Yes, that was so, she admitted, but only after she had been out searching for him, wandering all through the Village, and finally picking him up on the steps of a church and bringing him home in a taxi.
«You must certainly think a lot of him to go to all that trouble.»
She didn’t deny it. She was tired of going all over that ground again with me.
So that was how the evening had passed. And Valerie? Valerie had left in a huff, after smashing an expensive vase. And what was that bread knife doing alongside me, I wanted to know. That? Oh, that was some more of Carruthers’ tomfoolery. Pretending that he was going to cut my heart out. She hadn’t even bothered to take the knife out of his hand. He was harmless, Carruthers. Wouldn’t hurt a fly. Just the same, I thought to myself, it would have been wiser to wake me up. What else had happened, I wondered. Christ only knows what went on during the blackout. If she could let me put the blocks to her, knowing that Carruthers was apt to walk in at any moment, surely, she could let him «molest» her a few minutes (if only to pacify him), seeing that I was in a deep trance and would never be any the wiser.
However, it was now four in the morning and Carruthers was sound asleep on the couch. We were standing in a doorway on Sixth Avenue trying to come to some understanding. I was insisting that she let me take her home; she was trying to make me understand that it was too late.
«But I’ve taken you home before at an even later hour.» I was determined not to let her return to Carruthers’ den.
«You don’t understand,» she pleaded. «I haven’t been home for several weeks. All my things are there.»
«Then you’re living with him. Why didn’t you say that in the first place?»
«I’m not living with him. I’m only staying there temporarily until I find a place to live. I’m not going back home any more. I had a bad quarrel with my mother. I walked out. Told them I’d never come back again.»
«And your father—what did he say?»
«He wasn’t there when it happened. I know he must be heart-broken, but I couldn’t stand it any longer.»
«I’m sorry,» I said, «if that’s how it is. I suppose you’re broke too. Let me walk you back—you must be fagged out.»
We started walking through the empty streets. She stopped suddenly and threw her arms around me. «You trust me, don’t you?» she said, looking at me with tears in her eyes.
«Of course I do. But I wish you would find another place to stay. I can always dig up the price of a room. Why don’t you let me help you?»
«Oh, I won’t be needing any help now,» she said brightly. «Why, I almost forgot to tell you the good news! Yes, I’m going away for a few weeks—to the country. Carruthers is sending me to his cabin up in the North woods. The three of us are going— Florrie, Hannah Bell and myself. It’ll be a real vacation. Maybe you can join us? You’ll try, won’t you? Aren’t you glad?» She stopped to give me a kiss. «You see, he’s not a bad sort,» she added. «He’s not coming up himself. He wants to give us a treat. Now if he were in love with me, as you seem to think, wouldn’t he want to go up there with me alone? He doesn’t like you, that I admit. He’s afraid of you—you’re too serious. After all, you’ve got to expect him to have some feelings. If his wife were dead he’d undoubtedly ask me to marry him—not because he’s in love with me but because he wants to protect me. Do you see now?»
«No,» I said, «I don’t see. But it’s all right. You certainly need a vacation; I hope you’ll enjoy yourself there. As for Carruthers, no matter what you say about him, I don’t like him and I don’t trust him. And I’m not at all sure that he’s acting from such generous motives as you describe. I hope he croaks, that’s all, and if I could give him a drop of poison I’d do it—without a qualm.»
«I’m going to write you every day,» she said, as we stood at the door saying farewell.
«Mara, listen,» I said, drawing her close to me and murmuring the words in her ear. «I had a lot to tell you today and it’s all gone up in smoke.» «I know, I know,» she said feverishly. «Maybe things will change when you’re gone,» I continued. «Something’s got to happen soon—we can’t go on this way forever.»
«That’s what I’m thinking too,» she said softly, snuggling against me affectionately. «I hate this life. I want to think it out when I’m up there and alone. I don’t know how I ever got into this mess.»
«Good,» I said, «maybe we’ll get somewhere then. You’ll write, that’s a promise?»
«Of course I will… every day,» she said, as she turned to go.
I stood there a moment after she had turned in, wondering whether I was a fool to let her go, wondering if it wouldn’t be better to drag her out and just smash a way through, wife or no wife, job or no job. I walked off, still debating it in my mind, but my feet dragging me towards home.
6
Well, she was off to the North woods. Just arrived, in fact. Those two pole cats had accompanied her and everything was just ducky. There , were two wonderful backwoodsmen who looked after them, cooked their meals, showed them how to shoot the rapids, played the guitar and the harmonica for them on the back porch at night when the stars came out, and so on—all crammed on the back of a picture postcard showing the wonderful pine cones which drop from the pine trees up in Maine.
I immediately went round to Carruthers’ den to see if he were still in town. He was, there all right and quite surprised, and not any too pleased, to see me. I pretended that I had come to borrow a book which had caught my fancy the other evening. He informed me dryly that he had given up the practice of lending out books long ago. He was thoroughly sober and obviously determined to freeze me out as quickly as possible. I noticed, as I was taking leave, that he had tacked up the picture of me with the dagger through the heart. He noticed that I had noticed it but made no reference to it.
I felt somewhat humiliated but vastly relieved just the same. For once she had told me the truth! I was so overjoyed that I rushed to the public library, buying a pad and an envelope on the way, and sat there till closing time writing her a huge letter. I told her to telegraph me—couldn’t wait to receive word by mail. After mailing the letter I wrote out a long telegram and dispatched it to her. Two days later, not having heard from her, I sent another telegram, a longer one, and after I had dispatched it I sat down in the lobby of the Mc Alpin Hotel and wrote her an even more voluminous letter than the first one. The next day I received a short letter, warm, affectionate, almost childish. No mention of the first telegram. That made me quite frantic. Perhaps she had given me a phoney address. But why would she do that? Anyway, better telegraph again! Demand full address and nearest telephone. Had she received the second telegram and both letters? «Keep a sharp lookout for mail and future telegrams. Write often. Telegraph when possible. Advise when returning. I love you. I’m mad about you. The Cabinet Minister speaking.»
The «Cabinet Minister» must have done the trick. Soon there came a telegram for Glahn the Hunter, followed by a letter signed Victoria. God was looking over her shoulder as she wrote. She had seen a deer and she had followed it through the woods and had lost her way. The backwoodsmen had found her and carried her home. They were wonderfully simple fellows, and Hannah and Florrie had fallen in love with them. That is, they went canoeing with them and sometimes slept in the woods with them all night. She was coming back in a week or ten days. She couldn’t bear staying away from me longer than that. Then this: «I am coming back to you, I want to be your wife.» Just as simple as that, the way she put it. I thought it marvelous. I loved her all the more for being so direct, so simple, so frank and honest. I wrote her three letters in a row, moving from place to place, as I shuffled about in a delirium of ecstasy.
On fever hooks waiting for her return. She had said she’d be back Friday night. Would telephone me at Ulric’s studio soon as she hit town. Friday night came and I sat there until two in the morning waiting for her phone call. Ulric, always skeptical, said maybe she meant the following Friday. I went home thoroughly dejected but certain I would hear from her in the morning. Next day I telephoned Ulric several times to inquire if he had had any word from her. He was bored, thoroughly disinterested, almost a little ashamed of me, I felt. At noon, as
