Then from under his coat, where a hump appeared in the back, he drew out a grey woolen cloth about four feet square and folded it about the child, gathered her in his arms and arose to his feet.

"Mine, mine, though no harm shall come to you, pretty one! Twenty thousand dollars shall be the price of your liberty."

And, keeping in the shadows and away from the lights as much as possible, he wended his way toward the river and soon became obscured in the distant gloom.

When John Thorpe, closely followed by Rutley, entered the great ballroom in search of Corway, the guests who saw him were struck with the pallor of his face and the strangely piercing yet l.u.s.treless dark eyes that shone out from beneath his s.h.a.ggy, frowning eyebrows. His cold, stony look repelled all smiles and discouraged all questions.

Through the room he strode, regardless alike of the timid whisperings of women and offended stare of men. He cared not what they thought, for every sentiment of rudeness or discourtesy, every tender feeling of grief or pain, was drowned by his one great mad, overpowering pa.s.sion to wreak summary vengeance on the author of his bitter shame.

Not for a moment had he suspected "My Lord's" integrity and utter disinterestedness, and the maddening fire of his disgrace kindled within him and fanned to a crucible heat by Rutley burned with unquenchable fury.

Men of the temperament of John Thorpe are not blessed with a stoical mind in moments of great excitement, nor are they apt to pause and tranquilly reason out the pros and cons of this most prolific source of human tragedies.

He had loved his wife too fondly and too well to go and openly charge her with unfaithfulness.

His life heretofore had been very happy, but now the first "d.a.m.ned spot" in the clear blue of his domestic horizon would not out, the feeling of suspicion would not smother. And it grew and enlarged with amazing rapidity, and haunted him till the very thought of Corway aroused his latent jealousy to a pitch that became unbearable. Rutley had developed the demon within him.

The love that had become a fixed part of his being, flooding him with its radiance, had been violently wrenched from his heart, and his only, all-absorbing, insatiable desire was to confront the man who was responsible for it.

Oh, for the frailty of human happiness!

Out near the steps of the east piazza a group of ladies and gentlemen, composed of Mr. and Mrs. Harris, Mr. Corway and Hazel were chatting merrily about the new waltz and incidentally they had referred to the prolonged absence of "My Lord" and John Thorpe from the ballroom. Mrs.

Harris discovered them on the piazza approaching the steps and exclaimed, "Ah, here come the truants."

Without a moment's hesitation, John Thorpe descended the steps alone, Rutley remaining on the piazza.

"Mr. Harris," said John Thorpe in a husky voice, "in the name of the society whom he contaminates, I demand that you eject that man from this place."

This peremptory and extraordinary demand, coupled with its insinuation, stunned the hearers, who looked from one to the other in startled amazement.

The dead silence that followed was broken by Mr. Harris, who answered in a grave, dazed way, as thoughts of Thorpe's sanity flitted through his brain, "But, Thorpe! I--what--I don't think--my hearing is not exactly right of late. I did not understand--"

Without removing his steady gaze from Corway, Mr. Thorpe reiterated his words slowly and with stinging accentuation, "I demand that you eject that man from this place," and he pointed his finger dramatically at Corway, while glints of merciless intent shot from his eyes.

The red flushed into Mr. Harris's face as he realized the indignity his guests and himself were being subjected to.

"Thorpe--John--you are insulting all of us. Mr. Corway is my guest. What is the meaning of this affront to my hospitality?"

"To defend my honor!" cried the distracted man, lost to all sense of propriety or decorum, "or to add my blood to the other crimes that disgrace him."

"In the name of all that's astounding, what do you mean, Thorpe?"

exclaimed Corway.

"I mean that I intend to avenge the irreparable wrong I have suffered," replied Mr. Thorpe, fairly hissing the words from between his teeth.

"Irreparable wrong! To whom do you refer?"

"To you, scoundrel! Tell how you came by that ring!"

Mr. Harris had listened to the two men with ill-concealed impatience, but when Mr. Thorpe called Mr. Corway, one of his guests, a scoundrel, and dangerous business appearing imminent, he could control his indignation no longer and shouted, "Mr. Thorpe's carriage immediately!

Here, Sam, your a.s.sistance. Wells, get some more help to maintain order."

The words had scarcely been uttered, when Sam, who had appeared with Virginia on the piazza, sprang down the steps to his uncle's a.s.sistance. They were quickly joined by the coachman and gardener who, having chanced to meet in a nearby secluded angle of the porch, had heard the loud, pa.s.sionate words and were at once available for duty.

"Hold, Mr. Harris!" spoke up Corway, who seemed to be less disturbed than either Thorpe or his host, "don't be hasty in this matter! Mr.

Thorpe is certainly laboring under some delusion."

"I will not listen to you," replied Mr. Harris, now worked up to a fury. "Mr. Thorpe's conduct is outrageous. Away with him to his carriage."

"I guess so!" responded Sam, pulling off his coat and looking at his uncle sideways, "stampede the corral, eh, uncle? That's what you want!"

"Away with him!" repeated Mr. Harris, gesticulating with his arms wildly.

The two lackeys advanced, encouraged no doubt by the a.s.surance of Sam's a.s.sistance.

They were brought to an abrupt halt by Corway, who stepped in front of them and declared with heat, "Stand back! I demand an explanation!"

In a low, hoa.r.s.e voice that quivered with the intensity of his pa.s.sion, with ghastly white face, and glittering eyes that flashed the lie to his forced calmness, Thorpe replied: "You shall have it--blackguard, liar, and coward!" With which he struck Corway on the mouth with the back of his closed hand.

Corway pa.s.sionately rushed at him and attempted to strike, but Mr.

Harris sprang between them and caught his upraised arm, and with the help of Sam, separated them.

When Sam sprang down the steps to his uncle's a.s.sistance, Virginia was left standing on the piazza watching the progress of the quarrel with intense interest and also evidently alarmed at the violent pa.s.sion her brother displayed.

With a woman's intuition, she surmised that Rutley had worked on John's jealous susceptibilities with merciless finesse.

Rutley, who was watching her, noted her alarmed expression, and feeling it to be a sign of weakening purpose, stepped over and stood beside her, so silently that she was quite unaware of his presence.

"It's a horrible wrong," she muttered.

The words were caught by Rutley, and he whispered, so close as to startle her, "Remember the wrong Corway has done you."

The excited men barely had been separated when Corway spoke with pa.s.sionate emphasis, "You shall hear from me."

"Quite soon enough for your courage," sneered Thorpe.

"No, no, my brother shall not fight with him!" exclaimed Virginia, appalled at the magnitude the quarrel had a.s.sumed.

Swiftly she glanced at Rutley and said with tremulous lips: "What have you told him to cause such fearful pa.s.sion?"

"What you bade me," he coolly replied, and with a gloating smile on his lips, added: "The result is what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Not so terrible," she gasped. "There must be some awful mistake."

And Rutley's smile deepened, but as he looked into her horrified eyes and blanched face, and noted the change from vengeance to anxiety and consternation fast coming over her, he knew but too well when the change was complete, in a moment of frenzied zeal to explain and save her brother, she, womanlike, was likely to undo and wreck all his work.