Where Two Ways Met

by Grace Livingston Hill

  So Paige spent a few minutes in locating the young woman, and found her at last under a becoming umbrella down on the sand, discoursing with a much-tanned youth of former acquaintance whom she introduced with an air of triumph, showing him that she had not gone lonely when he wouldn’t go swimming with her.

  Paige gave her her father’s message. He wanted to see her, and they would go down to lunch together. So Reva had an elaborate farewell scene with the youth who was leaving on the afternoon train, and went back to the hotel with Paige.

  Paige went silently through the lunch hour thinking of the letter he had read so briefly and the lovely picture he had hidden away out of sight. He would so much rather have gone without lunch and read the letter again and looked some more at the picture.

  It developed that Mr. Chalmers delighted in sailing and was sure he was equal to a couple of hours spent that way that afternoon, quite sure his doctor would approve. In fact, he had asked him about that very thing and had been told it would be splendid for him, but not to get too tired.

  So they went sailing. And Paige showed that he knew a lot about sailboats and was at home on the ocean. At first Reva tried to show off by insisting on handling the tiller, but her father was nervous at her erratic moves and quickly put a stop to that.

  However, they had a pleasant sail and came in tired and ready to rest awhile. So Paige had opportunity for his letter and picture, and Reva spent her time calling up some nearby seashore resorts to see if some of her intimates were there yet, and then made a rather stunning hasty toilet for the evening. She meant to do great things tonight. She had found that a dashing friend was located about ten miles away, and she meant to get Paige to take her to see her. There would be a dance going on there of course, and she would begin to get Paige to take an interest in gaiety. That was the first step. But of course she said not a word about a party. She just wanted to see her dear friend so much. There was nothing for Paige to do but acquiesce. Of course he would drive her. But when they arrived at the great hotel where Reva’s friend was staying, he found himself involved in a dance. His indignation rose when he saw that Reva had planned this to put him in an embarrassing position, to see if she could not force him into things that she knew he did not care for.

  He gave a quick glance about the beautiful room with its throng of merrymakers, and his pleasant lips stiffened a trifle. Then Reva’s friends approached, and there were introductions and a merry welcome for this good-looking young man, from all the girls. Almost he was swept against his will right into the center of things. He stood there quietly, listening to their chatter, trying to reply with courtesy to questions that were being asked him, and yet with a kind of withdrawing of himself, as if he were not a part of their gathering and had only come for a moment.

  He had cast another quick look around to find a way out that would make the next few hours possible, when suddenly an officer in full dress uniform dawned on his vision with hand outstretched eagerly.

  “Paige Madison! My boy! To think of finding you here! I have hoped to hear from you. How long have you been out of uniform?”

  His old captain was now a colonel! And more than that, Paige knew him to be his dear friend. Many times during his overseas experiences Paige had gone to him and received kindnesses and great help. He would not have presumed to walk up to him and claim that old friendship in the presence of such a throng. But the fact that the colonel had come to him merely turned the heads of all beholders and left him free to stand a moment and talk. And it was quite natural when this great man put a hand on Paige’s shoulder and said:

  “I’m so glad to see you, Paige. How about stepping out here on the porch and sitting for a little talk? I’m rather tired, and I’d like to check up on what you’ve been doing since I saw you and what you know of any of the other fellows in your company.”

  The giddy girls that were a part of Reva’s crowd made ugly little faces at this, for they would have liked to be included in this close, intimate group around a great man, but other younger men were surrounding them, so they all melted away with the hovering partners, and Reva herself seemed quite satisfied. Paige would come back in a few minutes, covered with glory from his friendship with an officer like that one, and she would shine with reflected glory. Oh, she was glad she had brought him, and she kept an eye out toward the door for his return.

  But Paige did not come back. Not for a long, long time. The two had found comfortable chairs as far from the noisy clamor of the ballroom as possible and were having a happy time reminiscing.

  It was an hour later when the colonel bade them good night and went up to his room. Then Paige looked at his watch and wondered if it wasn’t almost time for him to do something about the young woman he was supposed to be escorting. Thank the Lord for sending that old friend of his to help him get away for a time into a restful atmosphere! How cool and quiet it was out here, with scarcely anybody around and nothing that demanded his attention for the time being. God had done that for him. He had asked Him to take over before he left his room that night, and this was the way He had done it! Well, and now what procedure should he use to find that crazy girl and get her to come home? For her father presumably would be worried about her if they came home too late. Which only goes to show that Paige didn’t yet really know his boss, or he never would have thought that.

  He began to walk slowly the length of the piazza, stopping now and again to look in a window and try to identify Reva. Finally he saw her in the arms of a young sailor, looking raptly up into his face as if she had no idea of stopping her play, all night long.

  He went back and sought his chair, but two other young people had taken possession of the place where he and his colonel had sat, so he walked on.

  At last he grew restless. He must do something about this, mustn’t he? Did he have to go back to that obnoxious, crowded place and extract her?

  And then, wonder of wonders, she came walking out on the arm of the same sailor with whom she had been dancing, still looking up adoringly into his face, as if he were the only sailor on earth for her. He spied her at some distance and started up to meet them.

  “I was just coming to find you,” he said. “Don’t you think it is time we should be starting back? Your father will be troubled, I am afraid, and you know a sick man should have his rest.”

  “Oh, Dad won’t be troubled,” she said and laughed merrily. “I’ll risk that. But I do suppose we should start now. May I introduce you to Larry Keene? He used to play with me in my backyard when we were kids, and we’d climbed over the back fence together. Larry, this is Paige Madison. He believes he works for my dad in the office, but I steal him away sometimes to take care of me.”

  Reva turned it off very neatly, and they said good night and were soon away, but the girl was silent for a long time, and it was evident that she was very angry. At last she broke forth with, “I think that was the meanest thing I ever saw anybody do. Take a girl to a dance and then go off and leave her. I thought you had been brought up with good manners.”

  “Yes? And what about taking a man to a dance that he didn’t know existed, when you knew I didn’t dance and wouldn’t have gone if I had known that was included in your program? I think you will find my bad manners couldn’t compare with yours, for you knew what you were going to, and I didn’t. Now, suppose we forget it and get some pleasanter topic to talk about, unless you want me to feel that I have to say no to everything you ask me to do lest you will play some trick like this?”

  “Oh, well, that’s ridiculous! You ought to get over this notion that you can’t dance, or won’t; I don’t know which it is. You know you ought to do it for Dad’s sake, if for no other reason. By and by, he’ll have some swell people he’ll want you to take out somewhere and put something big across with them, and you won’t be able to fill the bill because you can’t dance with their daughter and win the whole family over. Don’t you see how silly you are?”

  “No,” said Paige. “I do not. It’s a que
stion I have thought over carefully and decided against, and no amount of argument will change my mind. And if my job with your father depends on anything like that, I had better begin to look for another one right away.”

  “Oh, you silly! I didn’t mean that, of course. Dad would be horrified if he knew I said that to you. But didn’t you think that hotel was perfectly spiffy? And where in the world did you happen to come across that stunning-looking officer? He acted as if he knew you very well.”

  “Yes,” said Paige. “He was my first captain when I went into the service.”

  “He was! You don’t mean it. No kidding?”

  “No kidding,” said Paige. “He was a very swell person. Everybody in the company loved him and went to him with all their troubles. He made himself a personal friend of all his boys.”

  “Why, yes,” said Reva, with amazement in her voice, “that’s the way he acted to you tonight. You know I thought he was perfectly spiffy. I do wish you had taken me out there with you and I could have talked to him. I should have adored that.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, but you see, I had no idea he was going to stay out there so long, and I didn’t suppose you would care to leave a lively scene and go and sit quietly in the dark.”

  “Well, but it would have been so wonderful to hear him tell about great battles and things. It would have thrilled me so!”

  “But he didn’t talk about battles. He was talking about the different fellows and what had come to them since we were together. And he told me how some I knew had died so bravely, doing great things.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t have liked to hear about dying. I just hate the thought of death. It doesn’t seem fair that anybody has to die.”

  “And yet it is fair,” said Paige thoughtfully.

  “What do you mean, fair?”

  “Why, God made people to be His companions, and put them in a beautiful garden with only one rule they had to keep, and He told them beforehand that if they broke that law they would bring death into the world, and everybody that came after them would have to die. And yet they broke it! He made another way for them to be saved, because He had to keep His word and punish them with death.”

  “Well, I say that wasn’t fair. We didn’t all eat that apple in the garden, and we don’t deserve punishment.”

  “Oh, but you would have eaten it, wouldn’t you, if you’d had the chance? Are you sure you wouldn’t have done it?”

  “Well, I don’t like apples so very well, but I think likely if I was told I couldn’t do anything, I would go and do it. I always do.”

  “Exactly. Then why do you say it wasn’t fair?”

  “Oh, heavens! Let’s talk about something pleasant. Don’t you ever think about anything but preaching?”

  “Oh, yes,” said Paige. “I think about beautiful things. Look at that ocean out there with the moon just rising on it, putting a path of silver across it.”

  “Yes, it’s sort of pretty, but why rave about something you can see almost any pleasant evening? I saw the most gorgeous dress tonight. It was on a bride, and it was sort of cloth of silver with little flashes of diamonds over it. I mean to have one like that when I’m married.”

  “Now the moon is all the way up and walking like a boat on the water. See! Would you like to run down that silver path on the sea?” Paige asked.

  “Oh don’t! That would be horrible! I think the sea is terribly desolate at night, and to think of me all alone out there would be the most poisonous thing I ever heard of.”

  “Oh, but the path is silver, you know, and it would match your silver gown with the diamond sparkles on it,” laughed Paige.

  “Goodness, I believe you are a poet,” said Reva, and she looked at him almost as if he were something to be avoided. “Well, anyhow, you’ll go swimming with me tomorrow morning, won’t you? Just because you played a trick on me tonight.”

  “I couldn’t possibly go swimming tomorrow. There were some very important letters in today’s mail, and more are likely to be in, in the morning. I must get those answered and off before I leave.”

  “Before you leave?” she exclaimed unbelievably. “You don’t honestly mean that you are going away and leaving Dad, a poor sick man, all alone?”

  “Sorry,” said Paige, “that was the agreement. I couldn’t have come at all if it hadn’t been for that. And he’s not alone. You are here.”

  “Oh, piffle! I never heard such a silly man. You don’t have good judgment, that’s what’s the matter with you.”

  But though she talked and pleaded the rest of the way back to their hotel, she was not able to do anything about changing his mind. And yet, strange to say, he began to seem to her still more intriguing. Of course, there were plenty of other men down here for her to keep in practice on while he was gone, but she felt that even for a short few days, it was worthwhile waiting for him.

  So with great relief, he was free at last to go back and take out June’s picture and gaze at it a long time, just to make sure she was all that he remembered she was.

  Chapter 17

  Paige had bought a blue-and-gold tooled-leather frame for June’s picture, and it stood on his bureau now, looking quite at home. He turned his eyes toward it for good morning when he awoke that Saturday morning at his usual time.

  After his early morning dip in the ocean, Paige came back to his room and dressed for the day, remembering happily that he was to leave for home at noon and would have little time for preparations later. There were bound to be more letters to answer that he should carry back to the office.

  It did not take him long to pack, and he sat down with his Bible for his early morning reading. He glanced at his watch. There were still fifteen minutes before he was supposed to meet Reva at the breakfast table, time for his chapter at least. He was sitting there happily reading, his Bible open in his hand, conscious now and again of the picture that looked down upon him. He liked to feel that June was there reading with him.

  He didn’t know that the door had opened. In fact, he did not realize that he had not locked it when he came in from swimming in such a hurry, fearing to be late for the day. But he suddenly became conscious of someone standing there in the doorway, and he looked up, startled. There stood Reva, her eyes upon the picture, with actual hatred in them! He had a sudden feeling that the picture was desecrated by that look. But before he could move, her eyes, still dark with hate, came to look him over and then to concentrate with a still darker look of hate mingled with a queer kind of fear when she saw the Bible. This was what had spoiled all her plans! This Bible, and that picture! That girl, whoever she was, was probably at the bottom of it all, and she longed to tear that picture into shreds, to grasp that Bible and twist it out of shape and stamp on it. Only she was just a little bit afraid of the Bible.

  Her angry look lasted only a second as she lifted frustrated eyes toward the young man whose room she had invaded.

  But Paige was alert now and sprang to his feet.

  “Oh, is it time to go down?” he said. “Were you waiting for me?” Quietly. Just as though he had not seen the look of hate in her eyes, that scorn of the Bible.

  Suddenly she turned her baleful eyes on him and with a quick motion, reached out and snatched the Bible from his hand, flinging it angrily across the room.

  But she found her own hand seized firmly in a grip that frightened her.

  “That will be about all,” he said in a cold voice. “Now, will you please get out of my room?” He firmly propelled her into the hall, closed the door, and locked it behind her with a determined snap.

  Reva, thus ejected, stood amazed, alone on the outside of the door where she had so arrogantly intruded. She had never dreamed he would dare do that! Just for a Bible! If it had been the picture she had torn (and she had carried that intention, too, in the back of her mind), why, that might have made him angry, perhaps, depending on who the girl was and how much he liked her, but a Bible! He could get dozens of them in the stores. A mere Bible! He must be sup
erstitious! What harm could it do to throw a Bible?

  She waited for a full two minutes. Surely he would come out and apologize. He pretended to be so courteous.

  She could hear him moving around in his room, quick, masterful steps. He had gone over by his bureau. He was putting something in his suitcase. He was putting that picture away where she couldn’t lay hands on it. It was as if he must have read the hatred of it in her eyes. He was pulling out drawers in his dresser, folding garments rapidly, angry, and getting out, it sounded like. What had she done? She hadn’t meant to make him do that. Her intention had been merely to rouse him out of his silly ideas and make him see that wasn’t the right way to live. She had never had anyone treat her this way. That masterful grip on her arm, that being forcibly ejected from his room! She had thought it might be intriguing to dare to enter. The world she lived in did not think evilly of such a thing. It was merely being a little daring, and she had always practiced such little dares on her men friends. It was just something they did not expect, to have a girl barge into their room. Of course, if her father should find out about it, he would create a terrible rumpus, but surely this goop wouldn’t dare tell Dad. If he did, she would simply say that he had pulled her in and tried to kiss her. That would fix him, and Dad, too.

  It was very quiet now in that room beyond the door, and she couldn’t quite figure out what the occupant could be doing. What she would have thought could she have known he was kneeling beside his bed praying, inquiring what should come next, is a question.

  But presently she heard a stir, a step, and the click of the telephone. She heard him call the front desk and ask for a porter to take his bags down. Bags, he said, not bag. He must be planning to take all his things home. If he was angry, he was liable to make a lot of trouble for her with her father. Dad would be angry then, if he found out what she had done. Then she heard the sound of the elevator coming up. That would be the porter after those bags, and she did not want to be caught standing here in front of his door all alone. Stealthily, she made her way with swift sneaky steps to the end of the corridor and vanished around an angle into the side hall, just as the elevator door slammed open and she heard the reverberation of the porter’s knock on Paige’s door. Well, she would just go down to the table and order her breakfast, and when he came down, he would see that she had not waited for him. He would see that she was very angry at what he had done to her, putting her out of his room that way. Just because she was teasing him a little, throwing his old Bible across the room.