3
The World Outside
By Harold MacGrath
THE SUNDAY BEE: OMAHA, NOVEMBER 12. 1922.
- FINAL I.NSTAI I-MKNT.
Home!
Nuiuy wag full of pliy tnd ten.
dmcg us Jerry told Kennedy a
story; she would ulwuya be go fir
the imfi rt unul'j. To her, un to Bun
croft, Mure was not lil rig rcpellant
In th l.K t that Kennedy lifi'l killed
a inn ii nnd hud been gent to prison
for Mm deed. Tortured by Mia atu
pendouHnesa of tli culiiiiilty which
had befallen him, ho win) not to be
held strictly accountable for hlg Im
mediate acta.
"Wo ought not to leave him alone
tonight, Jerry. II might "
"1 uin taking him home with un."
"Thu ho'ise we live in, that wus
fcncu IiIh; how dreadful!"
"Will you marry me, Nuncy?"
"1 rather expect to after having
put my nring uround your nwk and
Invited you to kiss inc."
Find the woman who does not,
veil In the great moment, rise su
perior over the mijn; who doe not
first recover poise and wit! With
mnn it 1 n stunning incident In hlg
life; he In iiHtounded at hlg tnerlty,
astonished at hlg success. With a
woman It In an inevitable sequence,
hound to happen, sooner or Inter; go
she la more or lea prepared. Hut
for all that. It seemed to Nancy that
her heart was f.lled with little sing
ing birds. Sho wua going to belong,
"Hut we'll have to watl a little
while, Jerry, Mr, Mannheim haa
been very kind to me and I can't
leave, him until May, when rny con
tract explrea. And ao I m going to
How the footatepa of tho tollies
fcirls marry the millionaire!"
"I didn't want any falae frlenda,
Nancy. I'll wait. You ahull go to
Italy, and atudy nil you want to."
"No, Jerry, Never any more o(
that nonsense. I want a home
that old houae of youra In the vil
lage, the room with oil tboae beau
tiful booka and vases your father
saved for hlg friend. I want to read
that gplendid letter. May I?"
"Tho moment wo return."
"Have him In my room first- I'll
get gome tea for him. I'll piny and
sing from tho opera; anything to
keep hla mind off himself. The poor
unhappy man, through no fault of
hla own. But bear with me, Jerry,
In the days to come. I'm often
moody and crochety. I am a found
ling; I don't know who my people
are; and never will.und that makes
me want to weep for thla man who
has lout everything on earth. I
have brooded over my own atory
too much. Remember Thanksgiv
ing? That night I told Mr. Craig I'd
marry him; and then I barked out.
I told him thnt all I wanted wag hlg
money. I hurt him, who had been
kind to me. That'g the kind of a
girl I nm. I'm not half as good as
Jenny. When did you learn that
you loved me?" For sooner or later
thla question was to be asked.
In the daylight he would have
had to lie; but In the dark, how easy
It was to tell the truth! "It will
ound idiotic; maybe it is; but I loved
you the night I kissed Jenny."
Well, of all"
"The poor devil!"
"What Jenny?"
"No, no; Craig."
"I like tho way you take It,
Jerry. It was hard to confess, even
In the dark. But It's all I have to
confess."
The man downstairs could wait;
everything could wait: this hour
would never be repeated. The crest
of gueh a wave hangs but for a lit
tle; then lurches back to ordinary
levels.
"The celebrated Nancy Bowman!"
he said.
"Nonsense! I am like Koko in
The Mikado.'
V&ft4 by a favorlt gala.
As snmt-ltincs on Is In trances.
To a height that rw ran scale
8v by long and weary dances.
There again, I am queer. I should
be mad with Joy; and I hate the
whole business. What fun talking
in the dark like this!"
He began to wonder, and to
worry a little, too. All thla In the
dark. What would be their gensa
tlong when they faced each other
In the light? Wouldn't she become
critical? Wouldn't sh observe
flaw in him she could not now dis
cern? "What Is the mntter?" she asked,
as. though his hand had translated
bla thought.
"Nothing."
"Tell nie; what la UV
"You won't change your mind In
the light?"
"Poor buy! Of rourwi not. I love
you. Jerry; and 1 didn't love Mr.
Craig. 1 wanted to get away from
dremy Urn k urdi4 and ilutr.es lines
and the theater. I'll s with Jenny.
and Mr Keiiindy may nave my
T
Th it door lil lte! And linl unlet
.... I., i. .....a . .... b. . ....
CI lie' I IllUnt lvll lt'll letter.
Ila d, U t uMWl.inx do with
Mow o.m r N tn H' alVy It
tUI ma so What a te.r, kitaMa
Iwv ij ie' Won! I vim like la
kiss me again? It's still quit
Umk." f
It waa not two lllghta of atalra
that he led her down. He gteppt-d
from mountain peak to mountain
peak, with all the clear winds of
earth and sea blowing Into his face.
Nancy loved blui!
The taxlcab waa at the curb,
Kennedy waiting patiently Jnalde,
"I'll have to put out tho lights
and lock up," he aald, 'It'e a house
I bought recently,"
"(live me tho key," aald Bancroft,
who waa still a little doubtful. I'll
take care of everything."
"Very well," Kennedy agreed.
Alone with Nancy he said: "I'm
sorry for my roughness to you. Will
you forgive me?"
"To be sure I wil. Jerry told nie
everything."
"He will always tell you every
thing," wild Kennedy; "for be Is the
one human being I have ever
known who hag nothing to conceal.
Never permit any blemish to fall
upon the mirror of hla heart. You
love him?"
"Yea. It wag strange; but the
question did not embarrass her.
"I am glad. For some time I have
known that he loved you, A little
while gone I thought of dying; but
no. The boy wants me, he aayg. I
am bewildered. For years there hag
been In my heart nothing but
venom; and now It is empty, of
everything. I can't hate and I can't
love. I have emerged from my
madness; but I am nothing. Per
haps you and the boy"
"We will try with all our hearts."
"He told you that I have been in
prison, that I have killed a man?"
"Yes. But you did not mean to.
Tou were mad with grief; you
weren't accountable for what you
did. You wouldn't have gone to
prison at all if you had told every
thing. Why did yom keep gllent?"
'I waa mad, quite mad, and Jid
not know it. I had only one idea:
to get my hands around 8l!aa Ban
croft's throat, I suddenly became
posseged of a profound patience, on
infernal cunning. Nobody knew
me. I wore a beard. I was going
to play a trick on Mary, my wife.
The court had to appoint a lawyer
to defend me, which he could not do
because I offered no help. My sul
len attitude Impressed the jury un
favorably. I expected the sentence
In the second degree; but thoy
found me guilty In the first. I had
struck the victim in anger. Iwag
st u pi fled for a few days. Fourteen
years among the dregs. And all
the while I wag quite mad. Well,
perhaps God will let nie be now."
Tho quiet despair of the tone
wrung Nancy's heart. "Please! You
mustn't brood. There will be to
morrow!" "Ay, for you two; but for me there
never wll be anything but yester
day. I am old and empty. But, no
more; here comes the boy."
They- heard Bancroft give direc
tions to the taxi driver.
"To sleep under the old roof
again! I wonder," mused Kennedy.
"Ghosts everywhere; ghosts of
faces, of music, and luughter. Per
haps they will be kindly ghosts.'
Bancroft got In, making Nuncy
sit Iietween. He wog transcendent
ly happy, and he had to express
aloud this happiness to keep hlg
body from flying up through the
roof of the taxi and vanishing Into
the ether. He said go. But under
neath this bubbling nonsense was a
serious purpose. For a long time
to come Kennedy would brood over
tho death of Silas Bancroft. He
would be eternally seeing Silas
reach out tovahrd him and die, him
self a passive murdered. He had
shocked Silas Bancroft to death; but
any one of a thousand surprises
would have shocked Silas Bancroft
to death. The point wag to make
Kennedy accept this fact. Kennedy
had brooded himself Into one mad
ness; he might easily brood himself
into another suicidal. Besides, ho
would now be drawing comparisons
Bancroft's loyalty as against his
own, and finding hlg a flabby thing
Indeed. So young Bancroft wag de
termined to keep by the man. If he
saw that the gon rejected the Idea
that murder bad been done, eventu
ally Kennedy might be made to do
so.
Bancroft analyzed hia thoughts
carefully and found that Micro was
no emotion other than profound pity
for the man his father had loved.
The hell through which the man
had patued! A weak man might
have wh:ninjred and gone on; but a
strung m ill, vital In brain and body!
Something had twisted In Kenne
dy's brum, under the terrific Im
pact of hla misfortunes, and only
tonight h. l this kink been straight
ened out. The letter had anid thnt
Mo-ia were hUh and wuithy qti.il
it ea lo Iota in thla in in; and the
niiyht l uncovered and Iheir lus
ter ri.ew4 by the m.ie of lime,
fio Mien, to keen t h.ae by. until Km
lu .lj b id got !;, a n ipr t.veg.
W hiil a coii'iwnlon be jl.1I b The
t:i4l Mveiilnre roinpin'
Will ou be wanting thorn- books,
glr?" ho kalied.
"No. They are yours. They
mean a good deal mora to yuu now
than they ilo to nie, But what be.
caincj of your father's things?"
"IJon't you remember? lie suld
tn the letter thnt he hud to m il
everything to make a new start."
"A new start."
Thero was a lull. Buncroft
searched for Nancy's hand 'and
found If. Then be fell to describ
ing Mm adventure of the ambas
sador's pultff, of his majestic sensa
tions, of renting hlg first dress suit,
of discovering Nancy's photograph,
nlk Interpolated by shrewd commen
taries. Htranije (o state, Kennedy found
this chatter amusing. The boy had
the gift of describing things as they
were, of tearing off tho motley and
revealing the bones, but without the
bltternea of the matured philoso
pher. Kennedy felt himself amus
ed; and from this basis a thought
began to work outwurd. If the
boy could amuHO him in this Muck
hour, it might be that contact with
the youngster would stir Into life
again nil those attributes so long
atrophied for want of usage. Of
course, this Inconsequent chatter
was uttered purposely to divert a
brooding mind; but the point was,
the ruso succeeded. Kennedy found
himself tmused.
"Jerry, said Nancy, "what'g
Jeremiah mean?"
"Hans If I know."
"It means the Lord's exulted
in his case," said Kennedy. "What
It means in my case, only God
knows."
"Namy, what am I going to do?
My father's letter which lg really
the true will orders that I pay
over to Mr. Kennedy half of what I
have, and he refuses it."
"And always will, I am no longer
troubled by an obsession; I am
troubled only by regret. When I
came out of prison it was too late
to pick up the truth; and such was
the power of my obsession I
shouldn't have recognized the truth
had I Keen it. A little patience
In tho beginning, and Silas and I
might lave worked together to re
trieve our fortunes. But no. Bat
tle, murder, and sudden death! But
always remember, I went to prison
for an net of my own. Wo shall
not relite It to the original catas
trophe." "Sir, they are inseparable. On
board of the ship, before you put
in, you were tremendously happy.
You were, according to the market
reports, a rich man; the years xt
bondage were over. From the peak
of happiness to the bottom of de
spair, all in an hour or two, la more
than any human brain can stand.
Something became twisted in your
poor head and only this night read
Justed itself.".
"But what confuses me Is your at
titude. You should hold me In hor
ror." "But there Is always my father's
letter, sir; his will that I should
find you and help you If I could.
That was" enough for me. Besides,
you were coming back on your own.
Your original notion was to do
away with me; In the end you de
manded only what you considered
legally yours. The past was coming
back. You began, perhaps, subcon
sciously, to see my father In me,'
when you were young. After all
ran your thought I was guilty of
nothing. So you would take what
you considered yours, and vanish.
The Great Adventure 'company!
Don't you see, sir, that I am great
ly Indebted to you? You have Indi
rectly given me more than I ever
dreamed of having. If you had not
lured me out of It I might still be
in that village; whereas I came to
the great city and found adventure
and love."
Nancy, with passionate tender
ness, pressed his hand. It came to
her that she would always bo two
things in this boy's life his moth
er and his sweetheart.
"Innocent bystanders, mused Ken
nedy. "AH rf us, every human being
that lives, passively or actively. In
nocent bystanders, paying the price
pf another man's roguery, half the
time a man we never heord of."
"Do with mo as you will," said
Kennedy, in complete surrender.
"The. Shadow was right."
"Tho Shadow?"
"For suverul days you were un
der constant surveillance. Ila warn
ed me that I was underestimating
you. And I told him not to think,
thinking being my part. Ilo was
right. What a wild night that was!
I atnfl l.ealde otir window, watch
ing you. weighing you."
"And I walked five milt through
ih.it atiu iii." broke In Nam y;
' through the ii B I and the tula)
to Merry's d .r."
' For a i!-'ii"'
"Th id., roof," S lid Keni.e y, ' I
Wonder What Will tia'tt l nie;"
Th tati ah rni Hi a b ill.
Jenny beurd their entrance and
aubaequeiit mounting of Mia stairs,
and guessed ut their lib-miy. She
ruxhid into the ball. Jei einl.ih'a
clohca were considerably disordered
and streaked with dust.und Naiiry'g,
too, her bat lit a preiuriotig uiigli-;
otheiwlHe Mu re was nothing lo sug
gest a hazardous adventure In the
night. Jenny, however, was some
what puzzled over the pale, hand
gome stranger, who uppurently took
but llltln note of big gurroundings,
and stood waiting for cither Ninn y
or Jereiiiluh to direct him. What
was ho doing In Mm picture? She
embraced Nuncy,
"Have they hurt y', kid? Are y'
all right?"
"We'reull right, Jenny, but a lit
tle tired," said Nancy. "Wll you let
me share your bed tonight? This Is
Mr. Kennedy, who once owned this
house. He la going to take my room
for the night."
Jenny bobbed her head; but Ken
nedy did not seem aware that an
Introduction had been made. A
thousand queainna bubbled In her
throat, but Jenny did not voice one
of them, comprehending that at thla
moment questions were not In or
der and that some, extraordinary
event had happened. Where hud
she seen thla man before?
"Want any help?"
"Have you got some lemons?"
"A bagful." Lemons! she thought.
"Bring one In, I am going to
make gome tea."
"Tea " begun Jenny, but slop
ped, observing that Jeremiah was
holding a finger to his lips. "All
right."
She brought In the Jemon." The
stranger was sitting on the lounge,
Ling Foo on his knees. Ho ap
peared to be In a dream; fondled
tho puppy's ears and stured dully
at the far wall. This gtranger was
no ordinary guest. Wag he the man
In Jeremiah's story? If so. what In
tho world had happened to bring
him here? Kennedy; now she re
memberedthe name on the door
plate. He was the man! Pro
foundly stirred, Jenny tried not to
stare; buL the pallor on the hand
some face, the inertia of the body,
the dullness of the eyes, fascinated
her. This was the man who had
stuck daggers Into Jeremiah's door
Jamb, and here were Nancy and
Jeremiah fussing over blm as
though he were some long lost
uncle, returned! .
"I pass" said Jenny inwardly.
Here, in Nancy's room, when he
ought to be explaining to the police,
on an abduction charge!
Then her gaze strayed to Ban
croft, thence to Nancy; but their
faces offered no key to the riddle.
On tho contrary, something on Ban
croft's face, something on Nancy'8,
something In the way they were
smiling at each other across tho
teakettle, m.ido plain to Jenny that
thero had been a double adventure;
for these exchangos were patently
adoration. All the hope she had
had and bo long as Nancy did not
love Jeremiah there would bo hope
In Jenny's breast flickered and
died. They had not even heard her
enter; or if they had, considered the
incident so ordinary that it wasn't
worthy tho turn of the head. Jenny
Malloy wasn't wanted here.
Jenny had never heard of the
Iron Virgin of Nuremberg; but for
all that, she knew that dull Iron
spikes were being slowly pressed
tinto her heart.
"Catch!" she called, and gaily.
Bancroft turned and Jenny tossed
tho lemon. "See y' later, Nancy.
I'll leave th' door unlocked. But
don't wake mo up if you c'n
help it."
Jenny went out, closing tho door
softly; not to mention another door,
forever. Love! Tho poor kids; why,
they fairly shouted it. Well, it was
Nancy and Jeremiah, the two hu
man beings she cared for. They
would never know what a fool Jenny
Malloy was. Tho rescue; hero stuff,
and Nancy had fallen Into Jeremi
ah's arms, and they were going to
be happy ever after. Maytie. To
morrow she would tie all right; but
tonight she wasn't properly keyed
to listen. When Nancy camo In she
would pretend to be asleep; no con
fidences as to how It happened. Jen
ny wag wild to hear all about tho
man Kennedy; but she didn't cur
to hear all about Jeremiah at the
same time.
She paused before her mirror and
offered her reflection a cauatlo
amlle, for Jenny had the virtue o(
g imctlmes seeing herself as otherg
saw her.
"V poor nut!" s'te said. "You
an' that kid In Sunday g. hool are
In Mi' same bout. Our golden text
la; .Them wot'a got glla: an' then)
wot ain't got Rita left."
Jenny utidreaed and went In bed,
whli h la I) one (rue compensation
fr all nor Hy Ilia. Th fid
r.il magic In lifa Ii Mia pillow.
Kennedy brgan to talk, but to na
Mm In i I li tiLir, r iMlMmirl v.
"lie. culled Jeremiah, after inc. Tho
Innurent bystander uguln. I hated
It."
"Why, ifg a beautiful name!" aald
Nuncy.
"Then the Incident la closed, Thla
used to be a nursery," went on Ken
mdy, dreamily. "Little dolls and
cradles; Mary was Just Ix-Kitilng
to walk. The window with (ho
stars, her moliier used In cull that
one."
"The window with the stars," re
pcuted Nancy, "What a poor thing
I am, for I never saw anything out
nf that window but dingy yardg and
sodden clothuHllnes!"
Buncroft nudged her, and she ou
st ood that she was not lo Inter
polate again. The cu usual tone in
which Kennedy recalled tho room
wag a good sign. They must lot
him run on as lis pleases, any
whither.
"The old roof; I was born under
It, In those days it was quite fuh. ,
ionnMo down here. Mary, my
wife, lived over In Washington
place, and I Used to go to her par
ties. I wore a while sailor collar,
sillily starched, and a blue polka dot
tie. I met your father there, and
we hud a fight over Mury in tho
conservatory. I won. Your father
had a bloody nose and I a black eye;
but I was atop of him when they
pulled us npurt. letter, at college,
he saved my life while we were in
swimming. There's a queer phase
In suving people's lives. You're
bound to watch over them forever
aftor, a your futher watched over
me. Hanky, old Banky; and h used
to call me Chuck; but when he want
ed to get a rise out of me he'd call
me Jeremiuh." He paused. Ling
Foo yawned.
The window with the stars!
thought Nancy, throwing a glance
over her shoulder. Had alio ever
noticed the stars particularly? Who
wondered. So could visualize tin
mother with the little child In her
arms, croorilftg a lullaby and watch
ing the stars grow crlsper and
brighter as the night deepened.
What a hundsome young man he
muwt have been. Iter heart wat
wrung again by the thought ol
what the man had gone through,
The torturing memories of this mo
ment; this house in which ho had
been born and known hupplness
The mother and tho child, here in
this room. The tender gliosis that
he niUHt be seeing!
"So he bought the house, to hold
It for me? And he did not have
timo to tell me. Your clerk waa
wrong. There were no high word.
He put out hla hands to fend mo
off na I thought and gave a great
cry, and fell upon his dek. God
should have struck mo down also.
But your father w.-is (It to die, and
I wasn't.
Kennedy let Ling Foo slide to tho
floor and begun to move about, in
specting this- object and that, to
dike the crowding flood of mem
ories. He was finally drawn to the
Jaipur box, as he would have been
drawn toward anything of beauty.
His Interest was only casual. The
box was not valuable as a curio;
there wero thousands of them in
existence. Ho opened It und saw
the gold chain and broken locket
end. Thero were millions of such
things. Suddenly his voice shot
across the room electrically.
"Where did you get the Julpur
" box?" Tableau. Bancroft was
stricken dumb by the pregnant sug
gestion in Kennedy's demand and
the vigorous expregslon of it; while
Nancy was hypnotized." The cup
she was holding slipped from her
hand and tingled and retlnkled as
It shattered and rolled upon the
door. It seemed to her that thought
was auddenly guspended, no longer
hers to command.
"Answer me! Whose it it?" Ken
nedy ceased to wear the aspect of
the broken" man; ho was nllve, terrl
fylngly alive.
"Patience, Mr. Kennedy," warned
Bancroft, finding his voice.
"Patience? Well, yes, that Is go."
Some of tho tengenesa went out of
Kennedy'g body. "But I demand to
know how thla box came to be In
the possession of Miss Bowamn."
"Why?" asked Bancroft, speaking
for Nancy, who could not have ut
tered a word Juxt then had her lifo
depended Upon it.
"Why?" Because the box is mine,
mine!"
"Nuncy!" cried Bancroft, begin
ning to understand whut waa to
ward. He laid his hand on her arm.
Tho touch brok the spell. "It
was with mo when Daddy Hiiwm
found ma outstla bla door," aha
WhlHperetl, he-cauie ven til Wltlpe,r
took all the airergth she bad.
"Don't yuu understand. Nancy?"
sai l B.imroft, Iha Uo-d Mivindeilm
In bis nrs. "Mr. Kennedy Is proh
nSly your f it her."
"Prolml,l:" Kennedy l-l go the
oil Ironic Itiuhlt-r that cn;a from
behind w.illa, or out f ravern
"And I Miock-M U't wis dun with
II aiaal a ! .)