CHAPTER XL.MARK AND HELEN.
There was much talk in Silverton when it was known that Katy had come to stay until her husband returned from the war, and at first the people watched her curiously as she came among them again, so quiet, so subdued, so unlike the Katy of old that they would have hardly recognized her but for the beauty of her face and the sunny smile she gave to all, and which rested oftenest on the poor and suffering, who blessed her as the angel of their humble homes, praying that God would remember her for all she was to them. Wilford had censured her at first for going to Silverton, when he preferred she should stay in New York, hinting darkly at the reason of her choice, and saying to her once, when she told him how the Sunday before her twenty-first birthday she had knelt before the altar and taken upon herself the vows of confirmation, “Your saintly cousin is, of course, delighted,and that I suppose is sufficient, without my congratulations.â€
Perhaps he did not mean it, but he seemed to take delight in teasing her, and Katy sometimes felt she should be happier without his letters than with them. He never said he was sorry he had left her so suddenly—indeed he seldom referred to the past in any way; or if he did, it was in a manner which showed that he thought himself the injured party, if either.
Katy did not often go to Linwood, and seldom saw Morris alone. After what had passed she thought it better to avoid him as much as possible, and was glad when early in June he accepted a situation offered him as surgeon in a Georgetown hospital, and left Silverton for his new field of labor.
True to her promise, Bell came the last of July to Silverton, proving herself a dreadful romp, as she climbed over the rocks in Aunt Betsy’s famous sheep-pasture, or raked the hay in the meadow, and proving herself, too, a genuine woman, as with blanched cheek and anxious heart she waited for tidings from the battles before Richmond, where the tide of success seemed to turn, and the North, hitherto so jubilant and hopeful, wore weeds of mourning from Maine to Oregon. Lieut. Bob was there, and Wilford, too; and so was Captain Ray, digging in the marshy swamps, where death floated up in poisonous exhalations—plodding on the weary march, and fighting all through the seven days, where the sun poured down its burning heat and the night brought little rest. No wonder, then, that three faces at the farm-house grew white with anxiety, or that three pairs of eyes grew dim with watching the daily papers. But the names of neither Wilford, Mark, nor Bob were ever found among the wounded, dead, or missing, and with the fall of the first autumn leaf Bell returned to the city more puzzled, more perplexed than ever with regard to Helen Lennox’s real feelings toward Captain Ray.
The week before Christmas, Mark came home for a few days, looking ruddy and bronzed from exposure and hardship, but wearing a disappointed, listless look which Bell was quick to detect, connecting it in some way withHelen Lennox. Only once did he call at Mr. Cameron’s and then as Juno was out Bell had him to herself, talking of Silverton, of Helen and Katy, in the latter of whom he seemed far more interested than her sister. Many questions he asked concerning Katy, expressing his regret that Wilford had left her, and saying he believed Wilford was sorry, too. He was in the hospital now, with a severe cold and a touch of the rheumatism, he said; but as Bell knew this already she did not dwell long upon that subject, choosing rather to talk of Helen, who, she said, was “as much interested in the soldiers, as if she had a brother or a lover in the army,†and her bright eyes glanced meaningly at Mark, who answered carelessly,
“Dr. Grantis there, and that may account for her interest.â€
Mark knew he must say something to ward off Bell’s attacks, and he continued talking of Dr. Grant and how much he was liked by the poor wretches who needed some one like him to keep them from dying of homesickness if nothing else; then, after a few bantering words concerning Lieutenant Bob and thepicturehe carried into every battle, buttoned closely over his heart, Mark Ray took his leave, while Bell ran up to her mother’s room as a seamstress was occupying her own. Mrs. Cameron was out that afternoon, and that she had dressed in a hurry was indicated by the unusual confusion of her room. Drawers were left open and various articles scattered about, while on the floor, just as it had fallen from a glove-box, lay aletterwhich Bell picked up, intending to replace it.
“Miss Helen Lennox,†she read in astonishment. “How came Helen Lennox’s letterhere, and fromMark Raytoo,†she continued, still more amazed as she took the neatly folded note from the envelope and glanced at the name. “Foul play somewhere. Can it be mother?†she asked, as she read enough to know that she held in her hand Mark’s offer of marriage, which had in some mysterious manner found its way to her mother’s room. “I don’t understand it,†she said, racking her brain for a solution of the mystery. “But I’ll send it to Helen this very day, and to-morrow I’ll tell Mark Ray.â€
Procrastination was not one of Bell Cameron’s faults, and for full half an hour before her mother and Juno came home, the stolen letter had been lying in the mail box where Bell herself deposited it, together with a few hurriedly-written lines, telling how it came into her hands, but offering no explanation of any kind.
“Mark is home now on a leave of absence which expires day after to-morrow,†she wrote, “I am going round to see him, and if you do not hear from him in person I am greatly mistaken.â€
The next day a series of hindrances kept Bell from making her call as early as she had intended, so that Mrs. Banker and Mark were just rising from dinner when told she was in the parlor.
“I meant to have come before,†she said, seating herself by Mark, “but I could not get away. I have brought you some good news. I think,—that is,—yes, I know there has been some mistake, some wrong somewhere. Mark Ray, yesterday afternoon I found,—no matter where or how—a letter intended for Helen Lennox, which I am positive she never saw or heard of; at least her denial to me that a certain Mark Ray had ever offered himself is a proof that she never saw whatwasan offer made just before you went away. I read enough to know that, and then I took the letter and——â€
She hesitated, while Mark’s eyes turned dark with excitement, and even Mrs. Banker, scarcely less interested, leaned eagerly forward, saying,
“And what? Go on, Miss Cameron. What did you do with that letter?â€
“I sent it to its rightful owner, Helen Lennox. I posted it myself. But why don’t you thank me, Captain Ray?†she asked, as Mark’s face was overshadowed with anxiety.
“I was wondering whether it were well to send it—wondering how it might be received,†he said, and Bell replied.
“She will not answer no. As one woman knows another, I know Helen Lennox. I have sounded her on that point. I told her of the rumor there was afloat, and she denied it, seeming greatly distressed, but showingplainly that had such offer been received she would not have refused it. You should have seen her last summer, Captain Ray, when we waited so anxiously for news from the Potomac. Her face was a study as her eyes ran over the list of casualties, searchingnotfor her amiablebrother-in-law, nor yet forWillard Braxton, their hired man. It was plain to me as daylight, and all you have to do is to follow up that letter with another, or go yourself, if you have time,†Bell said, as she rose to go, leaving Mark in a state of bewilderment as to what he had heard.
Who withheld that letter? and why? were questions which troubled him greatly, nor did his mother’s assurance that it did not matter so long as it all came right at last, tend wholly to reassure him. One thing, however, was certain. He would see Helen before he returned to his regiment. He would telegraph in the morning to Washington, and then run the risk of being a day behind the time appointed for his return to duty.
“Suppose you have three children when I return, instead of two, is there room in your heart for the third?†he asked his mother when next morning he was about starting for Silverton.
“Yes, always room for Helen,†was the reply, as with a kiss of benediction Mrs. Banker sent her boy away.