by Rex Beach
CHAPTER VII
Coverly was at the station when Gray's train arrived at Dallas the nextmorning. He was suffering intense excitement, and he deluged his friendwith a flood of questions, meanwhile flourishing the morning papers,all of which appeared to have devoted much space to the Ranger episode.He hugged Gray, and he pumped his hand; he laughed and he chattered; heinsisted upon hearing the whole story without delay. On their wayuptown, the returning hero gave it to him, together with Gus Briskow'scheck.
At the size of the latter Coverly gasped. "Didn't I say you were a goodsalesman? And Mallow! You got him, didn't you? I _told_ you he was acrook. Just the same, old man, you ran a terrible risk and I feelmighty guilty. Why, those fellows would have killed you."
"Probably."
"Why didn't you take along a policeman or somebody?"
"And miss all the fun? Miss my pay for the trip? I agreed to take mycommission in thrills."
The jeweler was frankly curious. "Weren't you frightened?"
"Frightened? No." Gray shook his head. "I've never been really afraidof anything or anybody, so far as I recall. I've never been able tounderstand the necessity of being frightened. I dare say the capacityfor enjoying that particular emotion was omitted from my make-up--theresult of some peculiar prenatal influence, probably. I'm sorry, too,for fear must have a fascination and I like unusual sensations."
"Speaking of your commissions, how am I going to pay you--not for thesale you made, although I wouldn't have done as well, but for the lossyou saved the firm and for the risk you ran?"
Gray felt a momentary desire to have done with pretense, to confess histrue condition and to beg not only a suitable reward for his services,but also as large a loan as Coverly could spare. It is hard to maintainan attitude of opulence on less than nothing; it would be so mucheasier to have done with this counterfeit gesture and trust to astraightforward appeal. But he dared not yield to the impulse.
"You may give me anything you see fit," he declared, "and I sha'n'tembarrass you by refusing. On the contrary, go as strongly as youpossibly can."
Coverly actually appeared to be relieved at this statement, but heinquired, curiously: "What have you got up your sleeve? You don't needmoney."
"Obviously not. But I know a needy object of charity; a worthy case, Iassure you. I can scarcely call him a friend, but I used to admire himgreatly, and he is still an agreeable companion--a man at once capable,extravagant, entertaining, dissipated. He is in a bad way, temporarily,and can scarcely afford even the bare necessities of life. It is onlywith my help, in fact, that he maintains its luxuries. Your money shallgo to him, and with every dollar of it that he squanders, there shallarise an earnest orison to you."
The jeweler was delighted. "Good!" he cried. "I detest the deservingpoor as heartily as you do. And now I'd like to open a bottle ofchampagne with our breakfast."
On the very day that the new sign, "Tom and Bob Parker," went up overthe door of the insurance office at Wichita Falls, the junior partnerannounced:
"Well, dad, the firm gets busy at once. I'm off for Dallas to-night."
"What for?" Tom was dismayed by such a prompt manifestation of energy."I'll have to tell you--" Barbara perched herself upon her father'sdesk and began speaking with a note of excitement in her voice. "Iheard Henry Nelson was in town, so I went to the bank this morning tosee him. He's such a big man in the oil business I thought he mighthelp me. He was there, but in conference with his father and anotherman. There were several people waiting, so I sat down. When the manthey were talking to came out, it was Pete, that driller who put downthe first well for us. He was glad to see me, and we had quite a talk,but I noticed he was fidgety. He said he was running a rig over near'Burk,' and had a fishing job on his hands. With all the excitement andeverybody running double 'towers' and trying to beat the other fellowdown to the sand, it struck me as queer that a contract driller likePete would be here in Wichita in conference with Bell and Henry Nelson,when he ought to be out on the lease fishing for a lost bit. It didn'tsound right. The more I got out of him, the queerer it sounded, for hehad all the fishing tools he needed, so I accused him of being a fraud.I told him I'd bet he had a showing of oil and was trying to borrowmoney to buy the offset or to get the Nelsons to buy it and carry himfor an interest."
"Where'd you pick up this lingo?" Tom inquired. "You talk like themwild men at the Westland Hotel."
Barbara laughed delightedly. "Didn't I put down all our shallow wells?If I didn't, I thought I did. Anyhow, I spent most of my time aroundthe rigs and Pete used to call me his boss. Well, that wretched manturned all colors when I accused him, and tried to 'shush' me. He saidI mustn't talk about things I knew nothing about--somebody mightoverhear me. He declared the outfit he was working for were no good andwouldn't pay a driller a bonus if he made a well for them. He was sickof making other people rich and getting nothing for himself.... It wastime the drilling crews shared in the profits.... He'd see that nobodyfroze him out again if he had to spoil the hole. He wound up by denyingeverything, and I pretended to swallow it, but when he had gone I wentover my maps and located the lease where he's drilling. Three of theadjoining tracts are owned by the big companies, so that eliminatedthem, but the twenty to the west belongs to Knute Hoaglund. Henry wasglad to see me when my turn came to go in, and--"
"I bet he was glad," Tom declared.
Barbara's smooth cheeks flushed faintly. "He is too busy and too richto--think about girls."
"He wasn't too busy and too rich to inquire about you 'most every daysince he got back from the war."
"I didn't forget to call him 'Colonel,' and that pleased both him andBell. Then I told them that I proposed to become a rich and successfuloil operator and wanted their advice how to begin. Old Bell was amused,but Henry--I beg pardon, _Colonel_--Nelson was shocked. He couldn'tbear to think of women, and of me especially, in business. He mighthave become disagreeably personal if his father hadn't been there."
"Dunno's I care much for Henry," Tom said, mildly.
"Oh, he's all right, but--I _hate_ Bell! It makes anybody mad to belaughed at. Henry was more diplomatic. He tried to convince me that theoil game is altogether a man's business and that no woman could succeedat it. 'It is a contest of wits,' he explained. 'You've got to outguessthe other fellow. You've got to know everything he's doing and keep himfrom knowing anything you're doing. The minute he knows as much as youdo, he's got it on you.' That seemed to prove to Henry that no womancould win at it, for men are such superior creatures. They know so muchmore than a woman can possibly learn; their wits are so much keener!
"I was duly impressed. I asked him to call this evening, for I did sowish to have him teach me what little I was capable of learning. But hecouldn't come, because he had been called to Dallas, unexpectedly. Thatwas my cue. In my most sweetly girlish manner I said: 'Oh, indeed! Doyou expect to see Knute Hoaglund while you're there?'"
Two hectic spots had come into "Bob's" cheeks during this recital; shewas teetering upon the desk now like a nodding Japanese doll, and herblue eyes were dancing.
"I heard Old Bell's chair creak and I saw him shoot a quick glance atHenry. Henry admitted, casually, that he might drop in on Knute. Why?"
"'You'll be wasting time,' I told him, even more sweetly, 'for dad andI have that twenty west of Burkburnett.'
"_Well!_ You'd have thought I had stuck a hatpin into Bell. And Henry'smouth actually dropped open. Think of it: Colonel Henry Nelson, thehero of Whatever-it-is, with his imperial mouth open and nothing comingout of it--not even the imperial breath!"
"Bob" rocked backward and kicked up her neatly shod feet; she huggedherself and snickered with a malicious enjoyment not whollyChristian-like.
"But--we 'ain't even got an option! It takes _money_ to lease close-instuff." Tom was bewildered.
"Of course. And they realized that, or Bell did, as soon as he'd hadtime to collect himself. But it was too late then; he had betrayedhimself and he knew it. Oh, he was sore! He'd have flung
me out if I'dbeen a man. I got mad, too, and I told him it made no real differencewhether I was bluffing or not; the jig was up, so far as he wasconcerned. I reminded him of what Henry had just said--that the oilbusiness is a game of wits, and that when you know what the otherfellow is doing you have him licked. I admitted that he could probablykeep me from getting the lease, but I could also keep him from gettingit. Bell nearly had a stroke at that threat. Henry behaved verydecently throughout. I think it must have pleased him to find thatsomebody in Wichita, besides him, had the courage to defy his father;anyhow, he said, '"Bob" has beaten us at our own game. She knows enoughnow to place that lease in half an hour, and I think we'd better takeher in. Otherwise she'll wire Knute, and he'll probably protect her foran interest.'
"That made me feel awfully fraudulent, but his smarty remarks aboutwomen in the oil business still rankled, so I just sat pretty andblinked like a little owl. Bell swore. In his best and most horriblemanner, he swore, but--he gave in." "Bob" laughed again, a bithysterically. "That's about all, dad. They agreed to put up the moneyand carry me--us, I mean--for a quarter interest if I can get the leasefrom Knute Hoaglund. So, I'm leaving on the night train."
"Son! I--I'm darned if I don't believe we'll make a go of thisbusiness," Tom Parker declared.
With a little cry Barbara flung herself into his arms.
* * * * *
The publicity Calvin Gray received from his exploit at Ranger could benothing except agreeable to one of his temperament. Gratefully hebasked in his notoriety, meanwhile continuing assiduously to cultivatethe moneyed men of Dallas. His sudden leap into prominence arousedcuriosity among the wives and families of the latter, and he became therecipient of some social attentions. He accepted every invitation, andso well did he carry himself in company, so ornamental and engaging washe as a dinner guest, that he was soon in great demand. He possessedaccomplishments, too, that increased the respect of his masculineacquaintances. For instance, he displayed a proficiency at golf quiteunusual in men of athletic training, and they argued that any man whocould do par whenever he felt like it must be either a professional ora person of limitless leisure. And limitless leisure means limitlessfunds.
Gray studiously maintained his air of financial mystery; he was in andout of offices, always purposeful, always in a hurry, but always withsufficient time to observe the strictest niceties of polite behavior.It was a part of his plan to create an atmosphere of his own, toemphasize his knack for quick, decisive, well-calculated action. Themoney he received from Coverly enabled him to maintain the posture hehad assumed; he spent it with his usual prodigality, receiving littledirect benefit, but making each dollar look like four. Extravagancewith him was an art, money ran out of his pockets like water, butalthough he was already in a position to borrow, he did not do so. Hemerely marked time, deriving a grim amusement at the way his popularitygrew as his currency dwindled. It was a game, enjoyable so long as itlasted. Egotistical he knew himself to be, but it was a consciousfault; to tickle his own vanity filled him with the same satisfaction acat feels at having its back rubbed, and he excused himself byreasoning that his deceit harmed nobody. Meanwhile, with felinealertness he waited for a mouse to appear.
He was relieved one day to receive a telegram from Gus Briskow askinghim to meet Ma and Allie at the evening train and "get them a hotel."He managed to secure a good suite at the Ajax, and it was withgenuinely pleasurable anticipation that he drove to the station.
Dismay smote him, however, at first sight of the new arrivals. MaBriskow resembled nothing so much as one of those hideous "crayonenlargements" he had seen in farmhouses--atrocities of an art longdead--for she was clad in an old-fashioned basque and skirt of somestiff, near-silk material, and her waist, which buttoned far down thefront and terminated in deep points, served merely to roof over but notto conceal a peculiarity of figure which her farm dress had mercifullyhidden. Gray discovered that Ma's body, alas! bore a quaint resemblancein outline to a gourd. A tiny black bonnet, with a wide surcingle ofribbon tied under her chin, was ornamented with a sort of centerpiecebuilt of rigid artificial fruit and flowers. Her hair, in bravedefiance of current styles, was rolled into a high pompadour. Beneaththat pompadour, however, her face was aglow with interest and her eyesgleamed almost as brightly as did the brand-new lavalliere and the barpin with its huge six-carat center diamond.
If the mother's appearance was unusual, the daughter's was startling,what with her size and the barbaric latitude of color she had indulgedherself in. Allegheny's get-up screamed. In the general store at Cisco,whence it had originated, it had doubtless been considered a sportcostume, for there was a skirt of huge blue and white checks, a crepewaist of burnt orange, and over that a vegetable-silk sweater, with thebroadest, greenest stripes Gray had ever seen. A violent, offensivegreen, it was; and the sweater was too tight. Her hat was large andfloppy and adorned with preposterous purple blooms; one of her handswas gloved, but upon the other she wore her splendid solitaire. She"shone" it, as a watchman shines his flashlight.
They were enough to daunt a stronger man than Calvin Gray, these two.He could well imagine the sensation he and they would create in thelobby of the modish Ajax. But his first surprise was succeeded by agentle pity, for Ma Briskow greeted him rapturously, and in Allegheny'ssomber eyes he detected a look of mingled suffering and defiance. Sheknew, somehow or other, that she was conspicuous, grotesque, and hersoul was in agony at the knowledge. Before he had spoken a half dozenwords to her, Gray realized that this girl was in torture, and that ithad required a magnificent courage on her part to meet him as bravelyas she did. He was ashamed of himself; amusement at their expense didhim no credit, and he determined to relieve her pain and to help herattain the likeness of other women if it was in his power to do so. Itwas a tribute to his inherent chivalry that he rose to the occasion andwelcomed the women with a cordiality that warmed their hearts.Enthusiastically he took charge of Ma's lunch basket; against Allie'smuttered protest he despoiled her of her bilious, near-leathersuitcase; he complimented them upon their appearance and showed suchpleasure at seeing them again that they surrendered gratefully to him.By the time he had them in a taxicab they were as talkative as a pairof magpies.
Of course, they had to know all about the holdup, and his manner oftelling the story made them feel that they had played an important partin it. Arrived at the hotel, he swept them along with him so swiftlythat they had no time in which to become dismayed or self-conscious,and finally he deposited them in their rooms quite out of breath andquite delighted. He left them palpitating with excitement at thewonders he proposed unfolding for them on the morrow.
Allie answered his phone call about eight o'clock the next morning.
"Ready for breakfast?" he inquired.
"Why, we et at daylight," she told him, in some astonishment. "I beenridin' since then."
"Indeed! Putting roses in your cheeks, eh? With whom did you go?"
"Oh, one of the elevator men."
"B--but--" Gray sputtered, deeply shocked. "Why, Miss Briskow, they're_negroes!_ Riding with a nigger! My heavens! Where did you go?"
"Nowhere. Just up and down."
It was a moment before the man could speak, then he said, in a queerlyrepressed voice: "That--is quite different. I'll run down and get abite and join you in no time."
"Seems awful funny not to have any housework to do in the morning," MaBriskow confessed, as they left the Ajax. "A hotel would spoil me in notime."
"I couldn't keep her from makin' up the beds," Allie announced.
Gray took the elder woman's hand in his and scolded her gently.Smilingly, he lectured her on the art of doing nothing, and voiced someelemental truths about living.
"Mr. Briskow has but one idea, and that is to surround you two, andBuddy, with the advantages and luxuries you have been denied," hereminded her. "You owe it to him to get the most out of your money, andyou mustn't begin by making hotel beds and robbing some poor woman ofher livelihood. Not one person in ten really
knows how to live, for itisn't an easy task, and the saddest thing about the newly rich is thatthey won't learn. They refuse to enjoy their wealth. I propose to helpyou good people get started, if you'll permit me. It is not withcontrition, but with pride, that I recommend myself to you as one ofthe greatest living authorities upon extravagance, idleness, and theminor vices of the prosperous."
The mother nodded, a bit vaguely. "That's kind of like Pa talks. Hesent you this, and says to tell you it's our first spendin' spree andact accordin'." From her pocket she drew a folded check, made out inblank to Calvin Gray and signed by Gus Briskow.
"So! I assume that I'm to pay the bills. Very well. The sky is thelimit, eh?"
"That's it. Of course, I don't need anything for myself--this dress andbunnit are good enough--but Allie's got to have new fixin's, from theinside out. I s'pose her things'll eat up the best part of a hundreddollars, won't they?" The speaker's look of worried inquiry bespoke alifetime of habitual economy.
"We're not going to buy what you _need_, but what you want. You'regoing to have just as many pretty things as Allie."
Ma was panic-stricken at this suggestion. When Gray insisted shedemurred; when he told her that one nice dress would cost at least ahundred dollars, she confessed:
"Why, I don't s'pose all the clo's I've had since I was married costmuch more 'n that."
"I'll spend at least a thousand on you before noon," he laughed.
Mrs. Briskow gasped, she rolled her eyes and fanned herself; sheappealed to Allegheny, but it was evident that the latter had kept hereyes open and had done some thinking, for she broke out, passionately:"You make me sick, Ma! It'll take all Pa can afford, and then some, tomake us look like other people. I never knew how plumb ridic'lous weare till--"
"Not that," Gray protested.
"You _know_ we're ridic'lous," she cried, fiercely. "We're a couple ofsow's ears and all Pa's royalties can't make us into silk purses.But--mebbe we can manage to look like silk, if we spend enough."
Gray determined that the girl should not be disappointed if he couldhelp it, so he went directly to the head saleswoman of the first store,and asked her to assume the role of counselor where circumstancecompelled him to relinquish it, explaining that in addition to hats,gowns, shoes, and the like, both Ma and Allie needed a variety ofconfidential apparel with which he had only the vaguest acquaintance.Although the woman agreed to his request, he found before long that histrust in her had been misplaced. Not only did she threaten to takeadvantage of her customers' ignorance, but also, to Gray's anger, shedisplayed a poorly veiled contempt for and amusement at his charges.
Allegheny was not long in feeling this. She had entered theestablishment aquiver with hope and anticipation. This was her greatadventure. She was like a timid child, enraptured at sight of its firsttinseled Christmas tree; to have that ecstacy spoiled, to see thegirl's tenderest sensibilities wounded by a haughty clerk, enraged theman who played Santa Claus. Abruptly he resumed charge of the Briskowpurchases, and it gave him a pang to note how Allegheny ran to him withher hurt, as it were.
But matters did not progress as well as he had expected. Allie'sdisappointment at the death of her dream she hid under an assumption ofindifference; she merely pawed over the pretty things shown her andpretended to ignore the ridicule she and her mother excited. But herface was stony, her eyes were hopeless, miserable.
For once in his life Calvin Gray was at a loss, and knowledge of thatfact caused him to chew savagely at his cigar. To his bewilderedcompanions he remained enthusiastic, effervescent, but behind theirbacks he glowered at the well-groomed customers and cursed thesnickering models who paraded their wares. Engaged thus, he becameaware of a stranger who looked on at the pitiful little comedy withoutamusement. She was a pretty thing. Gray stared at her openly and hisscowl vanished. When she moved away, he made a sudden decision, excusedhimself, and followed her.
He was gratified at the manner in which she accepted his breathlessapology for speaking to her, at the poise with which she listened whilehe made himself and his companions known to her and explained theplight in which he found himself.
"You can save the reason of a distracted man and add to the happinessof two poor, bewildered women, if you will," he concluded, earnestly."It isn't a funny situation; it's tragic."
"What do you wish me to do?" the girl inquired.
"It's a lot to ask, I know, but won't you help them buy the things theyneed and save them from further humiliation at the hands of thesehighbrow clerks and lowbrow customers? I--I want to punch somebody inthe nose."
"I was sure you did. That is what attracted my attention."
"You are a person of taste, if you will pardon a perfectly obviouscompliment from a total stranger, and they need such a woman'sguidance. But they need, even more, a little bit of feminine tact andsympathy. Look!" He showed Gus Briskow's blank check. "The whole storeis theirs, if they wish it. Think what that ought to mean to two poorstarved creatures who have never owned enough clothing to wad ashotgun."
"The girl is stunning. All she needs is the right sort of things--"
Impulsively Gray seized the speaker's hand. "I _knew_ it!" he cried. "Ican choose gowns for her, but how can I tell her the sort of--well,corsets she ought to wear? How can I select for her things a bacheloris presumed to know nothing about? Haven't you an hour or two in whichto play Fairy Godmother?"
"I have all day," the young woman confessed. "I merely came in to yearnover the pretty things."
"O messenger from Heaven!" he cried, more hopefully. "Would it appearpresumptuous if I asked you, in return for this favor, to select thevery prettiest gown in this shop for your very own?"
The offer was refused pleasantly, but firmly. "I'd be paid ten timesover by the fun of spending oodles of money even if it were not my own.But would they consent to have a stranger--?"
"If you will permit a tiny deceit, I'm sure they will. I shall burdenmy conscience with a white lie and pretend that you are a friend towhose judgment I have appealed. My poor conscience is scandalouslyoverburdened, but--that girl is suffering!"
"I thought they must have struck oil. I've seen others like them."
Without further ado, Gray hurried his new acquaintance back to thedress department, then, in his easiest manner, introduced her to theBriskows. She flashed him a look of amusement as he glibly made herknown as "Miss Good." He had invited Miss Good to join their picnicimmediately upon hearing that Ma and Allie were coming to Dallas, andshe had been overjoyed. Miss Good, as they could see, possessedunerring good taste, but what was more, she had a real genius forfinding bargains. As a bargain hunter Miss Good was positively unique.
Ma Briskow pricked up her ears at this, soon she and the newcomer hadtheir heads together, and within a few minutes Gray realized that hisexperiment was a success. The stranger possessed enthusiasm, but it wascoupled with common sense, and before her sunshiny smile evenAllegheny's sullen distrust slowly began to thaw. She drew Gray asidefinally, and said: "It's all right. They're perfect dears, and, now,the best thing you can do is to take yourself off."
He agreed promptly, but cautioned her against economy. "Thatbargain-hunting remark was only a bait. Remember, Gus Briskow wantsthem to have everything, and be everything they should be, regardlessof expense. Why, both he and I would like nothing better than to haveAllegheny look like you, if that were possible."
Miss Good eyed the speaker curiously. "Who are you?" she inquired."What are these nesters to you?"
"I am nobody. They were kind to me and I'm interested in their future."
"Are you a fortune hunter, Mr. Gray?"
"I am." Gray's face instantly lighted. "I am the most consciencelessfortune hunter you ever met, but--I am hunting my own fortune, notAllie Briskow's."
"You needn't laugh. She's very--unusual and--But I dare say youwouldn't tell me, anyhow."
"If I have excited your curiosity, I am delighted," Gray declared."Please let me return at lunch time and gratify it. I promise to talkupon
that subject which every man can discuss to bestadvantage--himself--and I pledge myself not to ask one single questionabout you, Miss Good. Not one--" He bowed ceremoniously over her hand."Although, as you can imagine, I'm dying to ask a thousand."