After a month or so Ruth began to evince a slow improvement. "If she had enough strength to pull through," the doctor said with a faint inflection in his voice that sounded like hope to the waiting, longing ear. She could not have had a tenderer nurse than mother, and womanly care and sympathy exceeds that of the most loving man.
Through this time I learned by bits and snatches how this ill-fated marriage had come about. And although at first Mr. Gaynor could have rejoiced over Dan's untimely end, he had built high hopes on him and would have loved him like a son. Even now he referred to the kindly things Dan had done for him in his illness, and I could see Dan had held many fascinations for him. But when he wanted to get all the property interests into his hands and began to treat Ruth with indifference all the fatherly feelings were roused. Then he had grudged young John Gaynor the relationship.
I could not but admire the wise and kindly reticence he observed in speaking of Dan. Of course there was no glossing over the last cruel insult to Ruth, but poor Dan had paid for it with his life, Polly as well.
I had many plans in my mind through this time. Go back to Paris I must. The boys had gone to their different institutions, and that left mother alone. Homer wanted her to rent the house and live with them. Then in watching Mr. Gaynor it seemed to me that something might still be done for him. Surgery in Paris had made rapid strides. There were splendidly equipped hospitals, perhaps I might find them in New York or Philadelphia, but I could not go there to stay. If I might take them all to Paris with me, mother as companion and chaperone for Ruth.
I advanced my plans very cautiously. Ruth's welfare was my first point. She did not get along rapidly. The doctor had insisted on having her beautiful hair cut, and it was now a mass of rings, like silken floss. She seemed to have gone back to childhood, her face was so small and wore such a look of timid entreaty. Her eyes were still like the midnight blue of the sky and their expression penetrated one's very soul with their infinite pathos.
Mr. Gaynor at first considered a journey abroad for himself an impossibility with his farming interest. It did puzzle me a little to know how this could be managed. And when I was about discouraged in my search for a capable person Providence sent him right in my way. Since the unfortunate struggle in Hungary we had received many immigrants of the better class who had largely drifted to the West in search for land. Homer had taken a young man to work for him when he had spent his little all. He and his father had been successful wheat growers, but their farms had been confiscated. The young man had left his wife and two little ones and the mother with friends, hoping soon to be able to send for them, but they found it very hard to get at anything without money.
I asked them to come over and spend an evening with us. John Gaynor was much interested in them, for both were intelligent, though speaking rather broken English. They discussed the possibility of buying government land and tilling it, and exploited their own methods, which were not behind ours, but their markets were.
The upshot of this was at the proper time my plan of having them as overseers, living in the house and looking after everything.
"It would be a godsend to them," said Mr. Gaynor. "They could get quite forehanded. These are the kind of citizens we need."
I left the leaven to work without any needless stirring up. Then I sought to persuade my mother that it was her duty to go for Ruth's sake. Since one of ours had so nearly wrecked her life surely we ought to strive to repair it.