Speaker 1: Chapter twenty one of flood Tide. This LibriVox recording is
Speaker 1: in the public domain. Recording by Roger Moline. Flood Tide
Speaker 1: by Sarah ware Bassett, Chapter twenty one surprises. The next morning,
Speaker 1: Robert Morton awoke with the fixed determination that another sun
Speaker 1: should not go down until he had acquainted mister Galbraith
Speaker 1: with Genoah's accusations, the misgivings, the suspicions, the fears he
Speaker 1: entertained must be cleared up at any cost, or further
Speaker 1: residence beneath Willie's roof would be impossible. If necessary, he
Speaker 1: would go to New York to see the financier, but
Speaker 1: he must know where the blame for Snelling's treachery lay,
Speaker 1: whether with the capitalist or with his employee. Accordingly, he
Speaker 1: arose early, and, having breakfasted, went down to the store
Speaker 1: where the nearest telephone was, and called up the Bellport residence.
Speaker 1: He was fortunate in getting Parker, the old butler, on
Speaker 1: the wire. Mister Galbraith, Mister Bob, came the voice of
Speaker 1: the servant. Yes, sir, he arrived home last night. I
Speaker 1: think he is going over to Wilton today to see you.
Speaker 1: I heard him saying something about it. Wait a minute,
Speaker 1: I hear him on the stairs. Now there was a pause, Then,
Speaker 1: after a delay, another voice that Bob instantly recognized to
Speaker 1: be that of the Master of the house called Bob, Well,
Speaker 1: hello boy. I guess you thought we had all left
Speaker 1: you and your affairs high and dry, didn't you. I've
Speaker 1: been in New York, you know. I'm just back. I
Speaker 1: want to see you as soon as I can about
Speaker 1: several important matters. Suppose I run over in the car
Speaker 1: this morning. Will you be there good? I'll see you later.
Speaker 1: Then Robert Morton hung up the receiver and walked meditatively
Speaker 1: along the sandy road to the Gray cottage. The dye
Speaker 1: was cast. Whatever happened, it could not be worse than
Speaker 1: had been the days of suspense and anxiety that he
Speaker 1: had endured. The morning was close and humid, a land
Speaker 1: breeze wafting across the fields perfumes of sun scorched pine
Speaker 1: and blossoming roses scarce. A ripple marred the glittering surface
Speaker 1: of the bay that stretched like a sheet of burnished
Speaker 1: brass as far as one could see. Now, and then
Speaker 1: a faint zephyr rising from the wooded slopes, swept down
Speaker 1: the hill swirling into billows of vivid emerald, the coarse
Speaker 1: salt grass that swayed on the marshes. So still it
Speaker 1: was that every whisper of the surf lapping the edge
Speaker 1: of the bar could be heard over and over. The
Speaker 1: waters stole up on the shore, fretted into foam, and
Speaker 1: re seated, each wave creeping rhythmically back into the deep
Speaker 1: to a song of shifting sand and pebbles. How silvery
Speaker 1: the tiny houses of the hamlet looked against the azure
Speaker 1: of the sky. The few scattered trees that had breathed
Speaker 1: the onslaughts of repeated gales listed landward. But the pines
Speaker 1: sheltered in the hollows of the dunes stood erect and
Speaker 1: darkly mysterious, their plumes bending idly in the soft wind.
Speaker 1: It was all a part of the idol, the day dream.
Speaker 1: Robert Morton thought, too flawless a thing to last. Willie,
Speaker 1: so childlike and simple, his kindly aunt, delight with their
Speaker 1: rare beauty, and even the romance of his love, seemed
Speaker 1: a part of its unreality. Was it not to be
Speaker 1: expected that sooner or later, man, with his blundering touch,
Speaker 1: would destroy the loveliness, making prose of the poem, the galls,
Speaker 1: snelling the greed for money, Genoa's jealousy and evil suspicions. Ah,
Speaker 1: it did not take long for such influence as to
Speaker 1: mar the peace of a heaven and smear the grime
Speaker 1: of Earth upon its fairness. Only glimpses of perfection were
Speaker 1: granted the dwellers of this planet, quick transient flashes that
Speaker 1: mirrored a future free from finite limitations. He who expected
Speaker 1: to remain in the heights in this world, was doomed
Speaker 1: to disappointment. Slowly he skirted the curving beach and reached
Speaker 1: the weathered cottage, where the sun beat hotly down, kissing
Speaker 1: into flower every bud of the clinging roses that festooned
Speaker 1: its gray doorway. Willie welcomed him, but a glory had
Speaker 1: passed from the old man's face since the conversation of
Speaker 1: the night before. How could it be otherwise? Sleepless hours
Speaker 1: had left behind them weary careworn lines, and in the
Speaker 1: troubled depths of the Blue Eyes, the old interrogation had
Speaker 1: once more awakened. Bob knew not how to meet at
Speaker 1: silent combat between hope and disappointment, and he hailed as
Speaker 1: a glad relief the beating echo of the Galbraith's motor
Speaker 1: car as it swept the horseshoe outline of the harbor
Speaker 1: and came to a stop before the gate. Mister Galbraith,
Speaker 1: who was alone, beckoned to him, and as the younger
Speaker 1: man climbed to the seat beside him, said, I thought
Speaker 1: perhaps you might like to go for a spin along
Speaker 1: the shore. It is warm today and we shall get
Speaker 1: more breeze. Besides, we can talk more freely in the
Speaker 1: automobile than here at the Bellport house. Roger has just arrived,
Speaker 1: and also Howard Snelling, in spite of himself Robert Morton
Speaker 1: betrayed his surprise mister Snelling back again. He exclaimed, yes
Speaker 1: he is down, was the laconic answer for all his
Speaker 1: boasted eagerness to talk. However, Richard Galbraith did not immediately
Speaker 1: avail himself to the privilege of conversation. On the contrary,
Speaker 1: as Bob shot a question and glanced toward him, he
Speaker 1: thought he detected for the first time in his life,
Speaker 1: a strange uneasiness in the capitalist's habitually self contained manner.
Speaker 1: He seemed to be framing an introduction for what he
Speaker 1: wished to say. I have several matters to talk over
Speaker 1: with you, Bob, he began at last, in a resolute tone.
Speaker 1: Some of them are pleasant, and some of them may not.
Speaker 1: I fear prove to be so. But we must take
Speaker 1: them as they come, and pleasant or unpleasant. I want
Speaker 1: you to believe that I have no choice but to
Speaker 1: place them before you. I have always felt for you
Speaker 1: a warm friendship, my boy, and that friendship has no
Speaker 1: way lessened. Therefore, if any word I speak causes you
Speaker 1: on happiness, I want you to remember that I only
Speaker 1: say it because I must. We are not always permitted
Speaker 1: to readjust life according to our inclinations. Duty maps out
Speaker 1: many of our paths, and we must close our lips
Speaker 1: and travel them. He stopped, as if considering how to proceed.
Speaker 1: While in New York, he presently resumed. I probated Madame
Speaker 1: Lee's will. She was possessed of a large estate and
Speaker 1: knew very definitely what she wanted done with it. The
Speaker 1: will was made several years ago, and no document that
Speaker 1: I have ever seen was more specifically and conscientiously drawn up.
Speaker 1: Although she left jewels and heirlooms to my family, she
Speaker 1: left none of her other property to the Galbraiths, explaining
Speaker 1: that her daughter had all she needed, and that both
Speaker 1: Cynthia and Roger had more already than was good for them.
Speaker 1: He smiled humorously. I guessed pretty accurately what she intended
Speaker 1: to do, as some time ago we talked the matter over,
Speaker 1: and I heartily approved of her proposed bequest. He cleared
Speaker 1: his throat, and in wondering silence, Robert Morton waited. The
Speaker 1: property was left in bulk to an old friend whom
Speaker 1: Madame Lee had known for years, some one entirely outside
Speaker 1: the family. Bob did not speak. I would gladly see
Speaker 1: the Lee money administered as its owner desired to have it.
Speaker 1: Mister Galbraith went on. Her ideas were wise, kind and just,
Speaker 1: and the fulfillment of her wishes would have brought to
Speaker 1: me to us all the greatest happiness. But since that
Speaker 1: will was made, a new condition has arisen. Delight Hathaway,
Speaker 1: the child of her favorite daughter, has appeared. Had the
Speaker 1: old lady lived, I feel certain that in view of
Speaker 1: this fact, she would have altered the document that this
Speaker 1: girl might inherit at least a portion of the fortune
Speaker 1: in which her mother never had any share. You knew
Speaker 1: Madame Lee very intimately, Bob, probably better than any of
Speaker 1: the rest of us. What do you think the reply
Speaker 1: came without hesitation. I am certain Madame Lee would have
Speaker 1: seen to it that her granddaughter was provided for. So
Speaker 1: it seems to me, rejoined mister Galbraith with evident relief.
Speaker 1: I am glad that our code of ethics agrees thus far.
Speaker 1: Now the question is, Bob, how strong are you for
Speaker 1: the right, if honorable action meant sacrifice? Would you be
Speaker 1: ready to meet it? I hope so, was the modest response.
Speaker 1: I know so, mister Galbraith, declared earnestly. And it is
Speaker 1: because I am so sure of it that I came
Speaker 1: to you today. Bob. It was to you that Madame
Speaker 1: Lee left her fortune. It was to be used for
Speaker 1: the furthering of your dearest wish, because, to quote her
Speaker 1: own words, because I love the boy as if he
Speaker 1: were of my own blood. As he listened, Robert Morton's
Speaker 1: eyes grew cloudy, and emotion choked his utterance until he
Speaker 1: could not speak. Apparently mister Galbraith either expected no reply
Speaker 1: or tactfully interpreted his silence, for without waiting, he continued
Speaker 1: you can understand now, Bob, feeling toward you, as we
Speaker 1: all do, that this recent family development has not been
Speaker 1: easy for us to confront. Delight. Hathaway is a beautiful
Speaker 1: girl who possesses no doubt admirable qualities. We expect to
Speaker 1: become warmly attached to her in time, but for all
Speaker 1: her kinship, she is a stranger to us, while you
Speaker 1: are of our own, a brother friend. For the first time,
Speaker 1: the kind voice faltered. I have even cherished a hope,
Speaker 1: it went on in a lower tone, that perhaps in
Speaker 1: the future a closer bond might bind you to us.
Speaker 1: Nothing in the world would have given me greater satisfaction.
Speaker 1: Bob suddenly felt the blood leap to his face in
Speaker 1: a crimson flood. He gasped out an incoherent word or two,
Speaker 1: hoping to check mister Galbraith's speech, but no intelligible phrases
Speaker 1: came to his tongue. Life is a strangely perverse game,
Speaker 1: isn't it, mused? The capitalist we build our castles, build
Speaker 1: them not alone for ourselves, but for others and those
Speaker 1: we love. Shatter the structure we have so painstakingly reared,
Speaker 1: and on its ruined sight, make for themselves castles of
Speaker 1: their own. His eyes were fixed on the narrowing ribbon
Speaker 1: of sand over which the car sped. I I have
Speaker 1: another surprise for you, Bob, he said in a lower tone,
Speaker 1: without lifting his gaze from the reach of highway ahead.
Speaker 1: Cynthia is to be married. Cynthia. A chaos of emotions
Speaker 1: mingled in the word. Her engagement has been an overwhelming
Speaker 1: shock to her mother and me. The elder man continued
Speaker 1: steadily still, without shifting his eyes from the road over
Speaker 1: which he guided the car. I don't know why the
Speaker 1: possibility never occurred to us, but it never did. She
Speaker 1: is to marry Howard Snelling. A quick wave of revulsion
Speaker 1: swept over Robert Morton. This, then, was the reason Snelling
Speaker 1: had filt from Willie, his invention that he might have
Speaker 1: greater riches to lay at the feet of his fiancee
Speaker 1: and perhaps reached more nearly a financial equality with her family.
Speaker 1: He saw it all now, and probably it was Snelling's
Speaker 1: jealousy of himself that had led him to retaliate by
Speaker 1: heaping his unwelcome attentions on Delight. At last, it was
Speaker 1: clear as day Cynthia's growing coldness and her continual trips
Speaker 1: to and from Bellport in the boat builder's company. Robert
Speaker 1: Morton could have laughed aloud at his own stupidity. The
Speaker 1: engagement explained too, mister Snelling's confusion and embarrassment at every
Speaker 1: mention of the Galbraith family. Why a child might have
Speaker 1: fathomed the romance. Again, mister Galbraith was speaking, and now Bob,
Speaker 1: for the last surprise of all. At first I thought
Speaker 1: I would delay telling you until the papers were all
Speaker 1: in shape and ready for signature. But on second thought
Speaker 1: it seemed a pity to shut you out of the fun.
Speaker 1: We have all the data prepared to take out a
Speaker 1: patent on mister Spencer's motor boat. Bob felt a sudden
Speaker 1: sinking of his heart, a stifling of his breath. The
Speaker 1: afternoon you all came over to Bellport, explained the financier.
Speaker 1: I got Snelling and a draftsman from our company to
Speaker 1: go to the shop, and in the old gentleman's absence
Speaker 1: secure measurements and the necessary information. These we took to
Speaker 1: New York and put into proper hands. And when the
Speaker 1: affidavits are sworn to and everything is in legal form,
Speaker 1: I see no reason why the government should not grant
Speaker 1: the patent. If it does, there should be a little
Speaker 1: fortune in the appliance. Robert Morton did not move. He
Speaker 1: felt as if he had been turned to stone. I
Speaker 1: thought you would be interested, observed mister Galbraith, a suggestion
Speaker 1: of disappointment in his voice. I did not consult you
Speaker 1: at first, because I felt so sure that the idea
Speaker 1: would please you. I'm sorry if it doesn't. It seemed
Speaker 1: to me that if we could help mister Spence to
Speaker 1: patent his device, he might do quite a little with it.
Speaker 1: I thought he might not know how to go at
Speaker 1: the matter himself. So we are preparing all the papers
Speaker 1: for him to file an application in his own name. Afterward,
Speaker 1: I propose either to purchase from him the rights to
Speaker 1: use it, or to buy the thing outright at a
Speaker 1: reasonable figure. In either case, the deal will net him
Speaker 1: quite an income and place him beyond the possibility of
Speaker 1: financial worry so long as he lives. Oh the relief
Speaker 1: that surged over Robert Morton joy rioted with shame, happiness,
Speaker 1: with self reproach. How feeble his faith had been. He hoped.
Speaker 1: Mister Galbraith did not read in his eyes the suspicions
Speaker 1: he had cherished, apparently he did not, for in the
Speaker 1: same kindly manner, he asked, do you think it would
Speaker 1: be better to keep the secret from the little old
Speaker 1: chap a bit longer? Or tell him now? Oh? Tell him, now,
Speaker 1: tell him now, cried Bob, tell him right away when
Speaker 1: we get back. His companion laughed at his eagerness, and
Speaker 1: for the first time their eyes met. And now, sir,
Speaker 1: began Robert Morton, a ring of buoyancy and light heartedness
Speaker 1: in his voice such as had not sounded in it
Speaker 1: for weeks. I have a surprise for you. I too,
Speaker 1: am going to be married. The car swerved suddenly, as
Speaker 1: if a tremor had passed through the hands on the wheel.
Speaker 1: I am engaged to your niece, mister Galbraith, to my
Speaker 1: my niece, repeated the great man blankly. I don't think
Speaker 1: I quite to delight Hathaway. Bob saw a dull brick,
Speaker 1: red flush colored the neck of the capitalist and steal
Speaker 1: up into his face. For a moment he seemed at
Speaker 1: a loss for words. Then, presently, as if he had
Speaker 1: succeeded in readjusting his ideas, he ejaculated. My word, Bob,
Speaker 1: well you young people have mixed yourselves up nicely. However, if
Speaker 1: you all are happy, that is the main thing. You
Speaker 1: are the ones to be suited. We shall still have
Speaker 1: you in the family anyway, he laughed. And about the property,
Speaker 1: he went on, thoughtfully, this simplifies matters greatly, for it
Speaker 1: won't make much difference now which of you has it?
Speaker 1: You or the girl. But Bob stopped him with a
Speaker 1: quick protest. I don't want delight to know Madame Lee's
Speaker 1: money has previously been willed to me, he said, if
Speaker 1: she suspected that she would never take it, you are
Speaker 1: not to tell her. Promise me you will see to that.
Speaker 1: Of course, I will arrange the affair any way you wish.
Speaker 1: Mister Galbraith agreed with a dubious frown. But if you
Speaker 1: were to marry her, I really can't see what difference
Speaker 1: it would make. It will make a great deal of difference,
Speaker 1: declared the younger man. In the one case, the fortune
Speaker 1: will be hers to use as she pleases. She will
Speaker 1: have the independent right to hand it over to the
Speaker 1: Brewsters if she so desires. Our entire will be placed
Speaker 1: on another basis, For if I marry her under those conditions,
Speaker 1: I marry an heiress, not the ward of a poor fisherman.
Speaker 1: I hadn't thought of that. On the other hand, if
Speaker 1: she refuses the money, it will be mine to lay
Speaker 1: at her feet. Can't you see what a vast contrast
Speaker 1: there will be in my position? Mister Galbraith nodded thoughtfully,
Speaker 1: as if considering the matter from a new angle. That's
Speaker 1: the only reason the fortune would mean anything to me,
Speaker 1: that I might have something to offer her, continued Robert Morton.
Speaker 1: Of course, as you said, she would have the benefit
Speaker 1: of the money in either case. But it makes a
Speaker 1: difference whether it comes to her by the mere right
Speaker 1: of inheritance or whether she takes it from her husband.
Speaker 1: There is a distinction, admitted the elder man. Now that
Speaker 1: you call my attention to it, I can see that readily.
Speaker 1: It is a delicate one, but its consequences are far reaching. Well,
Speaker 1: you shall have your way. A proportion of the legacy
Speaker 1: shall be offered to delight, and the secret regarding it
Speaker 1: shall be yours to keep or divulge as you see fit.
Speaker 1: You are a noble fellow, Bob. I only wish he
Speaker 1: checked the impulsive phrase that rose to his lips, but
Speaker 1: not before the listener had caught its import Mister Snelling
Speaker 1: is a fine man. Mister Galbraith broke in bob, instantly
Speaker 1: dreading the words that might follow. Oh, I know it,
Speaker 1: there is no question about that. The capitalist assented with haste.
Speaker 1: Success is written all over his future, and I know
Speaker 1: he will be a son in law to be proud of.
Speaker 1: He and Cynthia are royally happy too, and no doubt
Speaker 1: know better than I what they want. After all, none
Speaker 1: of us can live other people's lives. Each must work
Speaker 1: out his own. You've said it, mister Galbraith. The financier smiled,
Speaker 1: and his eyes twinkled beneath the shaggy brows that arched them.
Speaker 1: You will have to be getting used to calling me
Speaker 1: by another name, young man, he said, Remember I am
Speaker 1: to be your uncle. End of Chapter twenty one. Recording
Speaker 1: by Roger Moline