'Doc.' Gordon

by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman

  CHAPTER II

  She looked up when he entered, and there was in her young girl face thevery slightest shade of recognition. She could not help it, for Clemencywas candor itself. Then she bowed very formally, and shook handssedately when Doctor Gordon introduced James as Doctor Elliot, his newassistant, and carried off her part very well. James was not sosuccessful. He colored and was somewhat confused, but nobody appeared tonotice it. Clemency went on relating how glad she was that Uncle Tom mether as she was coming home from Annie Lipton's. "I am never afraid,"said she, and her little face betrayed the lie, "but I was tired, andbesides I was beginning to be cold, for I went out without my fur."

  "You should not have gone without it. It grows so cold when the sun goesdown," said Mrs. Ewing. Then a chime of Japanese bells was heard whichannounced dinner.

  "Doctor Elliot will be glad of dinner," said Doctor Gordon. "He haswalked all the way from Gresham."

  Clemency looked at him with approval, and tried to look as if she hadnever seen him walking in her life. "That is a good walk," said she."Twenty-five miles it must be. If more men walked instead of workingpoor horses all the time, it would be better for them."

  "That is a hint for your Uncle Tom," said Gordon laughingly.

  "I never hint," said Clemency. "It is just a plain statement. Men arewalking animals. They could travel as well as horses in the course oftime if they only put their minds to it."

  "Well, your old uncle's bones must be saved, even at the expense of thehorse's," said Doctor Gordon.

  "Bones are improved by use," said Clemency severely, as she took herseat at the dinner-table. They all laughed. The girl herself relaxed herpretty face with a whimsical smile. It was quite evident that Clemencywas the spoiled and petted darling of the house, and that she tradedinnocently upon the fact. The young doctor, although his firstimpression of the elder woman was still upon him, yet realized thecharm of the young girl. The older woman was, as it were, crowned withan aureole of perfection, but the young girl was crowned withpossibilities which dazzled with mystery. She looked prettier, now thather outer garments were removed, and her thick crown of ash-blonde hairwas revealed. The lamp lit her eyes into bluer flame. She was a darlingof a young girl, and more a darling because she had the sweetestconfidence in everybody thinking her one.

  However, James Elliot, sitting in the well-appointed dining-room, whichwas more like a city house than a little New Jersey dwelling, did notfor a second retreat from his first impression of Mrs. Ewing. Behind thecoffee-urn sat the woman with whom he had not fallen in love, that wastoo poor a term to use. He had become a worshipper. He felt himself,body and soul, prostrate before the Divinity of Womanhood itself. Herealized the grandeur of the abstract in the individual. What was anyspoiled, sweet young girl to that? And Mrs. Ewing was, in truth, awonderful creature. She was a large woman with a great quantity ofblue-black hair, which had the ripples one sees in antique statues. Hereyes, black at first glance, were in reality dark blue. Her face gaveone a never-ending surprise. James had not known that a woman could beso beautiful. Vague comparisons with the Greek Helen, or Cleopatra, cameinto his head. Now and then he stole a glance at her. He dared notoften. She did not talk much, but he was rather pleased with that fact,although her voice was so sweet and gracious. Speech in a creature likethat was not an essential. It might even be an excrescence upon aperfection. It did not occur to the dazed mind of her worshipper thatMrs. Ewing might have very simple and ordinary reasons for nottalking--that she might be tired or ill, or preoccupied. But after anumber of those stolen glances, James discovered with a great pang, asif one should see for the first time that the arms of the Venus werereally gone, when his fancy had supplied them, that the woman did notlook well. In spite of her beauty, there was ill-health evident in herface. James was a mere tyro in his profession as yet, but certaininfallible signs were there which he could not mistake. They were thesigns of suffering, possibly of very great suffering. She ate verylittle, James noticed, although she made a pretense of eating as muchas any one. James saw that Doctor Gordon also noticed it. When the maidwas taking away Mrs. Ewing's plate, he spoke with a gruffness whichastonished the young man. "For Heaven's sake, why don't you eat yourdinner, Clara?" said he. "Emma, replace Mrs. Ewing's plate. Now, Clara,eat your dinner." To James's utter astonishment, Mrs. Ewing obeyed likea child. She ate every morsel, although she could not restrain herexpression of loathing. When the salad and dessert were brought on sheate them also.

  Doctor Gordon watched her with what seemed, to the young man, positivebrutality. His mouth under his heavy beard quivered perceptibly wheneverhe looked at his sister eating, his forehead became corrugated, and hisdeep-set eyes sparkled. James was heartily glad when dinner was over,and, at Doctor Gordon's request, he followed him into his office.

  Doctor Gordon's office was a small room at the back of the house. It hadan outer door communicating with a path which led to the stable. Twosides of the room were lined with medical books, and two with bottlescontaining diverse colored mixtures. A hanging lamp was over the centerof a long table in the middle of the room. Around it dangled prisms,which cast rainbow colors over everything. The first thing which struckone on entering the room was the extraordinary color scheme: the dullgleams of the books, the medicine bottles which had lights like jewels,and over all the flickers of prismatic hues. The long table was coveredwith corks, empty bottles, books, a medicine-case, and newspapers,besides a mighty inkstand and writing materials. There were also a boxof cigars, a great leather tobacco pouch, and, interspersed among all, amultitude of pipes. The doctor drew a chair beside this chaotic tablelit with rainbow lights, and invited James to sit down. "Sit down amoment," he said. "Will you have a pipe or a cigar?"

  "Cigar, please," replied James. The doctor pushed the box toward him.James realized immediately a ten-cent cigar at the least when he beganto smoke. Doctor Gordon filled a pipe mechanically. His face still worethe gloomy, almost fierce, expression which it had assumed at table. Hewas a handsome man in a rough, sketchy fashion. His face was blurredwith a gray grizzle of beard. He wore his hair rather long, and he hada fashion of running his fingers through it, which made it look like athick brush. He dressed rather carelessly, still like a gentleman. Hisclothes were slouchy, and needed brushing, but his linen was immaculate.

  Doctor Gordon smoked in silence, which his young assistant was too shyto break. The elder man finished his pipe, then he rose with animpatient gesture and shook himself like a great shaggy dog. "Come,young man," said he, "we don't want to spend the evening like this. Getyour hat and coat."

  James obeyed, and the two men left the office by the outer door whichopened on the stable. As they came around by the front of the houseClemency stood in the doorway.

  "Are you going out, you and Doctor Elliot, Uncle Tom?" she called.

  "Yes, dear; why?"

  "Patients?"

  "No; we are going down to Georgie K.'s. Tell your mother to go to bed atonce."

  When the two men were out in the street, walking briskly in the keenfrosty air, James ventured a question. "Mrs. Ewing is not well, is she?"he said. He fairly started at the way in which his question wasreceived. Doctor Gordon turned upon him even fiercely.

  "She is perfectly well, perfectly well," he replied.

  "She does not look--" began James.

  "When you are as old as I am you can venture to diagnose on a woman'slooks," said Gordon. "Clara is perfectly well."

  James said no more. They walked on in silence under a pale sky. Above alow mountain range on their right was a faint light which indicated thecoming of the moon. The ground was frozen in hard ridges. James walkedbehind the doctor on the narrow blue stone walk which served assidewalk.

  "This town has made no provision whatever for courting couples," saidDoctor Gordon suddenly, and to James's astonishment his whole manner andvoice had changed. It was far from gloomy. It was jocular even.

  James laughed. "Yes, it would be difficult for two to walk arm in arm,how
ever loving," he returned.

  "Just so," said the doctor, "and the funny part of it is that thisnarrow sidewalk was intentional."

  "Not for such a purpose?"

  "Exactly so. It was given to the town by a rich spinster who died abouttwenty years ago. It was given in her will on condition that it shouldnot be more than two feet wide."

  "For that reason?"

  "Just that reason. She had been jilted in her youth, and her heart hadbeen wrung by the sight of her rival passing her very window where shesat watching for her lover, arm in arm with him. It was in summer, andthe dirt sidewalk was dry. She made up her mind, then and there, thatthat sort of thing should be prevented."

  They had just reached a handsome old house standing close to the narrowsidewalk. In fact, its windows opened directly upon it.

  "This is the house," the doctor said in corroboration. James laughed,but he wondered within himself if he were being told fish tales. DoctorGordon made him feel so very young that he resented it. He resented itthe more when he realized the new glow of adoration in his heart forthat older woman whom they had left behind. He began wondering abouther: how much older she was. He said to himself that he did not care ifshe were old enough to be his mother, his grandmother even, there was noone in the whole world like her.

  Then they came to the hotel, the Evarts House. It was ratherpretentious, well built, with great columns in front supporting doubleverandas. It was also well lighted. It was evidently far above the usualorder of a road house. Doctor Gordon entered, with James at his heels.They went into the great low room at the right of the door, which wasthe bar-room. Behind the bar stood an enormous man, yellow haired andyellow bearded, dispensing drinks. The whole low interior was dim withtobacco smoke, and scented with various liquors and spices. There was onone side a great fireplace, in which stood earthen pitchers, in whichcider was being mulled with red-hot pokers, eager vinous faces watching.Nobody was intoxicated, but there was a general hum of hilarity andgusto of life about the place, an animal enjoyment of good cheer andjollity. It was in truth not respectable to get entirely drunk in Alton.It was genteel to become "set up," exhilarated, but the real gutter formof inebriety was frowned upon to a much greater extent than in manyplaces where there was less license.

  "Hullo!" sang out Doctor Gordon as he entered. Immediately a grin ofcomradeship overspread the pink face of the yellow-haired giant behindthe bar. "Hullo!" he responded. "Just step into the other room, and I'llbe there right away."

  James followed Doctor Gordon into what was evidently the state parlor ofthe hotel. There was haircloth furniture, and a mahogany table, withvarious stains of conviviality upon its polished surface. There was afire on the hearth, and on the mantel stood some gilded vases and aglass case of wax-flowers, also a stuffed canary under a glass shade,pathetic on his little twig. Doctor Gordon pointed to the flowers andthe canary. "Poor old man lost his wife, when he had been married twoyears," he said. "She and the baby both died. That was before I camehere. Damned if I wouldn't have pulled them through. That was her bird,and she made those fool flowers, poor little thing. I suppose if thehotel were to take fire Georgie K. would go for them before all the cashin the till."

  "He hasn't married again?"

  "Married again! It's my belief he'd shoot the man that mentioned it."

  Then Georgie K. entered, his rosy face distended with a smile of themost intense hospitality, and before Doctor Gordon had a chance tointroduce James, he said, "What'll you take, gentlemen?"

  "This is my new assistant, from Gresham, Doctor Elliot," said Gordon.Georgie K. made a bow, and scraped his foot at the same time with acuriously boyish gesture. "What'll you take?" he asked again. That wasevidently his formula of hospitality, which must never be delayed.

  "Apple-jack," responded Doctor Gordon promptly. "You had better takeapple-jack too, young man. Georgie K. has gin that beats the record, andpeach brandy, but when it comes to his apple-jack--it's worth the wholeState of New Jersey."

  "All right," answered James.

  Soon he found himself seated at the stained old mahogany table with thetwo men, and between two glasses, a bottle, and a pitcher of hot water.Doctor Gordon dealt a pack of dirty cards while the hotel keeper pouredthe apple-jack. James could not help staring at the elder doctor withmore and more amazement. He seemed to assimilate perfectly with hissurroundings. The tormented expression had gone from his face. He wassimply convivial, and of the same sort as Georgie K. He no longerlooked even a gentleman. He had become of the soil, the New Jersey soil.As they drank and played, he told stories, and roared with laughter atthem. The stories also belonged to the soil, they were folk lore, wild,coarse, but full of humanity. Although Doctor Gordon drank freely of therich mellow liquor, it did not apparently affect him. His cheeks abovehis gray furze of beard became slightly flushed, that was all.

  James drank rather sparingly. The stuff seemed to him rather fiery, andhe remembered the goddess in the doctor's house. He could imagine herlook of high disdain at him should he return under the influence ofliquor. Besides, he did not particularly care for the apple-jack.

  It was midnight before they left. Georgie K. went to the door with them,and he and the doctor shook hands heartily. "Come again," said GeorgieK., "and the sooner the better, and bring the young Doc. We'll make himhave a good time."

  Until they were near home, Doctor Gordon continued his strangelyincongruous conversation, telling story after story, and shouting withlaughter. When they came in sight of the house Gordon stopped suddenlyand leaned against a great maple beside the road. He stared at thehouse, two of the upper windows of which were lighted, and gave a greatsigh, almost a groan. James stopped also and stared at him. He wonderedif the apple-jack had gone to the doctor's head after all. "What is thematter?" he ventured.

  "Nothing, except the race is at a finish, and I am caught as I alwaysam," replied Doctor Gordon.

  "The race--" repeated James vaguely.

  "Yes, the race with myself. Myself has caught up with me, God help me,and I am in its clutches. The time may come when you will try to racewith self, my boy. Let me tell you, you will never win. You will tireyourself out, and make a damned idiot of yourself for nothing. I shallrace again to-morrow. I never learn the lesson, but perhaps you can, youare young. Well, come along. Please be as quiet as you can when you gointo the house. My sister may be asleep. She is perfectly well, but sheis a little nervous. I need not repeat my request that you do notmention your adventure with Clemency this afternoon to her."

  "Certainly not," said James. He walked on beside the doctor, and enteredthe house, more and more mystified. James was not sure, but he thoughthe heard the faintest little moan from upstairs. He glanced at DoctorGordon's face, and it was again the face of the man whom he had seenbefore going to Georgie K.'s.