the doctor had shown himself on the porch which all were watching was he coming out no he stands quite still runs his eye over the people waiting quietly in the road and beckons to one of the smaller boys the child with upturned face stands listening to what he has to say then starts on a run for the village he is stopped pulled about questioned and allowed to run on many rush forth to meet him he is panting but gleeful mr. brotherson has waked up conscious and the doctor says he will live end of book three chapter twenty four chapter twenty five of initials only this is a Libra box recording all Libra box recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit Libra box dot org initials only by Anna Catherine Green book three the heart of man chapter twenty five the oval hut that night dr. Fenton had a visitor we know that visitor and we almost know what his questions were if not the answers of the good doctor nevertheless it may be better to listen to a part at least of their conversation sweetwater who knew when to be frank and open as well as when to be reserved and ambiguous made no effort to disguise the nature of his business or his chief cause of interest in Oswald brotherson the eye which met his was too penetrating not to detect the smallest attempt at such a huge besides sweetwater had no need to hide his errand it was one of peace and it threatened nobody and more as the pity thought he in uneasy comment to himself as he realized the hopelessness of the whole situation his first word therefore was a plain announcement dr. Fenton my name is sweetwater I am from New York and represent for the nonce mr. Chalner whose name I have simply to mention for you to understand that my business is with mr. Brotherson whom I am sorry to find seriously if not dangerously ill will you tell me how long you think it will be before I can have a talk with him on a subject which I will not disguise from you may prove a very exciting one weeks weeks return the doctor mr. Brotherson has been a very sick man and the only hope I have of his recovery is the fact that he is ignorant of his trouble or that he has any cause for doubt all dread were this happy condition of things to be disturbed were the faintest rumor of sorrow or disaster to reach him in his present week and state I should fear a relapse with all that's attended dangers what then if any intimation should be given him of the horrible tragedy suggested by the name you have mentioned the man would die before your eyes mr. Chalner's business will have to wait that I see but if I knew when I might speak I can give you no date typhoid is a treacherous complaint he has the best of nurses and the chances are in favor of a quick recovery but we never can be sure you would better return to New York later you can write me if you wish or mr. Chalner can you may have confidence in my reply it will not mislead you sweet water muttered he sanks and rose then he slowly sat down again dr. Fenton he begun you are a man to be trusted I'm in a devil of a fix and there is just a possibility that you may be able to help me out it is the general opinion in New York as you may know that mr. Chalner committed suicide but the circumstances do not fully bear out this theory nor can mr. Chalner be maimed to accept it indeed he is so convinced of its falsehood that he stands ready to do anything pay anything suffer anything to have this distressing blight removed from his daughter's good name mr. Brotherson was her dearer's friend and as such may have the clue to this mystery that mr. Brotherson may not be in condition to speak for several weeks meanwhile mr. Chalner must suffer from great suspense unless a pause during which he searched the doctor's face with a perfectly frank and inquiring expression unless someone else can help us out dr. Fenton can you the doctor did not need to speak his expression conveyed his answer no more than another said he except for what Doris felt compelled to tell me I know as little as yourself mr. Brotherson's delirium took the form of calling continually upon one name I did not know this name but Doris did also the danger lurking in the fact that he had yet to hear of the tragedy which had robbed him of this woman to whom he was so deeply attached so she told me just this much that the edith whose name rung so continuously in our ears was no other than the miss chalner of new york of whose death and its tragic circumstances the papers have been full that their engagement was a secret one unshared so far as she knew by anyone but herself that she begged me to preserve this secret and to give her all the help I could when the time came for him to ask questions especially did she entreat me to be with her at the crisis I was that he's waking was quite natural he did not ask for miss chalner he only inquired how long he had been ill and whether Doris had received a letter during that time she had not received one a fact which seemed to disappoint him but she carried it off so gaily she is a wonderful girl mr. sweetwater the darling of all our hearts saying that he must not be so egotistical as to think that the news of his illness had gone beyond Darby that he soon recovered his spirits and became a very promising complicit that is all I know about the matter little more I take it than you know yourself sweetwater nodded he had expected nothing from the doctor and was not disappointed at his failure there were two strings to his bow and the one proving valueless he proceeded to test the other you have mentioned miss scott as the confident and only confident of this unhappy pair said he would it be possible can you make it possible for me to see her it was a daring proposition he understood this at once from the doctor's expression and fearing a hasty rebuff he proceeded to supplement his request with a few added arguments urged with such unexpected address and show of reason the dr fenton's aspect visibly softened and in the end he found himself ready to promise that he would do what he could to secure his visitor the interview he desired if he would come to the house the next day at the time of his own morning visit this was as much as the young detective could expect and having expressed his thanks he took his leave in anything but a discontented frame of mind with so powerful an advocate as the doctor he felt confident that he should soon be able to conquer this young girl's reticence and learn all that was to be learned from anyone but mr brotherson himself in the time which must elapse between that happy hour and the present he would circulate and learn what he could about the prospective manager but he soon found that he could not enter the works without a permit and this he was hardly in a position to demand so he strolled about the village instead and later wandered away into the forest struck by the inviting aspect of a narrow and niggle use road opening from the highway shortly above the house where his interests were just then centered he strolled into the heart of the spring woods till he came to a depression where a surprise awaited him in the shape of a peculiar structure rising from its nets where it just fitted also nearly fitted that one could hardly walk about it without brushing the surrounding tree trunks of an oval shape with its door facing the approach it nestled there a wonder to the eye and the occasion of considerable speculation to his inquiring mind it had not been long built as was shown very plainly by the fresh appearance of the unpainted boards of which it was constructed and while it boasted of a door as i've already said there were no evidences visible of any other break in the smooth neatly finished walls a wooden ellipse with a roof but no windows such it appeared and such it proved to be a mystery to sweetwater's eyes and like all mysteries interesting for what purpose had it been built and why this isolation it was too flimsy for a reservoir and too expensive for the wild freak at the crank and near a view increased his curiosity in the projection of the roof over the curving sides he found fresh food for inquiry as he examined it in the walk he made around the whole structure he came to a place where something like a hinge became visible and further on another the roof was not simply a roof it was also a lid capable of being raised for the air and light which the lack of windows necessitated this was an odd discovery indeed giving to the uncanny structure the appearance of a huge box the cover of which could be raised or lowered at pleasure and again he asked himself for what it could be intended what enterprise even of the great works could demand a secrecy so absolute that such pains as these should be taken to shut out all possibility of the frying eye nothing in his experience supplied him with an answer he was still looking up these hinges with a glance which took in at the same time the nearness and extreme height of the trees by which this silver mystery was surrounded when a sound from the road on the opposite side of the hollow brought his conjectures to a standstill and sent him hurrying onto the nearest point from which that road became visible a team was approaching he could hear the heavy tread of horses working their laborious way through trees whose obstructing branches switched before and behind them they were bringing in a load for this shed whose uses he would consequently soon understand grateful for his good luck for his was a curiosity which could not stand to feed he took a few steps into the wood and from the vantage point of a concealing cluster of bushes fixed his eyes upon the spot where the road opened into the hollow something blue moved there and in another moment to his great amazement there stepped into view the spirited form of Dora Scott who if he had given the matter a thought he would have supposed to be sitting just then by the bedside of her patient a half mile back on the road she was dressed for the woods in a blue skirt and jacket and moved like a leader in front of a heavily laden wagon now coming to a standstill before the closely shut shed if such we may call it I have a key so she called out to the driver who had paused for orders when I swing the doors wide drive straight in sweetwater took a look at the wagon it was piled high with large wooden boxes on more than one of which he could see scroll the words oh brother son derby pa this explained her presence but the boxes told nothing they were of all sizes and shapes and some of them so large that the assistance of another man was needed to handle them sweetwater was about to offer his services when a second man appeared from somewhere in the rear and the detective's attention being thus released from the load out of which he could make nothing he allowed it to concentrate upon the girl who had it in charge and who for many reasons was the one person of supreme importance to him she had swung open the two wide doors and now still waiting for horses and wagon to enter with locks flying free she wore no bonnet she presented a picture of ever increasing interest to sweetwater truly she was a very beautiful girl buoyant healthy and sweet as unlike as possible his preconceived notions of miss chalena's humble little protege her brown hair of a rich chestnut hue was in itself a wonder on no head even in the great city he had just left had he seen such abundance held in such modest restraint nature had been partial to this little working girl and given her the chevelure of a queen but this was nothing no one saw this oriel when once the eye had rested on her features and caught the full nobility of their expression and the lurking sweetness underlying her every look she herself made the charm and whether placed high or placed low must ever attract the eye and afterwards lure the heart by an individuality which hardly needed perfect features in which to express itself young yet but gifted as girls of her class often are with the nicest instincts and purest aspirations she showed the elevation of her thoughts both in her glance and the poise with which she awaited events sweetwater watched her with admiration as she superintendent the unloading of the wagon and the disposal of the various boxes on the floor within but as nothing she said during the process was calculated to afford the least enlightenment in regard to their contents he presently worried of his inaction and turned back towards the highway comforting himself with the reflection that in a few short hours he would have her to himself when nothing but a blunder on his part should hinder him from sounding her young mind and getting such answers to his questions as the affair in which he was so deeply interested demanded end of chapter 25 chapter 26 of initials only this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org initials only by Anna Catherine Green book three the heart of man chapter 26 sweetwater returns you see me again miss Scott I hope that yesterday's intrusion has not prejudiced you against me I have no prejudices was her simple but firm reply I am only hurried and very anxious the doctor is with mr brotherson just now that he has several other equally sick patients to visit and I dare not keep him here too long then you will welcome my brupness miss Scott here is the letter from mr Chaloner it will explain my position as you will see his only desire is to establish the fact that his daughter did not commit suicide she was all he had in the world and the thought that she could for any reason take her own life is unbearable to him indeed he will not believe she did so evidence or no evidence may I ask if you agree with him you have seen miss Chaloner I believe do you think she was the woman to plunge a dagger in her heart in a place as public as a hotel reception room no mr sweetwater I'm a poor working girl with very little education and almost no knowledge of the world and such ladies as she but something tells me for all that that she was too nice to do this I saw her once and it made me want to be quiet and kind and beautiful like her I never shall think she did anything so horrible nor will mr brotherson ever believe it he could not and live you see I am talking to you as if you knew him the kind of man he is and just how he feels towards miss Chaloner he used her voice trailed off and a look uncommon and almost elevated illumined her face I will not tell you what he is you will know if you ever see him if the favorable opinion of a whole town makes a good fellow he ought to be of the best return sweetwater with his most honest smile I hear but one story of him wherever I turn there is but one story to tell she smiled and her head drooped softly but with no air of self-consciousness sweetwater watched for a moment and then remarked I'm going to take one thing for granted that you are as anxious as we are to clear miss Chaloner's memory oh yes oh yes more than that that you are ready and eager to help us your very looks show that you are right I would do anything to help you but what can a girl like me do nothing nothing I know too little mr Chaloner must see that when you tell him I'm only the daughter of a foreman and a friend of mr Brotherson supplemented sweetwater yes she smiled he would want me to say so but that's his goodness I don't deserve the honor his friend and therefore he's confident sweetwater continued he has talked to you about miss Chaloner he had to there was nobody else to whom he could talk and then I had seen her and could understand where did you see her in New York I was there once with father who took me to see her I think she had asked mr Brotherson to send his little friend to her hotel if ever we came to New York that was some time ago we were there in June and you have corresponded ever since with miss Chaloner she has been good enough to write and I have ventured at times to answer her the suspicion which might have come to some men found no harbor in sweetwater's mind this young girl was beautiful there was no denying that beautiful in a somewhat startling and quite unusual way but there was nothing in her bearing nothing in miss Chaloner's letters to indicate that she had been a cause for jealousy in the New York lady's mind he therefore ignored this possibility pursuing his inquiry along the direct lines he had already laid out for himself smiling a little but in a very earnest fashion he pointed to the letter she still held and quietly said remember that I'm not speaking for myself miss Scott when I seem a little too persistent and inquiring you have corresponded with miss Chaloner you have been told the fact of her secret engagement to mr Brotherson and you have been witness to his conduct and manner for the whole time he has been separated from her do you when you think of it carefully we call anything in the whole story of this romance which would throw light upon the cruel tragedy which is so unexpectedly ended it anything miss Scott straws show which way the stream flows she was vehement instantly vehement in her disclaimer I can answer it once said she because I have thought of nothing else for all these weeks here always well mr Brotherson was hopeful and happy and believed in her happiness and willingness to wait for his success and this success was coming so fast oh how can we ever tell him how can we ever answer his questions even or keep him satisfied and calm until he's strong enough to hear the truth I've had to acknowledge already that I have had no letter from her for weeks she never wrote to him directly you know and she never sent him messages but he knew that a letter to me was also a letter to him and I can see that he is troubled by this long silence though he says I was right not to let her know of his illness and that I must continue to keep her in ignorance of it till he is quite well again and can write to her himself it is hard to hear him talk like this and not look sad or frightened sweetwater remembered miss Chuliner's last letter and wished he had it here to give her in default of this he said perhaps this not hearing may act in the way of the preparation for the shock which must come to him sooner or later let us hope so miss Scott her eyes feel nothing can prepare him said she then added with the yearning accent I wish I were older or had more experience I should not feel so helpless but the gratitude I owe him will give me strength when I need it most only I wish the suffering might be mine rather than his unconscious of any self-betrayal she lifted her eyes startling sweetwater by the beauty of her look I don't think I'm so sorry for Oswald Brotherson he moment to himself as he left her he's a more fortunate man than he knows however deeply he may feel the loss of his first sweetheart that evening the disappointed sweetwater took the train for New York he had failed to advance the case in hand one wit yet the countenance he showed Mr Grice at their first interview was not a holy gloomy one fifty dollars to the bad was his first laconic greeting all I have learned is compromised in these two statements the second OB is a fine fellow and not intentionally the cause of our tragedy he does not even know about it he's down with the fever at present and they haven't told him when he's better we may hear something but I doubt even that tell me about it sweetwater complied and such is the unconscious with which we often encounter the pivotal circumstance upon which our future or the future of our most cherished undertaking hangs he admitted from his story the sole discovery which was of any real importance in the unraveling of the mystery in which they were so deeply concerned he said nothing of his walk in the woods or of what he saw there a meagre hall he remarked at the close but that's as it should be if you and I are right in our impressions and the clue to this mystery lies here in the character and daring of Orlando brotherson that's why i'm not down in the mouth which goes to show what a grip my prejudices have on me as prejudiced as the bulldog exactly by the way what news of the gentleman I've just mentioned is he is serene in my absence as went under my eye more so he looks like a man on the verge of triumph but I fear the triumph he anticipates has nothing to do with our affairs all his time and thought is taken up with his invention you discourage me sir and now to see mr chalner small comfort can I carry him end of chapter 26 chapter 27 of initials only this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org initials only by Anna Catherine Green book three the heart of man chapter 27 the image of dread in the comfortable little sitting room of the scott cottage Doris stood looking evenly from the window which gave upon the road behind her on the other side of the room could be seen through a partly open door a neatly spread bed with a hand lying quietly on the patched coverlet it was a strong-looking hand which even when quiescent conveyed the idea of purpose and vitality as Doris said the fingers never curled up languidly but always with the hint of a clench several weeks had passed since the departure of sweet water and the invalid was fast gaining strength tomorrow he would be up was Doris thinking of him undoubtedly for her eyes often flashed his way but her main attention was fixed upon the road though no one was inside at the moment someone had passed for whose return she looked someone whom if she had been asked to describe she would have called a tall fine-looking man of middle age of a cultivated appearance seldom seen in this small manufacturing town seldom seen possibly in any town he had glanced up at the window as he went by in a manner too marked not to excite her curiosity would he look up again when he came back she was waiting there to see why she did not know she was not used to indulging in petty suppositions of this kind her life was too busy her anxieties too keen the great dread moving ever before her the dread of that hour when she must speak left her very little heart for anything disassociated with this coming event for a girl of 17 she was unusually thoughtful life had been hard in this little cottage since her mother died or rather she had felt its responsibilities keenly life itself could not be hard where oswald brotherson lived neither two men no women the cheer of some natures possesses a divine faculty if it can help no other way it does so by the aid of its own light such was the character of this man's temperament the cottage was a happy place only she never fathomed the depths of that only if in these days she essayed at times to do so she gave full credit to the dread which rose ever before her rose like a ghost she doors led by inscrutable fate was waiting to hurt him who hurt nobody whose mere presence was a blessing but her interest in bed caught today caught by this stranger and when during her eager watch the small messenger from the works came to the door with the usual daily supply of books and magazines for the patient she stepped out on the porch to speak to him and to point out the gentleman who was now rapidly returning from his stroll up the road who is that johnny she asked you know everybody who comes to town what is the name of the gentleman you see coming the boy looked searched his memory not without some show of misgiving a queer name he admitted at last i never heard the likes of it here before shelly something shelly shelly shalloneer yes that's it how could you guess he's from new york nobody knows why he's here don't seem to have no business well never mind run on johnny and don't forget to come earlier tomorrow mr brother son gets tired waiting does he i'll come quick then quick as i can run and he sped off at a pace which promised well for the morrow shalloneer there was but one shalloneer in the world for doris scott it is father was this he it must be or why this haunting sense of something half remembered as she caught a glimpse of his face it is father and he was approaching approaching rapidly on his way back to town would he stop this time as the possibility struck her she trembled and drew back entering the house but pausing in the hall with her ear turned to the road she had not closed the door something within a hope or a dread had prevented that would he take it as an invitation to come in no no she was not ready for sentient encounter yet he might speak either's name oswald might hear and with a gasp she recognized the closeness of his step heard it lag almost halt just where the path to the house ran into the roadside but it passed on he was not going to force an interview yet she could hear him retreating further and further away the event was not for this day thank god she would have one night at least in which to prepare herself with a sense of relief so great that she realized for one shocked moment the full extent of her fears she hastened back into the sitting room with her collection of books and pamphlets a low voice greeted her it came from the adjoining room doris come here sweet child i want you how she would have bounded joyously at the summons had not that dread raised its bony finger in every call from that dearly loved voice as it was her feet moved slowly lingering at the sound but they carried her to his side at last and once there she smiled see what an armful she cried in joyous greeting as she held out the bundle she had brought you will be amused all day only do not tire yourself i do not want the papers doris not yet there's something else which must come first doris i have decided to let you write to her i'm so much better now she will not feel alarmed i must must get a word from her i'm starving for it i lie here and can think of nothing else a message one little message of six short words would set me on my feet again so get your paper and pen dear child and write her one of your prettiest letters had he loved her he would have perceived the chill which shook her whole body as he spoke but his first thought his penetrating thought was not for her and he saw only the answering glance the patient smile she had not expected him to see more she knew that she was quite safe from the divining look otherwise he would have known her secret long ago i'm ready said she but she did not lay down her bundle she was not ready for her task for child she quailed before it she quailed so much that she feared to stir lest he should see that she had no command over her movements the man who watched without seeing wondered that she stood so still and spoke so briefly but only for a moment he thought he understood her hesitation and a look of great earnestness replaced his former one of grave decision i know that in doing this i'm going beyond my sacred compact with miss chelon air he said i never thought of illness at least of illness on my part i never dreamt that i always so well always so full of life could know such feebleness as this feebleness which is all of the body doors leaving the mind free to dream and long talk of her child tell me all over again just how she looked and spoke that day you saw her in new york would it not be better for me to write my letter first papa will be coming soon and truda can never cook your bird as you like it surprised now by something not quite natural in her manner he caught at her hand and held her as she was moving away you are tired said he i've wearied you with my commission and complaints forgive me dear child and you are mistaken she interrupted softly i am not tired i only wish to do the important thing first shall i get my desk do you really wish me to write yes said he softly dropping her hand i wish you to write it will ensure me good sleep and sleep will make me strong a few words doris just a few words she nodded turning quickly away to hide her tears his smile had gone to her very soul it was always a beautiful one his chief personal attraction but at this moment it seemed to concentrate within it the unspoken fervors and the boundless expectations of a great love and she was the aim and cause of all this sweetness lay in unresponsive silence in a distant tomb but doors his own smile was not lacking in encouragement and beauty when she came back a few minutes later and had down by his side to write his melted before it leaving his eyes very earnest as he watched her bending figure and the hard-worked little hand at its unaccustomed task i must give her daily exercises he decided within himself that look of pain shows how difficult this work is for her it must be made easy at any cost to my time such beauty calls for accomplishment i must not neglect so plain a duty meantime she was struggling to find words in face of that great dread she had written dear miss shallonair and was staring in horror at the soulless words only her sense of duty upheld her gladly which she have torn the sheet into and rushed away how could she add sentences to this hollow phrase the mere employment of which seemed a sacrilege dear miss shallonair oh she was dear but unconsciously the young head dropped and the pen slid from her hand i cannot she remembered i cannot think what to say shall i help you came softly from the bed i'll try and not forget that it is doris writing if you will be so good she answered with renewed courage i can put the words down if you will only find them for me right then dear miss shallonair i have already written that why do you shudder i'm cold i've been cold all day but never mind that mr brothers and tell me how to begin my leather this way i've not been able to answer your kind letter because i have had to play nurse for some three or four weeks to a very fretful and exacting patient have you written that no said doris bending over her desk till her curls fell in a tangle over her white cheeks i do not like to she protested at last with an attempt at naivete which seemed real enough to him well leave out the fretful if you must but keep in the exacting i have been exacting you know silence broken only by the scratching of the stubborn illegal directed pen it's down she whispered she said afterward that it was like writing with a ghost looking over one's shoulder then add mr brothers then has had a slight attack of fever but he is getting well fast and will soon do i run on too quickly no no i can follow but not without losing breath a doris as he laughed she smiled there was a heroism in that smile oswald brotherson of which you knew nothing you might speak a little more slowly she admitted quietly he repeated the last phrase but he is getting well fast and will soon be ready to take up the management of the works which was given him just before he was taken ill that will show her that i am working up he brightly remarked as doris carefully penned the last word of myself you need say nothing more unless he paused and his face took on a wistful look which doris dared not meet unless but no no she must think it has been only a passing in disposition if she knew i had been really ill she would suffer and perhaps act imprudently or suffer and not dare to act at all which might be saddered for her still leave it where it is and begin about yourself write a good deal about yourself so that she will see that you are not worried and that all is well with us here cannot you do that without assistance surely you can tell her about that last piece of embroidery you showed me she will be glad to hear why doris oh mr brotherson the poor child burst out you must let me cry i'm so glad to see you better and interested in all sorts of things these are not tears of grief i i but i'm forgetting what the doctor told me you are growing excited and i was to see that you were calm always calm i will take my desk away i will write the rest in the other room while you look at the magazines but bring your letter back to me to seal i want to see it in its envelope oh doris you are a good little girl she shook her head and hastened to hide herself from him in the other room and it was a long time before she came back with the letter folded and in its envelope when she did her face was composed and her manner natural she had quite made up her mind what her duty was and how she was going to perform it here is the letter she said laying it in his outstretched hand then she turned her back she knew with the woman's unerring instinct why he wished to handle it before it went she felt that kiss he folded away in it in every fiber of her aroused and sympathetic heart but the hardest part of your deal was over and her eyes beam softly when she turned again to take it from his hand and affix the stamp you will mail it yourself he asked i should like to have you put it into the box with your own hand i will put it in tonight after supper she promised him his smile of contentment assured her that this trial of her courage and self-control was not without one blessed result he would rest for several days in the pleasure of what he had done or thought he had done she need not cringe before that image of dread for two three days at least meanwhile he would grow strong in body and she perhaps in spirit only one precaution she must take no hint of mr shalloneer's presence in town must reach him he must be guarded from a knowledge of the fact as certainly as from the more serious one which lay behind it end of chapter 27 chapter 28 of initials only this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org initials only by Anna Catherine Green book three the heart of man chapter 28 i hope never to see that man that this would be a difficult thing to do Doris was soon to realize mr shalloneer continued to pass the house twice a day and the time finally came when he ventured up the walk Doris was in the window and saw him coming she slept softly out and intercepted him before he had stepped upon the porch she had caught up her hat as she passed through the hall and was fitting it to her head as he looked up and saw her Miss Scott he asked yes mr shalloneer you know me he went on one foot on the step and one still on the walk before replying she closed the door behind her then as she noted his surprise she carefully explained Mr. Brotherson our border is just recovering from typhoid he is still weak and acutely susceptible to the least noise I was afraid that our voices might disturb him do you mind walking a little way up the road that is if your visit was intended for me her flush the beauty which must have struck even him but more than all else her youth seemed to reconcile him to this unconventional request bowing he took his foot from the step saying as she joined him yes you are the one I wanted to see that is today later I hope to have the privilege of a conversation with Mr. Brotherson she gave him one quick look trembling so that he offered her his arm with a fatherly air I see that you understand my errand here he proceeded with a grave smile meant as she knew for her encouragement I am glad because we can go at once to the point Miss Scott he continued in a voice from which he no longer strove to keep back the evidences of deep feeling I have the strongest interest in your patient that one man can have in another where there is no personal acquaintance ship you who have every reason to understand my reasons for this will accept the statement I hope as frankly as it is made she nodded her eyes were full of tears but she did not hesitate to raise them she had the greatest desire to see the face of the man who could speak like this today and yet of whose pride and sense of superiority his daughter had stood in such awe that she had laid a seal upon the impulses of her heart and imposed such tasks and weary waiting upon her lover Doris forgot in meeting his softened glance and tender almost wistful expression the changes which can be made by a great grief and only wonders why her sweet benefactress had not taken him into her confidence and thus possibly averted the doom which Doris felt had in some way grown out of the secrecy why should she have feared the disapproval of this man she inwardly queried as she cast him a confiding look which pleased him greatly as his tone now showed when I lost my daughter I lost everything he declared as they walked slowly up the road nothing excites my interest save that which once excited hers I am told that the deepest interest of her life lay here I am also told that it was an interest quite worthy of her I expect to find it so I hope with all my heart to find it so and that is why I have come to this town and expect to linger until Mr. Brotherson has recovered sufficiently to see me I hope that this will be agreeable to him I hope that I'm not presuming too much in cherishing these expectations Doris turned her candid eyes upon him I cannot tell I do not know said she nobody knows not even the doctor what effect the news we so dread to give him will have upon Mr. Brotherson you will have to wait we shall all have to wait the results of that revelation it cannot be kept from him much longer when I return I shall shrink from his first look in the fear of seeing it betray this dreadful knowledge yet I have a faithful woman there to keep everyone out of his room you have had much to carry for one so young was Mr. Chaliner's sympathetic remark you must let me help you when that awful moment comes I am at the hotel and shall stay there till Mr. Brotherson is pronounced quite well I have no other duty now in life but to sustain him through his trouble and then with what aid he can give search out and find the cause of my daughter's death which I will never admit without the fullest proof to have been one of suicide Doris trembled it was not suicide she declared vehemently I have always felt sure that it was not but today I know her hand fell clenched upon her breast and her eyes gleamed strangely Mr. Chaliner was himself greatly startled what had happened what could have happened since yesterday that she should emphasize that now I've not told anyone she went on as he stopped short in the road in his anxiety to understand her but I will tell you only not here not with all these people driving past most of whom know me come to the house later this evening after Mr. Brotherson's room is closed for the night I have a little sitting-room on the other side of the hall where we can talk without being heard would you object to doing that am I asking too much of you no not at all he is suitor expect me is eight will that be too early no no oh how those people stared let us hasten back or they may connect your name with what we want kept secret he smiled at her fears but gave in to her humor he would see her soon again and possibly learn something which would amply repay him both for his trouble and his patience but when evening came and she turned to face him in that little sitting-room where he had quietly followed her he was conscious of a change in her manner which forbade these high hopes the gleam was gone from her eyes the tremulous eagerness from her mobile and sensitive mouth she had been thinking in the hours which had passed and had lost the confidence of that one impetuous moment her greeting betrayed embarrassment and she hesitated painfully before she spoke I don't know what she will think of me she ventured at last motioning to a chair but not sitting herself you have had time to think over what I said and probably expect something real something you could tell people but it isn't like that it's a feeling a belief I'm so sure sure of what miss Scott she gave a glance at the door before stepping up nearer he had not taken the chair she profited sure that I have seen the face of the man who murdered her it was in a dream she whisperingly completed her great eyes misty with awe a dream miss Scott he tried to hide his disappointment yes I knew that it would sound foolish to you it sounds foolish to me but listen sir listen to what I have to tell and then you can judge I was very much agitated yesterday I had to write a letter at mr brother's and dictation a letter to her you can understand my horror and the effort I made to hide my emotion I was quite unnerved I could not sleep till morning and then and then I saw I hope I can describe it grasping at a nearby chair she leaned on it for support closing her eyes to all but that inner vision a breathless moment followed then she murmured in strained monotonous tones I see it again just as I saw it in the early morning but even more plainly if that is possible a hole I should call it a hole though I don't remember seeing any place like it before with a little staircase at the side up which there comes a man who stops just at the top and looks intently my way there is fierceness in his face a look which means no good to anybody and as his hand goes to his overcoat pocket drawing out something which I cannot describe but which he handles as if it were a pistol I feel a horrible fear and and the child was staggering and the hand which was free had sought her heart where it lay clenched the knuckles showing white in the dim light mr chaleno watched her with delayed eyes the spell under which she spoke falling in some degree upon him had she finished was this all no she's speaking again but very low almost in a whisper there is music a crash but I plainly see his other hand approach the object he is holding he takes something from the end the object is pointed my way I am looking into into what I do not know I cannot even see him now the space where he stood is empty everything fades and I wake with a loud cry my ears and a sense of death here she had lifted her hand and struck at her heart opening her eyes as she did so yet it was not I who had been shot she added softly mr chaleno shuddered this was like the reopening of his daughter's grave but he had entered upon the scene with a full appreciation of the ordeal awaiting him and he did not lose his calmness or the control of his judgment be seated miss scott he entreated taking a chair himself you have described the spot and some of the circumstances of my daughter's death as accurately as if you had been there but you have doubtless read a full account of those details in the papers possibly seen pictures which would make the place quite real to you the mind is a strange storehouse we do not always know what lies hidden within it that's true she admitted but the man I had never seen the man or any picture of him and his face was clearest of all I should know it if I saw it anywhere it is imprinted on my memory as plainly as yours oh I hope never to see that man mr chaleno sighed he had really anticipated something from the interview the disappointment was keen a moment of expectation the thrill which comes to us all under the shadow of the supernatural and then this a young and imaginative girl's dream convincing to herself but supplying nothing which had not already been supplied both by the facts and his own imagination a man had stood at the staircase and this man had raised his arm she said that she had seen something like a pistol in his hand but his daughter had not been shot this he thought it well to point out to her leaving toward her that he might get her full attention he waited till her eyes met his then quietly asked have you ever named this man to yourself she started and dropped her eyes I do not dare to said she why because I've read in the papers that the man who stood there had the same name as tell me miss scott as mr brother son's brother but do you not think it was his brother I do not know you've never seen his brother never nor his picture no mr brother son has none aren't they friends does he never mention Orlando very very rarely but I've no reason to think they are not on good terms I know they correspond miss scott yes mr chaliner you must not rely too much upon your dream her eyes flashed to his and then fell again dreams are not revelations they are the reproduction of what lies already hidden in the mind I can prove that your dream is such how she looked startled you speak of seeing something being leveled at you which made you think of a pistol yes I was looking directly into it but my daughter was not shot she died from a stab Doris's lovely face with its tender lines and girlish curves took on a strange look of conviction which deepened rather than melted under his indulgent but penetrating gaze I know that you think so but my dream says no I saw this object it was pointed directly towards me above all I saw his face it was the face of one whose finger is on the trigger and who means death and I believe my dream well it was useless to reason further gentle in all else she was immovable so far as this idea was concerned and seeing this he let the matter go and prepared to take his leave she seemed to be quite ready for this anxiety about her patient had regained its place in her mind and her glance sped constantly toward the door taking her hand in his he said some kind words then crossed to the door and opened it instantly her finger flew to her lips and obedient to its silent injunction he took up his hat in silence and was proceeding down the hall when the bell rang startling them both and causing him to step quickly back who is it she asked father's in and visitors seldom come so late shall I see she nodded looking strangely troubled as the door swung open revealing the tall strong figure of a man facing them from the porch a stranger formed itself upon her lips and she was moving forward when the man suddenly stepped into the glare of the light and she stopped with a murmur of dismay which pierced mr. chalena's heart and prepared him for the words which now fell shudderingly from her lips it is he it is he i said that i should know him wherever i saw him then with a quiet turn towards the intruder oh why why did you come here end of chapter 28 this is a liberbox recording all liberbox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liberbox.org initials only by anna katharine green chapter 29 do you know my brother her hands were thrust out to repel her features were fixed her beauty something wonderful olander brotherson thus met stirred for a moment of division before him then slowly and with effort to throw in this case she saw the face of mr. chalena with the first sign of open disturbance that gentleman had ever seen in him ah said he my welcome certainly understood i see you're far from home sir and with an ironical bow turned again to doris who had dropped her hands and whose cheeks the paler so lingered in a way to check the easy flow of words with which he might have sought to carry out the situation on my household brotherson's house he asked i was directed here but possibly there may be some mistake it is here he lives said she moving back automatically till she's set again by the threshold of the small room in which she had received mr. chalena do you wish to see him tonight so i fear it is impossible he has been very out and is now after received visits from strangers i am not a stranger and i was the newcomer with a smile if he could see a moon that offers such a contrast to a stern and dominating figure i thought i heard some words of recognition which would prove your knowledge of that fact she did not answer her lips had pointed far thought or at least the expression of her thoughts hunk suspended in the chair of this meeting for which she was not at all prepared it seemed to note this terror whether or not he understood its cause and smiled again as he added mr. brotherson must have spoken of his brother elando i am he miss cuts would you let me come in now her eyes saw those of mr. chalena who quietly nodded immediately she stepped from before the door which her figure had guarded i'm motioning him to enter she begged mr. chalena with an imploring look sustained her in the interview she saw before her he had no desire for this encounter especially as mr. brotherson's glance in his direction had been anything but cuts of the artery his quite convinced that nothing was to be gained by it but he could not resist her appeal and followed them into the little room with little dimension who still did dimensions made the taller land will look bigger and stronger and more lordly in his self-confidence than ever i am sorry it is so late she began contemplating his intrusive figure with forced composure we have to be very quiet in the evening so as not to disturb your brother's first sleep which is of great importance to him then i'm not deceiving tonight i pray to wait he's been a very sick man dangerously so yes the land to continue to regard her with a peckler awakening days showing mr. chalena thought more interested her than his brother and when he spot it was mechanically and the different solar beams to the properties of the occasion i did not know he was ill so very daily his last letter was a cheerful one and i supposed that all was right so chance revealed the truth i came at once i was intending to come anyway i had business here as you probably know mr scott shook her head i know very little about business said she my brother has not told you why he expected me he has not even told me that he expected you no the word was highly expressive it was surprised in it and a touch of wonder but more than all satisfaction Oswald was always closed mouthed cleared and it's a good fault i'm obliged to the boy these last words were uttered alightness which imposed upon his too highly agitated tears causing mr. chalner to frown and doors to shrink back in indigation at the man who could indulge in a sport of suggestion in the presence of such fears not of such memories as the situation evolved but to one who knew the strong and self-contained man to sweet water possibly had he be present there wasn't this very attempt in his quiet manner and in this strange and fitful flash of his ordinarily quick eye that which showed he was laboring and have been laboring almost from his first entrance under an excitement of thought and feeling one of his powerfully organized nature must end and the assume an outburst of mysterious passion she could carry everything before it but he did not mean that it should happen here he was too accustomed to self-command to forget himself in the presence he would hold these rampant dogs in leash till the hour of saltitude then a glittering smile to his lips and he continued to gaze first at the girl who had just entered his life and then at the man he had every reason to distrust and with that firm restraint upon his upon himself a single force remarked with a courteous inclination the hours laid for further conversation i have a room at the hotel and will return to it at once in the morning i hope to see my brother he was going there is not no one going to say mr chow know not desirous of detaining him when there came a sound of a little tinkle from the other side of the hall lanching the young girl's cheeks and causing orlander brothers and bros to rise impeccular satisfaction my brother he asked yes came in flattering reply he has heard our voices i must go to him say that orlander wishes him a good night smiled her heart's enemy with a bow of infinite grace she shuddered and was hastening from the room when her glance fell on mr chowner he was pale and looked greatly disturbed the prospects of being left alone with a man whom she had herself denounced to him as his daughter's murderer my true attacks this strength to which she had no right to subject him while then with an appealing her she made him a side gesture that she had once understood i will accompany you into the hall set me and if anything is wrong yeah but to speak my name lancher lander brotherson is pleased by this move took a step which brought him between the two you can hear her from here if she chooses to speak there is a point to be settled between us before either of us leave this house and this opportunity is good as another go to my brother moscot you will await your return flash from the proud banker's eye but no demer rather a gesture of contempt doris with a look of anxious sped away and the two men stood face to face it was one of those moments which many recognize is memorable what had the one to say or the other to hear worthy of this permeable and the more than doubtful relation in which they stood each to each mr chowner had more time than he expected he was to wonder and grit himself for whatever suffering of shock awaits him for orland brotherson unlike his usual self kept himself away while he collected his own wits which strange to say seemed to have vanished with the girl the question came mr chowler do you know my brother do you know him does he know you not at all we're strangers it was said honestly they did not know each other mr chowler was quite in state looks quite correct in his statements but the other has had his doubts why shouldn't he have coincidence of finding this mourner if not a venture about his chowler in his own direct radius again at a spot so distant so secure and so disconnected with any apparent business reason certainly startling enough unless the tide could be found in his brother's name and close relationship to him he therefore allowed himself to press the question man sometimes corresponds who do not know each other you knew that a brother similar to yes i'm hope to learn something about me no my interest was solely with your brother with my brother with oswald what interest can you have in him apart from me oswald is suddenly a thought name an unimaginable one one with power to blanch even his hearty cheek and shake his soul unassailable by all small emotions oswald's brotherson repeated adding an unintelligible tone sound lb the same initials they are following up these initials poor oswald's then allowed to target the drums man perhaps to question your motives in this attempt i'm making my brother's acquaintance i kick against them but your labor will be wasted oswald's interests did not extend beyond this town they hardly extend to me you are strangers almost you will learn nothing from him on the subject which naturally embraces you mr chalmers simply bows i do not feel called upon except me to explain my reasons for wishing to know your brother that will simply satisfy you upon a point which may well rouse your curiosity you remember that that my daughter's last act was the writing of a letter to our little protege he occurs miss scott is that protege it's sweeping earth that came upon him do you require me to say more in this subject we still have seen mr oswald brotherson and then perhaps i can do so receiving no answer to this mr chalmers turned against the man who was was the object of his deepest suspicions to find him still in the days of this unimaginable folks battling with it scoffing at it coming to it and all without a word mr chalmers was without clue to this struggle but the might of it and the mystery of it three magnitations from the room though proof was lacking though proof might never come nothing could ever alter his belief in this moment on that doors was right in her estimates of this man's bills however substantial the reasoning might appear how far he might have been carried by this new conviction whether he would have left the house without seeing doors again or exchanging another word with the man whose very presence tickled him he had no opportunity to show for before he had taken another step he encountered the hiring figure of doors was returning cherry guests with an arrow of my truly it is not known that you are here she was brought to mr chalmers as she passed him then she again comforted Orlando when he sent to dismiss his trouble at her approach she said quite gaily mr breveson heard your voice and is glad to know that you're here he made me give you this key and say that you would have found things in better shape in better shape if he had been in condition to super intend their removal of the boxes to the place he had prepared for you before he became ill i was the one to do that she added to controlling her aversion with manifest efforts well mr breveson came to himself he asked if i had heard about any large boxes having arrived at the station shipped to his name i said that several notices of such had come to the house which requested me to see that they were carried at once to the strange look shed he had put up for him in the woods i thought that they were for him and i sold to the things myself two or three others have come since and had been taken to the same place i think you will find nothing broken or disturbed mr breveson's wishes are usually respected that is fortunate for me was the court's reply but Orlando brotherson was not himself not at all himself as he bowed formal adieu and passed the drone of sentinel like figure of mr chalmers without emotion on his part or on the part of that gentleman to light an exit which is something in it of zoom and red pre-age end of chapter 29 chapter 30 of initials only this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org initials only by anna catherine green book three the heart of man chapter 30 chaos it is not difficult to understand mr chalmers feelings or even those of doris at the moment of mr brotherson's departure but why this change in brotherson himself why this sense of something new and terrible rising between him and the suddenly crowded future let us follow him to his lonely hotel room and see if we can solve the puzzle but first does he understand his own trouble he does not seem to for when his hat thrown aside he stops erect and frowning under the flaring gas jet he had no recollection of lighting his first act was to lift his hand to his head in a gesture of surprising helplessness for him while snatchers of broken sentences fell from his lips among which could be heard what's has come to me undone in an hour doubly undone first by a face and then by this thought which surely the devils have whispered to me mr chalner and oswald what is the link between them great god what is the link not myself who then or what flinging himself into a chair he buried his face in his hands there were two demons to fight the first in the guise of an angel doris unknown yesterday unknown an hour ago but now had there ever been a day an hour where she had not been as the very throb of his heart the light of his eyes and the crown of all imaginable blesses he was startled at his own emotion as he contemplated her image in his fancy and listened for the lost echo of the few words she had spoken words so full of music when they referred to his brother so hard and cold when she simply addressed himself this was no passing admiration of youth for a captivating woman this was not even the love he had given to edith chalner this was something springing full-born out of nothing a force which for the first time in his life made him complacent to the natural weaknesses of man a dream and yet a reality strong enough to blot out the past remake the present change the aspect of all his hopes and outline a new fate he did not know himself there was nothing in his whole history to give him an understanding of such feelings as these can a man be seized as it were by the hair and swung up on the slopes of paradise or down the steeps of hell without a forewarning without the chance even to say whether he wished such a casaclysm in his life or no he or lando brotherson had never thought much of love science had been his mistress ambition his lodestar such feeling as he had acknowledged to had been for men struggling men men who were downtrodden and gasping in the narrow bounds of poverty and helplessness miss chalner had roused well his pride he could see that now the might of this new emotion made plain many things he had passed by as useless pure rile unworthy of a man of mental calibre and might he had never loved edith chalner as any moment of their acquaintance ship though he had been sincere in thinking that he did doris's beauty the hour he had just passed with her had undeceived him did he hail the experience it was not likely to bring him joy this young girl whose image floated in light before his eyes would never love him she loved his brother he had heard their names mentioned together before he had even been in town an hour oswald the cleverest man doris the most beautiful girl in western pennsylvania he had accepted the gossip then he had not seen her and it all seemed very natural hardly worth the moments thought but now and here the other demon sprang erect and grappled with him before the first one had let go his hold oswald and chalner the secret unknown something which had softened that hard man's eye when his brother's name was mentioned he had noted it and realized the mystery a mystery before which sleep and rest must fly a mystery to which he must now give his thought whatever the cost whatever the loss to those heavenly dreams the magic of which was so new it seemed to envelope him in the balm of paradise away then image of light let the faculties thou has days act again there is more than fates caprice in chalner's interest in a man he never saw ghosts of old memories rise and demand a hearing facts trivial and commonplace enough to have been lost in oblivion with the day which gave them birth throng again from the past proving that nought dies without a possibility of resurrection their power over this brooding man is shown by the force with which his fingers crush against his bound forehead oswald and chalner had he found the connecting link had it been could it have been edith the preposterous is sometimes true could it be true in this case he recalled the letters read to him as hers in that room of his in brooklyn he had hardly noted them then he was so sure of there being forgeries gotten up by the police to mislead him could they have been real the effusions of her mind the breathings of her heart directed to an actual obi and that obi his brother they had not been meant for him he had read enough of the morkish lines to be sure of that none of the illusions fitted in with the facts of their mutual intercourse but they might with those of another man they might with the possible acts and affections of oswald whose temperament was wholly different from his and who might have loved her should it ever be shown that they had met and known each other and this was not an impossibility oswald had been east oswald had even been in the barchas before himself oswald why it was oswald who had suggested that he should go there go where she still was why this second coincidence if there were no tie if the challengers and oswald were as far apart as they seemed and as conventionalities would naturally place them oswald was a sentimentalist but very reserved about his sentimentalities if these suppositions were true he had had a sentimentalists motive for what he did as orlando realized this he rose from his seat aghast at the possibilities confronting him from this line of thought should he contemplate them risk his reason by dwelling on a supposition which might have no foundation in fact no his brain was too full his purpose is too important for any unnecessary strain to be put upon his faculties no thinking investigation first mr chaliner should be able to settle this question he would see him even at this late hour he ought to be able to find him in one of the rooms below and by the force of an irresistible demand learn in a moment whether he had to do with a mere shimmer of his own overwrought fancy or with a fact which would call into play all the resources of a hitherto unconquered and undaunted nature there was a wood fire burning in the sitting-room that night and around it was grouped a number of men with their papers and pipes mr broderson entering naturally looked that way for the man he was in search of and was disappointed not to find him there but on casting his glances elsewhere he was relieved to see him standing in one of the windows overlooking the street his back was to the room and he seemed to be lost in a fit of abstraction as orlando crossed to him he had time to observe how much whiter was this man's head than in the last interview he had held with him in the coroner's office in new york but this evidence of grief in one with whom he had little if anything in common neither touched his feelings nor deterred his step the awakening of his heart to new and profound emotions had not softened him towards the sufferings of others if those others stood without the pale he had previously raised as the legitimate boundary of a just man's sympathies he was as i have said an extraordinary specimen of manly vigor in body and in mind and his presence in any company always attracted attention and growls if it never satisfied curiosity conversation accordingly ceased as he strode up to mr chalmers side said that his words were quite audible as he addressed that gentleman with a somewhat curt you see me again mr chalner may i beg of you a few minutes further conversation i will not detain you long the gray head turned and the many eyes watching showed surprise at the expression of dislike and repulsion with which this new york gentleman met the request thus emphatically urged but his answer was courteous enough if mr brotherson knew a place where they would be left undisturbed he would listen to him if he would be very brief for reply the other pointed to a small room quite unoccupied which opened out of the one in which they then stood mr chalner bowed and in another moment the door closed upon them to the infinite disappointment of the men about the half what do you wish to ask was mr chalner's immediate inquiry this i make no apologies and expect an answer nothing more than an unequivocal yes or no you tell me that you have never met my brother can that be said of the other members of your family of your deceased daughter in fact no she was acquainted with oswald brotherson she was without your knowledge entirely so corresponded with him not exactly how not exactly he wrote to her occasionally she wrote to him frequently but she never sent her letters ah the exclamation was sharp short and conveyed little yet with its escape the whole scaffolding of this man's hold upon life and his own fate went down in indistinguishable chaos mr chalner realized a sense of havoc that the eyes bent upon his countenance had not wavered nor the stalwart figure moved i have read some of those letters the inventor finally acknowledged the police took great pains to place them under my eye supposing them to have been meant for me because of the initials written on the wrapper but they were meant for oswald's you believe that now i know it and that is why i found you in the same house with him it is providence has robbed me of my daughter if this brother of yours should prove to be the man i am led to expect i shall ask him to take that place in my heart and life which was once hers a quick recoil a smothered exclamation on the part of the man he addressed a barb had been hidden in this simple statement which had reached some deeply hidden but vulnerable spot in brotherson's breast which had never been pierced before his eye which alone seemed alive still rested piercingly upon that of mr chalner but its light was fast fading and speedily became lost in a dimness in which the other seemed to see extinguished the last upflaring embers of those inner fires which feed the aspiring soul it was a sight no man could see unmoved mr chalner turned sharply away in dread of the abyss which the next word he uttered might open between them but orlando brotherson possessed resources of strength of which possibly he was not aware himself when mr chalner still more affected by the silence than by the dread i have mentioned turned to confront him again it was to find his features composed and his glance clear he had conquered all outward manifestation of the mysterious emotion which for an instant had laid his proud spirit low you are considerate of my brother were the words with which he reopened this painful conversation you will not find your confidence misplaced oswald is a straightforward fellow of few faults i believe it no man can be so universally beloved without some very substantial claims to regard i am glad to see that your opinion though given somewhat coldly coincides with that of his friends i am not given to exaggeration was the even reply the flush which had come into mr chalner's cheek under the effort he had made to sustain with unflinching heroism this interview with the man he looked upon as his mortal enemy slowly faded out till he looked the wraith of himself even to the unsympathetic eyes of orlando brotherson a duty lay before him which would tax to its utmost extent his already greatly weakened self-control nothing which had yet past showed that this man realized the fact that oswald had been kept in ignorance of miss chalner's death if these brothers were to meet on the morrow it must be with the full understanding that this special topic was to be completely avoided but in what words could he urge such a request upon this man none suggested themselves yet he had promised miss scott that he would ensure his silence in this regard and it was with this difficulty and no other he had been struggling when mr brotherson came upon him in the other room you still have something to say suggested the latter as an oppressive silence swallowed up that icy sentence i have already recorded i have returned mr chalner regaining his courage under the exigencies of the moment miss scott is very anxious to have your promise that you will avoid all disagreeable topics with your brother till the doctor pronounces him strong enough to meet the trouble which awaits him you mean he is not as unhappy as we he knows nothing of the affliction which has befallen him he was taken ill the rest was almost inaudible but orlando brotherson had no difficulty in understanding him and for the second time in this extraordinary interview he gave evidences of agitation and of a mind shaken from its equipoise but only for an instant he did not shun the others gaze or even maintain more than a momentary silence indeed he found strength to smile in a curious sardonic way as he said do you think i should be apt to broach this subject with anyone let alone with him whose connection with it i shall need days to realize i'm not so given to gossip besides he and i have other topics of interest i have an invention ready with which i propose to experiment in a place he has already prepared for me we can talk about that the irony the hardy self-possession with which this was said struck mr chalena to the heart without a word he wheeled about towards the door without a word brotherson stood watching him go till he saw his hand fall on the knob when he quietly prevented his exit by saying unhappy truths cannot be long concealed how soon does the doctor think my brother can bear these inevitable revelations he said this morning that if his patient were as well tomorrow as his present condition gives promise of he might be told in another week orlando bowed his appreciation of this fact but added quickly who is to do the telling doris nobody else could be trusted with so delicate a task i wish to be presence mr chalena looked up surprised at the feeling with which this request was charged as his brother his only remaining relative i have that right do you think that dot that miss scott can be trusted not to forestall that moment by any previous hint of what awaits him if she so promises but will you exact this from her it surely cannot be necessary for me to say that your presence will add infinitely to the difficulty of her task yet it is a duty i cannot shirk i will consult the doctor about it i will make him see that i both understand and shall insist upon my rights in this matter but you may tell miss doris that i will sit out of sight and that i shall not obtrude myself unless my name is brought up in an undesirable way the hand on the door knob made a sudden movement mr brotherson i can bear no more tonight with your permission i will leave this question to be settled by others and with a repetition of his former bow the bereaved father withdrew orlando watched him until the door closed then he too dropped his mask but it was on again when in a little while he passed through the sitting room on his way upstairs no other day in his whole life had been like this to the hardy inventor for in it both his heart and his conscience had been awakened and up to this hour he had not really known that he possessed either end of chapter 30