The Ranch Girls and Their Heart's Desire

by Margaret Vandercook

  CHAPTER XIV

  IN THE THICK OF THE FIGHT

  "But I do think it would be wiser of you not to be present, not thisafternoon. I could take a message saying you were not well."

  Jack laughed.

  "Yet the fact is I am perfectly well, John Marshall, and besides I amnot a coward, or at least if I am a coward there are other things ofwhich I am more afraid."

  Jacqueline Kent and her neighbor, John Marshall, were having an earlyluncheon on the front porch of the Rainbow Lodge upon a fairly warm day.Jack, however, appeared to be dressed for a journey. She was wearing aseal brown tailored suit and a light chiffon blouse. Her hat and gloveswere lying on the railing of the veranda.

  "Besides," she added lightly, "I do not believe anything uncomfortablewill happen. The story has been spread abroad merely because I am awoman and am supposed to be easily frightened."

  As luncheon was over, with a little nod for permission, John Marshallarose and began walking up and down the porch.

  "You may be right, of course, and yet I confess I feel nervous. It isnonsensical that so much excitement has been aroused by this campaign,makes one think perhaps we are less civilized than we thought we were! Imyself believe there won't be any actual rumpus. But I would not besurprised if a few ruffians, hired for the occasion, do try to interruptyour speech by making a lot of noise. I must say I am surprised thatPeter Stevens allows such tactics to be employed against an opponent,especially a girl who had been his friend."

  Jack shook her head.

  "Peter Stevens says that the kindest thing he can do for me is to defeatme, and sometimes I think perhaps he is right. So from that viewpoint hedoes not consider it makes any difference what methods he uses. However,I am not so sure Peter himself knows everything that is going on. He mayor he may not. He does not come to the meetings of my supporters andfriends and I suppose his manager, Mr. Robertson, does not tell himeverything that takes place. But please do not confide to any member ofmy family, if you should see one of them before we leave, what you havejust told to me. You probably won't see any one. They are too worn outand bored to pay attention these days to my goings out or my comings in.My sister scarcely speaks to me and the remainder of the family are busywith their own affairs. Fortunately for me, Mr. Colter is away forseveral days on business. But to show you I really don't think there isgoing to be any disturbance this afternoon, I am going to take Jimmiealong with me to the meeting as usual. Poor Jimmie, he is dreadfullytired hearing me talk, and yet seems to have an instinctive feeling thathe has to stay by and look after me. You have pretty much the samefeeling, haven't you, and I want you to know I am extremely grateful,"Jack added. "I'll go now and find Jimmie, as we ought to start in a fewmoments if we are to be on time."

  "Very well," John Marshall returned. "But if you don't mind I'll ridedown to the ranch house first. I want to speak to Billy Preston. Hetelephoned I would find him at about lunch time."

  Jack frowned for an instant and then nodded agreement.

  She guessed that her two young men friends were to discuss the self-samenews that John Marshall had just repeated to her. It seemed unnecessary,still she did not feel that she had the right to object.

  The word John Marshall had brought was that an effort was to be made tobreak up the meeting at which she was to speak during the afternoon. Themeeting was to occur in a fairly large sized village not far away inwhich she was supposed to have but few friends. The village was one ofthe manufacturing towns in the state, and her friends were among theranchmen.

  But Jack honestly did not believe any serious outbreak would occur. Shewas not always foolhardy, although this was occasionally one of herweaknesses of character; she simply thought this afternoon that aneffort was being made to frighten her away. Afterwards it would be easyto say that a woman candidate to an important political office who couldbe so easily frightened should hardly be entrusted with the service ofthe state.

  Within half an hour, John Marshall having returned, he and Jack andJimmie and the chauffeur were motoring toward the desired destination.

  "Billy Preston will be at the meeting with a few of the cowboys from theRainbow ranch and from a few of the other ranches in this neighborhood,so if there _is_ trouble there will be some people on _our_ side," JohnMarshall insisted with boyish satisfaction when the car had taken themseveral miles from the lodge.

  "What?"

  Jack clutched her companion's sleeve for an instant, her voice andmanner for the first time revealing alarm. "You don't mean you and BillyPreston have actually made arrangements for a difficulty. I did notthink there could be one simply because an effort might be made to makeme stop talking. I can do that readily enough and I intend to stop ifany trouble begins. Now I think I had better give up after all and goback home. John, you were foolish."

  "You can't go back now, it is too late," the young man argued. "Thecrowd will already have started to the meeting and if you don't turn upand they are disappointed it may lose you heaps of votes. And it isgoing to be pretty close if you do win. Everybody says it depends uponyour personality and good sense and your magnetism. You have got to winpeople over and to make them forget the prejudice against you. You havegot to show them that you have been studying this whole question ofgovernment and really know a thing or two. Funny to be calling yourselfan 'Independent' and belonging to no old-time political party. I don'tknow whether the idea is a good one or a bad one. But don't be worriedabout Billy Preston and his little party. There won't be more than adozen in all and Billy has promised they won't make as much noise as awhisper if things go well and the game is a straight one."

  Shaking her head, Jack glanced nervously at Jimmie.

  "But suppose they don't go well? I shan't even begin to make a speech,John Marshall, until you promise me on your word of honor that you willsee Billy Preston and tell him from me that he and my other friends areto say nothing and do nothing, whatever takes place. If there is anydifficulty Jimmie and I will quietly come out and climb into our car andstart back to the ranch. And if my speech is no better than they usuallyare, I cannot feel that the audience will be deeply disappointed."

  "Very well, I promise," the young man answered.

  The frame building where she was to speak, a rough one-story shack,sometimes employed for revivals, was larger than any hall in whichJacqueline Kent had ever attempted talking before.

  As she stepped up on the platform she found that her audience was alsolarger than the ones to which she had tried to grow accustomed in theselast few months.

  But the people were quietly seated and there appeared no unusualexcitement or confusion.

  Gratefully Jack observed that the larger number were women. The men wereat the back toward the rear of the hall.

  There were to be no other speakers during the afternoon, so as soon asshe had been introduced Jack began her speech.

  From the beginning she was fearful that she was going to interest thisaudience even less than she believed she interested most audiences. Andin her heart of hearts Jack was always puzzled why anyone should beinfluenced by what she had to say.

  NOT A BOUQUET OF FLOWERS, BUT OF UGLY, EVIL-SMELLINGWEEDS AND TIED WITH A RAG INSTEAD OF A RIBBON]

  Her causes were to increase the size and number of the ranches inWyoming, increase the number of the livestock, and bring theproducers of food and the consumers closer together. She frankly statedat all times that she was not interested in politics. She simply wantedthe chance to make human beings happier by giving them the kind ofgovernment they desired and ought to have.

  "I am afraid you will have some difficulty in hearing me," Jack stated,"but that need not trouble you as much as it does me, because after allyou will not have lost a great deal. There are a good many reasons whyit is harder for a woman to be a candidate for an office than a man, andI suppose having to make speeches is one of the hardest."

  "Louder!" some one shouted at the back of the building.

  Jack tried again.

  "Louder!" t
he voice repeated. "How do you think you are going to makeyourself heard in Washington if you can't be heard here?"

  The joke was at her expense and Jack laughed good-naturedly.

  "Ain't going to make any difference, she ain't never going to getthere," another man shouted.

  "Perhaps not, but I am going _to try_," Jack answered, still with entiregood nature.

  But she flinched unconsciously at this instant and stepped backward. Alarge bouquet had been thrown directly at her, not a bouquet of flowers,but of ugly, evil-smelling weeds and tied with a rag instead of aribbon.

  As it fell several feet away from her, Jack soon continued her speech asif she had not noticed what had occurred.

  "Shame! Put him out!" some one interrupted.

  "Please don't. It is not important," Jack replied.

  Yet if her manner failed to reveal the fact, she was nervous. By turningher head she could see Jimmie seated upon the platform beside theprincipal of the public school, who had just introduced her to theaudience.

  Jimmie had jumped up indignantly when the bunch of weeds fell besideher, but had been persuaded to sit down again.

  The persons in the rear of the building were undoubtedly becomingnoisier.

  Jack flushed so hotly that the tears came into her eyes and her cheekswere flaming.

  Never had she been treated with anything like this discourtesy before.Evidently she was not to be allowed to make a speech, scarcely to beginone.

  Swiftly Jack thought of Jim Colter, of his anger and disgust should hebehold her in such a plight. She had not expected this nor anything likeit.

  There was scuffling now in the rear of the building, as well as shoutingamong her audience.

  Jack suffered a feminine desire to weep over the unkindness and thehumiliation of her present situation, yet she was not in the leastafraid. At no time in her life was Jack ever a physical coward.

  The uproar continued, growing greater. Women were crying out in terror.

  Yet Jack Kent stood her ground. Quietly, as if nothing were happeningand in spite of her humiliation, knowing that no one could hear, shewent on with her speech. Jimmie had come and was now standing besideher, holding tightly to her hand.

  "It's a shame! She is so young and pretty and is not half the coward anyman is who doesn't give her a fair show!" a woman shouted in a voicewhich chanced to be heard.

  The next moment Jack felt a hand placed on her elbow.

  "Please come away. It is as I feared; they don't mean to hear you,"John Marshall urged.

  Jack shook her head.

  "No, I'll stay till I finish."

  It was an autumn afternoon and unexpectedly a storm had broken. Outsidewere flashes of lightning and the rain beating against the smallwindows. In the building some one suddenly switched off the electriclights, and before they were switched on again there was an uproar thatwas deafening.

  "For Jimmie's sake you must get away," John Marshall insisted.

  "Very well, for Jimmie's sake I do give up," Jack returned, "but forgoodness' sake don't think either of us is afraid."

  Drawing back from her companions Jack again went to the edge of theplatform.

  "You won't listen to me this afternoon, and I don't want to make anybodyuncomfortable or frightened by going on with my speech in the midst ofso much noise, nevertheless I am coming back some other afternoon to tryagain, so good-by to my friends, and I trust my enemies may have bettermanners next time."

  There was a little burst of applause from the spectators who could hear,and immediately after Jack, Jimmie and John Marshall slipped away.

  The car was waiting at the back of the building with the starter alreadyin action. Before Jack was able to realize exactly what was taking placeshe was several miles on the journey home toward the Rainbow ranch.

  "Do you suppose things quieted down as soon as I disappeared?" Jackinquired. "You were right, I should not have gone. I wish I were not oneof the most hard-headed people in the world. After all, I don't supposewomen do belong in political life. I hope there may not be any serioustrouble over me."

  "But you were awfully game, Mrs. Kent," John Marshall replied, "and I'mnot so sure women don't belong in politics to keep things like thisafternoon's proceedings from happening."

  It was not six o'clock when Jack and her companions arrived safely atthe Rainbow lodge. John Marshall had too much good sense to come in, inanswer to Jack's invitation.

  Personally, as soon as she got indoors Jack felt she never had been sotired in her life.

  After undressing and putting on a house dress she lay down in thehammock and remained there, eating her dinner on a small table withJimmie seated beside her. When Jimmie had gone to bed, still she did notstir.

  At about eight o'clock, however, she arose and picked up a white crepeshawl, winding it about her, as it was growing cooler. She intendedwalking over to the big house before she finally went to bed.

  No member of her family had been near her all day and it was strangethat she had seen and heard nothing of Olive or Jean.

  Frieda never came down to the Rainbow lodge any more unless she wereobliged to come.

  Yet the family must know of her intended speech that afternoon, althoughthey discussed her affairs as little as possible. At least she couldhope they would never hear of the scene that afternoon in which she hadbeen obliged to appear as a central figure. Especially she hoped JimColter would never hear.

  In fact, Jack wanted to see her family before trying to sleep thatnight. She believed she was still both too excited and too tired tosleep for several hours. Moreover, she wanted to find out if Jim hadreturned home and if not when he might be expected.

  She must see Billy Preston the first thing in the morning and beg him touse his influence with the other cowboys never to mention to Jim whathad occurred during the afternoon.