The Danger Mark

The Danger Mark

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Danger Mark, by Robert W. Chambers This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Danger Mark
Author: Robert W. Chambers
Illustrator: A. B. Wenzell
Release Date: April 17, 2006 [EBook #18185]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Illustration: "'Please do tell me somebody is scandalised.'"]
THE DANGER MARK
BY
ROBERT W. CHAMBERS
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
A.B. WENZELL
1909
TO
MY FRIEND
JOHN CARRINGTON YATES

CONTENTS
I. The Seagraves
II. In Trust
III. The Threshold
IV. The Year of Discretion
V. Roya-Neh
VI. Adrift
VII. Together
VIII. An Afterglow
IX. Confession
X. Dusk
XI. F��te Galante
XII. The Love of the Gods
XIII. Ambitions and Letters
XIV. The Prophets
XV. Dysart
XVI. Through the Woods
XVII. The Danger Mark
XVIII. Bon Chien
XIX. Questions and Answers
XX. In Search of Herself
XXI. The Golden Hours
XXII. Cloudy Mountain
XXIII. Sine Die
XXIV. The Prologue Ends

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"'Please do tell me somebody is scandalized'"
"'Can I have what other women have--silk underwear and stockings?'"
"'Duane!' she gasped--'why did you?'"
"Oh, the horror of it!--the shame, the agonized surprise"
"'This is one of those rare occasions ... where goodness is ... amply rewarded'"
"'I want to confess! I've been horribly depraved for a week!'"
"She dropped him a very low, very slow, very marvellous courtesy"
"Crumpled up like a white flower in his arms"
CHAPTER I
THE SEAGRAVES
All day Sunday they had raised the devil from attic to cellar; Mrs. Farren was in tears, Howker desperate. Not one out of the fifteen servants considered necessary to embellish the Seagrave establishment could do anything with them after Kathleen Severn's sudden departure the week before.
When the telegram announcing her mother's sudden illness summoned young Mrs. Severn to Staten Island, every servant in the household understood that serious trouble was impending for them.
Day by day the children became more unruly; Sunday they were demons; and Mrs. Farren shuddered to think what Monday might bring forth.
The day began ominously at breakfast with general target practice, ammunition consisting of projectiles pinched from the interior of hot muffins. Later, when Mrs. Farren ventured into the schoolroom, she found Scott Seagrave drawing injurious pictures of Howker on the black-board, and Geraldine sorting lumps of sugar from the bowl on the breakfast-tray, which had not yet been removed.
"Dearies," she began, "it is after nine o'clock and----"
"No school to-day, Mrs. Farren," interrupted Scott cheerfully; "we haven't anything to do till Kathleen comes back, and you know it perfectly well!"
"Yes, you have, dearie; Mrs. Severn has just sent you this list of lessons." She held out a black-edged envelope.
Geraldine, who had been leisurely occupied in dropping cologne on a lump of sugar, thrust the lump into her pink mouth and turned sharply on Mrs. Farren.
"What list?" she demanded. "Give that letter to me.... Oh, Scott! Did you ever hear of anything half so mean? Kathleen's written out about a thousand questions in geography for us!"
"I can't stand that sort of interference!" shouted Scott, dropping his chalk and aiming a kick at the big papier-mach�� globe. "I'm sorry Kathleen's mother is probably going to die, but I've had enough geography, too."
"Mrs. Severn's mother died on Friday," said the housekeeper solemnly.
The children paused, serious for a moment in the presence of the incomprehensible.
"We're sorry," said Geraldine slowly.... "When is Kathleen coming back?"
"Perhaps to-night, dearie----"
Scott impatiently detached the schoolroom globe from its brass axis: "I'm sorry, too," he said; "but I'm tired of lessons. Now, Mrs. Farren, watch me! I'm going to kick a goal from the field. Here, you hold it, Geraldine; Mrs. Farren, you had better try to block it and cheer for Yale!"
Geraldine seized the globe, threw herself flat on the floor, and, head on one side, wriggled, carefully considering the angle. Then, tipping the globe, she adjusted it daintily for her brother to kick.
"A little higher, please; look out there, Mrs. Farren!" said Scott calmly; "Harvard is going to score this time. Now, Geraldine!"
Thump! came the kick, but Mrs. Farren had fled, and the big globe struck the nursery door and bounced back minus half of South America.
For ten minutes the upper floors echoed with the racket. Geraldine fiercely disputed her brother's right to kick every time; then, as usual, when she got what she wanted, gave up to Scott and let him monopolise the kicking until, satiated, he went back to the black-board, having obliterated several continents from the face of the globe.
"You might at least be polite enough to hold it for me to kick," said his sister. "What a pig you are, Scott."
"Don't bother me; I'm drawing Howker. You can't kick straight, anyway----"
"Yes, I can!"
Scott, intent on his drawing, muttered:
"I wish there was another boy in this house; I might