toward me at the last. I kissed him. He was all shrunk to nothing. I
had a horrible feeling that I had never been a real daughter to him.
But, but, you know, he made it difficult, awfully difficult. And then
he died; Bailey was on one side of the bed and I was on the other, and
the nurse and the doctor were whispering outside the door. I could hear
them through the transom.'
She slipped her hand into Kirk's and sat silent while the car slid into
the traffic of
Great Mystery had fallen on the brightness of the perfect morning.
The car had stopped at
crowds to cross the avenue. Kirk looked at them with a feeling of
sadness. It was not caused by John Bannister's death. He was too honest
to be able to plunge himself into false emotion at will. His feeling
was more a vague uneasiness, almost a presentiment. Things changed so
quickly in this world. Old landmarks shifted as the crowd of strangers
was shifting before him now, hurrying into his life and hurrying out of
it.
He, too, had changed. Ruth, though he had detected no signs of it,
must be different from the Ruth he had left a year ago. The old life
was dead. What had the new life in store for him? Wealth for one
thing, other standards of living, new experiences.
An odd sensation of regret that this stream of gold had descended upon
him deepened his momentary depression. They had been so happy, he and
Ruth and the kid, in the old days of the hermit's cell. Something that
was almost a superstitious fear of this unexpected legacy came upon
him.
It was unlucky money, grudgingly given at the eleventh hour. He seemed
to feel John Bannister watching him with a sneer, and he was afraid of
him. His nerves were still a little unstrung from the horror of his
wanderings, and the fever had left him weak. It seemed to him that
there was a curse on the old man's wealth, that somehow it was destined
to bring him unhappiness.
The policeman waved his hand. The car jerked forward. The sudden
movement brought him to himself. He smiled, a little ashamed of having
been so fanciful; the sky was blue; the sun shone; a cool breeze put
the joy of life into him; and at his side Ruth sat, smiling now. From
her, too, the cloud had been lifted.
'It seems like a fairy-story,' said Kirk, breaking the silence that had
fallen between them.
'I think it must have been the thought of Bill that made him do it,'
said Ruth. 'He left half his money to Bailey and half to me during my
lifetime. Bailey's married now, by the way.' She paused. 'I'm afraid
father never forgave you, dear,' she added. 'He made Bailey the trustee
for the money, and it goes to Bill in trust after my death.'
She looked at him rather nervously it seemed to Kirk. The terms of the
will had been the cause of some trouble to her. Especially had she
speculated on his reception of the news that Bailey was to play so
important a part in the administration of the money. Kirk had never
told her what had passed between him and Bailey that afternoon in the
studio, but her quick intelligence had enabled her to guess at the
