At first she had made Denver her home, but afterward migrated from one middle-west city to another until she came to Chicago, where she had now lived for nearly three years, occupying the most expensive suite of rooms at the very exclusive Hotel Voltaire.
Alora fairly worshipped her beautiful mother and although Mrs. Antoinette Seaver Jones was considered essentially cold and unemotional by those who knew her casually, there was no doubt she prized her child as her dearest possession and lavished all the tenderness and love of which she was capable upon her.
Retrospectively, Doctor Anstruther considered this historical revue of his fair patient as he sat facing her. It seemed a most unhappy fate that she should be cut off in the flower of her womanhood, but her case was positively hopeless, and she knew it and had accepted the harsh verdict without a murmur. Bravery had always been Tony Seaver’s prime characteristic. To Doctor Anstruther it seemed that she might as well know the truth which she had demanded from his lips.
“This disease is one that accelerates toward the end,” he said. “Within the past few days we have noted its more virulent tendency. All we can do now is to keep you from suffering until — the end.”
“And that will be — when?” she demanded.
“I think I can safely give you a week but — — ”
“Then I must act at once,” she said, as he hesitated. “I must, first of all, make provision for Alora’s future, and in this I require your help.”
“You know you may depend upon me,” he said simply.
“Please telegraph at once to my husband Jason Jones, in New York.”
The request startled him, for never before had she mentioned her husband’s name in his presence. But he asked, calmly enough:
“What is his address?”
“Hand me that small memorandum-book,” pointing to the stand beside him. He obeyed, and as she turned the leaves slowly she said:
“Doctor Anstruther, you have been my good and faithful friend, and you ought to know and to understand why I am now sending for my husband, from whom I have been estranged for many years. When I first met Jason Jones he was a true artist and I fell in love with his art rather than with the man. I was ambitious that he should become a great painter, world-famous. He was very poor until he married me, and he had worked industriously to succeed, but as soon as I introduced him to a life of comfort — I might even add, of luxury — his ambition to work gradually deserted him. With his future provided for, as he thought, he failed to understand the necessity of devoting himself to his brush and palette, but preferred a life of ease — of laziness, if you will. So we quarreled. I tried to force him back to his work, but it was no use; my money had ruined his career. I therefore lost patience and decided to abandon him, hoping that when he was again thrown upon his own resources he would earnestly resume his profession and become a master, as I believed him competent to be. We were not divorced: we merely separated. Finding I had withdrawn his allowance he was glad to see me go, for my unmerciful scoldings had killed any love he may have had for me. But he loved Lory, and her loss was his hardest trial. I may have been as much to blame as he for our lack of harmony, but I have always acted on my impulses.
“I’ll give Jason Jones the credit for not whimpering,” she resumed thoughtfully, after a brief pause, “nor has he ever since appealed to me for money. I don’t know how well he has succeeded, for we do not correspond, but I have never heard his name mentioned in the art circles I have frequented. He remained in New York, I believe, and so I chose to keep away from New York. A year or two ago, however, I met a man who had known Jason Jones and who gave me his address. Here it is: 1744 East Sixty-seventh street. Will you make a copy of it, Doctor?”
He nodded.
“What shall I say in the telegram?” he asked, writing the address in his notebook.
“Tell him I am dying and seek a reconciliation before I pass away. Beg him to come to me at once.”
Dr. Anstruther jotted down the instructions underneath the address.
“You must understand,” she continued, “that Jason Jones is an honorable man and in many ways a high-minded gentleman. I have lived with him as his wife and I know that he is well fitted to care for our child and to rear her properly. I have left my entire fortune to Alora, but I have made Jason my sole executor, and he is to have control, under certain restrictions, of all the income until Alora is eighteen. I think he will be glad to accept the responsibility, both on Alora’s account and for the money.”
“Doubtless, if he has not been a success as an artist since your separation,” remarked the doctor, drily.
“The man I spoke of said Jason was living in quite modest circumstances. He said that although he had succeeded in selling a few paintings they had brought rather insignificant sums — which surprised me, as I know they must have possessed a degree of merit. However, I may be mistaken in thinking his talent exceptional. Anyhow, my experiment in leaving him to his own devices seems not to have resulted as I had hoped, and I now am willing he should handle Alora’s income and live comfortably while he is educating her. She will probably provide for her father when she comes of age, but I have not included such a request in my will and I have endeavored, in case he proves inclined to neglect her, to require the court to appoint another guardian. That is, of course, merely a precaution, for I know his nature is gentle and kind, and he adores — or at least he used to adore children.”
The doctor sat, notebook in hand, musing. The matter-of-fact, businesslike way in which she referred to her marital relations and her assumed unconcern over her own dreadful fate impressed the good man as extraordinary. But he was relieved to know that little Alora, of whom he had grown quite fond, was to have the guardianship of a parent, and glad that the character of Jason Jones was above reproach. The man’s failure to succeed as an artist, while it might have been a source of chagrin to his art-loving wife, did not lower him to any extent in Dr. Anstruther’s opinion.
“I suppose Alora does not remember her father?” he presently remarked.
“She was about two years old when we separated.”
“And you say your will is already drawn?”
“Judge Bernsted, my lawyer, has attended to it. It is now in his possession, properly signed and witnessed.”
“If Bernsted drew the will, it is doubtless legal and in accordance with your wishes. But who witnessed it?”
“My nurse, Janet.”
He glanced at the motionless figure of the attendant, who had remained so inert at her post by the window that he had quite forgotten her presence. She was a young woman, perhaps thirty years of age, and not unprepossessing in appearance, in spite of her modest uniform.
Janet’s one peculiarity was her downcast eyes. They were good eyes, bright and intelligent, but she kept them veiled by their long lashes and drooping lids. Dr. Anstruther attached no significance to this trait, doubtless a habit of modest reserve acquired in her profession. He had himself recommended the woman to Mrs. Jones, having frequently employed her on other cases and found her deft, skillful and thoroughly reliable. Janet Orme’s signature to the will he regarded as satisfactory, since Judge Bernsted had accepted it.
A moan from his patient suddenly aroused the doctor. Her face was beginning to twitch spasmodically with pain. In an instant Janet was at her side, hypodermic needle in hand, and the opiate was soon administered.
“Send the telegram,” muttered Mrs. Jones, still breathing hard; “and, as you go out, Doctor, send Alora to me. I shall have relief in a few moments.”
“To be sure,” he said, rising. “Lory has been begging to see you, and I’ll attend to the telegram at once.”
CHAPTER II
MOTHER AND CHILD
The child crept softly to her mother’s bedside, but once there she impulsively threw her arms about “Mamma Tone’s” neck and embraced her so tightly that the sick woman was obliged to tear the little arms away. She did this tenderly, though, and holding the trembling ha
nds in her own kissed both of Lory’s cheeks before she said:
“I’ve news for you, dear.”
“Are you better, mamma?” asked Lory.
“Of course not,” was the calm reply. “You mustn’t expect mamma ever to get well, my darling. But that shouldn’t worry you — not too much, you know. One of the queer things about life is that it has an end, sooner or later, and in mamma’s case it comes to an end a little sooner than you and I might wish it to.”
“Oh, Mamma Tone!” An agonized cry, with the small hands clasped tightly over her throbbing heart. But Tony Seaver did not flinch.
“The news I have will surprise you, Lory dear. Your father, who loved you devotedly when you were a baby, but whom you have never known till now, is coming here to see us.”
Alora’s eyes grew big with wonder, but other thoughts drove even this strange news from her mind.
“I can’t let you go, Mamma Tone,” she wailed, sobbing; “I can’t let you die and leave me all alone!”
The woman’s breast heaved. She was silent a moment and then said quietly:
“Even kings and queens, sweetheart, have no command over life and death. When it is too late to help it, we realize we have been born; when it is too late to help it, we realize we must die. But why complain, when it is the fate of all humanity? To be true to our Creator, who directs all things, we must bow to His will without protest. You will love your father, Lory, because he will love you; and he is a good man, and kindly, so I believe he will make your life as happy as I could have done.”
“I don’t want him; I want you, Mamma — I want you!”
The mother sighed wearily and the alert nurse advanced and said to the child in grave, cold tones:
“You must control yourself, Miss Alora, if you wish to remain.”
The threat quieted the little girl at once.
“I’ll be good, Mamma Tone,” she whispered softly. “Talk to me, and tell me what I must do.”
So the dying woman talked to her, not of herself, but of Alora’s father, and of how she would like her child to conduct herself while she grew in womanhood. She spoke of her will, and told Lory what it meant to her and how she had safe-guarded her interests as well as she was able. To this Lory listened intently and, although she still trembled at times, she had Tony Seaver’s blood in her veins and could be brave in spite of the terrors that faced her. Dimly she realized that her mother was suffering through the knowledge of their inevitable parting, even as Alora was suffering, and felt she could comfort that beloved mother more by controlling her grief bravely than by giving way to it in her mother’s presence.
Meantime, Dr. Anstruther had returned to his office and had written and dispatched the following telegram:
“Jason Jones,
1744 East 67th St.,
New York City.
“Your wife is dying at the Hotel Voltaire and wishes reconciliation before she passes away. Come quickly, as any delay may prove dangerous. Notify me by wire when to expect you.
Edward Anstruther, M. D.”
He left orders that the answer be delivered to him at his office or residence, as soon as received, but the day and the night passed without a word from Jason Jones. Dr. Anstruther telephoned the telegraph office and was assured his message had been delivered to the party in New York, as otherwise they would be notified to that effect.
Knowing Mrs. Jones’ dangerous condition, the good doctor was worried, but the following morning brought the delayed answer:
“If necessary for me to come, you must send money for expenses.”
It was signed “Jason Jones” and its tone and its demand annoyed Dr. Anstruther exceedingly.
“Confound the fellow!” he exclaimed. “Any decent man would have borrowed the money, or even pawned his watch and jewelry, to get to a dying wife who calls for him. Either Mrs. Jones is mistaken in her husband’s kindly character or — well, he may have changed since last she knew him.”
He did not hesitate, however, to go to the office and send money by telegraph to Jason Jones, furnishing the required sum from his own pocket rather than allow Antoinette to see her husband’s telegram. He even sent more than was necessary, muttering to himself: “The poor devil may have some bills to settle before he can get away, and in any event she must not be disappointed because her impecunious husband lacks a few dollars. I fancy the poor artist will be amazed to find himself suddenly raised from poverty to affluence, for little Lory’s income will be enormous and he will have seven years, at least, to enjoy it unrestrained. I hope,” he added thoughtfully, as he drove back to his office, “that Mrs. Jones has made no error in her judgment of this man, for it is considerable power to place in anyone’s hands and Alora is such a dear that I want her properly taken care of.”
When he made his next visit to his patient he said in answer to her questioning look:
“Mr. Jones will be here to-morrow, I think. He will notify me of his arrival and I will be here to meet him. I believe it will be advisable for me to see him first, you know, in order to — eh — eh — to post him a bit,” he added, meaningly.
“Yes,” she replied, “I fear it will be something of a shock to Jason. Even though we have practically been strangers for years, he is sure to be grieved and sympathetic. But do not bore him with particulars, Doctor. Send him to me as soon as you have prepared him for the interview.”
CHAPTER III
ALORA’S FATHER
A man slouched into the lofty foyer of the Hotel Voltaire and paused uncertainly, as if awed by the splendor of the place. A boy in uniform hastened to relieve him of his hand baggage, which consisted of a “roll-me-up” or “carryall” of brown canvas, strapped around the middle, such as one often sees in traveling on the Continent. It seemed a much used and abused affair and painted upon the ends were the dimmed initials: “J. J.”
This man was plainly dressed. His clothing was of the cheap, ready- made variety, worn nearly to shabbiness and matched by a gray flannel shirt with a flowing black tie, knotted at the throat, and a soft gray hat that was a bit weatherstained. His shoes were shabby and unshined. His whole appearance was out of keeping with the palatial hotel he had entered.
Without relinquishing his baggage to the boy he asked sharply:
“Is Dr. Anstruther here?”
But now Dr. Anstruther, who had been impatiently waiting, espied the arrival and after a glance at the initials on the traveling-roll said in hesitating tones:
“Mr. Jason Jones?”
“Yes. You must be the doctor who telegraphed me.”
“I am Doctor Anstruther.”
“All right. Where’s my wife?”
There was no especial anxiety in his tones, which were slow and distinct and a trifle sharp. He seemed ill at ease and looked around the foyer again, as if fearing he had entered the wrong place.
“I will lead you to her presently,” replied the physician gravely; “but first, sir, I must acquaint you with her condition, which is serious. I have engaged a room for you here and if you will please register we will go there together and talk undisturbed.”
“All right,” said Jason Jones. He registered at the desk and then turned and announced: “I’m ready. Go ahead.”
Those present in the foyer cast curious glances at the stranger as he passed them and followed Dr. Anstruther to the elevator. The boy accompanied them, now carrying the roll of baggage. The grandeur of the room they entered, which was convenient to the suite of Mrs. Jones, seemed to astonish the artist, although it was as simply furnished as any the great hotel contained. However, he made no remark but removed his hat, seated himself, and looked inquiringly at the physician.
“Mrs. Jones,” began Dr. Anstruther, “is really dying. I cannot say how long she may survive, but it is a matter of days — perhaps hours. Her greatest anxiety at present is to be reconciled with you, whom she has not seen or even communicated with for years.”
“Did she say that?”
“Yes.”
“And she wants to be reconciled?”
“She does.”
“Rather a queer notion, that,” remarked Mr. Jones, musingly.
“Very natural, I think, under the circumstances,” stiffly replied the doctor. “She has every confidence in you and admires your character exceedingly, although it was her desire that you live apart.”
The man’s stolid countenance relaxed in a grin — a somewhat scornful and unbelieving expression — but he did not speak. He was not a very tall man; he was thin of figure and hardened of muscle; his head was bald in front, giving him the appearance of a high forehead, and the hair at the back and around the ears was beginning to gray. His eyes were light blue; his nose was shapely and his jaws prominent and tightly set in repose. His age was about forty.
“Mrs. Jones,” continued the doctor, “knows that you are due to arrive at this time and is eagerly counting the minutes; not that you are so dear to her,” he asserted in retaliation for the sneer upon his hearer’s lips, “but because she has important business matters to arrange with you before she passes away.”
“Business matters?”
“So she has told me. I believe,” he said, after a brief period of hesitation, during which he considered how best to handle this peculiar artist, “that I will allow you to see your wife at once, that you may learn her plans from her own lips.”
Indeed, he had already decided that Jason Jones must have changed materially, and for the worse, since Antoinette Seaver had known him. Perhaps, when she had talked with the man, she would revise her opinion of him and make other disposition of her finances and the guardianship of her child. In that case it would not be well for him to give her husband any inkling of her present plans. Having reached this conclusion, Dr. Anstruther rose abruptly and said: “Come with me, please.”
Jason Jones made no demur. Without remark he followed his conductor into the hallway and to the entrance to the suite occupied by his wife. The governess had been instructed to take Alora out for a ride; there was no one in the little reception room. Here, however, the doctor halted, and pointing to the door at the further end of the passage he said:
Complete Works of L. Frank Baum Page 598