The Mistress of Bonaventure Part 37

Haldane was waiting for us when we came in. "Our men have had a busy afternoon. All the shares they offered were bought up, and there is no sign of any weakness yet," he said.

We formed a somewhat silent company during the earlier portion of the evening. Haldane sat busy, pencil in hand, and finally pa.s.sed a page of his notebook across to us. "I don't quite know who is backing Lane, but his purse is a tolerably long one," he said. "You see, we must produce shares, or the difference between their value at that time and the price we sold at, to this extent on settling day, Ormesby."

"Of which n.o.body would apparently sell us one," I answered ruefully.

Haldane nodded. "You mean, of course, to-day. A good many people may be willing to do so before this hour to-morrow--if not it will be time then to consider seriously. Meanwhile, the best we can do is to seek innocent relaxation, and I see that Miss Redmond is singing at the opera house."

I was hardly in the mood to enjoy a concert, though I was curious to hear Redmond's daughter; but inaction had grown almost insufferable and when we took our places in the crowded building I felt glad that I had come. The sight of the close-packed mult.i.tude and the hum of many voices helped to hold in check my nervous restlessness. Nevertheless, though a lover of music, I scarcely heard a word of the first three songs, and only became intent when a clapping of hands rolled round the building as a dark-haired girl stood forward in the glare of the footlights. It was evidently she who had drawn the perspiring crowd together, and that alone was an eloquent testimonial, considering the temperature.

Ailin Redmond was very plainly dressed, and she smiled her acknowledgments with a simplicity that evidently pleased the audience, while perhaps in compliment to them she wore as sole adornment a few green maple leaves. Then I settled myself to listen, and continued almost spell-bound to the end of the song, wondering where the girl I had seen herding cattle barefooted not very long ago had acquired such power. She was not, from a technical view, perhaps, a finished singer; but Western audiences can feel, if, for the most part, they cannot criticise; and I think she drove the full meaning of the old Irish ballad home to the hearts of all of them. A wailing undertone rang through it, and the effect of the whole was best expressed as uncanny.

It was no doubt the strangeness of her themes, and the contrast she presented to her stereotyped rivals, which had led to the girl's success.

In any case the applause was vociferous, and continued until the singer returned and stood still, with hands lightly clasped, looking, not at the expectant audience, but directly at us. There was a curious expression in her eyes, which were fixed steadily on myself and Haldane beside me. Then I gained understanding as she commenced to sing, for there was no mistaking the fact that she meant the song for us. It was a clever resetting of such an old-world ballad as I think no Anglo-Saxon could have written; its burden was a mourning over ancient wrongs and hunger for revenge; but the slender, dark-haired girl held the power to infuse her spirit into me. My lips and hands closed tight as I saw, what I think she wished me to, Helen Boone dying in a sod hovel, and the wagon that bore the dead man rolling through murky blackness across the prairie.

Then I shook all misgivings from me, feeling that though every acre and bushel of grain must go, and we failed, they would be well spent in an attempt to pull down the man who had brought about such things. That others might suffer with him counted little then. They had clutched at their dividends--dividends wrung by him out of the agony of poor men; and their ignorance, which was scarcely possible, did not free them from responsibility.

There was dead stillness for several seconds between the accompanist's final chord and the tumultuous applause which the slightly puzzled audience accorded, while, when it died away, I saw that Boone's forehead was beaded and his lips slightly quivering. Even Haldane appeared less than usually at ease.

"Miss Redmond is a young lady of uncommon and even uncomfortable gifts,"

he said. "Women, as you will discover some day, Ormesby, are responsible for most of the mischief that goes on, as well as a large amount of good. For instance, it was the encouragement of one of them which helped to start me on this campaign, and now, when slightly doubtful respecting the wisdom of the step, another must sing eerie songs to me with a purpose. I think we will walk round and call on her."

We did so, and Redmond's daughter did not keep us waiting long. She sailed down a broad stairway and stood smiling under the glaring lamps, very slight and slim and graceful, so that it seemed fitting Haldane should bend over the hand she gave him.

"There is no need for my poor compliments after the verdict of the mult.i.tude; but did you sing that song to us?" he said.

"Yes," said the girl quietly, while the smile sank out of her eyes. "We have a good many friends and hear much gossip, so I knew at once who was directing the attack on Lane's company. As to the song--I had some slight education down East, you know--its choice was not without a meaning. You will remember how, on the eve of battle, Shakespeare's ghosts prophesied to one man ruin and to another victory?"

"Yes," said Haldane, looking puzzled, "I think I do."

"Then"--and Ailin Redmond seemed to s.h.i.+ver a little--"do you think there are no ghosts on the prairie?"

"I have not met any of them," said Haldane; and the girl answered with infectious gravity: "That does not prove there are none; and, even if you call it a childish fancy, I felt as I sang that they will bring you victory to-morrow."

"You are far too clever and pretty to fill your head with such fancies, my dear," said Haldane. And when we went out into the open he repeated, with a shrug of his shoulders: "In spite of her talents, that is a most uncomfortable young woman; but heaven send her prophecy comes true."

Again I pa.s.sed a restless night, but our agent procured us admission into the inner precincts of the exchange on the morrow, and as I listened to the eager shouting and watched the excited groups surge about the salesmen, I began to comprehend the fascination that speculation wields over its votaries. Our little spectacled broker, however, held my eye as he flitted to and fro, and now and then with a strident cry gathered a mob of gesticulating men about him. Somebody accepted his offers on each occasion, and he approached us with an almost dismayed expression when the market closed at noon.

"You are an old hand at this business, sir, but I feel it's my duty to warn you that things don't look well," he said. "Your friends of the opposition are evidently able to stand considerable hammering. The sum you mentioned would be no use now to pull us straight; and unless there's a break pretty soon they'll squeeze you like a screw vice on settling day. It would be hard to figure the price they'll make you pay."

"You don't suppose I haven't foreseen such a contingency," said Haldane.

"The break will probably come this afternoon--if not, to-morrow. Tell your allies to sell further small lots down at a moderate reduction."

Our lunch was, as the others had been, luxurious; but my throat was dry, and I could not eat. Boone's appet.i.te had also failed, and I may have guessed aright at part of his story when I saw him, after thrice emptying his gla.s.s, glance still thirstily at the wine, and then thrust the decanter away.

"It is time to consider," said Haldane. "Unless somebody is soon scared into selling, Lane's company will be able to fleece us horribly on settling day; but experience of such affairs teaches me that sooner or later the smaller holders must break under a persistent hammering. Now, I don't mind admitting that I did not antic.i.p.ate such an obstinate defense; and the cause of my interference is mainly this: I had promised to take my younger daughter on a trip to Europe, but am not overfond of traveling, and Lucille is tolerably contented with her own country; so when she first suggested and then insisted that I should make a campaign fund of what it would cost I was not wholly sorry to agree, and figured that, with careful handling, the money might be sufficient to scare Lane into making some rash move. At present it seems that I was mistaken, and that before we break him I must throw Bonaventure into the scale. You may save your protests, gentlemen; I'm a born speculator, and my daughter has set her heart on this thing. If she hadn't, I'd have a very great reluctance to being beaten by a single-horse-power company."

"Every acre of Crane Valley I can find a buyer for goes in, too," I said; and Boone added quietly: "You have my last dollar, sir, already."

Nothing of moment happened until next day, but it appeared to me that there was an almost insupportable tension in the very atmosphere. Our chief broker was clearly excited, and his tone significant, when he called to inform us that, while no other sellers had followed his challenge, only very small parcels of the stock he offered were being taken up; and so the matter stood until the afternoon.

I was now anxious as well as determined. It did not require much knowledge of such affairs for me to realize that unless other persons flung their shares on the market we should be left absolutely at the mercy of the men who had the stock to sell; and while I had nerved myself to part with everything, it would be inexpressibly galling to strip myself to enable Lane to reap a handsome profit. Neither do I think it was mere l.u.s.t of revenge that impelled me. The man was a menace to the prosperity of every struggling rancher, and had shown no mercy; while--setting aside the fact that he himself deserved none--it seemed that my neighbors' right to existence depended on our efforts to overthrow him. Haldane appeared unusually serious when I glanced at him.

"If nothing happens in an hour we shall have to hold a council as to how we may cut our losses," he said.

Half an hour pa.s.sed very slowly, and then, warned by a message, we strolled into the market to find there was comparative silence in the long echoing room, as those who congregated there grew languid and drowsy under the heat of the afternoon. Its atmosphere seemed suffocating, and before I had been present long the suspense reacted upon me physically, for my throat resembled a lime-kiln and the superficial arteries of my forehead throbbed painfully. Boone, at intervals, moistened his dry lips with his tongue, and Haldane alone leaned calmly against a pillar jotting down figures in the notebook he held.

Then a few listless men gathered round a broker, and suddenly became intent, while a murmur of interest rose through the drowsy heat. The voices grew louder, the group swelled, and I started at the call: "Any more of you with Territories to sell?"

"It must be Lane's last throw," said Haldane quietly. "Ah! The tide is turning. There is somebody who doesn't belong to us making a deal with him."

The bystanders surged to and fro about the speakers in a manner that reminded me of corraled cattle; others hurried towards them, and our broker's voice rang out: "I'll trade with you at two dollars better."

Then there was a confused shouting, "I'll beat him by another! Two more dollars down!" and every unoccupied man in the room joined the crowd, out of which rose indistinguishable offers, comments, questions, and counter-offers. These swelled into a deafening clamor, but through them all I could hear or feel the hurried beating of my heart, and my voice sounded hollow as I touched Haldane's arm. "Tell me the meaning of it,"

I said.

"We have beaten them," said Haldane quietly. "There are other men hurrying to sell. The weak holders have broken at last, and, because a panic is infectious, most of the others will follow them. Ah! It is beginning. There go the telegrams, and I hear both telephone bells. The fun will commence in earnest when the answers come in; and, meanwhile, a breath of fresher air would brace one. You may have noticed that it's a trifle choky inside here."

I had, but my feet seemed glued to the floor and my eyes on the swaying crowd, so that it cost me an effort to tear them free and follow Boone and Haldane into the open air. He presently led us into the grateful coolness of a big bas.e.m.e.nt saloon, and, scarcely drawing breath, I emptied the contents of a tumbler filled with iced liquid, and then I looked at Boone, who had pushed aside the gla.s.s set before him and reached for the ice bowl.

"I have bought my experience, Ormesby," he said, with a smile which once more flashed a sidelight on his history. "In times like these it is better to confine one's self to nature's distillery. A cigar? No, thank you, sir. Do you feel like smoking, Ormesby?"

I did not, for, in spite of the cool beverage, the bite of tobacco would have been insufferable then; but Haldane lay back in a big lounge chewing a cigar. He said nothing whatever, and though he appeared satisfied, the lines on his forehead had deepened and his face appeared older. In spite of my impatience we must have remained nearly an hour before our leader rose a little stiffly and proceeded with unusual slowness towards the scene of the conflict. It was raging fiercely. Some of the speculators howled like wild beasts; others wrestled with their fellows to reach the clear s.p.a.ce in the center of the ring; and, standing on the plinth of a column, I could see gesticulating men hard at work with their notebooks. How they were able to record any bargain or to comprehend any offer amid that pandemonium was more than I could discover; for everybody interested appeared to be shouting at once, and the rest of the a.s.sembly cheering them on. One irate individual, indeed, dragged a neighbor backwards by the collar, and then plunged blindly into the midst of the circle when the other, retaliating, drove his hat down over his eyes.

Haldane listened keenly for several minutes, and then turned to me.

"It's going our way, Ormesby. Holders are getting out as fast as they can, and various speculative gentlemen who have been waiting for the first sign of weakness are hammering them. We have done our part, and can safely leave the rest to them. See if you can give our broker this note for me, and then, if you have had sufficient excitement, we will take a drive somewhere until dinner's ready."

I had certainly had sufficient excitement in that form to last the rest of my life, and I managed to reach the broker without personal injury, after which we solaced ourselves with a drive through the city and across some very uninteresting prairie. I saw little of either, and was conscious of scarcely anything beyond the all-important fact that Lane's power was broken, and henceforward my neighbors would enjoy the fruits of their own labor instead of swelling heavy dividends with three-fourths of them.

When we returned to the hotel our agent, who appeared in an exultant mood, was waiting us, and he positively beamed upon Haldane as he said: "It's an honor to work for a man with your nerve and judgment, sir, and we have whipped the last grit out of them. I let up altogether when I saw every outside 'bear' come ramping in; and, if you're inclined that way, we might cover a little quietly without stiffening prices."

I do not know what Haldane's instructions were. Indeed, the reaction of relief prevented my remembering anything at all very clearly, except that, as we sat at dinner, Haldane said: "I shouldn't wonder if those physicians were right, and I think I have made my last stake this afternoon. I dare say you understand, Ormesby, that as we could now purchase the stock below the price at which we sold there will be a profit in the transaction. Individually, I did not undertake this matter as a speculation."

Haldane made light of our anxiety lest he should have suffered. "I have long known I should have to sink into idleness, and it was a good piece of work to retire on," he said. "But what about the profit?"

I had no hesitation about the answer. "It was no desire of profit that brought me here; and as one experience of the kind is sufficient, I intend henceforward to stick to my horses and cattle. I will not touch a dollar of the money beyond actual expenses, and would propose that, setting aside any portion necessary to secure us against reprisals and to complete our work, the rest should be handed to Miss Haldane to distribute as she thinks best in charity."

Boone expressed his full compliance, and Haldane smiled at me. "Do you think you can run up a contra account in that way, Ormesby?"

"I believe we are justified; but, justified or not, I will not touch a dollar of the gains," I said. "I am going back to the prairie to-morrow, to express our deepest grat.i.tude to Miss Haldane. As to yourself, sir, a good many hard-pressed men will never forget you."

Then Boone rose up gravely with a wine-gla.s.s in his hand. "The task is too big for Ormesby, or any other man," he said. "May every good thing follow the Mistress of Bonaventure."

CHAPTER XXVII

ILLUMINATION