The Winning of Barbara Worth

by Harold Bell Wright

  CHAPTER X.

  BARBARA'S LOVE FOR THE SEER.

  Jefferson Worth had not proceeded far with the work before him afterJames Greenfield left when he was again interrupted. This time it wasthe voice of Barbara in the other room.

  The banker lifted his head quickly. Again he pushed his papers fromhim, but now the movement seemed to indicate weariness and uncertaintyrather than readiness for action. His head dropped forward, his thinfingers nervously tapped the arms of his chair. When the girl's stepsounded at the door he looked up the fraction of a second before sheappeared.

  "I don't want to disturb you, father, but they told me that that big,fine-looking man just going out was Mr. Greenfield. Is he--did he comeall the way from New York to see you?"

  "He came in here to see me," said Jefferson Worth exactly.

  "And the work?"

  "He says they have already started the wheels to moving."

  "And you, daddy; you?"

  Jefferson Worth arose and carefully closed the door. Then silentlyindicating the chair at the end of his desk he resumed his seat.

  As Barbara looked into that mask-like face, the eager expectant lightin her brown eyes died out and a look of questioning doubt came. Sheseemed to shrink back from him almost as she had turned away that firsttime in the desert.

  If Jefferson Worth felt that look his face gave no sign; only thosethin, nervous fingers were lifted to caress his chin.

  "Are you--are you going to help, daddy? Will you join Mr. Greenfield'scompany?"

  Still the man was silent, and the girl, watching, wondered what wasgoing on behind that gray mask, what questions were being weighed andconsidered.

  At last he spoke one cold word: "Why?"

  Barbara flushed. "Because," she answered, carefully, "because it issuch a great work. You could do so much more than simply make money."

  "That is as you and the Seer see it."

  "But, father; it _is_ a great work, isn't it, to change the desert intoa land of farms and homes for thousands and thousands of people?"

  "Do you think that Greenfield and his crowd are going into this schemebecause it is a great thing for the people?"

  "But don't even capitalists sometimes undertake a great work justbecause it is great and because thousands upon thousands of people,through years and years to come, will be benefited even though the menthemselves do not make so awfully much money?"

  If Jefferson Worth felt her unconscious insinuation his face gave nosign. Carefully he listened with his manner of considering and weighingevery word, while to Barbara his mind seemed to be reaching out onevery side or running far into the future. When he answered his wordswere carefully exact. "Capitalists, as individuals might and do, spendmillions in projects from which they, personally, expect no returns.But _Capital_ doesn't do such things. Anything that Capital, as_Capital_, goes into must be purely a business proposition. If anythinglike sentiment entered into it that would be the end of the wholematter."

  Barbara moved uneasily. "I don't think I quite understand why," shesaid.

  There was a shade of color now in the banker's voice as he explained byasking: "How long do you think this bank could exist if we made loansto Tom, Dick and Harry because they needed help, or put money into thisand that scheme simply because it was a beneficial thing? How longwould it be before we went to smash?"

  "But don't business men ever do anything except to make money? Doesn'tCapital, as you say, ever consider the people?"

  "This bank is a very substantial benefit to the people. But it can onlybenefit them by doing business on strictly business principles. As anindividual any officer or stock holder can do what he pleases forwhatever reason moves him. He can burn his money if he wants to. But asofficers and directors of this corporation we can't burn the capital ofthe institution."

  "But Mr. Greenfield and these New York men, who have organized thecompany--are they not careful financiers?"

  "Very."

  "It seems to me that they must believe in the Seer and his work or theywouldn't furnish him the money, would they?"

  "They believe in the Seer and his work from their standpoint. Theircapital is invested for just one purpose--dividends."

  Barbara sighed and moved impatiently. "You always make it so hard tobelieve in men, father. I can't think that all business men--allfinanciers, I mean,--are so cold and heartless."

  Again if Jefferson Worth felt the unconscious implication in her wordshe gave no sign. The banker was not ignorant of the public sentimenttoward himself and the men of his class in his profession. He had cometo accept it with the indifference of his exact, machine-like habit.

  Barbara continued: "I feel sure that Mr. Greenfield and the men withhim are going to furnish the money for the Seer to do this work formore than just what they will make out of it. I know that Mr. Holmesdoes, and I had hoped that you"--her voice broke--"that you would--"

  If only Jefferson Worth could have broken the habit of a lifetime. Ifhe could have laid aside that gray mask and permitted the girl to lookinto his hidden life, perhaps--

  His colorless voice broke the silence, coldly exact: "What do youfigure Willard Holmes is in this thing for?"

  Barbara's face lighted up proudly. "He is in the work for the samereason that the Seer and Abe are--because it is such a great work andmeans so much to the world. I know, because since he returned he hastalked to me so much about it. When he first came out--just atfirst--he didn't understand what the work really was. But now heunderstands it as the Seer sees it."

  "Did the Seer send him out here?"

  "No, I believe Mr. Greenfield sent him."

  "Why?"

  "I suppose they wanted an eastern man, whom they knew better than theyknew the Seer, to represent them? It would be very natural, wouldn'tit?"

  "Very natural," agreed Jefferson Worth.

  "Have you given the Company your final answer, father?"

  "Yes."

  "And you--you won't have anything to do with the reclamation of myDesert?"

  "I declined to join the Company."

  Blindly Barbara made her way out of the building. The place, with itsair of business and suggestions of wealth, was unbearably hateful toher. At home she ordered her horse and started for the open country.But she did not ride toward the Desert. She felt that she could notbear the sight of The King's Basin that day.

  In her father's attitude toward the Company Barbara saw only hisseeming desire for selfish gain. He had told her so often that only onething could justify an investment of capital. Evidently he did notthink The King's Basin project would pay. She felt ashamed for him; heseemed so incapable of considering anything but profit. Nothing butprofit, the sure promise of gain, could move him. He believed in thework; he had reported in favor of it to the Company. He knew that theCompany was going ahead. He was willing enough that others should dothe work, she thought bitterly. They might take the risk. It was evenlikely that he had some way planned by which, without risking anythinghimself, he would reap large returns through their efforts. She thoughtproudly of the Seer, who had given so many unpaid years to theReclamation work; of Abe and his loyalty to the Seer; and of WillardHolmes, who was going to give himself to the work.

  Utterly sick at heart the girl did not meet her father at their eveningmeal. She could not. Jefferson Worth ate alone and alone spent theevening on the porch. On the way to his room he paused a moment at herdoor. He knocked softly so as not to waken her if she was asleep. Whenthere was no answer he stole quietly away. But Barbara was not asleep.

  For three days Mr. Greenfield remained in Rubio City, "on the businessof The King's Basin Land and Irrigation Company," the papers said in along article setting forth the greatness of the work that was to beundertaken in the desert through the magnificent enterprise of thesemighty eastern capitalists.

  During that time Barbara had not seen either the Seer, Holmes or AbeLee. She understood that they were engaged with Mr. Greenfield. Sheread the glowing articles in the paper, the aft
ernoon of Mr.Greenfield's departure, with a thrill of pride. At last it hadcome--the day for which the Seer had hoped all these years. The dearold Seer! She was a little disappointed that the papers did not givehis name more prominence. It seemed to be all Greenfield and theCompany. But after all that did not matter. It was the Seer's work; theSeer had brought it about.

  The front gate clicked and Barbara looked up from her paper to see herold friend coming up the walk. She saw at a glance that something waswrong. She thought he was ill. The big form of the engineer droopedwith weakness, his head dropped forward, his eyes were fixed on theground and he walked slowly, dragging his feet as with great weariness.With a startled cry she ran to meet him, and as he caught her hands inboth his own she saw his face drawn and haggard and his brown eyesfilled with hopeless pain. He did not speak.

  Leading him to the shade of the porch she brought forward his favoritechair. He sank into it as if overcome with exhaustion, but attempted tosmile his thanks.

  "What is it? Are you ill? Let me call a doctor?"

  "No, no, dear, I'm not sick. It's not that. I'm--I'm upset a bit,that's all. I'll be all right in a little while. Only it was ratherunexpected." He turned his face away as though to hide something fromher.

  "What is it? Can't you tell me? What is the matter?" Barbara had neverseen the Seer so hopeless.

  "They have let me out."

  She did not understand. "Let you out?"

  He bowed his head slowly. "Yes; the Company, you know. They haveappointed Mr. Holmes chief engineer in my place."

  She cried out in indignant dismay. "But how could they? It is yourwork--all your work! You have given years to bring it before the world.They never would have known of The King's Basin at all but for you. Howdare they? They have no right!"

  The engineer smiled. "I was only an employe of Greenfield and the menwho organized the Company, you know. In their eyes my relation to thework was the same as that of a Cocopah Indian laborer. Of course it wasunderstood in a general way that I was to have some stock in theCompany when it was organized, with the chief engineer's position atleast, but there was nothing settled. Nothing could be settled untilthe actual completion of the survey, you know. I never dreamed of this.I can see now that it was planned from the first and that this is whatHolmes came out here for. He is a great favorite of Greenfield's, and Isuppose they wanted a man of their own kind to look after theirinterests. But it hurts, Barbara; it hurts."

  For an hour he stayed with her and she helped him as such a womanalways helps. But when she would have kept him for supper he said: "No,I must find Abe. I want to tell the boy and have it over. You can tellyour father."

  When Jefferson Worth learned from his indignant daughter of theCompany's action he only said, in his precise way: "I figured thatwould be their first move." There was no feeling in his voice ormanner. It was the simple verification of conclusions already reachedand considered.

  "Father!" cried Barbara. "Do you mean that you expected the Company toput that man Holmes in the Seer's place?"

  "What reason was there to expect anything else?"

  "But you never said anything all the time the Seer was--" She could notcontinue. It was maddening to think that while she had been dreamingand planning with the Seer, her father had foreseen that their dreamswould come to nought.

  "If I had you would not have believed me." The words were merely acalm, emotionless statement of fact. "I told you that the Company wouldact only from a business standpoint."

  Suddenly a new phase of the situation flashed upon Barbara. Controllingher emotions and searching her father's face she asked: "Daddy, tell meplease: was it because you saw this that you refused to join theCompany?"

  Jefferson Worth considered; then with marked caution answered: "Thatwas part of the reason."

  "I think I begin to understand a little. I'm glad--glad that you wouldhave nothing to do with those men. It would have killed me if you hadhad any part in this now."

  Presently the banker asked: "Have you seen Abe Lee?"

  "No, why? Do you think--have they discharged him, too? He wouldn't stayanyway after their treatment of the Seer. I wouldn't want him to."

  "They won't let him out if they can keep him. Holmes will need him,"said Worth. They he added: "You'd better tell Abe to stay."

  Barbara gasped. "What do you mean?"

  "Tell him to stay," repeated Worth slowly.