ANY PORT IN A STORM.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10450, 21 September 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

ANY PORT IN A STORM.

Miss Flora Ford was on her way from Boston to her home in Philadelphia. Some people whom she knew had come with' her as fajr-as New York, and had then gone on to the West, leaving Flora for the day in the care of her brother, Hallett Ford, the artist and illustrator. It was arranged that Flora should take the 4 o'clock train; but early in the afternoon she went with her brother to the office of George Bingham, editor of the Gravesend Literary Syndicate. Bingham insisted that they must dine at his house— Mrs Bingham was so very anxious to hear Miss Ford sing, and also to meet Ford again. She had had that pleasure only once, and had always yearned for a repetition of Ford explained that there were difficulties in the way of accepting this kind invitation, but meanwhile Bingham was calling up his wife by means of the telephone that stood on his desk. "Bridget, ask Mrs Bingham to come to the 'phone. Oh, is that you, dear? Why, of course. No; your voice doesn't sound a bit like Bridget's. Now listen. F-o-r-d— the artist. What? Why, certainly' yon remember him. Mjr dear, you must. I'm going to bring him and Miss Ford— F-o-r-d— his sister— the one that sings — sings " It was somewhat embarrassing for Ford and his sister, but little things of that sort never touch Bingham. He has been an editor for 17 years, and he is hardened. He succeeded in convincing Mrs Bingham that she knew Ford and had heard of his sister, and would be delighted to entertain them at dinner. • Meanwhile Ford, who is the "sort of fellow that will blush if you look at him, was trying to tell Bingham that Flora must go back to Philadelphia because she hadn't any place to stay in New York. He himself was living in his studio, and they had no relatives in the city. It is one of Bingham|s peculiarities that he goes stone deaf at critical moments; not physically, but mentally deaf. He is likely to stop listening in the middle of one* of your most impressive sentences, but his face never shows a Bign of it. He seems to-be favouring you with his most profound , attention, and he makes gestures of cordial agreement with your views. When he is in one of these trances, if Jou should say to him, "Bingham, shall knock your brains out with a battleaxe?" he would wave his fat left hand in courteous acquiescence. In the instance under consideration Ford supposed that Bingham fully understood that Flora must be invited for the night, because she had no place to stay in New York. In reality, the mummy of Thothmes I. was not farther from the conversation -than was the mind of Bingham at that moment. And thus it 'happened that at 12 o'clock that night Ford and his lister stood on a street corner, and exclaimed with one voice, "What in the world shall, we do?" "I think it was perfectly horrid of Mr Bingham," said Flora. "Why, you told him plainly enough " ' "It's one of Lib well-known eccentricities!" groaned Ford. _"I ought to have looked out for it. I ought to have thrown myself on Mrs Binghain's mercy, but I couldn't muster up the courage." . "I'm sure we both hinted hard enough," responded Flora. "Well, it's all over now." There was • a pause, and then their two voices blended in this tremendousquestion, "Have you got "any money?'' It was discovered that the sum of their wealth was 90 cents. The situation was more than painful, for New York is singularly inhospitable and full of distrust. "We'll have to try Tom Jarvis' boardinghouse," said Ford with .a sudden inspiration. 'T.i we can't get credit for you .there. Central Park is our next choice." "I know all about Mr Jarvis," said . Flora. . "He's a writer, and his stories are perfectly lovely. His uncle died^ awhile ago and left a lot of money that ia all tied up in a lawsuit, and Mr Jar- , vis is going to win it." "It's his landlady, that I'm interested in just now," said Ford. "I've met her in' the daytime, but I don't know what her disposition is like at 1 o'clock in the morning." It proved to be quite exceptionally ' ( amiable. When aroused from / her slumbers, she informed Ford most agreeably that there wasn't a vacant room in. the house. This was after he had told his story to her through a crack of the door. The jjroan which her announcement elicited from- Ford must have* touched her heart, for she suddenly solved the problem .in a word. "We'll put the young lady in Mr Jarvis' room," said she. "He won't be home to-night. He's gone to Albany." It was a case of "any port in a storm," and Flora accepted this singular hospitality. When ,Bhe was alone in Mr Jarvis' little suite at the top "of the house, she felt like a burglar breaking into an almshouse. She was availing herself of charity without asking permission. If she hadn't known anything about Mr Jarvis, it would not have been^so bad, but she had really almost fallen in love with him as he revealed himself in his stories. She pictured him dreamy and romantic, 'given to gentle , melancholy, but fine and chivalrous at heart. v There was a manuscript story on the • table. It was written in a fine and delicate hand upon sheets of the finest paper.' She felt as mean as if she had been peeping through a keyhole, and yet she could not help reading the introductory paragraph. Then she had to read the next one in order to find out what the first one realjy meant. B? a similar process she arrived, in the course of an hour, at the thirty-sixth page of the manuscript, where the situation was exceedingly thrilling as it approached its climax. . At this moment Flora was aware of a noise outside ' the door. . It Beemcd tb be very high up, above the door in fact. There was a faint, rustling sound, and Flora knew what it meant. Mr Jarvis had come back, and he was taking down the key of the door from its hiding-place on the transom ! There was a click in the lock. The landlady's' bunch of keys fell rattling ' to the floor. The door opened, and in strode a tall, heavily-built young manj with a square jaw, a determined eye, and a general aspect very much the reverse of romantic. t lt would have been hard to imagine a man more different from Flora's ideal of the gentle author of love stories. Flora- was so utterly at a loss what to 'do that she did not even lay down the pages of 'the story which she had been reading. She remained in the first attitude of alarm, her mouth open and ■ her eyes -OB round as two coins. The young man.' showed a surprise quite equal to hers, but he did it in

his own bold way. He looked like a man -who has seen a ghost, but wouldn't run if he saw two more." " " "I • beg your pardon," said he. "I didn't know there was anyone •here.' "Mr JaTvis," replied Flora, "this is the most awful thing that has ever happened." And she told him all about it. "Somebody ought to kill Bingham," said he when she had finished — "On general principles, I mean. In the present instance no harm is done. You must consider yourself perfectly at home. I'll stay only a minute. I want to fin-1 a — a — document that I thiuk I ]efi hero." •Ho hesitated _rather strangely, as if he were not telling the truth; but ho proceeded to look for ih& document in the pockets of the clothes that were hanging in the cupboard in the bedroom. Evidently tho • search was unsuccessful, for lie came into the large room, presently and opened a drawer in 'the writing- table. It contained nothing but a revolver. The contents of the others seemed to bo equally unsatisfactory, though not quite so alarming.. '"I'm afraid I can't find it," said he at last. "Good night, Miss Ford. I am sorry I disturbed you." He went out rather abruptly, and Flora hurriedly but softly locked the door behind him. She stood there a moment listening. She heard him walk to the head of the stairs and descend a few steps. But he didn't go all the way down. Flora put her hand to her bosom, as one will with the absurd instinctive fancy that it will still 'the beating of tho heart. "Tha man is not Mr Jarivs !" she said in an audible whisper. "'He hasn't the soiil and I know it. He could no more * v/ritp the story I have been reading than ho could fly to Ihe moon. He is some brute of a lawyer or a detective who* has got in here, knowing that Mr Jp.rvis was away, to steal a paper that is important in that will case. My goodness! Iwonder if ho took anything?" Under the inspiration of that thought sho was near rushing out into the hall, but the knowledge) that the man was still there restrained her. If he had got what ho wanted, he would have gone away. Obviously, he had failed. He was waiting till she should be asleep, and then he would come in and search the little parlour again. The girl hesitated a moment. Then her lips closed firmly. She walked to the writing-table, opened one of the drawers, and took out the big revolver. She didn't know how to find out wdiethcr it was loaded — she prayed heaven«J;hat it might not be — but she resolved that if the bogus Tom Jarvis made au tittompt to enter that room again she would give him the worst fight of his life. She softly dragged' a couch up against tho door and sat upon it, holding tho revolver. Now and again she could faintly hear some movement of the man outside. An hour passed. A deadly weariness was stealing over her; the hand that held the revolver was numb. Sho ventured to lay the weapon down, but kept her eyes upon it. The steady gaze at tho 'bright object exerted almost n hypnotic influence^-Hcr head sank forward slowly; 3 she passed into a halfsleep. A startling loud sound without roused he*. She sprang up, grasping the revolver half-way from the muzzle; but that was all the same to her. The villain outside seemed to have fallen over something. There was a sound as if he were softly swearinw then all was still. Endless ages dragged themselves nway. The clock on the mantelpiece watted a week between each second and tho next. But at last the slow dawn crept in through the windows. It became light enough to dispense with the gas— light enough to feel safe. The villain had made no move; evidently he had gono "away. The hall was quite dark until the light from the room illumined it. Flora uttered a cry. Stretched upon- two big trunks that rtood end to oncl besido a partition lay the bulky form of the man who 'had personated Tom Jarvis. He' raised' his head. - • • . "I am so sorry if I frightened you," ho eaid gently. "I intended to get away from hero before you were stirring." "Why arc you hero at all?" she demandoa. •It is too bad that I must tell you," he said. "I never meant that you should •know, and you must promise me that - you won't give it a (second thought, because the matter is of no consequence. But, you see, I didn't have any money nor any place to go; and it's beastly cold outside, you know. So after I'd looked through my pockets in the room there, and hadn't found a .penny, I just thonght I'd bunk in on these trunks. I fell off once. It's funny, isn't it? -I call it one of Binghnm's jokes." He laughed good-naturedly. "Mr Bingham's jpke is funnier than you think," said she. And she told him frankly how she had) passed tho night. "I don't think you were really yourself, you sec," she said in conclusion, "but I know you better now." And she glanced at the rough tops of the two great trunks. "It is very kind of you to sympathise with me," said he. "After all, you've had tho hardest time. But, listen! Someone is coming upstairs." He stepped to tho"bannisted rail, and, turning, whispered, "It's Hallie." In a moment the head of the young , artist came into view. His face had a peculiar blue colour, and his voice,, wheji he spoke, was in a weird note. "Jarvis !" he croaked. "How came you here?" "Come in, both of you !" said Flora, "I'll tell you all about it, Hallie." And she did in the fewest possible words. "Wall, that man Bingham is a wonder," said he. "Do you know, I left my latch-key inside last night, and there's no way of getting into that old, crazy studio ouilding afttr 12 o'clock. I'vn spend the night in ,the vestibule, at 10') decrees below zero. Look at my hands. I tell you nothing will ever thaw them out but dipping them in the warm bljod of Bingham." "Let me intercede for him," said Jarvis. "His error has procured for mo the acquaintance of Miss Ford, an honour I have often wished for and shall always m'iza." v "I will take your side of the question," said Flora. "The vote stands two to one in his favour, and Bingham shall live."