第62章 THE GODDESS OF EXCELSIOR(3)

Up to that moment a delighted but unsmiling consciousness of their own absurdities, a keen sense of the humorous possibilities of the original blunder, and a mischievous recognition of the mortification of Trigg--whose only safety now lay in accepting the mistake in the same spirit--had determined these grown-up schoolboys to artfully protract a joke that seemed to be providentially delivered into their hands. But NOW an odd change crept on them. The light from the open window that gave upon the enormous pines and the rolling prospect up to the dim heights of the Sierras fell upon this strange, incongruous, yet perfectly artistic figure. For the dress was the skillful creation of a great Parisian artist, and in its exquisite harmony of color, shape, and material it not only hid the absurd model, but clothed it with an alarming grace and refinement! A queer feeling of awe, of shame, and of unwilling admiration took possession of them.

Some of them--from remote Western towns--had never seen the like before; those who HAD had forgotten it in those five years of self-exile, of healthy independence, and of contiguity to Nature in her unaffected simplicity. All had been familiar with the garish, extravagant, and dazzling femininity of the Californian towns and cities, but never had they known anything approaching the ideal grace of this type of exalted, even if artificial, womanhood. And although in the fierce freedom of their little republic they had laughed to scorn such artificiality, a few yards of satin and lace cunningly fashioned, and thrown over a frame of wood and wire, touched them now with a strange sense of its superiority. The better to show its attractions, Clinton Grey had placed the figure near a full-length, gold-framed mirror, beside a marble-topped table. Yet how cheap and tawdry these splendors showed beside this work of art! How cruel was the contrast of their own rough working clothes to this miracle of adornment which that same mirror reflected! And even when Clinton Grey, the enthusiast, looked towards his beloved woods for relief, he could not help thinking of them as a more fitting frame for this strange goddess than this new house into which she had strayed. Their gravity became real; their gibes in some strange way had vanished.

"Must have cost a pile of money," said one, merely to break an embarrassing silence.

"My sister had a friend who brought over a dress from Paris, not as high-toned as that, that cost five hundred dollars," said Clinton Grey.

"How much did you say that spirit-clad old hag of yours cost--thorns and all?" said the president, turning sharply on Trigg.

Trigg swallowed this depreciation of his own purchase meekly.

"Seven hundred and fifty dollars, without the express charges."

"That's only two-fifty more," said the president thoughtfully, "if we call it quits."

"But," said Trigg in alarm, "we must send it back."

"Not much, sonny," said the president promptly. "We'll hang on to this until we hear where that thorny old chump of yours has fetched up and is actin' her conundrums, and mebbe we can swap even."

"But how will we explain it to the boys?" queried Trigg. "They're waitin' outside to see it."

"There WON'T be any explanation," said the president, in the same tone of voice in which he had ordered the door shut. "We'll just say that the statue hasn't come, which is the frozen truth; and this box only contained some silk curtain decorations we'd ordered, which is only half a lie. And," still more firmly, "THIS SECRET DOESN'T GO OUT OF THIS ROOM, GENTLEMEN--or I ain't your president!

I'm not going to let you give yourselves away to that crowd outside--you hear me? Have you ever allowed your unfettered intellect to consider what they'd say about this,--what a godsend it would be to every man we'd ever had a 'pull' on in this camp?

Why, it would last 'em a whole year; we'd never hear the end of it!

No, gentlemen! I prefer to live here without shootin' my fellow man, but I can't promise it if they once start this joke agin us!"

There was a swift approval of this sentiment, and the five members shook hands solemnly.

"Now," said the president, "we'll just fold up that dress again, and put it with the figure in this closet"--he opened a large dressing-chest in the suite of rooms in which they stood--"and we'll each keep a key. We'll retain this room for committee purposes, so that no one need see the closet. See? Now take off the dress! Be careful there! You're not handlin' pay dirt, though it's about as expensive! Steady!"

Yet it was wonderful to see the solicitude and care with which the dress was re-covered and folded in its linen wrapper.

"Hold on," exclaimed Trigg,--as the dummy was lifted into the chest,--"we haven't tried on the other dress!"

"Yes! yes!" repeated the others eagerly; "there's another!"

"We'll keep that for next committee meeting, gentlemen," said the president decisively. "Lock her up, Trigg."