第69章

"The poor child actually believes herself in love with him," wrote the poor child's mother."She protests ridiculously that she is engaged to him and will marry him in spite of her father or myself or the protests of sensible people.I write to you, therefore, assuming you likewise to be a sensible person, and requesting that you use your influence with the--to put the most charitable interpretation of his conduct--misguided and foolish young man and show him the preposterous folly of his pretended engagement to my daughter.Of course the whole affair, CORRESPONDENCE INCLUDED, must cease and terminate AT ONCE."And so on for two more pages.The color had returned to Albert's cheeks long before he finished reading.When he had finished he rose to his feet and, throwing the letter upon his grandfather's desk, turned away.

"Well, Al?" queried Captain Zelotes.

Albert's face, when he turned back to answer, was whiter than ever, but his eyes flashed fire.

"Do you believe that?" he demanded.

"What?"

"That--that stuff about my being a--a sneak and--and ensnaring her--and all the rest? Do you?"

The captain took his pipe from his mouth.

"Steady, son, steady," he said."Didn't I tell you before you begun to read at all that I didn't necessarily believe it because that woman wrote it.""You--you or no one else had better believe it.It's a lie.""All right, I'm glad to hear you say so.But there's a little mite of truth here and there amongst the lies, I presume likely.For instance, you and this Fosdick girl have been--er--keepin' company?""Her name is Madeline--and we are engaged to be married.""Oh! Hum--I see--I see.And, bein' as the old lady--her mother, Mrs.Fosdick, I mean--hasn't suspected anything, or, at any rate, hasn't found out anything until now, yesterday, or whenever it was, I judge you have been meetin'--er--Madeline at places where there wasn't--well, too large a crowd.Eh?"Albert hesitated and was, momentarily, a trifle embarrassed.But he recovered at once.

"I met her first at the drug store last summer," he said defiantly.

"Then I met her after that at the post office and at the hotel dance last fall, and so on.This year I met her--well, I met her first down by the beach, where I went to write.She liked poetry and--and she helped me with mine.After that she came--well, she came to help me again.And after that--after that--""After that it just moved along kind of natural, eh? Um-hm, Isee."

"Look here, Grandfather, I want you to understand that she is--is--by George, she is the cleanest, finest, best girl in the world.

Don't you get the idea that--that she isn't.She came to meet me just because she was interested in my verse and wanted to help.It wasn't until the very last that we--that we found out we cared for each other.""All right, boy, all right.Go on, tell me the whole yarn, if you feel like it.I don't want to pry too much into your affairs, but, after all, I AM interested in those affairs, Al.Tell me as much as you can.""I'll tell you the whole.There's nothing I can't tell, nothing I'm not proud to tell.By George, I ought to be proud! Why, Grandfather, she's wonderful!""Sartin, son, sartin.They always are.I mean she is, of course.

Heave ahead."

So Albert told his love story.When he had finished Captain Zelote's pipe was empty, and he put it down.

"Albert," he said slowly, "I judge you mean this thing seriously.

You mean to marry her some day."

"Yes, indeed I do.And I won't give her up, either.Her mother--why, what right has her mother got to say--to treat her in this way? Or to call me what she calls me in that letter? Why, by George--""Easy, son.As I understand it, this Madeline of yours is the only child the Fosdicks have got and when our only child is in danger of bein' carried off by somebody else--why, well, their mothers and fathers are liable to be just a little upset, especially if it comes on 'em sudden....Nobody knows that better than I do," he added slowly.

Albert recognized the allusion, but he was not in the mood to be affected by it.He was not, just then, ready to make allowances for any one, particularly the parental Fosdicks.

"They have no business to be upset--not like that, anyhow," he declared."What does that woman know about me? What right has she to say that I ensnared Madeline's affection and all that rot?

Madeline and I fell in love with each other, just as other people have, I suppose.""You suppose right," observed Captain Zelotes, dryly."Other people have--a good many of 'em since Adam's time.""Well, then! And what right has she to give orders that I stop writing or seeing Madeline,--all that idiotic stuff about ceasing and terminating at once? She--she--" His agitation was making him incoherent--"She talks like Lord Somebody-or-other in an old-fashioned novel or play or something.Those old fools were always rejecting undesirable suitors and ordering their daughters to do this and that, breaking their hearts, and so on.But that sort of thing doesn't go nowadays.Young people have their own ideas.""Um-hm, Al; so I've noticed."