The Last Woman

by Ross Beeckman

  CHAPTER XIV

  PATRICIA'S WILD RIDE

  It was a gay party that assembled around the dinner-table atCedarcrest, shortly after eight o'clock on Tuesday evening, although,had one possessed the ability to analyze deeply, it would have beendiscovered that the gaiety was somewhat forced. Each person present atthe gathering was burdened by the intuitive perception of somethingominous in the atmosphere; there was a portentous quality about theenvironment that had more or less a depressing effect upon SallyGardner's guests, and each one was conscious of a determined, butsilent effort to overcome this feeling, in the belief that he or shewas the only one who experienced it.

  Two of the expected guests had not arrived. They were Patricia andRichard Morton; but, because no message of any sort had been receivedfrom Morton, it was the generally accepted idea, that something hadhappened on the road to delay his car, and they were expected toarrive at any moment. The serving of the dinner was delayed as longas possible in expectation of their coming, but at last the otherguests seated themselves around the table to enjoy the feast socarefully prepared by Jack Gardner's high-salaried chef. Agnes andFrances Houston, who were to have come out in Richard Morton's carwith Patricia, arrived on time, accompanied by an uninvited guest,although he was one who was on such terms of intimacy with theGardners that he had not hesitated to attend this country party, whenthe idea was suggested to him. It was the lawyer, Melvin; and thesuggestion that he should be present, and that he should take out theHouston girls, had, strangely enough, been made by Morton. The youngranchman had gone to the lawyer's office early in the day of thatTuesday, and the conversation he held with Melvin will give a goodidea of the drift of his intentions, and of his hitherto latenttalents for planning and scheming. And the shrewd old lawyer quitereadily fell in with the suggestions that were made to him.

  The invitation extended to Morton, the preceding evening, by JackGardner, and the directions given him at the time, as to whom heshould take with him to the party, had suggested to him a novel plan,which he lost no time in taking measures to carry out. It is true, hewas delighted on learning that he was expected to take Patricia toCedarcrest, but he was just as greatly disappointed by the idea thatAgnes and Frances Houston were to occupy the tonneau of his car, andtherefore he planned to avoid the disturbing element. The presence ofthe lawyer at the club where Gardner and Morton held theirconversation, suggested to the latter what he would do, for he knew ofthe intimate friendly relations existing between Melvin and theGardners, and did not doubt that the great legal light would be anacceptable addition to the party which Sally had planned. Had he knownall of Sally's reasons for the arrangements she had made, and had herealized exactly why the party had been got up, he might havehesitated to do what he did; possibly, he would have refused to attendat all--but developments will show how he took the information, whenat last it was given to him. It must be remembered that Morton knewnothing at all of the real incidents of the preceding Saturday, andwas aware only of the fact that something was wrong; that somethinghad occurred to annoy and disturb Patricia Langdon out of hercustomary self-repose. Nevertheless, Morton was convinced,notwithstanding his interview with her and with Duncan, that she wassomehow being forced into a position abhorrent to her. He hadpromised to be her friend, and Dick Morton knew of only one way tofulfill that promise. Whatever he undertook to do, he did thoroughly,and always his first impulse, whenever one of his friends needed aidof any sort, was to fight for that friend.

  His initial occupation that Tuesday morning was to visit the garagewhere his two automobiles were kept, and the instructions to hischauffeur were given rapidly and to the point. An hour later, when hecalled upon the lawyer, he said, after greetings had been exchanged:

  "Melvin, I don't know whether you are aware of it or not, but JackGardner and his wife are having a little impromptu house-party, attheir place, Cedarcrest, beginning at dinner time, this evening. Ibelieve it is to continue till the week-end, and of course I know itis impossible for you to leave your business for that length of time;but I--"

  "What are you talking about, Morton?" the lawyer interrupted him."Neither Jack nor Sally have thought to invite me to their gathering."

  "Oh, well, that doesn't count, you know--not in this instance. I wantyou to do me a favor. That's the size of it. The point is this: I wastold to take Miss Langdon and the Misses Houston, to Cedarcrest, in myWhite Steamer. I have just discovered that the car is temporarily outof commission, and so I am reduced to the necessity of using myroadster. I came down here to ask you to take the Houston girls toCedarcrest, for me."

  The shrewd old lawyer threw back his head, and laughed, heartily.

  "You're not very deep, Morton," he said, presently. "I can see throughyou as plainly as if you were a plate-glass window. You have come hereto induce me to relieve you of the necessity of taking Agnes andFrances Houston to Cedarcrest, in order that you may have PatriciaLangdon alone with you in your roadster. And I'll wager that yourchauffeur is out of commission, too."

  "There will be my machinist in the rumble-seat," replied Morton,blushing furiously. "You see, Melvin, I happen to know that you arealways an acceptable addition to any party at that house, and--andso--"

  The lawyer laughed again, and raised his hand for silence.

  "Don't try to explain," he said, still chuckling. "'Least said,soonest mended,' you know. I'll help you out, for I don't think yoursuggestion is a bad one, at all. You may leave it all to me, withouteven going so far as to communicate with the two members of yourparty whom you wish to rid yourself of. I'll attend to that, bytelephoning; and I'll take them to Cedarcrest for dinner, and remainfor the night; but I shall have to return early to-morrow morning.When the hour comes for you to start, Morton, you have only to drivearound after Miss Langdon." Thus, it happened that, when the party wasseated in the splendidly decorated dining-room at Cedarcrest, therewere two absentees; as there was, also, one guest who had not beenexpected, and who, for once in his life, was not entirely welcome atSally Gardner's country home. For Sally had a wholesome respect for,as well as an intuitive perception of, the old lawyer's shrewdness.Quick to scent a plot of any sort, Mrs. Gardner saw in thisincident--the arrival of Melvin with the Houston girls, and theabsence of her star guest and escort--certain circumstances thatsmelled strongly of pre-arrangement. She remembered what her husbandhad said to her, the preceding day, when she suggested the party; sherecalled Jack's statement to the effect that Morton was in love withPatricia, and, because her acquaintance with the young cattle-king hadbegun in their childhood in Montana, she realized just what he wascapable of doing, if by any chance he had been made aware of thecircumstances which were the occasion of the gathering at Cedarcrest.Melvin had explained, in as few words as possible, how it happenedthat he was there; but his explanation only added to the foreboding inSally Gardner's mind, which grew and grew when daylight faded totwilight, and then to darkness, and still Morton's roadster had notarrived.

  Nesbit Farnham was in the seventh heaven of bliss because he wasseated at the table beside Beatrice, who bore no outward evidence ofhaving been ill, and who, for the moment at least, was the life of theparty; for she compelled herself to a certain gaiety of manner whichshe did not feel. Duncan had been told, by his host, to bring out thetwo men who were to complete the party, and he had given littlethought to the arrangement made for him until after his arrival atCedarcrest, when he discovered that the young ranchman and Patriciawere alone together, somewhere on the road between the city and theirdestination. He felt certain misgivings, then, although he could nothave defined them; but he recalled the scene that had occurred betweenhimself and Morton, the preceding evening, which had so nearlydeveloped into an open quarrel, and he wondered what the strenuousyoung ranchman might not attempt to do, in making the most of theopportunity thus afforded him.

  Patricia Langdon had received her invitation to Sally's party, and hadgiven her reluctant acceptance, over the telephone, at a late hour thepreceding evening. Sally had also to
ld Patricia of the arrangementmade for taking her to Cedarcrest. The girl had demurred, at first,and expressed a desire to use her own car; but she had been arguedinto a final acceptance of Sally's arrangement. It was, therefore,with some amazement that she received Richard Morton, at four o'clockTuesday afternoon, when he went after her with his roadster, anddiscovered that they were to ride alone together, to Cedarcrest; forMorton had decided to do without the services of his machinist thisafternoon. He was determined to have no third person present, duringthe thirty miles drive from the city. The lawyer's shrewd guess aboutthe chauffeur being put out of commission had certainly furnished asuggestion for Morton to follow. Patricia hesitated to accompany him,in that manner, but finally consented, though not without reluctance;and so, shortly before five o'clock, they started. They should easilyhave arrived at Cedarcrest between six and seven.

  We already know that they had not put in their appearance at half-pasteight. The reason for this delay, was somewhat startling.

  When Patricia was well ensconced in the bucket-seat of the roadsterbeside Morton, he started the car forward at as rapid a pace as thecity ordinance would permit. Both were silent for a considerable time,but, at last, Patricia asked him:

  "Will you be good enough to tell me why Mrs. Gardner's arrangement forthis afternoon, was not carried out?"

  Morton turned his face away from her, in order to conceal the smile ofamusement in which he indulged himself, and he replied, with apparentcarelessness:

  "My big car was out of commission, temporarily. I happened to seeMelvin, and he agreed to take Miss Houston and her sister toCedarcrest, for me."

  "Oh, indeed! What has happened to your White Steamer? It was only theother day that you told me how proud you were of it because it nevergot out of order."

  He turned his face toward her and replied slowly and withdistinctness:

  "I won't lie to you about it, Patricia; that wouldn't be fair. I putthe car out of commission, myself; or, rather, it was done by myorder, because I wanted to take this ride alone with you."

  "You should have told me that before we started," she said to him.

  "Why? Would it have made any difference in your going?"

  "Most certainly it would."

  "Do you mean that you would have declined to come with me?"

  "I do."

  "But why?"

  "Chiefly, because I do not approve of plots and schemes, in any form.Had you asked me, frankly and openly, to drive to Cedarcrest with you,I should have felt no hesitation in accepting; as it is, you havegiven offense, Mr. Morton."

  "So much so that you won't even call me Dick?" he said, with a lightlaugh that was more forced than real.

  "Yes. You have not proven yourself quite the friend I hoped you wouldbe. Friends don't plot against each other."

  "Shall I turn the car about and take you home?" he asked shortly, withtightening lips, angered unreasonably by the attitude she hadassumed.

  "No; you may take me to our destination, Cedarcrest."

  They drove on in silence for a considerable time after that, and, assoon as they were in the country, on less-frequented roads, Mortonincreased the speed of his roadster until they were flying along thehighway in utter and absolute defiance of the statutes. When theypresently arrived at a turn within a few miles of their destination, aturn that would have taken them directly to the house they sought,Morton did not move the steering-wheel of the car, but kept on,straight ahead, and with ever increasing speed.

  Patricia knew the road very well indeed; she had been over it manytimes, and now she called out to her companion:

  "You have taken the wrong road. You should have gone around that lastturn."

  Morton did not reply, or attempt to do so. He seemed not to have heardher.

  "Won't you please slow down a little?" she asked, after anothermoment; and the question came somewhat tremulously, because, strangeto say, Patricia was just a little frightened by the circumstance thatnow confronted her.

  Again, Morton made no reply, nor did he comply with her request, andthe car flew on and on, while Patricia tried to collect her thoughts,and to determine what were best for her to do toward restraining thishead-strong companion of hers, who now seemed like a runaway colt thathas taken the bit in its teeth, and has found the strength to defyopposition.

  "Richard Morton!" she exclaimed sharply, touching his arm,tentatively. "Why don't you answer me? What are you trying to do?Where are you taking me?"

  For just an instant, he flashed his eyes into hers; then he replied,grimly:

  "I am taking you for a good ride. We'll steer around to Cedarcrest byanother road, presently."

  "But I wish to go there at once."

  "You can't."

  "Do you mean that you refuse to do as I request?"

  "Yes," he replied, shortly; and shut his jaws together with a snaplike a nut-cracker.

  "You dare?"

  "I dare anything, Patricia, when I am brought to it. I would like tokeep this machine going, at this pace, for hours and days and weeks,with you seated there beside me, and never thinking of a stop until Ihad you out yonder, in the wild country, where I was born and raised."

  Again, she reached out and touched him on the arm, for she was morefrightened than she would have confessed to herself; but, before shecould speak, he called to her in a tone that was almost savage in itsintensity:

  "Be careful, please. Don't interfere with my steering, or you willditch us."

  "I demand that you bring this car to a stop," she said coldly,controlling herself with an effort. "I insist that you turn it about,and go back. I am amazed at your conduct, Mr. Morton--amazed and hurt.You are offending me more deeply than you realize."

  Again, he did not answer her, and Patricia, now thoroughly alarmed,sought vainly for a means of bringing this impetuous and dare-devilyoung ranchman to his senses. She thought once, as they ascended ashort hill, of leaping from the car to the ground, but the speed wastoo great for her to take such a risk. It even occurred to her toseize the steering-wheel, and to give it a sharp turn, thus wreckingthe machine; but she shuddered with terror when she thought of thepossibilities of such an act.

  Half a mile farther on, Morton turned the car from the main highwaythey had been following, and drove it at full speed along a narrowroad, where the going was somewhat rough, and where both had to givetheir entire attention to retaining their seats.

  "Are you mad?" she cried out to him, at last. She did not rememberever to have been so frightened before. Actual fear was a newsensation with Patricia Langdon.

  Still, he did not answer her, and Patricia started to her feet,determined to make the leap to the ground, risking broken limbs, orworse, to escape from this situation, which was becoming more awfulwith every moment that passed. A sudden terror lest the man beside herhad gone mad, seized her. But Morton grasped her with his left hand,and pulled her back into the seat.

  "Don't do that!" he ordered her, crisply.

  "Then, stop the car," she replied. "Oh, please, do stop the car. Youhave no idea how you frighten me. It is very dark, here, and this is aterrible road. Please stop, Mr. Morton."

  "Call me Dick, and I'll stop."

  "Please stop the car--Dick!"

  He closed the throttle, and applied the brake. In another moment thespeedy roadster slowed down gradually, and came to a stop, just at theedge of a wood, where there was no house, or evidence of one, visiblein any direction; and, then, Richard Morton and Patricia Langdonstared into each other's eyes through the gathering darkness, theformer with set jaws and a defiant smile, and the latter with plainlyrevealed terror.