Flood Tide Read online

  CHAPTER III

  A NEW ARRIVAL

  The new idea, whatever it was, was evidently not one to be hastilyperfected, for the next morning when Celestina went down stairs, shefound the jaded inventor seated moodily in a rocking-chair before thekitchen stove, his head in his hands.

  "Law, Willie, are you up already?" she asked, as if unconscious of hisnocturnal activities.

  The reply was a wan smile.

  "An' you've got the fire built, too," went on Celestina cheerily. "Hownice!"

  "Eh?" repeated he, giving her a vague stare. "The fire?"

  "Yes. I was sayin' how good it was of you to start it up." The mangazed at her blankly.

  "I ain't touched the fire," he answered. "I might have, though, aswell as not, Tiny, if I'd thought of it."

  "That's all right," Celestina declared, making haste to repair herblunder. "I've plenty of time to lay it myself. 'Twas only that whenI saw you settin' up before it I thought mebbe you'd built it 'causeyou were cold."

  "I was cold," acquiesced Willie, his eyes misty with thought. "But Iwarn't noticin' there was no heat in the stove when I drew up here."

  Celestina bit her lip. How characteristic the confession was!

  "Well, there'll be a fire now very soon," said she, bustling out andreturning with paper and kindlings. "The kitchen will be warm as toastin no time. An' I'll make you some hot coffee straight away. Thatwill heat you up. This northerly wind blows the cobwebs out of thesky, but it does make it chilly."

  Although Willie's eyes automatically followed her brisk motions andwatched while she deftly started the blaze, it was easy to see that hewas too deep in his own meditations to sense what she was doing.Perhaps had his mood not been such an abstract one he would haverealized that he was directly in the main thoroughfare and obstructingthe path between the pantry and the oven. As it was he failed to graspthe circumstance, and not wishing to disturb him, Celestina patientlycircled before, behind and around him in her successive pilgrimages tothe stove. Such situations were exigencies to which she was quiteaccustomed, her easy-going disposition quickly adapting itself toemergencies of the sort. So skilful was she in effacing her presencethat Willie had no knowledge he was an obstacle until suddenly the irondoor swung back of its own volition and in passing brushed his knuckleswith its hot metal edge.

  "Ouch!" cried he, starting up from his chair.

  "What's the matter?" called Celestina from the pantry.

  "Nothin'. The oven door sprung open, that's all."

  "It didn't burn you?"

  "N--o, but it made me jump," laughed Willie. "Why didn't you tell me,Tiny, that I was in your way?"

  "You warn't in my way."

  "But I must 'a' been," the man persisted. "You should 'a' shoved measide in the beginnin'."

  Stretching his arms upward with a comfortable yawn, he rose andsauntered toward the door.

  "Now you're not to pull out of here, Willie Spence," Celestina objectedin a peremptory tone, "until you've had your breakfast. You had noneyesterday, remember, thanks to that pump; an' you had no dinner either,thanks to Zenas Henry's pump. You're goin' to start this day right.You're to have three square meals if I have to tag you all over Wiltonwith 'em. I don't know what it is you've got on your mind this time,but the world's worried along without it up to now, an' I guess it canmanage a little longer."

  Willie regarded his mentor good-humoredly.

  "I figger it can, Celestina," he returned. "In fact, I reckon it willhave to content itself fur quite a spell without the notion I've runa-foul of now."

  Celestina offered no interrogation; instead she said, "Well, don't letit harrow you up; that's all I ask. If it's goin' to be along-drawn-out piece of tinkerin', why there's all the more reason youshould eat your three good meals like other Christians. Next you knowyou'll be gettin' run down, an' I'll be havin' to brew some dandelionbitters for you." She came to an abrupt stop half-way between the ovenand the kitchen table, a bowl and spoon poised in her hand. "I ain'tsure but it's time to brew you somethin' anyway," she announced. "Youain't had a tonic fur quite a spell an' mebbe 'twould do you good."

  A helpless protest trembled on Willie's lips.

  "I--I--don't think I need any bitters, Celestina," he at last observedmildly.

  "You don't know whether you do or not," Celestina replied with as nearan approach to sharpness as she was capable of. "However, there's nocall to discuss that now. The chief thing this minute is for you tosit up to the table an' eat your victuals."

  Docilely the man obeyed. He was hungry it proved, very hungry indeed.With satisfaction Celestina watched every spoonful of food he put tohis lips, inwardly gloating as one muffin after another disappeared;and when at last he could eat no more and took his blackened cob pipefrom his pocket, she drew a sigh of satisfaction.

  "There now, if you want to go back to your inventin' you can," sheremarked, as she began to clear away the dishes. "You've took aboardenough rations to do you quite a while."

  Notwithstanding the permission Willie did not immediately avail himselfof it but instead lingered uneasily as if something troubled hisconscience.

  "Say, Tiny," he blurted out at length, "if you happen around by thefront door and miss the screen don't be scared an' think it's stole. Ihad to use it fur somethin' last night."

  "The screen door?" gasped Celestina.

  "Yes."

  "But--but--Willie! The door was new this Spring; there wasn't a brackin it."

  "I know it," was the calm answer. "That's why I took it."

  "But you could have got nettin' over at the store to-day."

  "I couldn't wait."

  Celestina did not reply at once; but when she did she had herself wellin hand, and every trace of irritation had vanished from her tone.

  "Well, we don't often open that door, anyway," she reflected aloud, "soI guess no harm's done. It's a full year since anybody's come to thefront door, an' like as not 'twill be another before--"

  A jangling sound cut short the sentence.

  "What's that?" exclaimed she aghast.

  "It's a bell."

  "I never heard a bell like that in this house."

  "It's a bell I rigged up one day when you were gone to the Junction,"exclaimed Willie hurriedly. "I thought I told you about it."

  "You didn't."

  "Well, no matter now," he went on soothingly.

  "I meant to."

  "Where is it?" demanded Celestina.

  "It's in the hall. It's a new front-door bell, that's what it is,"proclaimed the inventor, his voice lost in a second deafening peal.

  "My soul! It's enough to wake the dead!" gasped Celestina, with handson her ears. "I should think it could be heard from here to Nantucket.What set you gettin' a bell that size, Willie? 'Twould scare anycaller who dared to come this way out of a year's growth. I'll have togo an' see who's there, if he ain't been struck dumb on the doorsill.Who ever can it be--comin' to the front door?"

  With perturbed expectancy she hurried through the passageway, Willietagging at her heels.

  The infrequently patronized portal of the Spence mansion, it proved,was so securely barred and bolted that to unfasten it necessitated nolittle time and patience; even after locks and fastenings had beenwithdrawn and the door was at liberty to move, not knowing what to dowith its unaccustomed freedom it refused to stir, stubbornly resistingevery attempt to wrench its hinges asunder. It was not until the manand woman inside had combined their efforts and struggled with it forquite an interval that it contrived to creak apart far enough to revealthrough a four-inch crack the figure of a young man who was standingpatiently outside.

  One could not have asked for a franker, merrier face than that whichpeered at Celestina through the narrow chink of sunshine. To judge atrandom the visitor had come into his manhood recently, for the browneyes were alight with youthful humor and the shoulders unbowed by theburdens of the world. He had a mass of wavy, dark hair; a thoughtfulbrow; ruddy
color; a pleasant mouth and fine teeth; and a tall, erectfigure which he bore with easy grace.

  "Is Miss Morton at home?" he asked, smiling at Celestina through theshaft of golden light.

  Celestina hesitated. So seldom was she addressed by this formalpseudonym that for the instant she was compelled to stop and considerwhether the individual designated was on the premises or not.

  "Y--e--s," she at last admitted feebly.

  "I wonder if I might speak with her," the stranger asked.

  "Why don't you tell him you're Miss Morton," coached Willie, in a loudwhisper.

  But the man on the steps had heard.

  "You're not Miss Morton, are you?" he essayed, "Miss Celestina Morton?"

  "I expect I am," owned Celestina nervously.

  "I'm your brother Elnathan's boy, Bob."

  Celestina crumpled weakly against the door frame.

  "Nate's boy!" she repeated. "Bless my soul! Bless my soul an' body!"

  The man outside laughed a delighted laugh so infectious that beforeCelestina or Willie were conscious of it they had joined in its mellowripple. After that everything was easy.

  "We can't open the door to let you in," explained Willie, peering outthrough the rift, "'cause this blasted door ain't moved fur so longthat its hinges have growed together; but if you'll come round to theback of the house you'll find a warmer welcome."

  The guest nodded and disappeared.

  "Land alive, Willie!" ejaculated Celestina while they struggled toreplace the dislocated bars and bolts. "To think of Nate's boyappearin' here! I can't get over it! Nate's boy! Nate was myfavorite brother, you know--the littlest one, that I brought up frombabyhood. This lad is so completely the livin' image of him that whenI clapped eyes on him it took the gimp clear out of me. It was likehavin' Nate himself come back again."

  With fluttering eagerness she sped through the hall.

  Robert Morton was standing in the kitchen when she arrived, his headtowering into the tangle of strings that crossed and recrossed thesmall interior. Whatever his impression of the extraordinary spectaclehe evinced no curiosity but remained as imperturbable amid the networkthat ensnared him as if such astounding phenomena were everydayhappenings. Nevertheless, a close observer might have detected in hishazel eyes a dancing gleam that defied control. Apparently it did notoccur either to Willie or to Celestina to explain the mystery which hadlong since become to them so familiar a sight; therefore amid thebarrage of red, green, purple, pink, yellow and white strings theygreeted their guest, throwing into their welcome all the homelycordiality they could command.

  From the first moment of their meeting it was noticeable that Williewas strongly attracted by Robert Morton's sensitive and intelligentface; and had he not been, for Celestina's sake he would have made aneffort to like the newcomer. Fortunately, however, effort wasunnecessary, for Bob won his way quite as uncontestedly with the littleinventor as with Celestina. There was no question that his aunt wasdelighted with him. One could read it in her affectionate touch on hisarm; in her soft, nervous laughter; in the tremulous inflection of hermany questions.

  "Your father couldn't have done a kinder thing than to have sent you toWilton, Robert," she declared at last when quite out of breath with herrejoicings. "My, if you're not the mortal image of him as he used tobe at your age! I can scarcely believe it isn't Nate. His foreheadwas high like yours, an' the hair waved back from it the same way; hehad your eyes too--full of fun, an' yet earnest an' thoughtful. Iain't sure but you're a mite taller than he was, though."

  "I top Dad by six inches, Aunt Tiny," smiled the young man.

  "I guessed likely you did," murmured Celestina, with her eyes still onhis face. "Now you must sit right down an' tell me all about yourselfan' your folks. I want to know everything--where you come from; whenyou got here; how long you can stay, an' all."

  "The last question is the only really important one," interruptedWillie, approaching the guest and laying a friendly hand on hisshoulder. "The doin's of your family will keep; an' where you comefrom ain't no great matter neither. What counts is how long you canspare to visitin' Wilton an' your aunt. We ain't much on talk here onthe Cape, but I just want you should know that there's an empty roomupstairs with a good bed in it, that's yours long's you can make out touse it. Your aunt is a prime cook, too, an' though there's no dangerof your mixin' up this place with Broadway or Palm Beach, I believe youmight manage to keep contented here."

  "I'm sure I could," Bob Morton answered, "and you're certainly kind togive me such a cordial invitation. I wasn't expecting to remain forany length of time, however. I came down from Boston, where I happenedto be staying yesterday afternoon, and had planned to go back tonight.I've been doing some post-graduate work in naval engineering at Techand have just finished my course there. So, you see, I'm really on myway home to Indiana. But Dad wrote that before I returned he wanted meto take a run down here and see Aunt Tiny and the old town where he wasborn, so here I am."

  Willie scanned the stranger's face meditatively.

  "Then you're clear of work, an' startin' off on your summer vacation."

  "That's about it," confessed Bob.

  "Anything to take you West right away?"

  "N--o--nothing, except that the family have not seen me for some time.I've accepted a business position with a New York firm, but I don'tstart in there until October."

  "You're your own master for four months, eh?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Well, I ain't a-goin' to urge you to put in your time here; but I willsay again, in case you've forgotten it, that so long as you're contentto remain with us we'd admire to have you. 'Twould give your aunt noend of pleasure, I'll be bound, an' I'd enjoy it as well as she would."

  "You're certainly not considerin' goin' back to Boston today!" chimedin Celestina.

  "I was," laughed Bob.

  "You may as well put that notion right out of your head," said Willie,"for we shan't let you carry out no such crazy scheme."

  "But to come launching down on you this way--" began the younger man.

  "You ain't come launchin' down," objected his aunt with spirit. "Weain't got nothin' to do but inventin', an' I reckon that can wait."

  Glancing playfully at Willie she saw a sudden light of eagerness flashinto his countenance. But Bob, not understanding the allusion, lookedfrom one of them to the other in puzzled silence.

  "All right, Aunt Tiny," he at last announced, "if you an' Mr. Spencereally want me to, I should be delighted to stay with you a few days.The fact is," he added with boyish frankness, "my suit case is downbehind the rose bushes this minute. Having sent most of my luggagehome, and not knowing what I should do, I brought it along with me."

  "You go straight out, young man, an' fetch it in," commanded Willie,giving him a jocose slap on the back.

  Nevertheless, in spite of the mandate, Robert Morton lingered.

  "Do you know, Aunt Tiny, I'm almost ashamed to accept yourhospitality," he observed with winning sincerity. "We've all been sorotten to you--never coming to see you or anything. Dad's terribly cutup that he hasn't made a single trip East since leaving Wilton."

  The honest confession instantly quenched the last smouldering embers ofCelestina's resentment toward her kin.

  "Don't think no more of it!" she returned hurriedly. "Your father'sbeen busy likely, an' so have you; an' anyhow, men ain't much onfollerin' up their relations, or writin' to 'em. So don't say anotherword about it. I'm sure I've hardly given it a thought."

  That the final assertion was false Robert Morton read in the woman'sbrave attempt to control the pitiful little quiver of her lips;nevertheless he blessed her for her deception.

  "You're a dear, Aunt Tiny," he exclaimed heartily, stooping to kiss hercheek. "Had I dreamed half how nice you were, wild horses couldn'thave kept me away from Wilton."

  Celestina blushed with pleasure.

  Very pretty she looked standing there in the window, her shouldersencircle
d by the arm of the big fellow who, towering above her, lookeddown into her eyes so affectionately. Willie couldn't but think as hesaw her what a mother she would have made for some boy. Possiblysomething of the same regret crossed Celestina's own mind, for a shadowmomentarily clouded her brow, and to banish it she repeated withresolute gaiety:

  "Do go straight out an' bring in that suit case, Bob, or some stragglermay steal it. An' put out of your mind any notion of goin' to Bostonfor the present. I'll show you which room you're to have so'st you canunpack your things, an' while you're washin' up I'll get you somebreakfast. You ain't had none, have you?"

  "No; but really, Aunt Tiny, I'm not--"

  "Yes, you are. Don't think it's any trouble for it ain't--not a mite."

  Willie beamed with good will.

  "You've landed just in time to set down with us," he remarked. "Weain't had our breakfast, either."

  Celestina wheeled about with astonishment. Willie's hospitality musthave burst all bounds if it had lured him, who never deviated from thetruth, into uttering a falsehood monstrous as this. One glance,however, at his placid face, his unflinching eye, convinced her thatswept away by the interest of the moment the little old man had lostall memory of whether he had breakfasted or not.

  She did not enlighten him.

  "Mebbe it ain't honest to let him go on thinkin' he's had nothin' toeat," she whispered to herself, "but if all them muffins, an' oatmeal,an' coffee don't do nothin' toward remindin' him he's et once, I ain'tgoin' to do it. This second meal will make up fur the breakfast hemissed yesterday. I ain't deceivin' him; I'm simply squarin' thingsup."