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008 - Ruth in Exile · Selected Short Stories

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Speaker 1: Chapter eight of The Man Upstairs. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
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Speaker 1: by Mike Harris, The Man Upstairs by P. G. Woodhouse,
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Speaker 1: Story number eight. Ruth in exile, the clock struck five briskly,
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Speaker 1: as if time were money. Ruth Warden got up from
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Speaker 1: a desk, and, having put on her hat, emerged into
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Speaker 1: the outer office where Monsieur Gendinox received visitors. Monsieur Gendino,
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Speaker 1: the ugliest man in Roville sur Mayer, presided over the
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Speaker 1: local Mont de Piete, and Ruth served him from ten
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Speaker 1: to five as a sort of secretary clerk. Her duties,
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Speaker 1: if monotonous, were simple. They consisted of sitting detached and
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Speaker 1: invisible behind a ground glass screen and entering details of
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Speaker 1: loans in a fat book. She was kept busy as
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Speaker 1: a rule, for Rouville possesses two casinos, each offering the
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Speaker 1: attraction of Petite Cheveau, and just around the corner is
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Speaker 1: Monte Carlo. Very brisk was the business done by Monsieur Candino,
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Speaker 1: the pawnbroker and very frequent weather pitying shakes of the
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Speaker 1: head and clicks of the tongue of Monsieur Gandino, the man,
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Speaker 1: for in his unofficial capacity or loose employer, had a
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Speaker 1: gentle soul and winced at the evidences of tragedy which
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Speaker 1: presented themselves before his official eyes. He blinked up at
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Speaker 1: Ruth as she appeared, and Ruth, as she looked at him,
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Speaker 1: was conscious, as usual, of a lightning of the depression,
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Speaker 1: which nowadays seemed to have settled permanently upon her. The
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Speaker 1: peculiar quality of Monsieur Gandino's extraordinary countenance was that it
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Speaker 1: induced mirth, not mocking laughter, but a kind of smiling happiness.
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Speaker 1: It possessed that indefinable quality which characterizes the Billiquan, due
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Speaker 1: perhaps to the unquenchable optimism which shone through the irregular features.
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Speaker 1: For Monsieur Gandino, despite his calling, believed in this fellow man,
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Speaker 1: you are going, mademoiselle. As Ruth was wearing a hat
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Speaker 1: and making for the door, and as she always left
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Speaker 1: at this hour, a purist might have considered the question superfluous.
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Speaker 1: But Monsieur Gandanoux was a man who seized every opportunity
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Speaker 1: of practicing his English. You will not wait for zigoud Papa,
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Speaker 1: who called so eager lily for you. I think I
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Speaker 1: won't to day, Monsieur Gandino. I want to get out
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Speaker 1: into the air. I have rather a headache. Will you
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Speaker 1: tell my father that I have gone to the promenade,
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Speaker 1: Monsieur Gandino sighed as the door closed behind her. Ruth's
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Speaker 1: depression had not escaped his notice. He was sorry for her,
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Speaker 1: and not without cause, For fate had not dealt too
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Speaker 1: kindly with Ruth. It would have amazed mister Eugene Warden,
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Speaker 1: that genial, old gentleman, if on one of those occasions
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Speaker 1: of manly emotion, when he was in the habit of
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Speaker 1: observing that he had been nobody's enemy, but his known
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Speaker 1: somebody had hinted that he had spoiled his daughter's life.
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Speaker 1: Such a thought had never entered his head. He was
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Speaker 1: one of those delightful, irresponsible, erratic persons into whose heads
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Speaker 1: the thoughts of this kind do not enter, and who
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Speaker 1: are about as deadly to those whose lives are bound
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Speaker 1: up with theirs as an oppus tree in the memory
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Speaker 1: of his oldest acquaintance. Ruth's father had never done anything
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Speaker 1: but drift amiably through life. There had been a time
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Speaker 1: when he had done his drifting in London, feeding cheerfully
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Speaker 1: from the hand of a long suffering brother in law.
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Speaker 1: But though blood, as he was wont to remark while
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Speaker 1: negotiating his periodical loans, is thicker than water, a brother
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Speaker 1: in law's affection has its limits. A day came when
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Speaker 1: mister Warden observed with pain that his relative responded less
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Speaker 1: nimbly to the touch, and a little while later the
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Speaker 1: other delivered his ultimatum. Mister Warden was to leave England
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Speaker 1: and to stay away from England, to behave as if
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Speaker 1: England no longer existed on the map, and a small
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Speaker 1: but sufficient allowance would be made to him. If he
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Speaker 1: declined to do this, not another penny of the Speaker's
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Speaker 1: money would he received. He could choose, and he chose.
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Speaker 1: He left England, Ruth with him. They settled in Reuville,
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Speaker 1: that haven of the exile who lives upon remittances. Ruth's
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Speaker 1: connection with the Monte Piete had come about, almost automatically.
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Speaker 1: Very soon after their arrival. It became evident that to
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Speaker 1: a man of mister Warden's nature, resident of Stone's Throw
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Speaker 1: distant from two casinos, the small allowance was not likely
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Speaker 1: to go very far. Even if Ruth had not wished
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Speaker 1: to work, circumstances would have compelled her. As it was,
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Speaker 1: she longed for something to occupy her, and the vacancy
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Speaker 1: at the Monte Piete occurring she had snatched at it.
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Speaker 1: There was a certain fitness in her working there. Business
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Speaker 1: transactions with that useful institution had always been conducted by her,
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Speaker 1: it being mister Warden's theory that woman can extract in
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Speaker 1: these crises just that extra franc or two which is
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Speaker 1: denied to the mere male. Through constantly going round, running across,
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Speaker 1: stepping over, and popping down to the Monte de Piete,
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Speaker 1: she had established almost a legal claim on any post
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Speaker 1: that might be vacant there, and under Monsieur Guerino's banner
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Speaker 1: she had served ever since. Five minutes walk took her
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Speaker 1: to the Promenade des Anglais, that apparently endless thoroughfare which
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Speaker 1: is Roville's pride. The evening was fine and warm, the
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Speaker 1: sun shone gaily on the white walled houses, the bright gardens,
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Speaker 1: and the two gleaming casinos. But Ruth walked listlessly, blind
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Speaker 1: to the glitter of it all. Visitors who go to
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Speaker 1: Roville for a few weeks in the winter are apt
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Speaker 1: to speak of the place on their return in a
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Speaker 1: manner that conveys the impression that it's a paradise on earth,
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Speaker 1: with gambling facilities thrown in. But then they are visited,
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Speaker 1: their sojourn comes to an end. Ruth's did not a
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Speaker 1: voice spoke to her name. She turned and saw her father,
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Speaker 1: dapper as ever, standing beside her. What an evening, my dear,
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Speaker 1: said mister Warden, What an evening's smell of the sea.
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Speaker 1: Mister Warden appeared to be in high spirits. He hummed
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Speaker 1: a tune and twirled his cane. He chirped frequently to Bill,
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Speaker 1: the companion of his walks abroad, a wiry fox terrier
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Speaker 1: of a demeanor like his master's, both jaunty and slightly disreputable.
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Speaker 1: An air of gaiety pervaded his bearing. I called in
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Speaker 1: at the Monte Piete, but you had gone. Gandino told
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Speaker 1: me you'd come here. What an ugly fellow that Gandino is,
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Speaker 1: but a good sort I like him. I had a
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Speaker 1: chat with him. The high spirits were explained. Ruth knew
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Speaker 1: her father. She guessed correctly that Monsieur Gendino, kindest of pawnbrokers,
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Speaker 1: had obliged in his unofficial capacity, with a trifling loan.
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Speaker 1: Gendino ought to go on the stage went on mister Warden,
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Speaker 1: pursuing his name. With that face, he'd make his fortune.
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Speaker 1: You can't help lacking when you see it. And one
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Speaker 1: of these days but he broke off. Stirring things had
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Speaker 1: begun to occur in the neighborhood of his ankles, where
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Speaker 1: Bill the fox terrier had encountered an acquaintance, and, to
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Speaker 1: the accompaniment of a loud, gargling noise, was endeavoring to
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Speaker 1: bite his head off this acquaintance. A gentleman of uncertain breed,
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Speaker 1: equally willing, was chewing Bill's paw with the gusto of
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Speaker 1: a gourmet. An Irish terrier, with no personal bias towards
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Speaker 1: either side, was dancing round and attacking each in turn
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Speaker 1: as he came uppermost, and two poodles leaped madly in
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Speaker 1: and out of the melee, barking encouragement. It takes a
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Speaker 1: better man than mister Warden to break up a gathering
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Speaker 1: of this kind. The old gentleman was bewildered, He added
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Speaker 1: his voice to the babel, and twice smote Bill grievously
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Speaker 1: with his cane, with blows intended for the acquaintance, but
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Speaker 1: beyond that he effected nothing. It seemed probable that the
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Speaker 1: engagement would last till the combatants had consumed each other
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Speaker 1: after the fashion of the Kilkenny cats, when there suddenly
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Speaker 1: appeared from nowhere a young man in gray. The world
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Speaker 1: is divided into those who can stop dog fights and
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Speaker 1: those who cannot. The young man in gray belonged to
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Speaker 1: the former class. Within a minute from his entrance on
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Speaker 1: the scene, the poodles in the Irish terrier had vanished,
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Speaker 1: the dog of doubtful breed was moving off up the hill,
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Speaker 1: yelping with the despatch of one who remembers an important appointment,
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Speaker 1: and Bill, miraculously calmed, was seated in the center of
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Speaker 1: the promenade, licking honorable wounds. Mister Warden was disposed to
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Speaker 1: ever vess with gratitude. The scene had shaken him, and
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Speaker 1: there had been moments when he had given his ankles
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Speaker 1: up for lost. There don't mention it to the young man.
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Speaker 1: I enjoy arbitrating in these little disputes. Dog seemed to
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Speaker 1: like me and trust my judgment. I consider myself as
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Speaker 1: a sort of honorary dog. Well, I'm bound to say,
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Speaker 1: mister mister Vince, George Vince, my name is Warden. My
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Speaker 1: daughter Ruth inclined her head and was conscious of a
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Speaker 1: pair of very penetrating brown eyes looking eagerly into hers,
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Speaker 1: in a manner which she thoroughly resented. She was not
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Speaker 1: used to the other sex meeting her gaze and holding
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Speaker 1: it as if confident of a friendly welcome. She made
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Speaker 1: up her mind in that instant that this was a
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Speaker 1: young man who required suppression. I've seen you several times
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Speaker 1: out here since I arrived, miss Warden, said mister Vince.
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Speaker 1: For in all, he added, precisely, really, said Ruth. She
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Speaker 1: looked away. Her attitude seemed to suggest that she had
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Speaker 1: finished with him and would be obliged if somebody would
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Speaker 1: come and sweep him up. As they approached the casino,
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Speaker 1: restlessness crept into mister Warden's manner. At the door, he
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Speaker 1: stopped and looked at Ruthe up. I think, my dear,
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Speaker 1: he said, going to have a dash at the Petit Chevaux,
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Speaker 1: inquired mister Vince, I was there just now I have
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Speaker 1: an infallible system. Mister Warden started like a war horse
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Speaker 1: at the sound of the trumpet. Only it's infallible in
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Speaker 1: the wrong way, went on the young man. Well, I
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Speaker 1: wish you luck. I'll see miss Warden home. Oh please,
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Speaker 1: don't trouble, said Ruth, in the haughty manner which had
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Speaker 1: frequently witted unfortunate fellow exiles in their tracks. It had
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Speaker 1: no such effect on mister Vince. Oh I shall like it,
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Speaker 1: he said. Ruth set her teeth. She would see whither
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Speaker 1: he would like it. They left mister Warden, who shot
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Speaker 1: in at the casino door like a homing rabbit, and
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Speaker 1: walked on in silence, which lasted till Ruth, suddenly becoming
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Speaker 1: aware that her companion's eye were fixed on her face,
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Speaker 1: turned her head to meet a gaze of complete, not
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Speaker 1: to say loving, admiration. She flushed. She was accustomed to
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Speaker 1: being looked at admiringly, but about this particular look there
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Speaker 1: was a subtle quality that distinguished it from the ordinary,
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Speaker 1: something proprietorial. Mister Vince appeared to be young man who
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Speaker 1: wasted no time on conventional conversation openings. Do you believe
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Speaker 1: in affinities? Miss Warden, He said, no, said ruthe. You
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Speaker 1: will before we're done, said missus de vince confidently. Why
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Speaker 1: did you try to snub me just now? Oh? Did I? Oh?
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Speaker 1: You mustn't again. It hurts me. I'm a sensitive man, diffident, shy,
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Speaker 1: miss Warden. Will you marry me? Ruth had determined that
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Speaker 1: nothing should shake her from her icy detachment, but this did.
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Speaker 1: She stopped with a gasp and stared at him. Mister
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Speaker 1: vince reassured her, Oh, I don't expect you to say yes.
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Speaker 1: That was just a beginning, sort of the shot fired
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Speaker 1: across the bow by way of warning. In you, Miss Warden,
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Speaker 1: I have found my affinity. Have you ever considered this
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Speaker 1: matter of affinities? Affinities are the er the the wait
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Speaker 1: a moment, he paused, reflecting, I began ruthe sh said
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Speaker 1: the young man, holding up his hand. Ruth's eyes flashed.
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Speaker 1: She was not used to having sh said to her
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Speaker 1: by young men, and she resented it. Oh I've got it,
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Speaker 1: he declared, with relief. I knew I should, but these
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Speaker 1: good things take time. Affinities are the zero on the
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Speaker 1: roulette board of life, just as we select a number
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Speaker 1: on which to stake our money. So do we select
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Speaker 1: a type of girl whom we think we should like
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Speaker 1: to marry, And just as zero pops up instead of
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Speaker 1: the number, so does our affinity come along and upset
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Speaker 1: all our preconceived notions of the type of girl we
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Speaker 1: should like to marry? I began Ruth again, the analogy
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Speaker 1: is in the rough at present. I haven't had time
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Speaker 1: to condense and polish it, but you see the idea.
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Speaker 1: Take my case, for instance, when I saw you a
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Speaker 1: couple of days ago, I knew in an instant that
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Speaker 1: you were my affinity. But for years I had been
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Speaker 1: looking for a woman almost your exact opposite. You were
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Speaker 1: dark three days ago. I couldn't have imagined myself marrying
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Speaker 1: anyone who was not fair. Your eyes are gray. Three
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Speaker 1: days ago. My preference for blue eyes was a by word.
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Speaker 1: You have a shocking temper. Three days ago, mister Vince
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Speaker 1: there said that philosopher complacently you stamped. The gentle, blue
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Speaker 1: eyed blonde whom I was looking for three days ago
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Speaker 1: would have drooped timidly three days ag My passion for
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Speaker 1: timid droopers amounted to an obsession. Ruth did not reply.
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Speaker 1: It was useless to bandy words with one who gave
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Speaker 1: such clear evidence of being something out of the common
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Speaker 1: run of word bandiers. No verbal attack could crush this
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Speaker 1: extraordinary young man. She walked on all silence and stony profile,
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Speaker 1: uncomfortably conscious that her companion was in no way abashed
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Speaker 1: by the former, and was regarding the latter with that
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Speaker 1: frank admiration which made itself so obnoxious to her before.
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Speaker 1: Until they reached their destination, mister Vince meanwhile chatted cheerfully
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Speaker 1: and pointed out objects of interest by the wayside. At
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Speaker 1: the door, Ruth permitted herself a word of farewell. Good bye,
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Speaker 1: she said, till to morrow evening, said mister Vince, I
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Speaker 1: shall be coming to dinner. Mister Warden ambled home very
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Speaker 1: happy and contented two hours later with half a franc
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Speaker 1: in his pocket, this comparative wealth being due to the
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Speaker 1: fact that the minimum stake permitted by the revealed casino
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Speaker 1: is just double that sum. He was sorry not to
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Speaker 1: have won, but his mind was too full of rosy
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Speaker 1: dreams to permit her remorse. It was the estimable old
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Speaker 1: gentleman's dearest wish that his daughter should marry some rich,
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Speaker 1: open handed man who would keep him in affluence for
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Speaker 1: the remainder of his days, and to that end he
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Speaker 1: was in the habit of introducing to her and notice
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Speaker 1: any such that came his way. There was no question
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Speaker 1: of coercing Ruth. He was too tender hearted for that. Besides,
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Speaker 1: he couldn't. Ruth was not the sort of girl who
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Speaker 1: has readily coerced. He contented himself with giving her the
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Speaker 1: opportunity to inspect his exhibits. Roville is a sociable place,
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Speaker 1: and it was not unusual for him to make friends
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Speaker 1: at the casino and to bring them home when made
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Speaker 1: for a cigar. Up to the present, he was bound
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Speaker 1: to admit his efforts had not been particularly successful. Ruth,
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Speaker 1: he reflected, sadly, was a curious girl. She did not
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Speaker 1: show her best side to these visitors. There was no
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Speaker 1: encouragement in her manner. She was apt to frighten the
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Speaker 1: unfortunate it exhibits. But of this young man, Vince had
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Speaker 1: brighter hopes. He was rich. That was proved by the
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Speaker 1: very handsome way in which he had behaved in the
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Speaker 1: manner of a small loan went looking in at the casino.
15:10
Speaker 1: After parting from Ruth. He had found mister Warden in
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Speaker 1: sore straits for want of a little capital to back
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Speaker 1: a brand new system which he had conceived through closely
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Speaker 1: observing the run of the play. He was also obviously
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Speaker 1: attracted by Ruth, and as he was remarkably presentable, indeed
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Speaker 1: quite an unusually good looking young man, there seemed no
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Speaker 1: reason why Ruth should not be equally attracted by him.
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Speaker 1: The word looked good to mister Warden as he fell
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Speaker 1: asleep that night. Ruth, on the other hand, did not
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Speaker 1: fall asleep so easily. The episode had disturbed her. A
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Speaker 1: new element had entered her life, and one that gave
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Speaker 1: promise of producing strange by products. When on the following evening,
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Speaker 1: Ruth returned from the stroll on the promenade which she
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Speaker 1: always took after leaving the Monte Piete, with a feeling
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Speaker 1: of irritation towards things in general. This feeling was not
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Speaker 1: diminished by the sight of mister Vince, very much at
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Speaker 1: his ease, standing against the mantelpiece of the tiny parlor.
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Speaker 1: How do you do, he said, By an extraordinary coincidence,
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Speaker 1: I happen to be hanging about outside this house just
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Speaker 1: now when your father came along and invited me in
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Speaker 1: to dinner. Have you ever thought much about coincidences, miss Warden?
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Speaker 1: To my mind, they may be described as the zero
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Speaker 1: on the roulette board of life. He regarded her fondly.
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Speaker 1: For a shy man, conscious that the girl he loves
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Speaker 1: is inspecting him closely and making up her mind about him,
16:32
Speaker 1: he proceeded, These unexpected meetings are very trying ordeals. You
16:36
Speaker 1: must not form your judgment of me too hastily. You
16:38
Speaker 1: see me now nervous, embarrassed, tongue tied. But I'm not
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Speaker 1: always like this. Beneath this crust of diffidence, there is
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Speaker 1: sterling stuff, miss Warden. People who know me have spoken
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Speaker 1: of me as a little ray of sun up ah.
16:52
Speaker 1: But here is your father. Mister Warden was more than
16:55
Speaker 1: usually disappointed with Ruth during dinner. It was the same
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Speaker 1: old story. So far from making herself pleasant to this
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Speaker 1: attractive stranger, she seemed positively to dislike him. She was
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Speaker 1: barely civil to him. With a sigh, mister Warden told
17:08
Speaker 1: himself that he did not understand Ruth, and the rosy
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Speaker 1: dreams he had formed began to fade. Ruth's ideas on
17:15
Speaker 1: the subject of mister Vince as the days went by
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Speaker 1: were chaotic. Though she told herself that she thoroughly objected
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Speaker 1: to him, he had nevertheless begun to have an undeniable
17:24
Speaker 1: attraction for him. In what this attraction consisted of, she
17:28
Speaker 1: could not say. When she tried to analyze it, she
17:31
Speaker 1: came to the conclusion that it was due to the
17:33
Speaker 1: fact that he was the only element in her life
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Speaker 1: that made for excitement. Since his advent, the days had
17:39
Speaker 1: certainly passed more swiftly for him. The dead level of
17:42
Speaker 1: monotony had been broken. There was a certain fascination in
17:45
Speaker 1: exerting herself to suppress him, which increased daily as each
17:49
Speaker 1: attempt failed. Mister Vince put his feelings into words. For him,
17:54
Speaker 1: he had a maddening habit of discussing the progress of
17:56
Speaker 1: his courtship in the manner of an impartial lecturer making headway.
18:00
Speaker 1: He observed the fact that we cannot meet without your
18:03
Speaker 1: endeavoring to plant a temperamental left jab on my spiritual
18:07
Speaker 1: solar plexes encourages me to think that you are beginning
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Speaker 1: at last to understand that we are affinities to persons
18:14
Speaker 1: of spirit like ourselves. The only happy marriage is that
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Speaker 1: which is based on a firm foundation of almost incessant quarreling.
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Speaker 1: The most beautiful line in English poetry, to my mind
18:23
Speaker 1: is we fell out my wife and I. You'd be
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Speaker 1: wretched without a husband who didn't like you to quarrel
18:29
Speaker 1: with him. The position of affairs now is that I
18:32
Speaker 1: have become necessary to you. If I went out of
18:35
Speaker 1: your life now, I should leave an aching void. You
18:38
Speaker 1: would still have that beautiful punch of yours, and there
18:40
Speaker 1: would be nobody to exercise it on. You would pine
18:44
Speaker 1: away from now on matters. Should I think move rapidly
18:47
Speaker 1: during the course of the next week, I shall endeavor
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Speaker 1: to propitiate you with gifts. Here is the first of them.
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Speaker 1: He took a piece of paper from his pocket and
18:56
Speaker 1: handed it to her. It was a pencil sketch, rough
18:58
Speaker 1: and unfinished, but wonderfully clever. Even Ruth could appreciate that,
19:03
Speaker 1: and she was a prejudiced observer, for the sketch was
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Speaker 1: a caricature of herself. It represented her drawn up to
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Speaker 1: her full height, with enormous scornful eyes and curling lips.
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Speaker 1: And the artist had managed to combine an excellent likeness
19:16
Speaker 1: while accentuating everything that was marked in what she knew
19:20
Speaker 1: had come to be her normal expression of scorn and disconnect.
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Speaker 1: I didn't know you were an artist, mister Vince, she said,
19:27
Speaker 1: handing it back, A poor amateur. Nothing more. You may
19:31
Speaker 1: keep it. I have not the slightest wish to keep it.
19:34
Speaker 1: You haven't. It's not in the least clever, and it
19:37
Speaker 1: is very impertinent of you to show it to me.
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Speaker 1: The drawing is not funny, it is simply rude. A
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Speaker 1: little more, said mister Vince, and I shall begin to
19:46
Speaker 1: think you don't like it. Are you fond of chocolates?
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Speaker 1: Ruth did not answer. I am sending you some to morrow.
19:53
Speaker 1: I shall return them. Then I shall send some more,
19:56
Speaker 1: and some fruit gifts, soliloquized mister Vince. Gifts. That is
20:01
Speaker 1: the secret, keep sending gifts. If men would only stick
20:04
Speaker 1: to gifts and quarreling, there would be fewer bachelors on
20:08
Speaker 1: the morrow. As promised, the chocolates arrived, many pounds of them,
20:11
Speaker 1: in a lordly box. The bludgeoning of fate had not
20:14
Speaker 1: wholly scotched and Ruth a human weakness for sweets, and
20:17
Speaker 1: it was with a distinct effort that she wrapped the
20:19
Speaker 1: box up again and returned it to the sender. She
20:22
Speaker 1: went off to her work at the mont de Piete
20:25
Speaker 1: with a glow of satisfaction which comes to those who
20:28
Speaker 1: exhibit an iron will in trying circumstances. And at the
20:32
Speaker 1: Monte Piete there occurred a surprising incident. Surprising incidents, as
20:37
Speaker 1: mister Vince would have said, are the zero on the
20:39
Speaker 1: roulette board of life. They pop up disturbingly when least expected,
20:43
Speaker 1: confusing the mind and altering preconceived opinions. And this was
20:47
Speaker 1: a very surprising incident. Indeed, Ruth, as has been stated,
20:52
Speaker 1: sat during her hours of work behind a ground glass screen,
20:56
Speaker 1: unseen and unseeing to her. The patrons of the establishment
20:59
Speaker 1: were mere disembodied voices, wheedling voices, pathetic voices, voices that protested,
21:06
Speaker 1: voices that hectored, voices that whined, moaned, broke, appealed to
21:10
Speaker 1: the saints, and in various other ways endeavored to instill
21:14
Speaker 1: into Monsieur Glendino more spacious and princely views on the
21:17
Speaker 1: subject advancing money on property pledged. She was sitting behind
21:23
Speaker 1: her screen this morning, scribbling idly on the blotting pad,
21:26
Speaker 1: for there had been a lull in the business when
21:28
Speaker 1: the door opened, and the polite bonjeur Monsieur of Monsieur
21:32
Speaker 1: Grandino announced the arrival of another unfortunate and then, shaking
21:36
Speaker 1: her like an electric shock, came a voice that she knew,
21:40
Speaker 1: the pleasant voice of mister Vince. The dialogs that took
21:44
Speaker 1: place on the other side of the screen were often
21:45
Speaker 1: protracted and always sordid, but none had seemed to Ruth
21:49
Speaker 1: so interminable, so hideously sordid as this one, round and
21:54
Speaker 1: round its miserable center, a silver cigarette case, the dreary
21:58
Speaker 1: argument circle, the young men plead, Monsieur Grandino, adamant in
22:02
Speaker 1: his official role, was immovable. Ruth could bear it no longer.
22:06
Speaker 1: She pressed her hands over her burning ears, and the
22:08
Speaker 1: voices ceased to trouble her. And with the silence came
22:12
Speaker 1: thought and a blaze of understanding that flashed upon her
22:15
Speaker 1: and made all things clear. She understood now why she
22:19
Speaker 1: had closed her ears. Poverty is an acid which reacts
22:23
Speaker 1: differently on differing natures. It had reduced mister Eugene Warden's
22:27
Speaker 1: self respect to a minimum. Ruth's it had reared up
22:30
Speaker 1: to an abnormal growth. Her pride had become a weed
22:33
Speaker 1: that ran riot in her soul, darkening it and choking
22:37
Speaker 1: finer emotions. Perhaps it was her father's naive stratagems for
22:41
Speaker 1: the enmeshing of a wealthy husband that had produced in
22:44
Speaker 1: her at last a morbid antipathy to the idea of
22:48
Speaker 1: playing beggar maid to any man's king. Koffithiua the state
22:53
Speaker 1: of mind is intelligible. The koffithiu a legend, never has
22:56
Speaker 1: been told from the beggar maid's point of view, and
22:59
Speaker 1: therems to have been moments when, if a woman of spirit,
23:02
Speaker 1: she resented that monarch's somewhat condescending attitude, and felt that,
23:06
Speaker 1: secure in his wealth and magnificence, he had taken her
23:09
Speaker 1: grateful acquiescence very much for granted. This, she saw now
23:15
Speaker 1: was what had prejudiced her against George Vince. She had
23:18
Speaker 1: assumed that he was rich, he had conveyed the impression
23:21
Speaker 1: of being rich, and she had been on the defensive
23:23
Speaker 1: against him. Accordingly, now for the first time she seemed
23:27
Speaker 1: to know him. A barrier had been broken down, the
23:31
Speaker 1: royal robes had proved tinsel, and no longer disguised the
23:35
Speaker 1: man she loved. A touch on her arm aroused her
23:38
Speaker 1: monsieur Grendenoux was standing by her side. Terms apparently had
23:42
Speaker 1: been agreed upon, and the interview concluded, for in his
23:45
Speaker 1: hand was a silver cigarette case. Dreaming, Mademoiselle, I could
23:50
Speaker 1: not make you hear the murk. I called you. The
23:53
Speaker 1: morhu did not answer. It is necessary to enter asi loan.
23:58
Speaker 1: He recited the details, and Ruth entered them in her ledger.
24:01
Speaker 1: This done, Monsieur Greandeno, dffing his official self side. Ah,
24:06
Speaker 1: it is a place of much sorrow, Mademoiselle's office. How
24:10
Speaker 1: he would not take no for an answer. That young
24:12
Speaker 1: man recently departed a fellow countryman of yours. Mademoiselle, you
24:15
Speaker 1: would say, what does this young man so well dressed
24:18
Speaker 1: in a Monte de Piete? But I know better, I Gandeno,
24:23
Speaker 1: You have an expression you English. I held it in
24:26
Speaker 1: Paris in a cafe and inquired of its meeting. When
24:29
Speaker 1: you say of a man that he swanks, how many
24:31
Speaker 1: young men have I seen here admirably dressed, wretch? You
24:34
Speaker 1: would say, no, no, no, The Montepiete permits no secrets
24:40
Speaker 1: to swank. Mademoiselle lud what is it to deceive the world? Yes,
24:44
Speaker 1: but not the Montpiete yesterday also when you had departed.
24:49
Speaker 1: Was he here, that young man? Yet here he is
24:51
Speaker 1: once marked to day he spends his money quickly, alas
24:54
Speaker 1: that poor young swanker. When Ruth returned home that evening,
24:58
Speaker 1: she found her father in the city ingram smoking a cigarette.
25:01
Speaker 1: He greeted her with effusion, but with some uneasiness, for
25:05
Speaker 1: the old gentleman had nerved himself to a delicate task.
25:08
Speaker 1: He had made up his mind to night to speak
25:10
Speaker 1: seriously to Ruth on the subject of her unsatisfactory behavior
25:13
Speaker 1: to mister Vince. The more he saw that young man,
25:16
Speaker 1: the more positive was he that this was the human
25:19
Speaker 1: gold mine for which he had been searching all these
25:21
Speaker 1: weary years. Accordingly, he threw away his cigarette, kissed Ruth
25:26
Speaker 1: on the forehead, and began to speak. It had long
25:30
Speaker 1: been mister Warden's opinion that if his daughter had a fault,
25:32
Speaker 1: it was a tendency toward her, quite unnecessary, and a
25:35
Speaker 1: highly inconvenient frankness. She would not evade, ignore, agree, not
25:40
Speaker 1: to see, she was at times painfully blunt. This happened now.
25:45
Speaker 1: He was warming to his subject when she interrupted him
25:48
Speaker 1: with a question, what makes you think mister Vince is rich. Father,
25:54
Speaker 1: Mister Warden was embarrassed the subject of mister Vince's opulence
25:57
Speaker 1: had not entered into his discourse. Carefully avoided it. The
26:01
Speaker 1: fact that he was thinking of it, and that Ruth
26:03
Speaker 1: knew that he was thinking of it, and that he
26:05
Speaker 1: knew that Ruth knew had nothing to do with the case.
26:08
Speaker 1: The question was not in order, and it embarrassed him.
26:10
Speaker 1: I why I don't I never said he was rich, madame.
26:15
Speaker 1: I've no doubt that he has amper. He is quite poor.
26:19
Speaker 1: Mister Warden's jaw fell slightly poor. But my dear, that's absurd,
26:24
Speaker 1: he cried one only this evening. He broke off abruptly,
26:27
Speaker 1: But it was too late. Father, You've been borrowing money
26:30
Speaker 1: from him. Mister Warden drew in his breath, preparatory to
26:35
Speaker 1: an indignant denial, but he altered his mind and remained silent.
26:39
Speaker 1: As a borrower of money, he had every quality but one.
26:42
Speaker 1: He had come to look on her perspicacity in this
26:44
Speaker 1: matter as a sort of second sight. It had frequently
26:48
Speaker 1: gone far to spoiling for him the triumph of success,
26:52
Speaker 1: and he has to pawn things to live. Her voice
26:54
Speaker 1: was trembling. He was at the Monte Piete to day,
26:57
Speaker 1: and yesterday too. I heard him. He was arguing with
27:01
Speaker 1: Monsieur Ganden or haggling. Her voice broke. She was sobbing helplessly.
27:07
Speaker 1: The memory of it was too raw and vivid. Mister
27:10
Speaker 1: Warden stood motionless. Many emotions raced through his mind, but
27:14
Speaker 1: chief among them the thought that this revelation had come
27:17
Speaker 1: at a very fortunate time, an exceedingly lucky escape. He felt.
27:22
Speaker 1: He was aware also of a certain measure of indignation
27:24
Speaker 1: against this deceitful young man who had fraudulently imitated a
27:28
Speaker 1: gold mine with what might have been disastrous results. The
27:33
Speaker 1: door opened and Jean, the maid of all work, announced
27:37
Speaker 1: mister Vince. He entered the room briskly. Good evening, he said,
27:41
Speaker 1: I have brought you some more chocolates, Miss Warden, and
27:43
Speaker 1: some fruit grapes. Scott, what's the matter? He stopped, but
27:48
Speaker 1: only for an instant. The next he had darted across
27:51
Speaker 1: the room, and before the horrified eyes of mister Warden
27:53
Speaker 1: was holding Ruth in his arms. She clung to him.
27:57
Speaker 1: Bill the fox terrier over whom mister Vince had happened
27:59
Speaker 1: to see tumble was the first to speak. Almost simultaneously,
28:03
Speaker 1: mister Warden joined in, and there was a striking similarity
28:07
Speaker 1: between the two voices, for mister Warden's searching for words
28:10
Speaker 1: emitted as a preliminary to them, a sort of passionate yelp.
28:14
Speaker 1: Mister Vince removed the hand that was patting Ruth's shoulder
28:18
Speaker 1: and waved it reassuringly at him. It's all right, he said,
28:22
Speaker 1: all right, all right. Affinities, explained mister Vince over his shoulder.
28:27
Speaker 1: Two hearts that beat us one were going to be married.
28:30
Speaker 1: What's the matter, dear, don't you worry? You're all right?
28:33
Speaker 1: I refuse, shouted mister Warden. I absolutely a refuse. Mister
28:39
Speaker 1: Vince lowered Ruth gently into a chair, and holding her hand,
28:42
Speaker 1: inspected the fermenting, old gentleman, gravely, you refuse, he said,
28:47
Speaker 1: why I thought you liked me. Mister Warden's frenzy had cooled.
28:52
Speaker 1: It had been something foreign to his nature. He regretted it.
28:55
Speaker 1: These things had to be managed with restraint. My personal likes,
28:59
Speaker 1: and he said, have nothing to do with the matter,
29:02
Speaker 1: mister Vince. They are beside the point. I have my
29:04
Speaker 1: daughter to consider. I cannot allow her to marry a
29:07
Speaker 1: man without a penny. Oh quite right, said mister Vince, approvingly.
29:11
Speaker 1: Don't have anything to do with the fellow if he
29:13
Speaker 1: tries to put in send for the police. Mister Warden hesitated.
29:17
Speaker 1: He had always been a little ashamed of Ruth's occupation,
29:19
Speaker 1: but necessity compelled mister Vince. My daughter is employed at
29:24
Speaker 1: the Mont de Piete and was a witness to all
29:27
Speaker 1: that took place this afternoon. Mister Vince was genuinely agitated.
29:32
Speaker 1: He looked at Ruth, his face full of concern. You
29:35
Speaker 1: don't mean to say that you've been slaving away in
29:37
Speaker 1: that stuffy great Scott, I'll have you out of that quick.
29:41
Speaker 1: You mustn't go there again. He stooped and kissed her.
29:46
Speaker 1: Perhaps you'd better let me explain, he said. Explanations I
29:49
Speaker 1: always think are the zero on the roulette board of life.
29:52
Speaker 1: They are always somewhere about, waiting to pop up. Have
29:56
Speaker 1: you ever heard of Vince's stores, mister Warden, Perhaps they
29:59
Speaker 1: are since your time. Well, my father is the proprietor
30:02
Speaker 1: one of our specialties, his children's toys. But we haven't
30:05
Speaker 1: picked a real winner for years, and my father when
30:08
Speaker 1: I last saw him. Seemed so distressed about it that
30:10
Speaker 1: I said I'd see if I couldn't whack out an idea. Something, well,
30:15
Speaker 1: something on the lines of the Billiken only better was
30:18
Speaker 1: what he felt he needed. I'm not used to brain work,
30:21
Speaker 1: and after a spell of it, I felt I wanted
30:23
Speaker 1: to rest. I came here to recuperate. In the very
30:25
Speaker 1: first morning, I got an inspiration. You may have noticed
30:28
Speaker 1: that the manager of the Monte Pierte here isn't strong,
30:32
Speaker 1: unconventional good looks. I saw him at the casino and
30:35
Speaker 1: the thing flashed on me. He thinks it his name's Gendino,
30:40
Speaker 1: but it isn't. It's Uncle Zip, the hump Curer, the
30:43
Speaker 1: man who makes you smile. He pressed Ruth's hand affectionately.
30:48
Speaker 1: I lost track of him, and it was only the
30:50
Speaker 1: day before yesterday that I discovered who he was and
30:52
Speaker 1: where he was to be found. Well, you can't go
30:54
Speaker 1: up to a man and ask him to pose as
30:56
Speaker 1: a model for Uncle Zip the hump Curer. The only
30:59
Speaker 1: way to get sittings was to approach him in the
31:01
Speaker 1: way of business. So I collected what property I had
31:04
Speaker 1: and waded in. Now that's the whole story. Do I pass.
31:10
Speaker 1: Mister Warden's frosty demeanor had gradually thought during this recital,
31:14
Speaker 1: and now the son of his smile shone out warmly.
31:17
Speaker 1: He gripped mister Vince's hand with every evidence of esteem,
31:21
Speaker 1: and after that he did what was certainly the best thing,
31:23
Speaker 1: by passing gently from the room. On his face as
31:27
Speaker 1: he went was a look such as Moses might have
31:29
Speaker 1: worn on the summit of Mount Piscott. It was some
31:34
Speaker 1: twenty minutes later that Ruth made a remark. I want
31:37
Speaker 1: you to promise me something, She said, Promise that you
31:40
Speaker 1: won't go on with that uncle's zip drawing. I know
31:43
Speaker 1: it means ever so much money, but it might hurt
31:45
Speaker 1: poor mister Gandino's feelings, and he's been very kind to me.
31:50
Speaker 1: That settles it, said mister Vince. It's hard on the
31:52
Speaker 1: children of Great Britain, but say no more, no uncle
31:55
Speaker 1: zip for them. Ruth looked at him almost with all
32:00
Speaker 1: you really won't go on with it in spite of
32:02
Speaker 1: all the money you'd make. Are you always going to
32:05
Speaker 1: do just what I ask you, no matter what it
32:06
Speaker 1: cost you? He nodded silently. You have sketched out in
32:11
Speaker 1: a few words the whole policy of my married life.
32:14
Speaker 1: I feel an awful fraud, and I had encouraged you
32:17
Speaker 1: to look forward to years of incessant quarreling. Do you
32:20
Speaker 1: think you can manage without it? I'm afraid it's going
32:23
Speaker 1: to be shockingly dull for you, said mister Vince regretfully.
32:28
Speaker 1: End of story number eight. Ruth in Exile recording by
32:32
Speaker 1: Mike Harriss