The Twenty-Fourth of June: Midsummer's Day Read online

  CHAPTER II

  RICHARD CHANGES HIS PLANS

  The next time Richard Kendrick went to the Gray home was a fortnightlater, when old Matthew Kendrick was sending some material for whichJudge Gray had written to ask him--books and pamphlets, and a set ofmaps. This time he would have sent a servant, but his grandson Richardheard him giving directions and came into the affair with a carelesssuggestion that he was driving that way and might as well take the stuffif Mr. Kendrick wished it. The old man glanced curiously at him acrossthe table where the two sat at luncheon.

  "Glad to have you, of course," he commented, "but you made so manyobjections when I asked you before I thought I wouldn't interfere withyour time again. Did you meet any of the family when you went?"

  "Only Judge Gray and two of his nephews," responded Richard, truthfullyenough.

  So he went with the big package. This time, it being a fine, sunny,summerlike day almost as warm as September, he went clad in carefuldress with only a light motoring coat on over all to preserve theintegrity of his attire. He left this in the car when he leaped out ofit, and appeared upon the doorstep looking not at all like his ownchauffeur, but quite his comely self.

  The door-lock was in full working order now, and he was admitted by thesame little maid whom he remembered seeing before. Upon his inquiry forJudge Gray he was told that that gentleman was receiving another callerand had asked to be undisturbed for a short time, but if he could wait--

  Now there was no reason in the world for his waiting, since the packageof books, pamphlets, and maps was under his arm and he had only tobestow it upon the maid and give her the accompanying directions. But,at this precise moment, Richard caught sight of a figure running downthe staircase; concluded in one glance, as he had concluded in oneglance before, that if a personality could be expressed by a speakingvoice, a laugh, and a rose-hued scarf, this must be the one theyexpressed; and decided in the twinkling of an eye to wait. The maidconducted him toward the room on the right of the hall and he followedher, passing as he did so the person who had reached the foot of thestairs and who went by him in such haste that he had only time to giveher one short but--it must be described as--concentrated look straightin the eyes. She in turn bestowed upon him the one glance necessary toinform her whether she knew him and so must stay long enough in herrapid progress to greet him. Their eyes therefore met at rather closerange, lingered for the space of two running seconds, and parted.

  Richard Kendrick accepted the chair offered him and sat upon it for thespace of some eighteen-odd minutes; they might have been hours orseconds, he could not have told which. He could hardly have describedthe room to which he had been shown, unless to say that it was a square,old-fashioned reception room, a little formal, decidedly quaint, anddignified, and clearly not used by the family as other rooms were used.Certainly the piano, from which he had heard the Schumann music on hisformer visit, was not here, and certainly there were no rose-hued scarfsflung carelessly about. It was undoubtedly a place kept for the use ofstrange callers like himself, and had small part in the life of thehousehold.

  At length he was summoned to Judge Gray's library. He was met with thesame pleasant courtesy as before, delivered his parcel, and lingered aslong as might be, listening politely to his host's remarks, and looking,looking--for a chance to make a reason to come again. Quite unexpectedlyit was offered him by the Judge himself.

  "I wonder if you could recommend to me," said Judge Gray as Richard wasabout to take his leave, "a capable young man--college-bred, ofcourse--to come here daily or weekly as I might need him, to assist mein the work of preparing my book. My eyes, as you see, will not allow meto use them for much more than the reading of a paragraph, and while myfamily are very ready to help whenever they have the time, mine is soserious a task, likely to continue for so long a period, that I shallneed continuous and prolonged assistance. Do you happen to know--?"

  Well, it can hardly be explained. This was a rich man's heir and thegrandson of millions more, in need--according to his own point ofview--of no further education along the lines of work, and he had avoyage to the Far East in prospect. Certainly, a fortnight earlier thething furthest from his thoughts would have been the engaging of himselfas amanuensis and general literary assistant to an ex-judge upon soprosaic a task as the history of the Supreme Court of the State. To saythat a rose-hued scarf, a laugh, and an alluring speaking voice explainit seems absurd, even when you add to these that which the young man sawduring that moment of time when he looked into the face of their owner.Rather would I declare that it was the subtle atmosphere of that whichin all his travels he had never really seen before--a home. At allevents a new force of some sort had taken hold upon him, and was leadinghim whither he had never thought to go.

  If Judge Gray was surprised that the grandson of his old friend MatthewKendrick should thus offer himself for the obscure and comparativelyunremunerative post of secretary, he gave no evidence of it. Possibly itdid not seem strange to him that this young man should show interest inthe work the Judge himself had laid out with an absorbing enthusiasm.Therefore a trial arrangement was soon made, and Richard Kendrick agreedto present himself in Judge Gray's library on the following morning atten o'clock. The only stipulation he made was that if, for any reason,he should decide suddenly to go upon a journey he had had some time incontemplation, he should be allowed to provide a substitute. He had notyet so completely surrendered to his impulse that he was not careful toleave himself a loophole of escape.

  The young man laughed to himself all the way down the avenue. What wouldhis grandfather say? What would his friends say? His friends should notknow--confound them!--it was none of their business. He would have hisevenings; he would appear at his clubs as usual. If comments were madeupon his absence at other hours he would quietly inform the observingones that he had gone to work, but would refuse to say where. Itcertainly was a joke, his going to work; not that his grandfather hadnot often and strenuously recommended it, saying that the boy wouldnever know happiness until he shook hands with labour; not that hehimself had not fully intended some day to go into the trainingnecessary to the assuming of the cares incident to the handling of agreat fortune. But thus far--well, he had never been ready to begin. Onejourney more, one more long voyage--

  Her eyes--had they been blue or black? Blue, he was quite sure, althoughthe masses of her hair had been like night for dusky splendour, and hercheeks of that rich bloom which denotes young vigour and radiant health.He could hear her voice now, quoting a serious poet to fit a madcapmood--and quoting him in such a voice! What were the words? Heremembered her mockingly exaggerated inflection:

  "'O, it is _excellent_To have a giant's strength; but it is _tyrannous_To use it like a giant!'"

  Well, from his flash-fire observation of her he should say that a manmight need a giant's strength to overcome her, if she chose to opposehim, in any situation whatever. What a glorious task--to overcomeher--to teach that lovely, teasing voice gentler words--

  He laughed again. Since he had left college he had not been sointerested in what was coming next--not even on the day he met AmeliePenstoff in St. Petersburg--nor on the day, in Japan, when his friendRogers made an appointment with him to meet that little slant-eyed girl,half Japanese, half French, and whole minx--the beauty!--he could noteven recall her name at this moment--with whom he had had an absorbingexperience he should be quite unwilling to repeat. And now, here was agirl--a very different sort of girl--who interested him more than any ofthem. He wondered what was her name. Whatever it was, he would know itsoon--call her by it--soon.

  He went home. He did not tell his grandfather that night. There was notmuch use in putting it off, but--somehow--he preferred to wait tillmorning. Business sounds more like business--in the morning.

  * * * * *

  The first result of his telling his grandfather in the morning was anote from old Matthew Kendrick to old Judge Gray. The note, which almostchuckled aloud, was as follows:


  MY DEAR CALVIN GRAY: Work him--work the rascal hard! He's a lazy chapwith a way with him which plays the deuce with my foolish old heart. Icould make my own son work, and did; but this son of his--that seems tobe another matter. Yet I know well enough the dangers of idleness--knowthem so well that I'm tickled to death at the mere thought of hisputting in his time at any useful task. He did well enough in college;there are brains there unquestionably. I didn't object seriously to histravelling--for a time--after his graduation; but that sort of life hasgone on long enough, and when I talk to him of settling down at somesteady job it's always "after one more voyage." I don't yet understandwhat has given him the impulse--whim--caprice--I don't venture to giveit any stronger name--to accept this literary task from you. He vowshe's not met the women of your household, or I should think that mightexplain it. I hope he will meet them--all of them; they'll be good forhim--and so will you, Cal. Do your best by the boy for my sake, andbelieve me, now as always,

  Gratefully your old friend,

  MATTHEW.

  "Eleanor, have you five minutes to spare for me?" Judge Gray, his oldfriend's note in hand, hailed his brother's wife as she passed the opendoor of his library. She came in at once, and, though she was in themidst of household affairs, sat down with that delightful air of havingall the time in the world to spare for one who needed her, which was oneof her endearing characteristics.

  When she had heard the note she nodded her head thoughtfully. "I thinkthe grandfather may well congratulate himself that the grandson hasfallen into your hands, Calvin," said she. "The work you give him maynot be to him the interesting task it would be to some men, but it willundoubtedly do him good to be harnessed to any labour which means a bitof drudgery. By all means do as Mr. Kendrick bids you--'work him hard.'"She smiled. "I wonder what the boy would think of Louis's work."

  "He would take to his heels, probably, if it were offered him. It'splain that Matthew's pleased enough at having him tackle a gentleman'stask like this, and hopes to make it a stepping-stone to something moremuscular. I shall do my best by Richard, as he asks. You note that hewants the young man to meet us all. Are you willing to invite him todinner some time--perhaps next week--as a special favour to me?"

  "Certainly, Calvin, if you consider young Mr. Kendrick in every way fitto know our young people."

  Her fine eyes met his penetratingly, and he smiled in his turn. "That'slike you, Eleanor," said he, "to think first of the boy's character andlast of his wealth."

  "A fig for his wealth!" she retorted with spirit. "I have twodaughters."

  "I have made inquiries," said he with dignity, "of Louis, who knowsyoung Kendrick as one young man knows another, which is to the full. Heconsiders him to be more or less of an idler, and as much of aspendthrift as a fellow in possession of a large income is likely to bein spite of the cautions of a prudent grandfather. He has a passion fortravel and is correspondingly restless at home. But Louis thinks him tobe a young man of sufficiently worthy tastes and standards to haveescaped the worst contaminations, and he says he has never heardanything to his discredit. That is considerable to say of a young man inhis position, Eleanor, and I hope it may constitute enough of a passportto your favour to permit of your at least inviting him to dinner.Besides--let me remind you--your daughters have standards of their ownwhich you have given them. Ruth is a girl yet, of course, but a mightydiscerning one for sixteen. As for Roberta, I'll wager no youngmillionaire is any more likely to get past her defences than any youngmechanic--unless he proves himself fit."

  "I am confident of that," she agreed, and with her charming gray headheld high went on about her household affairs.