USA > California > A picture of pioneer times in California, illustrated with anecdotes and stores taken from real life > Part 54
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As Walter spoke, he sank back, pale and irresolute, and then added in a low voice:
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" Oh, Minnie, I could have faced anything but this danger of disgrace! Can you see any way of escape, Minnie ?"
Minnie, while Walter was speaking, was sitting erect; her eyes were all bright; she was, perhaps, pale, but there was a tinge of red in her cheeks. As Walter addressed these words to her, she pushed back her clustering hair with both hands from her temples; then arose to her feet, and, turning towards him, she stood her full height, and, letting one hand rest on his shoulder, she said, evidently under great excitement, but per- fectly calm, while a smile of confidence and courage lit up for a moment her beautiful face:
" See a way out of it, Walter ? I may not at this moment see the way; but, my brother, we both know in our hearts that our name is untarnished. God knows it, too; and do not, Walter, for one moment, doubt that He, in His goodness and mercy, will show us the way out. This false position you have fallen into, without its being your fault, undoubtedly gives us a great diffi- culty to overcome; but, Walter, we are not the children of afflu- ence, ease and luxury. No; from our earliest childhood we have had to battle for every inch of our way in the world. Shall we now falter when the greatest difficulty of our lives is before us? No, no! We will not falter; we will do our best, and put our unwavering trust in that God who has never failed us! It may be His holy will that our worldly goods be taken from us, perhaps, for our good, but do not doubt, my darling Walter, that, in His watchful care of us, if we do our part He will guard our name from the designs of wicked men! Our poor father was struck down to a bed of painful sickness; but he was hon- ored by all who knew him to the last, for his unsullied good name. Our dear mother was once a stranger in the great city of New York; avoided and mistrusted on account of her reli- gious faith; but God, from among those who did not believe as she believed, raised up to her as loving and true a protector as ever stood by wife. When I myself was threatened, God raised up a kind and generous deliverer, from among the very men who sought my destruction. No, my dear brother; we will ask of God nothing on earth but the continuance to us of our untarnished name, that with it we may serve Him with brighter honor. And, though the struggle grow ever so dark around us, let us not dare to doubt the result, for to doubt would be ingratitude to God. Yes, Walter, we are both Californians in heart and soul,
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and where is the Californian that, in danger or in trouble, will be a coward? No; they do not seek trouble and difficulties, but when such come it is their glory to overcome and triumph over them."
As Minnie spoke, Walter's expression of countenance entirely changed. It no longer expressed doubt and fear, but resumed its wonted bold, confident look, and, grasping Minnie's hand, he kissed it, and exclaimed:
" Oh, Minnie, you have brought me to myself! We have an unsullied name, and, with God's help, we will save it. I no longer doubt, for, as you say, the same good and merciful Being who guarded our darling parents in all their life-long struggle, and saved you on that terrible night, will not now desert you in this danger; nor me either, I trust."
" Walter, dear, it is easy to speak brave words; but remember, we will have to follow them with brave actions; and on you all depends, not on me."
As Minnie spoke, she raised one hand to her forehead and let her eyes drop on the floor, as if in thought.
" Walter, have you any, the least, suspicion of Captain Ward's truth and honesty in this matter?"
Walter started and looked surprised, as he said, in a halt an- noyed tone: "Minnie dear, you, De Forest and Hilton have never liked Ward from the first, and that is the only reason why such thoughts come into your head. Of course I have not the least doubt of him. No; I have no more doubt of him than I have of myself."
" Well, Walter dear, I do not like to annoy you by seeming to doubt any one you have such an undoubted confidence in; but recollect, this position of ours is no child's play. We must look at every point in it carefully; and the fact that two such clear- sighted men as Hilton and De Forest both did doubt Ward's honesty of intention makes it no more than prudent of us to take their opinions into consideration. And, Walter, I will now tell you that lately I find myself thinking of the strange circum- stances of that robbery, and the way they got you to keep it a secret. And, somehow, a frightful idea that they themselves were the robbers comes forcibly to my mind."
Walter, who had been walking up and down the room, now stopped short, saying:
" Why, Minnie, you astonish me! What on earth could be
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the motive for such an act? Were we not going into business together, and was not everything arranged as they wished?"
" Well, Walter, I know all that; but the more I think of it the more the conviction forces itself on me. I cannot shake it off, and all I want of you, Walter, is that in all your intercourse with these men, for the next few days, you will keep my view of the matter before your eyes. That will put you on your guard; for, if I am right, our position is a terrible one, for they will pre- vent you, if possible, from raising the money to take up that note. If they are honest, we can, in some way, get the money; but if they are not, it will be mighty hard; but yet we will do it in some way."
" Well, Minnie, I will do as you say; but it pains me to har- bor a doubt of two such friends as I have always found Ward and Brown to be."
" I do not want you, Walter, to harbor a doubt ; but just to recollect that I do harbor a doubt, and that I cannot for the life of me shake it off. When they are talking to you, take my view as well as your own into consideration. Promise me that, Wal- ter, and I am satisfied."
" Well, dear Minnie, I promise ; so that is agreed on. Now, the next consideration is, what shall be our first move to get the money ? All I have in this world is this furniture and those two Hilton notes, which draw no interest, and have so long to run yet, that here in California they would be counted as almost worthless ; for four months are four years here with us in Cali- fornia."
" Where are those notes, Walter ?"
" Oh, they are all right. The robbers did not look on them as of any value, so they left them where they were in Ward's safe."
" And is that where they are now ?" said Minnie, looking alarmed.
" Yes, of course, Minnie."
Well, Walter dear, go at once and possess yourself of the two notes, and if Ward undertakes to make excuses and put you off, I want you to promise me that nothing he does or says will pre- vent you getting the notes."
" Why, Minnie, of course I will get the notes."
" No, no, Walter ; but promise me that you will bring them here this very evening, even if you had to quarrel with Ward
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and Brown both to get them. I tell you, Walter, they will try to prevent your taking them; so promise me."
" Well, Minnie, you are a great girl," said Walter, half laugh- ing ; " so I suppose I must promise you again, and I do ; so now be satisfied."
" Well, I am satisfied, dear Walter; and now, while you are away, I will think and think, and tell you what comes into my head when you come back."
CHAPTER XX.
ARRIVAL OF JAMES DE FOREST-MINNIE'S GENEROSITY.
After Walter had left to get the notes from Ward, Minnie re- tired to her bed-room, and dropped on her knees near her bed. Leaning forward, she covered her face with her hands, and then her whole inmost thoughts were with God. Oh, yes ; prepare, Minnie, for another trial for you is at hand that will test your power of will and your self-control to the utmost, and bring an ache of sympathy to your heart that it never felt before. For ten minutes Minnie remained without a perceptible movement. Then, suddenly, she starts to her feet, her hands clasped to- gether, her head bent forward, in a listening attitude; for she has heard a step on the front porch that has made her heart leap to her throat so as to almost choke her. She is now pale as death, as she heard her name pronounced by a manly, firm voice, saying to Jane, who opened the door :
" Is Miss Minnie Wagner at home ?"
Yes; her heart had told her truly it was he. She could not move. The door opened, and Jane said:
" Miss Minnie; a gentleman, who gives his name as Mr. De Forest, is in the sitting-room to see you."
Minnie made no answer, but as the girl left she again dropped on her knees, and again for a moment rested her face in her hands, while her frame trembled and shrank together, as if en- during or struggling against some inward pain. Then relief seemed to come, and, drawing a long breath, she wiped away with her handkerchief the cold perspiration from her forehead, and, rising to her feet, said, half-aloud: "There, I can go through it now."
Without even a glance at her mirror, she walks into the sit- ting-room. James heard her step, and, his face beaming with smiles and joyous excitement, advanced to meet her.
" Oh, James, I am so glad to see you," she said, taking his outstretched hand. " How are you ?"
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" I am first-rate, Minnie."
He stopped, he started a little, and, looking into her face while he still retained her had in his, he added:
" But, dear Minnie, you do not look well, and your hand is so cold. Are you sick, or what is the matter, Minnie ?"
" My health is perfectly good, James, and I am only a little out of sorts this morning; but don't mind that. When did you get here ?"
James, now feeling half-alarmed, he could not tell why ex- actly, said:
" I got here, Minnie, about two hours ago, and, as fast as I could, put myself in a fit rig, found this cottage of yours and came to see you."
" Oh, that was so good of you, James, to come so soon."
De Forest looked puzzled, and said:
" No, Minnie; it was not good of me, for I could not stay away if I tried ever so hard."
Here Minnie tried to laugh, but her laugh was a failure, and evidently forced, and did not sound the least like her natural sweet, musical laugh.
" Have you seen Walter, James ?"
" No," said De Forest; " I have not, Minnie."
De Forest's manner now grew serious in spite of himself, and, turning towards Minnie, he looked her full in the face, endeavor- ing, if possible, to read its meaning, while he asked two or three common-place questions, such as how she liked living in San Francisco, and if she had made many new acquaintances in the city. Minnie answered all his questions nicely, and fully, but De Forest saw that her manner had a quiet, subdued sadness about it, and when she spoke his name, he thought she somehow seemed to linger on it, with a peculiar, sweet intonation. He could no longer hold out. He stood up, and walked over and took a chair close to hers; then said, in a voice of deep feeling :
" Minnie, something is the matter with you. Can you tell me what it is ?"
Minnie did not speak; she seemed to be making a desperate effort for command over herself.
" Olı, Minnie, speak ! In mercy tell me!"
Minnie recovered her quiet manner, and said :
" James, I cannot if I would, deceive you. Walter and I have a serious trouble to overcome, which I cannot disclose just now to
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any one on earth. It will, I trust in God, pass away; but until the matter is decided, I must ask you to be generous enough not to ask me to explain further."
" Not to explain to me ! Minnie, who have loved you as a child, a girl and a woman, with unwavering fidelity! If some cloud, Minnie, has fallen on your path, will you not allow me to stand by your side and share it with you ? I care not how heavy or how dark it is, if I am sharing it with you, and perhaps making it lighter to you."
While De Forest spoke, Minnie's eyes, full of the saddest light, were on his face, and, with a look and tone of earnest en- treaty, she said :
" Oh, James, I cannot accede to your request, for to do so would lower myself in my own estimation, and if I did that, I would not be the girl that James De Forest loved in his boyhood and his manhood. No, James; I will die before I let myself do one act that in my own judgment would make me less worthy of the love you have offered to shield my path through life with. Even if I am forced to turn that love away, I will never be unworthy of it."
" Forced to turn it away ! Oh, my God, Minnie, what can all this mean ? I came here to claim you for my bride. I have had Walter's consent long ago, and when I parted with you last, you gave me to understand in your own sweet way that you loved me. Oh, Minnie, have I done anything to forfeit that love, which is life itself to me ? Oh, yes, and more than life a thousand times; because if you discard me, every day of the future of this life is intolerably dark to me."
Minnie preserved her calm, quiet demeanor, but looked in- tensely miserable, as she said :
" Done anything, James, to forfeit my love ! No, James; you have done nothing to forfeit it, and it grieves me to pain you, as I am now obliged to do. Your name and your honor are un- tarnished, and you are entitled to a partner through life with as fair a name as your own."
Minnie stopped speaking, seemingly overpowered with her feel- ings, and De Forest saw, as he looked in her face, an expression of almost agony, and that she was evidently struggling against some powerful emotion of her heart. He was startled, and, hardly knowing how to act, he took her hand in his. It was cold as ice, and in a low, trembling, sad voice, he said :
" Minnie, is there not some strange infatuation about all this ?
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Are you not, perhaps, making us both miserable under a misap- prehension ? But I will not urge you to answer, Minnie. I do not want to act selfishly, and I will now, if it is necessary to your happiness, forego any further questions. But do not blame me for wishing to share with you this trouble, whatever it may be; but I fear I am giving you pain, Minnie; so tell me what you want me to do, and I will obey without asking another ques- tion."
Minnie sat up erect, and, in a clear, steady voice, said :
"James, you are not acting selfishly; you are the same gen- erous man to me to-day that you were long, long ago, as a boy, when we were children together; and I am grieved to be obliged to trespass on your generosity by asking you to do what I want you to do now."
" Speak, Minnie, speak; what you say shall be law to me."
" I will ask you, James, to defer this subject for one month, leaving each of us perfectly free."
" I will so defer it, and leave you perfectly free, Minnie; will not that do ?"
" No, no, James; that is not the way I want it to be." And Minnie was now paler than ever, and her lips quivered as she spoke.
" Well, Minnie, then it shall be as you say; one month, and you will accept my love, or fully explain to me why you cannot do so ?"
" Yes, James; that is the promise between us."
" Well, I am satisfied, Minnie; and now I will return to Oregon by the steamer that leaves here early in the morning; for, oh, Minnie, I could not endure to stay here under these cir- cumstances."
"Forgive me, James, for the pain I give you; but you will yet understand me."
" You are freely forgiven; and forgive me, dear Minnie, for the pain I gave you." And, obeying a sudden impulse, De Forest snatched her up in his arms and kissed her, and whispered: " God bless you, and keep you safe, Minnie!" And in a moment more James De Forest was hurrying down Kearny street towards the hotel.
As De Forest disappeared, Minnie went quickly to her room, closed the door, and, throwing herself into a chair, gave way to a fit of uncontrolled weeping.
" Oh!" she exclaimed, while interrupted by choking sobs,
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" how miserable I have made him! But what could I do ? If I had disclosed our trouble to him, it would be the same as asking him to help Walter out of it with his money, and that would kill poor Walter; for he could never brook the idea that his name should be saved from dishonor by the man to whom he was about to give his sister for a wife. Oh, no; if James De Forest was only seeking to be a friend, and nothing more, I would have told him all, and be glad to have him assist us; but, as it was, I could not do that. No; before ever I consent to be his bride, our name must be as unsullied as his own, and he must have nothing to do with making it so. It is unsullied, I know, and God will, in his goodness, enable us to make that manifest. Then I will be James' equal, and he will forgive when he hears my explanation, because any other course would be unworthy of such a wife as he deserves. Well, just as soon as we get things all right, I will write to him."
The night is closing in on this eventful day. Jane has just rapped at Minnie's door, to tell her that tea is all ready to bring in.
" Hold it back a little, Jane, until my brother comes back," Minnie answers; and then she wipes away all traces of her tears, as far as it was possible, and returns to the sitting-room. She had not long to wait, for Walter's step was on the porch just as she had thrown herself on the sofa.
" Well, dear Walter," she exclaims, " did you get the notes ?"
" Yes, Minnie, I did; but I fear I hurt the feelings of both our friends, Ward and Brown; and if it had not been for the promise I made you, I certainly should not have insisted on get- ting the notes to-night."
" Oh, then, they did make excuses, did they ?" exclaimed Min- nie, in an excited voice. " Oh, how glad I am that you got the notes!"
" Why, Minnie, you should not be so suspicious of friends."
" Walter, did you do as I asked you to do while you were talking to these men? Did you keep my suspicions in your thoughts ?"
" Yes, Minnie; and I did not notice anything to be suspicious about. The only thing you were right in was in regard to the notes."
" Well, how was it about the notes ? Tell me every word that passed about the notes, dear Walter."
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" Well, I went to Ward's room, and found Brown there, and they were both as cordial as it was possible; and Ward told me that they were just planning how to help me to raise the money to take up the note. 'But,' said Ward, ' it is impossible to do it, except I can get my note taken in its place.' I said, ' Would not those Hilton notes help in some way ?' ' Oh, no,' said he, ' a note of a country merchant at three or four months, drawing no interest, could give no sort of help in this market.' While he spoke he opened his safe and continued, ' I have a city bond here for a thousand dollars that, perhaps, could be used to help;' and he took a bundle of papers out of the safe to look for it. While he was turning the papers over, I saw the Hilton notes, and I took them up, and, opening my pocket-book, I began to place them in it. ' Oh,' said the Captain, 'leave those notes here. They will be safer with me, and I will take them and this bond, to-morrow, and I am almost sure I can get enough of money with them to take up that note.' This surprised me, as it was only a moment before he had said that the notes were worth nothing in this market, and I would have at once left them but for my promise to you; so I said, ' I have promised to show these notes to a friend this evening, so I will have to take them home.' 'Oh, never mind your promise,' said Ward ; 'business is business ; so leave the notes . here.' ' Oh, I must keep my promise, Captain,' said I. Then he looked very angry, more so than I ever saw him, and said : 'Oh, well, Wagner, if you are going to take this matter in your own hands, of course you do not want friends to help you.' ' Of course I do want friends to help me, Captain, out of a scrape they helped me to get into.' 'Mr. Wagner, do you suppose that I had any other motive than the most disinterested friendship when I sent that unfortunate note to Macondray & Co. for their indorsement ?' ' Of course not, Captain,' said I ; ‘ but, never- theless, if you had not given it to that villainous, boy to take there, all this trouble would never have happened.' ' Well, that is the reason I am so anxious to help you out; so leave those notes, and I will guarantee I can get the money for you to-mor- row.' ' But I told you, Captain, that I cannot leave the notes, because I have promised to show them to a friend; and, of course, I will keep my promise.' ' Oh, well, let us say no more about the matter. I will not quarrel with you, Wagner, about a thing that does not concern mne in the least, only so far as I can serve you.' 38
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' Thank you, Captain,' said I, as I arose and left the room. Brown stood up at the same time, and walked down stairs with me. As we reached the street, he said : ' Wagner, if I were you, I would go back and leave those notes with the Cap- tain. I think you hurt his feelings in the way you took them out of his hand.' ' Why, Brown,' said I, ' it is impossible for me to leave them, for I must keep my promise.' ' Oh, do as you like,' said he; ' it is none of my business.' That was about all that passed."
" Walter, this conduct of these men is only to be accounted for on my theory, that Ward and Brown are leagued against us for some purpose."
" But Minnie, what possible purpose can they have in view ?"
" Well, I cannot exactly say now; but, Walter, you cannot be too much on your guard; for, recollect there is more than life at stake, and you see that, so far, I was correct, for I told you that they would make difficulties about surrendering those notes."
" Well, Minnie, I confess I am puzzled, and I acknowledge that things do look as if you must be right. Yet I cannot bring myself fully to believe so, but it puts me much more on my guard."
" That is all I want, dear Walter. Let us now take our tea, for it has been ready a long time; and after tea I have something to tell you."
As Minnie spoke, she took Walter's arm, and they went into the dining-room and sat down, and talked cheerfully while they dis- posed of their evening meal. Minnie's manner was not what you would call excited, but was such as a person has, who is hard pressed with business, and who eats and sleeps as a matter of duty, to enable him to physically endure what he is called on to go through. This evening she seemed to sit higher and more erect than Walter had ever seen her. Her voice was as sweet as ever, but it was bold and decisive in its intonation. Walter remarked all this, and said to himself :
" Yes; she has been planning some decisive action for to-mor- row; I know her manner so well. I suppose she will tell me after supper."
Tea over, they retired to the little sitting-room.
" Come, Walter," Minnie said, " and sit down near me on the sofa, and let me rest my head on your shoulder, while I tell you what I want to tell you."
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" Yes, dear sister Minnie, come and sit just as you say, and tell me all you want to tell me, for you have had an excited day of it."
As Walter spoke, he took his seat on the sofa, and Minnie sat close to him, holding the arm next to her with both her hands, and laying her head against his shoulder, her eyes looked down- wards as she said, in a soft, low tone:
" James De Forest was here; did you know it ?"
"Why, no, Minnie; is it possible; and where is he gone ? Why did he not wait to see me ?"
Minnie did not change her position, but said, in a yet lower voice:
" He is going back again to Oregon in the morning, and will not be here again before he leaves."
" Not be here again, Minnie ? And why so, for mercy sake ?"
Minnie, for a moment, was silent, and Walter felt her strug- gling to overcome some emotion; then, in the same low voice, and yet in the same position, but that Walter felt her hands grasp his arm yet closer, she said:
" Walter, James said he had your consent to talk to me of his views of the future, you know."
" Yes, Minnie, darling, he had my full consent; and he told me he had a half-sort of an understanding with you that he was to propose matters to you in relation to his and your future on his visit to us this May. Was that your understanding ?"
" Yes, that was our understanding, Walter dear," said Minnie, in the same subdued voice.
" And has he left without doing so, Minnie ?" said Walter, in an angry tone, evidently mistaking the cause of Minnie's de- jected manner.
" No, no, dear Walter; he begged and implored of me to share with him all he had in the world, and was terribly miserable when I had to turn him away."
The last words were spoken so low that Walter could only just hear them, and Minnie trembled with agitation.
" Had to turn him away ? Minnie, you astonish me, for I thought he was just the sort of man you would be sure to admire, and value, and he has been our friend from childhood, you know."
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