CHAPTER XXVI
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE
I rose early next morning, and a stroll through the awakening city,which was cool and fresh as yet, braced me for the stress of the day.Haldane looked thoughtful at breakfast; Boone was silent andsuspiciously stolid, for he betrayed himself by the very slowness withwhich he folded back the newspaper brought him to expose the commercialreports. He handed it to Haldane, who nodded, saying nothing. It was arelief to me, at least, when the meal was over, but afterwards themorning passed very heavily, for I spent most of it haunting a darktelephone box, where Haldane received and dispatched cabalisticmessages. I did not approve of conflict of this description, in whichthe uninitiated could neither follow the points lost or won nor see theenemy, and I should have preferred the hay-fork and a background ofsunlit prairie.
Noon seemed a very long time coming, and the report of the broker whoarrived with it far from reassuring. "We have sold a fair block ofstock, and I brought you the contracts to sign," he said. "Settlementand all conditions as usual. Each time that we offered a round lotGraham's salesman and another man took them up."
"Lane is taking hold. He has stirred up his allies," said Haldane. "I'llput my name to these papers, and you can call down another few dollarswhen you start again. I suppose there is no other person selling?"
"No," said the broker. "There were a good many other men curious aboutour game, and I fancy one or two of them had instructions; but they didnothing. We'll work up a sensation during the afternoon."
It would have greatly pleased me to hear of other persons parting withtheir shares; but Haldane still looked confident, and Boone appeared toplace implicit faith in his generalship. I, however, grew more and moreanxious as the afternoon dragged by, for my sense of responsibility tothe men behind me increased when each tinkle of the telephone bell wasfollowed by a message reporting further sales. Somebody was steadilytaking up the stock we offered, and when, for the fourth time, Haldanehad answered my question, "Any sign of weakness yet?" in the negative, Icould stay indoors no longer, and found it a relief to stride brisklythrough the busy streets towards a grain buyer's offices.
My own personal risk was heavy enough, but I knew also what it had costmy prairie neighbors to raise the sum they had credited me with, and Ifelt that, if beaten, I dare not return and face them with the newsthat, losing all in an unsuccessful gamble, we had left them doublyhelpless at the mercy of a triumphant enemy. The interview with thegrain merchant was, however, in a measure comforting. He admitted thatprices were improving, stated approximate figures which almost surprisedme, and volunteered the information that when my crop should be gatheredhe would be glad to make me an offer. Although prospects were good inWestern Canada, cereals were scarce everywhere else; and I returned soinvolved in mental calculations that I walked into several citizens, oneof whom swore fluently. He wore toothpick-pointed shoes, and in myabstraction I had, it seemed, trodden cruelly on his toes.
Boone came up while I attempted to apologize, and tapped me on theshoulder. "What do you think of this amusement, Ormesby? It seems tohave had the effect of dazing you," he said. "You were walking rightpast the hotel as though your eyes were shut."
"To be candid, I think very little of it," I said. "Still, I waspuzzling over a slightly complicated sum to ascertain how much--countingevery remaining beast, salable implement, and load of grain--would, whenI have paid off Lane, remain my own."
"Planning your campaign for next year?" asked Boone, with a trace ofdryness.
"No," I answered. "It will not be a great deal, but I'm open to stakethe last cent on beating Lane."
"Good man!" said Boone. "We are going to beat him; and, to show that Iam prepared to back my convictions, I may say that I have alreadyhypothecated every pennyworth of my English property."
Haldane was waiting for us when we came in. "Our men have had a busyafternoon. All the shares they offered were bought up, and there is nosign of any weakness yet," he said.
We formed a somewhat silent company during the earlier portion of theevening. Haldane sat busy, pencil in hand, and finally passed a page ofhis notebook across to us. "I don't quite know who is backing Lane, buthis purse is a tolerably long one," he said. "You see, we must produceshares, or the difference between their value at that time and the pricewe sold at, to this extent on settling day, Ormesby."
"Of which nobody would apparently sell us one," I answered ruefully.
Haldane nodded. "You mean, of course, to-day. A good many people may bewilling to do so before this hour to-morrow--if not it will be time thento consider seriously. Meanwhile, the best we can do is to seek innocentrelaxation, 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 tohear Redmond's daughter; but inaction had grown almost insufferable andwhen we took our places in the crowded building I felt glad that I hadcome. The sight of the close-packed multitude and the hum of many voiceshelped to hold in check my nervous restlessness. Nevertheless, though alover of music, I scarcely heard a word of the first three songs, andonly became intent when a clapping of hands rolled round the building asa dark-haired girl stood forward in the glare of the footlights. It wasevidently she who had drawn the perspiring crowd together, and thatalone was an eloquent testimonial, considering the temperature.
Ailin Redmond was very plainly dressed, and she smiled heracknowledgments with a simplicity that evidently pleased the audience,while perhaps in compliment to them she wore as sole adornment a fewgreen maple leaves. Then I settled myself to listen, and continuedalmost spell-bound to the end of the song, wondering where the girl Ihad seen herding cattle barefooted not very long ago had acquired suchpower. She was not, from a technical view, perhaps, a finished singer;but Western audiences can feel, if, for the most part, they cannotcriticise; and I think she drove the full meaning of the old Irishballad home to the hearts of all of them. A wailing undertone rangthrough it, and the effect of the whole was best expressed as uncanny.It was no doubt the strangeness of her themes, and the contrast shepresented to her stereotyped rivals, which had led to the girl'ssuccess.
In any case the applause was vociferous, and continued until the singerreturned and stood still, with hands lightly clasped, looking, not atthe expectant audience, but directly at us. There was a curiousexpression in her eyes, which were fixed steadily on myself and Haldanebeside me. Then I gained understanding as she commenced to sing, forthere was no mistaking the fact that she meant the song for us. It was aclever resetting of such an old-world ballad as I think no Anglo-Saxoncould have written; its burden was a mourning over ancient wrongs andhunger for revenge; but the slender, dark-haired girl held the power toinfuse her spirit into me. My lips and hands closed tight as I saw, whatI think she wished me to, Helen Boone dying in a sod hovel, and thewagon that bore the dead man rolling through murky blackness across theprairie.
Then I shook all misgivings from me, feeling that though every acre andbushel of grain must go, and we failed, they would be well spent in anattempt to pull down the man who had brought about such things. Thatothers might suffer with him counted little then. They had clutched attheir dividends--dividends wrung by him out of the agony of poor men;and their ignorance, which was scarcely possible, did not free them fromresponsibility.
There was dead stillness for several seconds between the accompanist'sfinal chord and the tumultuous applause which the slightly puzzledaudience accorded, while, when it died away, I saw that Boone's foreheadwas beaded and his lips slightly quivering. Even Haldane appeared lessthan 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 responsiblefor most of the mischief that goes on, as well as a large amount ofgood. For instance, it was the encouragement of one of them which helpedto start me on this campaign, and now, when slightly doubtful respectingthe wisdom of the step, another must sing eerie songs to me with apurpose. I think
we will walk round and call on her."
We did so, and Redmond's daughter did not keep us waiting long. Shesailed down a broad stairway and stood smiling under the glaring lamps,very slight and slim and graceful, so that it seemed fitting Haldaneshould bend over the hand she gave him.
"There is no need for my poor compliments after the verdict of themultitude; but did you sing that song to us?" he said.
"Yes," said the girl quietly, while the smile sank out of her eyes. "Wehave a good many friends and hear much gossip, so I knew at once who wasdirecting the attack on Lane's company. As to the song--I had someslight education down East, you know--its choice was not without ameaning. You will remember how, on the eve of battle, Shakespeare'sghosts prophesied to one man ruin and to another victory?"
"Yes," said Haldane, looking puzzled, "I think I do."
"Then"--and Ailin Redmond seemed to shiver a little--"do you think thereare no ghosts on the prairie?"
"I have not met any of them," said Haldane; and the girl answered withinfectious gravity: "That does not prove there are none; and, even ifyou call it a childish fancy, I felt as I sang that they will bring youvictory 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 mostuncomfortable young woman; but heaven send her prophecy comes true."
Again I passed a restless night, but our agent procured us admissioninto the inner precincts of the exchange on the morrow, and as Ilistened to the eager shouting and watched the excited groups surgeabout the salesmen, I began to comprehend the fascination thatspeculation wields over its votaries. Our little spectacled broker,however, held my eye as he flitted to and fro, and now and then with astrident cry gathered a mob of gesticulating men about him. Somebodyaccepted his offers on each occasion, and he approached us with analmost dismayed expression when the market closed at noon.
"You are an old hand at this business, sir, but I feel it's my duty towarn you that things don't look well," he said. "Your friends of theopposition are evidently able to stand considerable hammering. The sumyou mentioned would be no use now to pull us straight; and unlessthere's a break pretty soon they'll squeeze you like a screw vice onsettling day. It would be hard to figure the price they'll make youpay."
"You don't suppose I haven't foreseen such a contingency," said Haldane."The break will probably come this afternoon--if not, to-morrow. Tellyour 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 appetite had also failed, and I may haveguessed aright at part of his story when I saw him, after thriceemptying his glass, glance still thirstily at the wine, and then thrustthe decanter away.
"It is time to consider," said Haldane. "Unless somebody is soon scaredinto selling, Lane's company will be able to fleece us horribly onsettling day; but experience of such affairs teaches me that sooner orlater the smaller holders must break under a persistent hammering. Now,I don't mind admitting that I did not anticipate such an obstinatedefense; and the cause of my interference is mainly this: I had promisedto take my younger daughter on a trip to Europe, but am not overfond oftraveling, and Lucille is tolerably contented with her own country; sowhen she first suggested and then insisted that I should make a campaignfund of what it would cost I was not wholly sorry to agree, and figuredthat, with careful handling, the money might be sufficient to scare Laneinto making some rash move. At present it seems that I was mistaken, andthat before we break him I must throw Bonaventure into the scale. Youmay save your protests, gentlemen; I'm a born speculator, and mydaughter has set her heart on this thing. If she hadn't, I'd have a verygreat reluctance to being beaten by a single-horse-power company."
"Every acre of Crane Valley I can find a buyer for goes in, too," Isaid; and Boone added quietly: "You have my last dollar, sir, already."
Nothing of moment happened until next day, but it appeared to me thatthere was an almost insupportable tension in the very atmosphere. Ourchief broker was clearly excited, and his tone significant, when hecalled to inform us that, while no other sellers had followed hischallenge, only very small parcels of the stock he offered were beingtaken up; and so the matter stood until the afternoon.
I was now anxious as well as determined. It did not require muchknowledge of such affairs for me to realize that unless other personsflung their shares on the market we should be left absolutely at themercy of the men who had the stock to sell; and while I had nervedmyself to part with everything, it would be inexpressibly galling tostrip myself to enable Lane to reap a handsome profit. Neither do Ithink it was mere lust of revenge that impelled me. The man was a menaceto the prosperity of every struggling rancher, and had shown no mercy;while--setting aside the fact that he himself deserved none--it seemedthat my neighbors' right to existence depended on our efforts tooverthrow 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 howwe may cut our losses," he said.
Half an hour passed very slowly, and then, warned by a message, westrolled into the market to find there was comparative silence in thelong echoing room, as those who congregated there grew languid anddrowsy under the heat of the afternoon. Its atmosphere seemedsuffocating, and before I had been present long the suspense reactedupon me physically, for my throat resembled a lime-kiln and thesuperficial arteries of my forehead throbbed painfully. Boone, atintervals, moistened his dry lips with his tongue, and Haldane aloneleaned calmly against a pillar jotting down figures in the notebook heheld.
Then a few listless men gathered round a broker, and suddenly becameintent, while a murmur of interest rose through the drowsy heat. Thevoices grew louder, the group swelled, and I started at the call: "Anymore of you with Territories to sell?"
"It must be Lane's last throw," said Haldane quietly. "Ah! The tide isturning. There is somebody who doesn't belong to us making a deal withhim."
The bystanders surged to and fro about the speakers in a manner thatreminded me of corraled cattle; others hurried towards them, and ourbroker'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 moredollars down!" and every unoccupied man in the room joined the crowd,out of which rose indistinguishable offers, comments, questions, andcounter-offers. These swelled into a deafening clamor, but through themall I could hear or feel the hurried beating of my heart, and my voicesounded 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 menhurrying to sell. The weak holders have broken at last, and, because apanic is infectious, most of the others will follow them. Ah! It isbeginning. There go the telegrams, and I hear both telephone bells. Thefun will commence in earnest when the answers come in; and, meanwhile, abreath of fresher air would brace one. You may have noticed that it's atrifle choky inside here."
I had, but my feet seemed glued to the floor and my eyes on the swayingcrowd, so that it cost me an effort to tear them free and follow Booneand Haldane into the open air. He presently led us into the gratefulcoolness of a big basement saloon, and, scarcely drawing breath, Iemptied the contents of a tumbler filled with iced liquid, and then Ilooked at Boone, who had pushed aside the glass set before him andreached for the ice bowl.
"I have bought my experience, Ormesby," he said, with a smile which oncemore flashed a sidelight on his history. "In times like these it isbetter to confine one's self to nature's distillery. A cigar? No, thankyou, sir. Do you feel like smoking, Ormesby?"
I did not, for, in spite of the cool beverage, the bite of tobacco wouldhave been insufferable then; but Haldane lay back in a big loungechewing a cigar. He said nothing whatever, and though he appearedsatisfied, the lines on his forehead had deepened and his face appeared
older. In spite of my impatience we must have remained nearly an hourbefore our leader rose a little stiffly and proceeded with unusualslowness towards the scene of the conflict. It was raging fiercely. Someof the speculators howled like wild beasts; others wrestled with theirfellows to reach the clear space in the center of the ring; and,standing on the plinth of a column, I could see gesticulating men hardat work with their notebooks. How they were able to record any bargainor to comprehend any offer amid that pandemonium was more than I coulddiscover; for everybody interested appeared to be shouting at once, andthe rest of the assembly cheering them on. One irate individual, indeed,dragged a neighbor backwards by the collar, and then plunged blindlyinto the midst of the circle when the other, retaliating, drove his hatdown 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 theycan, and various speculative gentlemen who have been waiting for thefirst sign of weakness are hammering them. We have done our part, andcan safely leave the rest to them. See if you can give our broker thisnote for me, and then, if you have had sufficient excitement, we willtake a drive somewhere until dinner's ready."
I had certainly had sufficient excitement in that form to last the restof my life, and I managed to reach the broker without personal injury,after which we solaced ourselves with a drive through the city andacross some very uninteresting prairie. I saw little of either, and wasconscious of scarcely anything beyond the all-important fact that Lane'spower was broken, and henceforward my neighbors would enjoy the fruitsof their own labor instead of swelling heavy dividends withthree-fourths of them.
When we returned to the hotel our agent, who appeared in an exultantmood, 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, andwe have whipped the last grit out of them. I let up altogether when Isaw every outside 'bear' come ramping in; and, if you're inclined thatway, we might cover a little quietly without stiffening prices."
I do not know what Haldane's instructions were. Indeed, the reaction ofrelief prevented my remembering anything at all very clearly, exceptthat, as we sat at dinner, Haldane said: "I shouldn't wonder if thosephysicians were right, and I think I have made my last stake thisafternoon. I dare say you understand, Ormesby, that as we could nowpurchase the stock below the price at which we sold there will be aprofit in the transaction. Individually, I did not undertake this matteras a speculation."
Haldane made light of our anxiety lest he should have suffered. "I havelong known I should have to sink into idleness, and it was a good pieceof work to retire on," he said. "But what about the profit?"
I had no hesitation about the answer. "It was no desire of profit thatbrought me here; and as one experience of the kind is sufficient, Iintend henceforward to stick to my horses and cattle. I will not touch adollar of the money beyond actual expenses, and would propose that,setting aside any portion necessary to secure us against reprisals andto complete our work, the rest should be handed to Miss Haldane todistribute as she thinks best in charity."
Boone expressed his full compliance, and Haldane smiled at me. "Do youthink you can run up a contra account in that way, Ormesby?"
"I believe we are justified; but, justified or not, I will not touch adollar of the gains," I said. "I am going back to the prairie to-morrow,to express our deepest gratitude to Miss Haldane. As to yourself, sir, agood many hard-pressed men will never forget you."
Then Boone rose up gravely with a wine-glass in his hand. "The task istoo big for Ormesby, or any other man," he said. "May every good thingfollow the Mistress of Bonaventure."
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