That evening Frederick Graves shook in his shoes when he returned home and received Waldstricker's message to meet him in the library at nine o'clock. If there was one person in the world he didn't want to see just then, it was his dictatorial brother-in-law. He stood in his room considering the situation, when he heard the grandfather's clock on the stairs slowly strike the hour of nine.
"Well, it won't help any to keep him waiting," he muttered.
Unwillingly, he walked down the stairs to the library door. Pausing, he saw Ebenezer seated at the table reading the Bible.
"Come in and sit down," greeted the latter, curtly.
"Thanks," said Frederick, taking a chair. "Mind if I smoke?"
The man thus addressed made no answer. He read a verse or two partly aloud as if to himself, then closed the book and laid it on the table.
"What's the matter between you and Madelene?" he inquired presently, fixing Frederick with a steady gaze.
"Nothing.... Nothing, that I'm to blame for. Madelene followed me to the lake and found me in Skinner's shack. That's all the row was about."
"Why were you there?" Waldstricker did not change his tone.
Frederick threw his cigarette into the smoldering grate and shrugged his shoulders impatiently.
"Can't a fellow stop in a shanty without the whole town gossiping about it?" he demanded peevishly.
"That's just it, Frederick. I don't want people talking about my sister's husband and a squatter girl," the older man explained. "I must know why you were there."
"Look at here, Eb," exclaimed the boy, "why don't you let Madelene and me fight out our own quarrels? I don't interfere with you and Helen."
"Huh! I should hope not!" growled Waldstricker. "But quarrels are not what we're talking about.... Why were you in the Skinner hut?... Are you in love with that girl?"
"God! No! Are you mad? What's the matter with everybody?"
"There's nothing the matter, my boy, only I want to warn you I won't have my sister unhappy."
"She makes herself unhappy," growled Frederick, selecting another cigarette from his case.
"I can't see any use of your going down there at all," Ebenezer went on, turning to poke the fire. "It doesn't look well after the things that happened in your family."
"That's just it," said Frederick, using the elder's words as an excuse; "our trouble makes it quite proper some one of my family should go there. The girl did enough for us, God knows."
Waldstricker gave a decided negative shake of his head.
"It's your mother's place to go, not yours. You don't want a scandal, do you?... Let her go there if any one does."
Again Frederick found an excuse.
"She can't go when she's out of Ithaca, and I took Miss Skinner a message from my mother today. If Madelene hadn't acted so abominably, I'd have told her about it."
Waldstricker looked keenly at the other man.
"I didn't notice you tried very hard to explain matters this afternoon!
Now, did you?"
"I was mad," retorted Frederick, sulkily.
"May I see the message your mother sent?" came quickly from Waldstricker.
Frederick started. Evidently his brother-in-law didn't believe his story.
"If Miss Skinner'll give it to you, you can!" said he. "... I say, Eb, let Madelene and me get out of this the best way we can, won't you? Tell Maddie to behave herself and leave the Skinner girl's name out of her rages at me.... That's all I ask."
"No," thundered Ebenezer, wrathfully. "I won't have my sister in tears all the time over a squatter girl. Madelene says you received letters from her abroad."
"Well, I didn't," snapped back Frederick.
"That's past, anyhow! Now, then, I'm going to tell you something. I need a man to go to San Francisco to our office there, and as Madelene wants a change, I'm going to send you."
Frederick shuddered. Had he dared, he would have rebelled at this wholesale delivering him over, tied hand and foot, to his tempestuous young wife. If he were sent away, what would become of Tessibel? His heart turned sick with apprehension. He had had no time to explain his plans to her.
"You have no objections to going, I suppose?" Ebenezer broke in on his harassing thoughts.
"No! If Madelene's satisfied, I am," replied Frederick, flipping the ash from his cigarette.
"Then be ready to get away by, let me see, early in March," his brother-in-law announced.
Early in March, and this was but December! He had that much grace then.
He could do something for Tess if the family relaxed its vigilance upon him a little.
"And there's something else," proceeded Waldstricker. "It's--it's this!"
Then he deliberately made a statement that brought a red fire into Frederick's eyes. He staggered to his feet.
"You wouldn't, you couldn't do that, Ebenezer," he groaned.
"Oh, ho!... That gets you on the raw, does it, young man?" sneered the elder, one lip-corner rising to an unusual height. "So you do care that much, eh?... A while ago you made the statement she was nothing to you."
"I want to be human," Frederick managed to get out.
"Human, eh? No, that's not it! What you want is a few other women on your staff besides your wife. But you won't as long as you're married to my sister, and I'm running things. I'll see that none of the members of my family disobey my law or God's law either."
The big man got to his feet, slipped his hands into his pocket, and stared at his white-faced, young brother-in-law.
"How does my little scheme suit you?" he demanded grimly.
"I think it perfectly devilish, by God, I do," cried Frederick.
"Oh, you do, eh? So you swear with your other faults?... Does my sister approve of that?"
"I've never asked her," snapped Frederick, "and if you're through with me, I'd like to go."
"Have a little talk with Madelene before you go to bed--and, oh, Fred--"
he called after the young man hurrying up the stairs.