Nobody

"Came for nothin' else."

"Then I do not see, mother, what good we can do by remaining longer.

Could we, Mrs. Marx?"

"Nothin', but lose your chance o' somethin' better, I should say."

"Tom, do you want to do any more fishing? Aren't you ready to go?"

"Whenever you like," said Tom gloomily.

CHAPTER XVII

TOM'S DECISION

The Caruthers family took their departure from Appledore.

"Well, we have had to fight for it, but we have saved Tom," Juliaremarked to Mr. Lenox, standing by the guards and looking back at theIslands as the steamer bore them away.

"Saved! – "

"Yes!" she said decidedly, – "we have saved him."

"It's a responsibility," said the gentleman, shrugging his shoulders."I am not clear that you have not 'saved' Tom from a better thing thanhe'll ever find again."

"Perhaps you'd like her!" said Miss Julia sharply. "How ridiculousall you men are about a pretty face!"

The remaining days of her stay in Appledore Lois roved about to herheart's content. And yet I will not say that her enjoyment of rocks andwaves was just what it had been at her first arrival. The island seemedempty, somehow. Appledore is lovely in September and October; and Loissat on the rocks and watched the play of the waves, and delightedherself in the changing colours of sea, and sky, and clouds, andgathered wild-flowers, and picked up shells; but there was somehow verypresent to her the vision of a fair, kindly, handsome face, and eyesthat sought hers eagerly, and hands that were ready gladly with anylittle service that there was room to render. She was no longertroubled by a group of people dogging her footsteps; and she found nowthat there had been, however inopportune, a little excitement in that.It was very well they were gone, she acknowledged; for Mr. Caruthersmight have come to like her too well, and that would have beeninconvenient; and yet it is so pleasant to be liked! Upon the soberhumdrum of Lois's every day home life, Tom Caruthers was like a bit ofbrilliant embroidery; and we know how involuntarily the eyes seek outsuch a spot of colour, and how they return to it. Yes, life at home wasexceedingly pleasant, but it was a picture in grey; this was a dash ofblue and gold. It had better be grey, Lois said to herself; life is notglitter. And yet, a little bit of glitter on the greys and browns is sodelightful. Well, it was gone. There was small hope now that anythingso brilliant would ever illuminate her quiet course again. Lois sat onthe rocks and looked at the sea, and thought about it. If they, Tom andhis friends, had not come to Appledore at all, her visit would havebeen most delightful; nay, it had been most delightful, whether or no; but – this and her New York experience had given Lois a new standard bywhich to measure life and men. From one point of view, it is true, thenew lost in comparison with the old. Tom and his people were not"religious." They knew nothing of what made her own life so sweet; theyhad not her prospects or joys in looking on towards the far future, norher strength and security in view of the trials and vicissitudes ofearth and time. She had the best of it; as she joyfully confessed toherself, seeing the glorious breaking waves and watching the play oflight on them, and recalling Cowper's words —

"My Father made them all!"

But there remained another aspect of the matter which raised otherfeelings in the girl's mind. The difference in education. Those peoplecould speak French, and Mr. Caruthers could speak Spanish, and Mr.Lenox spoke German. Whether well or ill, Lois did not know; but in anycase, how many doors, in literature and in life, stood open to them; which were closed and locked doors to her! And we all know, that eversince Bluebeard's time – I might go back further, and say, ever sinceEve's time – Eve's daughters have been unable to stand before a closeddoor without the wish to open it. The impulse, partly for good, partlyfor evil, is incontestable. Lois fairly longed to know what Tom and hissister knew in the fields of learning. And there were other fields.There was a certain light, graceful, inimitable habit of the world andof society; familiarity with all the pretty and refined ways and usesof the more refined portions of society; knowledge and practice ofproprieties, as the above-mentioned classes of the world recognizethem; which all seemed to Lois greatly desirable and becoming. Nay, thesaid "proprieties" and so forth were not always of the most importantkind; Miss Caruthers could be what Lois considered coolly rude, uponoccasion; and her mother could be carelessly impolite; and Mr. Lenoxcould be wanting in the delicate regard which a gentleman should showto a lady; "I suppose," thought Lois, "he did not think I would knowany better." In these things, these essential things, some of thefarmers of Shampuashuh and their wives were the peers at least, if notthe superiors, of these fine ladies and gentlemen. But in lesserthings! These people knew how to walk gracefully, sit gracefully, eatgracefully. Their manner and address in all the little details of life, had the ease, and polish, and charm which comes of use, and habit, andconfidence. The way Mr. Lenox and Tom would give help to a lady ingetting over the rough rocks of Appledore; the deference with whichthey would attend to her comfort and provide for her pleasure; thegrace of a bow, the good breeding of a smile; the ease of action whichcomes from trained physical and practised mental nature; these and agreat deal more, even the details of dress and equipment which are onlypossible to those who know how, and which are instantly seen to beexcellent and becoming, even by those who do not know how; all this hadappealed mightily to Lois's nature, and raised in her longings andregrets more or less vague, but very real. All that, she would like tohave. She wanted the familiarity with books, and also the familiaritywith the world, which some people had; the secure à plomb and theeasy facility of manner which are so imposing and so attractive to agirl like Lois. She felt that to these people life was richer, larger, wider than to her; its riches more at command; the standpoint higherfrom which to take a view of the world; the facility greater whichcould get from the world what it had to give. And it was a closed doorbefore which Lois stood. Truly on her side of the door there was verymuch that she had and they had not; she knew that, and did not fail torecognize it and appreciate it. What was the Lord's beautiful creationto them? a place to kill time in, and get rid of it as fast aspossible. The ocean, to them, was little but a great bath-tub; or avery inconvenient separating medium, which prevented them from goingconstantly to Paris and Rome. To judge by all that appeared, the skyhad no colours for them, and the wind no voices, and the flowers nospeech. And as for the Bible, and the hopes and joys which take theirsource there, they knew no more of it so than if they had beenMahometans. They took no additional pleasure in the things of thenatural world, because those things were made by a Hand that theyloved. Poor people! and Lois knew they were poor; and yet – she said toherself, and also truly, that the possession of her knowledge would notbe lessened by the possession of theirs. And a little pensivenessmingled for a few days with her enjoyment of Appledore. Meanwhile Mrs.Wishart was getting well.

"So they have all gone!" she said, a day or two after the Caruthersparty had taken themselves away.

"Yes, and Appledore seems, you can't think how lonely," said Lois. Shehad just come in from a ramble.

"You saw a great deal of them, dear?"

"Quite a good deal. Did you ever see such bright pimpernel? Isn't itlovely?"

"I don't understand how Tom could get away."

"I believe he did not want to go."

"Why didn't you keep him?"

"I!" said Lois with an astonished start. "Why should I keep him, Mrs.

Wishart?"

"Because he likes you so much."

"Does he?" said Lois a little bitterly.

"Yes! Don't you like him? How do you like him, Lois?"

"He is nice, Mrs. Wishart. But if you ask me, I do not think he hasenough strength of character."

"If Tom has let them carry him off against his will, he is ratherweak."

Lois made no answer. Had he? and had they done it? A vague notion ofwhat might be the truth of the whole transaction floated in and out ofher mind, and made her indignant. Whatever one's private views of thedanger may be, I think no one likes to be taken care of in thisfashion. Of course Tom Caruthers was and could be nothing to her, Loissaid to herself; and of course she could be nothing to him; but thathis friends should fear the contrary and take measures to prevent it, stirred her most disagreeably. Yes; if things had gone so, then Tomcertainly was weak; and it vexed her that he should be weak. Veryinconsistent, when it would have occasioned her so much trouble if hehad been strong! But when is human nature consistent? Altogether thisvisit to Appledore, the pleasure of which began so spicily, left rathera flat taste upon her tongue; and she was vexed at that.

There was another person who probably thought Tom weak, and who wascurious to know how he had come out of this trial of strength with hisrelations; but Mr. Dillwyn had wandered off to a distance, and it wasnot till a month later that he saw any of the Caruthers. By that timethey were settled in their town quarters for the winter, and there oneevening he called upon them. He found only Julia and her mother.

"By the way," said he, when the talk had rambled on for a while, "howdid you get on at the Isles of Shoals?"

"We had an awful time," said Julia. "You cannot conceive of anything soslow."

"How long did you stay?"

"O, ages! We were there four or five weeks. Imagine, if you can.

Nothing but sea and rocks, and no company!"

"No company! What kept you there?"

"O, Tom!"

"What kept Tom?"

"Mrs. Wishart got sick, you see, and couldn't get away, poor soul! andthat made her stay so long."

"And you had to stay too, to nurse her?"

"No, nothing of that. Miss Lothrop was there, and she did the nursing; and then a ridiculous aunt of hers came to help her."

"You staid for sympathy?"

"Don't be absurd, Philip! You know we were kept by Tom. We could notget him away."

"What made Tom want to stay?"

"O, that girl."

"How did you get him away at last?"

"Just because we stuck to him. No other way. He would undoubtedly havemade a fool of himself with that girl – he was just ready to do it – butwe never left him a chance. George and I, and mother, we surroundedhim," said Julia, laughing; "we kept close by him; we never left themalone. Tom got enough of it at last, and agreed, very melancholy, tocome away. He is dreadfully in the blues yet."