by Rex Beach
CHAPTER XXVIII
Gray returned to his desk that morning after his call on "Bob" Parkerdetermined to tackle energetically the numerous business detailsneeding his attention, but he found that he could not do so. As usual,his brief sight of the girl, instead of satisfying him, had merelyincreased his hunger; made him the more restless, the more eager to seeher again--alone. He gave up fighting his desires, presently, andinvented the necessity of a hurried trip to the Avenger lease.
Her ready acceptance of the invitation he construed to indicate aneagerness akin to his own, and during the several hours they weretogether he had hard work to keep from breaking his resolve and tellingher all she had come to mean to him.
"Bob" seemed to expect something of the sort, as a matter of fact. Hershyness, her fluttering agitation when his voice unconsciously becametender--and he realized that, in spite of himself, the tone of hisvoice conveyed a message quite at variance with his words--taxed hisself-control to the utmost. Well, it wouldn't be long now--another twoweeks perhaps! But two weeks is an eternity when hearts are pounding,when ears are strained and lips are waiting.
Two callers were awaiting Gray when, late that afternoon, he mountedthe stairs to his office--Tom Parker and Judge Halloran--and somethingin their formal, awkward greeting sent a quick chill of alarm throughhim. Mechanically he ushered them into his private room and offeredthem chairs. He heard himself chatting casually enough, but neither hisown words nor theirs conveyed much meaning to him. Nelson, it seemed,scorned no advantage, however dishonorable. Gray's hatred of the manattained deeper, blacker depths than ever. To-day of all days! What areckoning was due!
The two old men were talking, one lamely supplementing the other'sefforts to lead up to the object of their visit. Gray turned a set faceto Tom Parker finally, and interrupted by saying:
"Permit me to ease your embarrassment, sir. You object to my attentionsto your daughter. Is that it?" Tom dropped his eyes and mumbled anuncomfortable affirmative. "Not, I hope, because you question thenature of my intentions?"
"Oh no!"
"I'd say yes and no to that," Halloran declared, argu-mentatively. "Tomand I are gentlemen of the old school; we live by the code and 'Bob' isour joint property, in a way. Any man who aspires to the honorof--well, of even paying attentions to that girl must stand the acidtest. There must be no blot upon his 'scutcheon."
"You imply, then, that there is a blot upon mine?"
"That is what prompts our visit, sir. Can you assure us that there isnone?"
After a moment of hesitation Gray inquired, curiously: "Judge, do youbelieve that a man can live down disgrace?"
"Disgrace, yes. Dishonor, never! A man's honor is so sensitive that tostain it is to wound it. Like the human eye it cannot suffer theslightest injury without serious damage."
The younger man ignored the pompous tone of this speech; he nodded. "Isee. Someone said also that it is like an island, rugged and withoutlanding place; and once outside of it we can never re-enter. That isyour idea, I dare say."
"Precisely!"
Tom Parker stirred; irritably he broke out, "I'm damned if I think youdid it!"
"Did what?"
Tom remained silent, but when his companion drew a deep, preparatorybreath, Gray lifted a hand. He rose nervously and in a changed tonecontinued:
"Again let me speak for you and shorten our mutual distress. First,however, I must make my own position plain. I--love your daughter, Mr.Parker." The declaration came at great cost, the speaker turned away tohide his emotion. "I think--I hope she is not indifferent to me. Iwould give my life to marry her and, God willing, I shall. So much forthat." He swung himself about and met the eyes of first one old man,then the other. Harshly, defiantly, he added: "Understand me, nothingyou can do, nothing on earth--nothing in Heaven or in hell, for thatmatter--will stop me from telling her about my love, when the timecomes. Now then, Henry Nelson has told you that I was--that I was sentback from overseas in disgrace. You want to know if he spoke the truth.He did!"
After a moment of silence Judge Halloran said, with stiff finality:"Under the circumstances there is nothing more to talk about. You amazeme when you say--"
"I want to know more than if he was just telling the truth," Tominterrupted, grimly. "I want to know if you were guilty."
"That was the verdict of the court martial."
"To hell with that! Innocent men have been hung."
A faint smile softened Gray's face. "And guilty men have gone to thegallows protesting their innocence. Which are you to believe? I madethe best defense possible, but it was insufficient. I have no newevidence. I would rather endure the stigma of guilt than have youconsider me a liar, and, of course, that is what you would think if Idenied it."
Halloran was on his feet now, and evidently anxious to terminate theinterview. "There are two sides to every case, of course, and justiceis not always done. However, that really makes no difference in thisinstance. The findings of a military tribunal are as conclusive asthose of any court of law, and it is not for us to question them. Torepeat what I started to say just now, I fail to understand how you canexpect us to tolerate your further attentions to Miss Barbara or howyou can persist in your insane determination to ask her hand inmarriage."
"Perhaps you'll understand when I say that I propose to clear myself."
"How? When?"
"Soon, I hope."
"And in the meantime?"
Gray considered this question briefly. "In the meantime--if you willagree to say nothing to 'Bob,' I will promise not to declare myfeelings, not to see her alone."
"That's a go," said the father.
"Mind you, I may fail to right myself. In that event I shall feel atliberty to tell her the facts and ask her to believe in me against theworld. I trust she will do so. If she loves me as I love her, she willmarry me even though she knows I am a liar and a blackguard."
"Never!" Halloran exploded. "'Bob' isn't that sort of a girl."
"I hope it never comes to the test."
"I hope so, too," the father declared, earnestly. "I'm--right fond of'Bob,' and I wouldn't like to see her team up with a man she couldn'tbe proud of. _I_ wouldn't take it easy." Mild as were these words,coming from Tom Parker they had the ominous effect of a threat.
Without further ado the two old men left.
There was little sleep that night for Calvin Gray, and the days thatfollowed were a torture. It was a torment to avoid "Bob," forself-denial only whetted his appetite to see her, and those cunningplans he had laid at the time of their last meeting--plans devisedsolely to bring them together--he had to alter upon one excuse oranother; he even forced Buddy Briskow to substitute for him.Fortunately, there were certain negotiations requiring his presence inDallas, in Tulsa, and elsewhere, and it some what relieved hisirritation to put miles between him and the city he had come to regardas his home.
The Nelsons' bank was known as the Security National, and itrepresented the life work of two generations of the family. Bell'sfather had founded it, in the early cattle days, but to the genius andindustry of Bell himself had been due its growth into one of theinfluential institutions of the state. Other banks had finer quarters,but none in this part of the country had a more solid standing nor morepowerful names upon its directorate. Bennett Swope, for instance, wasthe richest of the big cattle barons; Martin Murphy was known as theArkansas hardwood king, and Herman Gage owned and operated a chain ofdepartment stores. The other two--there were but seven, including Belland his son--were Northern capitalists who took no very active interestin the bank and almost never attended its meetings. For that matter,the three local men above named concerned themselves little with theactual running of the institution, for the Nelsons, who ownednine-tenths of the stock, were supreme in that sphere. It was only atthe annual meetings when directors were re-elected--and invariably theysucceeded themselves--that they forgathered to conduct the dull routinebusiness which is a part of all annual meetings. After they hadadjourned as stockholders th
ey reconvened as directors, and againmumbled hurried and perfunctory ayes to the motions put before them, sothat Bell could the more quickly get out his bottle of fine oldBourbon, the one really ceremonious procedure of the day. The SecurityNational was as conservative, as rock ribbed, as respectable, and asuninteresting as any bank could well be, and its directors were alwaysbored when election time came around.
In spite of the fact that the program this year was as thoroughly cutand dried as usual, the day of the meeting found both father and sondecidedly nervous, for there were certain questions of management andof policy which they did not wish to touch upon, and their nervousnessmanifested itself in an assumption of friendliness and good fellowshipquite unusual.
Senator Lowe, the bank's attorney and secretary, was arranging hisminute books, his reports, and his miscellaneous papers, Martin Murphywas telling his latest story, when a knock came at the door to thedirectors' room. Bell himself answered it, but his protest at theinterruption died upon his lips when he beheld Calvin Gray, GusBriskow, and the latter's son, Ozark, facing him.
Gray spoke sharply, and his words fell with the effect of a bomb, atleast upon Bell and Henry, for what he said was: "We are attending thismeeting as stockholders, and we came early to enable the secretary torecord the necessary transfer of our shares."
Disregarding the president's gasp of astonishment, the speaker pushedpast him and entered, then introduced himself and his companions to theother men present.
Henry Nelson experienced a sick moment of dizziness; the room grewblack before his eyes. It was Bell who broke out, harshly:
"_Stockholders?_ Where did _you_ get any stock in this bank, I'd liketo know?"
"We bought it. Picked it up here and there--"
"I don't believe it!" Bell glared at the speaker, then he turned hiseyes upon Swope, upon Murphy, upon Gage. "Did any of you sell out?"
"We don't own enough to make it worth while," Swope said, dryly. Murphyand Gage agreed. Bell's peculiar display of emotion surprised them;they exchanged glances. "I thought there wasn't any stock outside ofwhat's owned by our group. What's the idea?"
Gray answered, easily. "There is now a considerable amount outside ofthat. A very considerable amount."
Henry Nelson made himself audible for the first time, and sneeredangrily. "Quite theatric, Gray, this eleventh-hour move. How much haveyou got? What's your--your object?" In spite of himself his voice shook.
"My object is purely selfish." Gray's tone was equally unpleasant. Hehad expected to create a sensation, and he was not disappointed. "Mr.Briskow and his son are looking for a secure investment, and I haveconvinced them of the soundness of your institution. My operations makeit necessary for me to establish a close banking affiliation--one whereI can ask for and receive consideration"--his mockery was nowunmistakable--"so where should I turn, except to my friends? I assumeyou make no objection to the stock transfer? Very well." He drew fromhis pocket a bundle of shares and tossed them across the table toSenator Lowe.
Henry made his way to his father's side; they withdrew to a corner andbent their heads together, murmuring inaudibly. Gray watched them withunblinking intensity; he nodded to Buddy Briskow, and the latter, as ifheeding some prearranged signal, removed his hands from his pockets andstepped farther into the room. He, too, watched the agitated pair.
"Why--look here!" the secretary gasped, after a moment or two."This--this gives you control!"
Bell Nelson raised a stricken face. "Control?" he repeated, faintly."_Control_?" He strode to the end of the table, and with shaking handshe ran through the sheaf of neatly folded certificates. "Sold out, byGod!" He fell to cursing certain men, the names of whom caused Swopeand Murphy and Gage to prick up their ears.
Gray was still staring at the junior Nelson; it was to him more than tothe father that he spoke: "Sold out is right! It came high, but I thinkit was worth the price. We intend to vote our stock."
"By that I infer that you're going to take the bank over--take itsmanagement away from Bell and Henry?" Bennett Swope ventured.
"Naturally."
The elder Nelson voiced an unintelligible exclamation.
"That's a pretty rough deal. Bell has put his life into it. It isan--an institution, a credit to the community. It would be a misfortuneif it fell into the hands of--into the control of somebody who--" Theranchman hesitated, then blurted forth, angrily: "Well, I don't likethe look of this thing. I want to know what it means."
"I'll tell you," Henry cried, unevenly. "I'll tell you what it means.Persecution! Revenge! Hatred! I quarreled with this man, in France.He's vindictive; he followed me here--tried every way to ruin me--costme thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars. Father and I were--wewere pinched. We had to realize some quick money to protect our oilholdings--offsets and the like--and we sold a lot of our stock with theunderstanding that we could--that we would buy it back at a higherfigure. We only borrowed on it, you might say--hypothecated it. Wethought we were dealing with friends, but--_Friends_! My God!" Thespeaker seized his head.
"The stock was not hypothecated. You sold it," Gray said, quietly, "andwe bought it in."
"It is all a personal matter, a grudge."
"Is that true, Mr. Gray?" Swope inquired.
"Substantially. But I'm waiting for Colonel Nelson to tell you more; totell you the whole story of our antagonism."
Martin Murphy, who had been a silent onlooker up to this point, madehimself heard. "Mr. Gray, I don't like the look of this any better thanSwope does. Your quarrel with Henry is wholly your and his affair, butthe welfare of the Security National is partly ours. Banks are nottoys, to be juggled and played with in mischief or in spite. You sayyou paid high for your stock; do you intend to wreck the institution,lose a fortune--?"
"By no means."
"That's precisely what you will succeed in doing."
"I had ventured to hope that you three gentlemen would remain on theboard."
"Am I dreaming?" Bell Nelson's collar appeared to be choking him, andwith clumsy fingers he tugged at it. "Going to kick Henry and me offthe board, eh? Rob us? Well, I'm damned if you do! You'll not kick usoff--"
"He doesn't want the bank," the son exclaimed, hoarsely. "That's all abluff. He wants blackmail. That's the kind of man he is. He wants hisprice. I know him. How much, Gray? What'll it cost us?"
"I'll tell you what it will cost--"
"Ha! Didn't I say so?"
"Oh, there is a price for everything! Mine will surprise you, however,it is so low. Can't you guess what it is?" The speaker's intent gazehad never left Henry Nelson's face; it was fixed there now, as cold, asrelentless as the stare of a python.
Bell Nelson leaned forward, his lips parted, a new eagerness came intohis purple countenance. "Well, well! What is it?" he demanded,querulously.
"Vindication!"
There was a moment of silence. "What is he talking about, Henry?"Bell's eyes were strained toward his son.
"I don't know," the latter said, in a thin voice. "He's crazy--alwayswas."
"I'm giving you a chance, Colonel. You'd better take it. Thinkcarefully." When there came no response to this warning, Gray shrugged."Very well! There is nothing further, except to complete the transferand proceed with the business of the meeting. Mr. Briskow will be thenext president, and I shall occupy the position of vice-president andtreasurer now held by you--"
The effect of this declaration was electric. With a cry the youngerNelson lunged forward. Confusion followed. It was of short duration,however, for Henry found himself locked in the arms of the Briskowgiant. Others lent Buddy their assistance, and, in spite of hisstruggles, the vice-president was flung backward upon a deep leatherdivan. He rose unsteadily, but, meeting Buddy's threatening gaze andrealizing the impossibility of getting past him, he cried: "Let me outof here! Let me out, damn you! I--I'll get you for this, Gray. Let meout, I tell you!"
"Buddy!" Gray jerked his head in the direction of the door to one ofthe adjoining offices. "He keeps a gun in his de
sk--top drawer. Get itbefore me makes a fool of himself." Young Briskow stepped out of theroom. Gray continued, speaking to the others, "I have something to sayto you gentlemen before we go on with the meeting, and I wish to say itin the presence of Colonel Nelson and his--"
"You'll not keep me here. I refuse to stay," Henry shouted, and hepushed past Swope toward the door.
"Wait!" It was the elder Nelson speaking, and in his voice was a newnote--a note of triumph. "Stock can't be transferred at an annualmeeting. It has to be done in advance--ten days, I think it is. Am Iright, Senator?"
"That is the usual procedure," Senator Lowe agreed.
"Better look it up and make sure," Gray directed.
There followed a few moments of uncomfortable silence while the bank'sattorney ran through the by-laws. It seemed to those waiting that itwas a long time before he frowned and shook his head.
"I--ah--I can find nothing against it. It seems I have nothing to doexcept transfer the shares."
"Then there won't be any meeting!" Bell loudly declared.
The three directors greeted this remark with exclamations of genuinerelief. "Sure! Let's adjourn--put it over until--" one of them began,but the bank's president was bellowing in rising fury at theinterlopers:
"Get out! Get out of my office, d'you hear? Get out--"
"Looks to me like it's _my_ office," Gus Briskow said, quietly, "or itwill be, directly. You, Bell, put on the muffler! I came a long ways toattend this meetin'. It's the first one I ever been to, an' it's goin'to happen. Shut up your fuss! I want you to hear what Mr. Gray's got tosay."
"To hell with him, and you, too!" stormed the financier. "Hold themeeting, eh? Hold it if you dare! I defy you. Steal my bank,double-cross me--We'll see about that. Come along, Henry."
"You're in," Gray said, menacingly; "you'd better stay and vote yourstock or you may never get back again." But neither father nor sonheeded him. When they had gone he frowned. "I'm sorry. Really I am. Ihoped I could force--"
"I think we'd better go, too," some one said. "This is tooextraordinary--We're in no frame of mind to go ahead--"
"I must insist that you remain long enough to hear me out. You have noright to refuse. There is something you _must_ be told."
"I'll admit I'm curious to know what the devil it all means," Murphy,the lumberman, confessed; "but I don't know that I should accept anexplanation from you. Not after Henry's accusations. I've known him andBell for years--"
"I respect your friendship for them, and I sha'n't expect you to puttrust in my words. It seems to me, however, that you owe it to thatfriendship to hear me. This incident has taken a turn whollyunexpected, and, I must confess, disappointing. I looked for adifferent outcome--hoped I'd be able to force an explanation--" Thespeaker shook his head and frowned again, perplexedly. When, after amoment of indecisive murmuring, the three directors seated themselves,Gray thanked them with a bow. "I'll be as brief as possible, and if youdon't mind I'll stand as I talk. I'm in no mood to sit. I'll have to goback a bit--" It was several seconds before he resumed.
"When it became evident that the United States was going to war, Imanaged to get in at Plattsburg and took the officers' training course.It was easy for me to complete that course, because I had served in theSpanish War and had kept up my interest in military affairs. Somethingconvinced those who ought to know that I possessed qualifications ofunusual value to the country--a wide business experience at home andabroad, a knowledge of languages perhaps--anyhow, I was called toWashington. There I met Henry Nelson--a valuable man, too, in his way.We were commissioned at the same time and sent overseas on the sameship to engage in the same work--military intelligence. I didn't likethe job, but it was considered important, and naturally I couldn't pickand choose. Of course it was secret, confidential work. No need ofgoing into that here.
"Nelson's and my duties were identical, our authority was equal; wewere ordered to work hand in hand, and although we were commissionedtogether, technically, he outranked me owing to the fact that he wasgiven his commission a moment before I got mine.
"That's where the trouble started. We clashed, even on shipboard. Heproved himself to be authoritative, overbearing; he immediately assumedthe position of my superior officer. I'm not a mild-tempered man, but Iput up with it, figuring that our paths would soon separate. But theydidn't. When we arrived in France I tackled my job with all the energyin me; I tried for results. Nelson, I discovered in time, was concernedonly in taking entire credit for all that he and I and the wholeorganization under us accomplished and in advancing himself. I worked;he played politics.
"You are not military men, so I sha'n't bore you with army terms ortechnical details, but--by one means or another he managed to intrenchhimself in a position of actual authority over me not at all in accordwith our purpose or our instructions. I swallowed my resentment, for itseemed rather petty, rather selfish, in a time like that, to divert myattention from the important work in hand to quarrel with him. Youunderstand? Then, too, he was not making good and I was, and I thoughttime would surely cure the trouble. He must have appreciated myfeelings--nevertheless, he persisted in abusing his powers; he beganfinally to really interfere with me, to call me off of important tasksand humiliate me with futile assignments, and I realized that I wasthreatened with failure through his meddling. This may sound trivial toyou"--the speaker raised his eyes to his audience--"but, take my wordfor it, there were many instances of the kind over there. Jealousy,intrigue, malevolence, petty spite, drove more than one earnest,patriotic officer to rebellion and--ruined many a career.
"I rebelled. I had to, or be made ridiculous. I warned him, privately,as man to man. He ignored the warning. Then I prepared a completereport showing by the copies of his orders, by the records of ourrespective accomplishments, by our correspondence, how he hadsystematically and maliciously endeavored to nullify my work and--andthe like. It was not a pretty report to read. I turned it in to him forsubmission higher up.
"Then it was that he outgeneraled me. He was furious, of course, but heapologized--abjectly. He admitted that he had been wrong; that he hadimposed upon me. He promised to play fair if I'd permit him to withholdthe report, and--I was deceived. No man likes to be thought a cry-baby.Those were eventful times; personal complaints were not welcomed in anyquarter--not with the world rocking on its foundations. I was glad toaccept his promises.
"For a while we worked in harmony. I became engaged in an intricatecase, having to do with a leak concerning transport sailings androutes--a matter involving the lives of thousands of our boys, millionsof dollars in supplies, and I went to Brest, under cover. It had to behandled with extreme care--some danger about it, too. A veryinteresting case, I assure you. I lived in a house with some of thepeople under surveillance. One of them was a woman, extremelyattractive--thoroughly unscrupulous. My avenue of approach was throughher. Nelson, of course, knew what I was doing; he was about the onlyone who did.
"I worked a long while and I was upon the verge of success--it wouldhave been a real accomplishment, too--when, without apparent cause, thegang took warning, scattered, the whole thing blew up. Months of workfor nothing! I had made worse than a failure this time."
"You mean to accuse Henry of--of treachery of that sort?" Swopeinquired.
"I do. And that's not all. Out of a clear sky charges were preferredagainst me. Outrageous charges in which that woman figured." Up to thispoint Gray had spoken smoothly, rapidly, but now his tone changed, hiswords became hesitant, jerky. "I was amazed! Joke, I called it atfirst. Sort of a blanket indictment, it was, charging me withinefficiency, negligence, exceeding my authority, dishonesty--andthings even worse. Those were some of the least serious, theleast--nasty. It was all too absurd! Being peculiarly vain andsensitive, my impulse was to shoot Henry Nelson. But I couldn't believethe charges would be taken seriously.
"Well, there was an investigation. I was court-martialed. I disproved agood deal; I think I'd have exonerated myself on every count only forthe woman--that o
ne I spoke about. She turned the trick. I was foundguilty, disgraced, sent back. Even though you are not military men, youcan appreciate the extent of my dishonor.
"There, gentlemen, you have in a few words an unconvincing summary of along and complicated story--one that I detest telling. However, I couldnot permit you to sit with me at the directors' table of this bankwithout knowing who I am, what I am, and why I have run that rat intohis hole. Colonel Nelson spoke the truth when he said this was purely apersonal matter between us. It is so purely personal that I was willingto spare humiliation to his father--leave Old Bell in control of hisbank and end our fight--if he'd right that old wrong. But you heard himrefuse. So they must both fall. He said I've been persecuting him--"Gray smiled grimly. "Let me tell you how. That disgrace cost me myfriends, and what money I had, for I tried long and earnestly to getback, to get a rehearing, to enter the navy--anything to re-establishmyself. Failing that, I came to Texas. I came without a dollar, withoutan acquaintance, and--began my 'persecution' of Henry Nelson. I beganit by coming here to the bank and telling him what I was up to. I puthim on guard, and we engaged each other, as the French would say, 'tothe death.' I--won. That's all there is to the story."
"Well, I'll be damned!" Martin Murphy exclaimed.
"At least Henry played fair in this; he didn't betray your secret,"Gage said, coldly.
"Oh, I meant to tell you that he didn't dare betray me, for he, too,came back in disgrace. The pot couldn't very well talk about thekettle."
"_What_?"
"Henry Nelson?"
"Impossible!"
"I mean exactly what I say. No man of his type could have lasted overthere. Then, too, the story of our quarrel leaked out, that old reportof mine turned up--Yes, he got the same medicine he gave me. But he hadinfluence in Washington, and he managed to delay final action almost upto the day of the armistice. Even then he succeeded in pretty wellcovering up the reason for his dismissal."
"Why, even Bell doesn't know that!"
"Henry's been a terrible hero, hereabouts," said Gus Briskow. After amoment he addressed the other men. "Mr. Gray told me this, an' I wantedhim to tell it to you. I dunno what you-all think of his story, but Iknow him an' I believe every word of it. What's more, I believe thisbank is goin' to be run as well as ever it was even if I am president.A man can be president an' stay at home, if he's got folks under himthat know more than he does. What d'you say if we start that meetin' webeen talkin' about? I'm willing to see Mr. Gray settin' in yonder atHenry's desk if you are."
"I don't see that it makes much difference whether we're willing ornot," Swope confessed. "You have the votes, between you, to do about asyou choose."
"Of course we have, but, with Bell an' Henry gone, it seems like someof their neighbors ought to stay an' look out for what potaters they'veleft in the ground. What d'you say?"
Swope eyed his companions briefly, then he nodded. "We'll stay."
"Then, Mr. Secretary, let her go!"