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
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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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DANGER MARK ***

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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. Fête 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-maché 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