The Enchanted Barn

by Grace Livingston Hill

  CHAPTER XVI

  Graham did not seem to forget his friends entirely while he was gone.The boys received a number of post-cards from time to time, and a lotof fine views of California, Yellowstone Park, the Grand Canyon, andother spots of interest. A wonderful picture-book came for Doris, withChinese pictures, and rhymes printed on crepe paper. The next morninga tiny sandalwood fan arrived for Carol with Graham's compliments, anda few days later a big box of oranges for Mrs. Hollister with no clewwhatever as to their sender. Shirley began to wonder what her partwould be and what she should do about it, and presently received--aletter! And then, after all, it was only a pleasant request that shewould not pay the rent, about which she had always been so punctual,until his return, as no one else understood about his affairs. Headded a few words about his pleasant trip and a wish that they were allprospering,--and that was all.

  Shirley was disappointed, of course, and yet, if he had said more, orif he had ventured to send her even a mere trifle of a gift, it wouldhave made her uncomfortable and set her questioning how she shouldtreat him and it. It was the perfection of his behavior that he hadnot overstepped a single bound that the most particular might set for alandlord and his respected tenant. She drew a deep sigh and put theletter back into the envelope, and as she did so she spied a smallcard, smaller than the envelope, on which was an exquisite bit ofscenery, a colored photograph, apparently, and underneath had beenpencilled, "One of the many beautiful spots in California that I amsure you would appreciate."

  Her heart gave an unforbidden leap, and was promptly taken to task forit. Yet when Shirley went back to her typewriter the bit of a picturewas pinned to the wall back of her desk, and her eyes rested on it manytimes that day when she lifted them from her work. It is questionablewhether Shirley remembered Miss Harriet Hale at all that day.

  The garden was growing beautifully now. There would soon be lettuceand radishes ready to eat. George had secured a number of customersthrough people at the store, and was planning to take early trips totown, when his produce was ripe, to deliver it. They watched everynight and looked again every morning for signs of the first peablossoms, and the little green spires of onion tops, like sparse hairs,beginning to shoot up. Every day brought some new wonder. They almostforgot they had ever lived in the little old brick house, until Georgerode by there on his bicycle one noon and reported that it had beenhalf pulled down, and you could now see the outline of where the stairsand closets had been, done in plaster, on the side of the next house.They were all very silent for a minute thinking after he told that, andMrs. Hollister looked around the great airy place in which they weresitting, and then out the open door where the faint stain of sunset wasstill lingering against the horizon, and said:

  "We ought all to be very thankful, children. George, get the Bible andread the thirty-fourth psalm." Wonderingly George obeyed, and they allsat listening as the words sank into their souls.

  "Now," said the mother when the psalm was finished and those lastwords, "The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants, and none of themthat trust in him shall be desolate"; "now let us kneel down and thankHim."

  And they all knelt while she prayed a few earnest, simple words ofthanksgiving and commended them to God's keeping.

  By this time Mrs. Hollister was so well that she went every day for alittle while into the garden and worked, and was able to do a greatdeal in the house. The children were overjoyed, and lived in acontinual trance of delight over the wild, free life they were living.Carol's school had closed and Carol was at home all day. This made onemore to help in the garden. George was talking about building a littlepigeon-house and raising squabs for sale. The man who did theploughing had given him a couple to start with and told him there wasmoney in squabs if one only went about it right. George and Harleypored over a book that told all about it, and talked much on thesubject.

  The weather was growing warm, and Shirley was wishing her vacation camein July or August instead of the first two weeks in September. Somehowshe felt so used up these hot days, and the hours dragged by so slowly.At night the trolleys were crowded until they were half-way out toGlenside. She often had to stand, and her head ached a great deal.Yet she was very happy and thankful--only there was so much to be donein this world, and she seemed to have so little strength to do it all.The burden of next fall came occasionally to mar the beauty of thesummer, and rested heavily upon her young shoulders. If only therewouldn't be any winter for just one year, and they could stay in thebarn and get rested and get a little money ahead somehow for moving.It was going to be so hard to leave that wide, beautiful abiding-place,barn though it was.

  One morning nearly four weeks after Graham left for California Shirleywas called from her desk to the outer office to take some dictation forMr. Clegg. While she was there two men entered the outer office andasked for Mr. Barnard. One of them was a short, thick-set man with apretentious wide gray mustache parted in the middle and combedelaborately out on his cheeks. He had a red face, little cunning eyes,and a cruel set to his jaw, which somehow seemed ridiculously atvariance with his loud, checked suit, sporty necktie of soft brightblue satin, set with a scarf-pin of two magnificent stones, a diamondand a sapphire, and with the three showy jewelled rings which he woreon his fat, pudgy hand. The other man was sly, quiet, gray,unobtrusive, obviously the henchman of the first.

  Mr. Clegg told the men they might go into the inner office and wait forMr. Barnard, who would probably be in shortly, and Shirley watched themas they passed out of her view, wondering idly why those exquisitestones had to be wasted in such an out-of-place spot as in thatcoarse-looking man's necktie, and if a man like that really cared forbeautiful things, else why should he wear them? It was only a passingthought, and then she took up her pencil and took down the closingsentences of the letter Mr. Clegg was dictating. It was but a momentmore and she was free to go back to her own little alcove just behindMr. Barnard's office and connecting with it. There was an entrance toit from the tiny cloak-room, which she always used when Mr. Barnard hadvisitors in his office, and through this way she now went, having astrange repugnance toward being seen by the two men. She had an innatesense that the man with the gaudy garments would not be one who wouldtreat a young girl in her position with any respect, and she did notcare to come under his coarse gaze, so she slipped in quietly throughthe cloak-room, and passed like a shadow the open door into Mr.Barnard's office, where they sat with their backs toward her, havingevidently just settled down and begun to talk. She could hear alow-breathed comment on the furnishings of the office as indicating agood bank-account of the owner, and a coarse jest about a photograph ofMr. Barnard's wife which stood on his desk. It made her wish that thedoor between the rooms was closed; yet she did not care to rise andclose it lest she should call attention to herself, and of course itmight be but a minute or two before Mr. Barnard returned. A pile ofenvelopes to be addressed lay on her desk, and this work she could dowithout any noise, so she slipped softly into her seat and began towork.

  "Well, we got them Grahams good and fast now!" a coarse voice, that sheknew for that of the man with the loud clothing, spoke. "The youngfeller bit all right! I thought he would. He's that kind." Hestopped for a laugh of contempt, and Shirley's heart stood still withapprehension. What could it mean? Was it something about her Grahams?Some danger threatening them? Some game being played on them? Helooked like the kind of man who lived on the blindnesses of others.What was it they called such? A parasite? Instinctively she was onthe alert at once, and automatically she reached for the pad on whichshe took dictation and began to write down in shorthand what she hadjust heard. The voice in the other room went on and her fountain penkept eager pace, her breath coming quick and short now, and her facewhite with excitement.

  "He went out to see the place, you know, examine the mines and allthat. Oh, he's awful cautious! Thought he took a government expertwith him to test the ore. We fixed that up all right--had the very manon tap at
the right minute, government papers all O.K.--you couldn'thave told 'em from the real thing. It was Casey; you know him; he's acrackerjack on a job like that,--could fool the devil himself. Well,he swore it was the finest kind of ore and all that kind of dope, andled that Graham kid around as sweetly as a blue-eyed baby. We had agang out there all bribed, you know, to swear to things, and tookparticular pains so Graham would go around and ask the right onesquestions,--Casey tended to that,--and now he's come home with thebiggest kind of a tale and ready to boost the thing to the skies. I'vegot his word for it, and his daddy is to sign the papers this morning.When he wakes up one of these fine days he'll find himself minus ahundred thousand or so, and nobody to blame for it, because how couldanybody be expected to know that those are only pockets? He'llrecommend it right and left too, and we'll clean out a lot of otherfellers before we get done. Teddy, my boy, pat yourself on the back!We'll have a tidy little sum between us when we pull out of this deal,and take a foreign trip for our health till the fracas blows over. Nowmind you, not a word of this to Barnard when he comes in. We're onlygoing to pave the way this morning. The real tip comes from Grahamhimself. See?"

  Shirley was faint and dizzy with excitement as she finished writing,and her brain was in a whirl. She felt as if she would scream in aminute if this strain kept up. The papers were to be signed thatmorning! Even now the deed might be done and it would be too late,perhaps, to stop it. And yet she must make no sign, must not have themen know that she was there and that they had been heard. She must sithere breathless until they were gone, so they would not know she hadoverheard them, or they might manage to prevent her getting word toGraham. How long would they stay? Would they talk on and reveal more?The other man had only grunted something unintelligible in reply, andthen before more could be said an office boy opened the outer door andtold them that Mr. Barnard had just phoned that he would not be backbefore two o'clock.

  The men swore and went out grumbling. Suddenly Shirley knew her timehad come to do something. Stepping quickly to the door she scanned theroom carefully to make sure they were gone, then closing her own doorshe took up the telephone on her desk and called up the Graham number.She did not know just what she meant to say, nor what she would do ifSidney Graham were not in the office,--and it was hardly probable hewould be there yet if he had only arrived home the day before. Hewould be likely to take a day off before getting back to work. Herthrobbing heart beat out these questions to her brain while she waitedfor the number. Would she dare to ask for Mr. Walter Graham? And ifshe did, what would she say to him? How explain? He did not know her,and probably never heard of her. He might think her crazy. Then therewas always the possibility that there was some mistake--and yet itseemed a coincidence that two men of the same name should both be goingWest at that time. It must be these Grahams that the plot was against.But how explain enough over the phone to do any good? Of course shemust give them a copy of what she had taken down in shorthand, butfirst she must stop the signing of those papers, whatever they were, atall costs.

  Then all at once, into the midst of her whirling confusion of thoughts,came a voice at the other end of the phone, "Hello!" and her franticsenses realized that it was a familiar one.

  "Oh, is this,--this _is_ Mr. Sidney Graham, isn't it? This is ShirleyHollister."

  There was a catch in her voice that sounded almost like a sob as shedrew in her breath with relief to know that he was there, and hisanswer came in swift alarm:

  "Yes? Is there anything the matter, Miss Shirley? You are not ill,are you?"

  There was a sharp note of anxiety in the young man's voice, and even inher excitement it made Shirley's heart leap to hear it.

  "No, there is nothing the matter with me," she said, trying to steadyher voice, "but something has happened that I think you ought to knowat _once_. I don't know whether I ought to tell it over the phone.I'm not sure but I may be overheard."

  "I will come to you immediately. Where can I find you?"

  Her heart leaped again at his willingness to trust her and to obey hercall.

  "In Mr. Barnard's private office. If you ask for me they will let youcome right in. There is one thing more. If there is anythingimportant your father was to decide this morning, could you get him towait till you return, or till you phone him?"

  There was a second's hesitation, and the reply was politely puzzled butcourteous:

  "He is not in the office at present and will not be for an hour."

  "Oh, I'm so glad! Then _please hurry_!"

  "I will get there as soon as I can," and the phone clicked into place.

  Shirley sat back in her chair and pressed her hands over her eyes toconcentrate all her powers. Then she turned to her typewriter andbegan to copy off the shorthand, her fingers flying over the keys withmore than their usual swiftness. As she wrote she prayed, prayed thatnothing might have been signed, and that her warning might not come toolate; prayed, too, that Mr. Barnard might not return until Mr. Grahamhad been and gone, and that Mr. Graham might not think her an utterfool in case this proved to have nothing whatever to do with hisaffairs.