Books: The Lion and the Mouse
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Charles Klein >> The Lion and the Mouse
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"What is socialism?" he demanded scornfully. "What will it give
the public that it has not got already?"
Shirley, who never neglected an opportunity to make a convert, no
matter how hardened he might be, picked up a little pamphlet
printed for propaganda purposes which she had that morning
received by mail.
"Here," she said, "is one of the best and clearest definitions of
socialism I have ever read:
"Socialism is common ownership of natural resources and public
utilities, and the common operation of all industries for the
general good. Socialism is opposed to monopoly, that is, to
private ownership of land and the instruments of labor, which is
indirect ownership of men; to the wages system, by which labor is
legally robbed of a large part of the product of labor; to
competition with its enormous waste of effort and its
opportunities for the spoliation of the weak by the strong.
Socialism is industrial democracy. It is the government of the
people by the people and for the people, not in the present
restricted sense, but as regards all the common interests of men.
Socialism is opposed to oligarchy and monarchy, and therefore to
the tyrannies of business cliques and money kings. Socialism is
for freedom, not only from the fear of force, but from the fear of
want. Socialism proposes real liberty, not merely the right to
vote, but the liberty to live for something more than meat and
drink.
"Socialism is righteousness in the relations of men. It is based
on the fundamentals of religion, the Fatherhood of God and the
Brotherhood of men. It seeks through association and equality to
realize fraternity. Socialism will destroy the motives which make
for cheap manufacturers, poor workmanship and adulterations; it
will secure the real utility of things. Use, not exchange, will be
the object of labour. Things will be made to serve, not to sell.
Socialism will banish war, for private ownership is back of strife
between men. Socialism will purify politics, for private
capitalism is the great source of political corruption. Socialism
will make for education, invention and discovery; it will
stimulate the moral development of men. Crime will have lost most
of its motive and pauperism will have no excuse. That," said
Shirley, as she concluded, "is socialism!"
Ryder shrugged his shoulders and rose to go.
"Delightful," he said ironically, "but in my judgment wholly
Utopian and impracticable. It's nothing but a gigantic pipe dream.
It won't come in this generation nor in ten generations if,
indeed, it is ever taken seriously by a majority big enough to put
its theories to the test. Socialism does not take into account two
great factors that move the world--men's passions and human
ambition. If you eliminate ambition you remove the strongest
incentive to individual effort. From your own account a
socialistic world would be a dreadfully tame place to live in--
everybody depressingly good, without any of the feverish turmoil
of life as we know it. Such a world would not appeal to me at all.
I love the fray--the daily battle of gain and loss, the excitement
of making or losing millions. That is my life!"
"Yet what good is your money to you?" insisted Shirley. "You are
able to spend only an infinitesimal part of it. You cannot even
give it away, for nobody will have any of it."
"Money!" he hissed rather than spoke, "I hate money. It means
nothing to me. I have so much that I have lost all idea of its
value. I go on accumulating it for only one purpose. It buys
power. I love power--that is my passion, my ambition, to rule the
world with my gold. Do you know," he went on and leaning over the
desk in a dramatic attitude, "that if I chose I could start a
panic in Wall Street to-morrow that would shake to their
foundations every financial institution in the country? Do you
know that I practically control the Congress of the United States
and that no legislative measure becomes law unless it has my
approval?"
"The public has long suspected as much," replied Shirley. "That is
why you are looked upon as a menace to the stability and honesty
of our political and commercial life."
An angry answer rose to his lips when the door opened and Mrs.
Ryder entered.
"I've been looking for you, John," she said peevishly. "Mr. Bagley
told me you were somewhere in the house. Senator Roberts is
downstairs."
"He's come about Jefferson and his daughter, I suppose," muttered
Ryder. "Well, I'll see him. Where is he?"
"In the library. Kate came with him. She's in my room."
They left Shirley to her writing, and when he had closed the door
the financier turned to his wife and said impatiently:
"Now, what are we going to do about Jefferson and Kate? The
senator insists on the matter of their marriage being settled one
way or another. Where is Jefferson?"
"He came in about half an hour ago. He was upstairs to see me, and
I thought he was looking for you," answered the wife.
"Well," replied Ryder determinedly, "he and I have got to
understand each other. This can't go on. It shan't."
Mrs. Ryder put her hand on his arm, and said pleadingly:
"Don't be impatient with the boy, John. Remember he is all we
have. He is so unhappy. He wants to please us, but--"
"But he insists on pleasing himself," said Ryder completing the
sentence.
"I'm afraid, John, that his liking for that Miss Rossmore is more
serious than you realize--"
The financier stamped his foot and replied angrily:
"Miss Rossmore! That name seems to confront me at every turn--for
years the father, now the daughter! I'm sorry, my dear," he went
on more calmly, "that you seem inclined to listen to Jefferson. It
only encourages him in his attitude towards me. Kate would make
him an excellent wife, while what do we know about the other
woman? Are you willing to sacrifice your son's future to a mere
boyish whim?"
Mrs. Ryder sighed.
"It's very hard," she said, "for a mother to know what to advise.
Miss Green says--"
"What!" exclaimed her husband, "you have consulted Miss Green on
the subject?"
"Yes," answered his wife, "I don't know how I came to tell her,
but I did. I seem to tell her everything. I find her such a
comfort, John. I haven't had an attack of nerves since that girl
has been in the house."
"She is certainly a superior woman," admitted Ryder. "I wish she'd
ward that Rossmore girl off. I wish she--" He stopped abruptly as
if not venturing to give expression to his thoughts, even to his
wife. Then he said: "If she were Kate Roberts she wouldn't let
Jeff slip through her fingers."
"I have often wished," went on Mrs. Ryder, "that Kate were more
like Shirley Green. I don't think we would have any difficulty
with Jeff then."
"Kate is the daughter of Senator Roberts, and if this marriage is
broken off in any way without the senator's consent, he is in a
position to injure my interests materially. If you see Jefferson
send him to me in the library. I'll go and keep Roberts in good
humour until he comes."
He went downstairs and Mrs. Ryder proceeded to her apartments,
where she found Jefferson chatting with Kate. She at once
delivered Ryder Sr.'s message.
"Jeff, your father wants to see you in the library."
"Yes, I want to see him," answered the young man grimly, and after
a few moments more badinage with Kate he left the room.
It was not a mere coincidence that had brought Senator Roberts and
his daughter and the financier's son all together under the Ryder
roof at the same time. It was part of Jefferson's well-prepared
plan to expose the rascality of his father's secretary, and at the
same time rid himself of the embarrassing entanglement with Kate
Roberts. If the senator were confronted publicly with the fact
that his daughter, while keeping up the fiction of being engaged
to Ryder Jr., was really preparing to run off with the Hon.
Fitzroy Bagley, he would have no alternative but to retire
gracefully under fire and relinquish all idea of a marriage
alliance with the house of Ryder. The critical moment had arrived.
To-morrow, Wednesday, was the day fixed for the elopement. The
secretary's little game had gone far enough. The time had come for
action. So Jefferson had written to Senator Roberts, who was in
Washington, asking him if it would be convenient for him to come
at once to New York and meet himself and his father on a matter of
importance. The senator naturally jumped to the conclusion that
Jefferson and Ryder had reached an amicable understanding, and he
immediately hurried to New York and with his daughter came round
to Seventy-fourth Street.
When Ryder Sr. entered the library, Senator Roberts was striding
nervously up and down the room. This, he felt, was an important
day. The ambition of his life seemed on the point of being
attained.
"Hello, Roberts," was Ryder's cheerful greeting. "What's brought
you from Washington at a critical time like this? The Rossmore
impeachment needs every friend we have."
"Just as if you didn't know," smiled the senator uneasily, "that I
am here by appointment to meet you and your son!"
"To meet me and my son?" echoed Ryder astonished.
The senator, perplexed and beginning to feel real alarm, showed
the financier Jefferson's letter. Ryder read it and he looked
pleased.
"That's all right," he said, "if the lad asked you to meet us here
it can mean only one thing--that at last he has made up his mind
to this marriage."
"That's what I thought," replied the senator, breathing more
freely. "I was sorry to leave Washington at such a time, but I'm a
father, and Kate is more to me than the Rossmore impeachment.
Besides, to see her married to your son Jefferson is one of the
dearest wishes of my life."
"You can rest easy," said Ryder; "that is practically settled.
Jefferson's sending for you proves that he is now ready to meet my
wishes. He'll be here any minute. How is the Rossmore case
progressing?"
"Not so well as it might," growled the senator. "There's a lot of
maudlin sympathy for the judge. He's a pretty sick man by all
accounts, and the newspapers seem to be taking his part. One or
two of the Western senators are talking Corporate influence and
Trust legislation, but when it comes to a vote the matter will be
settled on party lines."
"That means that Judge Rossmore will be removed?" demanded Ryder
sternly.
"Yes, with five votes to spare," answered the senator.
"That's not enough," insisted Ryder. "There must be at least
twenty. Let there be no blunders, Roberts. The man is a menace to
all the big commercial interests. This thing must go through."
The door opened and Jefferson appeared. On seeing the senator
talking with his father, he hesitated on the threshold.
"Come in, Jeff," said his father pleasantly. "You expected to see
Senator Roberts, didn't you?"
"Yes, sir. How do you do, Senator?" said the young man, advancing
into the room.
"I got your letter, my boy, and here I am," said the senator
smiling affably. "I suppose we can guess what the business is,
eh?"
"That he's going to marry Kate, of course," chimed in Ryder Sr.
"Jeff, my lad, I'm glad you are beginning to see my way of looking
at things. You're doing more to please me lately, and I appreciate
it. You stayed at home when I asked you to, and now you've made up
your mind regarding this marriage."
Jefferson let his father finish his speech, and then he said
calmly:
"I think there must be some misapprehension as to the reason for
my summoning Senator Roberts to New York. It had nothing to do
with my marrying Miss Roberts, but to prevent her marriage with
someone else."
"What!" exclaimed Ryder, Sr.
"Marriage with someone else?" echoed the senator. He thought he
had not heard aright, yet at the same time he had grave
misgivings. "What do you mean, sir?"
Taking from his pocket a copy of the letter he had picked up on
the staircase, Jefferson held it out to the girl's father.
"Your daughter is preparing to run away with my father's
secretary. To-morrow would have been too late. That is why I
summoned you. Read this."
The senator took the letter, and as he read his face grew ashen
and his hand trembled violently. At one blow all his ambitious
projects for his daughter had been swept away. The inconsiderate
act of a silly, thoughtless girl had spoiled the carefully laid
plans of a lifetime. The only consolation which remained was that
the calamity might have been still more serious. This timely
warning had saved his family from perhaps an even greater scandal.
He passed the letter in silence to Ryder, Sr.
The financier was a man of few words when the situation called for
prompt action. After he had read the letter through, there was an
ominous silence. Then he rang a bell. The butler appeared.
"Tell Mr. Bagley I want him."
The man bowed and disappeared.
"Who the devil is this Bagley?" demanded the senater.
"English--blue blood--no money," was Ryder's laconic answer.
"That's the only kind we seem to get over here," growled the
senator. "We furnish the money--they furnish the blood--damn his
blue blood! I don't want any in mine." Turning to Jefferson, he
said: "Jefferson, whatever the motives that actuated you, I can
only thank you for this warning. I think it would have broken my
heart if my girl had gone away with that scoundrel. Of course,
under the circumstances, I must abandon all idea of your becoming
my son-in-law. I release you from all obligations you may have
felt yourself bound by."
Jefferson bowed and remained silent.
Ryder, Sr. eyed his son closely, an amused expression hovering on
his face. After all, it was not so much he who had desired this
match as Roberts, and as long as the senator was willing to
withdraw, he could make no objection. He wondered what part, if
any, his son had played in bringing about this sensational
denouement to a match which had been so distasteful to him, and it
gratified his paternal vanity to think that Jefferson after all
might be smarter than he had given him credit for.
At this juncture Mr. Bagley entered the room. He was a little
taken aback on seeing the senator, but like most men of his class,
his self-conceit made him confident of his ability to handle any
emergency which might arise, and he had no reason to suspect that
this hasty summons to the library had anything to do with his
matrimonial plans.
"Did you ask for me, sir? he demanded, addressing his employer.
"Yes, Mr. Bagley," replied Ryder, fixing the secretary with a look
that filled the latter with misgivings. "What steamers leave to-
morrow for England?"
"To-morrow?" echoed Mr. Bagley.
"I said to-morrow," repeated Ryder, slightly raising his voice.
"Let me see," stammered the secretary, "there is the White Star,
the North German Lloyd, the Atlantic Transport--" "Have you any
preference?" inquired the financier.
"No, sir, none at all."
"Then you'll go on board one of the ships to-night," said Ryder.
"Your things will be packed and sent to you before the steamer
sails to-morrow."
The Hon. Fitzroy Bagley, third son of a British peer, did not
understand even yet that he was discharged as one dismisses a
housemaid caught kissing the policeman. He could not think what
Mr. Ryder wanted him to go abroad for unless it were on some
matter of business, and it was decidedly inconvenient for him to
sail at this time.
"But, sir," he stammered. "I'm afraid--I'm afraid----"
"Yes," rejoined Ryder promptly, "I notice that--your hand is
shaking."
"I mean that I----"
"You mean that you have other engagements!" said Ryder sternly.
"Oh no--no but----"
"No engagement at eleven o'clock to-morrow morning?" insisted
Ryder.
"With my daughter?" chimed in the senator.
Mr. Bagley now understood. He broke out in a cold perspiration and
he paled visibly. In the hope that the full extent of his plans
were not known, he attempted to brazen it out.
"No, certainly not, under no circumstances," he said.
Ryder, Sr. rang a bell.
"Perhaps she has an engagement with you. We'll ask her." To the
butler, who entered, he said: "Tell Miss Roberts that her father
would like to see her here."
The man disappeared and the senator took a hand in cross-examining
the now thoroughly uncomfortable secretary.
"So you thought my daughter looked pale and that a little
excursion to Buffalo would be a good thing for her? Well, it won't
be a good thing for you, young man, I can assure you of that!"
The English aristocrat began to wilt. His assurance of manner
quite deserted him and he stammered painfully as he floundered
about in excuses.
"Not with me--oh dear, no," he said.
"You never proposed to run away with my daughter?" cried the irate
father.
"Run away with her?" stammered Bagley.
"And marry her?" shouted the senator, shaking his fist at him.
"Oh say--this is hardly fair--three against one--really--I'm
awfully sorry, eh, what?"
The door opened and Kate Roberts bounced in. She was smiling and
full of animal spirits, but on seeing the stern face of her father
and the pitiable picture presented by her faithful Fitz she was
intelligent enough to immediately scent danger.
"Did you want to see me, father?" she inquired boldly.
"Yes, Kate," answered the senator gravely, "we have just been
having a talk with Mr. Bagley, in which you were one of the
subjects of conversation. Can you guess what it was?"
The girl looked from her father to Bagley and from him to the
Ryders. Her aristocratic lover made a movement forward as if to
exculpate himself but he caught Ryder's eye and remained where he
was.
"Well?" she said, with a nervous laugh.
"Is it true?" asked the senator, "that you were about to marry
this man secretly?"
She cast down her eyes and answered:
"I suppose you know everything."
"Have you anything to add?" asked her father sternly.
"No," said Kate shaking her head. "It's true. We intended to run
away, didn't we Fitz?"
"Never mind about Mr. Bagley," thundered her father. "Haven't you
a word of shame for this disgrace you have brought upon me?"
"Oh papa, don't be so cross. Jefferson did not care for me. I
couldn't be an old maid. Mr. Bagley has a lovely castle in
England, and one day he'll sit in the House of Lords. He'll
explain everything to you."
"He'll explain nothing," rejoined the senator grimly. "Mr. Bagley
returns to England to-night. He won't have time to explain
anything."
"Returns to England?" echoed Kate dismayed.
"Yes, and you go with me to Washington at once."
The senator turned to Ryder.
"Good-bye Ryder. The little domestic comedy is ended. I'm grateful
it didn't turn out a drama. The next time I pick out a son-in-law
I hope I'll have better luck."
He shook hands with Jefferson, and left the room followed by his
crestfallen daughter.
Ryder, who had gone to write something at his desk, strode over to
where Mr. Bagley was standing and handed him a cheque.
"Here, sir, this settles everything to date. Good-day."
"But I--I--" stammered the secretary helplessly.
"Good-day, sir."
Ryder turned his back on him and conversed with his son, while Mr.
Bagley slowly, and as if regretfully, made his exit.
CHAPTER XV
It was now December and the Senate had been in session for over a
week. Jefferson had not forgotten his promise, and one day, about
two weeks after Mr. Bagley's spectacular dismissal from the Ryder
residence, he had brought Shirley the two letters. She did not ask
him how he got them, if he forced the drawer or procured the key.
It sufficed for her that the precious letters--the absolute proof
of her father's innocence--were at last in her possession. She at
once sent them off by registered mail to Stott, who immediately
acknowledged receipt and at the same time announced his departure
for Washington that night. He promised to keep her constantly
informed of what he was doing and how her father's case was going.
It could, he thought, be only a matter of a few days now before
the result of the proceedings would be known.
The approach of the crisis made Shirley exceedingly nervous, and
it was only by the exercise of the greatest self-control that she
did not betray the terrible anxiety she felt. The Ryder biography
was nearly finished and her stay in Seventy-fourth Street would
soon come to an end. She had a serious talk with Jefferson, who
contrived to see a good deal of her, entirely unsuspected by his
parents, for Mr. and Mrs. Ryder, had no reason to believe that
their son had any more than a mere bowing acquaintance with the
clever young authoress. Now that Mr. Bagley was no longer there to
spy upon their actions these clandestine interviews had been
comparatively easy. Shirley brought to bear all the arguments she
could think of to convince Jefferson of the hopelessness of their
engagement. She insisted that she could never be his wife;
circumstances over which they had no control made that dream
impossible. It were better, she said, to part now rather than
incur the risk of being unhappy later. But Jefferson refused to be
convinced. He argued and pleaded and he even swore--strange,
desperate words that Shirley had never heard before and which
alarmed her not a little--and the discussion ended usually by a
kiss which put Shirley completely hors de combat.
Meantime, John Ryder had not ceased worrying about his son. The
removal of Kate Roberts as a factor in his future had not
eliminated the danger of Jefferson taking the bit between his
teeth one day and contracting a secret marriage with the daughter
of his enemy, and when he thought of the mere possibility of such
a thing happening he stormed and raved until his wife, accustomed
as she was to his choleric outbursts, was thoroughly frightened.
For some time after Bagley's departure, father and son got along
together fairly amicably, but Ryder, Sr. was quick to see that
Jefferson had something on his mind which was worrying him, and he
rightly attributed it to his infatuation for Miss Rossmore. He was
convinced that his son knew where the judge's daughter was,
although his own efforts to discover her whereabouts had been
unsuccessful. Sergeant Ellison had confessed absolute failure;
Miss Rossmore, he reported, had disappeared as completely as if
the earth had swallowed her, and further search was futile.
Knowing well his son's impulsive, headstrong disposition, Ryder,
Sr. believed him quite capable of marrying the girl secretly any
time. The only thing that John Ryder did not know was that Shirley
Rossmore was not the kind of a girl to allow any man to inveigle
her into a secret marriage. The Colossus, who judged the world's
morals by his own, was not of course aware of this, and he worried
night and day thinking what he could do to prevent his son from
marrying the daughter of the man he had wronged.
The more he pondered over it, the more he regretted that there was
not some other girl with whom Jefferson could fall in love and
marry. He need not seek a rich girl--there was certainly enough
money in the Ryder family to provide for both. He wished they knew
a girl, for example, as attractive and clever as Miss Green. Ah!
he thought, there was a girl who would make a man of Jefferson--
brainy, ambitious, active! And the more he thought of it the more
the idea grew on him that Miss Green would be an ideal daughter-
in-law, and at the same time snatch his son from the clutches of
the Rossmore woman.
Jefferson, during all these weeks, was growing more and more
impatient. He knew that any day now Shirley might take her
departure from their house and return to Massapequa. If the
impeachment proceedings went against her father it was more than
likely that he would lose her forever, and if, on the contrary,
the judge were acquitted, Shirley never would be willing to marry
him without his father's consent; and this, he felt, he would
never obtain. He resolved, therefore, to have a final interview
with his father and declare boldly his intention of making Miss
Rossmore his wife, regardless of the consequences.
The opportunity came one evening after dinner. Ryder, Sr. was
sitting alone in the library, reading, Mrs. Ryder had gone to the
theatre with a friend, Shirley as usual was writing in her room,
giving the final touches to her now completed "History of the
Empire Trading Company." Jefferson took the bull by the horns and
boldly accosted his redoubtable parent.
"May I have a few minutes of your time, father?"
Ryder, Sr. laid aside the paper he was reading and looked up. It
was unusual for his son to come to him on any errand, and he liked
to encourage it.
"Certainly, Jefferson. What is it?"
"I want to appeal to you, sir. I want you to use your influence,
before it is too late, to save Judge Rossmore. A word from you at
this time would do wonders in Washington."
The financier swung half-round in his chair, the smile of greeting
faded out of his face, and his voice was hard as he replied
coldly:
"Again? I thought we had agreed not to discuss Judge Rossmore any
further?"
"I can't help it, sir," rejoined Jefferson undeterred by his
sire's hostile attitude, "that poor old man is practically on
trial for his life. He is as innocent of wrongdoing as a child
unborn, and you know it. You could save him if you would."
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