Signs And Gestures.
"There, Now, Father, You Mustn'T Ask Any More Questions," Said Rachel,
Decidedly. "Now We Have Told You The Whole Story."
Her Father Looked At Her, And She Could Just Feel The Light Pressure Of
His Hand On Hers. She Then Took Uncle Richard With Her Out Of The
Chapter 19 Pg 128
Sick-Room, And Gave Him Strict Orders Not To Be There Alone In Future;
An Injunction Which He Found Most Unreasonable.
Miss Cordsen'S Time Was Fully Occupied, Both With The Invalid, Who Would
Have None But Her And Rachel Near Him, And Also With Getting Everything
Into Order Again After The Preparation For The Ball. In Those Few Days,
However, The Old Lady Formed A Far Higher Opinion Of Rachel Than She Had
Hitherto Done.
Pastor Martens Had Not Had An Opportunity Of Speaking To Madeleine By
Herself Since His Proposal. But At This Time Of Anxiety And Excitement
He Came Very Frequently To Sandsgaard. Mrs. Garman Kept Her Bed, For
What Reason It Was Not Easy To Know; And So It Chanced That Several
Times, When He Came, No One But Madeleine Happened To Be In The Room. At
First She Was Very Shy And Timid, But When She Found That He Was Not In
The Least Offended With Her, She Could Not Help Appreciating His
Conduct. Of All Others, He Was Certainly The Person Who Showed Her The
Most Attention; For Her Father'S Thoughts Were Entirely Engrossed With
Her Uncle'S Illness.
A Few Days After This, When The Consul Had Been Quiet For Some Time, He
Said To Rachel, "Send Gabriel In Here."
Mr. Garman Gave Gabriel His Right Hand, Which He Was Now Able To Move A
Little. "Thanks, My Boy; You Have Saved Us From A Heavy Loss, And Shown
Yourself A Man. If What I Hear From Rachel Is True, That You Would
Prefer To Give Up Your Studies--"
"Not Without You Wish It, Father," Stammered The Boy.
"I Should Wish You To Go To The Commercial School In dresden, And Then
Take Your Place In The Firm, When You Have Gained Sufficient
Instruction."
"Father! Father!" Cried Gabriel, Bending Down Over The Consul'S Hand.
"There, My Boy, Let Me See That You Are Able To Work, And Then You May
Turn Out Good For Something After All. And Now Will You Do Me The Favour
Of Finding Another Name For The Ship? For I Wish Her To Have A New One,"
Said The Consul, Calmly.
This Great Honour Was Almost Too Much For Gabriel, But With A Sudden
Inspiration He Cried, "_Phoenix_!"
A Faint Smile Flitted Over The Right Side Of The Consul'S Face. "Very
Well; We Will Call Her _Phoenix_. And Will You See The Name Painted On
Her Stern?"
As Gabriel Left The Room He Met Miss Cordsen. He Threw His Arms Round
Her Neck, And Began Hugging And Kissing Her, Repeating All The Time,
Incoherently, The Words, "_Phoenix_--Dresden--The Firm."
Miss Cordsen Scolded And Struggled. She Was Afraid To Scream; But He Was
Too Strong For Her, And The Old Lady Had To Resign Herself To Her Fate.
At Length He Ran Off, And Miss Cordsen Was Left, Arranging Her
Cap-Strings, And Saying To Herself, "They Are All Alike, One And All."
Chapter 19 Pg 129
But When Gabriel Ran Across The Yard, And, Meeting The Fat Kitchen-Maid
Bertha, Gave Her A Friendly Slap On The Back, The Old Lady Clapped Her
Hands Together, And Exclaimed, "Well, I Declare, He Is The Worst Of The
Whole Lot!"
The Consul Had Several Long Interviews With Morten, Who Put On An Air Of
Importance Before The Clerks And Workpeople. But His Feelings, When He
Took His Father'S Place In The Old Armchair In The Office, Are Not
Easily Described.
Fanny Saw Little Of Her Husband, And Noticed Him Even Less. Her
Connection With Delphin Had Obtained A Power Over Her, Which She Could
Not Previously Have Believed Possible, And She Strove By Every Means At
Her Command To Keep Him Fast. But Since The Day On Which Delphin Had
Discovered That Madeleine Knew Of His Intimacy With Fanny, His Position
Became Almost Unbearable. He Would Gladly Have Done With It, But Had Not
The Will, And He Lacked The Courage To Leave The Place, And Be Quit Of
It All For Ever. And So Deeper And Deeper He Fell Into The Snare. He Was
Weary Of Lying And Living A Life Of Shame, But The Effort Required Was
More Than He Could Command. And Often, When Conversation Flagged, He
Felt Instinctively That She Knew What Was Passing In His Mind; As If
Their Secret Was Determined To Make Its Voice Heard, Although Fanny
Kissed Him, And Went On Talking And Laughing Incessantly In Order To
Deafen It.
One Thing Was A Source Of Wonder To Every One, And That Was, How
Lukewarm The Authorities Were In endeavouring To Discover How The Fire
Had Arisen; For That It Was Malicious No One Doubted For A Moment. It Is
True There Were A Few Inquiries Made At Long Intervals, But Nothing Came
To Light. This Was Not, However, Much To Be Wondered At, Considering
That It Was Only A Pack Of Old Women And Children From The West End Who
Were Questioned, While Those To Whom Suspicion Really Attached Were
Allowed To Go Unexamined.
Anders Begmand Had Been Brought Up, But The Magistrate Stated That His
Evidence Could Not Be Received, On The Ground Of His Mental Deficiency
And General Infirmity. So There The Matter Ended.
Woodlouse'S Expectation Was Not Fulfilled; Neither He, Nor The Swede,
Nor Martin Were Examined, And After A Few Ill-Natured Remarks In The
Papers, The Affair Died Out And Was Forgotten. But In The West End, And
Indeed Also In The Town Amongst The Lower Orders, People Would Smile And
Shake Their Heads Mysteriously When The Matter Was Mentioned. They Might
Say What They Liked About Garman And Worse In Other Ways, But The Firm
Must Be Allowed The Credit Generally Of Not Placing Their People In an
Uncomfortable Position. And Since The Ship Had So Fortunately Been
Saved, There Was No More Use In Raking Up The Matter Any Further. Every
One Knew The Story About Marianne, So Now The Best Thing For Both
Parties Was To Cry Quits, And Start Fair For The Future. It Was All Very
Well For The Police Magistrate To Sit There Looking So Serious, Bullying
And Questioning As If He Meant To Get At The Point; But This Was Really
Only For The Sake Of Appearances.
