behind the stage at the bechstein hall one could hear the applause that burst from the auditorium. nigel listened hungrily. he wondered whether those hands would clap and those feet stamp when it was his turn to leave the platform, his violin under his arm. he stood leaning against the wall, his fiddle already out of its case, but still wrapped tenderly in silks. the little group of girls and men who were whispering together not far off sent him from time to time glances of mingled curiosity and admiration.
there was a big difference between the convict with his close-cropped hair and disreputable clothes, and this young man in orthodox evening dress, whose hair was brushed in a heavy, shining mass from his forehead, to hang over his ears and neck in the approved musician's style. nigel had been unable to resist this rather primitive piece of swank—besides, it was symbolical, it marked the contrast between what he had been in the days of his shame, and what he was now in the days of regeneration. the girl who had just come off the stage stared at him half amused, half envying.
"do you come on soon?"
"yes—after this next thing."
"just a little bit nervous?"
he nodded.
[pg 253]
as a matter of fact, he was in a mortal funk. he would not have believed it possible that he could be afraid of a crowd of strangers, who were nothing to him and to whom he was nothing. but infinite things were at stake. if he failed, if he made an ass of himself, he pushed further away, if not altogether out of sight, the dream in which for the last six months he had worked and lived. on the other hand, if he succeeded, if to-morrow's papers took his name out of the gutter, just as four years ago they had helped to kick it in, his dream would be transmuted into hope. the violin he clutched so desperately was no mere instrument of music, but an instrument of redemption, the token of that dear salvation which if a man but see truly he must grasp.
six months had gone by since he left sparrow hall, and during them he had worked desperately with scanty rest. he had flung his proud self-will and undisciplined love of prettiness into mechanical exercises for fingers and bow, he had subjected his taste for the tuneful and sentimental to herr von gleichroeder's dissonantal preferences. but he had been happy—his dream had always been with him, and had breathed all the sentimentality of hope into the dry bones of chabrier, chausson and strauss. he had found it everywhere—even in his bow exercises.
he was happy, too, in his environment—the companionship of his fellow-students with their young, clear spirits and enthusiasm. most of them knew his story, but in their careless code it did not tell much against him, for every one[pg 254] admired him for his originality and liked him for his desperate pluck. so nigel found a new form of gratification for that strange part of him born in prison. the companionship of an unripe little school-girl with her slang, the sight of children dancing in the dusk, had been succeeded by many a racket with young men and women of his own age—bohemian supper-parties, followed by impromptu concerts or startling variety turns; expeditions in rowdy throngs to a theatre or music-hall; small, friendly meals with some fellow-enthusiast, who confessed in private an admiration for gounod.... it was a draught of new life to him; he loved it all—down to the constant musical jargon, the endless "shop." much of his bitterness was leaving him, his sullen bouts were rarer, even the lines of his face were growing rounded and more boyish.
chausson's "chanson perpetuelle" drawled and wailed its way towards a close. nigel's muscles tightened to prevent a shudder. to-night the hall would be full of the friends and relations of the students; they had come out to encourage their respective prodigies, and his item on the programme would belong, so to speak, to no one. he almost wished he had not forbidden len and janey to come—at least they would have made a noise.
the thought of len and janey brought an additional stake into the game. he must succeed for their sakes too. he must justify to them his departure from sparrow hall. if he failed, they would look upon it as a mere piece of obstinate[pg 255] cruelty, they would plague him to return, and he, in all the sickness of failure, would find it hard to resist them.
another round of applause ... the "chanson perpetuelle" had ended, and the singer, a self-confident little contralto, came off, with the string quartet which had accompanied her. herr von gleichroeder bustled up, and there was some talk of an encore, which was in the end refused. then he turned to nigel.
"you'd better go on at once. here are two telegrams for you—but you mustn't wait."
nigel stuffed the two yellow envelopes into his pocket, and moved mechanically towards the stage. two telegrams—a sick hope was in his heart—one was from len, he knew; but the other ... tony knew the date of his concert; perhaps.... he dared not think it, yet that "perhaps" made him hold his head high as he walked on the stage.
he bowed stiffly. von gleichroeder had spent a long time trying to teach him a graceful bow. he remembered his last public appearance, and it made him not only stiff but a trifle hard. there was no applause at first—no one in the hall knew him; then a kind-hearted old lady felt sorry for the poor young man who had no one to encourage him, and gave a feeble clap, which was more disconcerting than silence.
the accompanist struck the chord—his fiddle was soon in tune and he lifted it to his shoulder. a cold chill ran down his back—he had entirely forgotten the first bars of the prelude.
[pg 256]
the accompanist had some preliminary business. nigel listened to him in detached horror, as if he were the spectator of some dreadful scene with which he had absolutely no connection. he heard the music crashing through familiar phrases—only five bars more—only three—only one—
then there was a pause-bar—a very long pause.
then suddenly he realised that he had been playing for some time. the violin was warm under his chin, the bow warm between his fingers. he knew that if he stopped to think about it all, he was lost. it was always fatal for him to think of his music as so many little black signs on paper, and it was nearly as fatal for him to think of it as so many movements of his bow or positions of his fingers. von gleichroeder had always had to combat his pupil's tendency to play almost entirely by ear, lost meanwhile in a kind of sentimental dream—in the transports of which he swayed violently from side to side and generally looked ridiculous.
to-night he slapped into the scriabin with tremendous vigour—the infinite pains he had spent during the last six months showing clearly in the ease with which he surmounted its technical difficulties. but the watchful ear of von gleichroeder told him that his pupil was playing subconsciously, so to speak—from his heart, rather than his head. if anything—the slipping of a peg or a sudden noise in the hall—were to interrupt him, to wake him up, all would be lost.
but luckily nothing happened. nigel was[pg 257] roused only by the last crash of his bow on the strings. the prelude was finished, and at the same time a desperate panic seized him. he forgot to bow, and bolted headlong from the stage.
the audience applauded heartily, and his fellow-students crowded round him with congratulations.
"well done, old man!—pulled it off splendidly," and his back was vigorously thumped.
"worked up beautifully over the climax."
"but played g instead of b in the last bar but one," added a precise youth.
"muddled your runs in that chromatic bit," put in some one else, encouraged.
"go on and bow—go on and bow," blustered von gleichroeder, hurrying up.
nigel bowed perfunctorily and came back. the clapping did not subside.
"i don't allow encores," said the german, "but you're in luck, my friend, in luck."
the colour was darkening on nigel's face. it was his hour of triumph. he wished tony was there, and janey and leonard—he would let them come to his next concert.
he went on and bowed again—he had to appear several times before the demand for an encore was given up as hopeless, and the applause gradually died away.
he went to the back of the stage and sat down, holding his head in his hands. he wanted to be alone, and to read his telegrams. the future was now a flaming promise—his feet at last were set on the honourable way. he let his mind lose[pg 258] itself in its dream, and for a moment he was conscious of nothing but infinite hope. from the stage a plaintive, bizarre air of moussorgski's came to him. to be russian was to von gleichroeder synonymous with to be modern, and moussorgski and rimsky korsakov were encouraged where their french or italian contemporaries were banned. every now and then a little slow ripple brought an end to strange wailing dissonances; it was played without much fire—without much feeling—but it haunted.
nigel opened his first telegram. it read—
"go it, old chap—laurels is cheap."
that was from leonard, and a half tender, half humorous smile crept over furlonger's grim mouth. dear old len!—dear old janey! how he wished they were there! he would wire to them the first thing to-morrow and tell them of his success.
then suddenly the smile passed away, and his hands shook a little. who had sent the second telegram?
he tore nervously at the envelope. had tony remembered him? one word of encouragement from her was worth all the clappings and stampings of the audience, all the eulogies of the press....
"and i also dreamed, which pleased me most,
that you loved me still the same...."
he took out the telegram and unfolded it. it ran—
"come at once. leonard is ill. janey."
