on saturday afternoon, olive and margot started for seattle. gurdy drove with them to the station and margot spoke to him for the first time since the journey from philadelphia. she said, “what theatre will dad bring ‘todgers’ into?”
“i don’t know. it’ll be hard to find one.”
she murmured, “it ought to be a great success,” and gurdy admired her stubborn air. she sat stiffly in a suit of yellow cloth and walked stiffly down the great stairs of the station, gathering eyes, moved ahead of olive and himself to the coach and stood in the vestibule, motionless, uninterested when olive drew gurdy away to the edge of the concrete and raised her veil.
“mark need never see the child again unless—”
“oh, he’ll be all right,” gurdy decided, “but it’s been an awful jolt.”
the englishwoman put a hand to her mouth which shivered.
“awful.... oh, i don’t know, gurdy!”
“don’t know what, lady ilden?”
[273]“i don’t know that he’s right in sacrificing himself.... i don’t know that he’s wrong. chivalry.... i can’t understand how two people can be such beasts as this woman and her husband.... deliberate torture.... isn’t it revenge?”
gurdy didn’t answer but asked, “you’ll go on from japan to—”
“south africa. i’ve some friends at capetown.... she’s that brutal age, when it doesn’t matter if we get what we want.... oh, my dear boy, this is hideous! it’s revenge!”
“i don’t think so,” he said, “i saw russell at the office this morning. ‘todgers’ doesn’t open in baltimore until monday. he says that rand talked to him in philadelphia before this happened and wanted russell to persuade mark to risk bringing the play to new york and that was after mark had told him he wouldn’t bring it in. russell thinks she—cora boyle—is simply crazy over rand. russell’s seen a good deal of them. he says rand talked to her by ’phone from philadelphia on tuesday. she may have put him up to this. i don’t think it’s revenge. she’s got nothing to revenge. mark’s always been decent to her.”
olive smiled and then whispered, “do take care of mark.” a porter came bawling, “all aboard,” and groups broke up along the train.[274] margot swung and vanished into the coach. olive said, “she’s stunned. she won’t realize she’s been a beast to mark for a while.” gurdy mumbled something about points of view. the tired woman cut him short with, “rot, old man! she didn’t play fair. she lied. do take care of mark. good-bye.”
gurdy walked away and a clerk from mark’s office brushed by him with a papered load of yellow roses. the boy turned and saw olive take these against her black furs. she stood graciously thanking the clerk for a moment, smiling. then she stepped into the vestibule and the train stirred. gurdy walked on. the colossal motion of the crowd in the brilliant station was a relief and a band hammered out some military march by a red cross booth. his spirit lifted; the strained waiting of three days was done; margot was gone; gurdy wouldn’t have to watch mark’s piteous effort at normality. he found his uncle alone in the office at the 45th street theatre, studying a model for a scene and swiftly mark asked, “i sent jim with some—”
“he got there.”
mark sighed and rubbed his hair. everything confused him. he hoped olive would forgive him for not coming to the station. that had been cowardly. he said, “ought to have gone along, son.... afraid i’d say something i[275] shouldn’t. i shouldn’t have let you do it alone. this is worse on you than it is on me. i—”
“mark, on my honour, i’m not in love with margot!”
he lied so nobly that mark wondered at him and brought out a thin chuckle. “you’re a card, son!... if i didn’t know better i’d almost believe you.... well, take a look at this set. that left wall looks kind of dark to me. it’s ox blood and it might light up with spots on it. what d’you think?”
callers interfered. gurdy went down the stairs into the lobby packed with women who came out from the matinée. all these decorated bodies flowed left and right about a dull blue placard announcing, “early in december the walling theatre will open with ‘captain salvador’ by stephen o’mara,” and some women paused, drawing on gloves, fussing with veils. a slim and black haired girl stared boldly at gurdy, passing him. she wasn’t like margot but he hated her for an instant and then stalked up sixth avenue where the lights of restaurants roused in the dusk and the crowd of saturday evening brayed. in ten cool blocks gurdy captured his philosophy, held it firmly; mark was unreasonably hurt—in fact, mark was an old-fashioned, unphilosophic fellow who hadn’t progressed, was still a country boy in essence, hadn’t even gained the inferior[276] cynicism of his trade and friends. he was letting himself be bullied by cora boyle on an antique concept. why should he let himself be laughed at and lose money for this immaterial thing? gurdy succeeded in getting angry at mark and tramped about the blue library preparing a lecture, saw a glove of margot’s on a table and tossed it into a waste basket. he could imagine mark shedding tears over that empty glove and its presence in the copper basket fretted gurdy. he plucked it forth and flung it into the fire of cedar logs where it made a satisfactory hiss, blackening. it must have been perfumed. a scent floated out of the fire. gurdy grinned over the symbol and poked the remnant which crumbled and was nothing. he stood reducing margot’s importance to logical ash and so intently that he jumped when the butler told him that russell was downstairs. the director strolled in and looked about the room before speaking.
“nice walls,” he said, “well, gurdy, i’ve just seen miss boyle.”
“where?”
“at her hotel.—i’m mixed up in this and i thought i might help mr. walling out. so i went to see her and had a talk. it didn’t come to anything.” he sat down in mark’s fireside chair, stooped his head and brooded, “i’d a sneaking idea that this game was a sort of revenge.[277] walling’s been good to her—done things for her. that might rankle. well, i pointed out that ‘todgers’ is a waste of time. i did my best to make her see that. it was funny.... she sat on a lounge and rocked a cushion as if it were a baby—in her arms—has she ever had a child?”
“i think not.”
“and she’s ten or eleven years older than rand.... it’s no good. she thinks he’s great in this play and she thinks it’ll run all winter in new york. and there we are, bernamer. she’s set on the thing. mr. walling had better get it over as soon as he can. if he doesn’t, she’ll be ugly. i’m mighty sorry.”
gurdy blazed up in a mixture of wrath and impatience, “oh, it’s all such damned rot! mark’s one of the best producers in the country and he shouldn’t do this!... he should tell her to go to hell. it’s blackmail! i’m going to tell him—”
after a moment russell asked, “what?” and laughed kindly. gurdy shrugged and flinched before the laughter. the man was right. mark would go through with the beastly deal, wouldn’t consider risking margot’s name. there was no use in argument. he snapped, “chivalry!”
“and you wouldn’t do it?”
“no,” said gurdy, “no! it’s too thick. it is ironical. and he can’t tell any one. everyone’ll[278] think he thinks this is a good play—worth doing. the critics’ll jump all over him. they’ll—”
“the other proposition being that miss walling will lose her reputation? she’s a young girl and not very clever or very sophisticated, to judge by her talk. she’s read the smart novels, of course. quotes them a good deal.... you say you wouldn’t do this for her? the world being as it is? tell it to the fish, bernamer!” gurdy felt weak before the cool, genial voice. russell lit a pipe and went on, “i feel the way you do. only the world’s full of shorn lambs and the wind’s damned cold.... can you come to a show tonight?”
“lord, no,” said gurdy, “i’ve got to stay with mark. he’s got to have some one with him. needs taking care of—”
russell said, “to be sure,” with another laugh and went away. he sent gurdy the notices from the baltimore papers after “todgers intrudes” began its week there and with them a note: “miss boyle came down for the opening. she is still sure this is a great play. maternal feeling. rand seems nervous and loses his lines a good deal. he is probably ashamed of himself. his english accent peels off now and then and he talks flat middle west american,” but the same mail brought a letter from olive ilden, written at denver,[279] and this maddened gurdy, as last proof of margot’s inconsequence.
“dear gurdy, the reaction has started. she is now certain that rand planned the whole filthy trick. she is so angry that there is nothing left unsaid. he is a cheap bounder and a slacker etc. an actor can not be anything else, she says. everything is mark’s fault or mine for leaving her alone in philadelphia. do try to pity her a little, old man. she has made a fearful fool of herself and knows it. the whole thing is still horrible to me. i wish mark had more humour or more cold blood. anything to help him through. i keep trying to remember a quotation from webster i threw at his head once. ‘these be the fair rewards of those that love.’ it may be from shakespeare. did you try to argue him out of making the production in new york? that would be your logical attitude. but do take care of him.”
gurdy tore the note up and went to pull on his riding clothes. the frost had melted. mark wanted a ride in the warm park. the boy thought proudly that mark hadn’t complained. he seemed quietly busy, arranging advertisements for “captain salvador” which toured new england after its week of boston. rumours of a triumph crept ahead of the play. its success, its investiture of light and colour would soothe[280] mark while he still needed soothing. gurdy rattled downstairs and mark laughed at him, “you look mighty well in ridin’ things, son!”
“so do you,” said gurdy, in all honesty, and watched mark beam, settling his boots, the fit of his black coat. they rode into the empty park. mark talked about horses and then about gurdy’s brothers. one of them wanted to be a soldier.
“you did that with your scar and all,” mark said.
“funny how easy a kid gets an ambition. only thirteen. he’ll get over it.”
“what did you want to be when you were thirteen, sonny?”
gurdy strove to remember. he had probably wanted to be a theatrical manager. he said, “i wanted to be a barber when i was nine or ten, i remember that. and then i wanted to be an aviator—and now i want to write plays....”
“hurry and write me a good one, brother.”
then mark was silent. they cantered along in the creamy sunlight. a great lady of artistic tastes reducing her weight bowed jerkily to mark from her burdened gelding and called, “can you bring miss walling to luncheon sunday?” gurdy saw mark’s mouth twist. it needed courage to call so easily back, “she’s gone to japan.” but a hundred yards afterward mark reined in and stared at the sun, his face tormented.
[281]“sonny, i may have to open the walling with ‘todgers intrudes’.”
“no!”
“fact. i can’t take a chance with cora gettin’ nasty. i can’t risk it. and i can’t get a house for love or money. i tried to buy the show out of the princess last night. there ain’t a house empty.... i may have to use the walling—open it with this—this—” he slashed his crop though the air, was ashamed of himself and sat chewing a lip. gurdy could keep his emotions so well covered just as he now hid and nobly lied about his heartbreak over margot. mark’s sense of hurt swelled and broke out, “oh, women are hell! if they want a thing they’ll do anything to get it! they—they scare me, gurd! when they want a thing!... and look how she treated you!”
“oh, mark, honestly, i wasn’t in love with her!”
mark knew better but gurdy’s brave mendacity cheered him. he grinned and rode on. he must think of ways to make gurdy forget the girl. when they reached the house he telephoned the gayest folk he could find and summoned them to a luncheon. he worked in a fever, keeping gurdy busy with new plays, ritual lunches at the algonquin and motor trips to country inns where they hadn’t been with margot who somehow wavered in mark’s mind. he began to lose an immediate,[282] answering picture of her. it was hard to recall her phrases of later time. things she had said and poses of her childhood rose more clearly. she merged in his perplexed hunt for a theatre. when he found, on the first of december, that he couldn’t rent or beg a playhouse for “todgers intrudes” he hated margot for an hour and tramped his library in a sweat of loathing. he must defame the walling with this nonsense, finish his bargain by dishonouring himself and his dream, for the walling was not altogether real. he roamed the shell where workmen were covering the naked chairs with dull blue, in a haze. the smell of banana oil and turpentine made him dizzy. the silver and black boxes seemed vaporous like the mist of the ceiling when the lamps were tried on its surface. he had moments of sheer glory through which came burning the thought of cora boyle and margot, in this queer alliance. his offices were transferred to broad rooms by the white landing of the wide stairs in the walling. there was an alcove for gurdy’s desk and here mark told him suddenly, “goin’ to bring ‘todgers’ in here next week, son.”
gurdy paled, leaned on the new desk and flexed his hands on his fair head. he said, “oh, no!”
“got to, son. i’ve tried all i know.”
the boy babbled, “don’t do it!... oh, damn it! you’ve been working for this place for[283] years and—it’s not worth it! look here, let me go talk to this damned woman!”
“no. i’ve got some pride left, son. you shan’t go near her. you go down to the farm and stay with the folks.”
gurdy wanted nothing more. all the pressmen and underlings were puzzled by mark’s maintenance of the english comedy on the road. it was not making money. the theatrical weeklies had warned new york how bad was “todgers intrudes.” gurdy drove his motor down to fayettesville on saturday, had a fit of shame and hurried back on sunday. on the face of the walling the dead electric bulbs told the news, “mark walling presents todgers intrudes with cosmo rand” and mark’s treasurer came out of the white doors to expostulate.
“i don’t get this. your uncle’s playin’ for a dead loss, mr. bernamer. it’s no damn good.”
“where is he?”
“went up to new haven yesterday. ‘captain salvador’ played there last night. say, what’s the idea? this ‘todgers’ ain’t done a thing but eat up money. every one knows it’s a frost!” the man worried openly.
there could be no explanation, gurdy saw. the critics would jeer. mark’s friends would chaff him. the boy patted his wheel and asked, “what night does it open?”
[284]“wednesday, like ‘captain salvador’ was to. honest, mr. bernamer, this is hell!”
gurdy drove off to a restaurant for dinner and here a critic stopped him on the sill to ask whether mark had gone “quite, quite mad?” monday was barren anguish, watching mark’s face. “captain salvador” would play in hartford and providence all week. on tuesday there was a rehearsal of “todgers intrudes” and gurdy found a black motor initialed c. b. when he came to the walling. workmen were polishing the brass of the outer doors and the programs for tomorrow night were ready. everything was ready for the sick farce. on wednesday morning mark ate breakfast with heroic grins and talked of playing golf in the afternoon. but he hadn’t slept well. his eyes were flecked with red. bone showed under his cheeks. his black had an air of candid mourning.
“the best joke’d be if the damned thing made a hit,” he said.
“i think that would be a little too ironical,” gurdy snapped.
“this is what you’d call ironical, ain’t it? well, i’m going down to the office for a minute. don’t come. send for the horses and we’ll go riding about eleven.”
he walked to the walling, was halted a dozen times and found the antechamber full of people.[285] some had appointments. he sat talking for an hour and then started downstairs. but he saw cosmo rand on the white floor of the vestibule, slim in a grey furred coat, reading a newspaper. the blue walls of the stair seemed to press mark’s head. he turned back into the office and sent for his house manager. when the man came mark said, “i’m not going to be here tonight, billy. tell anybody that asks i’m sick as a dog and couldn’t come.”
“all right. say, sir, would you mind telling me just why—”
mark beamed across the desk and lied, “why, this fellow dufford that wrote this is a friend of mine and he’s poor as a churchmouse. i thought i’d take a chance.”
the manager shuffled and blurted, “it’s a damn poor chance.”
“mighty poor, billy. well, the show business is a gamble, anyhow.”
rand was gone from the vestibule. mark walked seething over broadway and into sixth avenue. he must think of something to do, tonight. he couldn’t sit at home. the flags on the hippodrome wagged to him. he went there and bought two seats. the tickets stayed unmentioned in his pocket all the deadly afternoon. at six he said shyly to gurdy, “think you want to see this tonight, son?”
[286]“might as well, sir.”
the “sir” pleased mark. it rang respectfully. he stammered, “i got a couple of seats for the show at the hippodrome and—”
“that’s good,” gurdy said, “we needn’t dress, then.”
but mark sat haunted in the vast theatre, watching the stage. he had deserted his own, run from disaster. the walling revenged itself. he saw the misty ceiling wane as lights lowered and the remote rims of silver mirrors fade in the corners of the gallery. the glow from the stage would show the massed shoulders of women in the black boxes. cora boyle would be sitting in the righthand box. she might wear a yellow gown. he would risk seeing that to be mixed in his dream. it was the best theatre of the city, of the world. he blinked at the monstrous evolutions of this chorus, peered at gurdy and saw the boy sit moodily, knee over knee, listless from grieving, his arms locked. the time ticked on mark’s wrist—the critics would be filing into the white vestibule where men must admire the dull blue panels of clear enamel, the simple, grooved ceiling and the hidden lamps. the yellow smoke room would be full. he wanted to be there in the face of derision. a dry aching shook mark. it was like the past time when gurdy first went to school or when margot had[287] gone to england; the walling was his child. he had desired it beyond any woman. he adored it out of his wretchedness. he pressed his shoulder against gurdy for the sake of warmth and gurdy grinned loyally at him. there was no one so kind as gurdy who began to tell silly tales when they came home and sat on mark’s bed smoking cigarettes. in the morning the boy brought up the papers and said gruffly, “not as bad as i thought—”
“oh, get out! i bet they’re fierce,” mark laughed, “read me some.”
gurdy dropped the damp sheets on the quilt, glared at them and dashed his hand against the foot of the bed. he cried, “i don’t give a d-damn what they say about the play! they’ve no right to talk about you like that!”
immense warmth flooded mark. he sat up and said, “sure they have. for all they know i thought this thing was fine.... god bless you, son!” he wanted to do something for gurdy directly. “say, for heaven’s sake, brother, those clothes are too thin for winter. we’ll run down and order you some. and let’s go down to the farm. i ain’t seen dad and your mother in a dog’s age.—and hell, this ain’t so bad, gurdy. the thing’ll dry up and blow away. we’ll bring ‘captain salvador’ in. i’ve had worse luck on a rabbit hunt.”
[288]but at fayettesville where his father asked why margot hadn’t come to say good-bye, mark was still plagued by visionary glimpses of the walling, half-filled by yawning folk, the black boxes empty. the flat country was deep in moist snow. snow had to be considered. audiences laughed nowadays at the best paper flakes. he talked to gurdy about it on saturday morning.
“pale blue canvas with the whitest light you can get jammed on it. that might work.”
“mark, if you couldn’t have scenery for a play would you—”
mark scoffed, “what’s a play without scenery?—hey, look at the red car.... no, it’s a motor-bike.”
a lad on a red motorcycle whipped in a bright streak up the lane and through a snow ball battle of gurdy’s brothers. he had a telegram for mark from the house manager of the walling: “no sale for next week. miss boyle requests play be withdrawn. instruct.”
“got her bellyfull,” mark said and scribbled a return message ordering “todgers intrudes” withdrawn then another to the manager of “captain salvador” in providence. he told gurdy, “now, she can’t say a thing. well, let’s get back to town, son. we’ll have a lot to do, bringing ‘salvador’ in next wednesday.”
his motor carried them swiftly up new jersey.[289] gurdy lounged and chattered beside mark who couldn’t feel triumphant though he tried. the drive had been made so often with margot and now he saw the child in all clarity, her bright pumps and the silver buckles she so liked stretched on the warmer close to his feet. her older beauty flickered and faded like some intervening mist. pain stabbed and jarred him. the snow of the upland gave out. rain began. when they reached broadway its lights were violet and wistful in the swirl above umbrellas.
“god, what an ugly town,” said gurdy.
“ain’t it? don’t know what people that like something pretty’d do if it weren’t for the shows—and the damned movies.”
they dined in a restaurant and another manager chaffed mark about “todgers intrudes” leaning drunk on the table.
“and i hear it goes to the storehouse?”
“yes ... but the show business is a gamble, bill.”
“ain’t it? say, have you seen this hunk of nothin’ i’ve got up to my place? have you seen it? god, go up and take a look at it! i get a bellyache every time i go near it. turnin’ them away, though. well, here today and hell tomorrow.”
his treasurer came to meet mark in the glittering vestibule where a few men smoked forlornly[290] against the blue panels. mark glanced at the slip showing the receipts and laughed, commenced talking of “captain salvador.” his force gathered about him. gurdy strolled away. a petty laughter rattled out of the doors and gurdy passed in. the lit stage showed him a sprinkle of heads on the sweep of the seats. there was no one in the boxes. two ushers were rolling dice by the white arch of the smokeroom. a couple of women left the poor audience and hurried by the boy dejectedly. he walked out through the vestibule where more men were collecting around mark’s height and the swift happiness of his face as he talked of next week. gurdy marched along the proud front of the theatre and turned into the alley that led from street to street. one bulb shone above the stage door and sent down a glistening coat for the large black motor standing there. gurdy kept close to the other wall. there was a woman smoking in the limousine. the spark made a heart inside the shadow. gurdy stared and was eaten by rage against her. he stood staring.
the stage door opened. the few performers began to leave. they moved up or down the alley to join the bright motion of the glowing streets outside. their feet stirred the pools of rain on the pavement. their voices ebbed and tinkled in the lofty alley. at last a slim man in[291] a grey coat ran from the door and jumped into the black motor which moved, now, and slid away, jolted into the southward street. gurdy was moving, too, when other lights woke high on the brick wall. an iron shutter grated, opening, and men appeared in the fissure. they bellowed down to the old doorkeeper, “ain’t them guys from cain’s got here, yet?”
“they ain’t to come ’til eleven fifteen.”
“hell, it’s after!”
the stage hands cursed merrily. one of them mimicked rand’s english accent to much applause. then the great drays from the storehouse came grinding along the alley in a steam as the horses snorted. the stage hands and carters swore at each other. the vast screens were slung and handed down. the fleet quality of this failure bit gurdy. he leaned dreary on the wall and saw mark standing close to him, face raised to the lights, an odd small grin twisting his mouth. mark did not move or speak.
he was thinking confusedly of many things. it was hard to think at all. one of the stage hands whistled a waltz that people liked. the melody caught at mark’s mind and drew it away from the moment, forward and back. he hunted justice. things went wrong. people weren’t kind. next week the new play would glitter and people would applaud. gurdy[292] might come to write plays, the best possible plays. he watched the wreck melt. people would forget this. it would sink into shadow. no one would understand but they would forget. it was trivial in his long success. it horribly hurt him. he had been fooled in love. it was laughable. things happened so. one must go on and forget about them. one of the horses neighed and stamped. a blue spark jetted up from the pavement, above a pool.
“here goes nothin’,” a stage hand yelled, letting down the last screen. the iron shutter closed over the laughter. the carters whined and the drays were backed down the alley. the rain fell silently between mark the red of the wall making it purple—a wonderful colour. the guiding lights went out. mark sighed and took gurdy’s arm. they walked together toward the gleaming crowd of the street. yet feeling this warmth beside him mark walked without much pain.
