 20 One more of Willie's ships reaches port. Three feverish days passed, days of constant hard work and myriad trivial annoyances. A train of misadventures had attended the transference of Willie's idea to Xenus Henry's boat. Parts had failed to fit, and much worrisome toil had been demanded before the device was actually in place. At last, however, all was ready, and Abbey Brewster, a party to the conspiracy, had on a sunny morning urged her reluctant spouse and the three captains to make a trip out to the bar for clams. They were none too keen about the proposed expedition, for the weather was warm and their course lay through shallow waters, which after the recent storm were turbid with seaweed. Nevertheless, ignoring their unwillingness, Abbey declared she must have the clams, and was not her word law? Therefore, without enthusiasm, the four fishermen had set forth with their buckets and their clam forks, and it was now a full three hours since the motorboat that carried them had disappeared around the point of sand jutting into the sparkling waters of the bay. Bob and Willie, secreted in the workshop, had breathlessly watched the seagull thread her way through the channel and make the curving shelter of the dunes, and ever since the old inventor had sat alert on an overturned nail-keg, his binoculars in one hand, and his great silver watch in the other, counting the moments until the little craft should return from its momentous cruise. The vigil had been long and tedious, with only the ticking of the mammoth timepiece and the far-off rumble of the surf to break the stillness. Presently Celestina came from the kitchen into the shop. "'I'm bringing you a dish of hot donuts,' she said, a kindly sympathy in her face. "'Odent them men to be coming pretty soon now?' For the hundredth time Willie raised the glasses and scanned the shimmering golden waters. "'We should sight them before long,' he nodded. "'You don't see nothing of them?' "'Not yet.' There was an anxious frown on his forehead. "'Why don't you eat something?' suggested she. "'It might take your mind off worrying.' "'I ain't worrying, teeny,' was the confident reply. "'The boat's all right.' "'Suppose it should be snagged or something outside the bay,' she ventured. "'I wish to goodness they'd come back. "'Look, here's delight in Abbie coming through the grove. "'Likely they've been getting uneasy, too.' Sure enough, moving among the low pines that shaded the slope between the Spence and Brewster Houses, they saw the two women. "'Abbie was stouter now than when she had come as a bride to Zenas Henry's White Cottage. But there was a serenity in her mean that softened her expression into charming womanliness. As she neared the shed, she glanced at Willie, with an uneasiness she could not wholly conceal. "'Don't it seem to you, Willie, that it's getting most time for them to be getting home?' "'You ain't nervous, Abbie,' smiled the little old man. "'No, not really. Of course, I know they're all right. Still, they ain't never stayed clammin' so long before.' "'I wouldn't worry, auntie,' delight put in, taking her hand reassuringly. "'A thousand things may have delayed them. I am sure—' "'They're comin',' broke in Willie, with sudden excitement. "'The boat's comin'.' "'Ain't that her makin' the point, Bob? She's clippin' along like a race-horse, too. Lord, watch her go!' "'That's the seagull,' cried Abbie. "'I don't need no glasses to make her out. That's her. How foolish I was to go fussin'. Still, I always have a kind of dread.' "'I know, I know,' interrupted the inventor gently. "'But there weren't no call for worry this time. I felt mortal certain they'd be heavin' into sight pretty soon.' "'I guess likely now we know they're on the way. We'd better slip home again,' Abbie smiled. "'I'd feel silly enough to have them find us here.' "'Nonsense, Abbie,' said Solestina. "'They needn't know you was worried. Ain't it possible you might've come down here on an errand? Wait till they pass and walk back with them. What difference does it make if your dinner is late?' Abbie hesitated. Her dinner never was late. Yet, for that matter, she never was out visiting her neighbors in the middle of the day either. Perhaps, as she had followed one demoralizing impulse, and transgressed all her domestic traditions, the breaking of another did not matter. "'I suppose I might wait,' she answered. "'I'd love dearly to hear what they'll have to say.' "'Oh, do wait, Auntie,' Delight begged. "'It won't be long now before they get here.' "'Better stay, Abbie,' put in Willie. "'Bob and I won't be inventin' every day.' "'Well,' was the half-unwilling answer. "'Don't you wonder how it worked?' cried Delight, addressing Bob, her cheek scarlet with excitement. "'See, here they come. Did you ever hear such a chatter? "'Xenus Henry is swingin' that clam-bucket as if there wasn't a thing in it. He will spill them all out if he isn't careful.' On strode the four men. With a bound they cleared the bank before the spent's cottage and crowded in at the narrow gate. "'Where is he? Where's Willie?' demanded Xenus Henry. Then, catching sight of the old inventor half-concealed behind his workbench, he shouted, "'Here, Willie, you rascal, out with you! Don't go hidein' there behind that table. Man alive! Why didn't you tell us what he was up to?' "'Did it work, Xenus Henry?' queried the little fellow eagerly. "'Did it work?' mimicked Xenus Henry with a guffaw. "'Say, Phineas, did it?' The fisherman gave an exuberant roar of laughter. "'Did it work?' repeated Xenus Henry, so out of breath he could scarcely articulate the words. "'Good Lord, don't it just? Why, we clipped along through that seaweed as if it weren't there. "'You didn't get snagged, then?' "'Snagged? Not much. Ain't we been ridin' in and out every little eel-grass cove along the shore just for the sheer deviltry of seein' if we could get snagged?' piped Captain Benjamin. "'There'll be no more rockin' in the channel for us. My eye, think of that!' "'However did you manage it, Willie?' Xenus Henry questioned. "'What makes you so sure it was me?' "'Oh, Lord, who else would it be?' "'Well, it weren't all me,' protested the little inventor modestly. "'Most of it was Bob. I got the idea, and he did the rest, him and Mr. Galbraith's friend, Mr. Snellen. "'Well, I'm clean beat. That's all I can say,' observed Xenus Henry, mopping his brow. "'I tell you what, it's made a new thing of that motorboat. "'There's no thankin' you. All is, Willie. If you want anything of mine, it's yours for the askin'. Just speak up, and you can have it.' A radiant smile spread over the face of the spinner of cobwebs. "'You ain't got nothin' I covet, Xenus Henry,' he answered slowly. "'But you've got somethin' Bob Morton wants powerful bad.' He saw a mystified expression stealin' to Xenus Henry's face. "'Happiness didn't come to you early in life, Xenus Henry,' went on Willie, his voice taking on a note of gentle persuasion. "'And often I've heard you lament you was cheated out of spending your youth with Abbey. Of course, Marian late is better than not Marian at all, though. Some of the rest of us,' he motioned toward the three captains and Celestina, haven't got passed by altogether. But Delight and Bob have found love early, while the bloom is still on it. You wouldn't wish to keep them from their birthright, would you, Xenus Henry?' In the hush that followed the plea, Abbey crept up to her husband and slipped her hand into his. "'The child loves him, dear,' she said, looking up into the man's stern face. "'I read it in her eyes long ago. You want her to be happy, don't you?' Her voice trembled. Only the mother instinct, supreme in its selflessness, gave her the strength to continue. We must not think of ourselves. Real love is heaven sent. It is ours neither to give nor to deny.' How still the room was! Suddenly it had been transformed into a battleground on which a soul waged mortal combat. There was no question in the minds of those who viewed the struggle that the issue presented had come as a shock, and that to meet it taxed every ounce of forbearance and control that the man possessed. He looked as one stricken, his face a turmoil of jealousy, grief, despair, and disappointment. But gradually a gentler light shone in his eyes. A light radiant and triumphant. Love was conqueror, and raising his head he murmured, "'Where is the child?' She sped to his side. "'So you love him, do you, little girl?' he asked, smiling faintly down at her as he encircled her with his great arm. "'Yes, Zena's Henry,' she whispered. For a moment he held her close as if he could never let her go. "'Well, teeny,' he said, "'I don't know as we have anything to say against it. He's your nephew, and she's my daughter. Yes, my daughter,' he added fiercely, in spite of the leaves and the galbrathes. With a swift gesture he turned toward Robert Morton. "'Young man, I am paying you a heavy fee for that motorboat. I'm handing over to you the most precious thing I have in the world. See you value it as you should, or by God your life won't be worth a straw to Willie, the three captains, or me.' They saw him wheel abruptly and stride alone into the shadow of the low pines. Silently the others drifted from the room, and delight was left alone with her lover. As Bob caught the girl in his arms, a great wave of passion surged through his body, causing its every fiber to vibrate in tune with the mad beating of his heart. He kissed her hair, her cheeks, the white curve of her exquisite throat. He buried his face in her hair and let his hands wander over at silky ripples. "'I love you,' he panted, "'I love you with all my heart. Tell me you love me, delight.' "'You know I do,' was the shy answer. Again he kissed her soft lips. "'I mustn't stay, Bob,' she said at last, trying to draw herself from his embrace. Xenus Henry is alone somewhere, almost broken-hearted. I must find and comfort him. But the arms that held her did not loosen their hold. "'Please, let me go, Bob, dear,' she coaxed. "'We mustn't be selfish.' Her request struck the right note, and instantly she was free. Robert Morton followed her to the door, and stood watching as she hurried along the copper-matted path of the woods, sun-flecked and mottled with shadow. "'What a sweet miracle it was,' he mused. She was his now before all the world, thanks to Willie's skillful pilotage. Where was the little old man, that dreamer of dreams, who with Midas-like touch left upon everything with which he came in contact, the golden impress of his heart? He must seek him out, and thank him for his aid. Perhaps the thought carried with it a potent charm of magic, for no sooner had Robert Morton framed it than the inventor himself appeared on the threshold. "'Well, another of my ships has made port,' cried he triumphantly. His delicate face was illumined with a joy so transcendent that one might easily have believed that it was to him love's touchstone had been given. "'I never can thank you, Willie,' burst out the young man. "'Be good to delight, my boy, and make her happy. That's all the thanks I want,' was the grave response. A pause fell between them. Perhaps Willie was thinking of the days that must inevitably come when the girl he had loved since childhood would be far away. How dull the grey house would be when she no longer flitted in and out its doors. Try as he would to banish the selfish reflection. It returned persistently. Then suddenly something quite outside himself put the reverie to rout. It was the quarrelous voice of Genoa Eldridge. "'I was right about them galbrathes,' he cried exultantly, standing in the doorway and hurling the words into the room where the two men lingered. "'Twas exactly as I said. "'Lyman Beers's boy went up on the Boston train one afternoon in front of Snellen and that other fellow who was here, and he heard every word they uttered. He said they talked the whole way about getting a patent out on your invention. "'Now, Willie Spence, was I right or warn't I?' "'Maybe you'll believe me next time I warn you against folks.' End of Chapter 20 Recording by Roger Maline Chapter 21 OF FLOOD TIDE Chapter 21 SURPRISES The next morning Robert Morton awoke with the fixed determination that another son should not go down until he had acquainted Mr. Galbraith with Genoa's accusations. The misgivings, the suspicions, the fears he entertained must be cleared up at any cost, or further residents beneath Willie's roof would be impossible. If necessary he would go to New York to see the financier, but he must know where the blame for Snellen's treachery lay, whether with the capitalist or with his employee. Accordingly he arose early and having breakfasted went down to the store where the nearest telephone was and called up the Bellport residence. He was fortunate in getting Parker the old butler on the wire. "'Mr. Galbraith, Mr. Bob?' came the voice of the servant. "'Yes, sir, he arrived home last night. I think he is going over to Wilton today to see you. I heard him saying something about it. Wait a minute. I hear him on the stairs now.' There was a pause. Then after a delay another voice that Bob instantly recognized to be that of the master of the house called. "'Bob? Well, hello, boy. I guess you thought we had all left you and your affairs high and dry, didn't you? I've been in New York, you know. I'm just back. I want to see you as soon as I can about several important matters. Suppose I run over in the car this morning. Will you be there? Good. I'll see you later, then.' Robert Morton hung up the receiver and walked meditatively along the sandy road to the gray cottage. The die was cast. Whatever happened it could not be worse than had been the days of suspense and anxiety that he had endured. The morning was close and humid, a land breeze wafting across the fields, perfumes of sunscorched pine and blossoming roses. Scarce a ripple marred the glittering surface of the bay that stretched like a sheet of burnished brass as far as one could see. Now and then a faint zephyr, rising from the wooded slopes, swept down the hill, swirling into billows of vivid emerald, the coarse salt grass that swayed on the marshes. So still it was that every whisper of the surf lapping the edge of the bar could be heard. Over and over the waters stole up on the shore, fretted into foam and receded, each wave creeping rhythmically back into the deep to a song of shifting sand and pebbles. How silvery the tiny houses of the hamlet looked against the azure of the sky. The few scattered trees that had braved the onslaughts of repeated gales listed landward, but the pines sheltered in the hollows of the dunes stood erect and darkly mysterious, their plumes bending idly in the soft wind. It was all a part of the idle, the daydream, Robert Morton thought, too flawless a thing to last. Willie, so childlike and simple, his kindly aunt, delight with her rare beauty, and even the romance of his love seemed a part of its unreality. Was it not to be expected that sooner or later man with his blundering touch would destroy the loveliness, making prose of the poem? The galbraiths, snelling, the greed for money, Genoa's jealousy and evil suspicions. Ah, it did not take long for such influences to mar the peace of a heaven and smear the grime of earth upon its fairness. Only glimpses of perfection were granted the dwellers of this planet. Quick transient flashes that mirrored a future free from finite limitations. He who expected to remain in the heights in this world was doomed to disappointment. Slowly he skirted the curving beach and reached the weathered cottage where the sun beat hotly down, kissing into flower every bud of the clinging roses that festooned its gray doorway. Willie welcomed him, but a glory had passed from the old man's face since the conversation of the night before. How could it be otherwise? Sleepless hours had left behind them weary, careworn lines, and in the troubled depths of the blue eyes the old interrogation had once more awakened. Bob knew not how to meet its silent combat between hope and disappointment, and he hailed as a glad relief the beating echo of the galbraith's motor-car as it swept the horseshoe outline of the harbor and came to a stop before the gate. Mr. Galbraith, who was alone, beckoned to him, and as the younger man climbed to the seat beside him, said, I thought perhaps you might like to go for a spin along the shore. It is warm today, and we shall get more breeze. Besides, we can talk more freely in the automobile than here at the Bellport House. Roger has just arrived, and also Howard Snelling. In spite of himself, Robert Morton betrayed his surprise. Mr. Snelling back again, he exclaimed. Yes, he is down, was the laconic answer. For all his boasted eagerness to talk, however, Richard Galbraith did not immediately avail himself to the privilege of conversation. On the contrary, as Bob shot a questioning glance toward him, he thought he detected for the first time in his life a strange uneasiness in the capitalists' habitually self-contained manner. He seemed to be framing an introduction for what he wished to say. I have several matters to talk over with you, Bob. He began at last in a resolute tone. Some of them are pleasant, and some of them may not, I fear, prove to be so. But we must take them as they come, and, pleasant or unpleasant, I want you to believe that I have no choice but to place them before you. I have always felt for you a warm friendship, my boy, and that friendship has in no way lessened. Therefore, if any word I speak causes you unhappiness, I want you to remember that I only say it because I must. We are not always permitted to readjust life according to our inclinations. Duty maps out many of our paths, and we must close our lips and travel them. He stopped, as if considering how to proceed. While in New York, he presently resumed, I probated Madame Lee's will. She was possessed of a large estate and knew very definitely what she wanted done with it. The will was made several years ago, and no document that I have ever seen was more specifically and conscientiously drawn up. Although she left jewels and heirlooms to my family, she left none of her other property to the Galbraiths, explaining that her daughter had all she needed, and that both Cynthia and Roger had more already than was good for them. He smiled humorously. I guessed pretty accurately what she intended to do, as some time ago we talked the matter over, and I heartily approved of her proposed bequest. He cleared his throat, and in wondering silence Robert Morton waited. The property was left in bulk to an old friend who Madame Lee had known for years, someone entirely outside the family. Bob did not speak. I would gladly see the Lee money administered as its owner desired to have it, Mr. Galbraith went on. Her ideas were wise, kind, and just, and the fulfilment of her wishes would have brought to me, to us all, the greatest happiness. But since that will was made, a new condition has arisen. Delight Hathaway, the child of her favourite daughter, has appeared. Had the old lady lived, I feel certain that in view of this fact she would have altered the document that this girl might inherit at least a portion of the fortune in which her mother never had any share. You knew Madame Lee very intimately, Bob, probably better than any of the rest of us. What do you think? The reply came without hesitation. I am certain Madame Lee would have seen to it that her granddaughter was provided for. So it seems to me rejoined Mr. Galbraith with evident relief. I am glad that our code of ethics agrees thus far. Now the question is, Bob, how strong are you for the right? If honourable action meant sacrifice, would you be ready to meet it? I hope so, was the modest response. I know so, Mr. Galbraith declared earnestly. And it is because I am so sure of it that I came to you today. Bob, it was to you that Madame Lee left her fortune. It was to be used for the furthering of your dearest wish because, to quote her own words, because I love the boy as if he were of my own blood. As he listened, Robert Morton's eyes grew cloudy, and emotion choked his utterance until he could not speak. Apparently Mr. Galbraith either expected no reply or tactfully interpreted his silence, for without waiting he continued, You can understand now, Bob, feeling toward you, as we all do, that this recent family development has not been easy for us to confront. Delight Hathaway is a beautiful girl who possesses, no doubt, admirable qualities. We expect to become warmly attached to her in time, but for all her kinship she is a stranger to us, while you are of our own, a brother, friend. For the first time the kind voice faltered. I have even cherished a hope, it went on, in a lower tone, that perhaps in the future a closer bond might bind you to us. Nothing in the world would have given me greater satisfaction. Bob suddenly felt the blood leap to his face in a crimson flood. He gasped out an incoherent word or two, hoping to check Mr. Galbraith's speech, but no intelligible phrases came to his tongue. Life is a strangely perverse game, isn't it? mused the capitalist. We build our castles, build them not alone for ourselves, but for others, and those we love shatter the structure we have so painstakingly reared, and on its ruined site make for themselves castles of their own. His eyes were fixed on the narrowing ribbon of sand over which the car sped. I—I have another surprise for you, Bob," he said in a lower tone, without lifting his gaze from the reach of highway ahead. Cynthia is to be married. Cynthia—a chaos of emotions mingled in the word. Her engagement has been an overwhelming shock to her mother and me, the elder man continued steadily, still without shifting his eyes from the road over which he guided the car. I don't know why the possibility never occurred to us, but it never did. She is to marry Howard Snelling. A quick wave of revulsion swept over Robert Morton. This, then, was the reason Snelling had filched from Willie his invention, that he might have greater riches to lay at the feet of his fiance, and perhaps reach more nearly a financial equality with her family. He saw it all, now, and probably it was Snelling's jealousy of himself that had led him to retaliate by heaping his unwelcome attentions on delight. At last it was clear as day, Cynthia's growing coldness and her continual trips to and from Bellport in the boat-builder's company. Robert Morton could have laughed aloud at his own stupidity. The engagement explained, too, Mr. Snelling's confusion and embarrassment at every mention of the Galbraith family. Why a child might have fathomed the romance? Again, Mr. Galbraith was speaking. And now, Bob, for the last surprise of all, at first I thought I would delay telling you until the papers were all in shape and ready for signature, but on second thought it seemed a pity to shut you out of the fun. We have all the data prepared to take out a patent on Mr. Spence's motorboat. Bob felt a sudden sinking of his heart, a stifling of his breath. The afternoon you all came over to Bellport, explained the financier, I got Snelling and a draftsman from our company to go to the shop and in the old gentleman's absence secure measurements and the necessary information. These we took to New York and put into proper hands, and when the affidavits are sworn to and everything is in legal form, I see no reason why the government should not grant the patent. If it does, there should be a little fortune in the appliance. Robert Morton did not move. He felt as if he had been turned to stone. I thought you would be interested, observed Mr. Galbraith, a suggestion of disappointment in his voice. I did not consult you at first because I felt so sure that the idea would please you. I'm sorry if it doesn't. It seemed to me that if we could help Mr. Spence to patent his device, he might do quite a little with it. I thought he might not know how to go at the matter himself. So we are preparing all the papers for him to file an application in his own name. Afterward I propose either to purchase from him the rights to use it, or to buy the thing outright at a reasonable figure. In either case, the deal will net him quite an income and place him beyond the possibility of financial worry so long as he lives. Oh, the relief that surged over Robert Morton! Joy rioted with shame, happiness with self-reproach. How feeble his faith had been! He hoped Mr. Galbraith did not read in his eyes the suspicions he had cherished. Apparently he did not, for in the same kindly manner he asked, Do you think it would be better to keep the secret from the little old chap a bit longer, or tell him now? Oh, tell him now! Tell him now! cried Bob. Tell him right away when we get back. His companion laughed at his eagerness, and for the first time their eyes met. And now, sir, began Robert Morton, a ring of buoyancy and light-heartedness in his voice, such as had not sounded in it for weeks. I have a surprise for you. I, too, am going to be married. The car swerved suddenly as if a tremor had passed through the hands on the wheel. I am engaged to your niece, Mr. Galbraith. To my niece? repeated the great man blankly. I don t think I quite to delight Hathaway. Bob saw a dull brick-red flush color the neck of the capitalist, and steel up into his face. For a moment he seemed at a loss for words. Then, presently, as if he had succeeded in readjusting his ideas, he ejaculated. My word, Bob! Well, you young people have mixed yourselves up nicely. However, if you all are happy, that is the main thing. You are the ones to be suited. We shall still have you in the family, anyway, he laughed. And about the property, he went on thoughtfully. This simplifies matters greatly, for it won t make much difference now which of you has it, you or the girl. But Bob stopped him with a quick protest. I don t want delight to know Madame Lee s money has previously been willed to me, he said. If she suspected that, she would never take it. You are not to tell her. Promise me you will see to that. Of course I will arrange the affair any way you wish, Mr. Galbraith agreed, with a dubious frown. But if you were to marry her, I really can t see what difference it would make. It will make a great deal of difference, declared the younger man. In the one case, the fortune will be hers to use as she pleases. She will have the independent right to hand it over to the Brewsters, if she so desires. Our entire relation will be placed on another basis. For if I marry her under those conditions, I marry an heiress, not the ward of a poor fisherman. I hadn t thought of that. On the other hand, if she refuses the money, it will be mine to lay at her feet. Can t you see what a vast contrast there will be in my position? Mr. Galbraith nodded thoughtfully, as if considering the matter from a new angle. That s the only reason the fortune would mean anything to me, that I might have something to offer her, continued Robert Morton. Of course, as you said, she would have the benefit of the money in either case. But it makes a difference whether it comes to her by the mere right of inheritance or whether she takes it from her husband. There is a distinction, admitted the elder man. Now that you call my attention to it, I can see that readily. It is a delicate one, but its consequences are far reaching. Well, you shall have your way. A proportion of the legacy shall be offered to delight, and the secret regarding it shall be yours to keep or divulge as you see fit. You are a noble fellow, Bob. I only wish—he checked the impulsive phrase that rose to his lips, but not before the listener had caught its import. Mr. Snelling is a fine man, Mr. Galbraith, broken Bob instantly, dreading the words that might follow. Oh, I know it! There is no question about that. The capitalist assented with haste. Success is written all over his future, and I know he will be a son-in-law to be proud of. He and Cynthia are royally happy, too, and no doubt know better than I what they want. After all, none of us can live other people's lives. Each must work out his own. You've said it, Mr. Galbraith. The financier smiled, and his eyes twinkled beneath the shaggy brows that arched them. You will have to be getting used to calling me by another name, young man, he said. Remember, I am to be your uncle. End of Chapter 21 CHAPTER XXII Delight makes her decision. Zenas Henry Brewster sat on the edge of his veranda, his long legs crossed before him with a certain angular grace, and his corn cob pipe held rigidly between his teeth. Beside him, ranged like sparrows on a telegraph wire, were Captain Phineas Taylor, Captain Jonas Baker, and Captain Benjamin Todd. From the row of pipes a miniature cloud of smoke ascended, but save for the distant pulsing of the sea and the murmur of the wind in the linden near the door, not a sound was to be heard through the afternoon stillness. Yet in spite of the tranquility of the day and the apparent peace of the four figures that gazed so moveably out upon the reach of blue, an electrical current of suspense was evident in the four tense forms. They were not looking at the bay, exquisite as it was in its Cerulean beauty. Instead the head of each man was turned toward the road that skirted the harbour and wound its way between the pines at the foot of the hill where the white cottage stood. He ought to be coming pretty soon, hadn't he? Captain Phineas ventured at last, unable longer to restrain his impatience. He said four o'clock in his letter. It must be almost that, don't you think? Mighty nigh unto it, replied Captain Benjamin. As I reckon it, having made the necessary allowances for my watch losing three and a quarter minutes an hour, it should be about four now. It ain't but a quarter of four, sniffed Captain Jonas with an error of superiority. That timepiece of yours, Benjamin, ain't worth the silver that was put into it. What's the use of having a watch that keeps you figuring backwards and forwards and doing sums all day? I wouldn't be bothered with it. Captain Benjamin bridled with indignation. I don't see but my watch as good as yours, retorted he. The only difference is I'm adding from morning till night while you're subtracting. The discomforted Captain Baker frowned. Mine comes out even minutes anyhow, announced he. If it does shoot ahead some, it don't keep me reckoning in fractions like yours does. I'd see myself and Davy Jones's locker for I'd go addin' three-quarter minutes together from sunrise to sunset. Oh, addin' fractions is mighty good trainin' for Benjamin, put in the peace-loving Captain Phineas with a chuckle. It keeps his arithmetic brushed up. I'll bet you he could beat you at a sum, Jonas. The triumphant Captain Benjamin observed a complacent silence. Led Benjamin in his watch alone, Jonas, drawled Xenus Henry speaking for the first time. Somebody in the house has got to be up on mathematics, and it may as well be Benjamin as another. I'm only sorry his ticker holds him just to addin'. If it would only make him multiply and divide some, and take him into square root, it would give him a liberal all-around education. Still, there's always hopes it may take a new turn. The last time it went overboard, there was indications that it wouldn't be long before it would be leadin' him into algebra and the fourth dimension. Captain Benjamin grinned at the sally. It won't be goin' overboard no more now, Xenus Henry, responded he serenely, because since the seagulls got that eel-grass-proof contrivance hitched to her, there won't be no call for me to be lyin' head downwards a stern. I'll be settin' up like a Christian in future, all of us will. My soul but Bob Morton and Willie Spence did a good job on that boat. It's somethin' to have a young chap with brains like that, marryin' into the family. I'll bet there's almost nothin' on earth he couldn't tackle. You're right, Captain Finneas chimed in. If Delight's got to get married, and would be a lot of selfish brutes not to want her to, she certainly has picked a promising husband. You can lose money, fling it away, or have it stolen from ya, but you can't lose brains. That's so, Finneas, that's so, Xenus Henry said. Besides, taint as if he was takin' her to Indiana. New York ain't far. Why, I'll stake a catch a mackerel we could fetch up at that long island place in the seagull. Of course we could, Xenus Henry, agreed Captain Jonas, flashing a glance of affection into his friend's face. There's no question about it. Take a good clear day, and the sea runnin' right. We could make it without a might of trouble. Long Island wouldn't be anything of a cruise. No place that we can sail to in our own boat is far away. A listener of discrimination might have detected in the dialogue a note of assumed optimism, and suspected that the four old men seated like images on the piazza rail were trying to buoy up one another's courage, and in the assumption he would not, perhaps, have been far wrong. What do you suppose this Galbraith has up his sleeve, Xenus Henry, that he should be comin' over here? Captain Benjamin Todd speculated during a lapse in the conversation. He has some scheme in mind, you can be sure of that. Why do you always go rootin' up evil, like as if you was diggin' for clams, Benjamin, inquired Captain Phineas impatiently? All Mr. Galbraith said was he wanted to see Xenus Henry. There surely is no harm in that. Delight bein' his niece, it's only to be expected he'd want to get sight of the folks she is livin' with. Most natural thing in the world, it seems to me. It would be querier if he didn't show no interest in the people who have brought her up. That's so Phineas, Captain Jonas echoed. Nothing's likelier than that he's comin' to sorta thank Xenus Henry. Thank us, Xenus Henry burst out. Thank us for bringin' up our own child? What business is it of his? Do we go traipsin' to Bellport to thank him for bein' good to his children? No, no, Xenus Henry, Captain Phineas replied soothingly. Of course he ain't comin' here to thank us. That would be plum ridiculous. More probable he's comin', as I said, to make a friendly call since he's a relative. But in spite of this reassurance the ripple of misgiving had not entirely died away before the well-known touring car with the New York financier and its Tano made its appearance at the foot of the hill. He's comin', Xenus Henry. There he is. That's him, was the excited comment. But Xenus Henry maintained a grim silence. He had risen to his full height and now stood braced to meet an ordeal which he dreaded far more than he would have been willing to admit. His gaunt figure was stiff with resolution, his jaw set, his lips compressed. It was the same expression his countenance had worn the night he had gone forth into the storm to rescue the sinking crew of the Michelin from probable death. It was the expression his companions dreaded and feared, the fighter ready for combat. Yet his antagonist, as he alighted from the motor-car and crossed the grass in leisurely fashion, appeared to be anything but a formidable adversary. He came toward delight, who had hurried out to meet him, with easy friendliness. His hands extended and a smile of genuine affection on his face. I am glad to see you, my dear, he said. And in your own home, too. I fancy you must have thought me a great while in coming. I was detained in New York much longer than I expected, otherwise you would have seen me days ago. She smiled up into the kindly gray eyes. And my, my, my, what a lot of mischief you and Bob have been getting into in my absence. You sly little puss, you may well blush. The bare idea of your springing a surprise like that on your new uncle. Bob has told me all about it. He suddenly became grave. And I am very glad for you both. You could not have chosen a finer husband, little girl. Robert Morton is one man in a thousand. We'll talk more of him by and by. Just now I wish to meet all your family. You must present each one so that I shall not get all these many captains confused. How simply and naturally he bridged the awkwardness of the moment. Before they realized it, Abby and the three veteran seafarers were chatting gaily with the visitor, and even Zenas Henry was venturing out of his reserve and unbending into geniality when the words, and now to business, chilled the warmth of his mood and sent him back into his shell, thrilling with vague forebodings. With every eye fixed expectantly upon him, Mr. Galbraith took off his Panama and fanned himself. Now that we have put together a few of the links that bind our two families, he began, and laid the foundation for a friendship which I hope the future will foster, there are a few intimate matters of which I wish to speak. First there is Bob Morton, and if you want any reassuring as to his character, I can give it to you. Your own wise and true discrimination has led you to accept him at his face value, and your estimate of him has not been a mistaken one. I do not think there is a young man in the world of greater sterling worth than the one your daughter has chosen for a husband. At the firm emphasis on the word daughter, Zenas Henry's jaw relaxed. Of course, you feel the same anxiety for your child that I feel for mine, and realize how much a woman's happiness depends on the man into whose hand she puts her life. In giving up Cynthia, I know what it means to you to give up delight. We parents cannot expect to have all the joy and none of the suffering that comes with having children, however. He looked at Zenas Henry, and a quiet sympathy passed from one man to the other. But we should be selfish indeed, where we to deny to those we love the best gift heaven has to bestow. It is making others happy in their way, not in ours, that tests our real affection for them. And so I know that underneath all your personal regrets you rejoice in the prospect of Delight's marriage, as I rejoice in Cynthia's. We shall not always be in this world to safeguard our daughters. How much better to see their future in the protection of younger and stronger men than ourselves? Yes, yes, murmured Zenas Henry. And now I want to speak to Delight, although I am sure she will wish you to hear what I have to say to her. It is a matter of business about which she alone can decide. When Madame Lee, her grandmother, died, she left a large property in real estate and securities which she willed outright to an old friend of whom she was devotedly fond. She felt the galbraiths were amply provided for, and therefore, with the exception of certain jewels and heirlooms, she left a large property with the exception of certain jewels and heirlooms that were to be retained in the family, she bequeathed them nothing. We understood the motives that governed her and thus disposing of her property, and were in full accord with them. The document, however, was drawn up before she knew of the existence of this other granddaughter, and in view of this fact, the person to whom the property is willed feels that it is only just that the whole or a part of it should be relinquished in Delight's favor. There was an instant pause. This the beneficiary does of his own accord, not alone as a matter of duty or as a matter of honor, but because his affection was so deep for Madame Lee that it is a pleasure to him to act as he thinks she would have desired. Had not her end come so suddenly, she would without doubt have made a new will and done this herself. You mean that without courts or lawyers asking him to, this man just wants to hand over the money? Guessed Captain Jonas. Yes. Well, I don't know who he is, but I'll say this much for him. He's an honest cuss, ejaculated the fisherman. In spite of his earnestness, Mr. Galbraith smiled. Delight, however, had risen during the interval of silence and with nervously clasped hands had gone to Xenus Henry's side, where she now stood, her eyes large with thought. Her uncle turned toward her. Well, my dear, what have you to say? he asked. It is, is very kind of a stranger to be so noble, so generous, she declared gently. He mustn't think that I do not appreciate it. But I couldn't take a cent of the money, she went on with the quick decision. Even had it been will to me in the first place, it would have made no difference. I don't want to be unkind or to hurt anybody's feelings, but can't you see that Madam Lee was really nothing in my life? She came in and went out of it like a phantom, and she did not begin to mean to me what she did to this old friend of hers. Just because at the close of her days it was discovered that I was of her kin, it established no bond of affection between us, nothing but a legal claim. If she had lived and we had grown dear to one another, and she had given the fortune to me out of her heart, then I should have accepted it gladly. But to have it bestowed on me merely by right of succession, I couldn't think of touching a penny of it. She caught her breath, and her chin rose a trifle higher. And besides, she continued, I would rather just be indebted to Zenas Henry and my own family. My grandmother was unjust to my parents. Unkind. Although she lived to be sorry for it, and would doubtless have done differently when she was older, she was harsh and cruel to them. I have forgiven, but I never can forget it. I don't want the Lee money. Zenas Henry and the three captains give me all I need, and I have no fears but that in the future Bob can look out for me. There was something in the proudly poised figure so slender and erect, so firm and self-respecting in its calm decision that roused every hearer's admiration, and drew from the New York financier an involuntary homage. Nevertheless, with the fear that impulse might have prompted the girl's verdict, he felt impelled to explain, but you are tossing away a large sum, thousands, child. You and your people would be rich. We don't want to be rich, cried Delight, with quivering nostril. Do we, Zenas Henry? She slipped an arm about his neck as he collapsed into his seat on the Piazza Rail. We are happy just as we are. You don't want me to take the Lee money, do you? she asked. Putting her cheek against his. No, honey, no. You shan't be beholden to any one but me, he answered. I hoped you'd decide, as you have, to take half the pleasure out of my life if it weren't us that was to do for you. Just the same, Mr. Galbraith. We thank you kindly for bringing the offer, and your friend for making it. And though we refuse it, taint done in no unfriendly spirit. I understand that, not of the financier. Nevertheless, he gazed with no small amount of awe and respect at these poor fisherfolk who could so lightly fling aside a fortune. Maybe, resumed Zenas Henry, you'll tell this friend of Madam Lee's that we've took note of his squareness. Oh, yes, do tell him that it was splendid of him. Splendid, interrupted delight. He's a gentleman, whoever he is, Captain Phineas added. Tell him so, from all of us. You might like to tell him so yourselves, returned Mr. Galbraith, slowly. Hey, Zenas Henry questioned. Oh, we might write him, you mean? That's so, likely it would be more decent. We'd be sure of his knowin' how we felt if it was put down in black and white. What's his name? Robert Morton. Robert Morton. Robert Mo- Not our... Not Bob. Yes. He saw delight flush, and her eyes were filled with joy. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. Bob, she whispered half aloud. Bob. Zenas Henry drew her closer. What does the girl want with money? He demanded, when she's got a man like that, he's better than all the money on earth. But she'll get the money just the same, Zenas Henry, piped Captain Jonas. She'll get it. Have you thought of that? It'll be Bob's money, not mine. Returned to light with shy dignity. End of Chapter 22 Recording by Roger Maline Chapter 23 of Floodtide This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Roger Maline Floodtide by Sarah Ware Bassett Chapter 23 Fame comes to the dreamer of dreams. Richard Galbraith returned thoughtfully over the harbour road, not sorry at the turn affairs had taken. The honourable and magnanimous thing had been done with the leaf fortune, and it had been firmly and proudly refused. Now it could go unreservedly to Robert Morton, for whom the financier had a particular regard, and in whose wisdom to make a sensible use of it, he felt every confidence. The money would not only place the young man in a position to marry without delay, but indirectly its benefits would reach the two individuals that Madam Lee would most earnestly have desired to help. Nor did the capitalists' regard for delight, which had steadily been growing, decrease when viewed from this new angle. The Lees were a proud race, and the girl came justly by the attribute. He was not sure, now that he reflected on the matter, but that he himself would have scorned the legacy in the same high-handed fashion. Nevertheless, he had not expected this termination of the interview, had not expected it at all. His recently acquired relatives were proving themselves interesting persons. Who would have dreamed that a penniless fisherman's daughter would have tossed the lead-duckets back into his face? He laughed to himself when he thought of the paradox. He had always admired spirit in a woman. The car rolled on, flashing past swamps of swaying iris bedded deep in the salt marsh grass, past tangles of fragrant honeysuckle and garlands of clinging climates, and presently shot out into the sunny stretch of road that like a white ribbon bound the blue waters of the bay. When it reached the bluff where the sand mounted into green-capped dunes, patched in their hollows with shadows of violet, it slowed down and came to a stop before Willie Spence's weathered cottage. The old inventor and Bob were seated idly on the workshop steps. No longer did the vibrant hammer and purring plain blend their metallic notes with the music of the turf. Their work was done, and until he was kitsched with a new idea, Willie had nothing to do but smoke beneath the shade of the grapevine and rambler rose, and watched the vast reach of water to the line where it melted into the blue of the sky. Since his interview with Mr. Galbraith, Robert Morton had had all he could do to keep from Willie the assurance that Genoa's accusations were false, and that instead of misfortune, good luck was winging its way toward the low-gray house on the bay. Bob was a generous fellow, and it added tenfold to his present happiness to know that joy was also coming to one toward whom he cherished an abiding affection. The secret, however, was Mr. Galbraith's, and until the New Yorker saw fit to impart it, he must maintain silence. Therefore, with smiles wreathing his face, and the wonderful story locked tightly in his possession, he tried to be patient until the final revelation should be made. And now, with the approach of the capitalist, he knew that at last the great moment had arrived. The dream of years was to come true, and the darling of Willie's brain, his greatest and most ambitious idea, was to be made a potent factor in the broad universe. So perfectly did he understand the quaint half-shrinking inventor that he knew well no money, no fame, no praise could mean to him what this recognition would. Persons were to use the thing he had thought out, to use it neither because of friendship nor interest, but because it was a practical, indispensable article which no mind had previously given to the world. In the days and weeks Bob had spent in the Spence Cottage, it was impossible not to read all this, and more in the sensitive, hungering nature of the man who had worked beside him. Love and parenthood, in its smaller and more specific sense, had passed Willie Spence by, but in their place there had sprung into life a broader altruism and a larger creative impulse. The children his mind begot were as much of his blood and marrow as if they had actually been born of his own flesh, and to have one of them go victoriously forth into that moving current that reached so far beyond his own humble door would be like sending a child into battle. It transformed the father to one of the elect. Surely, thought Robert Morton, great and unexpected issues had centered about his visit to Wilton. When confronted by the present unfoldings, who would have the temerity to boast that one's destinies were matters of chance? Well, called Mr. Galbraith as he came up the walk, you two people look comfortable. Is there room in that doorstep for one more? Certainly, sir, certainly, Willie replied. But wouldn't you rather we heaved a box or something out of the shop for you to set on? You'll find these steps a good way down, I'm afraid. Not a bit of it, the New Yorker answered, dropping into the welcome shade of the trellis. You have deserted the shop, I see. Does that mean your work is done? Done and delivered, smiled Willie. We've discharged our cargo and ain't took nothing else aboard yet. We're just kind of ridin' at anchor. How did your friend, Mr. Brewster, like your handiwork? In spite of his native modesty, Willie's bronzed face lighted with pride. Say, you had oughta seen him, exclaimed he, forgetting everything else in his pleasure. He was struck clean a beam. He never suspected nothing about it, and the surprise took him broadside. And it works! continued the little man with enthusiasm. Yes, sir, re, it works. That cockle-shell of a seagull goes ripping along through the eel-grass, her propeller clear and free, as if she had twenty fathoms of water under her. It's as pretty a sight as you'd care to look on. Mr. Galbraith watched the shining eyes of the inventor. Mr. Spence, he said, that idea of yours is going to be a very useful and valuable one. Have you thought of that? Willie flushed. Well, replied he with hesitation. Yesterday, when I was shucking clams, it did come to me that maybe there'd be other folks besides Xenus Henry would like it. A great many folks, rejoined the capitalist. I am in a position to know, because shipbuilding chances to be my business. So I was told, his listener remarked quietly, an expression of quick surprise passed over the other's countenance. Yes, he went on. Both Mr. Snelling and I are interested in boats in our way. It's a fine job, Willie observed evasively. Yes, it is. Not only is shipbuilding a fascinating occupation, but it is a patriotic one as well, for I believe the resurrection of our merchant marine to be one of the most important duties of our nation. Everything that works toward that end is a service to the country in my estimation. You're right, sir, was the rejoinder. I'm terrible fond of ships myself. They're human as people, and as different. You can turn them out from the same model, but no two of them will ever be alike. I've got a little y'all down in the shore I wouldn't take a thousand dollars for. She's known as if she was alive. I can tell to an inch how much sail she'll stand and how much water she'll draw. She answers to the tiller quick as a child to your voice, too, quicker and most children. I've had her for years, and smooth weather or foul she ain't never gone back on me. Folks disappoint you sometimes, but a boat never does. As if sensing that he was venturing on dangerous ground, he stopped abruptly. So you build boats, do you? he commented to change the subject. Richard Galbraith nodded. That's my calling, he assented. And since it is, I am in a position to handle things that have to do with boats of all kinds. That is why your motorboat idea has interested me so deeply. I saw its possibilities from the moment I first laid eyes on it, and I wish to congratulate you on having given the public such a useful invention. It ain't got far toward the public, objected willy, with a deprecating shrug of his shoulders. But it's going to, Mr. Galbraith declared with promptness. Bob, Mr. Snelling and I have taken matters into our own hands, and have ventured to have an application for a patent prepared. Description, claims, and all. And after you have sworn to the affidavit and affixed your signature, we will send it off to Washington, where I haven't a doubt it will be granted. I thought this would save you the bother of attending to it yourself. Poor Willie was too amazed to speak. Now, Galbraith and company will want the monopoly of that patent, Mr. Spence. Hurried on the finance here. We're going to make you a proposition, either for the purchase of it outright, or for its use on a royalty basis. With a supreme disregard for business, Willie wheeled on him before he could go further, and said simply, Law, Mr. Galbraith, you can use the thing and welcome. Turn out as many of them as you like. It won't make no odds to me. But the patent, think of having a real patent on something I've thought out. Just you picture it. He repeated the words in a soft, musing voice that hushed his ears into stillness. I never thought to live to see the day anything of mine would be patented. That means that nobody else anywhere in the world ever was kitsched by that same idea before, don't it? It's sort of, sort of wonderful and gratifying. But if it hadn't been for the rest of you that's helped me, the clap-trapsion would never have been in any kind of shape. It would have been just a hit or miscontrivance, like the rest of the ideas I've got indoors. You see, I never had the schooling to manage my notions, even when once I'd got them. I know that well enough, so if I should get a patent on this thing, it would be mostly due to you that's helped me, and I thank you most humble. His voice trembled with feeling. After all you've done, the three of you, you wouldn't expect me to take money from you for using the scheme, would you? Take it, and welcome, and may it bring luck to your business. But there's one thing I would like, he added timidly. If we should get them patent papers from the government, and they ain't no particular use to you, I'd like to keep them by me to read over now and again. It would sort of make it all seem more real some way, and less as if I'd dreamed it. I've imagined this happen in so many times, and woke up to find it was only imaginance. The blue eyes softened into mistiness. To think of getting a patent. To think of it. Celestina will be glad. I'm afraid, by and large, I've bothered her quite considerable with my strings and spools and tacks and such. She'll like to know some of them went for something after all. The Brewsters and delight will be pleased too. And there's Genoa. Oh, Genoa must be told right away, Bob. Quick as ever we can fetch it. It will clear the air, twix Tim and me, and make us both happier. I ain't never been able to convince him that, if you put your trust in folks, they seldom betray it. Who knows, but when he finds out what's happened, he'll catch that idea. If he should, it would be worth all the inventions and patents in the world put together. Look for the best, I say, and you get it every time. Continued the little old man with a smile of exquisite serenity. The universe is full of kindly souls with hearts a-beaten inside them, same's yours. Meet them with their hands out, and their hands will come the other halfway. It is a pity you can't take out a patent on that notion, Mr. Spence, and so it broadcast, returned the New Yorker soberly. Willie's gaze traveled with wistful and reverent faith across the other's face to the sky above him. Somehow, he murmured, I like to believe that idea was patented centuries ago by one who put it right to work by believing the best of all us poor sinners. Folks ain't used the notion yet, much as they might, but they're gettin' round to, and the day'll come when not to believe in the other fellow's soul will be like, well, like havin' a motorboat without our attachment. Concluded he whimsically. End of Chapter 23 End of Floodtide by Sarah Ware Bassett