The marriage had been the ultimate achievement in privacy. No one had journeyed here with them. But one person, who had insisted on being taken into their confidence, had appeared discreetly and anonymously at the brief ceremony in the little court-house—Uncle George. And after the ceremony was over, he had kissed Mary with a simplicity, a sincerity, a tender dignity that sophisticated, cynical Broadway would have been amazed to see in its favorite.
“Mary,”—his hands on both her shoulders, his voice quavering a bit,—“I’m glad I’ve lived long enough to see the daughter of one old pal, and the niece of another old pal, definitely turn into this road. Yes, I’m mighty glad. It’s the only road that’s worth traveling—and I guess I ought to know. I know you’re going to be happy. God bless you, my dear!”...
And now, as the pair moved easily through the closing twilight, all bars at last were down between these two—all barriers of pride, of reserve, of reticence, of opposing wills, all the long masking of hearts. Their souls were very close together.
They had been riding for several miles in silence, both still awed by what had just taken place in the little town behind them—when Mary spoke softly:—
“You promised to tell me when—when this was over, what you and Commissioner Thorne were talking about this morning. Aren’t you going to tell me what it was?”
“Commissioner Thorne again offered me the position of Chief of the Detective Bureau.”
“And you?”
“I turned it down.”
“It was a wonderful chance!” she exclaimed. “You refused because of me?”
“No. But I thought you might think so; that’s why I didn’t want to tell you until everything was settled between you and me. I had thought it all out before. It was a big job he offered me, yes,—but primarily it was an office job, a routine, administrative job. I wanted to be out where I would be in contact with people and their problems; where instead of touching life only through the reports of subordinates, I would touch life at first hand. I felt that in my case I could be of more service in such a way. You understand?”