CHAPTER XX
THE WEDDING DAY ARRANGED
When the colonel suppressed Dick’s telegram, and as he fondly imagined, silenced the young man in Boston, he left out of the reckoning a prying servant, who secretly examined the message which the colonel had thrown into a wastebasket torn across only twice. In consequence of this, hundreds of persons, presently, were discussing a rumor to the effect that Dick Swinton was still alive. Dora, as it chanced, heard nothing; but Vivian Ormsby—who thought that he alone shared the colonel’s secret—heard the gossip circulating through the city.
“Dick Swinton is not dead,” said the report, “he is hiding in New York.”
Mr. Barnby spoke of this as laughable. But Ormsby knew that the truth must out sooner or later, and it was necessary that he should be ready. The police were on the alert—reluctantly alert, for they respected the rector. The banker, however, was a more important person than the clergyman, and his evident anxiety to lay hands on the forger was a thing not to be overlooked. There was also a little private reward mentioned. 222
The colonel, when Ormsby arrived to continue his courtship, heard of these rumors with alarm, and took every precaution to keep them from Dora by maintaining a constant watch over her. He was as impatient at the protracted engagement as was Ormsby himself, and one morning he attacked Dora upon the question of the marriage.
“Dora, your engagement is a preposterous thing, child. It’s a shame to keep Ormsby waiting and dangling at your heels as you do. To look at you, no one would suspect you two were lovers.”
“We are not, father. You know that very well.”
“Fiddlesticks! You’re willing enough to let him fetch and carry for you, and motor you all over the country, and smother you with flowers, and load you with presents. Yet, you are always as glum as a church-warden while he’s here. And, when he’s away, you seem to buck up and show that you can be cheerful, if you like.”
“I have submitted to an engagement with Mr. Ormsby more to please you, father, than to please myself.”