CHAPTER XLVII
The trip home did bring another week with Mrs. Gerald, for aftermature consideration she had decided to venture to America for awhile. Chicago and Cincinnati were her destinations, and she hoped tosee more of Lester. Her presence was a good deal of a surprise toJennie, and it started her thinking again. She could see what thepoint was. If she were out of the way Mrs. Gerald would marry Lester;that was certain. As it was--well, the question was a complicatedone. Letty was Lester's natural mate, so far as birth, breeding, andposition went. And yet Jennie felt instinctively that, on the largehuman side, Lester preferred her. Perhaps time would solve theproblem; in the mean time the little party of three continued toremain excellent friends. When they reached Chicago Mrs. Gerald wenther way, and Jennie and Lester took up the customary thread of theirexistence.
On his return from Europe Lester set to work in earnest to find abusiness opening. None of the big companies made him any overtures,principally because he was considered a strong man who was looking fora control in anything he touched. The nature of his altered fortuneshad not been made public. All the little companies that heinvestigated were having a hand-to-mouth existence, or manufacturing aproduct which was not satisfactory to him. He did find one company ina small town in northern Indiana which looked as though it might havea future. It was controlled by a practical builder of wagons andcarriages--such as Lester's father had been in his day--who,however, was not a good business man. He was making some small moneyon an investment of fifteen thousand dollars and a plant worth, say,twenty-five thousand. Lester felt that something could be done here ifproper methods were pursued and business acumen exercised. It would beslow work. There would never be a great fortune in it. Not in hislifetime. He was thinking of making an offer to the small manufacturerwhen the first rumors of a carriage trust reached him.
Robert had gone ahead rapidly with his scheme for reorganizing thecarriage trade. He showed his competitors how much greater profitscould be made through consolidation than through a mutuallydestructive rivalry. So convincing were his arguments that one by onethe big carriage manufacturing companies fell into line. Within a fewmonths the deal had been pushed through, and Robert found himselfpresident of the United Carriage and Wagon Manufacturers' Association,with a capital stock of ten million dollars, and with assetsaggregating nearly three-fourths of that sum at a forced sale. He wasa happy man.
While all this was going forward Lester was completely in the dark.His trip to Europe prevented him from seeing three or four minornotices in the newspapers of some of the efforts that were being madeto unite the various carriage and wagon manufactories. He returned toChicago to learn that Jefferson Midgely, Imogene's husband, was stillin full charge of the branch and living in Evanston, but because ofhis quarrel with his family he was in no position to get the newsdirect. Accident brought it fast enough, however, and that ratherirritatingly.
The individual who conveyed this information was none other thanMr. Henry Bracebridge, of Cleveland, into whom he ran at the UnionClub one evening after he had been in the city a month.
"I hear you're out of the old company," Bracebridge remarked,smiling blandly.
"Yes," said Lester, "I'm out."
"What are you up to now?"
"Oh, I have a deal of my own under consideration, I'm thinkingsomething of handling an independent concern."
"Surely you won't run counter to your brother? He has a pretty goodthing in that combination of his."
"Combination! I hadn't heard of it," said Lester. "I've just gotback from Europe."
"Well, you want to wake up, Lester," replied Bracebridge. "He's gotthe biggest thing in your line. I thought you knew all about it. TheLyman-Winthrop Company, the Myer-Brooks Company, the WoodsCompany--in fact, five or six of the big companies are all in.Your brother was elected president of the new concern. I dare say hecleaned up a couple of millions out of the deal."
Lester stared. His glance hardened a little.
"Well, that's fine for Robert. I'm glad of it."
Bracebridge could see that he had given him a vital stab.
"Well, so long, old man," he exclaimed. "When you're in Clevelandlook us up. You know how fond my wife is of you."
"I know," replied Lester. "By-by."
He strolled away to the smoking-room, but the news took all thezest out of his private venture. Where would he be with a shabbylittle wagon company and his brother president of a carriage trust?Good heavens! Robert could put him out of business in a year. Why, hehimself had dreamed of such a combination as this. Now his brother haddone it.
It is one thing to have youth, courage, and a fighting spirit tomeet the blows with which fortune often afflicts the talented. It isquite another to see middle age coming on, your principal fortunepossibly gone, and avenue after avenue of opportunity being sealed toyou on various sides. Jennie's obvious social insufficiency, thequality of newspaper reputation which had now become attached to her,his father's opposition and death, the loss of his fortune, the lossof his connection with the company, his brother's attitude, thistrust, all combined in a way to dishearten and discourage him. Hetried to keep a brave face--and he had succeeded thus far, hethought, admirably, but this last blow appeared for the time being alittle too much. He went home, the same evening that he heard thenews, sorely disheartened. Jennie saw it. She realized it, as a matterof fact, all during the evening that he was away. She felt blue anddespondent herself. When he came home she saw what itwas--something had happened to him. Her first impulse was to say,"What is the matter, Lester?" but her next and sounder one was toignore it until he was ready to speak, if ever. She tried not to lethim see that she saw, coming as near as she might affectionatelywithout disturbing him.
"Vesta is so delighted with herself to-day," she volunteered by wayof diversion. "She got such nice marks in school."
"That's good," he replied solemnly.
"And she dances beautifully these days. She showed me some of hernew dances to-night. You haven't any idea how sweet she looks."
"I'm glad of it," he grumbled. "I always wanted her to be perfectin that. It's time she was going into some good girls' school, Ithink."
"And papa gets in such a rage. I have to laugh. She teases himabout it--the little imp. She offered to teach him to danceto-night. If he didn't love her so he'd box her ears."
"I can see that," said Lester, smiling. "Him dancing! That's prettygood!"
"She's not the least bit disturbed by his storming, either."
"Good for her," said Lester. He was very fond of Vesta, who was nowquite a girl.
So Jennie tripped on until his mood was modified a little, and thensome inkling of what had happened came out. It was when they wereretiring for the night. "Robert's formulated a pretty big thing in afinancial way since we've been away," he volunteered.
"What is it?" asked Jennie, all ears.
"Oh, he's gotten up a carriage trust. It's something which willtake in every manufactory of any importance in the country.Bracebridge was telling me that Robert was made president, and thatthey have nearly eight millions in capital."
"You don't say!" replied Jennie. "Well, then you won't want to domuch with your new company, will you?"
"No; there's nothing in that, just now," he said. "Later on I fancyit may be all right. I'll wait and see how this thing comes out. Younever can tell what a trust like that will do."
Jennie was intensely sorry. She had never heard Lester complainbefore. It was a new note. She wished sincerely that she might dosomething to comfort him, but she knew that her efforts were useless."Oh, well," she said, "there are so many interesting things in thisworld. If I were you I wouldn't be in a hurry to do anything, Lester.You have so much time."
She didn't trust herself to say anything more, and he felt that itwas useless to worry. Why should he? After all, he had an ample incomethat was absolutely secure for two years yet. He could have more if hewanted it. Only his brother was moving so dazzlingly onward, while hewas standing sti
ll--perhaps "drifting" would be the better word.It did seem a pity; worst of all, he was beginning to feel a littleuncertain of himself.
Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel Page 47
